Chapter 408: BSUS Chapter 411: I Have No Secrets from Kaien

Kaien’s barrage of mockery not only darkened Aaroniero’s expression but also left Jackie and Sung-Sun staring in sheer disbelief.

*Are you praising Hiroe or insulting him? And that part about punching him hard—were you serious?*

It was hard to say whether Kaien was being naive or arrogant. Jackie leaned toward the former. Even though Kaien called Hiroe a bastard, she figured his understanding of just how much of a bastard Hiroe could be was merely the tip of the iceberg.

On the other side, Sung-Sun had only reported half of the intel on Aaroniero before Kaien’s shocking remarks successfully distracted her. Thanks to Ashido’s reminder, she managed to relay the other half of the information in time.

Along with it, she relayed Kaien’s words verbatim. There was a bit of mischievous intent behind it, but more than that, she thought Shiba Kaien—someone Lord Chōzuka valued—might have noticed something.

“Of course, your words aren’t entirely false. That guy having been to Hueco Mundo is probably true,” Kaien muttered to himself, turning his head to meet Sung-Sun’s eyes. “And you knew about this too, right?”

Sung-Sun’s eyes curved into a smile, but she didn’t answer. In her heart, she hurriedly asked for instructions on how to keep this from Shiba Kaien.

Ashido’s cold, stern voice echoed in her mind almost without delay. “Chōzuka says he has no secrets from Kaien.”

That meant she was supposed to confess. Sung-Sun didn’t believe for a second that Hiroe kept no secrets from anyone. Take the Kaien standing before her, for example—if there truly were no secrets, would he have needed to ask such a question?

“Yes, Lord Chōzuka has certainly been to Hueco Mundo. We all willingly follow him.” But since Hiroe had said so, he naturally had his reasons. Sung-Sun added, “Of course, Ashido is also a willing follower.”

*Just as I thought.* Kaien hadn’t suspected this from the very beginning, nor did he see any issue with how Hiroe had divided the teams.

If he had to point something out, it was a bit strange that the three Arrancar had agreed to Hiroe’s plan without a single objection, though he hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time.

Ironically, Kaien’s suspicion of Hiroe stemmed from a place of trust. The 9th Espada across from them might be full of lies, but the claim that he had once fought Hiroe didn’t feel like a falsehood.

Because of this, he had asked Sung-Sun. Whether it was Aaroniero or Baraggan, if their claim about Hiroe visiting Hueco Mundo was true, then based on his understanding of Hiroe, that guy would definitely have left something behind.

And the most likely candidates were Arrancar like Sung-Sun. Thinking back on it, even with Aizen’s methods, he couldn’t perfectly Arrancarize every Hollow in the massive Las Noches, which proved just how harsh the conditions for creating a perfect Arrancar were.

Yet Ashido had three of them right by his side. Furthermore, judging by how they had escorted the rescued humans away, the Arrancar under Ashido’s command definitely numbered more than three. This was absolutely not something a former Squad 11 member could achieve on his own.

Chōzuka Hiroe. Aside from Aizen, he was the only one who could possibly turn Hollows into Arrancar. Considering this, there seemed to be no other answer as to whether Hiroe had been to Hueco Mundo.

What made Kaien glad was that Hiroe didn’t seem to have any intention of keeping it a secret from him anymore. This meant that from Hiroe’s perspective, the purpose behind setting all this up in Hueco Mundo—even if it didn’t win Shiba Kaien’s approval—would at least not be met with his resistance.

Even with a hundred doubts in his mind, he could set them aside for now. Right now, there was a much clearer enemy in front of him!

“Baraggan was indeed the former King of Hueco Mundo. Although it was a self-proclaimed title, there’s no denying that he was the greatest power in the upper echelons of Hueco Mundo at the time.”

“And Lord Chōzuka absolutely killed that guy, there is no doubt about it! What Ashido told you earlier was also the truth, we…”

Before Sung-Sun could finish her explanation, Kaien interrupted her. “I’ll take my time asking about the history between you all after we take care of this guy.”

*Is there really no chance of internal conflict anymore?* Aaroniero couldn’t help but feel a bit displeased. He had held back from attacking again precisely to wait for that possibility.

“It’s wonderful that you can think that way,” Sung-Sun replied with a smile. Perhaps it had all been jokes before, but at this moment, she genuinely found Kaien to be incredibly manly.

“Since the real Baraggan was already killed by Chōzuka, does that mean this one is just a fake with an empty shell?”

“He is a fake, but…” Sung-Sun looked across at their enemy, her expression turning serious as they touched upon this point. “You can treat him as the real King of Hueco Mundo.”

“Furthermore, Lord Chōzuka just said that although he defeated Baraggan, none of us can replicate his method. So, we’ll just have to handle this ourselves.”

Words that boosted the enemy’s morale while dampening their own weren’t really suitable to say right now, but it couldn’t be helped. Aaroniero possessing Baraggan’s abilities was simply too massive of a wildcard.

So massive that even Lord Chōzuka’s orders were to prioritize self-preservation!

“Is there really no other way to deal with that ability?” On the other side, even though Hiroe had just explained it, Ashido couldn’t help but ask.

“Not exactly. For instance, if you had strength on par with Aizen, you could easily ignore an ability of that level.”

Hiroe said, holding up a second finger. “Also, Baraggan’s ability is actually a double-edged sword. If you can send the power of senescence into his own body, even he wouldn’t be able to withstand it.”

“Then—!”

“Like I said, none of those three can pull that off. And that includes you, Ashido.”

Hiroe looked straight ahead, speaking calmly. “So, why say it out loud and distract them? An unbound imagination might just find another way out.”

Ashido, however, looked deeply worried. Aside from the direction where Kaien’s trio was located, distinct fluctuations of Reiatsu were beginning to emerge from other directions as well. It seemed the others had also begun clashing with the Espada.

There was still no clue as to where the real Karakura Town was. At the same time, just moments ago, Tsukishima Shūkurō had abandoned his team and moved toward Ginjō Kūgo’s location. Bad news was truly piling up.

“I can’t go to Kaien’s side, so let me fill the gap left by Tsukishima’s departure.”

“Rukia and Ishida…” Hiroe glanced in the direction of those two. “Szayelaporro is over there. He probably won’t end the battle quickly. If you go, it might actually have the opposite effect.”

“But we have to do something!” Ashido was getting genuinely frustrated.

Hiroe didn’t say what they should do. Instead, he asked him a question: “Tell me, where do you think the real Karakura Town is most likely to be?”

“How could I possibly know that! But, from a guarding perspective, it should be entrusted to the strongest Espada. Or they might do the exact opposite. Unless we see it with our own eyes, there’s no way to know!”

“Exactly~” Hiroe sighed. “Where the real Karakura Town is depends entirely on Aizen’s whim. It’s highly likely that even the guarding Espada don’t know if theirs is real or fake.”

Hiroe abruptly turned his head. “That’s why I’ve been thinking—what is the true meaning behind Aizen creating all these real and fake towns, specifically for me?”

“Only by figuring that out can we break this current stalemate!”