"You finally came."
In Hueco Mundo, Kurosaki Isshin stopped atop a white dune, watching Zaraki Kenpachi sprinting ahead, and said helplessly, "You vanished all of a sudden. That's against protocol."
Seeing Isshin suddenly appear in front of him, Zaraki grinned. "Hah, you want me to creep around like those cowards and 'scout carefully'?!"
Yachiru was still perched on Kenpachi's shoulder. She'd been the one guiding his direction just now.
Ever since the Gotei 13 entered Hueco Mundo, they'd been searching for Kisuke Urahara's whereabouts.
But to Zaraki Kenpachi, they were far too slow. They wanted to establish a temporary base in Hueco Mundo first and then search outward.
Zaraki felt that by the time they finished all that, he'd already have found the enemy's lair.
The first place he thought of was where he'd fought the Menos Grande that used Cero. It didn't look any different from anywhere else, but since a Menos Grande had taken the initiative to show itself there last time, and that strange bull-headed Hollow had been nearby, there had to be something unusual about the spot.
When it came to tracking the enemy, Kenpachi's beast-like instincts were keener than the other captains'.
And after their previous collaboration, Shiba Isshin had come to understand Zaraki's personality quite a bit. When Zaraki was absent from the temporary base and even the Eleventh Division didn't know his whereabouts, Isshin knew Zaraki must have gone off on his own.
Isshin was no fool. He knew Zaraki would head for the place where they last saw that strange Arrancar and search the surrounding area.
So he arrived there ahead of time to wait. He didn't expect it would take several days for Zaraki to show up.
No need to think too hard—he obviously got lost.
In Seireitei, Zaraki is the king of getting lost; in a place like Hueco Mundo, all the more so.
"Don't get me wrong. On this point, I actually agree with you," Shiba Isshin rested his Zanpakuto on his shoulder. "Things are bad in Seireitei. Kisuke Urahara has everyone on edge. I want to end this farce quickly too."
"So this time, I'm endorsing your approach."
"Huh?" Zaraki said with displeasure. "No matter what you think, the enemy's boss is my prey!"
"Relax. I'm not arguing with you," Isshin said, then added, "By the way, you're a captain at least—practice your reishi sensing more. The direction you were going just now is exactly opposite from the way we went last time."
Isshin hopped down from the dune, his expression tightening. "Let's go. There's a very unusual, very powerful reishi over there…"
"Looks like we chose the right direction this time."
…
After a few days, Angra Mainyu gradually woke from his evolution.
After devouring the remaining two boxes of Soul King fragments, he gained tremendous spiritual pressure; plus the thirty pieces from before, he had now reached the realm of a Vasto Lorde.
When he first split off, he had only been a Menos Grande—not even a Gillian—but in a short time he became a Vasto Lorde. That's the allure of the Soul King fragments.
He had digested seventy to eighty percent of their power; the remaining twenty percent could not be fully assimilated in a short time.
Best to burn through it by fierce combat—pushing himself to the limit to digest that spiritual energy.
At this moment, his body swelled again, doubling in size. The entire Negar Ruins seemed completely wrapped by his true form—the black liquid.
As the black liquid contracted, Angra Mainyu's body took shape. The mask on his face shattered further, leaving only a white shard on his left cheek.
In a sense, a Hollow's mask reflects how much power has been unleashed. Compared to Adjuchas-grade Arrancar, Vasto Lorde-grade Arrancar have much less mask remaining.
Top Vasto Lorde like Starrk had almost no mask left at all.
"If I keep growing, will I really become an ocean one day?"
Yoshio wondered.
As his internal power grew, the black mire grew as well. If he grew stronger—supremely strong—could his body cover the entire planet?
That would truly be All the World's Evil.
But having just completed his evolution, he quickly turned his gaze south.
He sensed two extremely powerful reishi approaching. Judging by their signatures, they should be Zaraki Kenpachi and Shiba Isshin.
Those two…
Were they coming to cause trouble?
He knew the reishi he released during evolution would attract some Hollows, but once they touched the black sludge, they'd be absorbed and devoured by him.
He didn't expect Shinigami to be drawn as well.
Good. Now he could test his strength.
Normally, Yoshio would let Angra go; his temperament disliked pointless fights.
But this time, he wanted to test the power of this avatar.
He triggered Sonido and in an instant left the Negar Ruins.
When he appeared again, two Shinigami in black uniforms, wearing captain's haori, stood before him.
Isshin and Zaraki reacted differently upon seeing Angra: Isshin was shocked, while Zaraki eagerly raised his Zanpakuto and slashed at Yoshio!
No hesitation. No pause. Zaraki leapt high and struck!
"Shinigami…"
Angra used Sonido to evade Zaraki's blow and widened the distance.
"Shinigami daring to come to Hueco Mundo—and two Captain-class at that. Interesting."
Controlling Angra, Yoshio said evenly, "No wonder there's only a little girl and an old man left in Seireitei."
?!
Isshin's pupils shrank. He shouted, "You went to Seireitei?!"
Because Angra had previously gone to Seireitei and was seen by Yamamoto, Yoshio didn't hide it and admitted openly.
Yoshio smiled faintly, clapped his hands, and said, "If Shinigami can come to Hueco Mundo, naturally Hollows can go to Seireitei."
"What did you do?!" Isshin's face changed.
At that time, there were only two captains in Seireitei!
"Nonsense!"
Before Yoshio could reply, Zaraki had already torn off his eyepatch, unleashing a torrent of reishi. With an earth-shattering roar, his body exploded forward like a cannonball, blasting toward Yoshio!
Facing this bizarre Arrancar, Zaraki chose to remove the eyepatch and release all his reishi!
At full release, Zaraki's speed and strength were astonishing!
He's much stronger than when he last came to Hueco Mundo.
Yoshio assessed instantly.
Last time, Zaraki likely hadn't fought for a long while.
But this time, after crossing blades with Starrk, White, and Isshin, some of Zaraki's power was unsealed.
No matter. If he were too weak, it wouldn't be interesting!
As the blade neared, Yoshio drew his Zanpakuto to counter.
Boom!
In an instant, the two blades collided with a thunderous crash. Vast spiritual pressure burst outward from the clash, as if a violent explosion had gone off around them. Reishi sand was blasted into the air, then rained down!
"Idiot!"
Isshin couldn't help but curse under his breath. He had so many questions to ask this Arrancar, but Zaraki was a beast!
Isshin moved at once to stop the fight, if only to learn whether this strange Menos Grande was related to Urahara.
But as Isshin reached the field, Zaraki slashed at him!
"Are you insane?!"
Isshin snapped at Zaraki.
"I think you're the crazy one," Zaraki said coolly. "I never said I'd let you interfere in my fight. Whatever you want to ask, ask when I'm done. For now, watch Yachiru."
And with that, Zaraki launched at Yoshio again.
"Well said."
Watching Zaraki charge, Yoshio smiled. "In battle, unrelated people should be removed."
"Ah?! Isn't that obvious?!" Golden reishi flared from Zaraki, and he seemed to turn into a streak of golden light as he advanced.
A black radiance surged from Yoshio. Black and light—together, it felt contradictory, but it truly was a black light.
Pitch-black reishi and golden reishi met like sworn enemies, clashing across Hueco Mundo. Each strike tore the ground apart like rotten wood!
"Gran Rey Cero."
Another clash drove both back a step. At the same time, Yoshio raised his free hand and released a Gran Rey Cero.
Gran Rey Cero is an advanced form of Cero, used only by the Espada—powerful enough to warp space!
As reishi condensed, space around them twisted. With both moving back, the energy lanced toward Zaraki.
Boom!
With a deafening blast, the Gran Rey Cero engulfed Zaraki. A black beam shot skyward, its power smashing into the Shinigami's body.
An ordinary captain would have lost combat ability under two such blows.
But Zaraki's toughness far exceeded a typical Shinigami's. Even after taking Yoshio's Gran Rey Cero head-on, his body was merely scorched; blood flowed from his left shoulder as if burned.
It looked ghastly, yet his movements were unaffected. He still closed on Yoshio at extreme speed.
Yoshio parried Zaraki's strike with a reverse guard. The sand underfoot collapsed, and the black sludge at his feet surged alive, spewing countless threads that coiled around Zaraki's body.
"Hm?"
Zaraki hadn't expected this move. The black threads wrapped him, restricting his movements.
And in that instant, Yoshio's blade ran Zaraki through!
Squelch!
The thrust pierced Kenpachi's abdomen!
"You… are you underestimating me?"
Even after stabbing through Zaraki, no joy of victory showed on Yoshio's face.
He withdrew the blade, and a jet of blood burst from Kenpachi's abdomen. Before it could spray onto Yoshio's face, the black sludge devoured it.
So no blood stained Yoshio. He merely stepped back twice and said:
"Next time you fight me, at least go all out."
"…What did you say?" Even with his abdomen pierced, Zaraki still stood. Clutching the wound, he looked at Yoshio. "You're saying I held back?"
"Exactly," Yoshio said coldly. "You're too weak right now. I don't know why you've become like this, but next time bring your real power before you come for me."
Yoshio didn't continue the fight.
He knew that Isshin wasn't alone out there.
If it were only Isshin, he could fight Zaraki for three hundred rounds, but at least two others were watching.
One was Mayuri Kurotsuchi's surveillance spirit bug on Isshin.
The other…
Yoshio glanced at Retsu Unohana approaching in the distance.
If Zaraki was here, how could Unohana not be nearby?
At his current strength, he probably wasn't a match for the first Kenpachi, so it was wise to stop.
From the moment he heard Aizen say that the Fourth Division would head to Hueco Mundo along with the Eighth through Thirteenth Divisions, he knew Unohana must be looking for Zaraki.
"Captain Unohana?"
Seeing her approach, Isshin was surprised.
Unohana arrived, but her gaze wasn't on Zaraki. She looked at Yoshio. "Arrancar, how should we address you?"
Yoshio thought for a moment and gave his name.
"Angra Mainyu."
"And you, Shinigami?"