"Hey, hey, Harribel, the enemy you mentioned couldn't possibly be a monster like this, right?"
Nnoitra stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the figure being repeatedly slammed against the distant desert. A trace of horror flashed through his narrow pupils.
Although he had never interacted with Grimmjow, as a fellow Menos Grande, he could still smell the threat radiating from him.
In Nnoitra's eyes, even though this panther belonged to the Adjuchas class, his threat level was far greater than any Adjuchas he had seen before.
Or rather, they weren't even on the same level.
Even if he were to fight him, he couldn't guarantee a victory.
The best possible outcome would be mutual destruction.
Yet, such a powerful existence was being treated like a ragged ragdoll in the hands of that Soul Reaper.
Holding him by a single front leg, the Soul Reaper repeatedly smashed him into the ground, creating one deep crater after another.
*With such an absurd fighting style, was that guy really a Soul Reaper?*
A hint of panic flashed through Harribel's emerald eyes, but she quickly suppressed it. Her calm voice rang out, though to the others, it sounded somewhat forced:
"Grimmjow only fell into a disadvantage due to a moment of carelessness."
"There is only one of him, while we have a full eight."
"The advantage is ours!"
Hearing Harribel's words, a trace of instinctive disgust flashed through Nnoitra's eyes.
Although he was also extremely belligerent, he usually didn't fight enemies head-on like Grimmjow did.
In Nnoitra's eyes, a victory achieved by any means necessary was what one should strive for.
Similarly, he absolutely despised it when a female Menos Grande held a higher position in the group than he did, just like the current situation.
Fortunately, at a time like this, Nnoitra could still distinguish priorities and temporarily shelved any thoughts of infighting.
"Let's save Grimmjow first."
A colossal, caterpillar-like behemoth let out a muffled voice, a mocking smile appearing on his face, which was half-covered by a bone mask:
"That guy looks like he's about to die."
*Boom!*
The ground beneath Naraku Sora's feet suddenly exploded. Sky-blue phantom claws plowed several trenches through the desert, and the dissipating shockwaves visibly rippled outward.
Even though he was covered in wounds, Grimmjow still hadn't given up on the idea of fighting.
On the contrary, his fighting spirit blazed like a raging fire, burning fiercely within his eye sockets.
"Little kitten, willpower alone can't bridge the gap between us. This isn't a comic book world, and you don't have a cosmos to burn."
Naraku Sora raised his right hand and clenched it fiercely. With a sharp pop, the air suddenly detonated, sending ripples echoing outward in all directions.
His fist, as large as a sandbag, instantly crackled with golden lightning.
Grimmjow shook his dizzy head, forcing himself to regain clarity. Without any hesitation, he opened his bloodthirsty maw, gathering countless Reishi within.
The surrounding desert suddenly darkened. The air was churned by violent Reiatsu, forming a visible vortex that occasionally emitted ear-piercing sounds like shattering glass.
Cero!
As an outstanding figure among the Adjuchas, the power of Grimmjow's Cero far exceeded that of Menos Grande at the same level, perhaps not even losing out to a Vasto Lorde's.
When his claws couldn't effectively harm the opponent, this became his final trump card.
*Rumble—!*
The menacing pillar of the Cero erupted. Under the crescent moon, the silver sand rolled as if boiling. Amidst the roaring friction of the light, a scorching heat emerged, reducing countless grains of sand to nothingness.
Facing Grimmjow's trump card, Naraku Sora showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, he grinned savagely and threw a straight punch forward.
Single Bone!
Then, silence fell.
For a brief moment, the tumbling tumbleweeds, the roaring shockwaves, the erupting Reiatsu, the falling silver sand, the flowing wind, and the surging desert all came to a standstill.
It was as if the world's pause button had been pressed.
In the next instant, a crack appeared on the Cero's beam of light. It extended straight forward, instantly crossing the dazzling radiance until it covered the entire Cero.
Ultimate destruction descended directly.
Amidst the violent tremors in the air, the crackling sound of shattering reached Grimmjow's ears like thunder. Under his shocked gaze—
His proud Cero suddenly shattered like glass trampled by a tremendous force.
"Your purity is too low."
After annihilating the Cero with a single punch, Naraku Sora activated Sonído. With a flicker, he appeared right in front of Grimmjow and, without a word, placed his hand on the massive head.
Grimmjow tried to resist, struggling desperately.
The muscles on his arms surged like water, concentrating his power and bursting forth!
An irresistible force suddenly struck. Immediately, the sound of fracturing bones rang out with exceptional clarity across the empty desert.
His head pulled his neck, and his neck dragged his body, plummeting downward.
Rings of airwaves exploded outward with Grimmjow at the center, and the desert caved in uncontrollably.
By the time the other Menos Grande rushed to the battlefield with all their might, the battle between Naraku Sora and Grimmjow had already ended.
In the dust, a white panther lay in a deep crater. Aside from a hind leg that occasionally twitched due to neural reflexes—proving he was still alive—there wasn't a single intact spot left on his body.
Lifting his head, a red glint flashed in his eyes. His cold gaze swept over the Hollows who had intruded upon the battlefield. Naraku Sora opened his mouth, white steam escaping from between his teeth as he revealed a brutal, savage grin:
"Since you dared to invade Las Noches, you must have the resolve to pay the price."
"Losers, obediently stay behind and serve as my playthings!"
The moment his words fell, Harribel's pupils shrank drastically. She watched as the figure standing amidst the scorched earth suddenly vanished.
The next instant, thunder erupted.
Accompanied by sweeping airwaves, a straight bolt of lightning whipped across the desert, carving a pitch-black scorch mark into the ground.
In a flash, crossing a hundred meters, Naraku Sora descended from the sky and crashed into the midst of the Hollows.
Meeting their bewildered gazes, Naraku Sora opened his mouth and took a deep breath.
In a split second, a surprise Cero crackling with frantic lightning spewed forth. It converged into a torrential pillar of light mixed with thunder, sweeping across the entire battlefield.
Wherever it passed, the desert shattered, plowing deep, scorched trenches.
Due to his overly massive size, the mantis-like Nnoitra was caught in the blast. He let out a deafening cry of pain as half of his body was instantly charred black.
The terrifying shockwave continued to spread like ripples.
Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Harribel immediately activated Sonído. Her agile figure flickered, a slender shark tail swaying behind her.
A thick, heavy bone sword appeared directly above Naraku Sora, slashing downward without hesitation.
The air parted on both sides of the bone sword, as if it had been cleaved in two.
As one of the few Vasto Lorde in Hueco Mundo, Harribel's strength was still formidable.
"Trident Mist Halberd!"
A massive amount of misty water erupted from the bone sword, only to be instantly compressed to both ends of the blade. With a swing, it transformed into sword pressure and shot out explosively.
The attack blended into the air, making it difficult to track with the naked eye while simultaneously causing the surrounding temperature to spike.
*Sizzle—*
A dense fog suddenly permeated the area.
Seeing her attack land, Harribel breathed a sigh of relief, her tense nerves relaxing slightly.
*This move of hers was incredibly powerful. Even a Menos Grande of the same level might not be able to withstand it. Taking it head-on, even if that Soul Reaper didn't die...*
A scorching wind rose from the ground, instantly annihilating the surrounding water mist. A heart-palpitating figure slowly walked out.
Under Harribel's surprise attack, his haori had been reduced to ash. Even his Shishakushō had become tattered due to the corrosive nature of the dense fog, revealing his perfectly sculpted physique.
Lines resembling flowing magma appeared on Naraku Sora's skin. Kidō Reiatsu outlined golden-red marks as electrical arcs leaped about, causing the surrounding atmosphere to occasionally erupt in ear-piercing shrieks.
Shunkō: Blazing Lightning Hell!
Harribel was astonished to find that her charged strike hadn't left a single scratch on her opponent.
*Was this really a Soul Reaper?*
*Why did it feel like a battle between their own kind?*
If it weren't for the fact that Naraku Sora lacked even the slightest Hollow characteristic, Harribel might have mistaken him for a highly evolved Vasto Lorde.
Normally, Soul Reapers were supposed to be beings with graceful movements and bizarre techniques.
But this guy showed absolutely none of those traits. He was crushing them purely with indestructible defense and suffocating power.
He was so strong it induced despair.
"Lady Harribel."
Sung-Sun swayed her snake tail uneasily, trying to persuade Harribel to abandon this operation.
Based solely on his performance, she couldn't see even a sliver of hope for victory.
"At this point, it's too late to choose escape."
"You all provide long-range support with Ceros while I handle the frontal assault. We have the advantage in numbers. As long as we exhaust his stamina, the final victory will still belong to us."
"For Hueco Mundo."
Leaving those words behind, Harribel erupted with astonishing speed and vanished from her spot, charging toward Naraku Sora like a fired cannonball.
A golden streak of light flashed across the sky.
On the other side, the monster resembling an enlarged caterpillar also opened his bloodthirsty maw, letting out a voice like muffled thunder:
"Ulquiorra, are you going to make a move?"
The slender, humanoid white figure responded with silence, seemingly having no intention of answering.
The caterpillar Adjuchas seemed accustomed to his demeanor and nonchalantly shook his massive head:
"That Soul Reaper is strong. Probably stronger than all of us combined."
"But the stronger he is, the more it incites the rage within me. That way, I'll become even stronger, until I defeat the Soul Reaper and eat him."
"When that time comes, I'll be the strongest Menos Grande in Hueco Mundo!"
"Once I've accomplished all that, devouring you will be a breeze."
The white Menos Grande raised his gaze. "Yammy, is that the meaning of your living?"
"Living? Meaning?"
Yammy scratched his head, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes:
"Does living need a meaning?"
Ulquiorra really wanted to retort, asking him if he even realized what he was saying, but as the words reached his lips, he felt it was unnecessary.
Yammy's intelligence was clearly inversely proportional to his size.
His current state was actually considered his relatively smart phase.
"Hmph, what a boring guy."
Two streams of white steam shot out from Yammy's nostrils. Moving the giant hooves on both sides of his body, he headed straight for the battlefield.
He was going to make that Soul Reaper taste the flavor of his rage!
---------------
Want more chapters? 50+ extra chapters are available on my Patreon:
patreon.com/Hard_Worker