On the way to the center of Las Noches, where Aizen was waiting, I walked leisurely, taking in the sights of my surroundings.
In my original world, I had been so busy that I never had the chance to visit Hueco Mundo, let alone Las Noches.
Since I never got to see the pure, original version of Hueco Mundo—the one I hadn't interfered with—I decided to use this opportunity to sightsee.
You might ask if the guys dragging me along didn't give me any looks.
Ha! Have you ever seen me live my life worrying about what others think?
In nearly a million years of living, the only time I've ever felt self-conscious was when I forgot Unohana's birthday because of work and she got incredibly pissed off.
And besides, if I don't care, what can they even do?
Even if they try to stab or slash me, only their blades will chip. Even if they fire a Cero, my clothes won't even get a scorch mark.
It seems these guys truly felt the gap between us after seeing that, because they've stopped messing with me entirely.
Now, they've become free tour guides who answer whenever I ask and lead me wherever I want to go.
"Who manages that sky over there? It even has a sun."
"…It is the sky managed by Lord Aizen. That sun is Lord Aizen's eye."
"So he can see everywhere the light touches, huh."
A guy aiming to become a true god certainly does things differently, even going as far as making a sun….
Recalling the distant past when the Soul King created the sun and moon with a mere flick of his hand, I chuckled and looked up at the sky.
"It seems he feels like a god, looking down on others in this tiny miniature garden. But he should stop. The world is vast. Far vaster than he thinks."
"What did you…!"
"How can a man who can't even govern all of Hueco Mundo, and instead hides under this tiny lid to play pretend-god in a model garden, ever hope to understand the principles of ruling the world?"
My words must have scratched his pride quite deeply. With a heavy grind-grind-grind sound, the internal structure of Las Noches began to shift.
"Lord Aizen is furious…!"
"We're all going to die…"
The skull-headed soldiers standing right next to me began trembling violently the moment the structure started changing. They immediately fell to their knees and bowed their heads in terror.
Meanwhile, the haphazardly scattered buildings moved aside, and a hidden path revealed itself, forming a straight corridor.
Needless to say, I could sense thirteen presences at the end of that long passage.
The ten Arrancars, the Espada, and three Soul Reapers.
Funny enough, the way the thirteen of them were positioned resembled the Gotei 13 they had betrayed.
The only difference was whether they were standing or sitting behind desks.
"I suppose he's telling me to say whatever I have to say to his face."
He pretends otherwise, but his pride is truly something else.
I only gave him a bit of advice because he reminded me of the Aizen from my world, yet he got his pride wounded and summoned me immediately. What a brat.
I chuckled and strode down the hallway.
The skull-headed soldiers followed behind me, trembling with fear.
From their perspective, it must feel like being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
"Poor bastards."
As I sighed and shook my head, the gazes of the skeleton soldiers poked at my back.
They were probably thinking, 'Whose fault do you think it is that we're about to die?'
'It is my fault, I guess.'
Hmm… since I feel a bit sorry, maybe I'll protect them while I'm here.
With that thought in mind, as the end of the round table came into view, a red light flew in my direction.
It wasn't aimed at me, but at the skeleton soldiers following behind me. It was a Cero.
The soldiers behind me were silent, either having accepted their deaths or being unaware that a Cero was even coming.
"You should treasure your subordinates."
However, the moment that light reached my vicinity, it dispersed like a drop of ink in water and vanished.
I heard a sharp intake of breath from behind me. They were clearly shocked.
"How did he… a Cero fired by an Espada…"
"No matter what fancy names like 'Cero' you give it, it's just gathering Spiritual Pressure and firing it. What's so special about that?"
No matter how dark a drop of dye is, once it falls into the ocean, it becomes nothing.
It might maintain its color for a brief moment, but eventually, it has no choice but to become part of the ocean and disappear.
As I trudged further inside, I saw three familiar faces and ten others I had only seen in manga and anime.
"What a colorful cast."
You might wonder what I was doing living in the Bleach world without even seeing the Arrancars' faces, but the premise is wrong to begin with.
In the world I came from, Aizen only went as far as the second stage of his Hollowfication experiments.
After that, there was no need for him to continue those experiments at all.
I had no reason to go to Hueco Mundo, and once Aizen joined my side, the Hollowfication project was scrapped.
Consequently, the Espada and the very existence of Arrancars became things that simply didn't exist in my world.
Even the Vasto Lorde that might have remained in Hueco Mundo were all dead by the time I finished my work.
Why? Because the 'Hollow Must Die Man,' Azashiro Soya, had merged with Hueco Mundo.
I caught a glimpse when I was clearing out Hell before killing the Soul King; it had only been a few years, but he had already merged with 70% of Hueco Mundo.
Disgusting, really.
Anyway, for that reason, seeing the Espada for the first time since being reincarnated into the Bleach world felt novel.
It was like saying, 'Ah, so this is what they look like with a reality patch.'
The actual appearance of the blonde, tanned lady—who was incredibly popular in the original work—was stunning.
Stunning in many ways.
As I watched these rare faces with a lethargic expression, Aizen—whose face was so familiar it was getting a bit tiresome—addressed me with a low chuckle.
"Welcome to my castle."
'Why is he acting so smug after illegally renovating a building he stole from someone else?'
I almost muttered my complaints like I would in my original world, but I managed to hold back and just shrugged.
"The welcome here is a bit rough."
"It was intended as punishment for an unworthy subordinate. I didn't realize you would get caught up in it. Are you hurt?"
"I'm a bit too sturdy to be hurt by that. But thanks for the concern."
Unlike me, who replied with a chuckle, Aizen's face might have been smiling, but his eyes were sharp and he looked quite displeased.
If Aizen was displeased, imagine how his subordinates felt.
Tosen Kaname and Ulquiorra, who were genuinely loyal to Aizen even in the original work, stepped forward in Aizen's stead, raising their momentum.
"Lord Aizen. I shall cut down this blasphemous individual."
"Give the order."
In contrast to those two, Ichimaru Gin just watched the situation with a grin, and Grimmjow observed quietly, looking like he was watching something entertaining.
Aizen raised his hand silently to restrain the two and spoke with a relaxed expression.
"Judging by your confidence, you seem quite certain of your skills. You appear to rely on your ability to decompose and absorb Spirit Particles, but it seems you do not know your own limits."
"You figured that out in such a short time?"
"It was a simple matter."
I guess Aizen's bloated ego is the same in every world.
Thinking that, I replied nonchalantly.
"So? Now that you've figured it out, what are you going to do about it?"
"What else? I shall suggest surrender. I believe your ability would be of great help to my future plans."
"Hmm. What about the benefits? What's the salary and which day of the month is payday? Does the company have insurance? When is lunch break? Are there snacks in the pantry?"
With every condition I spat out, Aizen's expression grew colder.
In inverse proportion, Ichimaru's grin grew even wider.
"You bast…! Are you mocking Lord Aizen's benevolence?!"
Tosen, finally unable to endure, barked at me, but I simply shrugged in response.
At that sight, Aizen chuckled low and swept back his bangs.
"No matter how strong you may be, displaying such ease before these numbers… that is arrogance."
"It's confidence if you can take responsibility for it; it's arrogance if you can't."
"In that case, we shall have to verify whether it is arrogance or confidence from this moment forward."
Somehow, the atmosphere shifted toward another intense fight.
If this were my original world, I would have given him a stern lecture with the mindset of taking responsibility, but since that doesn't work here, I can't really touch him.
After a moment of thought, I decided to just take all the hits.
I figured they'd eventually tire themselves out and give up after hitting me enough.
No, wait. Let's think of it the other way. As long as it's not a fight, it's fine, right?
So, can't I just call it 'discipline' or 'teaching'?
Having reached a conclusion, I crossed my arms and looked around at the crowd.
"What are you doing? Aren't you going to come at me?"
Calling it a fight was a stretch since I was just taking the hits unilaterally, but anyway, the moment it 'started,' all ten Espada fired their Ceros at me simultaneously.
Since they were firing their own compressed Spiritual Pressure, the colors were all different, making me feel like I was at a light festival.
And naturally, those Ceros were decomposed and vanished before they could even touch me.
"That's blinding."
"Ha! What an interesting ability!! Then, let's see if you can absorb this too!!"
Grimmjow, the most bellicose of them, drew his Zanpakuto and charged at me before Aizen could even speak.
A beast-like slash, infused with nothing but power and speed, swung toward my neck.
Screeeech—!!
"Wh-what…!?"
"When you swing a sword, you need to relax your shoulders. Try again."
I raised my fist to give him a thump on the head but hesitated.
Oh, right. I decided to just take the hits.
'Well, this much should be fine.'
I hooked my middle finger over my thumb and gave Grimmjow a flick to the forehead.
CRACK!!
With a sound like something splitting, Grimmjow flew past Aizen before he could even make a sound.
BOOM!!!Crumble…
A wall of Las Noches collapsed as dust billowed up, and silence fell over the meeting room.
Everyone looked like they couldn't believe their eyes.
It was understandable, since one of the ten chosen Espada had been knocked unconscious and sent flying by a single finger-flick.
But that's none of my business, is it?
"Next."
If you aren't coming, I'm coming to you.