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Above the Karakura Town model in the Human World.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, new friends have appeared, haven't they?"
Kyōraku Shunsui laughed with a frivolous tone, but his gaze was filled with solemnity.
Looking out, four giant rifts appeared in the void, with Aizen Sōsuke, Tōsen Kaname, and Ichimaru Gin, the three renegade Captains, standing in the middle rift.
In the rift to the left of Aizen and the others were four female Arrancar. Kyōraku Shunsui was not unfamiliar with the one leading them; she was one of the Espada who had previously attacked Ishikawa. Ishikawa's intelligence report contained her name and ability information, and Kyōraku Shunsui had also felt the power of her spiritual pressure before.
Third Espada - Harribel.
The three behind her were likely her Fracción.
In the rift next to Harribel stood a lone male Arrancar, exuding powerful spiritual pressure. Kyōraku Shunsui also had information on him.
Fourth Espada - Ulquiorra Cifer.
Kyōraku Shunsui's gaze shifted to the two individuals who emerged from the last rift.
These two were the 'new friends' he spoke of. Kyōraku Shunsui had initially thought that Baraggan, who appeared last time, would be here. For this, they had even discussed it beforehand in a Captains' meeting, trying to find a way to counter his abilities, but in the end, they only came up with some containment methods, not true counters.
Baraggan's absence made everyone breathe a sigh of relief, but also left them feeling uneasy.
Because Baraggan's ability was simply too dangerous, his presence in Hueco Mundo was incredibly perilous for the Captains heading there.
Whether it was Byakuya, Captain Zaraki, or Mayuri Kurotsuchi, all three of them would find it very difficult to contend with Baraggan.
Especially Captain Zaraki...
It wasn't that he thought Captain Zaraki was weak; his power was well-known. As long as there was something to cut, no one believed Captain Zaraki would lose to an opponent.
But that Baraggan was precisely the kind of guy who couldn't be cut at all, and one couldn't even get close to him.
Moreover...
Compared to Baraggan, the combination of the decadent uncle and the young loli in front of him actually made Kyōraku Shunsui feel more troublesome.
The Eighth Squad's duty was to collect all sorts of intelligence. Although Kyōraku Shunsui usually acted in a carefree manner, he was very serious about intelligence gathering. After each battle, he would personally seek out Ishikawa to collect and assess information, then submit appropriate countermeasures at the Captains' meeting.
Therefore, he had information on almost all the Espada and had proposed many countermeasures.
But there was one Espada whose information Kyōraku Shunsui did not possess.
That was...
The First Espada!
Neither its name nor its abilities.
To the Soul Society, the opponent was a complete unknown.
"Although it's a new face, the spiritual pressure isn't unfamiliar."
Ukitake, who was beside him, spoke, "That Hollow Flash that blocked Commander Yamamoto back then, judging by the spiritual pressure, should have been emitted by this one."
"Three Espada, three Captains?"
Unlike Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake, who were trying to figure out Starrk's origins, Soi Fon simply made a direct comparison of numbers.
Their side had six Captain-level individuals: Commander Yamamoto, herself, Kyōraku Shunsui, Ukitake, Komamura Sajin, and Hitsugaya Tōshirō.
The numbers were essentially even.
As for their Vice-Captains, eight had come here. Four of them were responsible for guarding the four corner transfer pillars: Ikkaku Madarame, Ayasegawa Yumichika, Hisagi Shuuhei, and Kira Iziru.
The remaining four Vice-Captains were Ōmaeda Marechiyo, Matsumoto Rangiku, Izaemon Sho, and Chōjirō Sasakibe.
However, Chōjirō Sasakibe was responsible for guarding the barrier and could not participate in the battle.
So, only seven could participate in the battle.
In terms of numbers, their side had a significant advantage.
However, Soi Fon also knew very well that although the Espada had suffered many setbacks at Ishikawa's hands, it wasn't because they were weak, but because Ishikawa's strength was terrifyingly powerful.
In terms of strength, the Espada were generally stronger than the Captains of the Gotei 13.
The numerical advantage would not be of much help.
The rifts in the void gradually closed. Aizen's gaze swept over the Gotei 13 members in front of him, and the purple crystal-like pupil on his forehead glowed slightly.
"Many old friends have come. Should I say, 'Long time no see?'"
As soon as he finished speaking, time seemed to freeze.
In the sky, clouds rolled back.
A wave of energy, without any warning, spread out.
Terrifying pressure descended upon everyone present.
He merely stood there, causing the void to twist as if under a mist, as if the world itself could not bear his existence.
He wore a light smile and spoke in a gentle tone, yet a shadow of death enveloped the minds of everyone except Commander Yamamoto.
Cold sweat dripped down her forehead. Soi Fon looked at Aizen, and her Zanpakuto began to tremble at that instant. Having undergone rigorous training, she would not easily feel fear, but the instinct of her spiritual body anticipating collapse was something she could not suppress.
If even the Captains were like this, the Vice-Captains were naturally even worse.
"Has Ishikawa not come?"
Aizen's voice reached everyone's ears, "I was quite looking forward to seeing him here."
"But never mind."
"Anyway, after I eliminate you all, I will naturally encounter him when I go to the Soul Society to create the King's Key."
Boom—!
Blazing flames shot up into the sky, and the temperature of the entire area instantly soared.
"Retreat!"
The old reprimand, though cold, was like a fire in winter to the ears of the Gotei 13 members, dispelling their chill.
At this moment, everyone broke free from Aizen's terrifying pressure.
"Jōkaku Enjō!"
With a swing of his flame-engulfed Zanpakuto, towering flames erupted, and a wave of heat swept past, directly engulfing Aizen and the other two in a wall of fire.
"There's no need to fear; they are merely rebellious traitors!"
Commander Yamamoto sheathed his sword, his gaze stern as he said:
"Aizen and the others cannot cross this wall of fire for a short time. Now..."
His wrinkled eyelids slowly opened, and terrifying killing intent and heat descended upon all the Arrancar:
"Go and annihilate them all!"
"Old man, you're really hot-headed."
Kyōraku Shunsui twirled the brim of his hat, self-deprecatingly saying, "Looks like I shouldn't drink. I'm already this old, and I almost felt like going to the bathroom just now."
As Commander Yamamoto made his move, the atmosphere of the entire area instantly became incredibly heavy.
The decisive battle was on the verge of breaking out!
...
Hueco Mundo · Fifth Tower.
"Play with me."
"You seem to be able to grow taller, why don't you?"
"Where are your wings? I have wings too, you know."
"Elephant, elephant, why is your nose so long."
"..."
Rukia looked strangely at the open space in front of the Fifth Tower. Looking out, the flat ground in front of the tower was filled with various 'infant' type Arrancar. Most of them were humanoid infants, but there were also some beast-type infants mixed in. At this moment, these infants were playing with great delight.
The six individuals with powerful spiritual pressure were completely engulfed by these hundreds of children.
Picaro's fighting style could only be described as utterly chaotic. Rather than fighting... it was more like playing.
Pulling, tugging, dragging, kicking, biting...
Their movements were incredibly simple, but these simple actions, under the tide-like flow of people, left the six individuals completely helpless.
Moreover, they particularly liked the features of the Arrancar in their Cero. Among them, the humanoid griffon who had just entered Cero was forcibly torn off its wings by dozens of Picaro and had its crimson feathers continuously plucked from its body to be used as ornaments stuck on their little heads.
On the other side, the huge body of the mammoth was pressed to the ground by Picaro, its head propped up to form a slide-like arc with its enormous trunk. Several Picaro slid down from the top, having a great time.
Rukia's mouth twitched slightly, and she couldn't help but ask Cirucci beside her:
"...Are they usually like this?"
"No, they are usually very well-behaved," Cirucci said, watching the Picaro play, a loving smile on her face, even though at this moment, those innocent faces were more or less stained with the blood of their 'playthings'...
"..." Rukia.
She was quite certain that 'well-behaved' in Hueco Mundo and 'well-behaved' in Soul Society must have two different meanings.
Because not only Cirucci, but even Miss Roka, who seemed emotionless beside her, had a sparkle in her eyes when looking at those Picaro, as if she really wanted to grab a few to cuddle.
She had actually felt sorry for these little devils earlier.
This made Rukia feel speechless about her past self just a few minutes ago. Now, she felt more pity for those six Fracción who hadn't even had their names spoken.
The screams gradually faded. In just a few minutes...
The six Arrancar, who had been so powerful and arrogant earlier, had vanished from their original spot.
And those children who had been wailing earlier still had tear stains on their faces, smiling incredibly happily and innocently, provided that...
One ignored the blood and shredded flesh under their innocent smiles.
"Gone?"
"Why did you bite him, Dou Guai Ni?"
"Didn't you bite him too?"
"I bit his nose, not his neck."
"Bu Hao Chi..."
"What now?"
"What else can we do? Go find the next one."
"Ah, right, there's also the old skeleton."
"..."
Having reached a consensus, the Picaro all looked towards the tightly shut gate of the Fifth Tower.
This scene made Cirucci's expression change, and she quickly said:
"Wait..."
However, her words were not yet finished.
The Picaro on the flat ground all opened their mouths towards the Fifth Tower.
"Hollow Flash!"
"Hollow Flash!"
"Hollow Flash!"
"..."
Dense, varying in power, all sorts of Ceros erupted simultaneously.
Among them, many weaker Picaro couldn't emit a Hollow Flash, and although they shouted the words, what they actually emitted were tiny Hollow Bullets...
But so many Ceros converging together still had enough power to pulverize everything.
Rumble—!
Almost at the instant the Ceros made contact with the Fifth Tower, the dozens of meters tall building collapsed, turning into endless dust.
Slap~!
Cirucci appeared behind a Picaro and slapped the back of its head.
"Huh?"
The struck Picaro looked at Cirucci with teary eyes, bewildered, and said, "Why did you hit me?"
"I told you, we're here to rescue someone!!"
Cirucci scolded with a dark face, looking up at the Fifth Tower, which had been reduced to nothing. Her eye twitched. She had felt Orihime was inside earlier... Now the tower was gone... She didn't know what had happened to Orihime.
"Oh, right, a big sister came."
"I know, I know... I secretly peeked at Cirucci's place, and it's a big sister with super big 'pecs', looks really strong."
"Idiot, those aren't 'pecs'?
"What are they called? Bosom? Never mind, anyway, much bigger than Cirucci's."
"..."
Cirucci's gaze shifted to the 'very articulate' little girl.
The other Picaro, seeing this, quickly covered the little girl's mouth and pulled her aside, whispering:
"You can't say things like that."
"Why?"
"Cirucci will go crazy!"
Hey, hey, hey!!
Rukia looked at the group of Picaro, her pretty face turning as dark as a pot bottom. What were these little brats doing?
Would Inoue be alright?
If she had known these little devils were so unreliable, she would have let her elder brother stay behind first.
Not long ago, Byakuya seemed to have detected something and suddenly left here, heading into the distance.
That direction was precisely where Cirucci had previously said the Tenth Espada and Captain Zaraki were fighting.
And just then, Cirucci, standing amidst the Picaro, suddenly spoke:
"Quiet."
The Picaro's mutual complaints instantly ceased, and they all followed Cirucci's gaze.
The dust gradually dispersed. The original location of the Fifth Tower had now become a flat ground.
But...
Above that flat ground, there was a raised platform, and on the platform was a chair.
Cirucci looked at the chair and couldn't help but curl her lips, because that chair was not from the Fifth Tower, but...
The throne symbolizing the Lord of Hueco Mundo, Aizen's throne!
An old man wearing a crown sat high on the throne, propping his face with one hand, his eyes slowly opening after the dust cleared.
"Welcome to..."
The old man slowly spoke, his voice filled with majesty:
"My Las Noches!"
"Lord Aizen only asked you to temporarily oversee Las Noches, didn't he?"
Cirucci said mockingly, "When did it become your Las Noches?"
"From the very beginning!"
A murderous glint flashed in Baraggan's eyes as he looked at Cirucci, but it wasn't because of Cirucci, but because of the words 'Lord Aizen' that she had spoken.
"Heh heh, if Aizen were here, and you still had the courage to say that, then perhaps I really would acknowledge you, the eliminated king!"
Cirucci shook her head, turned to look at a corner of the platform, and waved her hand:
"Orihime, we've come to pick you up."
Looking over, Orihime was currently tied to a corner of the platform. From the ropes on her body and the bone-like gag in her mouth, it was clear that she was not tied up by Aizen or Starrk.
It was Baraggan who had his Fracción do it, likely because he found Orihime troublesome.
Buzz~
Almost as soon as the words fell, Cirucci, who had waved her hand, vanished from her spot.
Boom~
A giant hand of black flames formed, reaching directly towards Orihime's location.
However...
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap!
One after another, tiny figures grew wings and crashed into the black flames like moths to a flame.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones=1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr | 16 novels being updated, I can't read all comments