"Reel in your Reiatsu. Don't make such a huge scene."
"We're only here to capture a Menos Grande this time. It's different from our last trip."
In the pitch-black depths of the Dangai, Aizen walked ahead, using his spiritual power to forge a smooth, wide path of Reishi, reminding his companion without looking back.
"You say that as if I'm some arrogant show-off."
Naraku Sora grinned. "Who in the entire Gotei 13 doesn't know that I act with the utmost caution, treading on thin ice? Even Old Man Yama worries if I can make it to the other side."
Aizen: "?"
He couldn't help but turn his head to glance at a certain someone who completely lacked self-awareness.
Did your 'utmost caution' mean snuffing out a Shakkahō barehanded and blocking a Zanpakutō with a single finger?
In just half a day, the news of your battle with the young master of the Kuchiki clan has already spread throughout the entire Seireitei.
Looking across the Soul Society, who doesn't know the great name of Naraku Gokuyu?
After rushing forward for a while, the exit of the Garganta opened ahead. The two figures leaped through, landing on the silver sands of Hueco Mundo.
Aizen quickly adjusted his condition. He first used his Reiatsu to sense their surroundings, then observed Naraku Sora's demeanor.
He looks the same as usual.
Hmm, it seems there are no enemies worth paying attention to nearby.
Perhaps due to his perfect Hollowfication, this guy is extremely useful in specific environments.
For instance, during their first mission after joining the squad, Naraku Sora had immediately pinpointed the enemy's location, while Aizen himself had been completely oblivious.
I originally thought his Reiatsu perception was sharper than mine.
Only after asking did I find out that he could smell the scent of Hollows.
As he operated alongside Naraku Sora more frequently, Aizen realized he could exploit this advantage to guard against Menos Grande that excelled at hiding.
After confirming there was no danger, Aizen took out specialized equipment and began surveying the fine, silvery-white sand.
The number of Hollow packs in Hueco Mundo was not small, and based on that massive foundation, the number of Menos Grande was equally considerable.
But the problem was that Hueco Mundo was far too vast. Its scope was no smaller than the Soul Society, and due to the decisions of Central 46, Soul Reapers had explored very little of it.
Therefore, finding suitable materials still required a bit of luck.
Guided by the equipment, the two advanced rapidly through the wasteland.
The Reishi density in Hueco Mundo was extremely high, far surpassing that of the Soul Society and the World of the Living.
This allowed some of the lesser Hollows living here to survive simply by absorbing Reishi from the atmosphere.
Along the way, they occasionally encountered worm-like creatures, but Aizen usually paid them no mind.
Hollows below the level of Gillian could no longer satisfy his experimental needs; at the very least, he required Hollows on the verge of evolution.
Above the wasteland.
Chaotic and tyrannical Reiatsu intertwined and clashed. Visible shockwaves continuously erupted, leaving behind deep craters.
Two massive Hollow packs had engaged in a brutal encounter among the dunes. They slaughtered and fought each other, devouring their own kind in an attempt to evolve to a higher level.
This was an instinct carved deep into their souls, an ironclad rule that had existed since the primordial world was still intact.
Very few Hollows could defy this instinct.
Unless they were born as Vasto Lorde.
The battle scene was incredibly gruesome. Crimson, grayish-white, and pitch-black—a myriad of colors splattered in all directions, while a thick, nauseating stench of blood continuously permeated the air.
Compared to the conflicts between Soul Reapers, the civil wars in Hueco Mundo were clearly much more savage.
Because if you showed mercy, you would become another Hollow's meal, turning into a stepping stone on their path to evolution.
By now, the war between the Hollow packs had already reached a white-hot stage.
With bloodshot eyes, the Hollows let out deafening roars and charged at the enemies ahead, completely disregarding who their opponents were.
At this point, even a Menos Grande has to die!
None of the Hollows noticed the two additional figures in the sky. Aizen held a notebook, recording the battle before him and noting down parameters that might be useful.
There was no shortage of Menos Grande-class entities among the packs, which could replenish his material reserves.
Having found suitable materials, the purpose of this trip was already half-fulfilled. The rest could be left to the free labor that had tagged along.
Aizen glanced at the person beside him. Naraku Sora raised a finger, twisting arcs of electricity wrapping around his fingertip, flashing madly alongside scattering sparks.
"Scattered beast bones!"
"Spire, crimson crystal, steel wheels. The wind if it moves, the sky if it stops. The sound of striking spears fills the empty castle!"
"Hadō #63・Raikōhō!"
Brilliant lightning descended from the sky, transforming into divine punishment that blanketed the battlefield, sweeping out in all directions.
Wherever the crackling torrent of electricity passed, everything was cleanly and decisively annihilated.
An octopus Hollow wrapped around the body of a tall, black Gillian was instantly turned into takoyaki. The terrifying high temperatures radiating outward instantly tore the Hollow pack apart, shredding them and evaporating them into ash.
Because of his solid foundation, Naraku Sora's comprehension of the sixty-third Hadō, Raikōhō, had reached a level of perfection.
Therefore, making a slight morphological change was well within reason.
However, when the cast ended, the look Aizen gave him was a bit strange.
It was as if he were looking at some inhuman monster.
In the blink of an eye, the massive battlefield fell into dead silence.
The Reiatsu and attack, which were completely out of place in Hueco Mundo, instantly attracted the attention of all the Hollows, including the few Adjuchas among the packs.
Upon sensing the appearance of Soul Reapers, they simultaneously redirected their attacks. Opening their hideous, bloodthirsty maws, countless Reishi gathered.
One after another, gleaming red spheres of light condensed.
To Hollows, Soul Reapers were the true, ultimate delicacy.
Whether it was their souls or their flesh, they were top-tier existences.
Devouring a single Soul Reaper was far more beneficial than devouring a hundred of their own kind!
In the next second, Ceros shot toward the sky like a torrential downpour, instantly dyeing the pitch-black night sky crimson. Like a tidal wave, they swallowed the two figures in an instant.
"Bakudō #81・Dankū."
A transparent barrier materialized out of thin air, standing indestructibly before them, blocking all the Cero beams on the outside.
They were nothing more than ordinary trash that didn't even qualify as Menos Grande. Even if a quantitative change led to a qualitative one, it wasn't enough to shatter Naraku Sora's Dankū Bakudō.
And while he was battling wits and brawn with the Hollow pack, at the edge of the battlefield beneath a sand dune, a giant black-and-purple worm burrowed out from the silver sand. Its hideous, ugly mouthparts continuously suckled at the air.
As if it had caught what it was looking for, its skin peeled back, and a pair of eerie compound eyes gazed up toward the sky.
At the same time, in a cave laboratory far away from this location.
The Menos Grande who was already dead in Arturo's cognition, Szayelaporro, sat on a silvery-white seat. With his elbow resting on the armrest and his right hand propping up his tilted head, he stared at the screen before him with great interest.
Unlike the sci-fi-styled laboratories in the Soul Society, there weren't many metallic structures here.
Flesh and blood that could be seen everywhere quivered gently, and sticky fluids slid down the walls. It felt like the cavity of some giant organism, permeated with an eerie atmosphere.
However, the equipment placed in the center boasted a highly advanced technological level, with precise instruments neatly arranged.
The furnishings formed a stark contrast with the overall style.
On the foremost light screen was the exact footage of the Hollow packs' tragic slaughter. The dazzling Kidō annihilated the Ceros, acting like some irresistible rule that erased the Hollows along with them.
They had absolutely no power to resist.
"Finally, they're here."
The corners of Szayelaporro's mouth curled up, his smile full of anticipation.
"That lucky kid looked after by that woman... It's only been such a short time, yet his strength has become so exaggerated. He's definitely a genius among Soul Reapers."
"And the one next to him. His manipulation of Reiatsu is precise to the extreme, just like a machine. No, even the operation of some instruments isn't as precise as him."
"No wonder that guy Tsunayashiro Taketori failed. With a bunch of monsters like this around, it'd be a miracle if he succeeded."
"Speaking of which, that guy Arturo was also sealed by them, wasn't he?"
Szayelaporro stroked his chin, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.
"Well, it doesn't matter."
"I just so happen to have researched something new recently. You two, let me see your limits!"
Amidst the howling wind, another overconfident Menos Grande crashed head-on into the surging lightning. Its body was instantly paralyzed, bursting into flames from the intense heat before finally turning to ash.
Aizen stood guard not far away, frowning as he stared at the figure slaughtering in the battlefield.
Under his Reiatsu perception, the density of Reishi in the atmosphere seemed to have changed. As it rose sharply, new substances were integrating into it.
It seems somewhat familiar.
The boiling white sand gradually settled, and the surging electrical arcs and roaring flames quickly dissipated.
An unscathed figure emerged from amidst the permeating silver sand. Directly ahead were the few remaining Adjuchas.
They were also the targets of this trip.
Just as Naraku Sora rubbed his fists, preparing to make his move on them.
A sudden mutation occurred.
An Adjuchas that resembled an armored rhinoceros suddenly froze. Its narrow pupils instantly lost their color, replaced by an emotionless pure white.
A low breathing sound could be heard, growing increasingly heavy until it transformed into a mournful roar.
Like a balloon being blown up, the grayish-white rhinoceros Menos Grande rapidly expanded. Its bony armor stood on end, and the skin and flesh beneath gradually began to twist.
It was as if it had been parasitized by something bizarre.
The bony armor quickly fell off. Immediately after, beneath the shriveled grayish-white skin, black markings resembling chains emerged.
Layer upon layer of keratin grew out from beneath the cracking and peeling skin. Its blood rapidly turned pitch-black, looking exactly like the Phosphoric Gas that appeared during the Soul Burial Festival.
In just a split second, it transformed into a monster entirely covered in Phosphoric Gas, with deformed flesh and black markings spreading all over its body.
A chilling Hellish sediment rose from its body.
The few Adjuchas nearby sensed the danger and immediately prepared to turn tail and run. However, before they could put their thoughts into action, pitch-black tentacles wrapped around their waists.
A terrifying power erupted. Several massive bodies disintegrated in an instant, turning into a sky full of blood mist that was absorbed by the monster.
As its Reiatsu continued to rise, the rhinoceros monster imbued with the power of Hell began yet another round of mutation and evolution.
It was as if something parasitizing within its shell had awakened and broken out.
Its head ruptured, and liquid-like bone flowed out from within, forming hideous, backward-curving giant horns.
The most obvious change was the Hollow hole that symbolized its identity. It writhed continuously, eventually detaching from its chest cavity and growing onto its back.
Naraku Sora watched, dumbfounded, and even Aizen's face revealed a hint of surprise.
Having experienced the Preliminary Rite of the Soul Burial Festival in the World of the Living, no one knew the root of the changes before them better than they did.
The two exchanged a glance:
"Living creatures can also undergo Hellification?"