Rumble.
A heavy heartbeat, roaring like thunder, synchronized with the pulse of the earth. Howling winds swept through, causing the dirt to tremble as the nearby mountains collapsed, sending crushed stone tumbling down.
Heavy Reiatsu erupted in waves. The ground instantly blackened and cracked, and a scalding heatwave washed over them, almost suffocating in its intensity.
Umino Unpei's body creaked under the catalyst of the Reiatsu, his entire skeleton letting out an overwhelmed wail.
A sound like tearing silk served as a signal. The moment it echoed, his skin suddenly ruptured, and pale bone spikes grew out from within.
His spine, elbows, shoulders, and knees were all covered in bone, forming something akin to armor.
Hideous and terrifying.
Fine scales overlapped layer by layer to cover his entire body, making him look like an inhuman monster.
At this very moment, Umino Unpei's appearance was even more horrifying than the Menos Grande that Naraku Sora had seen.
"Oh?"
A hoarse voice, like the roar of a beast, emerged from Umino Unpei's mouth. Beneath the bone-white demon mask, rows of fine, sharp teeth resembled those of an ocean shark, looking incredibly dreadful.
"Back then, Tsunayashiro Taketori confidently guaranteed that hardly anyone in the entire Soul Society would be able to recognize this state. It seems he was just bluffing me."
"Any random Soul Reaper brat who recently joined the squads knows about the existence of Hollowfication."
"But it doesn't matter."
Pointing his sharp claws forward, Umino Unpei's pupils narrowed into slits, brimming with tyrannical cruelty.
"Now, as long as I kill the two of you, I can still go back to being the Captain of Squad 10 and enjoy the countless gazes of admiration."
"No one will ever know my past..."
Before he could finish speaking, Naraku Sora suddenly raised his finger, crackling arcs of electricity dancing at the tip.
"Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō."
A brilliant pillar of light flared up, its surface flowing with dazzling azure lightning. The lethal threat it emitted caused the ground beneath their feet to wail and scorch.
The atmosphere fell dead silent for a split second, followed by a deafening roar that exploded within the Kidō barrier.
The Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō plowed across the earth, leaving a deep trench in its wake as it instantly swallowed Umino Unpei in the distance.
However, the scene that followed was entirely unexpected.
*Crack, crack, crack—*
Beneath the azure pillar of light, a pair of hands covered in bone armor forcefully withstood the impact. After a brief stalemate, amidst a tearing sound...
Umino Unpei let out a deafening roar and directly tore the Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō apart down the middle, splitting it into two pillars of light that crashed down on either side of his body.
Dust surged up like a tidal wave, and deep craters exploded into the ground.
"Is the power boost from Hollowfication really this absurd?"
Even Naraku Sora himself was taken aback, not expecting Umino Unpei's performance to be so outrageous.
Even with the incantation abandoned, it was still a level 88 Hadō.
Normally, only Bakudō #81: Dankū would be capable of blocking this strike.
Yet this guy had torn the Hadō apart with his bare hands. Compared to Gosuke from before, the difference was like night and day.
"Heh, brat, why do you think Tsunayashiro Taketori didn't take me along to Squad 13?"
Umino Unpei sneered. The residual Reishi in his palms fell like raindrops, melting into the scorched earth.
"Of course, it's because—"
Before his voice even faded, that hideous and terrifying face was already inches away. A massive shadow loomed over Sora, and a giant crater exploded at the spot where Umino had just been standing.
"He thought he couldn't control my power!"
His shattered Zanpakutō had long been discarded, replaced by a massive, tightly clenched iron fist that crashed down with suffocating pressure.
"Die!"
*BOOM!!!*
Fist clashed with blade, and the surrounding ground was instantly torn apart layer by layer.
Wherever the impact passed, time seemed to freeze. After a brief, dead silence, a visible shockwave erupted outward with the two of them at the epicenter.
The Kidō barrier let out a creaking wail, seemingly on the verge of shattering at any moment.
Aizen sighed helplessly. With a flick of his wrist, he canceled the Hadō he was preparing and instead focused his energy on the collapsing Kidō barrier.
Things had once again exceeded his plans.
He had assumed Umino Unpei was a Soul Reaper Captain on a similar level to Takeda Goki, but he hadn't expected him to be hiding a trump card in secret.
Hollowfication.
It was completely different from Naraku's Hollowfication. The tyrannical aura that was practically overflowing almost made him mistakenly believe that it wasn't a Soul Reaper standing there, but a true Menos Grande.
Rather than calling it Hollowfication, it was more akin to an Arrancar.
From a researcher's perspective, Umino Unpei's current state was extremely unstable, but in exchange, the boost to his strength was absolutely terrifying.
Being able to tear apart a level 88 Hadō barehanded spoke volumes.
Given the current scale of the battle, if he didn't maintain the Kidō barrier in time, it would be very difficult to hide this from the Soul Reapers patrolling other districts of the Rukongai.
Their actions could not be exposed just yet.
Otherwise, many things would become impossible to explain.
Looking at the slender blade beneath his massive fist, a flash of confusion crossed Umino Unpei's eyes.
*'Such berserk power, yet that Soul Reaper brat was actually able to block it?'*
*Hum—*
The atmosphere inexplicably trembled. Under Umino Unpei's astonished gaze, blood-red Reiatsu gathered around the figure before him, continuously compressing.
Accompanied by a fleeting flash of fire in his eyes, a suffocating, scorching heat washed over them.
It was as if a towering pillar of fire had shot straight into the sky!
Umino Unpei held his breath and took a few steps back, looking at the terrifying scene before him with a face full of shock.
That wasn't fire, but the scorching heat formed by Reiatsu distorting the atmosphere.
Naraku Sora stood with his sword in hand, the tip pointing straight at the ground. A sense of oppression hit like a wave, resembling a fierce flood or a savage beast.
He stared at the figure ahead, the corners of his mouth splitting into a grin. His stark white teeth were particularly eye-catching amidst the flames of his Reiatsu.
Umino Unpei fell silent.
As a Soul Reaper Captain, even though his consciousness was somewhat blurred in his Hollowfied state, he could still distinguish the power his opponent was using.
Shikai.
A familiar yet foreign term.
*'Why is this guy's Shikai on a completely different level from any Shikai I've ever seen or even heard of?'*
*'Is he really a Soul Reaper?'*
Arcs of lightning, dazzling to the extreme, condensed into sword pressure that suddenly tore through the air. It instantly closed in on Umino Unpei, as if aiming to sever that sturdy outer layer of bone armor.
Without any hesitation, arms as thick as tree trunks were raised. Deep purple Reiatsu violently vibrated, and the moment his five fingers clenched together, an ear-piercing screech erupted.
The two sides clashed once again.
Umino Unpei didn't use any techniques; his Hollowfied body was his most powerful weapon, and the outer bone armor combined with his Hierro was the best defense.
*'Even if Naraku Sora brings out his Shikai, he won't be able to defeat me. Once I kill this Soul Reaper brat in front of me, I'll take out the one watching from the sidelines as well!'*
*'They all have to die!'*
Harboring such thoughts, Umino Unpei tightly clenched his fists and viciously smashed them toward Naraku Sora.
Countless afterimages exploded in the air. The deafening sound of the air being torn apart assaulted their eardrums, and the ground beneath their feet continuously crumbled, unable to withstand the endless shockwaves.
The slender blade parried the fists that rained down frantically. Instead of retreating, Naraku Sora advanced. He bent his waist, stepped forward, and tensed his body. A low sound, like a bowstring being pulled taut, seemed to emanate from his joints.
Using the tip of his foot as a fulcrum, the moment he twisted his waist, extreme power was channeled entirely into a kick that slammed into that massive, burly body.
*BOOM—*
The shadow flew backward once again. Naraku Sora flickered with Flash Step, stepping on the air to reappear right in front of Umino Unpei.
First Secret Sword: Rhinoceros Strike!
The blade's light was resplendent, crashing down like the explosive roar of heavy thunderclouds.
In an instant, the sturdy shell was cleanly severed. Viscous blood sprayed from the stump, scattering across the scorched earth.
A small half of his shoulder was blasted into a bloody mist.
The agonizing pain pierced deep into his marrow; every inch of his nerves was screaming!
Umino Unpei's eyes were instantly flooded with bloodshot redness. A roar of anger and pain echoed throughout the barrier, and his tyrannical Reiatsu erupted once more.
On his body, the already hideous bone spikes grew again. The white bone mask on his face cracked open, revealing fine, sharp teeth.
High-Speed Regeneration!
The degree of his Hollowfication deepened.
Stimulated by the pain, Umino Unpei's mind instantly went blank. At this very moment, he only had one thing left to do.
That was, to completely and utterly—
Tear the person before him to shreds!
However, the scene that followed caused him to abruptly halt his enraged charge, forcefully smashing a massive crater into the scorched ground.
In the distance, Naraku Sora pressed his five fingers against his face. His originally blood-red Reiatsu instantly transformed into pure pitch-black, spreading out explosively like a thick fog.
A black pillar of light, crackling with electricity, surged outward. An unstoppable storm expanded in all directions, filling the entire barrier in the blink of an eye.
Even Aizen's face revealed a look of astonishment.
It wasn't that he hadn't seen the commotion caused by Naraku Sora's Hollowfication before, but compared to last time, the sheer scale of this was a bit too massive.
Wild laughter rang out amidst the extremely ferocious Reiatsu. The rage on Umino Unpei's face vanished, replaced by a rare moment of clarity and deep apprehension.
The scene before him was both familiar and foreign, making him almost unable to believe his own eyes. A murmured voice sounded:
"Hollowfication?!"
The next moment—
The figure wreathed in pitch-black Reiatsu stepped out of the pillar of light. A white bone mask traced with black stripes covered more than half of Naraku Sora's face, giving him a suffocating sense of oppression.
"Now, we're back on the same starting line."
His ghastly smile sent shivers down the spine, and his golden, slit-like pupils reflected the massive, burly body.
"Next, it's my turn."
Umino Unpei took a deep breath and immediately unleashed all of his Reiatsu. The muscles beneath his bone armor bulged and surged. His already exaggerated body expanded and grew once more, his bone spikes extending further.
In an instant, he transformed into a three-meter-tall giant.
The ground caved in. The powerful recoil allowed Umino Unpei to cross a distance of dozens of meters in an instant. His shadow loomed over, obscuring Naraku Sora's figure.
Compared to that massive body, he was as insignificant as an ant.
Yet, even under such an exaggerated contrast, not a trace of fear could be seen on Naraku Sora's face. The moment he raised his arm, pitch-black Reiatsu spiraled around it.
The two of them threw their punches at almost the exact same time.
The moment they made contact, Umino Unpei's expression changed drastically. His caution and apprehension were entirely replaced by a fear so intense it made him tremble.
A shockwave of Reiatsu erupted wildly, followed immediately by a purely physical strike.
Black Flash: Ikkotsu!
In that instant, black and red arcs of electricity swallowed more than half of Umino Unpei's body. No sound rang out, as if the world had been put on pause.
The indestructible bone armor and Hierro were instantly erased. A sky full of bloody mist exploded outward. The surrounding space distorted, and a terrifying, intense light devoured him.
The aftershock spread, and the Kidō barrier at the edge suddenly shattered, scattering into a sky full of Reishi.
Left with only half of his body, Umino Unpei crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Naraku Sora had intentionally aimed slightly off-center in order to leave some research material for his adopted son. This deep fatherly love was truly touching.
Aizen arrived via Flash Step. Looking at the barely recognizable Umino Unpei, his eye twitched, and from the corner of his eye, he glanced at the smug Naraku Sora beside him.
Although he wasn't quite sure what this guy was thinking, he couldn't help but feel a sense of being offended.
*'I'll remember this grudge for now,'* he noted mentally.
*'Also, isn't this guy looking less and less like a Soul Reaper?'*
Staring at that arrogant white bone mask, Aizen couldn't help but mutter in his heart.
##Discount on all novels##
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