Chapter 197: Combat Specialist
As is common knowledge.
Hollows, as an independent third pillar separate from both the living world and Soul Society, carry an irreplaceable importance of their own.
And the native inhabitants of Hueco Mundo even more so.
By definition, Hollows are spiritual beings incapable of releasing their obsessions, things of darkness that take shape after a period of incubation.
That is, at least, the publicly accepted understanding, and also the product of Soul Society's teachings.
Looked at from Hueco Mundo's perspective, though, they carry a different interpretation entirely.
They are naturally formed unconscious spiritual beings.
Wandering Hueco Mundo, advancing through constant combat, these creatures follow a clearly defined progression path.
The lowest tier: Gillians. The middle tier: Adjuchas. The upper tier: Vasto Lordes.
And beyond that seemingly fixed foundation, through Aizen's hands, a further direction of evolution had been extended.
Arrancar.
Most of their number were drawn from Menos Grande at the Gillian level and above. They carried the characteristics of a shattered mask, Hierro, and a Zanpakuto sealing the core... yes.
As it should be.
'But mine is a bit different.'
Watching the Hollow alt gradually coming into its full state, Matsushita Yusuke wore a complicated expression.
The vast majority of Arrancar were special individuals built through Aizen Sosuke's hand, shaped into existence through the Hogyoku's catalysis. But Matsushita Yusuke's Hollow alt was built through a separate Hogyoku fragment, an independent individual created from a different piece entirely.
In other words.
The permissions it could access were of a higher order.
The storm was gathering. Reiatsu poured outward without pause, like a vortex drawing everything inward, converging from all directions toward where the Hollow alt stood.
Resurrección.
At its core, this was the act of releasing the true self sealed within the Zanpakuto, a return to one's original state.
After Arrancar-ification, following Aizen's specific design for the process, most of a Hollow's power would be divided and sealed, remaining with the Arrancar in another form: a blade. Release was reclaiming that original power.
But the alt had no blade.
That didn't matter.
Power's form of expression was always different from one case to the next. The method the Hollow alt had found was no exception.
And for it, right now, that milky-white body was the restraint. In the most literal sense.
The storm rolled inward like a tide, and in one moment, the Hollow alt seemed to catch something fleeting in its grasp. It spoke in a voice completely stripped of feeling.
"Flood and fall, Sekikotsu."
Crack.
With a sharp, shattering sound, the Hollow alt's milky-white cross-shaped mask broke apart.
That said, in reality only the corners of the upper portion fell away. But through that opening, Yamamoto saw clearly: a single black eye, staring at him with a gaze that held nothing behind it.
What a cold stare.
Battle-hardened as he was, a man who had lived through more carnage than most could imagine, he grasped it in almost the same instant: a battle-lust radiating off the opponent that was barely contained, practically on the threshold of eruption.
BOOM!!!
The reiatsu that burst and scattered outward was a deep, vivid crimson, red as blood.
And at almost the same moment, the Hollow alt's flesh rapidly dissolved. No, dissolved wasn't quite right. Melted, perhaps, was more accurate to what Yamamoto was seeing.
Like shedding an elaborate and refined outer shell.
Vivid red flesh emerged beneath. The body contracted further, pulling inward until it stood at roughly 1.8 meters. The muscle groups across the hands, upper arms, torso, and waist all drew continuously inward with each breath, like long-forged steel, giving off an impression that was intensely dark and contained.
Exhale.
A light breeze carried the dust and fragments of buildings crushed in the release, and both sides regarded each other across the cleared space it left behind.
Yamamoto, unusually, chose a defensive stance. Partly out of caution for the unknown. And partly...
It might be hard to believe. But looking at the opponent right now, a thought surfaced in the Captain-Commander that hadn't appeared in several hundred years.
He was in no hurry to confirm it, so more than anything his stance was one of watching and waiting.
Whatever happens, though.
Come on, then.
No words needed. Both sides reached the same conclusion in an instant.
BANG!!!
The Hollow alt stepped forward without hesitation, without a trace of fear.
Its vivid red foot stamped into the shallow water, force pouring outward in an instant, scattering the water in a ring and crushing a circular vacuum into the ground beneath.
Its figure flashed through the air like a bolt of vivid red lightning and drove hard toward where Yamamoto stood.
Both sides crashed together.
Still a clash of fist against blade. But the one falling into disadvantage, being pushed steadily backward, was Captain-Commander Yamamoto.
He braced Ryujin Jakka across his body without any change of expression.
Right hand on the blade, left hand flat against the spine, maintaining a stance of active resistance.
But it did nothing to stop the Hollow alt's relentless, step-by-step advance.
After several meters of being pushed back, Yamamoto's throat shifted slightly and he let out a brief, low sound he rarely made.
Not from pain. From surprise.
'Stronger than I expected...'
But not yet beyond what I can hold...
The thought hadn't had time to fully settle. In the blink of an eye, the Hollow alt's left hand rose high and made a grasping motion.
A sharp, wet sound.
The left forearm split open, and a serpentine bone blade erupted from within.
"...!"
Yamamoto's eyes widened slightly. On instinct he moved to react. He couldn't keep pace with the speed.
Not good.
CLANG!!!
The two figures crossed. Yamamoto was knocked back.
He freed his left hand and moved it to cover his chest, apparently trying to block something. The result wasn't what he hoped.
Because in the next instant, the wound that suddenly tore open split the flesh in two with raw force. Yamamoto stumbled, blood running down his chest and soaking into his clothing at the waist.
"Cough... I see. So your weapon is hidden inside your body."
The Hollow alt gave no response. It raised its right hand in silence and repeated the same motion.
A bone blade erupted outward, presenting a savage and serpentine silhouette.
The Hollow alt was a combat-specialized Resurrección-type Arrancar in the most literal sense. Without exaggerating, under anything less than ideal conditions, Matsushita Yusuke genuinely did not think he could beat his own alt.
Additionally.
'What it's shown so far is only the tip of the iceberg...'
So.
What are you going to do?
Captain-Commander Yamamoto?
****
I don't know how to feel about this....feels like Yamamoto is nerfed.....