The other end of the Garganta was Hueco Mundo.
A desolate white desert. The air was filled with sparse yet dangerous spirit particles.
This was the home of Hollows, a forbidden land Shinigami usually didn't tread.
Setsuna and Zaraki stood opposite each other, a hundred meters apart.
For ordinary people, this distance was vast. But for the two about to fight, it was too close… close enough to see the burning fighting spirit in each other's eyes.
"Begin," Setsuna said.
Zaraki's response was a battle roar.
Boom!
Both of their Reiatsu erupted simultaneously.
Two utterly different yet equally terrifying Reiatsu collided. The shockwave instantly swept across a dozen kilometers in all directions.
The white desert was overturned. A sandstorm soared into the sky. Even the moon in the sky appeared double under the Reiatsu's distortion.
Hollows wandering in the desert didn't even have time to react before being shredded by the storm generated from the Reiatsu Collision.
Amidst such deadlock, Zaraki suddenly charged out.
No technique, no tactics… just the purest charge.
His Zanpakuto carried the momentum to tear everything apart, cleaving downward head-on.
Where the blade passed, space shattered with a roar.
Fearless, Setsuna met it with iron fists.
"Supreme King's Infusion - Titan's Nova!"
The center of their collision emitted a deafening roar. The shockwave spread from them as the epicenter. Sand dunes for hundreds of kilometers around were flattened.
"Good! You're even stronger than I imagined!" Zaraki's eyes blazed with fighting spirit.
He now fully mastered Shikai and had released the Reiatsu he had always suppressed. According to those Shinigami, he should have restored to first-class Reiryoku, far stronger than a year ago. He had truly worried Setsuna might not keep up with his pace.
"You're not bad either," Setsuna replied with a smile.
He hadn't been idle this past year, frequently coming to Hueco Mundo for 'extra meals'. His soul had been repaired, essentially restoring him to second-class Reiryoku.
Zaraki withdrew his blade, slashing again. The blade traced a perfect arc.
This slash was faster than before, heavier than before. The Reiatsu coiled around the blade had materialized, forming a visible crimson light edge.
Setsuna's left hand pressed down, precisely catching the back of the blade. Following the blade's momentum, he lightly guided it. Zaraki's slash, capable of tearing space, was deflected, striking empty air.
Boom!
The sword energy plowed a massive canyon over a dozen kilometers long into the ground.
Zaraki's blade grew faster and faster, each slash quicker than the last, heavier than the last.
His swordsmanship had no pattern, no form… just the most primitive, most violent hacking.
But this very purity gave his blade a nearly rule-like destructive power.
Setsuna, meanwhile, dismantled Zaraki's onslaught like a skilled butcher dissecting an ox.
Parry, deflect, dissipate, counterattack… his movements were simplified to the extreme, yet terrifyingly precise.
Every slash of Zaraki's was perfectly neutralized by him. And each of his counterattacks, even just a light tap, forced Zaraki to defend with full strength.
The two were like mobile natural disasters. Wherever they fought, the desert there was devastated. Terrifying Reiatsu Storms swept across the areas.
If their earlier Reiatsu Collision only shredded nearby Hollows, now, even Gillian and Adjuchas-class Menos Grande would be instantly torn apart within the Reiatsu Storms generated by their battle.
"Truly monsters!" The 3rd Division's Captain said with difficulty, 'Was the 11th Division a division that bred monsters?'
Whether Kuruyashiki, Azashiro, or these two monsters vying for [Kenpachi]… their strengths surpassed his.
"And they still don't know Bankai," Kyoraku's tone was faint, making all the Captains' hearts jump.
Bankai typically boosted Reiatsu five to tenfold.
Though Kuruyashiki and Azashiro were strong, they already possessed Bankai, making qualitative leaps in strength difficult.
But these two monsters, relying on Shikai alone, possessed strength surpassing most Shinigami's Captains.
When they attained Bankai, it was hard to imagine how powerful they would become.
…
Meanwhile, deep within Las Noches, upon the bone throne.
Baraggan was using his eyes burning with dark blue flames to gaze at the Adjuchas-class Menos Grande trembling before the hall.
"My King..." The scorpion-shaped Adjuchas's voice trembled. "Two Shinigami are fighting in the White Sand Desert northwest of Hueco Mundo. Their battle's aftermath has already killed many Menos Grande."
Baraggan emitted an angry sound. "I haven't invaded the Soul Society yet, and these Shinigami dare invade Hueco Mundo instead! Absolutely unforgivable!"
As the King of Hueco Mundo, he had ruled this desolate land for millennia.
Shinigami? For him, they're mere cowards hiding in the Seireitei.
"Lead the way," Baraggan rose from his throne. His tall skeletal frame cast a terrifying shadow in the palace. "I will personally tear apart those reckless invaders, adorn my throne with their souls."
"Yes!" The Adjuchas felt pardoned, hurriedly turning to lead the way.
When Baraggan followed his subordinate to the northwest, the scene before him shocked him.
The White Sand Desert spanning thousands of kilometers was gone. In its place was a bottomless abyss, its edges still collapsing and expanding.
And above the abyss, the sky was torn apart.
Countless black spatial cracks covered the sky like a spiderweb. Those cracks constantly opened, closed, spread, interwove. Each opening and closing devoured everything around.
Reiatsu Storms raged between the cracks, forming tornadoes connecting the sky and earth.
Occasionally, Menos Grande unable to dodge in time were swept into the storms or grazed by spatial cracks, instantly shredded, annihilated.
And at the center of that apocalyptic scene, two figures were fighting, completely ignoring the surrounding terrifying storms.
What chilled Baraggan even more was… On the other side of the abyss, dozens of kilometers from the battlefield, stood over a dozen Shinigami.
They raised barriers, blocking the battle's aftermath shockwaves.
Though distant, Baraggan could clearly sense each of those dozen-plus individuals was terrifyingly strong.
The weakest among them could probably easily slay an Adjuchas-class Menos Grande.
And the old man at the forefront even made him feel pressure.
"These Shinigami..." Baraggan's voice wavered for the first time. "Did they come in a group to invade Hueco Mundo?"
"My King!" The Adjuchas leading pointed toward the battlefield center. "It's those two! King, quickly kill them! If this continues, Hueco Mundo will be torn apart by them..."
Baraggan fell silent.
He stared at that Adjuchas-class Menos Grande, the dark blue flames in his eye sockets flickering violently.
For a moment, he wanted to slap this idiot to death.
'Kill? How?'
However confident he was, he couldn't possibly fight so many powerful Shinigami alone.
Baraggan had no doubt: if he charged in now, he'd become a pile of broken bones within three minutes at most.
"Hmm," Baraggan slowly spoke, his voice regaining its usual majesty. "I suddenly have a new epiphany."
The Adjuchas was stunned. "My King?"
Baraggan turned, facing away from the apocalyptic scene. "I sense my [Decay] power is about to break through a bottleneck. Acting now would instead miss the opportunity."
He strode toward Las Noches, steps steady, as if the earlier shock never happened.
"I shall return to the palace first. After I enter seclusion and traom, after breaking through..." Baraggan's voice drifted in the wind. "Then I'll deal with these Shinigami who don't know their place."