Transforming into a lightning bolt was a technique Raizen Kō had developed by pushing his Flash Lightning ability to its absolute limit and fusing it with Sonído.
In this lightning-bolt state, Raizen Kō's speed was more than four times faster than traveling continuously with full-power Sonído. However, such extreme velocity came with an equally extreme cost spiritual pressure consumption increased exponentially with every second of use.
But at this moment, Raizen Kō had no choice but to gamble on speed.
His goal was simple and direct: devour every Menos Grande currently guarding Las Noches and use them as nourishment to complete his evolution into an Adjuchas before Baraggan Louisenbairn returned.
Thus, Raizen Kō transformed into a streak of dark-golden lightning and shot straight toward Las Noches at full speed.
Even at such terrifying velocity, it still took nearly half a day of nonstop rushing before he finally saw it a tiny black dot far on the horizon.
As he continued forward, that small black point gradually grew larger and clearer, eventually revealing itself as a massive, roofless palace of staggering scale.
Stopping at a safe distance, Raizen Kō observed the magnificent structure before him.
At that moment, a tiny white centipede scurried up from beneath the sand. Without hesitation, it climbed up Raizen Kō's leg and back, merging seamlessly with the centipede-like armor covering his spine.
Staring at the colossal palace constructed entirely of massive stones, Raizen Kō shook his head in disbelief.
Although he had already seen Las Noches countless times through the perspective of his surveillance clone, witnessing it with his own eyes was still an entirely different experience.
"A palace without a roof or proper walls… can this really even be called a palace?" Raizen Kō muttered with clear disdain. "Just what kind of bizarre aesthetic sense does Baraggan have?"
Despite his complaints, he wasted no time.
The moment he approached Las Noches, Raizen Kō canceled his lightning-bolt transformation and immediately activated Camo to its absolute limit, concealing his Reiatsu as completely as possible before quietly advancing toward the entrance.
As soon as he neared the massive front gate, he noticed two Menos Grande standing guard.
However, upon closer inspection, he realized that their spiritual pressure was far weaker than that of normal Adjuchas. They were clearly special Gillians whose forms were incomplete Hollows that had once evolved into Adjuchas but had fallen back down the evolutionary ladder.
"Pfft!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Raizen Kō launched a single swift slash.
Before the two guards could even react, they were instantly cut down.
Immediately afterward, Raizen Kō activated Soul Eater, absorbing their remains completely within moments.
"Not bad," Raizen Kō murmured. "The two of them together barely amount to the equivalent of one Adjuchas."
Passing through the main gate, Raizen Kō stepped into the interior of Las Noches.
Only then did he fully realize the sheer absurdity of its scale.
The main hall was composed of several enormous stone pillars, each nearly a thousand meters high far taller than any building he had ever seen in his previous life.
After thinking about it for a moment, however, it made perfect sense.
Las Noches was not designed for human-sized inhabitants, but for colossal Menos Grande. Naturally, its architecture had to reflect that reality.
At the front of the hall stretched a long, imposing stone staircase, and at its peak stood a massive throne.
Carefully sensing the surroundings, Raizen Kō discovered that all the Adjuchas still remaining in Las Noches were currently scattered throughout their personal chambers and sub-palaces.
Without delay, he passed through the main hall and began heading toward the residential areas beyond.
In a smaller palace closest to the central hall, Raizen Kō encountered his first target.
It was an Adjuchas in the form of a giant green centipede.
"Oh? Another centipede-type Hollow?" Raizen Kō remarked coldly. "Then you should feel honored to contribute to my grand plan of transcendence."
Without giving it any chance to react, Raizen Kō swung a lightning whip formed from condensed Reiatsu, slicing the Adjuchas cleanly in half.
Immediately afterward, he activated Soul Eater and devoured it completely.
With that finished, Raizen Kō moved swiftly to the next location.
One by one, in absolute silence and without alerting anyone, he hunted down the Adjuchas hiding throughout Las Noches.
Before long, six Adjuchas had already disappeared without a trace.
…
Soul Society – In front of the East Gate of Seireitei
"What? You're saying Captain Aizen of the Fifth Division, Captain Ichimaru of the Third Division, and Captain Tōsen of the Ninth Division all left Seireitei together?"
Ito Makoto stared up at the burly giant before him in surprise.
"Jidanbō, are you absolutely sure you didn't see wrong?"
He asked once more for confirmation.
"Absolutely certain!" Jidanbō replied in his booming voice while scratching his head. "I saw them leave with my own eyes!"
"I see. Thank you."
Ito Makoto nodded and handed over a thick bundle of Soul Society currency. Jidanbō happily accepted it and returned to his post guarding the gate.
Due to his current limitations in strength, Ito Makoto knew he could not personally monitor Aizen's movements.
After all, Aizen possessed Kyōka Suigetsu an ability capable of perfectly manipulating all five senses. If Aizen had already placed him under hypnosis, Ito Makoto would never be able to trust what he saw.
Therefore, he needed someone reliable, yet insignificant enough to avoid Aizen's attention.
Jidanbō, the gatekeeper of Seireitei, was perfect for that role.
As someone stationed at the gate every day, he would naturally witness when Aizen left the Seireitei. And since he was extremely weak, Aizen would never waste Kyōka Suigetsu on him.
Thus, Ito Makoto had spent most of his salary as Fourth Seat of the Eleventh Division bribing Jidanbō to act as his informant.
Unexpectedly, the investment had paid off perfectly.
As the current Fourth Seat of the Eleventh Division, Ito Makoto was well aware that the Gotei 13 had issued no official missions to those three Captains recently.
Therefore, their joint departure could only mean one thing.
Combining this information with his knowledge of the timeline, the conclusion was obvious.
"They're heading for Hueco Mundo."
Ito Makoto narrowed his eyes.
"Aizen's invasion of Hueco Mundo has begun!"
…
"Hm? Aizen is coming already?"
Raizen Kō, who had been joyfully raiding Las Noches and devouring Adjuchas, suddenly froze when he received the information transmitted from his Soul Society clone.
His expression instantly turned grim.
"Damn it… I don't have much time left."
Originally, Raizen Kō had planned to defeat and consume the remaining Adjuchas one by one in a calm and methodical manner.
But now, the situation no longer allowed such leisure.
He needed to adopt far more drastic measures.
Without hesitation, Raizen Kō returned directly to the main hall of Las Noches.
After making a series of careful preparations there, he boldly walked up the long staircase and sat down on Baraggan's throne as if it were his own.
The moment he settled onto the seat, an overwhelming pillar of dark-golden Reiatsu erupted into the sky.
The sudden surge of spiritual pressure shook the entire fortress.
One by one, the Adjuchas still remaining within Las Noches sensed the abnormal disturbance and hurried toward the main hall to investigate.
Before long, all of them had gathered together.
What greeted them was a shocking sight.
Upon the throne where only their Emperor should sit, there now rested a humanoid Hollow, pitch black in color, with dark-golden markings running across its body like ancient tattoos.
Its posture was relaxed, legs crossed, exuding a terrifying spiritual pressure far beyond that of any Adjuchas.
Seeing such an overwhelmingly powerful and human-like form, the gathered Hollows immediately concluded that this intruder must also be a Vasto Lorde, just like Baraggan.
"Strange Vasto Lorde!" one Adjuchas, shaped like a massive bullfrog, called out boldly. "Do you truly dare to challenge Las Noches? Are you not afraid of Emperor Baraggan's wrath?"
Raizen Kō sneered contemptuously.
"Baraggan?" he replied coldly. "At this point, do you still expect a so-called king who can barely protect himself to come and save you?"
The bullfrog Adjuchas trembled in rage at those words, its swollen jowls expanding as it roared furiously.
"Insolent usurper die!"
Opening its massive mouth, it began gathering a black-red Cero.
Previously, it had hesitated to attack out of fear of damaging Baraggan's throne. But now that this intruder had openly insulted their Emperor, there was no longer any reason to hold back.
At the same time, all the other Adjuchas present followed suit, charging their own Ceros simultaneously.
Their intent was clear.
They planned to obliterate Raizen Kō in a single overwhelming strike.