CH 124: DETHRONED KING
[Hueco Mundo]
In the endless desert that was the Hueco Mundo, different places were occupied by different high-level hollows, making them their territories.
In a way, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of such lords and all those territories were generally off-limits for powerful hollows who had recovered the capacity to think.
But out of all the self-proclaimed Lords of the Hueco Mundo, there was one that nearly all hollows recognized as the most powerful and the most ancient.
He named himself the god-king of the Hueco Mundo.
He was the oldest hollow and resided in Las Noches[1].
His name was — Baraggan Louisenbairn
—
[Las Noches]
“I have received a report about someone who dared to kill my soldiers?”
In the vast desert of Las Noches, stood only one throne, and atop of it sat a large skeleton clad in a royal purple coat with black fur, a golden crown on his head, and a golden bracelet around his left arm.
Sitting still, like a power of nature, Baraggan looked curiously at the three intruders.
Even though said intruders had already killed many of his subordinates, Baraggan did not care. With one call, he could get many more hollows of such level to serve him.
Standing in front of the other two, a glasses-wearing man advanced toward him.
“We have never met before. I presume you are the King of Hueco Mundo?”
“That's right. Who might you be? You don't look like Hollows. From your attire—Shinigami?”
Baraggan shook his head, “Not that it matters. I was bored. Had you not come, I would have split my army in two and made them kill each other. You are a welcome distraction.”
He opened his arms wide and said grandly, “Welcome to my palace—Las Noches.”
The wind stirred at his words. But...
“Pfft!”
One of the three intruders, a silver-haired man snickered.
“What do you find funny?”
The one who answered him was a tan-skinned man whose eyes were covered by bandages.
“You call this place, without walls or ceiling, a palace? I guess the king of Hueco Mundo likes his jokes.”
Baraggan scoffed, “I have no need for a ceiling. I. AM. THE. KING. The very sky of Hueco Mundo is the roof of my palace.”
“Stop it Kaname, I am in no mood for arguments.”
Stopping their conversation, Aizen stood once again in front of Baraggan and slowly unsheathed his sword.
“Let's talk, King of Hueco Mundo. Take a look at my sword. Its name is—Kyoka Suigetsu.”
For a split second, Baraggan felt great discomfort. Shaking his head, he once again looked at Aizen and remarked that nothing had changed.
“What are you doing?”
He knew about the Shikai of Shinigami. Why then did this sword not change?
On the side, both Gin was forcing himself to not laugh out loud.
‘In the end, this is all he was worth.’
Ignoring the antics of his vice-captain, Aizen spoke.
“There is one thing I would like to ask. Are you satisfied with what you have?”
“...What?”
“Do you ever feel this is not where you should be? Do you not want to rise even higher?”
He stretched his hand toward Baraggan, “I will aid you if you follow me. I will give you more power and show you a new world.”
At this proposal, Baraggan’s answer was — Laughing.
He laughed and laughed out loud.
He laughed because of this stupid proposal.
He laughed because of how angry he was.
“Hahaha! Ahahaha! Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! A new world!? More power!? Don’t make me laugh, you insects!!!”
The deep socket of his eyes blazed with an eerie glow as he gazed at the intruders with disdain. His Reiatsu kept growing and the pressure was making all Las Noches tremble under its might.
“I AM THE KING OF HUECO MUNDO! THE KING OF THE WORLD! THERE IS NO ONE HIGHER THAN ME! NOR THERE IS A NEW WORLD FOR YOU TO OPEN FOR ME!!”
Standing up, he waved his hand dismissively and ordered his soldiers.
“Kill them all! I am tired of dealing with that filth!”
Even as hundreds of hollows rushed toward him, Aizen showed no fear but rather, he smiled.
“I see. I guess it was how it should be.”
Holding his sword upside down, he muttered, “Shatter—Kyoka no Suigetsu.”
The surroundings seemed to break, like a mirror, in front of Baraggan.
“Wha–What was that?”
His mighty army was no more, replaced by corpses upon corpses of Hollows.
‘How could this be possible? When did this happen?’
“This is your world.”
The sadistic smile on Aizen’s face was something he would never forget for his lifetime.
…
…
…
"Was it alright? I don't think one defeat will be enough to subdue him."
Leaving Las Noches, Kaname asked while looking at the despondent Baraggan seated on his destroyed throne.
"It does not matter. The last thing I need is loyalty. As long as he is useful, I will keep him."
Aizen answered offhandedly. Clearly, beating down the so-called of Hueco Mundo was nothing particularly extraordinary in his opinion.
"What is the hurry? I thought you didn't want to recruit Vasto Lorde before a few decades from now on."
"I have no choice. I studied the movements of Gojo during those years and I feel like he is up to something. If I am not wrong, the black cat following him should be related to Yoruichi."
"Heh. So he made contact with him?"
"Indeed. Perhaps I am wrong, but I refuse to leave everything up to fate. It's necessary to prepare earlier."
"I see. Then...Who is the next target?"
"After recruiting a treacherous King, now I need to find a faithful Knight."
Aizen smiled. He already had a target in mind.
[Soul Society]
While Aizen and his group were visiting Hueco Mundo, Gojo was having a deep discussion about fashion trends with Senjumaru.
Looking at the sketch Gojo had given to her, she couldn't help but mutter.
"What a shameless outfit — I like it."
It was truly a style rarely used in the Soul Society.
Just imagining all those stupid folks from Central 46 foaming at the mouth because all the women in Seireitei were wearing such outfits made her heartbeat accelerate.
'This is going to be so fun.'
"I am in! When do we begin?"
Gojo hesitated a little.
"We need to make everything in four days. Do you think you can do it?"
She showed a prideful grin at her questions and patted her meager chest.
"Who the hell do you think I am? My name 'Senjumaru' [2] isn't for show, you know? Two days will be more than enough."
Gojo's worries could finally settle down at her assurance.
This might be his last time clowning around in Soul society.
He wanted to enjoy it to the fullest.
[1]: Hollow Night Palace
[2]: Thousands arms
(AN: Never really understood the arrogance of Baraggan. He lived for so long. Even before the creation of Gotei 13 and the first Zanpakuto. Such beings should have been wise and understood that there's always something higher. But in the end, he was just a frog staring at the sky. Even the way he died in bleach Canon was so pitiful.)