In the Seireitei below, it is common for several Arrancar to team up and attack a single Captain, with battles taking place throughout the entire Seireitei.
After receiving orders from Yama-jii, the four Captains gathered at the First Division amidst their busy schedules. They all guessed that something had happened at the Soul King Palace, Ukitake even brought along his Vice-Captain, Kaien Shiba.
"The situation is urgent. The Shiba Clan should make preparations for transportation first, and so should you all. Be ready to accompany me to reinforce the Zero Division at any time," said Yama-jii in a deep voice, explaining the situation.
Kyōraku said worriedly, "While it might not come to that, I can't imagine the Zero Division losing."
"Excuse me."
Kaien Shiba stepped forward and interjected, "Our Shiba Clan has no problem, but without the Ōken, it's impossible to penetrate the Seventy-Two Barriers."
"There's no need to worry about that. When that time comes, the barrier will allow us to enter."
Yama-jii opened his eyes. There are two ways to enter the Soul King Palace: the first is to bring the 'Ōken' in, and the second is to enter and exit by relying on the will of the Zero Division.
In other words, if the Zero Division members allow it, you can pass through the Seventy-Two Barriers even without the 'Ōken'... Right now, what Yama-jii is waiting for is permission.
While the meeting was in progress, Chōjirō Sasakibe, who was continuously fighting outside using his Bankai, was defeated by a giant monster. The Ayon 'Yaōng' was released by Tier Harribel's three subordinates after their Resurrección.
Sajin Komamura arrived and used his Bankai. A giant fought a giant beast, and the roar echoed throughout the entire Seireitei... This time, the Central 46 were experienced and went to a designated location to avoid the war early on.
Kenpachi Zaraki had already unleashed nine consecutive strikes; his killing speed was incredibly fast, and the Adjuchas- class Arrancars were like mere Grunts in his presence.
He kept attacking Nel's Reiatsu, which was the strongest among the intruders and the only Blade-level Reiatsu detected by the Research and Development Institute.
Above the sky, another portion of the Blanks separated from the 'Great War Spear', transforming into a disc that could carry Zero and the others, propelling them at incredible speed towards the next level of the barrier.
With each barrier they broke through, the concentration of Reishi increased by one level. They had only broken through ten levels when the concentration of Reishi here was equivalent to that at the center of Hueco Mundo.
The group broke through the final barrier and landed lightly on a fan-shaped platform, where the concentration of Reishi astonished the Arrancar...
"Is this the Soul King Palace? This feeling of being unable to breathe... is it because the Reishi are too concentrated?"
"Haha, in this environment, both our attack power and recovery speed will be greatly enhanced."
Seeing that Pasake and Modier looked like they'd never seen anything like it before, the two of them, along with a burly man named Leiluo, followed them over.
It's no wonder these three guys were astonished; the concentration of Reishi within the Soul King Palace was so high that even the Vice-Captain, who was entering the place for the first time, couldn't breathe and collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
Zero glanced to his side and back, his face showing displeasure, because the members of Zero Division opposite him were looking at him with mocking expressions.
"You two good-for-nothings, stop embarrassing yourselves."
"You..."
Slightly displeased Grimmjow rebuked them directly. Before the two could say anything more, the more astute Leiluo gestured for them to shut up.
Seeing that the two remained silent, Grimmjow looked ahead and saw four people blocking his way. He asked Zero, "Nangong, are these the enemies you mentioned?"
"Hmm, there should still be one Monk left, hasn't he come out yet?"
Zero surveyed everything in the Soul King Palace. Their landing point was a fan-shaped platform, with streets on both sides of the passage in front of them, followed by five cities floating above the streets.
Zero, who had never been here before, did not believe that the Soul King was in one of the five cities. Even though the Soul King's Inner Palace had been hidden, he could still sense the approximate location of the Soul King based on the feedback from the Hōgyoku.
"By bypassing the Gotei 13 and coming directly to the Soul King Palace, Nangong Ling, after being defeated by Genryūsai several times, have you gone mad?"
Senjumaru Shutara spoke sarcastically, in her opinion, Nangong Ling was simply ignorant of his own limitations.
"Heh, just a mere Vice-Captain. After cultivating in the Soul King Palace for a while, his voice has certainly grown louder."
After responding to her with a smile, Zero said to his subordinates, "Go! The time has begun to clear away the obstacles in our path and reshape the rules."
They started moving forward, with Grimmjow moving the fastest as he reached out to grab the seemingly strong Tenjirō Kirinji.
Just before they made contact, he was struck by an oar and sent flying backward, crashing into a pillar on the left side of the Omotesandō.
"I was underestimated too!"
Tenjirō Kirinji followed, toothpick in his mouth, as the wooden oar slammed into Grimmjow once more.
'That's fast!'
Grimmjow's mind raced, and he instinctively drew his Zanpakuto to parry the attack, but he was completely outmatched and struggling to keep up with Tenjirō Kirinji's movements...
Senjumaru Shutara waved his hand, and twenty First-Class Divine Soldier appeared. Shunpo to approach Zero and the others, and swung his swords to strike.
"Hehehe, since the BOSS has spoken, let's hurry up and deal with you!"
With Baraggan sent three large, purple-gray birds flying out, each shooting a small wisp of Death Breath towards the Divine Soldiers.
The first few Divine Soldiers who came into contact with the Death Breath panicked. In order to save their lives, they had no choice but to cut off the parts of their bodies that were tainted by the Death Breath.
"Ha ha..."
Picaro crushed a Holy Soldier Senjumaru Shutara. During the charge, he multiplied into six, his hacksaw-like weapons slashing at Senjumaru...
"Too weak! Haha, take this! Take this! Take this!"
Pasake swung his sword three times, killing three Divine Soldiers. He looked at the man wearing a sleeveless down jacket and carrying two swords; he was a member of the Zero Division.
Seeing that the guy was still fiddling with a knife inside a Container, Pasake's eyes lit Sonído and his Zanpakuto slashed down without hesitation.
But in the blink of an eye, it wasn't this member of the Zero Division who fell to the ground, but Pasake himself...
"Wow, that's pretty fast! But still a little slower than me."
After instantly defeating his opponent, Ōetsu Nimaiya raised a "Never-Ending" gesture and rapidly chanted, "I am Ōetsu Nimaiya of the Nineteen, Eighteen, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two Items House! You can also call me the 'Sword God'."
Pasake was stabbed in the chest, and as Ōetsu Nimaiya finished his introduction, blood spurted again, spraying several meters away.
"He... got instantly killed?"
He was careless.
Modier and Leiluo, both of similar skill levels, were instantly terrified. They stopped indulging in the pleasure of slaughtering the Divine Soldiers. That guy could kill Pasake in an instant, so he could kill them in an instant too.
"He severed his lungs with a single cut? That doesn't make sense. No matter how useless he is, he should at least be at Luppi's level back in the day."
Zero's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he could see the sharpness of the Zanpakuto in Ōetsu Nimaiya's hand...
Tier Harribel Sonído, and without saying a word, she swung her hollow knife at Ōetsu Nimaiya, the overflowing seawater forming a crescent-shaped slash.
However, Ōetsu Nimaiya was prepared and instantly moved behind Tier Harribel, raising his knife to slash down. Tier Harribel turned around immediately and countered with her hollow blade.
With a 'ding' sound, Tier Harribel had already turned to block, was incredulous. Her hollow knife had been cut in half, and then she fell straight down.
There were no screams, no groans, her expression frozen in disbelief; she simply died.
"Hmm? What kind of ability is this? Even with Tier Harribel's skills, she was killed instantly. Could it be that the knife was poisoned? But none of that matters now, 'Hand of Death'."
Baraggan's chilling voice rang out, and a massive hand, condensed from Death Breath, attacked Ōetsu Nimaiya, who was the only one in his Resurrección state.
At that moment, another vine pierced through, a technique of Kirio Hikifune. She used her own Reiatsu as nourishment, allowing this vine, brimming with life, to continue growing and transform into a fist that shattered the 'Hand of Death'.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ōetsu Nimaiya rushed towards Baraggan, but dodged away at the last moment, simply because a barrier formed of Death Breath surrounded him.
The deathly aura that had just been dispersed fell onto the 'Omotesandō', quickly melting into several huge holes.
The vines were also aging and withering, but just as they were about to collapse, new vines grew, which then locked Baraggan in place.
Ōetsu Nimaiya smiled wickedly, "The ability to age, huh? I've been waiting for you... Demon Void."
He drew a Zanpakuto from his body with his left hand and released it instantly. Baraggan was swallowed into it, and even the trace of his Reiatsu disappeared.
"The Demon Void can create small worlds. No matter how powerful you are, you can't Respira space. As a result, you'll be trapped inside and unable to escape. Wait until I'm done dealing with this..."
Just as Ōetsu Nimaiya was feeling smug, a green Cero with electricity shot towards him. He raised his Zanpakuto in his right hand and easily cleaved it in two. The two halves of the Cero slammed into several pillars, shattering them.
Ōetsu Nimaiya approached Ulquiorra and swung his sword at him. Ulquiorra wasn't stupid; he quickly dodged. He had seen Tier Harribel die from a single blow earlier, so there was something wrong with the Zanpakuto's power.
"Hehe, the fact that you dodged it means you noticed, right?"
Ōetsu Nimaiya Zanpakuto: "It's no use discovering it. This Sheathed Sayafushi is the sharpest Zanpakuto I've ever forged. If you get cut, you'll die. Even the swords in your hands won't be able to stop it."
Ulquiorra remained calm. "Thank you for the explanation, but I strongly disapprove of this bad habit of using explanatory power. Sealing it off, Black-Winged Great Demon."
Black-Winged Great Demon's Reiatsu covered the entire arena. Ulquiorra Resurrección, and did so directly in Segunda Etapa. With his ultimate regeneration, he might not necessarily lose.
Ōetsu Nimaiya laughed and said, "Don't worry, even if I told you, you still couldn't beat me..."
Just now, Zero stood in front of Tier Harribel's body, examining her wounds. It was as if her soul had been cut open without warning, striking her vitals... After hearing Ōetsu Nimaiya's explanation, Zero understood.
It is simply sharp enough to cut through even the high-density Reishi that make up the soul itself, thus achieving a fatal blow.
As Ulquiorra attacked Ōetsu Nimaiya again, a red energy body appeared at Zero's fingertip, like a tiny snake, and slid from his fingertip onto Tier Harribel's corpse.