There were no roars, no violent Reiatsu; everything was eerily quiet, eerily quiet.
In an instant, everyone realized that they had been here for a long time, and the Menos Grande Forest should never be this quiet.
Realizing something was wrong, Hirako suddenly shouted, "Who is it?"
Using the faint light within the Menos Grande Forest, they saw a figure slowly approaching. Hachigen Ushōda used an Illumination-type Kidō to illuminate the surroundings.
A black-haired man wearing Red Star Goshinbō walked slowly towards them, emanating no Reiatsu and barely perceptible presence.
A faint smile graced his handsome face; if one did not know his name, the people would surely feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze. But now, all eight of them felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.
A bead of sweat rolled down Kensei's cheek as he said in a deep voice, "Nangong Ling."
Without him saying a word, the other seven were already on high alert. They knew that Hueco Mundo was Nangong Ling's territory, and getting too close to Las Noches might lead to discovery and being hunted down by the Arrancar.
But what they didn't expect was that after they were exposed, Nangong Ling would come in person, and it seemed he was bringing people with him...
"Everyone, how have you been? You've come all this way to Hueco Mundo and haven't even paid a visit to Las Noches. I, as the host, am losing face!" Zero approached casually, seemingly without any defenses.
As he was exposed, four heavy Reiatsu appeared, completely Sealing the area.
"Tch, you personally brought Espada to find us, how honored we are!" Hirako glanced sideways, already realizing that there was no way to break through.
"So you also know about the Espada? As expected of Kisuke Urahara, a genius who can develop the Hōgyoku is something else. His intelligence gathering is quite impressive."
Zero wasn't surprised at all. After all, that kid had been following him for a long time back then without being discovered. He was probably the one who told Yama about his Hueco Mundo trip to Yama-jii.
"The Garganta won't open either."
The round and chubby Bo Xuan was covered in sweat. He had just been forming hand seals to open the Garganta and escape from the Hueco Mundo, but the space remained stable and showed no signs of opening.
"He's been a defector to Hueco Mundo for a hundred years now. With his abilities, controlling Hueco Mundo shouldn't be a problem. Even if he can open it, we might not be able to get in safely."
After closing the A book, Lisa Yadōmaru's eyes sharpened; she knew this battle was unavoidable.
Hirako stepped forward and said seriously, "Kisuke said that you and Aizen are not on the same side. You were there when we were crawling on the ground. Before we start fighting, may I ask you a question?"
Zero wasn't in a hurry. "Ask away! I'll answer as best I can."
"You also have a grudge against Aizen?"
"So, you're coming to join me? If so, I can help you get revenge on Aizen. After all, you hate Soul Reaper too, don't you?"
Zero suddenly smiled and extended an invitation, which stirred up some resentment in the hearts of some people.
When you're risking your life but are wrongly accused for no reason, even the best relationships can develop into rifts. Zero knows that Hirako others definitely harbor resentment towards Seireitei and hatred towards the Central 46.
Hirako glanced behind him and saw Hiyori's gloomy expression. "I'd like to, but we only survived because of Kisuke's kindness. Even if we don't repay him, we shouldn't embarrass him!"
"I see. I'm relieved that you two have such a good relationship." Zero smiled and enlarged the mini Blood Drink in his hand, and a giant sword suddenly appeared.
"Hachi!"
"Clear."
With a loud shout from Hirako, Bo Xuan immediately responded. He raised his hand, revealing a mask with fangs. He then clasped his hands together, forming a bright yellow barrier with three layers in each of the six directions, trapping the nine people, including Ling, inside.
If the opponent has five players, then eliminating one of them first is undoubtedly the safest approach...
"What the hell! You think you can stop me?"
Grimmjow was originally standing on a Quartz Tree. He was about to come over when he saw that the battle was about to begin, but he was blocked by the Barrier. He then condensed Cero and blasted it over.
However, a layer of light white 'Dankū' suddenly appeared, covering the bright yellow Barrier, and the 'Dankū' blocked Grimmjow's Cero.
The massive Cero spread out, but the four layers of Barriers, including the 'Dankū', remained intact.
"Barrier? It was created so instantly, it can't be all junk inside."
Ulquiorra reluctantly acknowledged Hachigen Ushōda the Kidō), but that was all.
He was about to conjure Cero in his hand when he heard Zero's voice. "You don't need to make a move, just wait outside for a moment..."
Upon hearing this, the four Espada quietly waited outside. Inside the Barrier, after successfully trapping Hirako and the others, they also prepared to make their move.
"Luckily, it's not windy here, otherwise you might have bitten your tongue."
Zero hadn't whispered his words, and Hirako had heard them clearly. After a slight mockery of Zero, he muttered to himself, "Let's all go all out, or we'll die! Fall! Sakanade!"
"Defeat him, Tetsu Shibari Tonbo."
"Smash him, Tengumaru."
"Sever him, Kubikiri Orochi!"
"Bankai: Tekken Tachikaze!"
While everyone else was Shikai, Kensei directly went into Hollowfication and then continued with Bankai. At that moment, his Reiatsu was the strongest among the group.
Hirako and the others also placed their hands on their foreheads, not yet in Shikai, and put on the Visored they had obtained after the great calamity, causing their Reiatsu to surge suddenly.
"The weak will band together to survive."
Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi made the first move. The long whip-shaped Kinshara with flowers on its head resembled a long dragon in its hand, winding towards Zero. When it got close to Zero, it turned into a coiled shape.
Zero swung his Greatsword, and the terrifying Sword Aura swept away Kinshara, incidentally impacting the bright yellow Barrier, Barrier one layer of the barrier to shatter immediately.
"What? He shattered the Barrier released by Hachi after it Hollowfication with just one strike. If I had taken a hit from his sword..." Hirako was horrified.
The fat man fixed his hands on the ground and continued to pour in Reiatsu to maintain the four layers of Kidō Sealing, allowing the other seven to surround and attack Zero.
Kensei appeared behind Zero, his tiger-tooth fist blade aimed at the back of Zero's head, but at the moment of contact, his fist passed right through it.
'Afterimage?'
Startled, Kensei instantly turned and threw a punch, which landed squarely on the incoming Blood Drink. However, his Bankai punch couldn't withstand the Shikai sword strike, and he was sent flying backward.
Hiyori charges from the right with Kubikiri Orochi, aiming to sever Zero's neck; Lisa Yadōmaru follows closely from the left, her Tetsu Shibari Tonbo aimed at Zero's left kidney, intending to destroy him.
Above them, there was also Mashiro Kuna leaping high, aiming at Zero's skull. The three of them took advantage of Kensei being knocked away to launch a combined attack and kill him.
Zero had no intention of dodging, nor was there any need to. These people's movements were too slow in his eyes... Blood Drink swung left and right rapidly, and the sword strikes imbued with Sword Aura sent Lisa Yadōmaru and Hiyori flying.
The terrifying impact shattered their masks, and the two women flew like kites with broken strings... As for Mashiro Kuna's feet, they could not move forward when they were still ten centimeters away from Zero's head.
The Vice-Captain's Hollowfication combined with his Shikai was not even worthy of touching zero; the Reiatsu covering his body could easily block their attacks.
Zero simply concentrated his Reiatsu and slammed it into the top of her head. Mashiro Kuna was sent flying by the soaring Reiatsu. Beneath her half-shattered mask, she stammered, "How... how is this possible!"
She was already very strong, maintaining her Hollowfication for the longest time, and even in Hollowfication, she could easily fight against Captain-level opponents. However, against Nangong Ling, she was instantly killed in one move both times...
Just as Zero caught a whiff of a fragrance, Love Aikawa charged at him from the front, wielding a large club. As Zero swung his sword at Love Aikawa in front of him, a powerful force struck him from behind, sending Zero stumbling forward.
The flames still clung to his body and burned, though most of them were resisted by the protective Reiatsu on his skin.
'What's going on? An illusion? Caused by the fragrance just now...'
Zero had just reacted when Kensei gave him no chance, charging at him from the front while he was off balance. As Zero adjusted his body and raised his sword, Kinshara bound his Blood Drink.
"Ara!"
Amidst Kensei's electrifying roar, his left hook pounded into Zero's abdomen six times in a row, the explosive power continuously pouring into Zero's body.
However, the expected damage did not erupt, as it was suppressed by Zero's own overwhelming Reiatsu.
"How is that possible!?"
Just as Kensei realized something was wrong, Zero punched him in the face with his left hand, which was not holding a sword. As he flew backward, he crashed into the two few Quartz Trees inside the Barrier.
After breaking free from Kinshara with a little effort, Zero Shunpo in front of Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi and slashed down with his sword.
This is yet another afterimage. Except for when I was attacked and touched, my sense of direction was completely messed up afterward, and I was being manipulated by Hirako.
Zero glanced at Hirako beside him, who was constantly spinning Sakanade, and realized that this was his ability.
Back when Zero was still the Captain, Hirako's strength was too weak, and no one paid attention to what kind of ability his Zanpakuto possessed.
Love attacked again, wielding his great hammer. Hirako also used Shunpo to join the attack, still manipulating Zero's sense of direction.
Zero hated this kind of illusory ability the most; it reminded him of Aizen, and the fight wasn't satisfying at all. He suddenly spoke up, "Bakudo #81, Dankū... I hate Illusion- type abilities the most. Let's stop here!"
The hexagonal Dankū covering zero appears more like a defense than an offense.
"The Hadō #99: The Five Dragon Destruction."
As Hirako and Love collided with it, before they could even create distance after hearing Zero's words, five smaller Reiatsu dragons surged and crashed wildly, destroying everything within the Barrier.
Outside, the Espada did indeed wait only a moment before the surging Reiatsu completely destroyed the Barrier from the inside out, and all eight members of the Visoreds fell to the ground.
Zero deliberately controlled the power of the Five Dragon Destruction, not killing them, but severely injuring them so that they would be unable to recover their fighting strength in a short period of time.
"Ha! Is that all? We haven't even fought yet!" Nnoitra complained, yelling at the eight lying on the ground, "Hey, get up and keep fighting! Otherwise, you might really die!"
"You bastard, who do you think you are!"
Kensei, Love, Hirako staggered to their feet, barely able to stand, and could only stubbornly persist.
"Leave them alive and take them back to Las Noches. I still have a use for them." Zero left these words behind and turned to leave.
Nnoitra enjoyed torturing prisoners, but the others were uninterested, and in the end, they only took the eight of them back to Las Noches.
In the World of the Living, at a general store in Naruki City, Kisuke Urahara clenched his fists as he watched everything happening in Hueco Mundo on the screen.
In an instant, Urahara was lost in confusion. Hueco Mundo was too powerful. Soul Society had to send out the Zero Division to deal with Nangong Ling. Urahara knew that he was simply not capable of saving anyone.
He was still unclear about Zero's purpose, so he only asked himself, 'What should I do?'