Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 482 The Silent Hueco Mundo and the Lonely Soul Society.

Meanwhile, in the boundless Empyrea.

In Hueco Mundo, Barragan sat upon his decaying and rotting throne.

Even though Hueco Mundo looks like a ruin, and even though his throne is dilapidated, Barragan himself does have the bearing of an emperor. Just sitting there, he exudes a kingly aura.

At the same time, an Adjuchas-class Hollow knelt before him and reported in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, in the Realm of the Soul, Shinigami are fighting against Quincy. It seems that the Gotei 13 has mobilized a considerable force, and I even witnessed the supposedly strongest Yamamoto Genryusai."

"Are you sure?" Barragan asked in a grim tone, "You were able to witness Yamamoto Genryusai, so how did you manage to come back alive?"

"Perhaps he simply didn't take me seriously?" the Adjuchas-class Hollow said with some doubt. "Besides, I didn't dare linger there. After checking the situation, I immediately returned to Hueco Mundo."

Barragan touched his skeletal chin, his pure white finger bones tapping lightly on it, as if he were pondering something.

Meanwhile, some of the other Hollows in Hueco Mundo excitedly exclaimed, "Your Majesty, Yamamoto Genryusai leading a large number of Gotei 13 Shinigami to fight those Quincy is undoubtedly a case of dogs fighting each other, but isn't this a golden opportunity for us? While they're killing each other in the Human World, we can seize this chance to attack Soul Society and annihilate those damned Shinigami!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, let's attack Soul Society!" said another Adjuchas-class Hollow.

Although Barragan calls himself the "Lord of Hueco Mundo," you have to admit he does have a formidable presence in Hueco Mundo, with many Adjuchas and even Vastod-class Menos Grande having submitted to his cause.

Aside from a very few, like Stark, who is a Vastod-class Hollow, most Hollows, even if they are not members of Las Noches, will give Barragan some respect.

"Have you confirmed the identity of that guy who raised three moons in Hueco Mundo back then? Is he really a Shinigami from Soul Society?" Barragan suddenly asked.

Soul Society knows almost nothing about Hueco Mundo, while Hueco Mundo knows a little about Soul Society.

However, this understanding is still very limited. For example, Barragan and the others know that the Gotei 13 exists, but they don't know how many people are in the Gotei 13 or who their respective captains are.

Only those Shinigami with extremely long histories, powerful abilities, and long existences like Unohana Yachiru, Yamamoto Genryusai, and Shutara Senjumaru have some information about them; others remain largely unknown.

Bane is indeed very strong, but he has only been to Hueco Mundo twice and has no experience in frequently fighting Menos Grande, so Barragan and the others know nothing about Bane.

Last time, he fought Saito, who was immortal, in Hueco Mundo. He raised three holographic moons, and the terrifying spiritual pressure scared Barragan half to death.

However, he still hasn't been able to determine what exactly happened. Was the one who raised three crescent moons and whose spiritual pressure shook the entire Hueco Mundo a Shinigami or a Hollow? Or was it some other mysterious being?

Clearly, no one could answer his question.

The Hollows exchanged glances and shook their heads, unaware of the situation.

Just then, a Vasto Lorde-class Hollow emerged from the Las Noches underground facility. This guy had pink hair and a rather effeminate appearance. Although he hadn't reached the point of voluntarily aberrating, he had very few masks left on his face, basically maintaining the appearance of a human face. He also wore glasses and had a refined and scholarly air.

"Lord Barragan, I happen to be lacking some experimental subjects lately. How about I lead my men to the Soul Society to probe a little?" the Vasto Lorde-class Hollow said with a smile.

Unlike the others, he did not address Barragán as "Your Majesty," but as "Sir."

This clearly indicates that his relationship with Barragán was not simply that of a superior and subordinate.

Barragan, who always considered himself the Great Emperor, didn't seem to mind his 'rudeness and disrespect'. Instead, after pondering for a moment, he agreed, "Alright, then go and test the Soul Society. Be careful, I don't want to see you die there, Granz."

Clearly, the mysterious Vasto Lorde-class Hollow at this moment is Szayelaporro Granz.

In his lifetime, he was a human alchemist. After his death, he became an extremely rare "scholar-type" Hollow in Hueco Mundo, who enjoyed conducting various scientific research. He also successfully advanced to the Vasto Lorde class Hollow.

Although he is a so-called "scholar type", his strength is also very powerful.

In the original story, after Aizen conquered Las Noches and became the true King of Hueco Mundo, he appointed his Espada as his subordinates.

Among the original Espada, Szayelaporro Granz was the first ruthless individual to be granted the position of "Zero Espada".

But later, in pursuit of some kind of perfect life, this guy split himself in two, downgrading himself to an Adjuchas-class Hollow, and was thus eliminated from the Espada sequence. When he was promoted again later, he didn't pursue any top position; he just casually got the identity of the eighth Espada and that was it.

In short, it's very strong!

"Please rest assured, I will be careful," Szayelaporro said with a smile.

Meanwhile, in Soul Society.

Seireitei, the barracks of the Ninth Division.

Kenpachi Kuruyashiki, Sojun Kuchiki, Retsu Unohana, and Senjumaru Shutara are sitting together in this courtyard.

The Third Division Captain, Izumi Katsujinji, is a confidant of Yamamoto Genryusai. He is also very rigid and stubborn, and never forms cliques with the other captains. He and Bann are only nodding acquaintances, and the two rarely speak to each other.

Captain of the Fifth Division, Seigen Sujiba, is mysterious all day long and doesn't interact much with others.

The captain of the 7th Division is Shiba Isshin, who has only recently taken office. He is probably still unfamiliar with the current environment of the Gotei 13, so he hasn't had time to get to know everyone yet, and he doesn't have much interaction with Bane.

The other captains went with Yamamoto Genryusai to the human world to fight against the Quincy.

There was nothing going on at Seireitei, so Kenpachi Kurosaki and Hanako all gathered around Bane's place.

"How boring, so incredibly boring!!!" Kenpachi Kuruyashiki muttered, holding up his sake bowl. "The thought of Shunsui fighting fiercely against the Quincy on the front lines while I'm stuck here drinking and beating around makes me incredibly resentful!"

"I imagine that if Kyoraku Shunsui were on the battlefield and saw you leisurely drinking here, he would feel extremely resentful having to fight for his life on the front lines," Shutara Senjumaru remarked.

"That's why I said, the old man is too inflexible. Let Shunsui stay in Seireitei and take our Eleventh Division to the human world. Wouldn't that be a perfect complement? What Quincy? They're no match for our Eleventh Division!" Kuruyashiki Kenpachi said with a pout, clearly displeased.

"The Gotei 13 can't just have your 11th Division with rich combat experience. Although the other divisions have different responsibilities, they also need to see more blood," Hana said softly.

She didn't like drinking alcohol, so there was a teacup in front of her. However, her attention was focused on her flower arrangement, and she was just casually responding to Kenpachi Kuruyashiki.

Although she doesn't like drinking, don't assume she has a mild palate. In fact, she loves strong-flavored food and hates bland things. For example, she quite likes natto, while Bane can't stand it at all.

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"It's one thing for Unohana-senpai not to drink, and it's another thing for Captain Sojun to be unwell, but you don't drink either?" Kenpachi Kuruyashiki asked, holding a sake bowl and looking at Shutara Senjumaru.

Shutara Senjumaru leaned against a tree, his six prosthetic skeletons each doing their own thing: some were embroidering, some were wiping their flutes, and others were serving themselves food. He was truly a genius at multitasking.

"Oh, cheers~" Shutara Senjumaru responded, and then the skeleton prosthetic arm that was picking up food quickly picked up the wine bowl on the table and clinked it with Kuruyashiki Kenpachi.

After the two finished their drinks, Kenpachi Kuruyashiki smacked his lips and said, "Why hasn't Bane arrived yet? We've been waiting for him all morning."

Kuchiki Sojun then smiled and said, "He's teaching at the academy today. After all, many teachers from the Ghost Path Academy went to the mortal world with them."

"It makes no sense to have the professor from the Ghost Dojo stay here drinking while the dean substitutes for him," said Hana-nee as she finished arranging her flowers, glancing deliberately at Shutara Senju-maru.

"Hmph, I've already paid this Dean for teaching in my place, what's wrong with that?" Shutara Senjumaru snorted arrogantly, speaking deliberately as well.

Would she really give Bane money? That's impossible.

So what this salary is, needs no further explanation.

Just as the two were about to clash in their usual banter, a figure rushed into the courtyard, wielding a tattered Zanpakuto, and shouted, "Kenpachi Kuruyashiki, what are you doing here? I even went to the Eleventh Division to look for you but couldn't find you."

When Kuruyashiki Kenpachi saw Zaraki, his expression changed immediately, and he quickly asked, "You didn't hurt my cute subordinates, did you?"

"No, none of your men are worth killing!" Zaraki shouted without any regard for propriety, then challenged, "Come on, let's go to the Underworld for a fierce battle!"

Kenpachi Kuruyashiki, who was already bored, immediately perked up upon hearing this. He downed the entire bottle of sake from the jug, stood up, and said, "Fine, I'm too lazy to wait for Bane any longer. Since you want to get beaten up, I'll teach you a lesson first!"

"Only Bane has the key to the Abyss. If he's not there, you can't get in unless you force your way in. But that place is also within the territory guarded by Shindo. You might not be able to defeat Shindo," Shutara Senjumaru mocked.

Just then, Bane, along with Shinji Hirako and Kensei Rokusha, walked in from outside the courtyard.

He reached out and shoved the man blocking his way, saying, "Who wants to go to the Underworld? Another serious offender?"

"You're finally back! Quickly give me the key to the Infernal Realm, I'm going to go and have some fun with him." Kenpachi Kuruyashiki said casually.

"You've been letting yourself go as soon as the Captain-Commander isn't here, haven't you? Why not go fight in Hueco Mundo? Why do you have to go to the Underworld?" Bane waved his hand, refusing.

However, Hirako Shinji, who was standing to the side, thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we just let them go? I've been wanting to go myself."

"Huh?" Bane paused, looking at Hirako Shinji with surprise, and asked, "What are you doing in the Abyss if you have nothing better to do?"

"Bankai." Shinji Hirako grinned and said, "I feel that my Gyōfu is on the verge of Bankai, but considering the characteristics of Gyōfu's previous Shikai, there might be danger, so I haven't really tried to unleash it yet. It just so happens that we're going to Mugen together this time, and with Captain Kuruyashiki there, he can keep an eye on things for me."

"Is Lieutenant Mako finally going to use her Bankai!?" Kuchiki Aojun said with great interest, "I want to see it too."

(End of this chapter)