"By the way, after Amagai becomes the expeditionary force commander, Ando will take over as the 3rd Corps commander," Toshiro said.
"Yes, Commander Hitsugaya," Ando nodded.
Although he didn't become the commander of the Menos Grande Expeditionary Force, becoming the 3rd Corps commander was a good outcome for Ando.
While the deputy commander of the 1st Corps wasn't lower in status than other corps commanders, he usually just assisted Toshiro, the commander. Becoming the 3rd Corps commander meant leading a corps independently, which was a good alternative.
"Alright, all of you, go back and arrange for those in your respective corps who have earned merits or are due for rotation. In three days, they will return to the Soul Society with me. The Menos Grande Expeditionary Force here will maintain its previous size of around five hundred," Toshiro instructed.
"Yes, Commander Hitsugaya!" they responded.
After they left, only Toshiro remained in the tent.
"Leaving Hueco Mundo in three days?" Toshiro mused.
Although he could leave Hueco Mundo anytime after receiving the Soul Society's orders, arranging personnel for the return, setting up the Senkaimon connecting the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo… that required at least three days.
"What to do these three days? Oh, right. When I came, Shunsui asked me to try and find any news about Ashido," Toshiro suddenly remembered.
"Well, there is a Shinigami named Ashido in the Forest of Menos. I just don't know if he's the one Shunsui is looking for," Toshiro said to himself.
According to Kyoraku, the Ashido he was looking for was the first commander of the Menos Grande Expeditionary Force, who led a campaign to Hueco Mundo several hundred years ago and then disappeared.
The Ashido Toshiro knew was an anime-original character. Whether these two Ashido were the same person was unknown.
"Whatever, I'll just go check," Toshiro decided.
"If it's not the same person, then nothing can be done," Toshiro added somewhat helplessly.
The Ashido Kyoraku knew had been missing for centuries. Kyoraku didn't really hold much hope of finding him, and he just wanted to try, especially since his friend, the 7th Kenpachi, believed until his death that Ashido was still alive.
Afterwards, Toshiro left his tent and found Ando, who was busy.
"Ando, I have some matters to attend to," Toshiro said.
"Now?" Ando asked, surprised.
"Yes," Toshiro nodded.
"But aren't you returning to the Soul Society soon?" Ando replied.
"Returning to the Soul Society is in three days. So, I'll be back within three days," Toshiro explained.
"Alright then. But please hurry back. Don't miss the departure time," Ando advised.
"Mm, I'll be careful," Toshiro nodded.
After leaving the Menos Grande Expeditionary Force camp, Toshiro used Shunkuho to head towards the inner circle of Hueco Mundo. His time in Hueco Mundo was limited, and he had to be quick.
Toshiro ran wildly and soon entered the inner circle. Then, he was stunned by the sight before him.
It wasn't his first time in the inner circle, so the scenery itself wasn't shocking.
What truly shocked Toshiro was the palace in view.
"That's Las Noches!" Toshiro exclaimed in astonishment.
Two years ago, when Toshiro went to Las Noches to find Baraggan, it was still ruins. Although Aizen had ordered renovations, due to the short time, only a few houses were built for Aizen's temporary residence. Overall, it was still a scene of broken walls and debris.
But now, what greeted Toshiro was a vast complex of palaces.
Toshiro had just entered the inner circle from the outer circle, still far from Las Noches at the center. Yet, from this distance, Las Noches appeared so immense. It was hard to imagine how enormous it would look up close.
Then, Toshiro sprinted towards the direction of Las Noches. This time, he wasn't going to Las Noches but needed to find a place near it to enter the Forest of Menos.
To enter the Forest of Menos, you didn't need a specific entrance. The entire underground of Hueco Mundo was the Forest of Menos.
Just find any spot, blast a hole in the ground, and you can enter.
But the Forest of Menos was simply too vast. Finding one person within a few days was nearly impossible.
So, Toshiro could only enter the Forest of Menos from the area where Ichigo, Rukia, and the others entered in the original work. That would increase the chances of encountering Ashido.
Finally, Toshiro stopped about ten kilometers away from Las Noches.
"Hmm? Aizen isn't at Las Noches?" Toshiro used his [Dragon's True Eye] to observe the direction of Las Noches but didn't sense the Reiatsu of Aizen, Gin, or Tosen.
Although ten kilometers away, if those three were present, Toshiro's [Dragon's True Eye] wouldn't fail to detect them.
'It seems Aizen and the other two have returned to the Soul Society. I just don't know when they went back,' Toshiro thought to himself.
Even with Kyoka Suigetsu's hypnotic abilities, if Aizen himself was absent from the Soul Society for long, anomalies might be noticed.
'Whatever. Forget about Aizen and them. I should enter the Forest of Menos first,' Toshiro thought.
Then, Toshiro gathered Reiatsu in his foot and stomped hard on the ground.
Boom!
The ground directly caved in, forming a large hole.
Simultaneously, Toshiro's body began sinking underground.
After passing through a layer of sand and soil, Toshiro's body started plummeting rapidly.
However, Toshiro didn't panic. He simply created a path of Reishi in the air and descended step by step as if walking down stairs.
"Tap!"
Toshiro's foot landed on the ground of the Forest of Menos.
"'Forest of Menos'? Well, it certainly lives up to being called a forest," Toshiro remarked after surveying the surroundings.
The Forest of Menos had many withered, giant trees. These trees were extremely tall, some even piercing through the sandy soil layer above and reaching the surface of Hueco Mundo.