Boom!
The Reishi sands of Hueco Mundo were blasted apart by a powerful force, sending a pillar of light piercing into the sky. Within this terrifying explosion, several figures separated!
"Tsk...!"
Grimmjow emerged from the dense blasts, the wounds on his body beginning to recover at high speed. This wasn't just his High-Speed Regeneration; it was the ability of the "jacket" he wore! This black demonic jacket seemed to contain a super-powered self-repair ability. Enhanced by these demonic factors, a Hollow who already possessed regenerative powers became even more terrifying. Normal High-Speed Regeneration could only fix severed limbs, but he could now regenerate internal organs!
"This guy is a real freak!"
Candice was covered in dust as she watched Grimmjow's fully restored body. "Fighting here is a disadvantage for us. Let's get out of here."
They weren't necessarily afraid of Grimmjow—there was only one of him—but this was Hueco Mundo. If they kept fighting, who knew if more powerful Hollows would rush over? This was enemy territory, and since they weren't here to kill but to find someone, there was no need to keep this up.
However, Bambietta was now genuinely furious. Hearing Candice's words, she stomped her foot in anger. "What are you saying, idiot! I can't just run away! I have to take this guy down!"
"But taking him down won't be easy..."
"That's why I'm using Vollständig."
"Eh?!"
"Are you serious?"
"Is it really necessary to use Vollständig?"
"Quiet! If you're scared, then run!" The Reiatsu around Bambietta suddenly became terrifying, and in an instant, scorching Reishi coalesced behind her!
Crimson wings spread behind her, and a star-shaped halo appeared above her head. Floating in the air, she looked down at the beast-like Grimmjow and flashed a cruel smile: "Naughty little kitten, I'm going to make you disappear!"
She raised her hand. As it dropped, countless Reishi bombs were released from the tips of her wings!
!
Grimmjow had never seen such a fighting style before. How did she grow wings and a halo mid-fight? And the jump in power was ridiculous! Even with his significantly boosted strength, Grimmjow was forced to dodge frantically as the dense rain of Reishi bombs fell like flaming meteors.
Boom boom boom boom boom!!!!
The Reishi sands exploded continuously, the terrifying impact accompanied by searing waves of heat. In the blink of an eye, the desert was left in ruins.
"Cough, cough..."
Candice and the other two coughed through the rising dust, complaining, "If you kill him like this, the Shinigami will definitely notice!"
Grimmjow wasn't an ordinary Hollow. Killing common Hollows was one thing—the numbers were low and the quality was poor, so the Shinigami might not catch on. But judging by Grimmjow's massive Reiatsu, he was likely a collection of millions or even tens of millions of souls. If he were killed, even if the three worlds didn't experience a major earthquake, there would be a noticeable boundary erosion.
"He's the one who pissed me off!" Bambietta said coldly. "And even if we run, do you think we can? He's faster than us. If we don't finish him with Vollständig, what if he keeps following us? Besides, he's not dead yet!"
From the area hit by the bombs, a black shadow suddenly darted out!
Boom!
Resurrección: Man-Beast Form!
Grimmjow had also entered his strongest state, fully unleashing the power of his Devil Fruit along with his Resurrección. The powers of the Panther King and the Saber-toothed Tiger combined, sending a powerful Reiatsu spiraling into the sky like a tornado, the violent energy stimulating the surroundings!
Grimmjow was instantly in front of Bambietta!
!
Bambietta's pupils dilated! He was faster! Much faster than before! She immediately launched Reishi bombs, but a powerful spiritual flash had already condensed in Grimmjow's hand! Under this terrifying Reiatsu, even space itself distorted!
Gran Rey Cero!
Boom!
The point-blank Gran Rey Cero swallowed Bambietta's bombs and her body behind them. Bambietta's ability doesn't just create bombs; it turns Reishi into bombs, making it an unblockable defense-ignoring ability. But with Grimmjow firing a Gran Rey Cero at point-blank range, even if she detonated the energy, she would still be caught in the blast. Moreover, Grimmjow fired so quickly that she didn't even have time to trigger the explosion before being blasted from the sky into the ground!
Boom!
A massive force exploded on the ground, sending up a pillar of flame. The terrifying blast even set the surrounding Reishi sands on fire!
"!"
The three below were horrified. They thought Grimmjow had already been using his full power; they hadn't expected him to get even stronger! This was wrong—how could a Hollow be this powerful?
"Stop thinking about killing him. We need to leave and report the situation in Hueco Mundo to His Majesty." Candice broke into a cold sweat. She wasn't just afraid; she felt Hueco Mundo was too bizarre. First, being hunted by Hollows for two days straight, and now encountering such a weirdly powerful Great Hollow—it felt like someone was targeting them from the shadows.
"Ha! None of you are going anywhere!"
Grimmjow was truly in love with this power. Although he knew it wouldn't last—once he took off the "clothes," his strength would drop—the Devil Fruit was in his stomach, and the boost it gave was significant. This was his first time going all out; he wasn't about to let the enemies escape.
Meninas and Candice watched Grimmjow charge toward them, their hearts tightening as they prepared to release their Vollständig!
Poof!
But just as they were about to fight with everything they had, their bodies suddenly went limp, and they coughed up a mouthful of blood!
!!!
Their pupils dilated as they pitched forward, nearly collapsing onto the white sand!
?
Grimmjow, about to attack, stopped in confusion. He was here to fight, but these two clearly had no combat capability left.
"Wh... what happened?" Candice knelt, clutching her chest, her face pale and her voice weak.
"What's wrong with you two?" Gigi, who hadn't participated much in the fight, seemed fine, but seeing Bambi defeated and the other two collapse, she panicked.
"It... it seems like Hollow poison." Meninas was even weaker, nearly prone on the ground. She said painfully, "Quick, use Sklaverei..."
Hollow poison is the natural enemy of Quincies; even a tiny amount is lethal. However, the Empire had researched this for years and found a way to neutralize it: Quincy Vollständig. In the Vollständig state, they have absolute control over Reishi. Through Sklaverei, they can purify Hollow Reishi into harmless particles and absorb them. Unless they are heavily wounded by a Hollow while off-guard, normal Hollow poison shouldn't affect them in Vollständig.
But right now, it wasn't working. This poison was defying all logic! They hadn't even been hurt—they had been using Blut Vene to protect themselves while fighting Grimmjow. How could they have been poisoned? And even if they were, the effect shouldn't be this extreme!
"Because it's not poison, but Hollowfication."
Suddenly, a voice reached their ears.
"?!"
They were shocked and tried to see who it was, but they lacked even the strength to turn their heads. Grimmjow, however, spoke the name.
"Lord... Aizen."
Indeed, it was Aizen! Grimmjow grit his teeth as Aizen arrived. He had been ordered to fight them, but it was clear now that Aizen had a deeper motive—Grimmjow was just the distraction to draw their attention. This feeling of being used made Grimmjow very unhappy. Of course, unhappy as he was, he knew when to stay humble, and he was genuinely grateful to Aizen for the power boost.
"Aizen... it's you..." Candice, now face-down on the sand, felt a sudden palpitation—it felt like her heart skipped a massive beat, and her soul shuddered!
"Ugh..." Though she couldn't move, she could feel something eroding her chest. This was the Hollowfication Aizen mentioned! Being in the shadows, they knew Aizen's true nature and that he had performed Hollowfication experiments on Shinigami. But when he experimented on Hirako and the others, it was in the Rukongai, so the Empire hadn't seen the specifics. Now, they had fallen for it too!
But... how did Aizen find them?!
"It seems Hollowfication acting on a Quincy is far more violent than on a Shinigami," Aizen said softly. "But do not worry. You are precious research materials; you will not die."
Generally, the end result of Hollowfication is "Soul Suicide" because the boundaries of the soul are broken. Initially, it's the boundary between Quincy and Hollow, but eventually, the boundary between the soul and the outside world breaks, causing the soul to merge with the environment and vanish completely!
Aizen had studied the Hollowfication of Shinigami and the Arrancarization of Hollows for years. With the Visored as samples, his mastery was extremely high. Regarding Arrancarization, he could already mass-produce them to create his Arrancar army. So, while he hadn't achieved 100% perfection, controlling the progress was simple.
These four Quincies were rare samples—possibly unique—so Aizen intended to keep them. Bambietta, because she was using Vollständig, had purified both the poison and the Hollowfication factors, so she would be studied as a pure Quincy. Candice and Meninas, having combat power, were Hollowfied to incapacitate them easily. Finally, there was Gigi; Aizen had implanted Shinigami factors in her. Unlike the extreme opposition of Quincies and Hollows, the reaction between Shinigami and Quincies, while also opposite, wasn't as immediate. These four represented three cases: Pure Quincy, Hollowfied Quincy, and Shinigami-fied Quincy—allowing Aizen to conduct three types of research.
"Wh... what are you going to do?" Gigi looked at Aizen, swallowing hard. From the shadows, they knew how terrifying he was.
Aizen gave a slight smile. "Relax, you are useful for now. I'll have to ask you to come with me."
With this, his deal with Keiko was essentially complete. Devil Fruits... were indeed good things. He had been observing the fight between Grimmjow and the Quincies from the shadows, recording all the data.
"...Don't go too far!" Gigi looked at Aizen with uncontrollable fear. "If His Majesty finds out you've taken us, he won't forgive you!"
"Is that so? Actually, you are quite lucky. Other Quincies won't even get the chance to be studied by me," Aizen said softly. "It seems there are other presences in Hueco Mundo I hadn't noticed before."
...
On the other side, Harald looked at the two fallen Quincies and said deeply, "Is it over?"
Erensig looked at the two as well. These were also members of the Sternritter: Driscoll Berci (O - The Overkill) and Äs Nödt (F - The Fear). While Aizen was handling the Bambies, he and Harald had taken these two out. He was fine leaving the Bambies to Aizen because Aizen needed to study them and wouldn't kill them. But he truly needed to kill some Sternritters.
"I will take them away," Erensig said.
He was going to take these two to the One Piece world before killing them. That way, he could extract the blood of Yhwach from within them! Just like he had with the Lloyd brothers!