"Concede!"
Hearing that calm voice at his ear, Barragan was instantly enraged.
But his gaze swept toward Natsuro and Starrk, who were watching from the side.
Even with his pride, he had no choice but to admit this time, he had lost.
Moreover, Barragan was clearly not the sort of man who would stake his life just for dignity.
After all, if that were the case, then Barragan should have died the moment he first faced Aizen! The fact that he still stood here now was proof that he had already bowed his head once before. His crown had long since been shattered.
"I concede."
The words seemed forced, squeezed out of Barragan's mouth. His gaze toward Ulquiorra burned with killing intent.
But Ulquiorra didn't care in the slightest. Hearing Barragan's surrender, he simply nodded, withdrew his light sword, and the pair of massive black wings behind him vanished, reforming into a blade identical to Natsuro's Meikyō Shisui.
At that moment, Ulquiorra's face was no longer covered by the Hollow mask either. In this battle, he had truly completed the transformation into an Arrancar.
"I've won."
Ulquiorra returned to stand beside Starrk and Natsuro, reporting the fact as if it were some trivial matter, utterly calm.
"Congratulations on advancing another step," Natsuro smiled as he offered his congratulations. As for defeating Barragan, he didn't consider it anything remarkable.
"With this, even Starrk might not necessarily be your match anymore." Natsuro glanced at Starrk.
"Tch, maybe," Starrk shrugged, not offended. He glanced at Ulquiorra, certainly troublesome, but only troublesome. If they were to fight right now, Starrk still had some confidence.
But unlike before Ulquiorra's Arrancar evolution, he no longer had absolute certainty.
Barragan, being ignored so completely, burned with fury inside, but he didn't dare show it.
Natsuro now turned his gaze on Barragan, and immediately Barragan felt a wave of dread.
"Don't be afraid, I just want to run a little experiment." Natsuro smiled, his eyes narrowed. But that smile only made Barragan's heart scream alarms.
Natsuro gripped Meikyō Shisui in one hand and swung it toward Barragan.
In an instant, a dazzling white sword pressure cleaved toward him.
"What!?" Barragan hadn't expected him to suddenly attack, and with such a powerful surge of spiritual energy at that.
Black miasma churned around him, surging forward to swallow the white sword pressure.
This time, however, the sword pressure did not vanish immediately, it kept pressing forward for some distance before its force weakened, and finally it dissipated into the air.
And when it faded, Barragan was revealed, breathing heavily, as though from overusing his ability in such a short time.
"So, only about this much after all?" Natsuro said without surprise.
He had already noticed during Ulquiorra's fight: when Ulquiorra's Cero Oscuras touched Barragan's miasma, it hadn't been erased instantly.
Barragan's black aura required time to age away a substance. In other words, the more spiritual power an attack carried, the longer it took Barragan to dissolve it.
Still, there weren't many who could defeat Barragan by brute-forcing through like this.
After all, Barragan was the King of Hueco Mundo. His spiritual pressure was formidable, few could simply overwhelm him.
But Natsuro was one such person. In fact, he knew of others who could too: Zaraki Kenpachi, Aizen, Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni… and surely the Royal Guard as well, though Natsuro had never met them.
Counting it up, the number wasn't so small after all.
Though, knowing Kenpachi's nature, he'd probably charge straight in for close combat against Barragan, and if he touched that black aura, that would be… troublesome.
Of course, not fatal, but troublesome nonetheless.
In any case, Barragan's ability placed him among the top tiers of power in this world.
"Let's go." Natsuro no longer paid him any mind and left with Starrk and Ulquiorra.
There was no need for further tests. If Barragan went all out, he could probably take a few more sword strikes, but against his Fourth Form (Futen), Barragan had no way to withstand it.
Barragan watched Natsuro's departing back, his eyes filled with shock. It was the first time someone had broken through his power head-on.
Even that detestable Aizen Sōsuke had only defeated him by trickery, using illusions to slaughter his men, then seizing the moment to strike him down. If not for that illusion…
That was why Barragan had always believed that with his ability, he could kill Aizen and reclaim the throne of Hueco Mundo.
But now, Natsuro had crushed him head-on. He finally understood what a difference in spiritual pressure truly meant. Natsuro's pressure was not just one step above, it was on a completely different level.
Barragan's fury melted away.
No, more accurately, for the sake of his own life, he no longer dared to resent someone with such strength.
Only after Natsuro and his companions had fully left did Barragan collapse back onto his throne, wiping at the sweat that didn't exist on his skull, for he had no sweat glands at all.
He began to reflect on Ulquiorra's transformation. After taking on a Shinigami form, the man had clearly grown far stronger.
What was the reason for that?
Meanwhile, Natsuro and the others left Las Noches behind.
Ulquiorra looked at Natsuro's back, recalling the single sword strike that had so easily defeated the opponent he himself had struggled so hard against.
Truthfully, had the battle continued, Ulquiorra had no good way to counter Barragan's ability. His only option would have been to drag it out in a war of attrition.
He had always known Natsuro was strong, but now, he grasped it more clearly than ever.
"Ulquiorra, may I see your zanpakutō?" Natsuro suddenly asked.
Starrk gave a knowing smile. Of course, Natsuro had already asked to examine his weapon before, and now it was Ulquiorra's turn.
"Very well."
What Starrk hadn't expected was that Ulquiorra handed his zanpakutō to him without the slightest hesitation—completely unlike how he himself had acted at the time.
Even Natsuro couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you worried that I might just keep your zanpakutō and never return it? You know that if you lose it, your strength will be permanently diminished."
"But if it's you," Ulquiorra replied, glancing at Natsuro, "even if I didn't want to give it, you could still take it by force. If you don't have that intention, then what's wrong with me giving it to you?"
Natsuro looked at him, a little at a loss for words. You really make a good point, he thought.
Still, it was a good thing. He accepted Ulquiorra's zanpakutō, finally holding in his hands the blade of a true Arrancar.
Soon, he noticed the difference between Ulquiorra's zanpakutō and Starrk's twin pistols.
Ulquiorra's weapon held no extra soul within it, it contained only the Hollow power left behind from his transformation into an Arrancar.
So…
Natsuro fixed his gaze on Ulquiorra. Now, Ulquiorra was practically no different from a Shinigami, only that his zanpakutō was of a different nature.
He still didn't fully understand what kind of soul resided in a Shinigami's zanpakutō, but Ulquiorra's clearly contained Hollow essence.
A Shinigami's Bankai, an Arrancar's Resurrección…
He felt he was close to grasping the truth. He didn't like the feeling of achieving something without understanding how.
What he wanted was to know not only that it is so but also why it is so.
Now, the only real question left was, what exactly is the soul inside a zanpakutō? Is it human? Shinigami? Or Hollow?
He doubted it was Hollow, so most likely it was Shinigami.
To find the answer, he could ask Kisuke Urahara, but Urahara might not tell him. Or…
He could sneak a look into the Daireishokairō (Great Archive) beneath the Central 46 Chambers.
But that place was normally forbidden. Even the Captain-Commander would need Central 46's permission to enter.
The Daireishokairō recorded everything in Soul Society from ancient times to the present. And what was recorded there was independent of the Shinigami's will, it compulsorily stored all events and intelligence of Soul Society.
It was like this: everything Natsuro saw or did in Soul Society would be recorded within it, transmitted there by Natsuro himself.
But that was as much as he knew. He didn't understand the deeper rules or restrictions of the place.
The reason he had never gone there was because the Daireishokairō itself was part of Soul Society. If he went, even that action would be recorded.
There was no way Central 46 would approve his entry, so he could only rely on "unofficial" methods.
The Daireishokairō was overseen by the Tsunayashiro clan, one of the Five Great Noble Houses. Who knew whether they had ways of tracking entry…
If he broke in and was discovered, Central 46 would certainly declare him wanted.
Though he wasn't afraid of Central 46, the ones sent to capture him would be the Gotei 13. And he rather enjoyed his time with the Gotei 13, he had no wish to turn them into enemies.
If he ever did go, it would only be when he had gathered many unanswered questions, questions crucial to his strength. Then, and only then, would it be worth the risk.
"I feel like I may gradually drift further and further from Soul Society," Natsuro thought, sighing. It couldn't be helped, there were just too many rules.
Before, those rules hadn't concerned him, so he ignored them. But now they stood in the way of his path to strength, and that was unacceptable.
After all, his very reason for coming to this world was to become stronger.
And he could already sense that someday he would definitely set foot in the Daireishokairō, meaning that sooner or later, he would be at odds with Soul Society.
Natsuro handed Ulquiorra's zanpakutō back and said, "I've basically accomplished what I came to Hueco Mundo for. It's about time I left."
"Yeah… so the day has finally come, huh," Starrk said, not surprised but a little wistful.
Ulquiorra froze for a moment. He knew Natsuro had come here to grow stronger, but hadn't known he intended to leave.
"Well, I am a Shinigami after all. I can't stay in Hueco Mundo forever. I'll have to return, but I'll probably spend a lot of time in the World of the Living after this," Natsuro mused.
"The World of the Living? Can I go with you?" Ulquiorra asked.
"No. Even though you control your reiatsu better than Starrk, in the World of the Living you'd still be too easily discovered. With spiritual pressure like yours, once you're noticed, the Gotei 13 will certainly pay attention." Natsuro glanced at the two of them, then continued,
"With your current strength, facing the Gotei 13 would only end badly."
He knew Ulquiorra wasn't as powerful as in the original tale. The same was true of Starrk. Though they had become Arrancar, they lacked the Hōgyoku's added power.
Still, this wasn't a big problem. Ulquiorra's upper limit was already unlocked, and his strength would continue to grow over time.
As for Starrk, it depended on whether he had the will to become stronger. If he continued to weaken himself as before, Ulquiorra might very well surpass him.
"So if we completely master our reiatsu, then we'd be able to come to the World of the Living to find you?" Ulquiorra asked after a moment's thought.
"That would be fine, so long as you can completely suppress your reiatsu and keep your identities hidden," Natsuro said, glancing at the half-mask of bone on Ulquiorra's head and the bone collar around Starrk's neck.
"Alright," Ulquiorra nodded.
"Once I leave, will you two keep looking for other companions?" Natsuro asked.
"Yeah. Why not? We've got nothing better to do. It's good to hone ourselves while finding like-minded companions," Starrk replied. Someone like Barragan, with naked ambition written all over him, was clearly not the type they wanted to include.
What they were searching for were people who valued their comrades and could truly get along.
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Currently on Chapter 503 - Natsuro's Choice