Chapter 392 BSUS Chapter 395: Barrier

Aizen intended to host a tea party before the strategy meeting, or perhaps he planned to discuss matters regarding their enemies during the tea party? Regardless of what he was actually thinking, it was clear that he was very relaxed and seemed to be in a good mood.

Hiroe wasn’t too nervous either, equally confident, but he didn’t have the luxury of sipping black tea. The group sprinted up the hill, and the magnificent architecture behind the dunes made them unconsciously drop their jaws.

“Is that… Las Noches?”

Inoue pressed a hand to her chest. The shock brought by the sight before her was no less than when she first saw the Seireitei from the sky.

The grand white palace sat quietly in the desert. Its semi-circular dome didn’t look the least bit small under the vast night sky. Six massive white stone pillars seemed to hold up the sky of Hueco Mundo, carefully guarding the palace in the center so that even if the heavens collapsed, it wouldn’t be harmed in the slightest.

It was the center of this boundless Hueco Mundo, a sweet spring in the dead desert. Anyone who saw it would have absolutely no doubts, for it was the most beautiful white jewel.

“That’s right, this is the absolute ruling seat of the current upper layer of Hueco Mundo—Las Noches,” Ashido said, his tone much calmer. “It looks like it’s right in front of us, but the distance is actually still very far. Therefore, its sheer size far exceeds your imagination; fitting an entire city inside would be effortless.”

*The distance is still very far?* Ishida struggled to tear his gaze away from the black-hole-like palace. Along the path leading to Las Noches, there were many square white buildings scattered about. The closest ones looked about the size of ordinary houses in the World of the Living, while the farthest ones were as small as sesame seeds. Comparing them to the palace, they were truly a drop in the ocean.

*Such a colossal thing was merely a single palace?* Ishida couldn’t describe the shock in his heart. If it was just about being huge, the Seireitei was equally massive as a city, and its scale was likely on par with the Las Noches before them.

But the feeling the two gave off was completely different. No matter how huge a city was, it was made up of tiny individual components. However, the palace before them was a single entity in itself. Just what kind of lifeform resided within it? Compared to himself, it was truly mysterious and terrifying.

“It’s like a fortress that houses a world. Which corner did they stuff our Karakura Town into? It really is a bit of a headache.” Although seeing Las Noches with his own eyes was shocking, Hiroe had been mentally prepared for it and didn’t let his imagination run wild.

His words snapped the others back to reality. They were here to take back their city and its residents. Whether giants or gods lived in Las Noches didn’t matter at all. Moreover, there was nothing inside but a vast number of Arrancars, along with the trio of Aizen, Ichimaru Gin, and their third companion—there was absolutely no mystery when it came to the people involved.

However, just as Hiroe said, in such a massive space where the internal environment couldn’t be scouted, the location of Karakura Town and the hostages was far more concerning. This should be the first problem they had to face.

It was just that this problem felt a bit too familiar. As Ichigo thought about it, his eyes unconsciously drifted to the side. As if they shared a telepathic connection, he wasn’t the only one who did so…

“What are you all looking at me for!”

Rukia subconsciously shrank back. The way this group was staring at her was so weird, as if she was supposed to know something.

“Nothing, nothing!”

“Just thought of something weird…”

“Don’t mind it too much, Rukia!”

*Only a ghost would believe them!* Rukia finally understood, and she inexplicably felt a bit embarrassed. These guys were thinking about the time they went to the Seireitei to rescue her, right? Back then, finding out where she was had also been a problem for Ichigo and the others, hadn’t it?

“This is pretty much the same as when we rescued Rukia!”

“Big Brother Chōzuka!”

“Sorry, sorry, there are some differences too.” Hiroe smiled and comforted the flustered and exasperated Rukia, then continued, “This time, we truly know nothing about the situation inside. That guy was clearly abandoned by Aizen too, so aside from leading the way, he probably has no other use.”

Hiroe cast a glance at Luppi. Heaven knew what kind of pressure his head shake put on the Arrancar.

“It seems we have no better option than to just break in and take things one step at a time.”

As soon as these words came out, Yukio suddenly got excited. Storming the Demon King’s lair, overcoming numerous unknown obstacles, and finally rescuing the princess—such a game script was cliché, but it was fun.

“Actually, just breaking in is already somewhat complicated.”

“Oh?” Hiroe was a bit curious, while Yukio grew even more excited, perking up his ears to obediently listen to what Ashido had to say. It seemed this dungeon run was going to be even richer in content.

“Not long ago, the doors on all six sides of Las Noches were covered by barriers. My companions and I noticed this anomaly immediately…”

“Are there other seniors in Hueco Mundo too, Senior Ashido?!”

“…” Ashido was momentarily at a loss for words. Just as he was trying to figure out how to explain, the others used their glares to subdue Renji for him. Was this really the time to be curious about that?

“Sorry, please continue,” Hiroe said, giving Renji a warning look as well, before raising his hand to signal Ashido to go on.

“It wouldn’t be difficult to forcibly break the barriers on these doors. However, there have been traces of human presence within the perimeter of Las Noches, presumably taken to different outposts.”

Ashido’s brows gradually furrowed. “Afterward, faint fluctuations of Reiatsu appeared at various outposts. To be precise, the barriers also appeared from that moment on. We are still confirming it, but it’s unclear if there is any connection between the two.”

“A barrier? You don’t need to worry at all, Senior. Mr. Chōzuka is…” Renji said carelessly, but before he could finish, he was stopped by Hiroe’s gaze.

“Bakudō 16, Water Mirror!”

The air in front of Hiroe rippled, and a phantom image of a massive door appeared before everyone’s eyes. The surface of the giant door was covered in fine, bright white lines. Presumably, this was the barrier Ashido had mentioned.

“Do all six doors have this kind of barrier?”

“That’s right.”

Hiroe looked thoughtful. Logically, to figure out exactly how such a barrier worked, one should investigate it from up close. But combined with Ashido’s intelligence, as long as they could unravel the mystery of the outposts, they should be able to draw a conclusion.

“Bakudō 58, Trace-Catching Bird!” Hiroe suddenly crouched halfway to the ground. His left hand drew an intersecting pattern of white lines, while faint red spiderwebs spread from the palm of his right hand. “Hadō 12, Ambush Flare!”

The pattern and the spiderwebs touched, transforming into an invisible ripple that rapidly expanded forward in a fan shape. Combining the Reiatsu-capturing Trace-Catching Bird with the movement-capturing Ambush Flare not only allowed him to catch the locations and traces of faint Reiatsu, but even spiritual bodies without any Reiatsu within the range could be clearly detected.

The group watched Hiroe, whose eyes were tightly shut, and subconsciously held their breath. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and the long-accumulated silence was instantly shattered!

“How is it?”

“Mr. Chōzuka?”

“What did you find!”

Hiroe swept his gaze over the group, his eyes finally resting on Ashido. “There are indeed humans trapped in the outposts. Your guess was correct; there is a close connection between the two.”

“What connection?!”

“Simply put, the lives of the humans in the outposts serve as the energy source for the barrier. It can be easily broken, but if the sequence is wrong, it will instantly take the humans’ lives.”

“And to add one more thing, this barrier doesn’t just cover the doors; it encompasses the entirety of Las Noches. In other words, if we can’t cut off the energy from all sides simultaneously, then even if we manage to dispel the barrier, the humans in the remaining five outposts will die.”

Hiroe gazed at the distant Las Noches. It seemed that finding out where Karakura Town was located wasn’t the first problem they had to think about after all.