Meanwhile, Baraggan led a group of Arrancar and hastily arrived at the place where Ulquiorra Cifer had fallen in battle.
However, the area was already deserted, leaving behind only a scene of extreme devastation, as if it had been ravaged by an incredibly violent storm.
The surface of Hueco Mundo was riddled with holes, and even sturdy quartz structures were destroyed, with scattered quartz stones burying everything around.
Baraggan gazed at this scene; although he was confident he could cause such destruction himself, witnessing it firsthand still made him frown involuntarily.
After all, with such a large-scale attack, he wasn't sure if his own abilities could withstand it.
If not, then it would only be a contest of speed and timing in the attack.
At his level, battles were usually one-sided instant kills; as long as the opponent showed the slightest weakness, they could be instantly put to death, and he was no exception.
Ulquiorra Cifer might have died for this reason, but since no body was found, Baraggan could only speculate in his mind.
At the same time, he began to estimate the methods he could employ to resist such an attack.
After some consideration, Baraggan immediately summoned the Arrancar to enter the Forest of Menos, attempting to find any surviving Menos Grande and ask if they had witnessed the battle between the two.
Unfortunately, there was nothing beneath the broken surface, and even the quartz trees that ran through the ground were destroyed by the aftershocks, so even if there were any Hollows alive, they might have already been annihilated.
This discovery made Baraggan's expression turn very grim.
Had he traveled this far only to find no clues?
Where did those invaders go?
This was the problem with Hueco Mundo; its scope was simply too vast, and support couldn't arrive in time.
But Baraggan couldn't defy Aizen's orders and abandon the mission, so in his helplessness, he could only dispatch all his subordinates.
He didn't expect this action to yield clues quickly, but Sonido didn't consume stamina anyway.
Dozens of Menos Grande advanced in all directions, digging hundreds of kilometers deep; perhaps they would find something.
Along the way, they were bound to find Hollows who had seen the invaders, Baraggan judged based on his experience.
At this moment, Baraggan suddenly noticed that Nnoitra Gilga was missing.
Upon questioning his subordinates, he learned that Nnoitra had left the group about half an hour ago.
This was very unusual; with his strength, hunting a few Hollows would take at most five minutes, and even returning wouldn't take ten minutes.
But now...
Baraggan decisively ordered, "Search! That fellow must have encountered something, perhaps related to those invaders."
"Send some Menos Grande to follow the direction he disappeared."
"Don't miss any spot."
As the order was given, the subordinate replied, "Yes."
Immediately after, the few Menos Grande remaining at the original location disappeared.
Baraggan stood calmly near the desert hollow, with his hands behind his back, his posture composed and serene.
He was the King of Hueco Mundo; trivial matters like searching for someone should be left to his subordinates.
He only needed to display his might and assert his dominance at specific times.
Soon, a message arrived.
Near a rocky area, the Menos Grande found fragments of Nnoitra Gilga's Zanpakuto.
Considering that he himself had been there but was now gone, it could be concluded that he had a very high probability of meeting with misfortune.
Because if the opponent were not a formidable foe, it would be impossible for them to shatter his released Zanpakuto.
Some Menos Grande even felt that the Resurrección form was nothing special; otherwise, why would such a powerful Arrancar disappear so easily?
Their confidence was subtly shaken by this fact.
Baraggan snorted, "A bunch of useless fellows! I still have to do it myself."
With that, he immediately set off in that direction, while ordering the Arrancar to investigate the surroundings, even at the cost of their lives.
As long as traces of the invaders could be found, any sacrifice was worth it.
Because he, Baraggan, was about to display the great power of the King of Hueco Mundo!
...
...
It must be admitted that Baraggan, having entered a higher stage, was full of confidence.
However, unfortunately, his confidence was completely lost on Yoriichi Tsugikuni's side.
At this moment, several people were steadily advancing in one direction according to the map.
Although a few of Aizen's wings had been removed, compared to the entire Hueco Mundo, it was essentially insignificant.
To avoid unexpected situations during the mission, everyone decided it would be best to continue the operation only after Nelliel, who had just joined the team, was promoted to Vasto Lorde level.
Normally, the evolution of a Hollow is an extremely long process, and most Hollows need to evolve by devouring their own kind.
This process is cruel and bloody.
However, having studied the Hōgyoku for some time, Kisuke Urahara discovered that there was still a way to accelerate evolution.
Given Nelliel's current state, if the method was used correctly, she could achieve a breakthrough in about two days, or even less.
They were now diligently working towards this goal.
Not long after, everyone arrived at a place filled with the corpses of Adjuchas.
This used to be Starrk's old residence.
These bodies were still very fresh; judging from the fact that they hadn't yet turned to ash, some reishi still remained within them.
Kisuke Urahara took an item from his backpack, walked up to the corpses, and extracted their power one by one.
Immediately after, he created a Kido barrier and poured all the "power" into it.
The moment the barrier appeared, the Adjuchas' bodies completely disintegrated, and with a gust of wind, they vanished without a trace.
Kisuke Urahara paid no attention to this, but instead turned to face everyone and said to Nelliel:
"This barrier is the temporary evolution ground I created for you."
"Generally speaking, a Gillians-level Menos Grande will evolve into an Adjuchas after staying inside for seven days, but you..."
"Since this is my first time dealing with your specific type of Adjuchas, I'm not sure of the exact time it will take to evolve into a Vasto Lorde."
"However, combat can accelerate this process."
"Choose one."
"No matter the outcome, that power cannot be wasted, because hundreds of Adjuchas are incredibly difficult to find, and if nothing goes wrong, this will be your only opportunity in the near future."
Nelliel hesitated for a moment, her gaze sweeping over Starrk, Harribel, and finally Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
Then, she turned her gaze back, seemingly having made up her mind, and stared intently at Harribel, saying:
"Her, I think. As a female Menos Grande, she should be able to help me grow."
Nelliel actually wanted to choose a Shinigami, but considering she had never seen a Shinigami's power and it could easily lead to mistakes, she opted for a safer choice.
Not to mention, she was no match for Yoriichi Tsugikuni, so fighting him would be meaningless.
It was better to choose a Menos Grande that seemed to be an even match.
...
Harribel was slightly taken aback.
After a brief hesitation, she finally nodded in agreement.
She also wanted to see what stage her current strength was at.
If she couldn't even defeat an Adjuchas...
Then...
...
Not far away, silver sand covered the ground.
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez frowned slightly.
At this moment, he was quietly lying on some corpses.
His light blue, jewel-like leopard eyes quickly scanned in one direction.
Suddenly, a familiar sensation surged through him.
As a lone wolf, he had not yet joined Aizen's faction, so he had not yet become an Arrancar.
Although he still remained at the Adjuchas stage, in recent days, Grimmjow had vaguely touched the brink of a breakthrough, and both his reishi and strength had improved to a certain extent.
He confidently believed that if he were to meet that Shinigami again, even if he couldn't defeat him, he would certainly be able to put up a struggle.
He always kept that incident firmly in mind, never for a moment forgetting the humiliation of not even being able to get close to his opponent back then.
Grimmjow bared his sharp teeth, his thoughts instantly returning, and then he exhaled a puff of hot air.
His intuition and senses simultaneously told him that the Shinigami had returned, and was appearing with the two Vasto Lorde he had met before.
He wanted to wash away the humiliation of that year; he was no longer the Adjuchas whose legs trembled.
With a loud "bang," Grimmjow leaped from the corpses.
He quickly sprinted in that direction, raising a conical sandstorm as he moved.
Although the sound of his running wasn't particularly loud, in the silent desert, it was exceptionally clear.
...
At the same time, Baraggan arrived gracefully.
He quietly listened to the sounds, his shoulders, which bore a large axe, involuntarily twitching twice.
With a "swish," he casually cut down a Menos Grande as punishment for the Menos Grande not recognizing him and being disrespectful.
Immediately after, he slowly put away his axe, his gaze fixed on the direction Grimmjow was sprinting towards.
Although he couldn't see anything, the continuous sounds...
Baraggan had a premonition that even if the target wasn't the one appearing, anyone appearing nearby must be related to them.
"Hmph," a deep, old voice resounded.
"It wasn't for nothing that I chased all the way from where Nnoitra Gilga died."
"Finally, they've shown their hand."
"Shinigami."
"Chino, Vega, you two go scout ahead; I'll be right behind."
As soon as he finished speaking, two affirmative voices responded beside Baraggan: "Yes."
Swish.
Accompanied by a gust of wind, silence returned to the surroundings.
...
"Ah, finally I can rest."
Kisuke Urahara watched Nelliel enter the Kido barrier, and his suspended heart finally settled.
He slumped to the ground, gazing at the silver moon in the sky, and suddenly remembered something.
Since there was no sunrise or sunset in Hueco Mundo, the events that seemed to occur within a short day became particularly blurred under the chaotic perception of time.
Kisuke Urahara furrowed his brow and asked Yoriichi Tsugikuni, "How long have we been here?"
"Two or three days, I suppose," Yoriichi pondered for a moment, then slowly replied, pulling out an instrument.
"There's no concept of days in Hueco Mundo, only seconds. It's been 200,000 seconds since we came in."
"200,000 seconds?" Kisuke Urahara's eyes widened slightly.
He finally understood why he was so tired; he had been searching for someone for so long...
Of course, the duration of the battles couldn't be ignored either.
Before entering Hueco Mundo, their mission deadline was set for half a month.
That meant that in ten days, no matter how many Menos Grande they had slain, they had to leave Hueco Mundo.
Because even if Aizen was slow-witted, he should have noticed the anomaly by then.
If they were surrounded, they wouldn't be able to escape.
Thinking of this, Kisuke Urahara nodded:
"Is that so? Not bad. At least we found them, and gained an extra reward."
He was referring to Nelliel.
Originally, their target only included two Menos Grande, but now there was an additional one, and she was the most righteous among the three...
With these helpers, why couldn't Hueco Mundo be reclaimed?
Kisuke Urahara felt that he had underestimated the number of anomalies in Hueco Mundo.
If they had more time, they might even find more.
But unfortunately... this mission was only a test.
Sighing lightly, he prepared to rest for a while.
The environment of Hueco Mundo seemed not to cause fatigue, but this was only limited to the physical body.
Spiritual fatigue, or mental exhaustion, would not dissipate with the presence of high-concentration reishi.
Closing his eyes, he spread his arms and lay flat on the desert.
He had thought the environment would return to quiet once the danger was gone.
But unexpectedly, as soon as he lay down, he heard a rumbling sound entering his ears, as if someone was running.
Kisuke Urahara suddenly opened his eyes, sat up, and looked in one direction, his expression becoming somewhat serious.
Yoriichi noticed these changes and asked, "What happened?"
Kisuke frowned and said, "Someone's coming."
Yoriichi's expression remained unchanged, and he looked in the direction Kisuke Urahara pointed.
He didn't pay much attention to it.
Because as long as it wasn't a Vasto Lorde, even the strongest Adjuchas could be handled by Kisuke alone.
Although Kisuke came as a researcher, it didn't mean he had no combat ability.
The black dot grew larger and larger, becoming clearer as the distance closed.
Kisuke focused his gaze and saw that it was a leopard.
A leopard in Hueco Mundo could only be an Adjuchas.
This discovery made Kisuke Urahara breathe a sigh of relief.
Having spent so much time with these Vasto Lorde, he had mistakenly thought that Vasto Lorde were everywhere in Hueco Mundo.
Just as he was about to act to expel or slay it,
Yoriichi said at this moment, "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, huh... So it's him. Kisuke, don't make a move yet."
"If I remember correctly, this Hollow is like Zaraki Kenpachi; whoever defeats him, he will listen to them."
"Perhaps he can become one of our helpers."
Yoriichi made these decisions not only because his personality was similar to Zaraki Kenpachi's.
The main reason was that his un-Arrancarized state meant that the current Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez had nothing to do with Aizen.
Living in Hueco Mundo, and not having killed any Shinigami, he still had room for salvation.
Kisuke Urahara let out an "Ah" in response.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, showing an expression of "Really? Is that true?"
Zaraki Kenpachi?
Why is there another anomaly?
Are anomalies... that easy to encounter?
It's hard to understand.
This wasn't just good luck; at least, Kisuke Urahara, in all his research until now, had never seen one...
...
He took a slight breath.
A hint of hesitation flashed through Kisuke Urahara's mind.
At this moment, the menacing Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was rapidly approaching.
His hostile demeanor truly made one raise their guard.
However, since Yoriichi had already spoken,
Then trusting him for now shouldn't be a problem.
If an unexpected situation occurred, it wouldn't be too late to act then.
After all, he was just an Adjuchas.
This thought had just surfaced in Kisuke Urahara's mind.
Grimmjow rapidly approached like a swift bolt of lightning.
His agile body sped across the desert, then suddenly braked.
Immediately, a hazy cloud of sand was kicked up in front of him.
Grimmjow hadn't even had time to clearly see everything in front of him.
He roared decisively, "Fight me, Shinigami! I will avenge the humiliation of that year!"
The sand slowly fell.
Grimmjow also saw the scene in front of him.
The pressure emanating from those two Vasto Lorde was still overwhelmingly powerful.
However, he was no longer the same as his past self.
Grimmjow gritted his teeth tightly.
The muscles in his legs trembled slightly, then quickly returned to normal.
He suddenly lifted his head.
His bared teeth reflected a dangerous glint under the moonlight.
His facial mask was half-shattered due to his soaring fighting spirit.
Quite suddenly.
Whoosh... whoosh...
A scene like falling snowflakes entered Kisuke Urahara's eyes, causing him to grip his Zanpakuto tightly once more.
What's happening?
Self-Arrancarization?
That's outrageous.
It was his first time seeing a Hollow Arrancarize...
Even if it was only a partial Arrancarization.
But what's the principle behind it?
Just as Kisuke Urahara fell into deep speculation,
Yoriichi slowly spoke, "Partial Arrancarization, huh? You've grown, Grimmjow."
These calm words entered Grimmjow's ears.
Instantly, his fighting spirit burned like a blazing fire.
He roared loudly, "Nonsense! I'm not like you Shinigami!"
"After you left, I swore to do my utmost to catch up to you!"
"Not just you, I'll catch up to that Vasto Lorde too!"
He bared his teeth and cast a defiant gaze towards Starrk's location.
The latter sensed this gaze and couldn't help but rub his forehead, 'How troublesome...'
Yoriichi quietly observed Grimmjow's actions.
He nodded and asked, "So, are you going to challenge me now?"
"Of course!" Grimmjow's tone was filled with strong confidence.
Since Yoriichi Tsugikuni hadn't been away from Hueco Mundo for very long,
Grimmjow naively believed that his strength should be about the same as last time.
If it was still third-class spiritual pressure, he was sure he could win!
But as his words fell, he quickly noticed the sympathetic expression on the face of the Shinigami next to Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
That look seemed to say: 'Good luck to you...'
"Hmm?"
Grimmjow glared with his leopard eyes, staring intently at Kisuke Urahara, and questioned:
"Why are you looking at me like that?! Shinigami, do you think I'm bound to lose?!"
...Isn't that obvious?
Honestly, he felt that Grimmjow would probably have trouble even defeating himself, so where did he get the confidence to challenge Yoriichi?
Is it because of what happened last time?
That's right, Kisuke Urahara suddenly realized.
Besides himself, no one knew that Yoriichi's strength was increasing as rapidly as a rocket.
From the perspective of long-lived races, changes usually occur once every ten years or so.
And two years, in Grimmjow's eyes, might be as short as sleeping for a while.
At this moment, Kisuke Urahara finally understood why those Hollows were always so confident before battle.
Their horizons were simply too narrow.
They considered themselves geniuses, but in reality, they weren't even qualified to meet the threshold of a true genius.
Kisuke Urahara let out a soft breath.
He quietly watched the two, no longer bothering with Grimmjow's thoughts.
Since Grimmjow had made up his mind, then let him be.
Until they experienced a lesson, no one would truly remember the disparity between them.
Seeing that Kisuke Urahara no longer showed a sympathetic expression, Grimmjow thought he had backed down, and thus his fighting spirit soared even higher.
"Roar!" Grimmjow solemnly let out a roar of declaration of war, then pounced towards Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
His spiritual pressure erupted sharply, instantly reaching the third class, which was the limit for an Adjuchas.
The surrounding winds roared, Grimmjow swung his sharp claws, and the smile on his lips became more ferocious, as if he had already foreseen his victory.
Facing his attack, Yoriichi Tsugikuni didn't even bother to defend.
Did he think he couldn't break his defense?
What a joke!
He was a leopard; his speed and strength were top-notch, and his sharp bone claws could penetrate anything.
Harboring these thoughts, Grimmjow made contact with Yoriichi.
"Screech!"
With a piercing sound, he initially thought he had successfully broken through the defense, but what followed instantly made his leopard eyes widen.
His claws were blocked a few centimeters from the skin, unable to advance another millimeter, as if a spiritual pressure barrier was obstructing him.
That screeching sound was caused by the collision of spiritual pressures, not the sound of breaking through defense, but the sound of his own claws breaking...
Breaking?!
Grimmjow watched helplessly as his claws disintegrated inch by inch, as if destroyed by the spiritual pressure collision.
He couldn't help but bare his teeth, feeling a sudden pain in his heart.
At the same time, a deep sense of disbelief erupted from the bottom of his heart.
What a joke!
His claws were arguably the hardest part of his entire body; they could instantly break through the Hierro of a Menos Grande of the same level.
Since birth, he had never been injured, but he never expected to suddenly break down today.
Had Yoriichi Tsugikuni's spiritual pressure become so powerful that he no longer needed to defend?
This feeling was as absurd as trying to cut down a tree with a knife, only for the knife to break.
At this moment,
Starrk sighed deeply:
"Little kitty, I must admit, your courage is truly commendable."
"But he is now worlds apart from last time."
"I'm not quite sure what you're thinking, but if you want to defeat him, you'll probably need another thousand years..."
"And you'd have to ensure that he doesn't make any progress for those thousand years... Otherwise, just save your breath."
Hearing this, Grimmjow instantly tensed all his muscles.
A thousand years?
He felt as if he had heard an illusion.
But the pain from his claws told him that all of this was real.
Why?!
He had worked so hard for so long, thinking he could catch up, but he didn't expect the gap to only grow wider...
So, was his effort still useful?
Little kitty...
At this moment, Grimmjow didn't even bother to deny this description.
Because a leopard without claws was even less than a cat...