Somewhere in Hueco Mundo—
A lone Adjuchas, resembling a sleek, predatory leopard, feasted upon its latest kill. The remains of its prey—a fellow Adjuchas—were scattered around, its lifeless form already half-devoured.
Suddenly, ripples distorted the air behind him.
"How reckless!"
From the shifting void stepped a grotesque, bone-spurred fish-like creature. Despite its ugly, two-meter-long form, the dense spiritual pressure radiating from its body made it clear—it was also an Adjuchas.
Whoosh!
At the same time, a towering eight-meter-tall goat with a fiery red coat and thick, muscular hooves appeared from the opposite direction, flames flickering along its body. The two creatures had effectively encircled the feasting leopard.
The fish-like Adjuchas sneered before addressing its target.
"My great king, the strongest Vasto Lorde in the world, summons you! Join his ranks and become his fangs—your supreme glory awaits!"
The leopard-like Adjuchas ignored him entirely, continuing to devour its prey.
Barnes, the strange fish, scowled. "Arrogant, ignorant cat! How dare you ignore me, Chiva Barnes?! You'll pay for this! Perk, teach him a lesson!"
The red goat, Yuan Perk, let out a deafening roar, then unleashed a stream of searing red flames from its mouth, surging toward the leopard.
Whoosh!
In a flash, the leopard vanished along with its meal.
Barnes' eyes widened. That speed... Sonído?!
At a distance, the leopard finished swallowing a chunk of flesh, then slowly licked the green blood from its lips. A cruel grin stretched across its face.
"Two nobodies daring to challenge me? Suicidal."
A flash of blue light, and in an instant, the leopard appeared directly behind Barnes, its jaws wide open, ready to clamp down on the fish's unarmored tail.
Slash!
Just as the razor-sharp fangs were about to tear through flesh, a shimmering distortion of space erupted in front of Barnes. He vanished in a blink, reappearing at a safe distance.
Barnes trembled, cold sweat dripping down his face. Damn cat! If not for my spatial ability, I would've lost my tail—and with it, my chance to evolve further!
Panicked, he refused to face the leopard in direct combat and instead launched a barrage of cero from afar.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Barnes' fish tail whipped wildly, releasing a storm of black and red cero, but every single blast missed. The leopard darted effortlessly between the attacks, weaving through the sandstorm they kicked up.
Within moments, it had closed the distance—this time, targeting Perk.
The red goat barely had time to react before the leopard lunged, its sharp claws gleaming.
"Perk, look out!" Barnes attempted another cero, but—
Whoosh!
The leopard disappeared again, dodging at the last second.
Boom!
Barnes' cero slammed into Perk's back instead, causing an explosion of flames and sand.
"BASTARD, BARNES! WHAT THE HELL?!" the goat bellowed in pain, though his thick bone plating absorbed most of the impact. Even so, his back was scorched from the misfire.
"Perk! I-I didn't mean to! Are you okay?!"
Before they could recover, the leopard was already moving again, its powerful tail whipping around—
Smash!
Barnes was sent flying, crashing hard into the sand. He lay there, motionless, struggling to breathe.
Perk, enraged, gathered energy between his massive horns and fired a cero straight at the leopard.
Fwoosh!
The leopard countered with a cero of its own—black and red energy clashing in a brilliant explosion.
BOOM!
A violent shockwave tore through the desert, kicking up a massive sandstorm. When the dust settled, Perk was sprawled in the center of a deep crater, his body charred and unmoving.
The leopard stepped forward, sneering.
"Two idiots. Remember this name—Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. That's who sent you to hell."
His piercing blue eyes glowed with savage delight.
"Pantera's Claws!"
Grimmjow lunged, his forelimbs glowing with an eerie blue light. The energy extended into eight deadly blades, each pulsing with destructive force.
Then, with an executioner's precision, he slashed downward—
This was the end.
At that moment, a single thought filled the minds of the strange fish Barnes and the red goat Perk—if this attack lands, we're dead!
Boom!
Just as Grimmjow's eight terrifying blue energy blades were about to carve them into pieces, a dark figure suddenly appeared between them.
The newcomer reached out effortlessly—clench!—and crushed the glowing blades in his massive black hand.
"Yo, long time no see."
After effortlessly stopping Grimmjow's killing move, Ren grinned at him. His appearance had changed, but through spiritual perception, he confirmed what he had suspected—this fierce Adjuchas before him was the same alien Gillian he had encountered when he first arrived in Hueco Mundo.
Now, Grimmjow had evolved before him.
Ren laughed. "What a coincidence!"
His spiritual pressure erupted like a tidal wave, crashing down upon Grimmjow with immense force.
Vasto Lorde?!
For the first time, Grimmjow felt suffocated. The overwhelming spiritual pressure pressed against his chest, making it hard to breathe.
But then—he grinned.
"Perfect. I've always wanted to see if Vasto Lordes are as strong as the rumors say!"
Without hesitation, he charged up a Cero, its massive energy swirling violently in his open jaws before firing straight at Ren's face.
Ren didn't move.
With a casual wave of his right hand—
Boom!
The devastating Cero was deflected effortlessly, exploding harmlessly to the side.
Ren smirked. "Is that all you've got?"
Barnes and Perk could only watch in shock as Grimmjow, ignoring everything, lunged straight at Ren. The Adjuchas' sharp fangs gleamed, his wild eyes burning with defiance.
Ren simply shook his head.
"Too weak."
Without even drawing his blade, he moved at the last second—clutch!—his right hand snapping up and seizing Grimmjow by the back of his neck, lifting him effortlessly into the air.
"What a weak and arrogant little cat."
A dark golden spiritual pressure flared around Ren.
Grimmjow's eyes widened in horror as he felt his body shrink—his limbs retracting, his powerful form compressing until—
In mere seconds, he was no longer a proud Adjuchas. He had become the size of a mere house cat, dangling helplessly from Ren's grip.
Barnes and Perk froze.
Ren chuckled. This was his ability—Ruyi—fully developed. He had mastered not only the ability to alter his own size but could now change the size of other objects and creatures.
The only condition?
Their spiritual pressure had to be far weaker than his own.
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