Renji Abarai

After plunging Szayelaporro into despair once more, the King of Hueco Mundo had the Bone Fish sink into the magma.

Listening to Szayelaporro's screams, the King of Hueco Mundo showed no reaction at all.

Because immediately after, several other Bone Fish surfaced one after another.

Atop the head of each Bone Fish sat a miserable Vasto Lorde.

Only the physique of a Vasto Lorde could be carried by a Bone Fish.

Every Vasto Lorde here was an opponent the King of Hueco Mundo had encountered while vying for dominion over Hueco Mundo.

Those at the Adjuchas level could naturally be killed at will, but Vasto Lordes were different.

They required such a hellish place to gradually grind them down, allowing the reishi that composed them to return to Hueco Mundo.

He was neither as benevolent as the Soul Society, nor as "cruel" as them!

Ensuring that Hell gained no powerful combatants was exactly what he required.

Corresponding to this magma hell was another frozen hell, kept at nearly absolute zero.

The Hollows frozen here were all the Vasto Lorde subordinates who had died in battle under the King of Hueco Mundo in the past.

To prevent them from falling into Hell and becoming his enemies after death, the King of Hueco Mundo had frozen them all here.

If one day the true Hell were completely occupied by them, perhaps they could be fully resurrected!

This was what the King of Hueco Mundo hoped for.

And because of these two diametrically opposed "hells," this place could also be called the "Vasto Lorde Graveyard"!

Aside from the King of Hueco Mundo, only Ulquiorra knew of this place!

Only his void-like state of mind could fully accept the "cruelty" here.

If the other Vasto Lordes who had submitted to him were to find out, it would likely cause some unnecessary trouble.

Renji Abarai, a graduate of this year's Shino Academy.

After several evaluations, he had finally succeeded in joining the Gotei 13.

However, he had joined the 11th Division.

Although it wasn't the 13th Division, he breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't been eliminated.

His grades weren't as good as Hinamori and Kira's, and many classmates with higher scores were still in limbo; he had thought for sure he would be cut!

But as long as he performed well, applying for a transfer later shouldn't be a problem, right?

It was just that, regarding the 11th Division... Renji Abarai had heard that it was full of battle maniacs, and he worried that his current strength would lead to him getting beaten quite badly.

Just then, as Renji Abarai approached the 11th Division barracks, something flew past him and slammed into the wall.

Touching the sudden warmth on his face, he realized it was blood!

Turning his head, Renji Abarai discovered that what had flown past him just now was a person!

No, wearing a Shihakusho—it was a Shinigami!

Renji Abarai was about to run over to check on his condition.

But at that moment, Renji Abarai heard someone calling his name from not far away.

"Hey, kid. Who are you? Trespassing in the 11th Division—don't you want to live?"

At this moment, Renji Abarai was still wearing his white academy robes, not a Shihakusho, so he could not yet be considered a true Shinigami.

Hearing the voice, Renji Abarai turned and saw a Shinigami standing on a square training platform, looking down at him.

And around the four sides of this square training platform sat a dozen or so Shinigami.

Being watched by so many Shinigami, Renji Abarai instinctively bowed and said, "I am Renji Abarai, a graduate of the Shino Academy, here to report to the 11th Division."

"Oh~ a rookie!"

Aoto, the Shinigami standing on the platform, looked at the green Renji Abarai and remarked with a sigh.

The other division members and seated officers all began to laugh.

Renji Abarai felt somewhat insulted.

"Ganjuro, bring him over!"

"Yes!"

A response came from behind Renji Abarai, and before he could react, he was on the training platform.

Renji Abarai couldn't react to such a fast Shunpo at all.

When he saw the blood-covered Shinigami return to an empty spot, he realized who had brought him over.

A Shinigami beaten that badly, yet possessing such strength... as expected, the people here in the 11th Division were all so strong!

Aoto walked up to Renji. "A graduate of the Shino Academy, then how were your Hakuda grades?"

Asked about his grades, Renji Abarai grew nervous. "Good!"

It wouldn't be the case that if you don't get an "Excellent" rating, you'll be kicked out, right?

Hyakume-ki Seikyo nodded, "That's perfect! Toshiro, come out! There's an opponent here who's just right for you!"

Then, Abarai Renji watched as a small child stood up and walked to the spot opposite him.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Hyakume-ki Seikyo, 4th Seat of the 11th Division," Seikyo said to Abarai Renji. "Your current mission is to defeat him using only Hakuda. If you lose... you know what happens! Now, begin!"

After saying this, Seikyo used Shunpo to arrive at the corner of the training platform.

Abarai Renji hadn't fully grasped what he meant yet when little Toshiro had already charged forward.

Since he wasn't allowed to use Shunpo, Toshiro's two short legs made his charging speed quite slow.

Abarai Renji finally reacted just before he was struck.

He reached out his palm to block the opponent's fist.

But just as his palm was about to meet Toshiro's fist, a sense of horror suddenly washed over him. Abarai Renji quickly retracted his hand and dodged the attack with all his might.

Because this punch struck the air, it didn't reveal its true power, but the squad member standing directly in front of the punch felt a cold breeze blow against his face.

This was purely the wind pressure generated by a punch, without the power of Hyōrinmaru.

While this level of strength wouldn't be considered a threat to other squad members who excelled at Hakuda, for Abarai Renji, it would absolutely be enough to break his arm in one hit.

Otherwise, Seikyo wouldn't have said he was the right opponent for Toshiro.

Abarai Renji was panicking; after all, if he couldn't win, he would be sent back!

It looked like he had no choice but to go all out!

Abarai grew up in the 78th District of South Rukon District, where he had been fighting since he was a child; his hand-to-hand combat skills were actually what he was best at.

It seemed he would have to use his full strength now!

After taking two deep breaths, Abarai Renji chose to take the initiative.

His Hakuda was only rated as "Good" because he couldn't break the habits he'd formed from fighting since childhood, making it impossible for him to perform the movements exactly as the instructors taught.

Because of this, his teachers called his style "wild" and would only give him a "Good."

But when he fought, his power was no worse than those classmates who received an "Excellent."

And most of the time, he was the one who won!

Because he dared to make sacrifices!

After exposing a weakness to let Toshiro break his left arm, Abarai Renji's right fist struck Toshiro's head with full force.

And then... he was frozen?

Looking at his frozen right fist, Abarai Renji was at a loss for what to do.

Fortunately, Seikyo stepped out, "Toshiro, you committed a foul! Therefore, the winner is... the rookie! Rookie, say your name again; I didn't catch it before."

"Yes!" Although both of his fists were injured, Abarai Renji still shouted loudly, "My name is Abarai Renji, a new recruit of the 11th Division. I look forward to your guidance in the future, seniors!"

The surrounding squad members nodded one after another, acknowledging his bravery... The 11th Division members quite liked Abarai Renji's daring and aggressive personality.

In contrast, Toshiro, who had committed the foul...

If he weren't the disciple of 4th Seat Hyakume-ki, many people would definitely be rolling their eyes at him right now!