"Hahaha, well done, you Picaro! Die!"
Wonderweiss's shrill laughter rang out as he rushed toward the unconscious Ulquiorra, grabbing his neck and pinning his limbs down.
Baiqi Huangshou's fist swung wildly, rubbing against Ulquiorra from every angle, forcefully waking him from his temporary unconsciousness.
"Damn it, I was careless."
After regaining consciousness, Ulquiorra withstood the punch head-on. His powerful spirit body couldn't possibly be directly disintegrated into Reishi and swallowed by Picaro's attack. It was already terrifying that he lost consciousness for a few seconds after his Resurrección.
When it comes to devouring Reishi, nothing beats the Quincy's Sklaverei, who can even turn sand into Reishi and devour it. 'Coco Paradise' is still inferior to that kind of technique.
This was originally just a technique Picaro used to hunt prey; it was difficult to successfully kill spirits with excessive individual strength.
"You'll regret this Ulquiorra, I'll beat you to a pulp..."
Ta-da!
Just as Wonderweiss was feeling triumphant, he heard the sound of a foreign object entering his body. The continuous vibrations inside his body caused him to vomit blood, and then the arm he was using to hold Ulquiorra was also severed.
Grimmjow arrived and launched his 'Slacking-Off Missiles' attack from a distance, but unfortunately one of them missed and did not hit the head.
After being freed, Ulquiorra wielded another spear, which he was about to use to pierce Wonderweiss's head. However, five palm-sized, pale gold ribbons appeared side by side in front of Wonderweiss's face, blocking the attack.
The blue spear could not penetrate the small golden shield; this was because space was isolated, and even Ulquiorra, no matter how strong, could not forcibly shatter space.
Wonderweiss seized the opportunity to create distance, panting heavily. His lungs were shattered, and regenerating his internal organs was proving difficult for him at the moment.
"Negación Threads? Grimmjow, be careful!"
After a moment of confusion, Ulquiorra realized what was happening and loudly reminded Grimmjow, who had come to provide support.
The Negación Threads is an ability of the opposing side to Modified Menos Grande. Since this Hollow exists, it means that the freak scientist is also involved...
Sure enough, Grimmjow, charging at high speed, crashed into a fleshy wing as hard as a city wall. The wing quickly enveloped him, and after a series of incomprehensible sounds, Grimmjow was released.
"Hahaha, you found out too late, Ulquiorra. How could your intelligence transmission speed possibly be faster than Picaro's, who communicates with his unique Reiatsu?"
Szayelaporro emerged from under a Quartz Tree, and even with Szayelaporro composure, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
After so many battles, he finally captured the true form of the enemy general... It's been over a hundred years! He still hasn't managed to capture Vasto Lorde to use as Experimental Subject.
"Hmph, it seems I can finally put an end to all of this."
Baraggan's voice also came, his skeletal chair positioned behind a Menos Grande, followed by hundreds of Adjuchas.
"The game is over!" -- "The game is over."
"We won!" -- "I won!" -- "We won!" Squeak squeak!
The Picaro cheered, some slurring their words, others unable to communicate properly.
For Picaro, this was a 'war game' agreed upon with Baraggan; they needed to relay enemy intelligence to help Baraggan win, and in doing so, they would also be considered victorious.
As soon as Adjuchas of the Blood Panther Group returned to report, Picaro's intelligence was instantly transmitted to Baraggan and his men, Baraggan their support even faster.
And so the temporary plan, using Ulquiorra and Dordoni as Bait to wipe out the Blood Panther Group, took effect...
At the beginning, Baraggan was like a child coaxing the Picaro, saying that the game would be very interesting and wouldn't end so easily. So the Picaro actively participated in the 'game', and sure enough, they've been playing until now, and it's only just about to end.
"You damn bastard!"
Click!
"Heh heh heh, become my guinea pig! Mr. Grimmjow."
Grimmjow was about to get up and make a move when his Achilles tendon snapped, followed by Szayelaporro's disgusting voice.
The doll in his hand, representing Grimmjow's curse, had been opened, and its various organs were being freely ravaged by Szayelaporro.
"It seems this really is the end."
The exhausted Dordoni, already worn down by Picaro, also lost heart. With them collapsing, the Adjuchas who gradually arrived on the battlefield had no power to resist...
When Grimmjow attacked Wonderweiss, the Yaxiao, who was not far behind him, had not yet arrived at the battlefield, so he did not open his mouth to spit out a person.
In that brief moment of Slowing, the situation had already changed so drastically that Yaxiao broke out in a cold sweat; if he hadn't rushed over and been instantly killed, that person would probably have been stuck in his Interdimensional Space for quite some time.
Having witnessed Zero Grimmjow 'Cero Yaxiao chose to believe in Zero's strength and to stick to the side he had joined.
"In that case... let's begin!"
The toad-like creature, Yaxiao, muttered to itself. Sensing the approaching Adjuchas from its own side, it charged towards the smug Szayelaporro, opening its massive maw and spewing forth boundless light...
"Heh heh heh, a mere Adjuchas? You think you can swallow me whole? Naive. You guys kill him."
Szayelaporro stared at the Yaxiao. He had intelligence about the toad, but he didn't take it seriously at all. He didn't flinch or dodge, and ordered his three subordinates to attack and block it.
However, Szayelaporro was wrong. The Yaxiao did not intend to swallow anything, but rather to spit it out. Two identical figures flew out of the Yaxiao's mouth, one heading straight for Szayelaporro and the other for Baraggan.
The Reiatsu in the arena suddenly surged. Szayelaporro saw three of his subordinates cut in half at the waist. He then raised his wings in front of him, but a Greatsword slashed down without any resistance, splitting him in two.
Red wings and a huge, dark red, horn-shaped crown—this is Bankai Zero. He Bankai the moment he emerged from the other dimension, intending to kill all of these Vasto Lordes.
Meanwhile, as Baraggan sat high above, a monster with red wings approached with Sonído and swung its Baraggan at him.
Because Baraggan was a little further away, by the time he reacted, he had already released Respira, causing everything around him to age, and then he raised his Great Axe to block.
But the Great Axe suddenly shattered, his power failed, and Baraggan's skeletal hand wielding the axe was also cleaved in two.
This figure is also Zero in his Bankai state, but the consciousness he controls is Yanis.
Baraggan's abilities are indeed formidable. Even though his Homogeneous Body Zero was in Bankai form and he used the 'Unrivaled Body' which is immune to Kidō-type attacks to counter it, and suppressed it with Car Reiatsu of 13, he still entered a state of aging after coming into contact with Respira, and his speed became even Slowing.
It is evident that the Reiatsu within the Respira is at least higher than that of the Bankai Zero, capable of penetrating even the Unrivaled Body.
At this rate of aging, it would take at least thirty minutes for the Homogeneous Body to become unable to wield the sword, and an hour before it would age to the bone and die... But that time would be enough for Baraggan to die ten or eight times over.
"You bastard, who are you?"
"My body is injured, "Baraggan roared angrily.
"Hahaha, of course it's the one who wants you dead, Baraggan!"
Yanis responded with a wild laugh. This creation of Zero was under his control, and its Reiatsu was terrifying after its Bankai. He was full of confidence in toying with his former leader.
"Hmph, I don't believe it. Nothing in this world lasts forever; everything ages."
Baraggan seemed to realize something and did his best to increase his Reiatsu. His Reiatsu had grown from 3 to 3.5 over the years, and this time, with his reckless release, it reached a full 3.8.
But it was still too bad; the Homogeneous Body just stood there motionless, moving about freely amidst his Respira.
"Nothing lasts forever, but the boss's theory of Reiatsu is supreme. Faced with an absolute difference in Reiatsu, any ability is futile. It's over!"
Zero, the Homogeneous Body, grinned and swung his Greatsword in a horizontal slash, cleaving Baraggan's head in two, sending it flying and rolling several meters across the ground...
"Baraggan?"
"Go! Kill him to avenge His Majesty!"
Upon witnessing Baraggan's murder, Adjuchas instantly went berserk, and a group of Hollows launched a frenzied attack on the Zero- Homogeneous Body in the sky.
Even Yanis thought it was over, but after only slashing down a few Adjuchas with his sword, a Garganta suddenly opened, and a Negación shone out from it, covering Baraggan's headless body.
"Fools, how could Baraggan be dead?"
The Adjuchas instantly calmed down, and even the Adjuchas who had been calm all along cursed under their breath before quietly leaving the battlefield...
"Saving a corpse? Wait, it's not dead?"
"Yanis, you've really ruined things!"
As the Homogeneous Body stared in disbelief, Zero's voice came from behind him, and the Homogeneous Body controlled by Yanis felt a chill run down its spine.
"Boss, I'm sorry."
Yanis knew this meant Zero had a problem with him, so he quickly turned around and apologized.
"If apologies were effective, there would be no violence or war in the world; perhaps only truth, goodness, and beauty would remain!"
Zero's appearance at this moment was terrifying. He was still in his Bankai state, carrying Wonderweiss's corpse on his shoulder, and Blood Drink was piercing his body, continuously draining his Reiryoku...
While Yanis was arguing with Baraggan, Zero, after shattering Szayelaporro, charged towards Wonderweiss in the air.
"Lord Szayelaporro!"
A slightly anxious female voice came from Lojia, the Spider Hollow who could only continuously produce Negación Threads through her internal organs.
She was originally teaming up with Picaro to delay Ulquiorra, but after realizing the situation had changed, she immediately rushed to the ground.
Ulquiorra was distracted by Picaro again and couldn't pursue, but then his indifferent gaze was filled with shock, because he had witnessed Zero cleave Wonderweiss's head in two with his own eyes.
Wonderweiss was completely powerless to fight back. Even though he was hit by the Slacking-Off Missile, he shouldn't have been so weak. In Ulquiorra's mind at that moment, there was only one answer: Zero was too strong.
Zero then carried Wonderweiss's body to the other 'Zero' who had failed in the assassination attempt, with Ulquiorra following behind...
"You brats, you'll regret failing to kill me this time! Retreat!"
"The skeleton is just a decoy; the real body is hidden inside the cloak. Presumably, the person itself isn't imposing enough, so this is a deliberate way to conceal themselves."
"Snort!"
The fact that the headless and handless skeleton Baraggan could still speak sparked much speculation. Zero shared his conjecture, but Baraggan didn't refute it and simply disappeared into the Garganta.
"Want to save him? Die!"
Grimmjow roared as the Spider Hollow Lojia, capable of using Negación Threads, actively stitched together Szayelaporro, serving Szayelaporro —this was the meaning of her existence.
Grimmjow's attack was blocked by the shield made of Negación Threads. This strange Menos Grande's attack power was not very strong, but its defense built with Negación Threads was extremely difficult to break through.
When Zero and the others turned around, Szayelaporro's upper body had already been stitched back together, and then an even stronger Negación shone from the Garganta onto his and Lojia's figures.
Szayelaporro, now stitched up, twitched slightly before a smile curved his lips. The two sword wounds he had just suffered had cleaved him into four large pieces—a truly horrific sight.
However, he could still smile, mainly because he had obtained a very good set of data, which would probably be enough for him to study for a long time.
"Wait for me, I will come back to find you!"
Szayelaporro's voice was deliberate and halting, mainly because Zero had split open his Adam's apple; although it was stitched back together, the pronunciation was not quite standard.
Zero frowned. He had indeed managed to kill them instantly despite his best efforts, but in the end, three Vasto Lorde escaped, and even a significant portion of the Picaro flew away.
If Baraggan survived by luck, avoiding being struck in his main body, then Picaro and Szayelaporro's survival was entirely due to their bizarre abilities.
Especially Szayelaporro, which was divided into four large pieces, yet it could move just by being stitched together—that's incredible!
... Actually, this wasn't even the most outrageous part of Szayelaporro's story. In his quest for immortality, he treated himself as a database, storing backups all over the world. When he truly died, Lojia would have him Resurrection using those data backups...
"It is indeed quite bizarre, but there's no need to rush. They have lost one Vasto Lorde and are also seriously injured, which is a good opportunity for us to counterattack Las Noches. All we need to do is find them and we can completely eliminate them."
Zero's raid wasn't without its gains; at least Wonderweiss, who could seal his Zanpakuto, was eliminated, removing a major threat.
However, he was wrong about one thing: the claim of being seriously injured was completely untrue...
After returning to his Laboratory, Szayelaporro killed one of the Menos Grande he had created and then devoured it as energy.
In less than a minute, Szayelaporro's injuries were completely healed, with not a trace of wound remaining.
As for Baraggan, Yanis did not harm him; he only damaged the skeleton and the Great Axe that Barragan was using as a disguise.
The skull Baraggan was readily available; his body enchanted those skulls, enabling them to repel the Respira, just like himself. In this way, a brand new Baraggan appeared.