"Hitsugaya Toshiro, huh?" Aizen murmured.
"Go call your Vasto Lorde subordinate back, Baraggan. If he's still alive," Aizen said to Baraggan.
"Oh? Aizen-sama thinks Vargas can't handle those Shinigami from the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force?" Baraggan asked, somewhat surprised.
"The newly appointed commander of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force this time is not someone easy to deal with," Aizen said.
"Ara ara, Captain Aizen, are you saying Hitsugaya Toshiro's strength is already enough to handle a Vasto Lorde?" Gin asked Aizen.
"Who knows? As the most talented Shinigami in the Soul Society, he defeated a Captain-level Menos Grande even at Lieutenant-level. Now, at the peak of Captain-level, it's not impossible for him to defeat a Vasto Lorde," Aizen said.
Whether Toshiro, at the peak of Captain-level, could defeat a Vasto Lorde, even Aizen couldn't guess. But he knew Toshiro could at least preserve his life even if he couldn't win.
"Ara ara, truly terrifying. The Soul Society's number one genius, probably much stronger than me by now," Gin remarked.
"Alright, Baraggan, immediately send someone to investigate. If your Vasto Lorde subordinate is still alive, have him return at once," Aizen ordered.
"Yes, Aizen-sama. However, the only Hollow who knew the location of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force went to guide Vargas. So, I don't know their exact location. I only know they've been operating in the outer circle of Hueco Mundo. But the outer circle is vast, and finding Vargas won't be easy," Baraggan replied.
"Then mobilize more Hollows to search. I'll make do with these Hollows for experiments for now," Aizen said.
"Yes, Aizen-sama," Baraggan replied.
…
In the outer circle of Hueco Mundo.
After Toshiro killed Vargas and rested with the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force for a while, he led the Shinigami away from their previous location, starting the work of clearing Hollows. He didn't know Aizen had also come to Hueco Mundo, subdued Baraggan, and become the new ruler of Hueco Mundo.
Ten days later.
The location where Toshiro and Vargas had fought received the arrival of some Hollows sent by Baraggan.
"Look! What's that?" An Adjuchas suddenly shouted to the others.
Hearing him, the other Hollows instinctively looked in the direction he pointed and were instantly stunned.
In the seemingly endless desert ahead, countless ice flowers had suddenly appeared.
"Look, isn't... isn't that Vargas-sama?" One Hollow said fearfully, pointing at Vargas frozen within the ice flowers.
"Vargas-sama is frozen inside!"
"Quick, get Vargas-sama out!"
Seeing Vargas frozen inside, one Hollow immediately stepped forward, wanting to use its claws to break the ice and rescue Vargas.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
However, the moment this Hollow touched the ice flowers, it was instantly frozen.
The other Hollows, seeing this, fearfully backed away from the ice flowers.
"What should we do? Touching these ice flowers causes instant freezing. How can we save Vargas-sama then?"
They didn't know Vargas was already dead, and even if rescued, it would be pointless.
"How about using Cero to shatter the ice flowers?" One Hollow suggested.
"But wouldn't Vargas-sama be shattered too?"
"Probably not. After all, Vargas-sama is a Vasto Lorde!"
"Hmm, let's try it then."
After some discussion, they decided to use Cero to shatter the ice flowers and rescue Vargas.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Beams of Cero blasted towards the ice flowers encasing Vargas.
But to their disbelief, under the barrage of their Cero, the ice flowers remained completely unscathed, showing no signs of cracking!
Of course, this was also because these Hollows weren't strong. The strongest among them was only a Lieutenant-level Adjuchas.
But even if someone powerful shattered the ice flowers, it would be useless. Vargas was already dead. When the ice flowers shattered, Vargas's corpse would shatter with them.
"Let's report back to Baraggan-sama. This is beyond our capabilities."
"Yeah, return to Las Noches and inform Baraggan-sama."
With that, the Hollows hurried back to Las Noches.
Merely touching these ice flowers caused freezing, and Cero had no effect. It showed how formidable the being who created these ice flowers must have been.
…
Las Noches.
Although only ten days had passed, with countless Hollows acting as construction workers, several buildings had already been erected within the previously ruined Las Noches.
The largest one was for Aizen's experiments.
Baraggan, in truth, preferred the original ruined state of Las Noches.
"Baraggan-sama, Aizen-sama, we've found Vargas-sama," An Adjuchas reported to Baraggan and Aizen.
"Oh? Where is he? Didn't he return with you?" Baraggan asked.
"That... Baraggan-sama, Vargas-sama is frozen inside ice flowers. We don't know if he's alive or dead," The Adjuchas said hesitantly.
"What?! Frozen inside ice flowers?" Baraggan asked, puzzled.
"Yes. And we tried to rescue Vargas-sama from the ice flowers, but anyone touching them gets frozen instantly. We couldn't even shatter the ice flowers with our Cero," The Adjuchas replied.
"What?!" Baraggan exclaimed in shock.
"Ice flowers? So it really is Hitsugaya Toshiro?" Aizen said.
Though many possessed ice-type abilities, the only one likely to defeat a Vasto Lorde was Toshiro.
"To think he actually defeated a Vasto Lorde!" Aizen said, somewhat incredulously.
Although Aizen had speculated earlier, now that it was confirmed, he couldn't help but feel surprised.
After all, Aizen himself was a genius… otherwise, he wouldn't possess such immense strength. But now he had to admit Toshiro's talent far surpassed his own.
"Well, whatever. Frozen within Hitsugaya Toshiro's ice flowers, Vargas is likely dead. No need to concern ourselves with him further," Aizen said.
"Baraggan, continue sending people to monitor Hitsugaya Toshiro and the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force's movements. Notify me if there's any news," Aizen ordered Baraggan.