A swarm of newly released Arrancars and Gillians surged toward the vice-captains who had previously been incapacitated by Ichimaru Gin's attacks. The horde moved with predatory purpose, seeking to eliminate the weakened Shinigami.
With minimal apparent effort, Captain-Commander Yamamoto casually swept his ancient blade through the air. A devastating river of flame instantly materialized, engulfing the advancing Arrancars and reducing them to ash in seconds.
Illuminated by the infernal glow of his own attack, the venerable warrior kept his eyes downcast, not even dignifying the incinerated enemies—or even Aizen himself—with a direct gaze. Such minor opponents weren't worthy of his full attention.
Instead, he focused on gathering and conserving his immense spiritual energy, methodically preparing to counter Aizen's formidable Kyōka Suigetsu and whatever other surprises the traitor might have concealed.
Observing the few Arrancars who had survived the conflagration, Uehara Shiroha mentally remarked with a mixture of bemusement and grudging respect:
"A few hundred bucks a month in equivalent wages, and you're genuinely risking your lives!? You actually follow through when the situation demands it! These Arrancars possess an astonishing level of sincerity—Hueco Mundo apparently harbors more honorable souls than one might expect."
He couldn't help but feel that Aizen and his two co-conspirators had severely degraded the moral standards of the Espada organization. Aizen especially, with his penchant for backstabbing his own loyal followers, represented the worst of leadership.
By contrast, the rank-and-file Arrancars who perished in battle demonstrated extraordinary loyalty. They had literally burned their existence to ash for Aizen's cause, holding nothing back.
Compared to such selfless dedication, Aizen's readiness to turn his blade against his own devoted followers marked him as fundamentally dishonorable—a being devoid of basic decency. Uehara Shiroha genuinely hoped that Harribel might survive to learn from this harsh lesson.
Even as the future potential ruler of Hueco Mundo lay betrayed and bleeding, Uehara Shiroha recognized that he should technically be grateful to Aizen for eliminating powerful opposition. Yet this calculating thought felt distasteful even to him.
Perhaps his moral standards remained unexpectedly elevated, or maybe he had been "domesticated" by prolonged exposure to Shinigami ethics. Either way, he found himself uncharacteristically sympathetic to the betrayed Arrancar.
In truth, Neliel also exhibited this same issue of excessive loyalty. He had barely exerted any effort—it was like crooking his finger—and the adult Neliel had approached him, offering everything she possessed without reservation.
This response certainly stemmed partly from his overwhelming charisma and his status as Neliel's only hope for salvation. But the fundamental issue ran deeper—the instinct to respect and submit to superior strength had been engraved into the very souls of Arrancars through evolutionary necessity.
This explained why Harribel and the other Espada had displayed such unwavering obedience to Aizen—respectful, reverent, and incapable of meaningful defiance. The weak inevitably devoted everything to the strong; this represented the fundamental nature of Hollows, an instinct encoded into their very essence that proved extremely difficult to override.
This primal tendency explained Harribel's absolute trust in Aizen despite warning signs. It explained why Neliel had surrendered herself to Uehara Shiroha without complaint or resistance. It even explained why the psychologically unstable Espada willingly sacrificed themselves for Aizen's ambitions.
From an outside perspective, this behavior seemed incomprehensible. In the common understanding, Hollows were typically perceived as mindless, ravenous monsters. The stronger the Arrancar, the more unhinged their personality tended to become. The fact that Aizen had successfully gathered these volatile entities into a coordinated fighting force represented a remarkable achievement.
Those unfamiliar with Hueco Mundo's dynamics might assume that Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu possessed some form of mind-control capability beyond its known illusion powers. But the truth was far simpler—this hierarchical submission merely reflected the fundamental law of Hueco Mundo's ecosystem.
The strong devoured the weak, and the strong received absolute respect. This represented the eternal, immutable law of that endless desert realm.
Each Arrancar projected the appearance of possessing a distinctive personality. Each claimed unique philosophical codes regarding death, maintained firm personal beliefs, and exhibited their particular brand of insanity.
But these surface differences masked a universal constant. The so-called dreams and beliefs were merely convenient rationalizations. Ultimately, strength commanded respect—this represented their inescapable nature.
Consider how Ulquiorra had maintained his stoic demeanor and philosophical nihilism up until the moment when Ichigo's Hollowfied form tore him apart bare-handed. Only in the final moments had his façade cracked to reveal something more.
Similarly, before confronting Ichigo, Grimmjow had projected nothing but arrogance and bloodlust. Yet defeat had fundamentally altered his perspective.
This pattern even extended beyond their world—consider how Naruto's "Talk no Jutsu" inevitably succeeded after physically defeating his opponents. That represented nothing less than the "ultimate illusion of the Will of Fire," the victorious implanting their ideology in the defeated.
This phenomenon actually had scientific underpinnings. After all, Reiatsu and chakra contained personal will and intent. Defeating an opponent and injecting your spiritual energy into their body facilitated will assimilation—a form of spiritual conquest following physical victory.
The pattern followed logical consistency, revealing a universal principle.
In essence, throughout Hueco Mundo and even within Soul Society, when instinct and idealism collided, the former inevitably triumphed. Very few individuals could genuinely adhere to their professed ideals when instinct pulled them elsewhere. Even fewer could achieve unity between their fundamental nature and their conscious aspirations.
In an idealistic world, maintaining internal consistency between belief and action represented a remarkable achievement in itself—one that could even become a source of extraordinary power.
Individuals like Ichigo Kurosaki and Uehara Shiroha exemplified this rare synthesis.
Uehara Shiroha had long recognized that the power system within the Shinigami world contained unique properties, emphasizing mental liberation, awakening, and evolution of consciousness. Stagnation made advancement impossible, as only evolution enabled true growth.
This fundamental principle explained why both Shinigami and Hollows eventually encountered developmental limits. It explained why Aaroniero gained nothing by devouring additional Gillians beyond a certain point.
Even when fragmented spirit bodies reunified after separation, their collective strength diminished significantly rather than multiplying. The Shinigami world didn't permit simple quantitative accumulation to trigger qualitative transformation. Without mastering the governing principles and achieving evolution, one remained perpetually limited.
Secondary power effectively equaled zero, rendering the accumulation of multiple zeros meaningless. Only by transcending established limitations and evolving toward higher expressions of power could one ascend to superior levels of existence.
After his intense confrontations with the elite Espada, Uehara Shiroha had developed clearer insights regarding both Arrancar and Shinigami. He recognized that Arrancar's fundamental limitation stemmed from their incomplete personalities or fragmented souls.
Just as a team of superheroes couldn't compensate for the absence of loving parents, no collection of Espada could collectively constitute a complete soul. Shinigami suffered from similar deficiencies, but Arrancar experienced this limitation more severely.
After all, the Hollow nature embedded within Arrancar wasn't merely decorative—it represented an essential component of their fundamental being.