Zanpakuto.
Cero.
Kido.
All three strikes landed almost at once—smashing into Yammy's head, neck, and chest, the three weakest points on a body.
For a human, that would be fatal.
For a Hollow, the same.
A thunderous blast rolled out. As the smoke boiled up, the three attackers fell back, eyes fixed on the giant silhouette within.
Lisa: "Did we get him?"
Hachigen: "He should be dead."
Mashiro: "My cero hit him right in the heart!"
They stared into the roiling haze—
and then Yammy's laughter rumbled out like thunder.
"Ha-ha-ha… Is that all masked Shinigami can do? I thought you'd be worth something."
Faces tightened.
A sharp red glare pulsed inside the smoke: Yammy's reiatsu was raging in his maw, congealing into a Cero.
Hachigen's pupils shrank. He didn't hesitate—his round right hand snapped up as he barked,
"Danku (Severing Void)!!"
Former Deputy Grand Kidō Chief that he was, he even skipped the spell order.
A transparent wall birthed itself in midair.
The red radiance detonated a heartbeat later—cero and barrier colliding in a world-rending shockwave.
Rumble—
Flooring peeled up in strips. Danku blunted the direct hit, but it was small; the gale it didn't catch howled through the warehouse-space.
Lisa, Mashiro, and Hachigen threw up arms to shield their faces—
—and in that sliver of distraction, the almost three-meter hulk was gone.
"Lisa, behind you!!!"
Hiyori Sarugaki, only just back on her feet, screamed the warning.
Lisa sprang backward on instinct—
and froze. For a mountain of meat, Yammy moved impossibly fast; he was simply there in front of her.
She clenched her teeth, right hand rising to don her mask—
but a heartbeat too late.
Grinning wide, Yammy layered crimson reiatsu across his left arm and slammed a fist into Lisa's abdomen.
Her eyes blew wide—her body folded and shot away.
Boom!
She hit the wall so hard the barrier-lined masonry spiderwebbed.
Sliding down, Lisa dropped to both knees, face flushing unnaturally, breath hitching in wet, involuntary gasps—
tears starting at the corners of her eyes, her whole body curling and shaking.
The three watching felt their hearts jolt.
In that single punch Lisa had lost the ability to fight—
her defensive reiatsu crushed, her guts wrecked; from her retching, her intestines might have shifted out of place.
Hiyori, Mashiro, and Hachigen rushed in to cover her.
Hachigen, round-faced and steady, stared up at Yammy and asked quietly,
"Who are you?"
Yammy laughed and jabbed a thumb at the black mark on his shoulder.
"Told you already. I'm the Décima Espada, Yammy Llargo. What, you Shinigami stupid or something?"
They looked—
a stark, black "10."
"Espada… ten…"
Hachigen narrowed his eyes. "You serve Aizen—tenth in his Las Noches 'Espada.' That about right?"
"Ha! At least one of you's got a brain."
Yammy's gaze raked over them, greedy, and he licked his lips. "Aizen-sama said to bring two of you back. Those two will do just—"
"—That, you won't," Hachigen said, lifting his right hand.
He dragged his palm across his face—the ivory mask blooming like a great shaman's headdress.
Reiatsu surged—and words spilled from him like a machine-gun:
"Bakudō 30: Shitotsu Sansen (Beak-Piercing Triple Flash)!"
"Bakudō 63: Sajō Sabaku (Locking Bondage Stripes)!"
"Bakudō 61: Rikujōkōrō (Six Rods Prison Light)!"
"Bakudō 75: Gochūtekkan (Five-Post Iron Pillars)!"
He truly was the Deputy Grand Kidō Chief; in a handful of seconds, four bindings—three high-order—flashed into being.
To any Kidō Corps officer watching, it would have been jaw-dropping.
Gold wedges, golden fetters, a golden cage—light wrapped Yammy in layers.
From above, five massive iron pillars, each pinned with black chains, slammed down.
With almost nowhere to dodge, Yammy was crushed beneath them.
Hiyori gaped. "He didn't dodge!?"
Hachigen's gaze stayed grave. "He chose not to."
He knew his own bakudō—it was impossible to land them all on a so-called Espada by speed alone.
Yammy had eaten them purposefully.
From beneath the pillars, Yammy's snarl rolled out:
"Rrrraahhh!!!"
The stone quaked, chains screaming—
and then… nothing.
For all his thrashing, the five posts held.
Hiyori, Mashiro, and Hachigen cooled, eyes going cold as they stared him down.
"You don't seem to be getting out," Hachigen murmured.
Panic finally crept into Yammy's voice. Reiatsu exploded from every pore as he howled and strained—
but the bindings held fast.
Regret flickered in his eyes. He shouldn't have shown off.
Shouldn't have underestimated these four masked Shinigami. Their strength wasn't dazzling—
but their weird tricks were dangerous.
"Hit him—while he's pinned!"
Hachigen didn't hesitate.
All three had their masks on now. Three ceros dropped in rapid succession—
red, blue, green—
like traffic lights, like three auroras ripping across the dark—
slamming into Yammy's chest in rolling detonations.
"Gahhhh! You damned Shinigami—let me out! When I get free I'll grind every last one of you into paste—
I'll kill you all! I'm an Espada—Décima! Trash like you can't kill me!"
His roars only sped them up.
Hiyori spat between her teeth: "How'd a monster like this survive the centennial purges? That hierro (Iron Skin)…"
Every hundred years, Soul Society launched a grand expedition into Hueco Mundo—slaughtering Menos to ease pressure on the Living World.
How had a brute like Yammy dodged that net?
Mashiro snapped another green cero. "Doesn't matter. He's dead today. Hachi's bakudō won't let him out."
Just in case, Hachigen had stacked eight more bindings on Yammy—every one high-order.
At that level, even Shinji would struggle to break free.
Cracks spread across Yammy's hierro. Smiles tugged at three mouths.
Strong, sure—
but way too arrogant.
Then Yammy bellowed:
"Ulquiorra!!! I'm going to Resurrección (Return to Blade)!!!"
At that name, the smiles died.
"Careful—he has a partner—" Hachigen began—
A deep green lance flashed from the doorway like a laser.
Even dodging with all his might, Hachigen couldn't fully slip it—
the beam punched his shoulder and shoved him back step after step, blood pouring from the hole.
They fell away, masks up, eyes fixed on the doorway—
on the white-coated Arrancar with the dead gaze, finger still raised from the shot.
Ulquiorra lowered his hand and walked forward, voice flat.
"Calm yourself, Yammy. Don't make too much noise. Aizen-sama said there's a monster in Karakura Town to rival even him."
Yammy's fury ebbed at the words. He let the thought of Resurrección go with a snarl.
"Damn Shinigami—tricky brats. Didn't think they could pin me."
He hadn't expected to end up needing Ulquiorra to bail him out.
Ulquiorra stopped beside the pillars and drew his blade with a whispering rasp. One smooth cut—
Boom!
Gochūtekkan shattered like kindling. Even a seventy-fifth-order bakudō hadn't stood before a single stroke.
His gaze slid to the tangles of chains and golden light still webbing Yammy's body.
Before he could swing again, Hiyori charged, jag-toothed cleaver screaming down at his skull.
Ulquiorra didn't even sidestep.
Clang.
The blade bounced. Not a mark on his skin.
"Another hierro this hard…"
Hiyori stared, numb that there was a second monster like him.
Ulquiorra's expression didn't change. He set a fingertip to Hiyori's shoulder.
"Cero Oscuras (Black Cero)."
Deep green blossomed.
Boom.
Hiyori tore across the room and hit the wall—this time not so lucky.
A hole burned clean through her shoulder, her consciousness guttering to black.
Only Mashiro and Hachigen remained, sweat beading on their brows as they steadied to fight on.
Chains popped and snapped with a crackle—
Yammy finally ripped free, eyes gone bloodshot as he glared at Hachigen.
"I'll rip you in half!"
His first step forward died. Ulquiorra's hand pressed his shoulder.
"That's enough. We have the number we came for. We're leaving."
Yammy ground his teeth. It was the worst beating he'd taken in ages; part of him still burned to unleash Resurrección.
But Ulquiorra had already moved.
His calm gaze flicked to the two fallen women—Hiyori and Lisa—and he strode to them.
"You're not getting past…!" Hachigen growled, thrusting out a trembling palm.
Words died in his throat.
Ulquiorra's form whispered past like a breeze.
When Hachigen turned, that same flat voice came from behind him.
"Let's go, Yammy."
Ulquiorra had already crossed him—handing the limp Hiyori and Lisa to Yammy's waiting arms.
They started for the ruined doorway, not bothering to look back.
Cold sweat leaked from Hachigen's brow.
This Hollow was worse than any he'd ever faced.
Ulquiorra especially—his power exuded quiet despair.
Mashiro looked just as pale.
But when she saw Hiyori slung over Yammy's shoulder and Lisa draped over the other, she and Hachigen still fired—two ceros hurling after them.
Ulquiorra stopped, glanced back, and lifted one finger.
"Cero Oscuras (Black Cero)."
The deep green beam met their blasts with a single thundercrack.
When the backlash wind died, Hachigen and Mashiro staggered out into the street—
and found only emptiness. The two Arrancar were gone.
...
(End of Chapter)
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