"So this is the guy Aizen wanted me to deal with? His spiritual pressure really is unusual."
As Ryūjin observed Barragan, Barragan was also studying him. The moment he sensed Ryūjin's spiritual pressure, his expression shifted slightly, and he finally began taking him seriously.
When Aizen first ordered him to handle this personally, Barragan had been furious.
Who was he?
The mighty Emperor of Hueco Mundo.
Did a mere Captain truly deserve his personal attention?
But now, it seemed this brat was at least worth the effort.
"Shinigami, today you will die by my hand, Barragan!"
Barragan's voice was cold and merciless. With a flick of his arm, a massive battle axe appeared in his grasp.
It was the Axe of Ruin.
A long chain extended from the axe and wrapped around Barragan's arm. As he slowly stepped forward, the chain dragged across the ground with heavy metallic clanks.
The sound was dull and oppressive.
Like a funeral hymn echoing from hell itself.
"Old man, you sure talk big." Ryūjin raised an eyebrow, looking completely relaxed.
There was even a mocking smile on his face.
"You've already bragged this much. Won't it be embarrassing if you fail to kill me?"
"Heh heh, Shinigami, your arrogance will soon turn into despair!"
The moment Barragan finished speaking, he vanished with Sonído.
His speed was terrifyingly fast, enough that ordinary Captains would not even be able to react.
As expected of the Emperor of Hueco Mundo. Even without relying on his absurd abilities, his raw combat strength alone was overwhelming.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, Barragan appeared directly in front of Ryūjin. The Axe of Ruin descended with monstrous force toward Ryūjin's head.
Ryūjin casually lifted the Asauchi in his hand.
Clang!
The massive axe froze in midair.
It could not move another inch.
Barragan's eyes narrowed.
This brat's strength was even greater than he had expected. Blocking his axe with one hand was no simple feat.
Very few in Soul Society possessed such power.
"Shinigami, you do have some skill. But thinking this level is enough to act arrogant before me is laughable!"
Barragan's sinister voice sounded like a demon king speaking from the abyss.
At that moment, thick black energy began pouring from his body, making his presence even more eerie and oppressive.
The power behind the Axe of Ruin surged instantly.
"Is that so?"
Ryūjin raised an eyebrow as his own spiritual pressure exploded outward.
A violent storm of spiritual pressure erupted around him.
Barragan's black spiritual pressure was completely blocked and could not affect him in the slightest.
Then Ryūjin tightened his grip.
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
Barragan's entire body trembled before he was blasted backward.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
He staggered several steps across the ground, leaving deep fractures beneath his feet.
"Nani?!"
Barragan was stunned.
He could hardly believe it.
He was the Emperor of Hueco Mundo.
Other than Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, was there truly another Shinigami capable of matching him head on?
Even Aizen, that scheming bastard, relied on deceitful illusions. Without tricks, Barragan never would have placed him in his eyes.
Yet this Shinigami named Ryūjin Uchiha had actually overpowered him directly.
"I underestimated you slightly, but this changes nothing!"
Barragan swung the Axe of Ruin once more and charged forward, engaging Ryūjin in fierce combat.
Unfortunately for him, he was suppressed from beginning to end.
Completely overwhelmed.
"I never expected Soul Society to have someone like you."
Barragan's attitude had changed entirely. He no longer dared underestimate Ryūjin.
"I don't have time to waste on you. Stop dragging this out."
"You should have listened earlier. This person is very strong."
"You need to take him seriously."
At that moment, Aizen's emotionless voice echoed through Barragan's mind.
Barragan snorted coldly, rage flashing across his face.
He was the Emperor of Hueco Mundo, yet he had to obey the orders of a Shinigami.
The humiliation infuriated him.
But he had no choice.
As long as he could not break free from Kyōka Suigetsu, he could only obey Aizen's commands.
Otherwise, he would remain nothing more than a puppet in Aizen's hand.
"Haa…"
Barragan slowly exhaled.
He understood that Aizen was right.
Without using his strongest ability, defeating the Shinigami before him was impossible.
The moment he breathed out, massive amounts of black energy erupted from his body and completely enveloped him.
Everywhere the black mist spread, the surrounding fog dissipated, the ground cracked apart, and all signs of life rapidly decayed.
Ryūjin's eyes brightened slightly.
So this was Barragan's absurd ability, Death's Breath.
Anything it touched would rapidly decay.
It truly was a ridiculous power, practically impossible to counter.
Nothing in this world was eternal. Everything would eventually rot and perish with time.
Death's Breath simply accelerated that process infinitely.
As long as something could decay, Death's Breath could force it to reach that end immediately.
That was why the ability was nearly impossible to deal with.
Physical attacks, energy attacks, none of them could escape decay.
Even the strongest beings would eventually perish under its influence.
Even someone like Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni was no exception.
But for Ryūjin, dealing with Barragan was not difficult at all.
Barragan had no resistance against illusions.
And Death's Breath could not affect illusions.
Illusions manipulated the mind itself. They were formless and intangible.
Unless Barragan could somehow rot away mental space itself, his power was useless against them.
Aizen's complete control over Barragan through Kyōka Suigetsu was the perfect example.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Just as Ryūjin prepared to use genjutsu, rapid footsteps suddenly echoed through the battlefield.
A figure emerged from the fog.
"Uchiha Ryūjin, so it really is you."
The newcomer spoke in a rough voice.
It was none other than the Vice Captain of the Eleventh Division, Kenpachi Zaraki.
"A guy capable of forcing out this much spiritual pressure from you must be pretty strong, huh?"
After casually greeting Ryūjin, Kenpachi ignored him entirely and fixed his gaze on Barragan.
His eyes burned with excitement.
"Is this a Hollow? Ken chan, this Hollow feels really strange," Yachiru Kusajishi said seriously.
"The stranger, the better!"
Kenpachi grinned eagerly.
Yachiru immediately jumped off his shoulder and ran over beside Ryūjin.
"Ken chan, do your best!"
"So annoying," Kenpachi muttered impatiently before walking straight toward Barragan.
"Vice Captain Zaraki, that black mist is dangerous. Don't touch it," Ryūjin said with a helpless sigh.
He already knew this battle maniac would try stealing the opponent from him.
Still, it didn't matter.
Kenpachi was no match for Barragan.
In the end, Ryūjin would still have to step in himself.
The rewards waiting for him were not going anywhere.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two more figures suddenly arrived.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto.
Clearly, they had tracked the massive spiritual pressure Ryūjin released earlier.
However, after seeing Kenpachi rush forward, they simply observed without interfering.
"Kenpachi Zaraki… Tōshirō Hitsugaya…"
Elsewhere in Hueco Mundo, Aizen adjusted his glasses and frowned slightly.
Barragan had failed to finish the battle quickly, and now more Captains had arrived.
Still, the situation remained under control.
Even with Kenpachi Zaraki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya present, Barragan should still be capable of completing the task.
Aizen focused once more on sensing the spiritual pressure from the battlefield.
At that moment, Kenpachi had already reached Barragan and swung his Zanpakutō downward violently.
But Barragan's Death's Breath surrounded his entire body.
Kenpachi made no effort to avoid the black mist.
He simply attacked directly.
Then something horrifying happened.
The instant his Zanpakutō touched the black energy, it began dissolving.
"Nani?!"
Kenpachi's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull.
His face was filled with shock.
His Zanpakutō had actually corroded away.
What the hell was that black mist?
Ryūjin's earlier warning suddenly made perfect sense.
That ability wasn't merely strange.
It was monstrous.
"How is that possible?!"
Hitsugaya and Matsumoto stared in disbelief.
That was a Zanpakutō.
And it had been destroyed instantly.
"Ken chan, be careful!"
Yachiru shouted anxiously.
Barragan advanced relentlessly while black energy surged around him toward Kenpachi.
For the first time in a long while, Kenpachi retreated frantically using Shunpo.
Even he understood that touching the black mist meant death.
If it could rot away a Zanpakutō, his flesh would fare even worse.
He loved battle, but he was not suicidal.
Under Barragan's pressure, Kenpachi could only retreat continuously without any way to counterattack.
"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"
Hitsugaya finally stepped forward.
The moment he released his Zanpakutō, ice spread rapidly around him.
"Ice Dragon Tail!"
An enormous ice dragon condensed instantly and lunged toward Barragan.
But the instant it touched the black mist, it dissolved completely.
Hitsugaya's expression changed drastically.
"Ice Dragon Tail, Absolute Void!"
"Ice Wall Prison!"
"Vacuum Ice Blade!"
One attack after another erupted from Hitsugaya.
He even released Bankai.
Yet none of it mattered.
Every technique vanished the moment it touched Death's Breath.
"Damn it! What is wrong with this monster?!"
"All attacks are useless! How are we supposed to fight something like this?!"
Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, and Kenpachi all looked grim.
"Captain Hitsugaya, leave this to me."
Ryūjin stepped forward calmly.
His expression remained completely relaxed, as though he were taking a casual walk through a garden.
"Captain Ryūjin, be careful."
Hitsugaya looked at him deeply before stepping back.
At this point, Ryūjin was their only hope.
Under everyone's gaze, Ryūjin walked directly toward Barragan.
His pupils shifted instantly into the Sharingan.
The moment his eyes locked onto Barragan, Ryūjin cast a genjutsu.
Barragan's body froze immediately.
Death's Breath lost control and rapidly withdrew.
The black energy surrounding him, the seemingly invincible power capable of decaying everything, disappeared instantly.
Clang!
Ryūjin moved in a single motion.
The Asauchi flashed through the air and severed Barragan's skull cleanly from his body.
===
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