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Chapter 102 - Chapter 102: Two Tails Nekomata, Three Tails Isobushi, Five Tails Kokuō

"Someone else go... I'm done."

Love Aikawa staggered out of the barrier.

Compared to when he entered, he now looked completely worn out—like a survivor crawling out of a disaster zone. His clothes were torn, and when he tried to speak, a bit of sand actually fell out of his mouth.

Hirako Shinji and the others were all sweating nervously.

"There's no doubt about it... that's a Vasto Lorde-level Menos Grande…"

Normally, an Adjuchas-level Hollow would already be on par with a captain-level Shinigami.

A Vasto Lorde? They were on another level entirely.

The only reason Soul Society wasn't overrun by them was because of monsters like Kyoraku Shunsui and Jūshirō Ukitake holding the line.

With that in mind, the members of the Masked Corps felt like cursing out loud.

Sarugaki Hiyori glanced at Rukia Kuchiki and asked through gritted teeth,"Can you explain how that guy managed to stuff a Vasto Lorde inside his body?!"

Rukia shrugged helplessly."I'm not sure either. But from the beginning, Nanaya has always had Hollow powers…"

"Ahhh!" Muguruma Kensei let out a breath, then stepped forward into the barrier."Let me go next. Against someone like this, you need at least a captain-level Shinigami."

Hiyori ground her teeth, frustrated—but she couldn't deny it.Against a Vasto Lorde-level Hollow, sending in a lieutenant was a death sentence.

Suddenly—

"ROAR!!!"

Still in his Hollow form, Nanaya slammed his hand into the ground and shouted:"Desert: Thousand Burials!"

Inside the barrier, waves of yellow sand exploded in every direction, like a massive desert tsunami crashing toward Muguruma Kensei.

Kensei's eyes widened."He has named techniques now too?!"

One hour later...

Kurosaki Ichigo, his body marked with black curse seals, stepped into the barrier.

Time passed quickly—and a full day and night went by.

Inside his inner world, after a long and intense battle, Nanaya finally defeated the berserk One-Tail Shukaku.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he muttered,"I didn't expect this thing to be so tough... I guess it really is the Arrancar-class Menos Grande I created."

In that mental space, all he had access to was his basic sword skills—but in the end, he managed to subdue the One-Tail.

As he focused, the image of Shukaku slowly faded from within his body.

But almost immediately, something else began to form.

The Hollow power and Shinigami power he had absorbed started to merge again—and with a flash of his Rinnegan, it exploded.

Blue spiritual fire ignited, swirling violently.

A second tailed beast began to form.

It was completely covered in blue flame, with red Hollow markings running across its body. Its shape resembled a large cat—or maybe a tiger.

Two long blue tails flicked behind it, and its pressure was even stronger than that of Shukaku.

Outside the barrier...

"It's finally over..."

Hirako Shinji let out a long sigh, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"Took 24 hours. That's a little faster than Mr. Kurosaki, actually..." Urahara Kisuke added, wiping his forehead as well.

He had sparred with Nanaya for about two hours during the training—and almost got sealed in a sand pyramid.

"Don't say such dumb things," Muguruma Kensei said with a dark look. "You really think Kurosaki Ichigo is on this guy's level?!"

Love Aikawa chimed in weakly,"Yeah... This guy's destructive power is like ten Ichigos put together."

Back when they trained Ichigo, no one even had to release their Zanpakutō.

But against Nanaya?

If they didn't use Bankai, they'd be dead in minutes.

"But at least it's over now," Rukia Kuchiki said with a soft smile. "Looks like Nanaya's finally gained control over the Hollow inside him."

Just as she said that—

BOOM!!!

A wave of spiritual pressure erupted inside the barrier.

Nanaya, back in human form, stood with blue spiritual flames raging around his body. His Rinnegan glowed intensely as he stared forward—with a wild, dangerous look in his eyes.

Everyone present: "...…"

Tier Harribel, who was also a Menos Grande, was the first to react. Her voice trembled with disbelief:"This must be a joke... A second Vasto Lorde-level Menos Grande?!"

She was certain she wasn't mistaken—because she herself was one.

And from within the blue flames, she could clearly sense an overwhelming pressure—a violent and deep darkness that went far beyond what an Adjuchas could emit.

Hirako Shinji swallowed hard."You Hueco Mundo folks… after all these years, do you really have that many Vasto Lordes hiding away?"

"How could we!?" Harribel snapped, gritting her teeth."Even in Hueco Mundo, there are only a handful of Vasto Lorde-level Menos Grandes. You could count them all on one hand."

Vasto Lordes were the final and highest evolution of Menos Grande.Even the current Kyōkoku Palace didn't have more than five.

And yet, the second Vasto Lorde-like Hollow, burning in blue flames within Nanaya, was something she had never seen—or even heard of.

"I don't care about that right now," Kurosaki Ichigo said urgently, looking to the Visoreds."What do we do next?"

The Masked Corps had no answer. They just stood there silently.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Somewhere in Karakura Town, a gate between the worlds quietly opened.

Several figures rushed out.

After asking around, they first went to Nanaya's home, then to the Urahara Shop, and finally arrived at the warehouse where the Masked Corps were staying.

"You're the Deputy Kidō Chief, right?" Sui-Feng asked, eyeing the man in front of her. "You look... kind of beat up."

The fat man she was looking at did seem like Hachigen Ushōda, deputy chief of the Kidō Corps—but he was bruised and swollen all over.

Hachigen forced a pained smile and touched the heavy bags under his eyes."Don't bring it up. I got beaten up by a turtle."

"A... turtle?"Sui-Feng frowned, completely confused.

Hachigen gave a tired sigh, thinking back to what had happened just a few days earlier.

At that time, everyone had exhausted themselves trying to help Nanaya subdue the second Hollow—what looked like a fiery blue cat with two tails.

But before they could even catch their breath, the spiritual pressure of a third Menos Grande exploded from Nanaya's body.

Once Nanaya had fully Hollowfied again, they discovered that the third Hollow was shaped like a massive, monstrous alligator-turtle hybrid.

It didn't just have the power to control water—it also had unbelievably tough defense.

It nearly killed them all.

Snapping back to the present, Hachigen gave a bitter smile and said,"Captain Sui-Feng, Captain Unohana... are you here for Nanaya?"

"You came at the perfect time. Honestly, we could use your help."

With that, he opened the barrier.

What the two captains saw inside made their eyes go wide.They froze in place, unsure if they were hallucinating.

Inside the warehouse, Kurosaki Ichigo, Rukia Kuchiki, Nel, Tier Harribel, Hirako Shinji, Muguruma Kensei, Love Aikawa...

All of them were slumped against the walls, battered and exhausted, sporting heavy eye bags and blank stares full of despair.

They looked like they'd been awake for days straight, and had completely lost the will to live.

Then the two captains turned to look inside the barrier.

There, Nanaya stood—his entire body steaming from the heat of his spiritual power.

He was in the middle of a fierce battle with Sarugaki Hiyori.

And Hiyori… was on the brink of collapse.

She was knocked back again and shouted in frustration:"Damn brat! Just how many Menos Grande do you have inside you?!"

Everyone watching twitched, feeling like they might cry on the spot.

That was the question they'd all been too afraid to ask.

Had the old man sealed an entire nest of Vasto Lordes inside him!?

But while everyone else looked horrified, Unohana Retsu's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Her voice was unusually warm—almost thrilled:"Nanaya-kun… such amazing swordsmanship… ah~~~."

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