Chapter 532 - 532 Meeting of Gazes

Hueco Mundo, Las Noches.

"Have you finally come, Hitsugaya Toshiro?"

Aizen leaned sideways against his throne, supporting his chin with his left hand, but his gaze seemed to pierce through the palace walls and the distant void...

Bang!

Space suddenly shattered, and the figures of Toshiro, Nel, Rangiku, Sojiro, Ashido, and others appeared.

"Hmm? What's going on? Why are we inside a building?"

Toshiro asked, puzzled, as he surveyed their surroundings.

The group was in an enclosed corridor, with walls to the left, right, and above. Only forward and backward were passable.

"So this is Hueco Mundo? I thought it would be more chaotic."

Rangiku looked around, somewhat confused.

Although Rangiku had become a Shinigami long ago, this was her first time in Hueco Mundo. Looking at the surrounding architecture, she felt it didn't match her imagination.

Wasn't Hueco Mundo supposed to be desolate? What was with this building?

"Shh! Lieutenant Matsumoto, please speak softly, or the enemy will hear us!"

Sojiro quickly reminded her.

"It's fine. Although we came to rescue people this time, I never planned on hiding our movements carefully. Besides, even if we wanted to hide, it would be impossible! We were discovered the moment we set foot in Hueco Mundo!"

Toshiro looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through the walls and the endless void, intersecting with Aizen's gaze in Las Noches.

In an instant, Rangiku seemed to see electricity flashing in Toshiro's eyes.

"How interesting. You noticed? As expected of Toshiro-kun..."

Aizen, in Las Noches, seemed to sense Toshiro's gaze, a meaningful smile flickering across his lips.

"Captain, are you saying we've already been discovered?"

Sojiro asked, shocked.

"At least Aizen has discovered us."

Toshiro explained. "Using the safety of hundreds of Shinigami in the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force and Nel's comrades as bait to lure us into coming to the rescue… this was Aizen's trap all along. How could he be unprepared for our arrival? And I just sensed it… Aizen's gaze seemed to linger on me for a moment. He should also know that I sensed his gaze."

"Aizen's gaze?"

Sojiro was amazed. Although he didn't know how far they were from Aizen's location, Sojiro hadn't sensed any trace of Aizen or the Espada at all.

But monsters like Toshiro and Aizen could sense each other's 'gaze' through the barriers of buildings and across an unknown distance. It truly made Sojiro feel that their level and strength were beyond his reach.

"So what do we do now, Captain?"

Toshiro said, "This place shouldn't be Las Noches. And as you've noticed, this long corridor has no windows. This means we are currently inside a massive underground structure."

"In any case, the terrain here is not suitable for fighting, nor is it our destination. So, let's get out first. But before that, we need to deal with some minor nuisances."

Toshiro suddenly turned and looked towards a corner of the corridor not far behind them.

Boom!

As Toshiro's words fell, a giant hand suddenly reached out from the corner, slapping against the wall. Then, a massive figure, five or six meters tall, emerged from the corner. However, because it was in the shadows, its true appearance was unclear.

"Who are you people?"

The massive figure in the shadows demanded.

"This level of Reiatsu... about Lieutenant class? Not bad. Let me handle him, Captain!"

Sojiro volunteered.

"No."

Toshiro unexpectedly stopped Sojiro, who was about to step forward.

"As I said, this is a basement. The terrain is too narrow for fighting. And the enemy's body is too large. Even if you could easily defeat him, if he falls, it could very likely cause this place to collapse."

Toshiro explained to Sojiro.

The enemy was five or six meters tall. In this low, narrow corridor, he couldn't even stand straight, forced to stoop. His massive body almost completely filled the narrow corridor.

This would make it easier for Toshiro and the others to defeat him, but if he fell when defeated, he could cause a collapse, burying them all.

Although a collapse wouldn't harm Toshiro at all, it would be somewhat messy. The relatively weaker Rangiku and Nel might even risk injury.

"In any case, this place is not suitable for battle. So, let's lure him to a more open area first!"

Toshiro said.

Having said that, Toshiro picked up Nel and ran ahead.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Rangiku, Sojiro, and Ashido followed without hesitation.

The massive figure pursued them closely.

Whoosh—

After running for a while, the group passed through the narrow corridor and suddenly emerged into a large circular open space.

"A hall! Good, we should be able to fight here, right Captain?"

Sojiro asked.

Before Toshiro could answer, Ashido said somewhat excitedly, "Look! There are stairs! Following those might lead directly outside! I'll go check!!"

Swish!

Just as Ashido was about to go check, another figure suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going, intruder?"

The figure blocked Ashido's path.

It wore a bird-shaped mask and had four large bone spurs growing from its back.

"Another one. Indeed, a place this big wouldn't have just one enemy."

Ashido muttered as he examined the newcomer.

"Roar!"

A roar came from behind. The group turned to see the massive Arrancar who had been chasing them had also caught up, blocking the path they had just run through.

"Ah well, this is bad. We're caught in a pincer attack."

Although he said it was bad, Toshiro's expression was relaxed, clearly joking.

"A 'pincer attack'? That is indeed 'bad'."

Sojiro and Ashido also commented lightly, clearly not taking the enemy seriously.

"Then I'll leave this 'bad, disadvantageous situation' to you."

Toshiro stood aside holding Nel's small body, gently stroking the cute little skull mask on her head, looking leisurely as if watching a show.