"What are you doing?"
Rukia saw Yoshio cleaning up the remains and frowned.
"These are precious experimental materials; don't waste them."
Yoshio looked at the test tube in his hand, watching the liquid gradually sink into the reishi sand, and shook his head regretfully.
"I'll leave this guy to you."
Yoshio tossed Renji in front of Rukia and said, "How long can you maintain yourself in the outside world now?"
Dark Rukia was, after all, just Rukia's sub-personality; she couldn't suppress her main personality.
Her awakening was largely due to the spiritual pressure of the second-generation Hollow White stimulating the first-generation Hollow White within her, the resonance of the two spiritual pressures awakening Dark Rukia from the depths of her consciousness and taking control of her body.
Of course, this state couldn't last forever.
"I feel like I can maintain it for at most a day," Rukia said. "Any longer, and this foolish main body might notice something."
Yoshio continued, "Then, there's still time. Do you want to come back to Las Noches with me?"
"Las Noches? Is that your base in Hueco Mundo? Is Kisuke Urahara really behind you all?"
"Alright, you'll find out about these things sooner or later. Let's head back to Las Noches first."
Yoshio took Rukia and the unconscious Renji, hurrying toward Las Noches.
…
On the way, Yoshio couldn't help but ask, "Hey, Rukia..."
He turned to look at Rukia walking beside him and said, "As a Hollow, you have a Hollow hole in your abdomen, but why no mask?"
"..." Rukia didn't speak at first, seeming to think. After a while, she slowly said:
"Didn't I tell you? Shinigami is my main body..."
"Other Hollows, when they reach the mid-level Menos Grande stage, their bodies shrink and take on various forms, mainly animal forms."
"And my 'animal form'... is 'Shinigami.' So, it's not that I don't have a mask; Rukia Kuchiki's face is my mask!"
Dark Rukia said with a hint of self-mockery, "I'm just a Hollow wearing Rukia Kuchiki's skin."
As she spoke, she touched her face; though it looked like flesh, in her hand, it was a mask.
"Hōgyoku... what a strange tool."
Yoshio said softly.
But he knew this wasn't just the work of the Hōgyoku alone.
The Hōgyoku, Hollow White, the 'The Animals' he generated with Souls Ability, and even some inherent traits of Rukia Kuchiki herself—these four factors combined to produce a special effect, leading to Dark Rukia's birth.
In terms of complexity, this was even more intricate than the theatrical version's Dark Rukia's origin.
The two hadn't had time to think further when they already arrived at Las Noches.
"Inside Hueco Mundo... there's actually such a structure?"
When she saw Las Noches, Rukia was also shocked.
After all, in the Shinigami's impression, Hueco Mundo was just a barren wasteland, not a place that could nurture civilization.
However, this vast complex of buildings showed that things were far from simple.
During Yoshio's tenure in charge of Las Noches, he had also made some modifications to the area, making it indeed more prosperous than the previous Las Noches.
"This couldn't have been created by you all, right?"
Rukia looked at Yoshio doubtfully.
Yoshio shook his head: "Wasn't there ruins where you were before? Don't underestimate Hueco Mundo. Over millions of years, civilizations have been lost within Hueco Mundo."
"As long as there's intelligence, no matter how flawed the monster's intellect, no matter how bloodthirsty or brutal it is, groups will eventually unite."
"Either the strong dominate the weak, or they band together against the strong. In any case, on a timescale of millions of years, anything you think is unimaginable is possible."
"..."
Rukia didn't speak and entered Las Noches with Yoshio.
Most of the Hollows in Las Noches looked at Yoshio with vigilant or even resentful eyes. An ordinary person might feel uncomfortable in such an atmosphere, but Yoshio seemed indifferent.
"Walking with you feels a bit unsafe."
Rukia said, looking at Yoshio's back.
She wondered what this guy had done to these Hollows to make them hate him so much?
Yoshio smiled bitterly: "Whatever, it's not my problem."
Aizen had directly given the King of Hueco Mundo a "treat, behead, beat the dog" treatment, crushing the king these people worshiped into mud. How could these Hollows who revered Baraggan as a god endure it?
If Aizen could use the Hōgyoku to turn these Hollows into Arrancars and grant them great power, that would be fine. But now Aizen had barely appeared, and these Hollows felt no gratitude toward him.
Even he, who came with Aizen, had become a target.
But it was just some unfriendly stares; if they really wanted to do something, they couldn't.
If anyone truly rebelled, Yoshio would activate Destructive Death Ray.
Yoshio led Rukia to his room and said, "Rest here for now; I'm going out to handle some things."
Then he added, "Roka Paramia!"
Shortly after he spoke, a spider-type Menos Grande appeared.
Yoshio said, "This is my friend; take good care of them."
"Yes, master." Roka Paramia nodded respectfully.
Then Yoshio headed to Szayelaporro's laboratory.
As soon as he reached the door, the lab door opened.
From inside came Szayelaporro's somewhat impatient voice: "What do you want now, Shinigami?"
"Providing some research materials."
Yoshio said, "But it seems you're not welcoming me right now, so forget it."
With that, he shrugged and turned to leave.
"Wait!!"
Szayelaporro heard Yoshio's words and quickly said, "What research materials can you provide?"
Yoshio took out a jar of the liquid that had burst from Aaroniero's body, contained in a reagent bottle, and said, "This stuff, but I have a condition."
"Hm?" Szayelaporro hadn't shown himself yet. From inside the lab, he asked, "What condition?"
"I want to share all your research results on this jar of liquid."
Szayelaporro didn't answer. Instead, a tentacle extended from inside and wrapped around the reagent bottle.
After a while, there was a surprised "Oh" from inside, and then Szayelaporro said, "Come back for it in a month; don't disturb me during this time."