Chapter 406: BSUS Chapter 409: If We Work Together, We Can Kill Both Aizen and Chōzuka!

Darkness always leaves room for infinite imagination. Whether what hides within is absolute zero or true infinity, the pressure it exerts on a person is boundless.

Fortunately, the master of this darkness had no intention of further exploiting his home-field advantage. Or perhaps, he never planned to rely heavily on the darkness from the very beginning.

“I underestimated you, but it seems you’ve underestimated us far too much as well.”

The slightly deep voice echoed once more. Under the surprised gazes of Kaien’s trio, the source was clearly the slender figure slowly standing up in the center of the room.

Even though the enemy hadn’t changed at all—aside from a few fine cracks appearing on his bizarre mask—Kaien felt as if he had suddenly become an entirely different person.

“We are Aaroniero Arruruerie, the dignified 9th Espada!” The shrill voice pierced their eardrums, confirming once again that they hadn’t been hallucinating earlier.

There was no second person here. There was only one of the highest-ranking Arrancar, the 9th Espada!

“Just a mere 9th Espada, yet you speak as if you’re the Primera. Quite confident, aren’t you? Hehehe.” Sung-Sun chuckled. Although the guy in front of them was an Espada, his rank placed him at the very bottom in terms of strength. He might be troublesome to deal with, but not overwhelmingly so.

Her words alleviated some of the pressure weighing on the others. A bit of confidence returned to Jackie’s face. After all, she had just beaten this Espada to the point where he couldn’t even fight back. Even if he didn’t look injured, just as Sung-Sun said, he wasn’t that terrifying.

Kaien was even less likely to feel fear. On the contrary, he breathed a sigh of relief. *Half of Karakura Town is here, right?* The question almost blurted out of his mouth.

Unfortunately, Aaroniero didn’t give him the chance to speak. Although his expression remained hidden beneath the mask, his arrogant tone toward Sung-Sun painted a vivid picture of a face twisted in disgust.

“You’re one of those ungrateful women. I remember you. A little bug who only dared to hide far away in the past, yet you actually dare to act so arrogantly in front of me!”

Sung-Sun’s face, partially hidden beneath her sleeve, gradually turned cold. Similar words had almost faded from her memory, but being awakened now brought back a trace of hateful familiarity.

“Have you two… met?”

Sung-Sun glanced sideways, meeting Jackie’s somewhat teasing gaze. Looking to the other side, Kaien didn’t seem to care much. She spoke casually, though it sounded more like an attempt to comfort Kaien. “Of course not. The Espada wouldn’t be bored enough to chase us down to the lower levels of Hueco Mundo.”

*That familiarity should have faded from memory too. After all, its owner was erased from this world by Lord Chōzuka long ago,* Sung-Sun consoled herself.

“You four tactless women weren’t in the lower levels of Hueco Mundo before. How could you not have seen me!” Aaroniero’s deep voice seemed to carry a hint of anger. He grabbed his cheek with his right hand, and the mask—something extremely vital to an Arrancar—was forcefully torn off!

“Now, do you recognize me? Ants!” A third voice emerged, ancient and booming!

Kaien’s eyes widened, and Jackie pursed her lips. Aaroniero’s shifting voices were certainly bizarre, but they had gradually gotten used to them. What shocked them at this moment was the face beneath the mask.

There was not a trace of flesh or blood on the ghastly white bone. In the two empty eye sockets, it felt as though something was peering out at everything. Beneath the mask was clearly a skull representing death, yet aside from a heavy aura of decay, it possessed a vitality unique to the living.

“Ba—Baraggan? How is that possible!”

Sung-Sun’s right hand, which had been covering her face, suddenly slipped down, her expression filled with utter disbelief. How could someone who had already vanished come back to life!

“With the power of you ants, how could you possibly comprehend my greatness!” Aaroniero raised his arms and shouted, holding his head high with an indescribable arrogance that made Sung-Sun’s expression turn even uglier.

“You really were hiding something from us,” Jackie demanded of Sung-Sun. Seeing that she had no intention of answering, Jackie was about to press further when Kaien raised a hand to stop her.

This was no time for infighting. Although Sung-Sun’s reaction made it obvious she knew the Espada before them, and he likely harbored secrets, now was not the time to dig into them. It was enough to know that Sung-Sun and the enemy were hostile toward each other—that much was easy to deduce.

Right now, there was a more important and crucial matter at hand, one that Kaien had been wanting to know all along.

“Are you the Espada guarding Karakura Town?”

“I am, and that half of Karakura Town is right beneath my feet,” Aaroniero answered with unexpected readiness. “However, the real one is not with me.”

Kaien frowned. Before the words could leave his mouth, Aaroniero seemed to guess his thoughts and voiced them for him: “You want to ask, ‘How do I know if you’re telling the truth or not,’ right?”

Kaien nodded, and Aaroniero continued, “I am Baraggan, the former King of Hueco Mundo! How could I ever willingly submit to Aizen!”

“Former?”

“Until I was ‘killed’ by a certain man. That man is Chōzuka Hiroe. Of course, he didn’t truly kill me.”

Hearing this, Sung-Sun covered her face with her sleeve again to hide her inner turmoil. *Did Lord Chōzuka really spare Baraggan back then? Is this another one of his contingency plans? If so, why hide it from us?*

She wanted to verify this with Hiroe, but for some reason, she didn’t quite dare to. Or rather, she knew that if Hiroe hadn’t mentioned it before, whatever answer he gave now definitely wouldn’t be the one she hoped for.

Kaien was completely baffled. Whenever something involved Hiroe, no matter how bizarre it sounded, it seemed believable—yet simultaneously untrustworthy.

“Captain Chōzuka has been to Hueco Mundo?”

“A long time ago. It’s been almost two hundred years now.”

Kaien thought for a moment. The timeline actually coincided with when Hiroe fled his arranged marriage. It wasn’t impossible for him to have come to Hueco Mundo, but there was still a glaring flaw in the enemy’s story.

“He came to Hueco Mundo back then and faked your death? What would be the point of doing that?”

“To hide me within Las Noches, of course. Compared to that fool Szayelaporro, a ‘dead’ man like me would absolutely never arouse suspicion.”

“Las Noches didn’t even exist back then!” Kaien coldly exposed the lie.

Aaroniero seemed completely unfazed. “His struggle against Aizen goes back much further than a brat like you could ever imagine. Leaving a contingency plan for the future is only natural. Even today, I am terrified by the depth of his calculations.”

Being able to foresee things that far ahead was indeed mind-boggling. Even if the person in question was Hiroe, Kaien found it hard to fathom, though he couldn’t rule it out entirely.

“So, you’re actually Chōzuka’s subordinate? You’re on our side?”

“I am the King of Hueco Mundo! How could I ever bow down to anyone!” Aaroniero’s voice suddenly spiked, like a fierce tiger whose wound had been prodded. “That man is exactly like Aizen. If he kills Aizen, he will become the joint king of both Hueco Mundo and Soul Society. How could I ever allow such a thing to happen!”

“Then?”

“Shiba Kaien, I’ve heard him speak of you. He thinks highly of you, though your overly righteous nature is something he strongly dislikes.”

“You’re a Shinigami, right? Cooperate with me. Not only will we kill Aizen, but this time we will kill Chōzuka as well. I will remain the King of Hueco Mundo, and you Shinigami will have one less major enemy to worry about. How about it?”

Aaroniero beckoned to Kaien, acting like a gentle elder. “Come here, and I will explain the plan to you. The rest of them cannot be trusted!”