{🥳 The Fanfic is now fully completed! 🎉
You can access 250+ advance chapters right now on Patreon—available for subscription or purchase! ✨
👉
🥰 Your support keeps me motivated and eager to create even more amazing stories!}
Hueco Mundo. The endless white desert at the edge of the Menos Forest.
At first, Moyu's team had been intercepted by a swarm of Menos Grande. Afterwards, wave after wave of lesser Hollows descended upon them, as if the desert itself sought to devour intruders. Yet after the initial exchanges, the order of battle was decided. Moyu and Neliel strode at the forefront, cutting down all resistance before the others could raise their blades.
It was not that Unohana Retsu and Zaraki Kenpachi lacked the will to fight, but rather that Moyu chose to seize each skirmish with ruthless efficiency. Against his current level of mastery, even Kidō abandoned mid-incantation tore through ranks of Menos like paper. A casual Hadō hurled forward would erase half a pack in an instant, leaving little for the others but drifting ash and silence.
Thus the vice-captains who had followed found themselves spectators, walking in the shadow of destruction. Under Neliel's guidance the party shifted course often, weaving paths through the dunes toward Las Noches, the looming fortress of Hueco Mundo.
"Hadō Number Thirty-One, Shakkahō!"
Scarlet fire roared from Moyu's palm, swelling into a massive orb that streaked across the desert like a second sun. The burning sphere detonated, its heat so fierce the white sands beneath it vitrified, melting into jagged glass that glittered under the pale sky.
The explosion swallowed an advancing hollow pack whole. When the flames receded, only scorched husks remained, fused to the ground in grotesque silhouettes.
Matsumoto Rangiku stared, lips parted. No matter how often she witnessed it, the sheer scale left her shaken. "The captain's strength… it's too outrageous."
Beside her, Kotetsu Isane could barely breathe as she whispered, "Is… is Captain Moyu not even tired? He's been casting spell after spell without rest."
At that, Moyu glanced back, momentarily puzzled. Tired? The sensation was foreign to him now. Since his body had begun refining itself ceaselessly, exhaustion had ceased to exist. His spiritual pressure was an endless tide, his stamina unshakable. Even when Kidō drained vast amounts in a burst, his resilience restored it before the next clash. He shook his head faintly. He had yet to meet an enemy capable of exhausting his Reiatsu.
The last Hollow remnants crumbled into silence, yet Moyu did not move on. He stood still, gaze fixed upon the distance.
"Captain?" Rangiku stepped closer, waving a pale hand before his eyes.
Moyu's expression tightened. "Prepare yourselves. The next battle will not be against mindless Hollows. This time, Arrancar."
The words froze the vice-captains in place.
"What?! Already? Aizen knows we're here?"
Moyu nodded calmly. "From the first Menos swarm, we were within Aizen's net. He has been watching."
Unohana lowered her gaze, voice quiet but certain. "In his own domain, Aizen would never leave himself blind. Surveillance is inevitable. Besides… our purpose was never stealth. Otherwise, Yamamoto would not have sent me, nor Captain Zaraki."
Indeed. To imagine stealth with the First Kenpachi and the current Kenpachi present was absurd. Yamamoto had chosen not for secrecy, but for overwhelming strength. Two beasts unleashed, not to sneak but to devastate.
Yet even so, Moyu knew—Aizen himself was absent. Among the approaching Reiatsu, his was nowhere to be found. Which only meant the next battle would not be simple.
Moyu's gaze shifted, voice steady. "Rangiku. Isane. Protect yourselves above all else."
Their faces paled, regret gnawing at them. From the moment they had entered Hueco Mundo, they had not landed a single blow. To accompany monsters was to become a burden.
Zaraki's grin spread slowly, his hand tightening on his blade. His voice quivered with anticipation, his eye burning with flame. "Yachiru. Go on."
The pink-haired child slid from his shoulder, bounding lightly toward Rangiku and Isane. Her meaning was clear—she would guard them. Zaraki, unshackled, could finally feed his hunger for battle.
Moyu's gaze stretched far across the dunes. "Five Arrancar. All captain-class or stronger."
He recognized one presence: Grimmjow's wild, restless Reiatsu. The others were new, but there was no mistaking their weight. Espada. And yet Moyu wondered—why only these? Why not send Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar? Did Aizen truly believe this selection could halt their advance?
"Five captain-class Arrancar?" Rangiku gasped, panic rising. "Captain, shouldn't we call Seireitei for reinforcements?"
Moyu met her eyes with calm dismissal. "Rangiku, you underestimate us. Five Arrancar or fifty—it makes no difference. The balance of victory already tilts to us."
His tone was absolute, unshaken. With Unohana, Zaraki, and Neliel, each capable of crushing any one Espada in single combat, Moyu needed only to stand against two himself. That alone was enough to secure the scale of victory.
The desert trembled as it answered him.
Reiatsu fell like a storm, drowning the dunes. It tore through the air like a tsunami, pressing down until the weaker hearts faltered. Isane's breath caught. Even Rangiku's chest tightened beneath the suffocating weight.
The sands erupted in a thunderous wave. Dust and wind roared skyward, shrouding the battlefield.
Five silhouettes emerged through the veil. Cloaks of white. Masks of bone. Eyes like predators.
Espada.
The clash was inevitable.
The battle was about to ignite.
{ 🥳 Enjoying the chapters? 🥰 Support me on Patreon and unlock 250+ complete chapters right now! 🎉
✨ Available by subscription or as a one-time purchase for lifetime access—no membership needed!
👉