Garganta - Hueco Mundo

Several months have passed since Wang Xun began his Garganta experiment, and today is the day Wang Xun set for the actual testing of the Garganta.

Aizen was already waiting on the side, watching Wang Xun and Kaname Tōsen make their final preparations in front of him.

Before long, the Garganta slowly opened up in the mountain valley.

The pitch-black crack was more than two people tall, and its edges glowed with a dark red Reiatsu.

The thin mist was stirred by the airflow, churning and surging in the mountain valley.

Aizen stood before the Garganta, his gaze fixed on the stable spatial rift, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.

"Wang Xun, you did a great job."

His voice was soft, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

Aizen's eyes held undisguised approval.

"The success of the Garganta signifies that our plan has taken its most crucial step."

Kaname Tōsen stood to one side, listening to Aizen's praise of Wang Xun. A bitter feeling and resentment welled up in his heart, but he could only remain silent and lower his head.

Wang Xun stood to the side of the Garganta, the lingering effects of the Hollowfication Reiatsu still present on his fingertips.

He removed his mask and exhaled softly.

Wang Xun lowered his head.

"Lieutenant Aizen, you flatter me."

Aizen shook his head and said nothing more.

He strode into the Garganta with unhurried steps, as if taking a leisurely stroll rather than stepping into an unknown world.

Kaname Tōsen behind him, Zanpakuto in hand, his senses extending outwards, alert to any potential danger.

Wang Xun walked at the very back, and before stepping into the Garganta, he looked back once more.

He withdrew his gaze and stepped into the Garganta.

dark.

Brief weightlessness.

Then, the feeling of being grounded.

Aizen used his Reiatsu to pave a wide and neat road on the ground, and the group quickly moved forward in the direction Wang Xun had anchored.

Soon, Wang Xun tore open another gap with his Reiatsu.

Several figures descended from the sky, landing on the thick white sand.

The sand beneath their feet was fine and hard, with a pale sheen, like crushed bones.

Looking up, it was already Hueco Mundo.

The sky Hueco Mundo is perpetually dark.

There were no stars, no moon, only an endless black dome, like an overturned iron pot, pressing down on this white desert.

On the distant horizon, a few solitary rocky hills could be vaguely seen, casting menacing silhouettes in the darkness.

A gust of wind blew by, carrying an indescribable scent—a more primal, ancient aroma.

Aizen stood on the sand, looking around.

"This is Hueco Mundo."

His voice was soft, but it was exceptionally clear in the silent desert.

"Let's go, wander around, and maybe capture some experimental subjects."

Kaname Tōsen stood behind Aizen, his senses extending in all directions.

His brow furrowed slightly. The Reiatsu in Hueco Mundo was different from that in Soul Society; it was much more profound.

His senses were somewhat compressed here, but he could still detect the faint Reiatsu fluctuations in the distance.

"Something is approaching."

He said.

Aizen nodded.

"Ignore them. Let's go."

The three walked deeper into the desert.

Wang Xun walked at the very back, his self-illumination sweeping across the surrounding sand dunes, while his mind was sensing another direction.

His illusory clone is waiting in the distance.

The white Adjuchas was wandering on the other side of the desert, slowly approaching this side according to its pre-planned route, waiting for its opportunity.

As the group moved forward, a Gillian peeked out from behind a sand dune.

Its enormous form cast a shadow in the moonlight, and crimson light gleamed from the holes in its mask.

It was clearly drawn by the Reiatsu of the three people, and opened its mouth, a dark red Reiatsu condensing in its mouth—a precursor to Cero.

Kaname Tōsen vanished from the spot.

With a flash of light, Gillian's mask was cleaved open, and his massive body crashed to the ground, dissipating into Reishi in the air.

Aizen didn't even stop.

More illusions are drawn in.

Ordinary Hollows, Gillian, and even a few Adjuchas.

They surged in from all directions, like sharks drawn by the smell of blood, fearlessly lunging at the three.

Kaname Tōsen meet the challenge.

His swordsmanship was sharp and precise, each strike hitting the vital points of the opponent's defenses without any wasted effort.

Wang Xun also joined the battle. He didn't use Hollowfication, but instead used Shunpo in conjunction with his Zanpakuto to cleanly and efficiently deal with the approaching Hollows.

An Adjuchas pounced on Wang Xun from the side with astonishing speed.

Wang Xun dodged to the side, the blade slicing across its abdomen, black blood gushing out.

The creature let out a miserable scream, but instead of falling, it pounced even more frantically.

Wang Xun's brow twitched slightly.

He no longer held back.

A dark red Reiatsu surged from his body, swirling around him and covering his face.

The half-mask, with its dark red patterns, gleamed eerily in the moonlight of the Hueco Mundo.

His Reiatsu surged instantly, and his speed and power both increased by an order of magnitude.

He disappeared from the spot.

The next moment, the head of the Adjuchas flew into the sky.

Kaname Tōsen his knife.

His senses detected the change in Wang Xun's Reiatsu —cold and violent, carrying an unsettling sense of oppression.

A complex mix of emotions welled up within him.

This is called Hollowfication.

The power that Lord Aizen has been pursuing, Wang Xun has already mastered.

Moreover, they used it with such skill.

Aizen stood to one side.

He didn't make a move; he simply watched quietly.

His gaze fell on Wang Xun, watching his Reiatsu surge after he Hollowfication, watching him cleanly and decisively kill Adjuchas, his eyes flickered slightly.

The battle ended quickly.

The last phantom fell, dissipating into Reishi.

The desert returned to silence, save for the sound of the wind and the occasional faint howl from afar.

Wang Xun removed his mask and gently exhaled.

His Reiatsu was significantly depleted, but in Hueco Mundo, the recovery speed was much faster than in Soul Society.

"Not bad." Aizen's voice came from behind, "Your Hollowfication is quite skillful."

Wang Xun nodded.

"Perhaps it's because the Reishi environment here is more suitable for the power after Hollowfication."

Aizen nodded, saying nothing more.

The three continued deeper into the desert.

Along the way, they encountered several more waves of Void Hordes, but Kaname Tōsen and Wang Xun easily dealt with them all.

The three ventured deeper into the desert, but rarely encountered any Adjuchas who could communicate with them or develop independent consciousness.

Finally, a group of Adjuchas- class Voidlings sensed the intruders' presence. A dozen or so Adjuchas of various shapes burst out from the white sand, their crimson eyes fixed on the three of them.

These Adjuchas clearly developed self-awareness, fighting and roaring at each other, seemingly vying for ownership of the three people before them.

Sensing the approaching horde of Adjuchas, Kaname Tōsen drew his Zanpakuto and prepared for battle.

"Bankai, Suzumushi Final Form: Enma Cricket."

A black space enveloped the area, silent and still.

Wang Xun stood there warily for a moment, and then the darkness finally dissipated. The Adjuchas were already severely injured and on the verge of death, turning into Reishi and dissipating.

Only a few stronger ones managed to dodge the fatal wounds with their reflexes and collapsed on the spot.

Aizen walked up to the heavily injured Adjuchas and unleashed a torrent of Reiatsu.

Tell me about the power structure in Hueco Mundo. Who does Hueco Mundo obey now?

Under the overwhelming Reiatsu of Aizen, Adjuchas was completely unable to resist and spoke in a trembling voice.

"The King of Hueco Mundo is Baraggan, who resides in Las Noches and rules over the entire Hueco Mundo..."

"Las Noches?"

A hint of amusement flashed in Aizen's eyes.

Where is it located?

"Deep within Hueco Mundo..."

Aizen nodded slightly.

"It seems the overall structure of Hueco Mundo is clearer than expected."

Kaname Tōsen forward.

"Lord Aizen, shall we go to Las Noches and see this so-called King of Hueco Mundo?"

"No rush."

Aizen gently shook his head.

"This Garganta test was a complete success, and the objective has been achieved. These few Adjuchas are sufficient for experimental use. Las Noches and Baraggan... there will be plenty of time later."

2

He turned to look at Wang Xun.

"Open the Garganta, prepare for the return journey."

"Yes."

Wang Xun raised his hand, about to gather Reiatsu to open the passage, when a violent rumbling sound coming from the distant desert suddenly caught everyone's attention.

The violent collision of Reiatsu swept across several miles, yellow sand flew everywhere, and the howls of several Adjuchas were extremely mournful.

Kaname Tōsen stopped and sensed the Reiatsu fluctuations ahead.

"Lord Aizen, there are several Adjuchas ahead."

They seem to be fighting.

Aizen looked in that direction, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes.

"Let's go take a look."

The three approached silently.

In a low-lying sandy area, several Adjuchas are engaged in a fierce battle.

They varied in size and Reiatsu pressure, but each one exuded a violent aura.

The sand was overturned, pebbles flew everywhere, and the Cero left scorched marks in the air.

In the center of this group of Adjuchas, a white Void stood out conspicuously.

It was smaller than the surrounding Adjuchas, but it was exceptionally agile and its Reiatsu was unusually stable.

It faced three opponents alone, and instead of being at a disadvantage, it gradually gained the upper hand.

Its claws left afterimages in the air, each strike landing precisely on its opponent's vital points.

One Adjuchas had its abdomen ripped open, black blood gushing out, while the mask of another was smashed, emitting a shrill roar.

The third one tried to escape, but the white phantom caught up and bit off its throat.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, all three Adjuchas fell down.

The white figure stood in the center of the corpse, covered in blood, panting heavily.

Its body was covered with wounds, some deep enough to expose bone, and some still dripping blood.

Then, it slowly fell down.

Aizen looked at the white Hollow, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.

"Interesting."

He stood up and looked at Kaname Tōsen and Wang Xun.

"Let's take it back with us."

Wang Xun nodded slightly and looked at the white phantom, which was his clone.

He had been waiting for this moment.

Wang Xun was secretly delighted, but remained outwardly calm. Together with Kaname Tōsen, they sealed and bound the heavily injured clone.

At this point, all five Adjuchas were sealed, and Wang Xun's clone successfully entered the game.

Wang Xun then opened the Garganta, and the three of them passed through Garganta, returning to Soul Society.

A few days later, the underground cavity of Sōkyoku Hill.

The light from the Reishi lamps illuminated the entire space.

Kisuke Urahara squatted in front of the experimental table, manipulating the Reiatsu detection waves with his fingertips, and built a complete spatial detection technique based on the Wandenreich spatial coordinates provided by Wang Xun.

His fingers lightly traced across the detection instrument, calibrating the final set of data.

Then, he took a deep breath and activated the detection technique.

He activated his Reiatsu, and the probe waves, like invisible threads, penetrated the spatial barrier of the Soul Society, seeping into that hidden space.

Urahara stared intently at the dashboard, watching the feedback from the shockwave.

At first, there was nothing.

There were only normal fluctuations in the spatial barrier and only slight changes in the concentration of Reishi.

But soon, the feedback began to change.

The fluctuation frequency of the spatial barrier has become abnormal, as if something is interfering with it.

Then, his senses reached the edge of that hidden space.

A moment later, the probe wave returned with feedback, and Kisuke Urahara's expression changed drastically. He stood up abruptly, and the data on the instruments jumped wildly.

The scale... is unimaginably enormous!

Urahara frowned, his expression growing increasingly grave.

"No, we must penetrate the barrier and investigate the internal details."

Urahara gritted his teeth, increased his Reiatsu output, and once again swept the probe wave towards the spatial barrier, attempting to penetrate it.

The feedback is becoming increasingly clear.

It is enormous in size, with an extremely high concentration of Reishi, and... it has a large number of vital signs.

Urahara's hands trembled slightly.

He had lived for so many years and had never seen anything like it.

Beneath the Seireitei, at the heart of the Soul Society, lies a vast space inhabited by tens of thousands of individuals.

He took a deep breath, preparing to conduct a deeper exploration.

He needed to figure out what this space was, who the people inside were, and what they were doing.

However, a powerful Reiatsu surged back from the opposite side.

Precise, decisive, and without any unnecessary movements.

Urahara's detection technique was instantly severed, and at the same time, the instrument in front of him emitted a piercing alarm.

He quickly stabilized the machine and tried again to locate the space, but the coordinates had disappeared.

The instrument display was now completely blank, as if that space had never existed.

Urahara stood there, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.

He was careless.

The other party was far more vigilant than expected, and their technical skills were in no way inferior to his.

The moment he first touched that spatial barrier, the other side had already discovered him.

They were very likely observing him all along, waiting for him to make a mistake, and then seizing the opportunity to disrupt his investigation.

And he was completely oblivious.

Kisuke Urahara a deep breath, packed up his equipment, and turned to walk towards the cave entrance, his pace much faster than usual.

Evening, at the entrance of the Fourth Division.

Kisuke Urahara leaned against the wall, waiting for Wang Xun out.

A short while later, Wang Xun emerged.

He saw Urahara and paused slightly.

Urahara's expression was off; he could sense it.

"What's wrong?"

Wang Xun asked.

Wang Xun followed behind him, and the two walked to a secluded corner where Urahara turned around.

His expression was more solemn than ever before.

"I've detected that space."

Wang Xun's brow twitched slightly.

"Did you find anything?"

Urahara took a deep breath.

"It's enormous in scale, with a very high concentration of Reishi, and it exhibits numerous signs of life."

Upon Wang Xun's face showed surprise, and his expression became solemn.

"Then what?"

Urahara remained silent for a moment.

"I... have been discovered."

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