Bleach: From the moment I was invited by Squad Zero.

"There's really no need to send ordinary soldiers to fill in for such a venomous snake lurking in the shadows."

We'll wait until he can't resist showing his face again! Then, we'll make sure he doesn't leave alive!

He turned to the vice-captain, “Your ship, the camp is now in your hands. Readjust the deployment, double the size of all patrol teams, equip them with early warning talismans, avoid extremely open areas on the routes, and shorten the time of each patrol.”

Without explicit instructions, no one may approach the marked red high-risk area.

"Understood, Captain." Kibune immediately replied, quickly taking notes in his notebook.

"I will revise the duty roster and emergency plans to ensure camp safety."

Yanagawa and Amagai Shusuke began to carefully study the map and plan specific actions.

Late at night, at the expeditionary force camp.

Most of the team members had finished their duties or training and were in a light sleep in the stone chamber in preparation for any emergencies that might occur the next day.

The lights were still on in the personal stone chamber next to the command room, which belonged to Captain Amagai Shusuke.

Tenbei Shusuke did not rest; his tall figure sat on the cold stone bed, his back ramrod straight.

Unlike his somewhat unruly appearance during the day, his face was expressionless at this moment, only a solemn stillness that was almost icy.

Deep in his eyes, there was no longer vigilance against the Hueco Mundo sandstorm or authority over his subordinates, but a fire of revenge that had burned for countless years but had been forcibly suppressed.

For him, the meetings with Yanagawa during the day and the formulation of strategies were, of course, required by his duties and necessary steps to deal with the current crisis.

But deep down, another, more secretive and stronger thought was quietly growing.

? Chapter 75 Tapir Yao Knife

His thoughts drifted uncontrollably back to the distant past, to that memory buried deep in his heart.

At that time, he was not yet the expeditionary force commander, Tenbei Shusuke, and didn't even have that name.

He was just a boy who longed for his father's silhouette.

He is a scholar-type Grim Reaper who is obsessed with research. He is gentle and refined, but has a persistence that is not understood by the world.

Until that day... the devastating news arrived.

The father died, the cause of death remains a mystery, leaving only a scene of chaos and inexplicable remnants of spiritual turmoil at the scene.

The official conclusion was vague.

But the boy didn't believe it. Relying on the few words his father had left behind, the encrypted research notes, and an almost obsessive intuition, he began to investigate in secret.

Ultimately, he pieced together a chilling conclusion.

The father's death was related to a strange weapon called "Mo Yao Dao".

The father seemed to have inadvertently touched upon some core secrets about the knife, which led to his death.

All the subtle clues ultimately point to the pinnacle of power in Soul Society—the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni!

Before his death, my father seemed to have left behind a word full of pain and warning in some secret way—"Mo Yao Dao".

Driven by revenge and to uncover the dark truth hidden behind his father's death, the boy completely changes his identity.

Erasing his past, with a brand new name and a brand new resume, he went through hardships and finally became a member of the Gotei 13, relying on his extraordinary strength and will.

He voluntarily applied to be transferred to the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force, which is the most arduous and furthest from Seireitei.

Here, he constantly honed his skills while never ceasing his investigation into the "Mo Yao Dao" and related secrets.

After years of forbearance, infiltration, gathering information, and analysis, he arrived at a conclusion he firmly believed in:

The father was silenced for trying to expose the terrible truth behind the "Baku Yao Dao" (a type of sword), while Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni...

He was the mastermind behind it all, the culprit who ordered the elimination of those in the know in order to cover up this secret!

The flames of revenge burned fiercely in his heart from that moment on, never to be extinguished.

He vowed that one day he would have enough power to stand before Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni and avenge his father.

As for power... besides the death god's power he had painstakingly cultivated himself, he also found another "shortcut," a dangerous "tool."

His gaze slowly shifted to a long, narrow object tightly covered by a special spiritual cloth in the shadows of a corner of the stone chamber.

He stood up, walked over, and gently lifted the curtain.

What was revealed was not a Zanpakuto.

It was a weapon with an extremely bizarre and repulsive design.

The overall appearance is a dark, murky purplish-black color, as if it were forcibly fused together with the shell of some creature and metal.

The blade is not straight, but has an unnatural curve, and its surface is covered with fine, pulsating patterns that resemble blood vessels.

The most horrifying part is near the hilt, where there is no handguard.

Instead, it consists of several purplish-black fleshy tissues that wriggle like living tentacles, with suckers at their ends.

It was tightly wrapped around a fist-sized, dark red "core," which seemed to have a life of its own, and in the dim light, it appeared to rotate extremely slowly.

The tapir-shaped knife is related to the death of his father.

Therefore, he secretly obtained the "forbidden power" through a channel with a hidden connection to the Kasumi family, after going through countless hardships and even paying a considerable price.

Unlike Zanpakuto, which resonates with and grows alongside the soul of a Shinigami, the Baku is a biological weapon.

It possesses an independent and eerie consciousness. Once equipped, it will cling to the wearer like a malignant tumor, continuously absorbing the wearer's spiritual pressure through its tentacles and suckers, storing it in that "core".

The holder can use their will to activate the power of the "core" and unleash a strange and powerful special ability that far exceeds their normal level.

But the price is enormous; the Mo Yao Blade's thirst for spiritual power is endless.

If the holder's spiritual power is insufficient, or their will wavers, they will be devoured by the greedy and chaotic consciousness within the blade, gradually losing themselves.

Ultimately, the soul and spiritual power are completely drained, turning into withered bones, while the Mo Yao Blade will fall off and seek a new host.

This is a true double-edged sword, a wicked blade that leads to power but also straight to hell.

Tenbei Shusuke reached out, his fingers hovering above the cold, slippery blade of the Bakuya sword, without directly touching it.

He could feel the whisper of thirst and chaos for spiritual power emanating from within the blade.

In his eyes, the flames of revenge intertwined with a thirst for power, ultimately transforming into a cold, resolute gaze.

He covered the tapir-shaped knife with the cloth again, as if covering a lurking ferocious beast.

After years of research, Tenbei Xiuzhu has gained a certain understanding of the Tapir Knife.

In Hueco Mundo, a place fraught with danger, any deficiency in spiritual power or loss of mental focus could mean death.

He would not use the Tapir Blade unless it was a matter of life and death.

At this moment, in the void circle, in a certain hidden place.

This is not the direction of the expeditionary force's camp, nor is it a prominent landmark marked on any known map.

Deep within a dense forest of weathered quartz pillars lies a naturally formed, enormous cave.

This is the temporary base that Lijie Barrow set up in Hueco Mundo.

Just then, a unique vibration came from the white communicator he wore in his left ear, indicating a highest priority communication request.

He was very familiar with the requester's spiritual code.

Lijie Barrow remained expressionless and lightly tapped a control panel next to him.

The main screen in the center switches, and the familiar background of the Ice Palace appears. Then, Yugaran Hasward's exquisite but expressionless face appears in the center of the screen.

Even during communications, his snow-white Quincy suit and the pentagram cloak on his back remained impeccable.

“Lijie.” Yugran Hasward’s voice came through the communicator, without any further pleasantries.

Lijie Barrow nodded slightly, waiting for the other party to continue.

He knew that Yugelan would not have personally activated this emergency line unless he had certain important intelligence.

“Confirmed,” Hasward said.

"Zero Division Yanagawa has arrived at the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force's camp through the Black Hole Passage opened by the Twelfth Division of Soul Society."

A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Lijie Barrow's golden vertical pupils, as if a predator had finally locked onto the trail of its prey.

The Soul Society's reaction speed was indeed within our calculations.

"Has it finally arrived?" Lijie Barrow said in a low voice, as if confirming a given fact.

“Not bad.” Yugraan Hasward’s icy blue eyes seemed to deepen even more.

"The decoy has worked. Now it's your turn, Lijie."

Chapter 76: Tempe vs. Lijer Barrow

The next day, as planned, Amagai Shusuke quietly left the expeditionary force camp alone.

Heading toward the reconnaissance area he had discussed with Liuchuan the day before, he chose a route that avoided the most open sandy areas.

Make the most of the undulating sand dunes for cover.

However, Tenbei Xiuzhu's inner tension remained constant.

He trusted Yanagawa's judgment—that Quincy, having made a fuss, wouldn't easily back down.

Sure enough, as he ventured deeper into a narrow sandy valley, a strange change occurred!

A white beam of light, moving at an incredible speed, shot out as if directly from nothingness.

The beam of light tore through the air, carrying the absolute penetrating will of "all things being connected," and aimed directly at Amagai Shusuke's chest!

Amagai Shusuke's fighting instincts exploded instantly! His premonition of danger, honed through years of fighting Hollows and tackling life-or-death situations, saved his life.

He sensed that he was being locked onto by something, so he activated his Instant Step in advance, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake.

laugh--!

Even so, the white beam of light almost grazed the outside of his left arm, tearing the fabric of his Shinigami armor as if it were made of paper.

A searing pain shot through the skin below, and blood gushed out instantly, staining the sleeves red.

Even from a mere scratch, the muscle tissue at the edge of the wound felt like it was being torn apart, and the flow of spiritual energy around the wound momentarily stopped.