When Grimmjow successfully ascended, his spiritual pressure spread throughout Las Noches.
Outside Las Noches, the many Menos Grande who had been waiting for a long time erupted in cheers.
The Adjuchas who had fought alongside Grimmjow on the front lines of Hell for so long reacted the most strongly.
They were overjoyed!
According to the rules of Las Noches, a Vasto Lorde could establish an independent force outside its walls.
After all, all of Hueco Mundo belonged to the King of Hueco Mundo. Anyone who wanted their own force needed his approval.
The Vasto Lorde's direct subordinates also no longer had to accept orders from any Menos Grande other than the King of Hueco Mundo.
Though they had lost the chance to evolve into Vasto Lordes themselves, following Grimmjow meant they now held a status above that of other Menos Grande.
On the other side were Inotra and the Adjuchas under his command.
Inotra had died once in the battle against Hell. Though the great King of Hueco Mundo had brought him back, his evolutionary potential, which had once surpassed Grimmjow's, had been cut in half. Now he could only watch as Grimmjow became a Vasto Lorde before him.
How could proud Inotra possibly endure that?
And the fighting on the Hell battlefield had stopped. Without the special power that flowed into his body whenever he killed an Ogre of Hell, Inotra had no idea how long it would take to rebuild the potential he needed to ascend!
His spiritual pressure surging, Inotra used Echo Shift to disappear in an instant.
The Adjuchas under his command didn't dare follow him.
When Inotra lost his temper, he really did cut people down.
Not long after Inotra left, Grimmjow emerged from Las Noches. Without even glancing at the Adjuchas on Inotra's side, he left with his own subordinates.
They were obviously going to celebrate!
Roasted Hollow legs—this time, they'd eat their fill!
Elsewhere, Inotra ran to a Forest of Menos and slaughtered the mindless Gillian wandering there.
"Are you going to eat them all?"
A woman's voice suddenly reached Inotra's ears.
He stopped and turned around. There stood the Vasto Lorde Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck.
He hated the thought of a woman standing over him, but the rules set by the King of Hueco Mundo left him no choice. He dropped to one knee and greeted her. "I pay my respects, my lady!"
That was why Inotra had left first. He hadn't wanted to greet Grimmjow.
Nelliel looked at the Gillian Inotra had slain, ignoring his greeting as she asked again, "Are you going to eat them all?"
"No," Inotra replied flatly.
"Then why are you slaughtering them?" Nelliel looked at him with disgust. "One of them might have become a companion—or several companions. They might even have become food that a companion desperately needed to ascend. What you're doing here does no good at all."
When Inotra didn't answer, Nelliel turned and walked away with a sigh. "I'll report what you're doing to His Majesty. You'd better think again about why His Majesty established so many rules in Las Noches."
Now that they had a Zanpakuto forged by a Soul Reaper using an ancient Hollow, the Adjuchas-level Menos Grande leading Las Noches no longer needed to devour one another to keep from devolving.
A rudimentary order had taken shape after that.
Nelliel liked serving as the logistics officer because she wanted to protect the order, which she considered hard-won.
If they had regained their reason, why keep acting like beasts?
But Inotra didn't see it that way.
He believed in the law of the jungle.
Without the battlefield in Hell, he might have already been unable to tolerate the order in Las Noches.
Now that the battlefield in Hell had closed, his differences were becoming clear.
Staring at the spot where Nelliel had left, Inotra grew even more furious!
He couldn't even kill a Gillian whenever he wanted anymore... He couldn't live like this.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
After saying goodbye to Kaien, Aoto turned his Gigai back into Reishi and headed for the place where Kaien had "died."
He would meet Blue Oni there and reclaim his own identity.
It was fairly simple to handle.
With Captain Ukitake providing cover, and no other captains around, Aoto encountered no trouble.
But when Blue Oni returned to the Zanpakuto, Aoto noticed that the 13th Division Seated Officers who had come along were all looking at him strangely.
They knew Aoto was Kaien's friend and had helped Kaien find release. But he was still the one who had killed Kaien, and they were conflicted about facing him.
Aoto didn't say a word. He simply moved closer to Captain Ukitake again. It was their signal, telling him he had returned.
Ukitake Jushiro silently nodded.
Since Kaien's body had not been left behind, Ukitake Jushiro had only ordered a cenotaph to be erected there.
That was because they were in the World of the Living. In Soul Society, there might have been nothing more than a photograph and a memorial tablet.
After all, anyone who died below the level of a third-class spiritual presence would have their body turn back into Reishi and disappear.
Just like Shiba Miyako's body, which had completely returned to Soul Society!
The 13th Division had suddenly lost both its lieutenant and its Third Seat. It was no exaggeration to say they had been dealt a heavy blow.
However...
The Seated Officers of the 13th Division looked at Aoto, who had come with them, and more or less realized what Captain Ukitake intended to do.
He was going to make him lieutenant!
Aoto's strength was certainly enough. It was just that they still felt conflicted about him.
But once the memorial rites were over and Captain Ukitake actually began to speak, everyone was stunned!
This was what Ukitake Jushiro said.
"I've decided to retire!" Captain Ukitake looked at all the Seated Officers and spoke gravely. "I'll recommend Fourth Seat Hyakume-ki Seikyo to the Captain-Commander as my successor!"
Huh???
What???
Aoto looked no calmer than the Seated Officers.
His jaw had dropped the farthest.
"Captain Ukitake, you're joking, right?" Aoto had no idea what expression to make.
"I'm not joking!" Ukitake Jushiro said earnestly. "I'd already planned to retire. Kaien was supposed to take my place, but now I'm asking you to do it instead!"
Though the unexpected turn of events had come out of nowhere, Ukitake Jushiro had no intention of disrupting his retirement plans.
Moreover, Ukitake Jushiro had received word that, because Aoto had "accidentally" released Garaku Kairo earlier, Central 46 had begun to doubt his reliability.
Only if he became a captain would those doubts about his reliability fade.
Kaien was gone, and Ukitake Jushiro didn't want his friend to be "erased" too...
"I hope everyone will support my decision!"
Ukitake Jushiro bowed to the Seated Officers.
Now that it had come to this, could they really oppose Captain Ukitake's choice?
Though they still looked at Aoto with mixed feelings, the Seated Officers all bowed their heads at once.
"Yes, we will obey the captain's decision!"
Now Aoto was the only one left dumbfounded!
What? My plan was over before it even began?
This was way too intense!