While boosting Lisa's Hollow, Kazuya concentrated on the flow of his Reiryoku. The Reiatsu that poured out of him wasn't pure; it was mixed with something else. That something was the essence of his Crumbling Heart ability.
'It's… time manipulation?'
The Hollow before him wasn't growing stronger through some miracle; rather it aged rapidly. Even though Kazuya could perceive some of the mechanics behind this phenomenon, he couldn't fully comprehend its intricacies. At least it couldn't be done without his partial Resurrección ability, which allowed him to absorb and process information about everything within his sight. Since Nami had no way of entering Lisa's inner world, he would have to test this ability later on another Hollow. Perhaps, with practice, he could master it and gain some control over time itself. If successful, Apacci and the others could get past the final hurdle of evolving into a Vasto Lorde.
'Isn't time manipulation way too overpowered for a starter passive ability?'
He was a Hollow born with unparalleled potential, gifted with absurdly powerful abilities—whether it was his Crumbling Heart, his Resurrección, or his ability to change his race to Shinigami and Quincy.
'Come to think of it, Tsubasa's healing is also related to time.'
'My Shinigami power puts things into their past and my Hollow power brings the time forward. Both without any side effects like memory loss. It only affects the body.'
If he could fully understand and harness these abilities, wouldn't he have control over time? Won't he just be the most terrifying being in existence? Who else could possibly surpass him, aside from the deceased Soul King himself? The possibility made his heart thump crazily. Although he had grown strong, he was still greedy to get even stronger. After all, only with strength could he dictate his own future and protect those close to him
The task ahead wouldn't be easy, but he was confident in his eventual success. His partial Resurrección was simply too strong in the matters of comprehension. It granted him the terrifying capability to forcibly digest and comprehend information beyond his understanding.
'Tsubasa's power is based on the past, mine is based on the future, then Nami is… present?'
Yet, he couldn't quite grasp how Izanami's dominion over death related to the present. Perhaps he missed something obvious, or saw it from the wrong perspective. But one thing was crystal clear—all of his strongest abilities had a relationship with time manipulation.
Shaking off these distracting thoughts, Kazuya refocused entirely on enhancing Lisa's Hollow. The Hollow's power spiked drastically. However, as it grew stronger, the effectiveness of Kazuya's ability gradually diminished. Eventually, the strengthening slowed to a crawl as the Hollow approached the peak level of a Gillian. In terms of strength, it was just a step away from a newborn Adjuchas, but that step was a major leap in strength.
'This should be its limit for the present.'
He felt satisfied with this progress. Any further advancement would be at a snail's pace unless Lisa fused more souls into her Hollow. Alternatively, she could just wait for a few centuries and let her Hollow naturally evolve into an Adjuchas through the slow ambient Reishi absorption method. After all, for Hollows, natural talent, disposition, and willpower mattered far more than the sheer number of souls consumed—Harribel and Nelliel were living proof of this truth.
Lisa's Hollow had now taken on a humanoid form, its elongated arms ending in sleek, deadly blades. Aside from these blades and the jagged, streamlined armor covering its body, the rest of its form appeared to be composed entirely of swirling smoke. Its mask had also transformed, becoming a helmet adorned with a plume of feathers rising from the back of its skull. Naturally, every piece of armor was crafted from the distinctive white Reishi unique to the Hollow race.
Sensing its thinning presence, Kazuya could determine its natural talent was related to concealment. He glanced at Lisa, noticing her intense gaze fixed upon her newly evolved Hollow.
"You don't like it?" he asked softly.
"When did I say that?" Lisa shook her head gently. "I was just wondering how much stronger I'll become once I use my Hollow Mask."
"With Shikai and Hollow Mask, you should be able to defeat Tōsen." He smiled. "My job here is done. I'll see you outside."
Although he fully trusted Harribel and the others' strength, he couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of worry. Such was the responsibility of being the head of their family.
Lisa's eyes grew distant, a reluctant expression crossing her face. How could Kazuya not understand her feelings? If not for the urgency of the situation, this deviant would have surely trapped him here to satisfy her sinful desires. Truthfully, he would have gladly stayed longer himself, but now wasn't the time for indulgence.
"We'll play when we get back to Karakura Town."
Lisa stood dazed as she heard his fading whisper. Then her lips curled up into a charming smirk. "I'm looking forward to our playtime."
With everything settled, she felt a bit better about Tōsen completely owning her. Otherwise, her confession wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
'It's revenge time.'
…
While Kazuya and Lisa were having a heart to heart, two figures stealthily moved around the outskirts of Las Noches, taking cover behind natural dunes from time to time. Amidst the chaos of earth-shattering battles, nobody paid any attention to these intruders, despite them being sworn enemies of Hollow.
Naturally, these Shinigami were Yoruichi and Soi Fon.
Initially, Yoruichi had tried to prevent Soi Fon from leaving the cave. However, her hot-headed assassin friend had stubbornly chosen to follow her curiosity rather than listen to Yoruichi's advice. Under normal circumstances, Soi Fon's reckless curiosity would have spelled her doom—fortunately, Kazuya himself was the instigator behind this war. Right here, nobody could harm the two of them unless Kazuya himself chose to.
Currently, Yoruichi was experiencing a whirlwind of emotions. The reason was, of course, the strength Starrk displayed after releasing his Resurrección. The sheer pulse of Reiatsu shook her from so far away. This display of strength was below Kazuya but far above everybody else. Even within Soul Society, only a handful could match Starrk in battle.
He was abnormally strong for someone who always looked lazy and unmotivated.
Although Yoruichi had long accepted her strength to be inferior to Kazuya and Harribel, seeing Ulquiorra battle again put a heavy weight on her heart. Against either of them, she would only be able to escape with her life at her current strength, all because of her top speed. Not only was their Reiatsu a whole class above her, they had the innate Hierro skill of every Arrancar. Perhaps, with her Hollow Mask, she could breach their defenses—but even then, she would still lose, as she had yet to fully master its use.
In short, this trip to Hueco Mundo thoroughly opened her eyes.
'I must put my all into training after this.'
How would she stand side by side with Kazuya when she couldn't even hold a candle to his followers? If she truly wished to help Kazuya in the future, surpassing Starrk was the bare minimum. She knew his enemies wouldn't only be Aizen. The Royal Guards themselves had a high chance of standing in Kazuya's way. His existence as a Hollow, who could morph into a Shinigami, might be a blasphemy in the eyes of those lofty beings.
"That man… why does it feel like he is messing around with Ulquiorra?" Soi Fon asked, keenly observing the battle. "Does he not plan to kill Ulquiorra?"
Yoruichi let out a heavy sigh. "He is probably saving Ulquiorra for that person on the tree."
Soi Fon deeply gazed at the otherworldly tree and the solo heavily-armored person sitting on top of it. She'd have mistaken them for a human if not for the distinct Hollow signature of their vast Reiatsu.
She couldn't shake off this feeling of extreme familiarity with the owner of the burning tree. "Have I seen this Hollow somewhere?"
Yoruichi's eyes widened slightly. "You recognize this Hollow?"
"No, I have never seen it personally, but it seems to be one who fought Aizen in Karakura Town," Soi Fon replied, taking a deep breath. Her voice grew hoarse as she uttered the name, "Cazador."
Aizen and Yamamoto had both referred to this Arrancar as the strongest Hollow of the current era. Even Ulquiorra, who had effortlessly defeated her, couldn't compare to Cazador.
Staring at Yammy's colossal corpse in the distance, Soi Fon clenched her fists tightly. Nelliel had effortlessly slain Yammy before following Harribel into Las Noches. So many abnormally strong Hollows put immense pressure on her.
"Yoruichi-sama, let's postpone our duel for now. Right now, I want to raise my strength as quickly as possible."
"Alright."
Yoruichi briefly considered inviting Soi Fon to the training she planned to undertake under Kazuya's wings, but quickly dismissed the thought. It wasn't her place to reveal Kazuya's other identity to Soi Fon. That was something he needed to do himself, otherwise he might feel like she betrayed him. Deceiving Soi Fon was less painful than ruining her relationship with Kazuya.
...
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