Aboard the Rose Hunter, Cyrus watched Nelliel and the others return, his gaze settling on the mangled remains Starrk was carrying.
"There wasn't really any way to hold back against him," Starrk explained, unusually willing to justify himself.
"His ability is a pain to deal with."
"Are your abilities something you're born with?"
Cyrus looked away from Baraggan's remains and asked the question almost casually.
"That… I'm not really sure."
Starrk thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.
"My memories from before I became self-aware are pretty vague. By the time I understood what I was and could actually think for myself, I already had this power."
Nelliel nodded repeatedly beside him.
Apparently, her experience had been much the same.
"Interesting."
Cyrus smiled, then gestured for Starrk to put Baraggan down.
"How long until he recovers?"
"He can regenerate, but it isn't High-Speed Regeneration. It'll probably take quite a while."
Starrk lowered what remained of Baraggan onto the deck.
"I see. Then I've got another job for you."
As Cyrus spoke, he looked out across the surrounding desert.
The traces of his earlier battle were still obvious.
Some stretches of sand had melted under the extreme heat and then hardened again into glassy patches after cooling.
"I'll probably be staying here for a while. During that time, I need you to do a few things for me. Once I'm ready to leave, you're free to go back to whatever you were doing before."
"Sure."
Starrk agreed immediately without even asking what the work involved.
Nelliel and Harribel reacted much the same way.
Cyrus raised an eyebrow.
"You don't have any objections?"
Starrk seemed to understand why he was surprised.
"That's just how Hueco Mundo works. You're stronger than us, so what you say carries more weight. Hollows who don't understand when to submit to someone stronger usually don't live long enough to learn the lesson."
"Fair point."
Cyrus nodded in realization.
Hueco Mundo really was that kind of place.
The law of the strong devouring the weak wasn't merely figurative here. Powerful Hollows literally consumed weaker ones to increase their own strength.
Only Hollows like Starrk, Nelliel, and Harribel, who had developed genuine intelligence and identities of their own, could restrain those instincts to some degree.
Even so, they understood the rules of Hueco Mundo better than anyone.
"What about him?"
Starrk pointed toward Baraggan.
"You wouldn't have asked us to bring him back for no reason."
"Leave him like that for now. We'll deal with him once he's recovered enough to talk."
Cyrus glanced down at the ruined Hollow.
"You can take him with you for the time being. Bring him back once he wakes up."
Starrk blinked.
"I can leave?"
"Of course. All of you can."
Cyrus nodded.
"Just come back every so often."
Then he turned and activated the Woods-Woods Fruit.
The Rose Hunter trembled slightly beneath their feet.
Thick, twisting roots erupted from the sand around the ship and spread outward in every direction, churning through the barren ground as they expanded farther and farther away.
Under Starrk and the others' astonished gazes, trees began sprouting from those roots.
They grew at impossible speed.
Within moments, towering trees had risen all around them, their branches spreading wide as greenery swallowed the lifeless desert.
Before long, the entire landscape had changed.
A vast, flourishing forest now stood in the middle of Hueco Mundo's endless sands.
"Can I live here?"
Nelliel suddenly asked.
She stared toward the forest, unable to see its end, her eyes filled with fascination.
Compared with the monotonous desert that covered almost all of Hueco Mundo, a lush green forest was something completely new to her.
"Sure."
Cyrus nodded.
Harribel opened her mouth as though she wanted to ask something, then hesitated.
"You can all find somewhere to stay if you want."
Cyrus waved a hand.
The forest was enormous.
He had only created it to make his own stay in Hueco Mundo more comfortable, so there was more than enough room.
"If that's the case, I'll stay too."
Starrk had no intention of refusing the offer.
He had once lived in the Forest of Menos, but after leaving, he had mostly wandered around without any permanent home.
Compared with almost anywhere else in Hueco Mundo, this place was absurdly pleasant.
"Of course."
Cyrus smiled, looking almost easygoing.
"Just make sure you still do whatever work I give you."
"As long as you're not sending me off to die."
Starrk nodded.
Nelliel and Harribel agreed as well.
Cyrus might be terrifyingly strong, but so far he seemed surprisingly reasonable.
At the very least, none of them felt quite as worried about their future as they had before.
Starrk eventually left with Baraggan.
Nelliel and Harribel departed together as well.
Only after everyone was gone did Baby 5 approach with drinks.
"Lord Cyrus, aren't you going to give them anything else to do?"
She seemed a little confused.
After all, Cyrus had just recruited several powerful subordinates, yet he hadn't actually assigned most of them any immediate work.
"Not yet."
Cyrus sat down and took the glass of freshly squeezed apple juice Baby 5 offered him.
"But having them live here saves me some trouble later. This forest is going to stand out like a lighthouse in a dead world like Hueco Mundo."
He took a sip and continued.
"Most Hollows here operate almost entirely on instinct. Stronger Hollows can control them to some extent, but creatures like that aren't very useful to us. Hollows similar to Starrk and the others, though? Those can definitely be put to work."
Cyrus gave a brief explanation.
Judging by Baby 5's expression, she understood almost none of it.
"I'm mainly setting all this up so negotiations with someone will go more smoothly later."
Cyrus leaned back.
"The only question is when that guy decides to come back."
Cyrus knew his own strengths.
He was not a researcher, nor did he possess the patience or expertise to become one.
If he wanted to truly understand what Hollows and Shinigami were, Aizen was a very convenient choice.
Especially since Aizen was already researching exactly those things for his own purposes.
Of course, Aizen was dangerous.
But after their first encounter, Cyrus was confident he could handle him.
He also intended to visit Soul Society eventually.
After all, there was one Zanpakutō there he very much wanted to see with his own eyes—the Captain-Commander's.
Going there recklessly, however, was another matter entirely.
If a real fight broke out between Cyrus and someone like Yamamoto, there was a very real possibility that Soul Society itself would be destroyed in the process.
With Aizen's assistance, things could become much easier.
"With Lord Cyrus's strength, couldn't you just beat that person and recruit him afterward?"
Baby 5 asked.
Her logic was remarkably consistent.
As far as she was concerned, Cyrus was invincible.
That had been true in the One Piece world, and nothing she had seen since entering this new one had changed her mind.
Even the monsters here were easily handled by him.
So what could possibly exist that Lord Cyrus couldn't defeat?
Cyrus chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair.
"We can't solve everything by beating people up the moment we arrive."
He smiled.
"Besides, there are plenty of powerful people in this world too. Some of them are strong enough that a careless fight could destroy the whole world."
"Yes, Lord Cyrus."
Baby 5 replied with flushed cheeks as Cyrus continued gently patting her head.