"So strong!"
"The Captain-Commander… I didn't expect this! In the future, Captain Hitsugaya actually grows to such a level!"
"In his hands, Hyōrinmaru truly unleashes its maximum potential. It fully deserves the title of 'strongest'…"
Within the First Division,
Sasakibe Chōjirō stood dumbfounded, staring at the screen covered in blooming ice flowers, utterly shaken.
From the bottom of his heart, he acknowledged it—
Hyōrinmaru's ultimate technique. That absolute domination of the sky, that power to manipulate the reishi and moisture in the air!
Even someone like Sasakibe, a thousand-year-old veteran, could only feel ashamed before such mastery.
Hitsugaya's growth was nothing short of astonishing.
"Indeed…"
At his desk, the Captain-Commander lifted his gaze slightly. His deep eyes reflected the screen as he murmured,
"With this level of power, he indeed has no need to fear a Vasto Lorde. No wonder Hitsugaya dares to face one alone."
At last, the Commander could relax completely.
At first, when the earlier footage had shown Hitsugaya being blown away by the golden sword pressure, he had thought—
With only his own power, Hitsugaya could never stand against a Vasto Lorde. Perhaps someone else would intervene later.
Otherwise, a one-on-one duel? The odds of victory were too slim.
But now—things were different.
What unfolded before their eyes—
those countless, ever-blooming frost flowers blanketing the heavens—
each one carrying enormous energy, their number seemingly infinite.
In such circumstances,
with his vast combat experience and sharp intuition,
the Captain-Commander concluded that—
Harribel had been forced into a corner.
If nothing unexpected happened next,
that proud woman would soon be buried beneath those falling frost flowers—
repeating Luppi's fate,
slain by Hitsugaya and his Zanpakutō, Hyōrinmaru.
Elsewhere, in the Tenth Division.
Hitsugaya himself shouted in disbelief, trembling with excitement.
"R–Really?! The future me… I actually become this strong?!"
Shock. Awe.
His youthful face was filled with exhilaration, voice quivering.
Hitsugaya could hardly contain himself.
To witness his future self, in front of countless eyes, unleashing such a technique and turning the battle around—
nothing could be more thrilling.
Even with his unusually mature mind, he couldn't suppress his joy. He was completely immersed in the ecstasy.
Behind him, Matsumoto Rangiku was just as moved—perhaps even more.
As his lieutenant, she trembled all over with excitement.
Her "twin headlights" swayed with every movement, drawing attention even more than the ice blossoms on the screen.
"Captain…" she said breathlessly, "when all those frost flowers fall from the sky together…"
"That woman's life will wither away—just like the flowers themselves!"
Meanwhile—
inside the footage,
the fierce battle continued, though it was clearly nearing its end.
Now,
Harribel's entire body stood under the massive shadow cast from above.
Her aura weakened.
Even the scorching ocean currents swirling around her were losing strength—
affected by elemental conversion, moisture draining away,
sucked into the blooming frost.
Gradually—
the waves could no longer resist the cold.
"I never thought…" she muttered, frowning, "that one day the power of the Shark Empress would be suppressed by an enemy…"
She looked down at her great sword.
Its once-smooth surface was now dotted with white frost.
Seeing that, Harribel finally dropped her pride.
Lowering her noble head before the camera, she admitted—
she was losing.
The footage of that moment spread across Hueco Mundo like wildfire.
"What?!"
"No way!"
"Lady Harribel… is really about to be defeated?"
"She's the Tercera Espada! Are you joking?!"
Las Noches fell silent.
Just moments ago, the halls had echoed with cheers when Harribel had slashed Hitsugaya away with her golden sword pressure.
Now—nothing remained but fear.
The Hollows and Arrancar refused to believe it—
that a mighty Vasto Lorde was about to be executed publicly.
For Hueco Mundo,
this was an unprecedented humiliation,
a blow to their pride that would crush morale
and shake the very confidence of the Espada.
It made them question everything.
At that moment,
Hitsugaya's cold voice rang out once again:
"Espada…"
"It's already too late to struggle."
"From the moment the snow began to fall, your fate was sealed."
With his words,
the frost flowers across the sky descended, following his reiatsu column—
their target locked on Harribel.
It was the final act, the perfect conclusion to the battle.
"Cazador del Mar Ardiente! (Burning Sea Stream!)"
Even then, Harribel refused to yield.
In fury and desperation, she swung her massive sword wildly,
unleashing one tsunami-like slash after another.
But the result was the same.
No—worse. Her attacks only hastened the freezing of the vapor itself.
"Espada," Hitsugaya declared coldly,
"it's over. From now on, you'll remain forever entombed in ice—
watching your subordinates perish one by one…"
As those words fell,
white frost consumed the screen, engulfing Harribel's form.
Her body froze amid despair and unwillingness,
covered layer upon layer with blooming ice flowers,
until a towering ice sculpture stood at the heart of Karakura Town—
a tombstone born from pure cold.
Thus,
the battle ended.
The clash of "ice" and "water,"
once revealed in the ranking video,
stirred an uproar across worlds.
And because Harribel was a Vasto Lorde,
her defeat only further highlighted
the overwhelming power of the matured Hitsugaya and his Zanpakutō—
Hyōrinmaru.
(End of Chapter)
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