POV: Soul Society
So they had a meeting before coming and decided that maybe not everyone should go. Maybe they should leave some people back to protect Soul Society in case of an attack—even though if Gabriel wanted to, he could wipe them all off the face of the earth, but oh well.
Plus, they didn't know how Gabriel would react when he met the Vizards, and they did not want to test that. They were way too close to his Nephilim. Next thing they knew, he'd turn them into Nephilim.
Granted, the Nephilim no longer had the weaknesses they had before. They were now perfected, and their energy intake and output were relatively low. Being in Bankai or Segunda Etapa didn't drain them much anymore.
That was to be expected. Gabriel was a scientist, and with the Scientific Core, practically every year there was progress made for everyone in his army. Hell, even the Fullbringers were buffed—some given a dark side to their Fullbring power.
They would get a piece of Gabriel fused with their Soul King fragment. Not fused at first—in the beginning, they were two different pieces—but over time, they could merge and become something more. The more the Fullbringer understood their power and themselves, the more it evolved.
This discovery at least told Gabriel that both the Soul King and Luxic came from the same place. The same entity that made the Demon God was also the one that made the Soul King.
He was able to narrow down that being to just the world itself—some sort of cosmic thing that had been there since the beginning, or some shit like that.
Gabriel wondered if he could create a Fullbringer who had a fragment of that abyss. Well... food for thought.
Back to Soul Society shit.
So apart from the Vizards and Unohana, practically everyone else was there—from every branch. The Thor wannabe was also there.
Alongside the most dangerous guy around.
Kenny was left in Soul Society because they knew, just like Unohana, he wouldn't be able to contain himself and might actually just get hard/wet from all the bloodlust in the air. So for everyone's safety, they went with not getting their shit wrecked.
Yet Gabriel seemed to have a horrible sense of humor, because when the person who opened the Garganta for them to go to Hueco Mundo appeared...
From those very gates stepped Ukitake.
Or... what was once Ukitake.
White wings faintly glowed behind him, his once-gentle features sharper, marked by faint holy symbols that pulsed beneath his skin. His hair was longer, his eyes no longer entirely human—they glowed faintly blue, like divine flame captured in a mortal shell.
Shunsui froze.
His smile faltered for the first time in a long while.
"Jūshirō..." he whispered, disbelief bleeding into his tone.
Ukitake smiled kindly—just as he always had. "You made it, old friend. The King has been expecting you. Please, this way."
Even his voice sounded different. Wow... Gabriel was really fucking with them. His ass, for this one occasion, allowed Ukitake to keep his memories but removed all will to try and break the control. The hollow soul was the man's soul; the man was simply the vessel. An OP vessel, but still a vessel nonetheless.
He guided them through the Garganta, and they arrived at their destination quite quickly. No idea why they had to use a Garganta in Hueco Mundo, but apparently, the land was so vast that traveling by foot would take weeks—maybe months—and that's even if you were moving at the speed of light.
And even then, the kingdom covered 70% of Hueco Mundo, and Hueco Mundo grew every day—which meant it was basically infinite, and 70% of infinity is still infinity.
Though saying the kingdom was infinite in size was overselling it.
For fuck's sake, the Horsemen had to monitor land the size of a continent. Europe doesn't count on that list, but Eurasia does.
Anyway, once they arrived, the man led the captains through the strange beauty surrounding them—hollow masks engraved into marble, statues of fallen Shinigami, and murals depicting a battle between hollow and Shinigami, with a single man—Gabriel—standing victorious in the middle. {Mandatory glaze.}
They eventually reached the grand coliseum—La Fauce Eterna—a structure so vast it could've swallowed the Seireitei whole. The stands shimmered with spectral light as thousands of hollows, Arrancars, and even humans/Fullbringers filled the seats, watching the new guests with curiosity and hostility alike.
At the entrance, they were met by a familiar face—or at least a version of one.
Rangiku Matsumoto, her hair glowing faintly gold, wings of white flame flickering behind her, smiled cheerfully as she gestured to the seating tiers. "Welcome to the Arena of Eternity! Captains, lieutenants, and guests—your sections have been prepared."
Even Yoruichi couldn't hide his shock. His lips parted slightly, the faintest trace of disbelief coloring his tone. "...Rangiku?"
She only winked in response. "The one and only. Don't look so shocked—Hueco Mundo's hospitality has improved since the last time you invaded."
Her teasing tone didn't match the eerie holiness in her eyes.
As they were seated, murmurs filled the air. The audience quieted. The light above dimmed, and then—
He appeared.
Upon a massive throne carved from black diamond and bone, wreathed in fire and flowing banners of red light, sat Gabriel Sanguinoso.
He looked different—his form more refined, yet far more terrifying. Dark horns curled faintly behind his head, eyes burning with layered rings of molten gold and crimson. His skin glowed faintly with the same ancient glyphs etched into the arena floor, and a faint aura of heat distorted the air around him.
When his gaze swept across the captains, reality itself seemed to hold its breath.
He looked like a god ready to place judgment on mortals.
Even looking into his eyes felt like a sin.
Meanwhile, with Gabriel.
He currently had no clue what the Shinigami were on. He was just a bit annoyed. Apacci, his tomboy wife, refused to give him a footjob. This was a travesty. A sin. Something he just couldn't forgive. Why—why couldn't she do it?
"He looks... divine, doesn't he? Like judgment made flesh..." Shunsui said calmly.
Ukitake didn't say much. Gabriel was known for being a good king, and the fact he did what he wished—literally, this guy lived with no law. He was practically the freest person alive.
Didn't even do paperwork. Just had a clone do it. And he didn't even have to train anymore—he simply strengthened his soul daily and kept his muscles in a constant state of micro-tearing, and with his extreme healing (as in, if a single cell remained, he would regenerate a full body instantly), he was getting stronger every day.
Plus now, he had integrated Ichibei's power into his own, and while he couldn't use the man's ability without the nifty sword he appropriated from the Tsunayashiro, he had gained one nifty skill:
As long as someone remembered him or heard of him, he could come back even if he was erased. He didn't know what kind of immortality that was, but he had it.
"I can't believe this... all this stress, all this planning, and she refuses to give me a damn footjob?!" Meanwhile, with the King of this world—
The King of Hueco Mundo was fuming. Not because of politics, or spiritual tension, or the precarious alliance between the realms.
No.
Because Apacci, his fierce, stubborn, tsundere wife, had decided to say no.
Sitting beside him, Harribel rubbed her temple with a sigh so deep it could've summoned a typhoon.
"You are a king, Gabriel... you have an image to maintain."
He turned to her, voice low and dramatic.
"An image? Harribel, my love, my queen, my perfect ocean of wrath—how can a man rule a kingdom when such an important request cannot be fulfilled?"
Sun-Sun, lounging nearby with her usual serpentine smirk, slid a finger under her chin.
"If it's really that dire... I could do it."
Gabriel immediately sat upright, indignant.
"No! It has to be Apacci! It's a matter of pride now!"
He sighed.
"Gabriel, you are hosting a tournament. Such matters can wait," Harribel said, to which the man sighed.
"Bullies."
Yes... this was the man who committed war crimes on a daily basis. He may be sociopathic... but oh well.