The Blood Panther Group and the Great Black-Winged Demon

Kensei Third Seat Kensei Muguruma, was defeated with a single punch. Those who had instigated him thought he could at least withstand six punches... Cleaning toilets has become an inescapable dark Kensei's history.

Then those few instigators were also dragged out by Zero and made into punching bags for a few days, punished by being forced to take turns cleaning the team's public toilets with Kensei Muguruma, cleaning both the men's and women's toilets.

If you think the 11th Division is only made up of men, you're wrong. There are quite a few female Soul Reaper here who are even more valiant than men. Don't forget that the First Kenpachi was also a 'weak woman'.

The turmoil in the 11th Division quickly subsided, and the Seireitei gradually returned to its former tranquility. However, the vacant Captain position in the Ninth Division remained unfilled.

In his first month in office, Zero didn't have a single important mission. Instead, he went to Rukongai alone to search for 'villains' worth killing.

To carry out his orders, the Squad Members kept sending out news of where powerful fighters or Giant Hollows were...

"Team Captain, in the 37th district of East Rukongai, there's a very strong bandit leader, at least at the level of Third Seat commander."

The team's new seventh seat member was defeated and came to report the situation despite his injuries.

"Wow? What's his name? What are some easily recognizable features?"

Zero showed no interest whatsoever; he had already used the tactic of 'entrapment' to take down several criminal gangs.

"The man was about 175 centimeters tall and weighed around 80 kilograms. There was a tree in their mountain village..."

"Your descriptive skills... never mind, you can lead the way!"

"Yes, it's a great honor."

He disliked the seventh seat's language skills, unaware that he himself was the one who was inexperienced.

On the Outskirts of the 37th district of East Rukongai, there is only a Rock Mountain with a stone wall, and the entire mountain is bare except for a single tree inside the wall.

That wasn't all. When the dozen or so bandits appeared, the one in front was clearly a head taller than the others. The others were all around 1.6 meters tall, so he was probably the only one who could reach 1.75 meters.

"Your descriptive skills are really good..."

"Thank you for the compliment, Captain."

Now Zero has to acknowledge the Seventh Seat; his communication skills are fine, but his comprehension is the problem.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that some of these men were wanted, especially the leader, who had even killed a minor nobleman and had a considerable bounty on his head.

The massacre was no surprise. The wisps of pure Reiryoku that flowed through him caused Zero to feel a slow increase in power. Only two years had passed since his return, and he was already beginning to miss Hueco Mundo again...

Since Zero left, Grimmjow has become Dordoni's temporary leader; yes, only temporarily, Dordoni believes that Grimmjow lacks the rationality that a leader should possess.

His strength has indeed evolved, but his temperament and mindset remain at the Adjuchas stage.

It's not that he lacks intelligence, but rather that he often lets his temper guide his thinking, doing whatever makes him happy.

The faction was named the 'Blood Panther Legion,' with 'blood' representing the man who changed them and 'panther' naturally referring to Grimmjow, the upright-walking Pantera.

Grimmjow originally wanted to call it the 'Pantera Group,' but Dordoni completely objected, believing that they shouldn't forget the changes that man brought to them and... the meaning of their existence!

The new members would occasionally ask who "that person" was, only to be met with Grimmjow's angry rebukes. When they asked Dordoni, Dordoni would only say, "You'll know when he comes back, or maybe he won't come back at all!"

This answer was suspenseful and aroused anticipation among the new members, who unanimously wondered: Is there someone even stronger within our group? Stronger Vasto Lorde?

Eleven new Menos Grande have joined, all of them high-ranking Adjuchas. Including Dordoni and Grimmjow, this group now has thirteen powerful Menos Grande.

The evolutionary differences in abilities among individuals result in varying combat strengths, but their Reiatsu is uniformly capable of withstanding Grimmjow's current Reiatsu release...

Inside the enormous rocky cave, more than a dozen Menos Grande Reiatsu emanated from it. Above the cave ceiling, there was something resembling a chandelier; the light source inside wasn't fire, but rather Bala, even more dangerous than fire.

If Grimmjow can achieve this level of control over Reiryoku, he can roast meat with Cero and use Bala as light bulbs.

The Ragged Hollows serving outside dared not get too close. Some of the weaker Ragged Hollows had already been crushed to death by the Reiatsu just because they wanted to catch a glimpse of the Pantera.

"How's it going? Still haven't found Vasto Lorde?"

Grimmjow sat in the main seat, the only one seated, while all the other Menos Grande stood on either side, showing him great respect.

"A settlement has been discovered with a dozen or so Adjuchas, but no Vasto Lorde."

"Me too..."

"I've discovered a powerful Adjuchas. Shall we invite him to join our team?"

"Haha, you guys are really useless! You've been out for so long and still haven't found anything!"

Just as the Adjuchas were saying they had found nothing, one of them, which looked like Adjuchas Wyvern, unleashed a massive area-of-effect attack, swarming all of its kind who had said they hadn't found their target.

"Arafi, you bastard, do you want to die?"

"If you want to die, I'll grant your wish right now."

"There's still plenty of cumin powder left, Grimmjow. I request permission to roast this stupid bird!"

The Adjuchas glared at their fellow Hollow named Arafi, whose sharp tongue was an Arafi characteristic; he always managed to provoke a group of Menos Grande of the same rank.

This is what mid-level Menos Grande have in common: they want to survive in groups, but they also covet each other's lives within those groups, and those who don't fit in will be ostracized.

"Shut up, Arafi. Tell me your findings. If you also find nothing, you understand?"

After suppressing the commotion, Grimmjow turned to Arafi. This guy had excellent reconnaissance skills and would look down on other Menos Grande when he was absolutely certain of success or had achieved something.

With Dordoni's guidance, Grimmjow also began to pay attention to the personalities of the new members.

"Yes, a few days ago I discovered a sparsely populated area. After defeating the Adjuchas there, I received information that a slender, winged humanoid Hollow had arrived there."

"Because the other side was unable to communicate and had a dazed look in their eyes, their former leader, coveting their power, gathered his men to launch a sneak attack, but they were all killed in retaliation."

"In the end, the Menos Grande did not devour the slain; it merely bowed slightly and slowly departed, its whereabouts currently unknown..."

Arafi defeated the new leader of the settlement and then obtained the intelligence through force.

The new leader was originally under the command of the old leader, and survived by chance because he did not attack the Menos Grande. The Menos Grande did not devour the old leader he had killed, so the new leader devoured him and his strength increased, and he truly became the leader.

"After hearing that Grimmjow was also Vasto Lorde-class powerhouse, they all vied to join us, which is why I dared to somewhat confirm the veracity of the information!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to that settlement first. If those bastards escaped, then it was all a lie..."

No sooner had Arafi voiced his assessment Grimmjow began clamoring to search for any trace of the creature.

Having been Vasto Lorde for two years, Grimmjow has not encountered any opponents of equal rank. Several times he wanted to go to Las Noches for revenge, but was forcibly stopped by Dordoni.

He was naturally overjoyed to finally hear news of Vasto Lorde again...

Let's rewind to three hundred years ago in Hueco Mundo.

In an underground cave somewhere in the Forest of Menos, a pure white demon opened its eyes from between its intertwined roots, gazing out at the outside world through an inverted cross-shaped opening. The Dense Forest white forest and the peaceful night sky came into view.

Outside was... an empty world.

'Where am I? Why am I here? My name is... Ulquiorra Cifer! But I remember nothing but my name...'

Looking at his own pale hands and feet, Ulquiorra could only mutter to himself. He couldn't remember what had happened before, or why he had woken up here.

Ulquiorra was born powerful, but as a price, he was deaf, mute, and unable to eat; he only had eyes that could observe the world...

After emerging from the cave at the bottom of the Forest of Menos, he was surrounded by a despairing and oppressive darkness. The only sound, chewing, was no longer present in his world because Ulquiorra couldn't hear it.

A terrifying sense of oppression swept over the Forest of Menos, as if announcing to the Menos Grande in this forest that an anomaly had been born here.

Several large, jet-black Menos Grande appeared before the delicate white creature of the same kind. They asked questions and gestured in simple sign language; however, the white creature responded only with a pair of puzzled eyes.

The inability to communicate means the inability to become allies; and since they cannot become allies, they can only be seen as powerful prey.

The black Adjuchas besieged the white Menos Grande, a decision that sealed their fate and led to their demise...

'What are they doing? Are they trying to kill me? I didn't attack them first, so why are they attacking me?'

Those few Adjuchas that weren't quite dead saw the even deeper confusion in Ulquiorra's eyes, and ultimately died with their eyes wide open in disbelief.

This battle was also defined by Ulquiorra as a 'meaningless battle,' as he stepped over the corpses of those Adjuchas and trod into the desert, after which he was forced to engage in more 'meaningless battles.'

Ulquiorra has been forgotten by the food chain of Hueco Mundo. He cannot grow stronger by devouring his own kind. It is the instinct to survive that drives him to fight and kill those of his kind who attack him.

The life forms in this world are born meaninglessly, and then engage in meaningless battles in some forgotten corner until they die.

After hundreds of years, all Ulquiorra saw was emptiness; he saw not a single ray of warmth!

At this point, he posed a question to himself that he could never answer in the Hueco Mundo: 'Where did we come from? What is the meaning of our existence?'

If there is no meaning to existence, then life has reached its end!

Ulquiorra has no past, no future, and doesn't even know why he exists; since he has never possessed anything, he can lose nothing...

After dealing with several more Menos Grande that attacked him, Ulquiorra turned and left. Before he had gone far, those Menos Grande were devoured by his companions.

Ulquiorra took in the grotesque scene he had witnessed countless times; just moments before, they had stood shoulder to shoulder facing him, only to be devoured and reduced to nothingness in an instant.

His footsteps traversed most of Hueco Mundo, and all he saw were meaningless things; his personal beliefs were gradually taking shape:

Things that come into view have no meaning, and things that cannot be seen by the eyes do not exist!

Ulquiorra was unaware that a Void was chasing him. In the midst of his bewildered journey, he saw a large clump of Quartz Trees quietly existing on the surface of the desert.

They have no sound, no color, no Reiatsu, and no consciousness; they simply exist.

The center of the countless branches resembles the place where Ulquiorra was originally born—a place that is infinitely close to nothingness.

He moved forward resolutely, step by step, until the tangled branches that could not have harmed him pierced his body and tore his mask apart, as if everything was about to disappear.

When Ulquiorra reached the center of the tangled branches, he successfully crossed the [Boundary] with his own strength, becoming an existence between Soul Reaper and a Hollow— Arrancar.

The shattering of the mask and the surge of power were meaningless to Ulquiorra, who was determined to bury himself in nothingness.

Before he closed his eyes, only one thought flashed through his mind: 'If happiness exists in this world, it must be like a boundless void...'

According to the original timeline, Ulquiorra should have been awakened by someone— Sōsuke Aizen— after countless years.

For Aizen, who was adept at manipulating people's hearts, giving Ulquiorra a reason to exist was far too easy; and Ulquiorra, who had never communicated with other Hollows over the long years, was even easier for Aizen to manipulate than someone with a romantic mind.

However, in this timeline, due to the arrival of Zero, a Vasto Lorde Menos Grande was created. In order to seek revenge, this Vasto Lorde has been constantly searching for its companions.

Grimmjow, who is following behind Ulquiorra, definitely has a better chance of waking him up first than Aizen...