"Ken-chan, Ken-chan! You won again, as expected!" After the fight ended, Yachiru, who had been watching from atop a large boulder in the distance, spread her arms and landed beside Zaraki like a fluttering butterfly.
Zaraki seemed not to hear Yachiru's words, just standing there quietly, looking at Nnoitra lying dead on the ground.
"What's wrong, Ken-chan? You don't look very happy!" Yachiru asked curiously.
"No, it's nothing. Let's go!" Zaraki said after snapping out of it.
"Oh..." Although Yachiru was curious about what Zaraki was thinking, since he didn't volunteer to say it, she wouldn't press further.
"Hey, you three! We don't know when Toshiro will be back, so for now, you'd better come with us!" Zaraki shouted to Rangiku, Nel, and Ashido, who were standing on the roof of a building in the distance.
Hearing Zaraki's words, Rangiku and Ashido exchanged glances, nodded to each other, and then their figures flickered as they ran towards Zaraki.
"Well then... Captain Zaraki, we'll be in your care for now." Rangiku said, holding Nel.
Toshiro and Aizen had gone to fight 'beyond the heavens' of Las Noches, and it was unknown when they would return. So if Rangiku and the others stayed here and didn't follow Zaraki, they might encounter strong enemies like Nnoitra.
And Rangiku's strength was relatively weak... she had no power to fight against an Espada-level opponent. As for Ashido, although he was stronger, he had been severely wounded by Nnoitra.
Although he had improved somewhat after treatment and rest, at most he could barely continue moving and could not fight at all.
As for Nel, she had turned back into a child again and had no combat ability.
Given their situation, if they encountered even a slightly powerful enemy, they could be wiped out. So, their best choice was to temporarily follow Zaraki.
"Alright, let's move on!" Zaraki waved his hand, shouldered his Zanpakuto, and continued advancing deeper into Las Noches, with Yachiru closely following beside him.
As for Rangiku, she also followed with Nel in her arms. Finally, the injured Ashido could only pitifully trail behind, trying hard not to fall behind.
Meanwhile, Mayuri had also defeated the Octava Espada, Szayelaporro Granz.
However, unlike Zaraki and the others, Mayuri did not immediately set off to continue deeper into Las Noches. Instead, he was searching for something in Szayelaporro's palace, which had been reduced to rubble by the battle.
"Um... Captain Kurotsuchi, shouldn't we continue deeper into Las Noches to find where the Hueco Mundo expeditionary force is being held?" Renji couldn't help asking after standing by for a while.
"Hmph! That kind of thing doesn't matter. I have more important things to do now." Mayuri continued rummaging through the ruins.
"Nemu, come here. Move this for me." Mayuri pointed to a pile of rubble and instructed Nemu nearby.
"Yes, Mayuri-sama!" Nemu acknowledged and walked over.
Buzz, buzz, buzz—!!
Nemu's arm suddenly transformed into a drill, drilling into the rubble.
Bang!
After Nemu lifted another huge stone, a storehouse-like structure with a door embedded in it appeared before everyone.
"A door? Why is there a door here? And... the surrounding buildings have collapsed, so why is this place still intact?" Renji asked with some surprise.
"Hmph! Do you even need to ask? When a scientist builds their laboratory, they make it sturdier than anywhere else. Because... it's not a room for expensive experimental equipment, nor a room for staying up late to write papers. It's... a storage warehouse for research materials... gathered from all over, that we least want to be damaged!" Mayuri said, pushing the door with some excitement.
The reason Mayuri did not continue after defeating Szayelaporro, disregarding the lives of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force, and risked being punished by Yamamoto afterwards, was primarily to find Szayelaporro's left behind research materials.
For a mad scientist like Mayuri, the lives of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force could not compare to those precious research materials!
Creak—!!
The door to the warehouse storing the experimental materials gathered by Szayelaporro was opened. Then, two hanged corpses were the first to appear before everyone.
"What?! These are... corpses!!" Renji exclaimed.
"Just as I thought." Mayuri looked at the two corpses and the experimental materials filling the entire warehouse and said in a deep voice.
"Captain Kurotsuchi, whose... whose corpses are these?" Renji couldn't help asking.
"Well, who knows. However... although I don't know their specific identities, they appear to be two Arrancars." Mayuri Kurotsuchi said.
If Toshiro and Sojiro were here, they would recognize these two immediately.
Because these two were precisely the 'three-digit' Arrancars that Toshiro and Sojiro had encountered in the fork: No. 103, Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio, and No. 105, Cirucci Sanderwicci.
"Um... Captain Kurotsuchi, since you've found what you were looking for, don't you think... we should also set off?" Renji asked cautiously.
"Hmph! What's your hurry? Wait until I figure out how to take these things away! They're just the lives of a few Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force Shinigami. How can they compare to these precious experimental materials!!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi snorted coldly in dissatisfaction.
…
"Uuhh..."
Sojiro murmured, then opened his eyes.
"Captain Unohana?!!" Sojiro said in surprise.
Sojiro remembered that he had fought fiercely with the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow, and then lost consciousness.
Although he guessed that Grimmjow should also be incapacitated, he was deep within enemy territory, in Las Noches, surrounded by enemies. Once he lost consciousness, even if he wasn't killed by the enemy, he would be captured.
But he didn't expect that the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes would be an ally from the Gotei 13.
"Third Seat Kusaka, are you alright? How do you feel?" Unohana asked gently.
"I'm fine... ugh!" Just as Sojiro struggled to stand up, he felt a tearing pain in his body.
"It seems that even after treatment, your injuries still need more time to heal before you can move. However... we can't stay here forever..." Unohana frowned, thinking for a moment. "No choice. It seems I'll have to use Minazuki..."
"Minazuki?" Sojiro was stunned upon hearing Unohana's words.
Just then, Unohana suddenly activated her Shikai, and her Zanpakuto transformed into a giant, flat, fish-like creature.
"Go, Minazuki!" At Unohana's command, the giant, flat, fish-like creature flew directly towards Sojiro.
Seeing this, Sojiro suddenly remembered a legend in Soul Society about Unohana's Zanpakuto. His expression changed dramatically, and disregarding his physical pain, he forcibly struggled to stand up. "Wait! Captain Unohana! I can walk on my own! There's no need to trouble..."
"Aaahhh..."
Before Sojiro could finish, he was swallowed in one gulp by the giant, flat, fish-like creature.
"This way, it's the best of both worlds. We don't delay our journey, and we can continue treating Third Seat Kusaka." Unohana said with a smile, looking at Isane beside her. "Alright, Isane, let's move on!"
"Yes!"
Isane said, feeling somewhat creeped out by Unohana's gaze.
While Zaraki, Mayuri, Unohana, and the others either continued moving or stayed put, Aizen, after trapping Toshiro in the dimensional space, returned to Las Noches.