Chapter Eight: The Expedition! The Thunder of Judgment That Breaks Through All!

Chapter Eight: Expedition! The Thunder of Judgment That Shatters All!

Pale moonlight, an endless veil of dense mist, dunes and white ridges stretching beyond the horizon, and at every moment the clamor of battle and slaughter spilling through this silence...

"Oh my, oh my! So this is Hueco Mundo? There are so many powerful Menos around." With silver tousled hair, a foxlike smile, and the captain’s haori marked with the number three, Gin Ichimaru struck a lookout pose on a high cliff, gazing down at the Shinigami and Hollow forces locked in combat below.

Kaname Tosen of the Ninth Division approached and said coolly, "A rabble without fear..."

"Captain Ichimaru, don't get too excited. Stay alert on the battlefield at all times." With a gentle push to his glasses, Aizen Soujiro offered his warning to the silver-haired captain standing ahead.

"Yes, yes. Then... Shoot to kill, Kamishini no Yari!" With a smile that narrowed his eyes, Gin leapt forward. As the release command rang out, silver-white blade light burst forth and stretched at terrifying speed, slicing through the Hollow swarm. In an instant, a vast number of Adjuchas-class Hollows were reduced to black ash and scattered away...

"Sing, Suzumushi!" At the same time, Kaname Tosen drew his Zanpakuto and entered Shikai, joining the expedition force in the slaughter. Blade winds like sonic waves tore through the Hollow ranks like a reaping machine, shredding limbs in a storm of flying blood and flesh.

"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu!" With a sound like a mirror breaking, the blade in Aizen's hand fractured; a wash of mist spread into the Hollow horde, and the Hollows caught within it suddenly began attacking one another in bewildering confusion. Seeing the effect he had produced, Aizen smiled faintly and turned.

"Then... Captain Soi Fon, Captain Kuchiki... will you be joining the battle as well?"

"......"

"......"

Behind him stood the captain of the Second Division, Soi Fon, and the captain of the Sixth Division, Byakuya Kuchiki, both regarding the battle afar with detached expressions. To be precise, they were watching the figure within it that shone with crackling lightning, devouring one Hollow after another without pause: Shuster.

But once Aizen saw that everyone present had looked upon the Shikai of his Zanpakuto, a curve formed at the corner of his lips...

Ever since Kaien's death, Shuster had requested, the very next day and together with Byakuya, permission to be stationed in Hueco Mundo. It seemed that no matter the reason behind Kaien's death, the impact on Shuster had been profound. Rather than remaining in Soul Society and being haunted by memories, it was better to join the expedition army and vent the darkness in his heart...

Since that incident, Shuster had become just as cold as Byakuya Kuchiki, no, even colder. It was as though his entire heart had been sealed in ice.

"This is too slow. Fall back!" Suddenly, Shuster angled his blade downward. Lightning wrapped around the sword body, and the motion drew Aizen's attention. He narrowed his eyes and watched Shuster closely...

"Fivefold output. Lightning racing through the heavens, strike the enemies I designate with merciless fury! Chain Lightning!" The first and last lines were spoken only under his breath. Then, with a sweep of Shuster's hand, the greatsword known as Thunder unleashed a lightning bolt as thick as a bucket. It flashed across the battlefield at light speed, and in an instant every Hollow there was disintegrated...

"So that is his Bankai? A tracking-type technique, completely beyond the control of consciousness, attacking only the designated target. Fascinating." After witnessing it, the curve on Aizen's lips deepened.

"N-no way! One single blow!" Seeing the devastation wrought by Shuster, Barragan crushed the skull on his throne and rose in shock. An attack like that was beyond even him...

"Kid..." Watching the scene before her, a one-sided massacre in every sense, with damage counted in hundreds every second and lives vanishing without end, Soi Fon unconsciously tightened her hands at the sight of Shuster's icy, unmoved face...

"What terrifying spiritual pressure... and yet what a beautiful and magnificent Bankai..." Gin Ichimaru opened his eyes a little, then covertly glanced toward Aizen, whose glasses flashed with reflected light...

But it still was not enough...

The lightning, transformed into a soaring dragon, continued to streak across the battlefield for five minutes. By then the Vast Lordes had been completely wiped out, leaving less than a tenth of their number alive. Seeing that the enemy king Barragan, his face twisted with resentment and unwillingness, had ordered a retreat, Shuster pointed Thunder straight at him...

"Not good!" A beastlike instinct stronger than a predator's warned Barragan of danger. He immediately seized a nearby Hollow and used it as a shield before himself...

Boom.

When the dust cleared, Barragan stood revealed with his left arm gone. As for the Hollow he had used as cover, it had already turned to spirit particles and vanished...

Without a word, Shuster turned away, spun Thunder with a flourish, and slid it into the scabbard at his waist.

The battle's sudden reversal left every Shinigami present rooted in place. Only after someone finally reacted and shouted did the others all draw their Zanpakuto in a thunderous surge, pursuing the fleeing Hollow forces in full cry...

...

"Well, well, Vice Captain Kuchiki, that was truly remarkable. A great achievement indeed!" Watching Shuster return to his place, Aizen Soujiro stepped forward and applauded in congratulation.

Shuster glanced at him, and an unreadable emotion flickered in the depths of his eyes. In a flat voice he said, "This was only a minor victory. The enemy's main force hasn't arrived yet. There is nothing worth congratulating. If there's nothing else, I'll be going back first..."

Without waiting for Aizen's reply, Shuster walked around him and headed back toward camp...

"An ignorant fool. Do you really think that little Kyoka Suigetsu can leave me unable to tell what you're doing? My spiritual power is at least twice yours. Let me see just what you're up to, Aizen!" Shuster thought as he walked back alone.

Just now, Aizen had used the power of Kyoka Suigetsu to take Tosen and Gin away. But for Shuster, whose spiritual pressure was overwhelmingly strong, that complete hypnosis was nothing more than drifting mist...

"Speaking of which, that power must be the Hogyoku, right? And it's only half complete, yet it already contains energy of the seventh tier, initial level. I wonder just how much power it will hold once fully complete..." After a few steps, Shuster suddenly stopped and muttered to himself.

After dinner

Inside Shuster's tent...

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

A shadow clone of Shuster appeared inside the tent.

"Your mission is to stand in for me for a while. Understand? If there are places you can't get through, use illusion techniques..." Shuster ordered the clone.

"Understood. But how long do you plan to be away, original body?" the clone asked.

"I don't know..." Shuster lifted his head and looked out the window, his eyes vacant.

He still remembered the expression on his face when he stood before Rukia after that incident.

He still remembered the expression on Rukia's face when she stood before him after that incident.

Between the two of them, facing one another, there was only silence. One pair of eyes was filled with fury; the other, with guilt.

The true culprit behind all of this was Aizen. The only way was to repay that wound with his blood. This was the first time he had killed someone close to him, and the crack it left was enormous. It needed an outlet...

Turning around, he glanced at the vacant seat of the Fifth Division captain, then with a casual punch shattered space and stepped through...

Hundreds of kilometers away, in an open field, a black circular hole suddenly appeared. From within it emerged Shuster, the one who had just used irregular spatial transfer.

"Hm, the scent of that presence is getting closer and closer. The aura of the Hogyoku... truly delicious. Still, I'll start with these appetizers. The Hogyoku isn't mature yet..." Shuster lowered his head and murmured strange words.

No sooner had he spoken than several weak Hollows appeared before him, drooling as they stared at him hungrily. Shuster smiled helplessly.

"Geass... activate!"

He raised a hand and seized the head of an eagle-shaped Hollow that lunged at him, then clenched his fingers hard with one hand...

The entire Hollow was covered by a thin membrane and then drawn into Shuster's mouth...

"Hm, even though this is my first time, so this is what a soul tastes like! It's probably much stronger than any ordinary narcotic..." Licking his lips with his tongue, Shuster looked toward the other two, who showed no fear at their companion's destruction and did not flee.

He slammed the head of another pouncing lizard-shaped Hollow into the ground, then dodged aside from a wolf-like Hollow. After that, he drew Bloody Dance Crescent Moon, used Body Flicker, and thrust it into the neck of the lizard Hollow just as it pulled its head free from the earth. The next moment, that lizard Hollow too was absorbed by Shuster.

Having grown stronger, Shuster felt that the range of his spiritual perception had increased by at least fifty meters. He narrowed his eyes and said, "So that's how it feels when souls are strengthened! Then, I won't stand on ceremony..."

This is the tragedy of weak Hollows. Their intelligence is so low; no wonder they can only exist as food. With ease, he finished off the last wolf-like Hollow, and Shuster sighed inwardly. There is a saying: low intelligence is not your fault, it is the world's fault. In this place, it should be called Hueco Mundo's fault. Author: Congratulations, Hueco Mundo has been hit!

Ahem, that went off-topic. Back to the story.

Spreading out his spiritual sense, he detected several hundred Gillian-class Hollows one kilometer away. Shuster licked his lips and then spread his wings, flying in that direction.

In a valley, an Adjuchas was feeding on a Gillian, while around him hundreds of Gillian surrounded him.

"Hm? Has someone else come?" Tossing away the half-eaten Gillian, letting it dissolve into spirit particles, the Adjuchas stood and looked toward the valley entrance.

"Wasting food is not right. You ugly thing."

A voice came from above the Adjuchas's head, causing it to look up in confusion...

It was Shuster speaking. Upon arriving, he had seen this Adjuchas surrounded by hundreds of Gillian.

"A human? No, you're a Shinigami! Why are you here?" The Adjuchas stepped out of the shadows. It was actually a parrot-shaped Hollow.

"Oh! You can fly too!" Shuster said to himself, paying no mind to the Adjuchas's question.

"Damn you! We'll eat you alive, you Shinigami who dared to barge into my territory alone!" Seeing that the other side completely ignored him, the Adjuchas said furiously, then took to the air...

PS: Spiritual power is surging wildly...