"Shoot to kill, Shinsō."
Before the Shikai command was even finished, a streak of silver light tore through the heavy Reiatsu, violently piercing through a section of Ulquiorra Cifer's forearm.
The terrifying destructive power directly severed it, grinding it into dust.
"Roar, Tenken!"
At the same time, Komamura Sajin let out a deafening roar from behind. The moment he raised his sword-wielding right claw high, a massive amount of Reishi emerged and condensed above his head, instantly transforming into a giant armored right arm.
It was over ten meters long, an incredibly exaggerated display of power.
Even more absurdly, the giant hand gripped a massive blade tens of meters long in its palm.
The moment it left the ground, the desert roared, and the silver sand trembled.
In terms of pure Shikai destructive power alone, very few could compare to Komamura Sajin.
Unfortunately, their opponent was Ulquiorra Cifer, the 4th Espada.
The two of them, who hadn't had quite enough time to grow, still seemed out of their depth against this Vasto Lorde who had achieved his Arrancar evolution long ago.
Ulquiorra raised his right hand horizontally, barely blocking the impact of the falling giant blade.
Simultaneously, blood spurted from his left arm, writhing and intertwining like a living creature. In the blink of an eye, a complete arm grew back.
As the Arrancar most adept at High-Speed Regeneration among the Espada, Ulquiorra's recovery ability was second only to Arturo.
Moreover, under Naraku Sora's guidance, he had further developed this ability.
Now, even if his heart was completely pierced through, he could grow a new one.
Unless his head was blown off, it was impossible for him to die.
Watching Tenken creak under the strain, a trace of powerlessness welled up in Komamura Sajin's heart.
An opponent like this was simply beyond their ability to handle.
Unfortunately, this stoic monster was the only one left on the battlefield. They had no choice but to fight, forcing themselves to press on.
Right now, they could only hope that the others would defeat their opponents early and establish an advantage, so they could tag in and take over this lopsided battle.
"Your performance is quite good."
Ulquiorra said expressionlessly, "But it seems your training time was too short, causing your strength to fall behind your opponent."
"Therefore, I have no interest in you."
As his words fell, he suddenly burst forth with Sonído, instantly appearing right in front of Komamura Sajin. His cold green eyes stared straight at the large dog.
"What?!"
"Imprison, Murciélago!"
Heavy Reiatsu poured out like a tidal wave, directly submerging Komamura Sajin within it.
A Reishi spear slashed downward, directly leaving gruesome, bone-deep wounds on that burly physique.
Komamura Sajin's eyes went hollow, and he collapsed powerlessly.
After finishing all this, Ulquiorra turned around and calmly looked at Ichimaru Gin, who was situated at the edge of the battlefield.
"Now, it is your turn."
"Are you kidding me?!"
Hirako Shinji struggled to hold on under Tier Harribel's furious assault. After just a few clashes, he was driven away from the center of the battlefield.
Even though he unleashed his full combat power in his Shikai state, he was still at a disadvantage.
Long before their departure, the members of the Department of Research and Development had familiarized them with the concept of Arrancar.
As a state that broke the upper limits of a Menos Grande, any Menos that took on a human-like appearance would experience a terrifying boost in combat power.
A slightly weaker Soul Reaper Captain would find it very difficult to be their match.
But Hirako Shinji never expected that this so-called 'slightly weaker Soul Reaper Captain' would actually turn out to be himself.
This was simply unacceptable.
The two fought as they moved, until they were completely far away from the battlefield and could no longer see the others. Suddenly, Harribel unleashed a trident strike, directly sending him flying.
"Enough, Soul Reaper."
"You can display your Bankai now."
"I hope you won't disappoint me."
Hirako Shinji looked at the female Arrancar swishing her tail opposite him. His mouth twitched, hesitating to speak.
Sensing that his state was a bit off, Harribel frowned.
"Are you still going to hold back at a time like this?"
"By doing so, where does that leave your teammates? Or did you come to Hueco Mundo this time purely to make up the numbers?"
She had always disliked those who slacked off during a war.
Clearly possessing strength, yet treating the lives of teammates as nothing for the sake of some ridiculous rules.
Such a person was completely unworthy of being Lord Naraku's colleague.
If given the chance, she definitely had to teach this guy a profound lesson.
Hirako Shinji sighed.
"Actually, my Bankai isn't as strong as you think."
"I am already fighting with all my might."
"But since it's come to this, hiding it any longer would be disrespectful to my enemy. So watch closely."
"Bankai!"
"Sakashima Yokoshima Happōfusari..."
Accompanied by a flash of light, a pedestal in the shape of a pink dianthus flower unfolded beneath Hirako Shinji's feet. The petals closed, enveloping him within.
A few seconds later, the pedestal bloomed open.
Harribel frowned as she looked at Hirako Shinji, who hadn't changed at all.
"And then?"
"That's it." Hirako Shinji threw his hands up.
Harribel: "?"
She seriously suspected that this bastard was messing with her.
Was this so-called Bankai just blooming a flower in front of the enemy?
"You will regret your actions!"
"Destroy, Tiburón!"
A majestic torrent of water gushed out, turning the area covered by her Reiatsu into an endless ocean.
Fighting in a place with an extremely high Reishi density like Hueco Mundo was undoubtedly the home turf for someone like Harribel, who excelled at area-of-effect attacks.
Holding her shark-gill patterned greatsword, she casually swung it. A furious ocean current surged forth, rushing toward Hirako Shinji with overwhelming momentum.
The moment the ocean current covered the battlefield, scorching heat erupted from within it, instantly turning the current into omnipresent mist.
A layer of the desert's surface was wiped away, and it continued to sink continuously.
Hirviendo.
Although she was affected by the ability of Sakanade's Shikai, it didn't affect the ensuing battle.
Because Harribel only needed to blanket every single spot with her water currents.
Watching his Reiatsu defense being continuously corroded by the high-temperature mist, the corner of Hirako Shinji's eye couldn't help but twitch.
*It seemed he was really going to bite the dust this time.*
"Get lost!"
Nnoitra Gilga let out an angry roar while continuously resisting the flames and ocean currents blanketing him.
Even though he constantly swung the giant scythe in his hands, he still couldn't cleave through the illusions before his eyes.
"A vulgar person who doesn't understand art will only sink into these scenes and then die completely."
Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō lightly raised his baton-like Zanpakutō, immersing himself in the beauty of the music as he admired the Arrancar enemy gradually heading toward defeat.
"It keeps ringing non-stop, it's so damn annoying!"
Nnoitra's patience reached its limit. He directly threw down his two weapons, and then, under Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō's astonished gaze, he unhesitatingly pierced his own ears, deafening himself.
However, the moment he could no longer hear the sound, the illusions before his eyes instantly vanished.
The sky remained incomparably dark, with only a solitary crescent moon hanging above.
His narrow eyes darted around. Nnoitra only had to use his brain a little to figure out the crux of the problem.
"So your Zanpakutō activates by relying on the opponent's sense of hearing."
"How truly..."
"Amusing!"
Looking at the grinning Santa Teresa, the smile on Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō's face became extremely strained.
If he could make it back alive this time, he definitely needed to focus on training his Bankai.
Watching the Captains' performances, Naraku Sora shook his head repeatedly, a look of disgust on his face.
This could no longer be described as just being bad.
One by one, they couldn't even utilize their own abilities properly. Some of their performances were even worse than his own Ichimaru Gin.
It was simply a disgrace to the title of Captain.
If he were the Head Captain with a group of subordinates like this, he would have died of sheer embarrassment on the spot.
How could the Soul Society possibly be run well with bugs like these?
No, he had to think of a way.
"Sōsuke, is there any way to make these guys a bit stronger?"
Naraku Sora pointed at the few who were being beaten so badly they couldn't fight back, gradually reducing themselves to the shame of the Captains.
Aizen took a closer look.
Hmm, they were all acquaintances.
Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō of Squad 3, his former captain Hirako Shinji, Aikawa Love of Squad 7, and Kensei Muguruma of Squad 9.
After thinking for a few seconds, Aizen said seriously:
"There is, but they might not be able to accept it."
"Elaborate."
"Hollowfication."
"?"
Naraku Sora's eyes widened.
Ignoring the certain someone who was about to throw a fit, Aizen pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose and explained:
"Among these people, Hirako Shinji is considered the strongest, but his Bankai cannot be used against a single enemy, nor can it be used when allies are present."
"This results in his strongest method being restricted, cutting his overall strength by at least half."
"If we can get him to achieve Hollowfication, his strength would increase by at least a third, perhaps even more."
"As for the others..."
Aizen pondered for a moment, suddenly recalling the words Naraku Sora usually said, and finally gave his evaluation:
"Utterly incompetent."
"..."
Naraku Sora fell silent for a second. To elicit such an evaluation from Aizen, these guys truly were 'outstanding' in their abilities.
However, he seriously suspected that the real reason Aizen proposed this idea was because he was running out of test subjects.
That was why he was targeting these few people.
The sinners they had previously fished out of the Shino Prison had long been depleted in experiment after experiment.
During the Hell invasion battle, he had even seen quite a few familiar faces among them.
As if seeing through someone's slanderous thoughts, Aizen calmly explained:
"If you do not agree, then I will not execute this plan."
"If that doesn't work, there is a second method: have your subordinates master Bankai ahead of time, and then replace these incompetent Captains."
Naraku Sora shook his head. "Komamura and the others are already Captains of the new Gotei 13."
"Although it was just for fun at first."
"But seeing how dedicated everyone is, it's better not to change it again."
Aizen looked at Naraku Sora with some surprise. He hadn't expected this usually reckless guy to say something so considerate.
"I understand what you mean."
"In that case, let Captain Hirako deliver himself to our doorstep."