Chapter 296: Arrancar Plan

The environment of Hueco Mundo was undoubtedly unfamiliar—and uncomfortable—for Makoto.

But in a way, it was also refreshing.

During his brief time traveling with Tier Harribel and her group, he occasionally found himself amused by the antics of the three Adjuchas under her command.

Especially considering that in Hueco Mundo, most Hollows possessed an incredibly straightforward nature, far from the layers of intrigue and deception found within the Seireitei.

As long as he kept his identity as a Shinigami concealed, interacting with these not-so-bright Hollows actually felt relaxing—a rare chance to let his mind unwind.

The way those clear, yet utterly thoughtless eyes looked at him made Makoto instinctively evaluate them:

"A kind of wild, untamed purity..."

What surprised Makoto the most was Harribel's level of trust in him.

When he proposed helping her achieve Arrancar transformation, she complied without hesitation.

There was no skepticism, no resistance—as if she instinctively believed in him. Even when he requested specific poses and actions for his research, she followed through silently.

With such cooperation, Makoto's understanding of Vasto Lorde spiritual structure progressed at an astonishing pace.

However, he soon discovered that Arrancar transformation was far more difficult than he had imagined.

In theory, Arrancar transformation was simply a Hollow breaking their mask, condensing their spiritual core into a Zanpakutō.

But in practice?

The process required an immense amount of spiritual pressure, and more importantly—a Vasto Lorde had to achieve complete self-awareness before breaking their mask.

If Makoto had unlimited time, he could have experimented with various methods to find the most efficient solution.

But time wasn't on his side.

As a member of the Expeditionary Force, he couldn't remain in Hueco Mundo indefinitely. More importantly, the looming threat of Aizen meant he had no luxury of prolonged research.

Given the urgency of the situation, Makoto decided to take a shortcut—by replicating the natural Arrancar transformation process of self-evolved Arrancars at a spirit particle level to trigger Harribel's transformation.

Currently, only two known Hollows in Hueco Mundo had achieved self Arrancar transformation:

Coyote Starrk

Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck

After careful deliberation, Makoto discarded the risky idea of tracking down Baraggan Louisenbairn.

Instead, since Harribel had encountered Nelliel before and had a rough idea of her whereabouts, Makoto chose to target Nelliel—known in his past memories simply as "Nel".

To save time, Makoto set out alone to locate Nel, while assigning Harribel a different mission—to search for another Vasto Lorde-class Hollow currently in Hueco Mundo:

Sparx.

A Hollow that, over fifty years ago, had been left behind as an Adjuchas when Makoto casually planted a "seed of the forest" within it.

Astonishingly, that seed had allowed Sparx to grow into a Vasto Lorde over the past five decades.

Makoto had sensed Sparx's presence clearly the moment he arrived in Hueco Mundo. However, due to distance and priorities, he had delayed seeking it out until now.

But with the Arrancar transformation process progressing, it was time to reconsider Sparx's role.

Even though Makoto's personal impression of Sparx was that it was a terribly weak Hollow—completely useless in direct combat—Vasto Lordes were rare.

So rather than waste a potential asset, he decided to include Sparx in his plan as well.

After providing Harribel with precise directions to Sparx's' location, Makoto and Harribel's group split up.

---

Some time later…

Harribel awoke suddenly from her slumber, her golden eyes snapping open as she instinctively murmured a name:

"Asura Gensei…"

The only ones present beside her were Apacci, Sung-Sun, and Mila Rose—the three Adjuchas under her command.

Noticing that their leader had just woken abruptly, they hurriedly gathered around, their voices filled with concern.

"Harribel-sama! Are you alright?"

"Does your wound still hurt?"

"Do you need to feed?"

Harribel slowly surveyed her surroundings—the unchanging black sky of Hueco Mundo, the endless barren desert…

A gust of cold wind, carrying a sense of loneliness, swept through, ruffling her golden hair.

For the first time, her calm, emerald-green eyes revealed a trace of solitude.

"…I'm fine."

She exhaled softly, letting her body relax as she leaned against a dead tree, her fingers brushing over her fully healed wound.

Then, she stood up. Resting a hand against the barren trunk, she gazed toward the distant horizon and asked:

"How far are we from the location Asura Gensei mentioned?"

Sung-Sun estimated the distance and replied,

"We're close, but the area he described is likely inside the Forest of Menos. We'll need to find an entrance first."

Harribel gave a slight nod, her voice steady.

"Then let's not waste any time."

Hearing this, Sung-Sun chuckled softly, covering part of her face with her sleeve.

"Of course, Harribel-sama. No matter what, we won't let you miss your meeting with Asura-sama."

"…That's right," Apacci added hastily. "Exactly, exactly—"

Harribel's gaze sharpened slightly.

"What are you two talking about?"

Apacci scratched her head awkwardly.

"Ah… didn't you know, Harribel-sama? While you were sleeping… you kept murmuring Asura-sama's name over and over again."

…?!

Harribel froze for a moment, completely bewildered.

"…I did?"

Before she could process this revelation, Sung-Sun and Apacci enthusiastically continued their teasing.

Meanwhile, standing a bit farther away, Mila Rose's expression was far from amused.

Her brows were furrowed deeply, her hands clenching over an old wound on her knee—as if she were suppressing a pain that had nothing to do with her body.

=====================

Consider joining me on P@treon For 50+ Advance Chapters:

P@treon: p@treon.com/JustaPasserby