"Shinigami, you—"
Harribel lifted the animal hide that covered the cave entrance, but stopped mid-sentence.
Her emerald green pupils suddenly contracted as she stared in disbelief at the scene before her.
Arata, who had recently collapsed to the ground severely injured, was now completely healed, without a single trace of serious injuries on his body.
What shocked her even more was that the person also wore a white bone mask unique to Hollows.
Even the spiritual pressure dispersing in the air was clearly mixed with the aura of a Hollow, but it wasn't as pure as theirs—it still retained part of a Shinigami's scent.
"What… are you?" Harribel extended her right arm, which transformed into a massive bone sword shaped like an inverted triangle, her tone full of caution.
I only stepped out briefly on patrol, how could such a major change occur in that time?
Arata slowly stood up. Having just made a huge leap in power, he had no intention of hiding anymore. A smile played beneath his mask. "As you can see, I'm a Shinigami."
"Impossible!" Lieutenant Sung-Sun peeked from behind Harribel, her snake-like tail trembling slightly from shock. "How can Shinigami and Hollow powers exist together?!"
Arata didn't respond, but suddenly vanished from his spot.
The next moment, he was already standing in front of Harribel, so fast that even she, as a Vasto Lorde, barely managed to follow him with her eyes.
"Nothing is impossible, just like this." He lightly brushed his fingers across the demon mask on his face, revealing his true face.
Purple-black spiritual pressure flowed from his fingers, bearing the purity of a Shinigami and the savagery of a Hollow.
Harribel's pupils trembled.
She could clearly feel the oppressive aura emanating from the Shinigami in front of her. Although in quantity it may not have reached the level of Baraggan, the king of Hueco Mundo...
In terms of quality, it seemed to surpass all Hollow power she had ever felt.
"Interesting." Harribel suddenly relaxed her stance, and the bone sword in her hand dispersed.
"Lady Harribel?" the three lieutenants behind her looked at her reaction in confusion.
"It's fine. I feel no hostile intent from him." Harribel merely shook her head and explained, then looked at Arata with a trace of curiosity in her eyes. "It seems I've saved someone truly extraordinary."
Arata withdrew the spiritual pressure from his fingertips and instantly returned to the appearance of a weak and harmless Shinigami.
He bowed deeply to those present. "Thank you for saving me. If it weren't for Miss Apacci, I probably wouldn't have lived to wake up."
"Hmph, at least you have some conscience." Apacci curled her lips, the hostility in her eyes largely dispersed due to Arata's gratitude.
Harribel paused to think, then suddenly said, "Shinigami, I have a proposal."
"Go ahead."
"I'll tell you an important piece of information about Hueco Mundo. In return, you have to tell me how you managed to make Shinigami and Hollow powers coexist."
Arata slightly raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Harribel to be interested in that in particular.
"You don't seem like someone who blindly chases after power. Can you tell me why?" Arata asked.
At least according to what is known from the original, she is different from Hollows like Baraggan, who were driven by the desire for power to take revenge on Aizen.
She seems cold and quiet, but in reality is very caring toward her subordinates.
Later she joined Aizen's camp because Aizen saved her and her followers from Baraggan's grasp.
"Power in itself is not important." Harribel shook her head, her voice soft but firm. "But in a place where the strong devour the weak, without power, you cannot protect your precious comrades."
As she spoke, Harribel looked at the three lieutenants behind her, with a trace of worry in her eyes.
Lately, more and more Adjuchas have been coming to challenge them.
Although she is a Vasto Lorde, the pinnacle of existence among Hollows and possesses combat power far greater than ordinary Adjuchas…
Because she holds the belief that she doesn't want to become stronger by devouring others, every time she faced an enemy, she chose not to kill or consume them.
Because of this, while the enemies grew stronger, their own power remained at the same level.
Apacci and the others had even suffered irreversible declines in strength after being wounded multiple times, as they had long stopped devouring their own kind.
Only Harribel herself had managed to maintain the stability of her power.
But she had already realized that relying solely on that strength could not guarantee their safety forever, and that one day, some newly born Vasto Lorde might surpass her.
What then?
Arata nodded in understanding at Harribel's explanation.
He could understand their concern. In the current Hueco Mundo under Baraggan's rule, Hollows like them, who remain rational and uphold the principle of not devouring others, were truly in a difficult position.
"Alright." Arata agreed easily. "But first I want to hear whether your information is worth the price."
Just a moment ago, in the system shop, he had already found an item that could help him break the racial boundary.
[B-rank item: Hogyoku (one-time use)]
[Effect: After use, it can help a living being surpass its own limits, completing the transformation from Shinigami to Hollow or Hollow to Shinigami.]
[Note: Can be gifted, cannot be enhanced.]
[Exchange Conditions: 1998 destiny points/piece]
It was identical to the previous one-time-use divine body transformation item.
Its effect was very simple, to help a living being surpass its own limits.
Price: 1998 destiny points, no discounts.
At the same time, a complete A-rank version of Hogyoku was also available, priced at 9999 destiny points, more than a thousand more than even the Spirit King's Heart.
Although that heart was defective, it still indirectly showed how valuable and powerful the Hogyoku and similar artifacts were.
"Fair enough." Harribel nodded. With a gesture, she signaled to Mila Rose and the others to guard the cave entrance, then lowered her voice and said, "As far as I know, the attack on you earlier wasn't random. Baraggan was persuaded by a Shinigami to send such a large army of Adjuchas."
Arata was momentarily stunned but quickly regained his composure.
Who else at this time could persuade Baraggan except that man in blue?
And the reason?
Most likely because Arata had easily destroyed the Kidō Corps unit Aizen had previously sent, so now he wanted to give him a tougher challenge.
Of course, that was just his personal assumption.
Perhaps Aizen simply took the opportunity to carry out a coordinated operation through Hueco Mundo.
"Your turn." Harribel interrupted his thoughts.
Arata paused for a moment and decided to reveal only part of the truth.
"My situation is rather special. I'm able to wield both Shinigami and Hollow powers simultaneously because my body carries a bloodline that's compatible with various kinds of powers."
He demonstrated by allowing the demon mask to appear and disappear from his face. "In theory, as long as you inject the soul of the opposite type of life into your body and find a balance between the two forces, you can achieve what I have."
"I'm a Shinigami, so I needed a Hollow soul infusion. For you, on the other hand, you'd need a Shinigami soul infusion."
But Arata left out part of the truth.
Although the theory is correct, it's quite extreme. Someone without talent might not be able to reach his level even in a hundred years.
It could even be said that many had died precisely in the stage of soul fusion.
———
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