However, the contact wouldn't happen immediately. After all, Gremmy was still being held in solitary confinement—a seal personally set by Yhwach. Approaching him recklessly could lead to discovery. He had to wait for the right opportunity, and Beltz was confident that such a chance would eventually arise.
This certainty was reinforced when he learned from Liltotto that the Empire had already dispatched people into Hueco Mundo. Relying solely on standard Sternritter-level combat power, one truly couldn't walk unimpeded in the current Hueco Mundo.
During the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, Hueco Mundo was a place where most Hollows had already been slaughtered. Aizen, acting as a mole for the Shinigami side, had essentially served up the heads of nearly every powerful Hollow on a silver platter, leaving only a few "strays" behind. Back then, the Wandenreich only needed to send someone like Quilge Opie to suppress the entire realm.
But now, Hueco Mundo not only possessed the Espada in their prime but also a squad of Shinigami, along with Harald and one of Beltz's clones. Such a lineup was not something a few Sternritters could handle. Unless Yhwach intended to deploy the Schutzstaffel, he would have no choice but to send Gremmy. It wouldn't be too late to contact Gremmy at that point.
After seeing Liltotto out, Beltz lay on his bed, preparing to focus his primary attention on Erensig. Although his mental strength was immense and his soul remained functional after being split into three, maintaining high-intensity action for three bodies simultaneously was taxing. Generally, he avoided having all three engage in complex or violent activities at once; even if they did, he would let one rest afterward. Moving forward, the main body—Beltz—would inevitably be the idle one. With nothing to do in the Wandenreich, he would concentrate his energy on Hueco Mundo.
Hueco Mundo was a vast world, theoretically on par with the entire Soul Society. Consequently, Erensig didn't discover the Quincies immediately. Instead, about two months later, he spotted Rukia.
It had been quite a while since Rukia was sent back to Hueco Mundo, but as mentioned, the realm was so large that she hadn't found the other Shinigami and thus had no way to return to the Soul Society. This was actually Beltz's fault. Before sending her back, he had sent the demonized Whitebeard and Liltotto to the Seireitei, causing massive destruction. This led the Seireitei to recall most of its personnel. At their peak, three full divisions were conducting searches in Hueco Mundo; now, only a single small squad remained. For Rukia to find a dozen or so people in such a vast space was no simple task.
"Is that... a Shinigami?" Harald, sensing Rukia's Reiatsu from a distance, spoke to Erensig sitting on his shoulder. "Are they coming for me?"
Having been in Bleach world for some time, Harald understood much more about it. Sensing a Shinigami's Reiatsu in Hueco Mundo, his first reaction was that they were after him—after all, he had attacked the Seireitei.
Harald had met Rukia before; in fact, he was turned into a Shinigami by her, but she hadn't released her Reiatsu at that time. Later, during the fight with Garp in the One Piece world, Rukia was fighting Sengoku in the distance, but Harald's attention was entirely on Garp. Because of the distance, he hadn't sensed her aura then. Thus, having never "met" her Reiatsu-to-Reiatsu, he didn't recognize her now.
"No, ignore her," Erensig shook his head. "Things might get troublesome for you soon. Do you want to go back home for a bit?"
"Troublesome?" Harald asked, confused. "What kind of trouble?" He still thought of Shinigami reinforcements, as they were the only ones he had provoked.
"It's a different group," Erensig said, seeing his confusion. "These people are more troublesome and tenacious than the Shinigami. The first to arrive might not be that strong, but their abilities are increasingly bizarre. They are likely already looking for you in Hueco Mundo."
Hueco Mundo was an ideal environment for this. Since Quincies and Hollows are natural enemies, even if the intruders were powerful, Hollows could be used to stall them. However, if Yhwach deployed the Schutzstaffel, it would be better for Harald to hide in the One Piece world. The Sternritter consisted of over twenty Captain-level combatants, and most of them were far from "weak" Captains. While a few people could wreak havoc in the Gotei 13, almost no one could withstand a coordinated hunt by the Sternritter.
Harald shook his head. "It won't be too late to go back when things truly get critical. It would be too embarrassing to flee before even seeing the enemy's face."
"Very well. Then during this rare period of peace, hurry up and devour more Hollows."
The evolution of a Hollow was straightforward: simply devour others. This was why Beltz gave the best resources to Keiko and Erensig. With Harald as a guardian, Hollows below the Vasto Lorde level couldn't even flee; they could only become fodder for Erensig. Through this constant consumption, Erensig had long since reached the Adjuchas level. It had only been about a year since his birth, and reaching this stage in such a timeframe was virtually unprecedented. Of course, the Munch-Munch Fruit and the Azure Dragon Fruit had helped immensely.
Combined with his Arrancarization via the Hogyoku, Erensig now possessed Captain-level combat power. Ordinary Vasto Lordes couldn't do much against him, especially since Aizen hadn't begun large-scale Arrancar experiments yet. An Arrancar like Erensig was extremely rare in the current Hueco Mundo.
Suddenly, Erensig and Harald both looked in one direction. "They're here!"
A Reiatsu completely different from a Hollow's appeared in their perception! This Reiatsu was also different from Rukia's. It was neither Hollow nor Shinigami—it could only be a Quincy.
Currently, only the two of them could sense others' Reiatsu, while others found it difficult to sense theirs. Since Erensig was a Hollow, having his Reiatsu in Hueco Mundo was perfectly normal. Even Harald's demon form was very close to a Hollow's, triggered by the stimulation of Hueco Mundo's Reishi. Unless one sensed it very carefully, Harald's Reiatsu was indistinguishable from a Hollow's.
But the others were different. Their Reiatsu appearing in a place teeming with Hollows was like high-beam trucks appearing in the dead of night.
"Don't be in a hurry!" Erensig told Harald. "Observe first."
...
Soul Society, Seireitei.
Aizen was investigating a matter: the demon sealed in the Department of Research and Development had vanished! Kurotsuchi Mayuri, the Department's Director, was naturally furious and searched everywhere, but found nothing. Upon hearing this, Captain-Commander Yamamoto was both angry and worried, deciding that one division should be specifically responsible for the matter. The task fell to Aizen.
Aizen wondered who had done it. Was it a companion of the demon from the Abyss? It was possible, but he had another suspicion: the Quincies in the shadows. After learning about them from Keiko, Aizen had developed a deep wariness toward the group.
The Quincies had been defeated a thousand years ago and hid in the shadows, meaning they had been accumulating power for an entire millennium! This was different from the Seireitei, which had been steeped in peace. A thousand years of indulgence versus a thousand years of hard work—the results couldn't be the same.
"Captain, there is someone at the door to see you." As Aizen flipped through documents, Hinamori's voice came from outside.
"Ah, Hinamori," Aizen said as she pushed the door open. "Who is it?"
At this time, Momo Hinamori was not yet a Vice-Captain, but she was a high-seated officer. She said, "The person seems to be from one of the Five Noble Houses. They are well-dressed and very beautiful, but they didn't give a name. She said she won't come in and asked you to come out for a chat."
Aizen nodded. "I see."
He put down his documents, stood up, and left his office. Walking out of the Fifth Division barracks, he saw Keiko on the street. She wasn't wearing a shihakusho but a kimono, with a sword hanging at her waist. Normally, Shinigami aren't allowed to carry swords off-duty, but with recent unrest, armed Shinigami were everywhere. However, Keiko wasn't a Shinigami, so wearing a kimono while armed was a bit strange.
"Let's find a quiet place to talk." By "quiet," she meant a place where they wouldn't be overheard. The Soul Society had too many ears. While Aizen's immediate surroundings were likely safe—otherwise he couldn't have executed his plans—it was better to go somewhere with a barrier.
Aizen nodded and led Keiko to one of his secret bases. "Looking at you, what you have to say shouldn't be a small matter."
"You're right," Keiko said bluntly. "Don't you want to study Quincies? Several Quincies have now entered Hueco Mundo."
"...Oh?" Aizen's expression didn't change, as if he already knew. Keiko wasn't surprised; Hueco Mundo was practically Aizen's backyard. Just because Erensig had just discovered them didn't mean they had just arrived.
"Don't forget our deal," Keiko reminded him, referring to Aizen's promise to complete her Quincyfication and his commitment to act against the Quincies.
Aizen smiled faintly. "Quincyfication isn't difficult. The Department has plenty of Quincy data. By utilizing that data and a sample or two, I can design the experiment for you."
Clearly, Aizen was expressing that he didn't want to move against the Quincies just yet. Keiko couldn't guess his true intentions, but either path was possible. Aizen might act to capture a Quincy for study to see how they had progressed over the millennium—the old data in the Department couldn't satisfy that need.
But it was also normal for him not to act. He hadn't accumulated enough strength yet. He didn't have Urahara's Hogyoku, and even his own was currently with Keiko. Moving against the Quincies now would be "alerting the snake by striking the grass."
Currently, Aizen was in the light while the Quincies were in the dark, but in reality, the Quincies were in the light for Aizen, who had already discovered them. He could use this to make arrangements without their knowledge. If he captured some, the Wandenreich would know he was aware of them.
To get Aizen to act, one had to offer something.
"I will trade you a Devil Fruit," Keiko said.
"Which one?"
"There are three types of Devil Fruits: Paramecia, Zoan, and Logia. The three I gave you before were Paramecia and Zoan. There is a Logia type you haven't seen yet."
"Very well," Aizen nodded. "What do you want me to do?"
"No need to kill them, but block their actions," Keiko said. "Killing them would escalate the conflict and might trigger a war. But if you just stop their mission, they will simply send stronger Quincies."
Aizen immediately realized Keiko's target was among those "stronger Quincies."
"Exactly," Keiko admitted. "If a blonde man named Gremmy Thoumeaux appears later, and you capture him, I can give you more benefits."
"Agreed." Aizen accepted the terms; it was a win-win for him.
With the deal struck, they parted. Excessive contact wasn't good, as she was a Head of a Great Noble House and he was a "normal" Captain. Too much interaction would draw unwanted attention to Aizen, and as a master manipulator, he certainly didn't want that.