A year has passed in the blink of an eye.
The number of elite Half-Arrancar on the Arrancar Army side has increased to fifty, including the dozen or so already counted, but excluding those that failed to evolve.
This group was jointly led by Grimmjow and Dordoni... Because the technology for Half-Arrancarization the face was not fully perfected, Zero did not arrange for these two to undergo Half-Arrancarization.
Grimmjow didn't need to. Dordoni almost evolved into Vasto Lorde, and the Laboratory was helping him find a way. Theoretically, he would be stronger if he became Vasto Lorde before evolving into Arrancar.
Each portion of the Death God's spiritual power that can transform Adjuchas into a hillside requires the extraction of the power of about ten souls to create, therefore the quantity is limited, and only fifty can be created initially.
The remaining Menos Grande, though yearning to Arrancars, could only wait, waiting for their Lord Nangong to arrange for them to go to Soul Society and abduct souls with Reiryoku.
During this time, the Scientific Hollows restored Seigen, using the power of the Soul Reaper Seigen completely suppress the Hollow power within him... Unlike before, he now possesses Hollow power within him and can use it in battle.
The research institute resembled a palace beneath the Sky Cover. Two figures stood side by side by the window; they were Zero and Seigen...
"How is it? How do you feel?"
"Did you survive? Thank you... By the way, where is this?"
Hueco Mundo, my territory!
"What? What happened?"
Seigen stared at the smiling Zero, his eyes immediately filled with suspicion and uncertainty. Zero then began to recount the events that had transpired, along with some of his doubts...
Seigen with a complicated expression, "So you've always wanted to change the rules of Soul Society, and then you ended up falling so low as to become companions with Hollows?"
He had nothing to say about Zero's reluctance to accept trial; no normal person wants to die, especially since this person had incidentally saved him. However, he couldn't accept Zero becoming an ally of Hollow.
Regarding Zero's claim that he wasn't framed and turned into a Hollow, Seigen had some doubts but didn't voice them, because Zero suspected it was the guy who infiltrated the Great Spirit Book Gallery back then...
"You keep spouting nonsense; your understanding is limited to this, Nangong. It seems your fellow Soul Reaper disagrees with you... How about I kill him?"
Grimmjow suddenly appeared, standing upright in human form, with immense Reiatsu surrounding him. He immediately started shouting for battle, clearly disliking this red-haired guy.
"Vasto Lorde!?"
Seigen's hair stood on end. This was the first time he had felt Vasto Lorde's Reiatsu up close. The last time was when he was supporting the Kuruyashiki.
"Go away and play somewhere else," Zero waved his hand at Grimmjow and continued answering Seigen's question, "These Hollows may be guilty, but it's the rules that determine their guilt. After the world's rules are reshaped, will the Hollows still be guilty?"
"On the other hand, does that mean the Central 46 is innocent? When I said I killed the Central 46, you weren't angry at all, which means you also hate them, right?"
Seigen's eyes flickered. Yes, he also hated the Central 46. A large part of the reason for the decline of their family was the unreasonable rules set by the Central 46.
However, no one thought the rules were unreasonable; they only believed that the Shisuna Family was guilty and needed to be punished, while those who caused their family to commit crimes got away scot-free.
"The Seireitei is also judging you as a fake. I've heard that Hirako has taken your place. You can't go back now, and they won't believe I cured you. Stay and help me!"
"Once I become the Soul King, I can change not only the rules, but also Hueco Mundo, the Hollows, and even the entire universe..."
A certain handsome guy, who doesn't even know Soul King is, is trying to recruit subordinates... Even in the Zero Division, only the Monk has seen the Soul King in person, which is why they were so surprised when they saw the Soul King created by Yhwach in the original timeline...
Ever since learning of the Soul King's existence, Zero wanted to become the Captain-Commander, but he only saw it as a stepping stone; he wanted to become stronger.
A flicker of doubt Seigen's eyes. He paused for a moment before replying, "Become Soul King? If it truly comes to your wish, then the rules can indeed be rewritten!"
"I do hate the rules set by Central 46, but I can't imagine what the world would be like after you changed it. Sorry, I won't help you."
Faced with Seigen's refusal, Zero raised an eyebrow, while Grimmjow, who had been silent, said with a hint of excitement, "Since he won't cooperate, we'll have to eliminate him to prevent information leaks..."
Bakudō #4: Hainawa: Hainawa!
A rope appeared out of thin air, binding Grimmjow, whose claws had extended, into an insect-like shape. He was then kicked away by Zero, crashing through a wall and disappearing without a trace.
Zero turned to Seigen and asked, "So what are your plans?"
"I'm going back to Soul Society to live in seclusion. I'm the kind of person who never liked being Captain. If it weren't for the fact that two Captains died for certain reasons, I wouldn't have risen to this position."
Seigen didn't hide his thoughts either; the Third Division and Fifth Divisions were relatively relaxed teams, and even diligent Soul Reaper would become lazy after joining them.
"Alright, before you go into seclusion, you can do me a favor, right? It'll be a favor to yourselves too..."
"Can!"
Zero began to recount the request he had made, including some details. After giving Seigen a few Spirit Worm, Zero opened the Garganta for him and sent him Rukongai...
As for him providing intelligence to the Gotei 13? Don't be ridiculous. You can bet they wouldn't even believe the intelligence provided by someone saved by a traitor.
After the Garganta closed, Zero murmured to himself, 'I hope it succeeds!'
No sooner had Seigen Yuan left Hueco Mundo than Zero issued orders to attack the remaining forces of Baraggan and completely unify Hueco Mundo, as they already knew the exact location of Baraggan's forces.
Fifty-three fully-equipped Half-Arrancar, each possessing considerable combat power, rushed together towards the outer edge of Hueco Mundo...
The outer ring of land was silent and chilling! The occasional long howls that reached the sky could make even the weaker Void beings tremble.
The inner circle is fraught with danger, with Adjuchas potentially leaping out of the sand at any moment. But in the outer edge, the Reishi is so scarce that even Menos Grande nearly suffocated.
At this moment, dozens of figures moved rapidly. There was no longer a desert here, nor was there Quartz Tree underground; there were only endless rocky mountains.
Baraggan had already detected Zero's attack and immediately gathered his troops here to defend the area. The less than eighty Adjuchas constituted all of Baraggan's mid-level combat power, while the low-level consisted of three hundred controlled Gillian.
Baraggan's forces gathered on several rocky hills, with Baraggan, now in human form, naturally as their leader. Szayelaporro, however, was nowhere to be seen... It could be said that the entire Hueco Mundo's fighting strength was dramatically altered by Zero's arrival.
On the Arrancar Army side, Ulquiorra was in command. He raised his hand, and fifty-three Half-Arrancar, led by Grimmjow, launched an attack.
The half- Arrancar Army launched a frontal assault, without any fancy maneuvers; the clash below immediately became fierce...
"Haha, what's this? Is it a heat-powered bath?"
"What era are we living in? Still controlling Gillian? How could Cero of this magnitude possibly break through my defenses?"
"Go! Kill those bastards!"
After being Cero by Gillian, the unharmed Half-Arrancar laughed loudly as they bravely charged forward and shattered the first line of defense.
What Baraggan then saw was not a battle, but the slaughter of his subordinates; even three Adjuchas working together couldn't defeat a single Half-Arrancar...
'Damn it, the gap is widening! Nangong Ling!' Baraggan's eyes burned with rage. Getting Ling's name from the Menos Grande wasn't difficult.
Szayelaporro was also studying the corpse of the Yaxiao. Although he had made some progress, time was too tight, and he was unable to create the same Half-Arrancar, nor did he have the necessary materials for the time being.
Watching his men being slaughtered below, Baraggan finally couldn't hold back any longer and took action. He picked up his giant axe and was about to strike when a figure suddenly appeared in front of him and blocked his way.
"What a troublesome opponent! Having a partner means I can't just lazily sit and admire the moonlight anymore..."
Starrk scratched his head, still sleepy. He sensed Baraggan's power, but showed no fear whatsoever.
"A guy like you would actually serve a Soul Reaper? What benefits did that damned Soul Reaper give you?"
Baraggan was furious. The guy in front of him was a Natural Arrancar, unlike Barragan who evolved by absorbing Picaro's power.
Starrk scratched his head, puzzled. "Benefits? Helping your comrades fight the enemy doesn't require any benefits, does it?"
Baraggan: "..."
He was speechless. To think that Soul Reaper had become a companion—how infuriating!
If they had acted a little faster back then, this guy would have undoubtedly become one of their own.
For decades, Baraggan had been thinking about retaking Las Noches every moment, but each time Szayelaporro gave him a simple message: he couldn't win.
Therefore, they also began various plans, such as seeking powerful allies to Zanpakuto with, sealing the Nangong Ling, and so on.
Rumble!
While they were locked in a standoff, a sudden roar came from behind Baraggan. He turned around and saw five long purple dragons of Reiatsu churning, and the Rock Mountain, as fragile as a bubble, was blasted flat and shattered.
Szayelaporro and Picaro's Reiatsu appeared, but they were barely breathing, seemingly severely injured.
Furthermore, the Reiatsu was very strong. Baraggan could instantly sense that it came from Nangong Ling and Picaro. When he looked closely, he saw that Picaro, who had already been unleashed, had just been slashed by Ling's sword, leaving a bloody splatter...
"Hmph, you're much weaker than before. What happened to you?"
Zero's eyes held a strange look, as if he had a feeling that Picaro's weakening was Arrancar to Szayelaporro and Baraggan.