Cloaked in black, Amamiya Miyako moved like a shadow across the bleached dunes of Hueco Mundo. The dense ambient Reishi amplified his Hirenkyaku, allowing him to skim the sand at breathtaking speed. However, as the colossal silhouette of Las Noches loomed on the horizon, he ceased flight. Soaring openly over the fortress of the Arrancar was an invitation to be spotted by every sentry and Espada.
He was here for subterfuge, not a declaration of war.
"Tch… It's massive. Flying up to the dome would be too obvious…" He had already scouted the immense, artificial sky that encased the complex. Shattering it was possible, but the resulting cataclysm would announce his presence more effectively than a trumpet blast.
Las Noches sprawled before him: towering white walls encircling a central palace of impossible scale, flanked by numerous subsidiary towers and structures—the personal palaces of the Espada. Somewhere within that maze was Aizen's laboratory.
Focusing inward, he sought guidance from the Hōgyoku within his soul, asking it to resonate with its sibling. The response was immediate and confusing.
'What…? The Hōgyoku's aura is scattered. It's coming from multiple towers… and the main palace?' Amamiya's brow furrowed. This was no simple treasure hunt.
"Of course it wouldn't be that easy," he muttered. Urahara, having sealed his orb for so long, might not have realized the artifacts could sense each other. But Aizen, who had used that very connection to locate Urahara's Hōgyoku, was acutely aware. He had anticipated a thief might try the same trick in reverse.
If Urahara could create convincing fakes that radiated the Hōgyoku's signature, so could Aizen. After having his original prize stolen once, the traitor Captain would not leave his new creation unguarded. This was likely a trap—a sprawling net of decoys designed to snare whoever came seeking the real orb, hopefully delivering Urahara's half-finished Hōgyoku right into his hands.
The more Amamiya thought, the more certain he became. A blind search was suicidal.
Logically, Aizen would keep the true Hōgyoku close, most likely within the central palace. But that was also where the full might of the Espada was currently concentrated. A direct assault was out of the question.
'Then I'll play firefighter for now…' he decided with a resigned sigh. His priority shifted to preserving his allies' strength, buying time for Soul Society's inevitable counter-invasion. Once the Espada were distracted by that larger conflict, opportunities might arise.
If only Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen remained, he would gamble on the theft. Success would mean a frantic escape via the Wandenreich pass, potentially even drawing the hidden Quincy into the fray—a chaotic bonus. But failure was a high probability.
Therefore, the most crucial objective now was to reach an… understanding with a certain individual.
First, he needed to find his comrades. He began scanning the monolithic outer walls for signs of forced entry—cracks, scorch marks, the calling cards of Kurosaki Ichigo's brand of diplomacy. For now, he would be a reactive force.
'First, find Rukia. I can't let her be fooled by that impostor…' He focused, seeking the familiar, cool thread of Rukia's spiritual pressure, and set off in her direction.
…
Within the surveillance chamber of Las Noches, Ichimaru Gin lounged before a bank of monitors, a lazy smirk on his face. The task of monitoring the invaders had fallen to him, as most Espada were better suited for breaking things than watching screens.
The door hissed open. "Oh my. To what do I owe the pleasure? Has our guest of honor, Inoue Orihime, escaped your watchful eye? Or do you doubt my ability to handle a few screens?" Gin drawled without turning.
Ulquiorra Cifer entered, his expression impassive. "The human is currently with Aizen-sama. My presence is no longer required. I came to assess the intruders' progress."
"How dutiful. If only the others shared your work ethic." Gin sighed theatrically. In a way, he and Ulquiorra occupied similar niches: competent, powerful, and reliable. The key difference was initiative; Gin executed orders precisely, while Ulquiorra often anticipated them—a trait Aizen appreciated.
Ulquiorra stepped beside him, his green eyes scanning the monitors. "Status of the decoy towers?"
"Mmm… The Kurosaki boy and his little friends seem to be making a beeline for them. Quite convenient, really. And no, before you ask, Aizen-sama's Hōgyoku detectors aren't so much as flickering. Did they just pick the worst possible sightseeing tour?" Gin shrugged.
"…An unfortunate coincidence, then." Ulquiorra's tone suggested he found the concept of coincidence trivial. He saw no need to intervene. The Espada stationed at each tower were more than capable of handling their assigned intruders.
"Honestly, I think Sosuke is being a bit paranoid," Gin mused, propping his chin on his hand. "That old fox Urahara… would he really be foolish enough to bring the Hōgyoku here? It'd be like offering a lamb to a lion."
"The artifacts in the towers are failed prototypes. They mimic the aura, nothing more. They are disposable lures. If they happen to draw out the true bearer of the other Hōgyoku, it is merely an unexpected advantage." Ulquiorra's analysis was cold and clinical.
"Is that so? With Inoue Orihime in hand, Sosuke does seem remarkably… relaxed. Is he still in the lab?"
"The human's ability has accelerated the Hōgyoku's refinement beyond projections. Aside from periodic calibrations, the completion of the Hollow-based prototype is imminent."
"How terrifying…" Gin's smile didn't reach his eyes. He had witnessed Aizen's meticulous, slow work on the original Hōgyoku in Soul Society. Here, with a vast supply of Arrancar materials and Orihime's power to reverse errors, the process had been streamlined exponentially.
Before Orihime's arrival, there had been numerous failures—hence the stockpile of convincing-looking fakes now placed in the towers. Aizen's primary assumption was that Urahara still held the other Hōgyoku. But he was a man who prepared for all possibilities. Placing decoys guarded by Espada served a dual purpose: it could confuse any thief, and it dealt efficiently with the current pest problem—Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends.
As for the main palace's defense? The top five Espada resided there. It was impregnable.
Having prepared for both eventualities, Aizen could work in peace, confident his plans were proceeding smoothly. After all, the opponents currently blundering into his towers were not to be taken lightly…