NCCnovel #162 - Detonate the Invisible Empire ahead of time! Become the King of Hueco Mundo!
#162 - Detonate the Invisible Empire ahead of time! Become the King of Hueco Mundo!
Although Inoue Hao had only recently become a Hollow, he had, thanks to Luo Fu, become an Arrancar.
In that brief moment, he clearly felt the entire process of his sister's ability awakening.
Although he didn't know what purpose the guy he had to call 'Master' had in mind, helping his sister gain this ability.
But as an adult, Inoue Hao was very clear.
Luo Fu had the ability to grant them such powerful abilities, so what kind of terrifying and incredible power would he himself possess?
At the very least, Inoue Hao didn't think his siblings would be Luo Fu's opponents.
Perhaps the abilities they gained were indeed astonishing in potential, but in the end, Inoue Hao only encountered Luo Fu when he had just become a Hollow, and was forcibly transformed into an Arrancar by Luo Fu's overbearing methods, while Inoue Orihime had gained this power for less than a few minutes. Where would they get the capital to confront Luo Fu, the instigator?
"Brother... Brother?" Inoue Orihime looked surprised. She couldn't possibly mistake her brother's voice.
Although the brother in front of her had turned into a monster-like existence, and she had also gained this strange power, Inoue Orihime would rather suspect that she was dreaming, and would never doubt her brother's identity.
But what Inoue Orihime couldn't understand was, why did her brother call this pervert who appeared in a high school girl's room in the middle of the night 'Master'?
"Master, please forgive Orihime. Orihime... Orihime is just a little girl, she doesn't understand the greatness of Master." Inoue Hao had been a corporate slave for several years, although he hadn't climbed up the ladder before encountering an unfortunate car accident and dying young.
But as a corporate slave, he still had some skill in flattering.
From the moment he decided to establish his own small group, Luo Fu knew that now was the time to recruit people, and the most urgent task was to quickly recruit subordinates who could become his assistants.
Not expendable materials, after all, expendable materials had limited value in Luo Fu's eyes, while the Inoue siblings, one a newly transformed Hollow who could almost perfectly bear the power of the Demon God, and Inoue Orihime, who had the All-Encompassing Rejection, which could be seen as invading the realm of God.
If Ryugonji Tatsuki was added, a simple and crude small group would have a foundation.
The former novice corporate slave Inoue Hao, plus an innocent and naive middle school girl, Ryugonji Tatsuki, and a cute and silly Inoue Orihime.
Although this small group seemed like a joke, Luo Fu was confident that before he completely mastered the many abilities he shared and completed his own transformation, starting from this small group, he would be able to become the foundation for confronting Aizen and the Wandenreich in the future.
Currently, the Wandenreich was still hidden in the shadows of Soul Society, and Aizen, the future big boss of Hueco Mundo, was also hiding his identity and continuing to be the Captain of the Fifth Division of the Gotei 13.
This was a good opportunity for Luo Fu to develop.
After all, Hueco Mundo currently had no master. Could it be that he had to wait for Aizen to come and compete with him for business?
Since Soul Society was so lively, he might as well detonate it in advance.
Luo Fu also wanted to know, if Aizen knew about the existence of the Wandenreich and Yhwach in advance, what would he do?
Luo Fu wanted Hueco Mundo! Let the Seireitei, Aizen, and the Wandenreich fight it out in Soul Society.
In an instant, his mind shifted from the small group to the more distant future.
Luo Fu glanced at Inoue Orihime and Inoue Hao and said, "Your power was given by me. I believe you should feel the special nature of this power."
Inoue Orihime was still a little unclear about what her power meant, but Inoue Hao, who had transformed from a Hollow into an Arrancar, although he didn't know how rare his identity and strength as an Arrancar were.
But he was very clear about how much he had changed after becoming an Arrancar compared to his previous state as a Hollow.
It wasn't just in terms of strength, but also in terms of restraining the emptiness in his own heart.
Inoue Hao would not forget that when he had just become a Hollow, in order to fill the emptiness in his heart, he had even had the idea of killing his sister Inoue Orihime and devouring her soul.
Inoue Hao, who had regained his rationality after becoming an Arrancar, couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine just thinking about his previous special state of mind.
Inoue Hao knew that gaining such power couldn't be without any cost.
He took a deep breath, and in Inoue Orihime's still ignorant and unbelievable eyes, he went straight to Luo Fu and bowed respectfully, like a dogeza. He kowtowed and said, "Master, what do you need us siblings to do?"
Luo Fu glanced at Inoue Hao with satisfaction, thought for a moment, and said, "You just became a Hollow and were transformed into an Arrancar by me. I'm afraid you don't know the truth of this world yet."
After a slight pause, Luo Fu glanced at the Three-Day Barrier still blocking him and said, "Inoue Orihime, is this your attitude towards your master?"
"Ah?" Inoue Orihime was stunned and hurriedly canceled the Three-Day Barrier.
Perhaps because she had just gained this power, the Shun Shun Rikka were directly used by Inoue Orihime to cast the Three-Day Barrier, which was enough to hinder Luo Fu, causing too much consumption.
The six little fairy-like Shun Shun Rikka didn't even have time to communicate with their master Inoue Orihime before returning to their hairpin form.
Moreover, this hairpin, which was originally not very valuable but had become the carrier of the Shun Shun Rikka, flew to Inoue Orihime's head without any manipulation.
Touching her hairpin, Inoue Orihime showed a silly smile.
Everyone thought that Inoue Orihime had all her nutrients go to her chest, although her strength was very special and powerful, but her brain was indeed not very good.
If he didn't know the relationship between Hollows and Shinigami, it would be fine, but after experiencing Luo Fu's explanation, Inoue Hao was very clear that even if he had become an Arrancar, his identity as a Hollow would still be something that the Shinigami would want to get rid of as soon as possible.
Under these circumstances, how could he be at ease letting his sister come into contact with Shinigami?
"That's right." Luo Fu looked at Inoue Orihime in surprise. This girl's brain wasn't very good, but her memory was okay.
After Luo Fu briefly explained the identities of Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo.
Inoue Orihime immediately giggled silly and said, "In that case, my brother and I have also gained this power now, so will we be able to be like Kurosaki-kun and Rukia-san in the future."
With a dark face, Inoue Hao said, "Orihime, didn't you pay attention to what Master said at all? I am a Hollow, even if I have become an Arrancar now, my identity as a Hollow will not change. Hollows and Shinigami are natural enemies."
Stunned, Inoue Orihime blinked her eyes, somewhat surprised, and even more lost, and said, "Then in that case, will I also be an enemy of Kurosaki-kun and Rukia-san?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he subconsciously glanced in the direction of Luo Fu. Inoue Hao knew very well that they siblings had no right to intervene in who they were enemies with.
Luo Fu's position and decisions were their direction.
Sighing softly in his heart, Inoue Hao had long been accustomed to his sister's cuteness, and now it was just that after a few years, he had a deep feeling again.
"In the short term, we and Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia, and even the entire Seireitei and Soul Society, may not be enemies!" Luo Fu said meaningfully, "For us, this world is not chaotic enough now, so we must expose all the guys who are hiding, our base will be established in Hueco Mundo, so that the Seireitei will fall into chaos."
Nodding knowingly, Inoue Hao knew that Luo Fu's approach, which was exactly the same as the big villain in the comics, could not be a good person in the conventional sense.
Reality is different from comics and light novels. There is no such thing as the protagonist's halo.
The so-called protagonist and villain, in reality, are even more impossible to exist, or rather, the protagonist is the winner, and the villain is the loser.
Although Inoue Hao didn't know what level Luo Fu's strength was in this world, he knew that from the moment he was transformed into an Arrancar by Luo Fu, he had no other choice.
"Master means, we want to occupy Hueco Mundo and then provoke infighting in Soul Society?" Inoue Hao said sharply.
Luo Fu had to admit that although Inoue Hao and Inoue Orihime were senior and junior siblings, it seemed that all the brains were on Inoue Hao's side, while Inoue Orihime really gave all the nutrients to her chest.
Nodding in approval, Luo Fu said, "We don't have much time, while occupying Hueco Mundo, we must make Soul Society chaotic first, otherwise, we will become the target of public criticism."
This order was a decision Luo Fu made after careful consideration.
The hidden contradictions and problems within the Soul Society were like ticking time bombs, only with very long fuses.
If Luo Fu were to high-profile seize Hueco Mundo, he would likely become a thorn in the Soul Society's side immediately. Conversely, if the Soul Society were to descend into chaos first, it wouldn't be able to spare as much attention to Hueco Mundo.
This order of priority wasn't just about the Soul Society fixing its internal issues before dealing with external threats.
Rather, it was about how the Soul Society, being the dominant power, would strike down anyone who dared to rise.
Luo Fu's ideal scenario was for the Seireitei and the Wandenreich to be evenly matched within the Soul Society.
As for Hueco Mundo, he could accept Aizen's presence, but the position of King of Hueco Mundo could only belong to Luo Fu. Although Aizen was cunning and powerful, and even after merging with the Hogyoku, which theoretically could continuously drive its host to evolve, potentially allowing Aizen to reach the level of the Soul King step by step.
But alas, while the Hogyoku was powerful, Luo Fu's golden finger wasn't bad either.
Judging from the experiences of Luo Fu in the Ninja World, the Ghost World, and the Otherworld, each entry into the shared space meant a geometric increase in Luo Fu's strength.
No matter how powerful Aizen was, how could he compare to Luo Fu, who had gathered the power of countless systems from all the worlds?
After sharing the abilities of various worlds, any Luo Fu, even if his aptitude was mediocre and his abilities were lacking, could instantly gain a foundation surpassing all heavens.
In this situation, even if Luo Fu gave Aizen a chance to chase after him, he probably wouldn't even see Luo Fu's shadow.
The only thing worth worrying about and being careful of was that Luo Fu must not expose himself before he truly possessed the power to crush the world.
It wasn't that he couldn't cope with the Soul Society, Aizen, the Wandenreich, and so on, but that doing so would inevitably delay the process of Luo Fu localizing the power he had gained from sharing.
Luo Fu had already found the most suitable method for himself, which was to use his Zanpakuto to transfer the ability to create countless Bankai clones, like transferring the power of a Soul Reaper, to help himself through expendable resources, advancing in multiple directions simultaneously.
In this situation, Luo Fu inevitably had to make trade-offs.
Aizen might be dangerous, but he was also a smart man. Luo Fu believed that once Aizen sensed his strength and uniqueness, unless Aizen was confident in completely countering Luo Fu, he would obediently remain as a captain of the Fifth Division, just like he was in the Soul Society now.
If Aizen entered Hueco Mundo in the future, he would have even less chance of turning the tables.
A more important reason for letting Aizen enter Hueco Mundo was that Luo Fu needed to subjectively make the Seireitei believe that he and Aizen were fighting each other in Hueco Mundo, so that the Seireitei would free up its hands to first quell the Wandenreich.
Although the Wandenreich's strength might not reach its peak due to Luo Fu's active exposure, it was still enough to stalemate with the Seireitei for a period of time.
And this period of time was the key period for Luo Fu to strive for his own improvement.
It had to be admitted that compared to Luo Fu in other worlds, Luo Fu in the Soul Reaper world might have awakened his past life memories earlier. In addition, due to his fear of Aizen and the Wandenreich, he had been hiding himself for many years, which had made him develop in the direction of an old recluse.
Even if he had full confidence and strength to pacify the entire Soul Society and Hueco Mundo on his own, Luo Fu would still proceed cautiously and steadily.
After taking in the Inoue siblings and having a clear plan for the future.
Luo Fu directly instructed Orihime Inoue to continue living according to her previous habits, and also told her that Tatsuki Arisawa was also one of his people.
As for Luo Fu himself, he directly used Kamui's ability to stuff Inoue Sora into the Kamui dimension and headed straight for Hueco Mundo.
Although he didn't have precise coordinates for Hueco Mundo, Luo Fu, as a former member of the Fourth Division, had entered Hueco Mundo to help the Soul Reapers of the Hueco Mundo expedition heal their injuries.
Now, he was just using Kamui's ability to enter Hueco Mundo, and he didn't need to anchor to a specific location, so there wouldn't be any problems.
In the boundless Hueco Mundo, which was like a vast Gobi desert.
Spatial ripples, like rippling waves, flashed.
Luo Fu and Inoue Sora's figures appeared out of thin air in Hueco Mundo.
As soon as he entered Hueco Mundo, Luo Fu clearly felt it.
The environment of Hueco Mundo was completely different from the Soul Society and the Human World.
The so-called environment wasn't the surface appearance of the Soul Society being vibrant and Hueco Mundo being desolate, but a deeper concept.
The spiritual particle environment of the Soul Society was more gentle and peaceful. Hueco Mundo, on the other hand, was filled with a violent flavor.
The Human World was somewhere in between.
Although he had been to Hueco Mundo before, this time Luo Fu was truly delving into the interior of Hueco Mundo, unlike the Soul Society's Hueco Mundo expedition base.
Back then, when Luo Fu entered Hueco Mundo, he was only there as a doctor and never left the expedition base.
And the expeditionary force, in order to allow the injured Soul Reapers to recover as soon as possible and avoid being affected by the violent spiritual particle environment of Hueco Mundo, had put a lot of effort into making the spiritual particle environment at the expedition base, while not as gentle and peaceful as the Soul Society, at least reach the level of the Human World.
At the very least, it wouldn't allow the Soul Reapers to fall into inner emptiness due to extreme emotions.
Soul Reapers and Hollows were completely different concepts of existence, and even human souls were a special state between the two.
It was precisely because of the special nature of human souls that humans, once their hearts fell into emptiness, would constantly degenerate towards Hollows. If they could be sent to the Soul Society in time, they might become Soul Reapers.
Scanning the desolate Hueco Mundo, Luo Fu suddenly felt a special spiritual particle fluctuation coming from the surroundings.
When his gaze swept around, he realized that even though he had just entered Hueco Mundo, countless Hollows around him were rushing over impatiently, as if they had sensed some delicious food. Although it had just been a mess, in this short period of time, Luo Fu and Inoue Sora were facing a zombie siege.
"Master, leave it to me." Inoue Sora's face was full of eagerness.
These Hollows wanted to devour him and Luo Fu to enhance their own completeness, but wasn't Inoue Sora the same?
Don't look at Inoue Sora becoming an Arrancar in advance because of Luo Fu, but his strength was at most at the level of a Gillian, and even then, he was at the bottom of the Gillian level.
And Gillian was just the bottom of the Hollows, above him were the levels of Adjuchas and Vasto Lorde.
To truly complete Arrancarization based on one's own strength, one had to reach at least the level above Adjuchas.
Inoue Sora could only be considered a trickster.
It was precisely because of this that when he saw so many Hollows surrounding him, he felt an unparalleled desire.
Seeing this, Luo Fu nodded lightly and said, "Alright, then I'll leave it to you."
"Thank you, Master." Inoue Sora's tone was full of excitement. At the moment his voice fell, he rushed towards the surrounding Hollows impatiently.
A katana appeared in Inoue Sora's hand at some point. The next moment, starlight shone brightly around Inoue Sora.
Star Breathing, to some extent, had been pushed to a mysterious realm by many Luo Fus.
In the hands of Luo Fu in the Ninja World, Star Breathing was like a special chakra refining method that could cultivate a bloodline limit. In the hands of Luo Fu in the Otherworld, Star Breathing was like a special cultivation method that cultivated both body and soul.
And Ghost Luo Fu completely pushed Star Breathing to a level beyond Star Breathing, even reaching the level of life leap through breathing techniques.
The Seven Great Sword Styles of the Big Dipper were like martial arts divine powers.
And Inoue Sora, who inherited all the abilities of Ghost Luo Fu's incarnation, displayed the Seven Great Sword Styles of Star Breathing. The moment he swung his blade, starlight flashed along with it.
Amidst the dazzling starlight, in just a short moment, countless Hollows died under Inoue Sora's blade.
Just as Inoue Sora was killing with enthusiasm. His strength increased continuously as he killed more and more Hollows, breaking through the limit of Gillian in a short time and advancing to Adjuchas.
A powerful spiritual pressure belonging to a Hollow instantly erupted from Inoue Sora's body.
It was also at this time that Luo Fu's gaze suddenly fell into the distance, on a figure wearing a white trench coat, wearing an eye patch, and a bone necklace around his neck, looking nothing like a Hollow.
The moment he saw this figure, Luo Fu immediately recognized the other party's identity.
In the future, Coyote Starrk, who ranked first among the Espada after Aizen established Las Noches.
He was also a special being in Hueco Mundo who had almost completely achieved Arrancarization on his own.
Also noticing Luo Fu's undisguised gaze.
Coyote Starrk flashed a smile in his eyes and quickly walked towards Luo Fu.
As Coyote Stark approached, the surrounding Hollows immediately sensed something terrifying. If one were to look down from above at this moment, they would see that as Coyote Stark approached, the surrounding Hollows scattered rapidly in all directions, like ants encountering a rolling mothball.
"Besides Aizen-sama, there are other Shinigami who are with Hollows?" Coyote Stark said with surprise in his tone, "Are you Aizen-sama's people?"
Luo Fu understood in his heart that Aizen's becoming the master of Hueco Mundo didn't start from the moment he betrayed Soul Society.
On the contrary, when he left Soul Society, he had already completely taken control of Hueco Mundo.
Unexpectedly, Aizen's actions were so fast that Luo Fu had become a latecomer to Hueco Mundo.
Perhaps, Aizen's Espada are almost assembled, only waiting for Aizen, the future master of Hueco Mundo, to descend in person.
"Coyote Stark?" Although Luo Fu's tone seemed to be questioning, it was actually full of certainty.
"Did Aizen-sama send you to Hueco Mundo? What are your orders?" Coyote Stark asked curiously.
Shaking his head, Luo Fu said, "I'm sorry, but I'm not one of Aizen's people."
Coyote Stark looked at Luo Fu in confusion and said, "Shinigami are indeed interesting beings."
After a slight pause, Coyote Stark said, "Since you are not one of Aizen-sama's people, does that mean you are Aizen-sama's enemy?"
Raising an eyebrow, Luo Fu said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, "What? Are you going to attack me for Aizen's sake?"
Without hesitation, Coyote Stark shook his head and said, "The matter between you and Aizen-sama should naturally be decided by Aizen-sama. As for me, I'll pass."
Changing the subject, Coyote Stark looked at Inoue Hao, who was fighting in the midst of the Hollows, his body shining with starlight, and said, "Like Aizen-sama, are you also looking for a way to break through the limits of Hollows and Shinigami?"
"You know Aizen well?" Luo Fu looked at Coyote Stark suspiciously.
Clearly, in the future, he would be the Primera Espada in Las Noches, but even though Luo Fu hadn't denied being Aizen's enemy, this guy could still communicate with Luo Fu so harmoniously.
Even Luo Fu couldn't feel any hostility from Coyote Stark.
It had to be admitted that this guy was indeed a strange existence.
But thinking about it carefully, it wasn't surprising.
Coyote Stark had almost reached the pinnacle of Hollows. Even Aizen himself admitted that even without him, Coyote Stark could have reached the level of an Arrancar on his own.
Las Noches may seem to have more Arrancar than can be counted on both hands, but most of these Arrancar were created by Aizen's Hogyoku.
Only Coyote Stark had truly almost reached the pinnacle of Hollows on his own.
At this moment, hearing Luo Fu's question, Coyote Stark smiled and said, "I think no one truly understands Aizen-sama, right?"
"I'm a little curious. Knowing that my position is opposed to Aizen, you're still communicating with me without any hostility. Could it be that you want to betray Aizen?" Luo Fu asked curiously. If Coyote Stark really had the idea of betraying, then Luo Fu wouldn't mind recruiting this guy.
After all, this guy's strength was almost enough to contend with any Captain-level in a one-on-one situation. Of course, people like Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, the Captain-Commander, couldn't be included.
After all, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni was not a Shinigami of the ordinary Captain-level.
"You want to recruit me?" Coyote Stark smiled and said, "If it's a conflict between beings like you and Aizen-sama, I won't participate. I think Aizen-sama shouldn't mind that."
In an instant, Luo Fu understood that although Coyote Stark was nominally Aizen's subordinate, he was more of a cooperative partner with Aizen.
If Luo Fu were to advance into Hueco Mundo like Aizen, then Coyote Stark would most likely not help either side. He would side with whoever wins.
Of course, there was a prerequisite for this: it wasn't that Coyote Stark would make this choice for anyone who entered Hueco Mundo and opposed Aizen, but that the person had to possess the ability to turn Hollows into Arrancar.
Without a doubt, the reason why Coyote Stark's attitude towards Luo Fu was so puzzling was mainly because he saw Inoue Hao with Luo Fu.
In the eyes of others, Inoue Hao, as an Arrancar, was naturally intimidating, but Coyote Stark could see at a glance that Inoue Hao's Arrancar was at the bottom of the barrel even in Las Noches.
The only possibility for him to become an Arrancar was that, like the Hollows in Las Noches, he had been modified by Aizen using special means.
And without a doubt, the only one who could do this was Luo Fu in front of him. After all, Luo Fu had almost admitted that he was Aizen's enemy.
The Espada themselves were special individuals selected by Aizen from countless Arrancar Hollows. Each Espada symbolizes a way of human death.
And Coyote Stark symbolizes loneliness.
The reason why he became Aizen's subordinate was entirely because he saw others who could be called companions in Aizen's place.
Even if, emotionally, almost none of the other Espada had bonds close to companionship with Coyote Stark, all Coyote Stark needed was to satisfy his inner loneliness.
Nodding slightly, Luo Fu changed the subject and said, "Has Aizen already occupied Hueco Mundo?"
Coyote Stark shook his head and said, "Not yet. Barragan hasn't submitted."
Barragan, who possesses the power of aging, could be considered the master of Hueco Mundo to some extent before Aizen entered Hueco Mundo.
However, Barragan's title of King of Hueco Mundo was more illusory, somewhat undeserved both in name and in reality.
But it cannot be denied that Barragan was indeed the strongest in Hueco Mundo before Aizen entered Hueco Mundo.
Unfortunately, Coyote Stark, who had completed Arrancarization on his own, had no way to regard Barragan as his companion.
Luo Fu understood in his heart that it seemed Aizen had only established his own base in Hueco Mundo at this stage. It would not be until he officially betrayed Soul Society that he would truly unify Hueco Mundo.
Aizen was scheming and powerful, and he had created his own Hogyoku. However, he was only the Captain of the Fifth Division of the Gotei 13 in Seireitei. Even if his Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu, had strange effects.
It cannot be denied that unless Aizen intended to expose his identity, he would inevitably have to show his presence in Seireitei from time to time.
On one hand, he was the Captain of the Fifth Division, and on the other hand, he was conquering Hueco Mundo. Aizen could not be all-encompassing. While focusing on one aspect, he would inevitably have to make trade-offs on the other.
And Aizen had only temporarily established the prototype of Las Noches in Hueco Mundo.
The Espada were mostly just a vague concept.
Knowing this, Luo Fu naturally had to speed up his progress in conquering Hueco Mundo as soon as possible, otherwise, he would overturn his previous plans.
Luo Fu was still counting on exposing Aizen and causing him some trouble.
At the very least, he couldn't let Aizen leave Soul Society smoothly and ultimately let Seireitei focus all its attention on targeting Hueco Mundo.
Looking at Coyote Stark, Luo Fu said, "Since you don't intend to participate in the conflict between me and Aizen, then I hope you will avoid Aizen's summons from now on, because Hueco Mundo will soon usher in its master."
Coyote Stark said with some emotion, "I understand. Every Arrancar is hard to come by. I hope that even if you are going to compete with Aizen-sama, don't destroy too many Arrancar."
Luo Fu didn't care about Coyote Stark's persuasion at all, but Coyote Stark's words suddenly reminded him that there was still someone he could recruit in Hueco Mundo.
The former Tres Espada, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. This person was removed from the ranks of the Espada in the future, but that doesn't mean Nelliel's strength was poor. It's just that she was unlucky and was plotted against by other Espada.
Now, the only thing Luo Fu was unsure about was whether Nelliel had already been plotted against and was wandering Hueco Mundo after losing her memory.
"You should know Nelliel, right?" Luo Fu directly asked Coyote Stark.
Coyote Stark looked at Luo Fu in surprise and said, "Are you also here for her?"