THE WAY WITHOUT ENEMIES

With tea served, Aizen has Tosen project an image of Ichigo, Sado, and Uryu crossing the desert. Grimmjow tenses at Ichigo's face while the other Espada shrug the intruders off as mere children, prompting Aizen to warn them not to underestimate a group that once stormed Soul Society and stood against the Gotei 13. When Zommari notes a fourth Ryoka is absent, Ulquiorra identifies her as Orihime. Grimmjow rises to go exterminate the trespassers, but Aizen bids him sit, then crushes him to his knees with a wave of spiritual pressure, calmly noting that they now understand one another before dismissing the Espada to their palaces.

Outside, an exhausted Ichigo flops onto the sand, grumbling that Las Noches never seems to draw nearer and wondering if it is a mirage. Uryu begins to explain the physics of it before Ichigo cuts him off, though the topic soon turns useful.

Spotting a small burrowing Hollow, Ichigo asks what such creatures live on when Hollows feed on human souls. Uryu reasons that Hueco Mundo's air is so saturated with spirit particles that lesser Hollows sustain themselves simply by breathing, and reveals that a Quincy's strength scales with that same density, meaning he can fight even harder here than in the living world or Soul Society. He cautions, though, that the concentration aids the Arrancar too, and that any Hollow they meet is likely far stronger than it looks.

The chapter is part of volume 28, BARON'S LECTURE FULL-COURSE. It ends with Bawabawa erupting from the sand in pursuit of a frightened, weeping Nel Tu alongside Pesche and Dondochakka, and Ichigo resolving to help her before sorting out what she is. The events were adapted into episode 145 of the anime.