Renji was currently facing Yammy.
"Brat, tell me your name."
"Abarai Renji, Lieutenant of the Sixth Division."
"A Lieutenant, huh? I hope you're not trash. I am Yammy Llargo."
"Roar, Zabimaru!"
Renji wasted no words, immediately activating Shikai, extending Zabimaru to attack Yammy.
Yammy looked disdainful, reaching out and grabbing Zabimaru. It couldn't even break his defense. With a powerful tug, Renji was flung away.
"Is that all you've got?"
Renji stood up and retracted Zabimaru.
"Damn it!"
His Zabimaru was clearly at a disadvantage against this opponent.
Renji unleashed his Reiatsu, abandoning long-range attacks. He used Shunpo to close the distance and slashed at Yammy with his sword.
Yammy raised his arm to block. Blood seeped from his arm, but Zabimaru could not advance another inch.
"That has some power, but it's still not enough."
Yammy threw a punch.
Bang!
Renji was blasted away, crashing violently into the wall of the tall building behind him, leaving a massive crater.
"Is this the extent of a Lieutenant's power? Looks like you're trash too." Yammy said while picking his ear with his pinky finger.
The cut on his arm wasn't even considered a wound to him.
"Don't look down on me!"
"Bankai: Hihio Zabimaru!"
Rumble!
The tall building collapsed under the shockwave of Renji's Reiatsu.
Zabimaru transformed into a massive creature, encircling Renji like a giant python, its tail held firmly in his hand.
"Hah!"
He swung Zabimaru, and the enormous snake head opened its maw and lunged at Yammy.
Yammy grabbed the snake's upper and lower jaws with both hands, his body sliding backward continuously from the impact. He exerted force with both hands, intending to use brute strength to rip Renji away, just like before.
"Trying that again? It won't work."
Under Renji's control, Zabimaru disconnected segment by segment, frustrating Yammy's plan.
"Tch!"
Yammy casually tossed the snake head aside.
"Higa Zekkō!"
All the floating segments of the snake converged on Yammy, and the bone spikes on the joints pierced his body. Instantly, Yammy was covered in blood.
"Arghhh!"
Yammy became enraged. His body gradually swelled, and the next moment, Reiatsu rapidly concentrated in his mouth.
Cero!
Seeing this, Renji recalled Zabimaru's segments, restoring it to its original form.
"Hikotsu Taihou!"
Reiatsu also condensed in the snake's mouth. The two red "cannonballs" collided, resulting in a massive explosion, and a shockwave of white sand enveloped the entire battlefield.
"I'm absolutely going to slaughter you!" Yammy roared furiously and drew his Zanpakuto.
"Be enraged!"
Yammy's body continuously swelled, growing larger and larger, and the number "10" on his shoulder transformed into a "0." He looked like a giant and had twelve legs.
"The number disappeared? What's going on?"
Renji looked at the "0" on Yammy's shoulder, confused. All he knew was that Yammy grew larger whenever he got angry.
"Who said the numbers for the ten Espada go from 1 to 10? The Espada are numbered from 0 to 9, and I am the 0th Espada, Yammy Llargo."
With that, Yammy threw a punch, and Renji hastily used Shunpo to evade.
Boom!
The punch struck the desert, kicking up a massive cloud of sand.
Renji once again manipulated Zabimaru to attack Yammy, the snake letting out a roar.
"Boring."
Yammy scattered Zabimaru with a single punch. But the next moment, the snake's segments connected with red Reiryoku, tightly wrapping around Yammy and immobilizing him.
Renji flashed in front of Yammy and raised his hand, aiming at Yammy's head.
"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast. Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle."
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
"Don't get cocky!"
Yammy unleashed another Cero from his mouth, but its destructive power was greater than before. The red Cero annihilated the lightning-infused cannonball and surged toward Renji.
"What?"
Renji couldn't dodge in time and was struck by the Cero, leaving him covered in wounds and bleeding profusely as he collapsed onto the ground.
—
On the other side, Shin sensed the dramatic drop in Renji's Reiatsu and knew he might die, so he rushed over to rescue him.
On the battlefield, Yammy looked at the fallen Renji, prepared to finish him off with a punch, but he struck nothing but air.
Shin held Renji, looked at Yammy, and said while healing him, "Cero Espada Yammy?"
[MissionTriggered: Kill the Enraged Yammy]
[Reward: One Random Weapon]
A weapon?
Although Shin was already very comfortable using Nietono no Shana, he wouldn't mind having another one.
Seeing that it was the human from before who had saved his prey, Yammy roared furiously, "Human, I've wanted to kill you for a long time!"
Yammy continuously hammered punches at Shin, but in Shin's view, while Yammy's punches had decent power, they were far too slow. Aided by the Wings of Crimson, Yammy failed to land a single hit.
"Are you just going to keep hiding like a rat?"
"Heh heh."
Shin set Renji down to the side.
"Fuga."
Shin rubbed his hands together, forming a ball of intense flames that transformed into a flaming bow, from which he fired a fiery arrow.
"This kind of thing?"
Yammy looked at the small fiery arrow and scoffed disdainfully. He opened his left hand, intending to crush it.
"Arghhhhhh!"
But the next moment, he let out a painful howl.
The flaming arrow exploded in his palm. The intense fire consumed his entire left hand and continued to spread up his arm.
Yammy's Hierro was like paper. The flames scorched his flesh and melted his bones.
Shin said, "If you were smart enough, you wouldn't have tried to block that arrow head-on."
"Damn it!"
Yammy grabbed his left arm with his right hand and forcefully ripped the entire limb off at the joint. A large amount of blood sprayed out from the severed stump, like a fountain.
"Arghhhhhh!"
"You damned human, I am absolutely going to kill you!"
As Yammy's rage accumulated, a gigantic pillar of red Reiatsu erupted from him, shooting straight up into the sky, and his body continued to grow.
Watching Yammy continue to swell and expand, Shin shook his head.
Yammy's ability was remarkable—the angrier he got, the stronger he became.
However, his brain wasn't very effective. He was easily dominated by rage during combat. Just like with that last arrow, anyone else would have sensed the immense energy contained within the seemingly insignificant projectile and wouldn't have tried to block it head-on like he did.
Furthermore, in a real fight, no one would wait for him to slowly get angrier and watch him constantly grow stronger.
Shin hadn't continued attacking because he was unsure of the exact criteria for Yammy's "rage" transformation for the mission to be valid and was waiting for him to enter the next stage.
As the red Reiatsu gradually subsided, Yammy evolved into a new form.
Yammy now resembled a demon from hell, with a pair of massive horns growing from his back. His body was several times larger than before, his twelve legs had merged into two larger beast legs, and even his wounds had completely healed.
"Die now, human!"