"Hmm…"
"How interesting… Truly interesting. To think I was injured this severely during a time I wasn't even aware of."
A thousand meters beneath the sands of Hueco Mundo, a Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar with pink hair observed the version of "himself" submerged in a nutrient tank, recovering from grave injuries, with evident fascination.
"Lord Szayelaporro, I have finished collecting the data you requested on Kenpachi Kuryashiki's Hollowfication."
Beside the pink-haired Arrancar stood a spider-shaped Adjuchas, who spoke softly.
"Excellent."
Szayelaporro nodded slightly at the Adjuchas before returning to manipulating the nearby machinery.
"That guy called Kenpachi Kuryashiki is really something else. His combat power surged so drastically after Hollowfying? Fascinating! Fascinating!"
"Just as Lord Azashiro once said — Hollows evolve by removing their masks, while Shinigami evolve by putting them on!"
Szayelaporro held a set of documents in his hand, which contained meticulous combat data on Kenpachi Kuryashiki before his Hollowfication. The details were exhaustive — how many strikes he required to defeat a Gillian, how much spiritual pressure he used against an Adjuchas, how much he expended against a Vasto Lorde — everything was recorded with crystal clarity.
Yes, ever since Kenpachi Kuryashiki led Squad 11 and the Hueco Mundo Suppression Force decades ago to rescue Shinigami trapped in Hueco Mundo, Szayelaporro had taken special notice of him — the strongest Shinigami he had ever seen (though in Szayelaporro's eyes, Sōya Azashiro had already transcended what it meant to be a Shinigami). From that moment, Szayelaporro resolved to carefully collect all of Kuryashiki's combat data. That's also why Kuryashiki, along with just a few others, was able not only to rescue Shinigami caught in ambushes by the Menos army, but also to easily crush those same Menos forces — the data Szayelaporro meticulously gathered played a central role.
From Kuryashiki's battle against Gillians... to his solo duel with a Vasto Lorde-level Arrancar under Baraggan… to his team's clean retreat — all of it had been orchestrated by Szayelaporro behind the scenes.
Otherwise, what are the odds that just as Szayelaporro set out to the Soul Society to gather materials, a top officer under Baraggan conveniently got killed by a Shinigami, provoking Baraggan into launching a retaliatory campaign?
It was all Szayelaporro's manipulation — making every twist seem natural, every reaction reasonable. But when viewed altogether, the sheer number of "coincidences" became too much to ignore.
"Pull up the energy data from the battle between Lord Azashiro and Hollowfied Kuryashiki."
With hands behind his back, Szayelaporro commanded the spider-shaped Adjuchas at his side.
"I'm sorry, Lord Szayelaporro… but Lord Azashiro spiritual pressure is far too immense for me. To gather it all will take about a month."
Szayelaporro's brows furrowed upon hearing this.
"Hmph? Useless. As I thought, your Adjuchas form is still far too weak."
"In that case, I'll give you this body."
He plunged his hand into the nutrient tank and yanked out his clone, tossing it in front of the Adjuchas.
"Lord Szayelaporro… this is a precious part of yourself. Are you sure it's alright to give it to me?"
The Adjuchas hesitated, gazing at the clone lying before her.
"Hmph! It's merely a clone that can't even reach half my power. It's useless now."
Szayelaporro snorted coldly, showing open disdain for the "himself" lying before him.
"But even so, it should be enough for you to evolve into a Vasto Lorde. If you fail to do so after consuming it, then you're no longer useful to me. I'll format your current self."
Szayelaporro's voice turned icy as he addressed the Adjuchas beside him.
"As you command, Master."
The spider-like Adjuchas bowed slightly without the slightest anger at his callousness. In truth, she had no such emotions to begin with — she was an artificial Adjuchas, created by Szayelaporro. From the moment she was born, her only purpose had been to store information for him. Even her name, Roka Paramia, was one given by him — meaning not a single part of her truly belonged to herself.
"My No. 1 clone's been consumed. No. 2 is currently serving Lord Azashiro as his housekeeper. The rest of the clones… they can be destroyed, they're irrelevant now."
"Based on my research on Lord Azashiro, within five years or so, with the current rate of his spiritual pressure growth, he will completely surpass the boundary of what defines a Shinigami and reach a whole new dimension… When that time comes, I will follow him… to the Soul Society."
Szayelaporro sat in his underground lab, quietly contemplating.
"The 'Immaculate Conception' research is no longer necessary. There's something far more magnificent now. Just like that worthless Vasto Lorde could merge with Kuryashiki's body, becoming one with him to form a perfect being — I too should be able to merge with Lord Azashiro body!"
"In other words… I can skip the step of becoming a 'Perfect Lifeform' entirely — and fuse with Lord Sōya Azashiro to become the ultimate, the absolute, the most perfect lifeform!"
"Ha… haha… HAHAHA! What a magnificent plan this is! The strongest, most beautiful, most perfect lifeform in all the world shall be born! Let us praise the gods who created this universe!"
Szayelaporro was lost in his own madness, completely drunk on the vision of his imagined future.
"But before that… I need to excise the portion of my body that still contains my brother. The only one who can fuse with Lord Sōya Azashiro and become the ultimate lifeform — is me, and me alone!"
Twisted, obsessive — Szayelaporro was wholly consumed by his fixation on Sōya Azashiro.
"No good… No good at all! I'm too excited… far too excited! I'm having trouble controlling myself!"
"You must calm down, Szayelaporro. You are not yet worthy to fuse with Lord Azashiro. You still need to be patient."
Speaking to himself, Szayelaporro picked up a fresh set of research documents and resumed his next experiment. As the embodiment of death's obsession with evolution, he remained utterly devoted to the pursuit of the perfect lifeform — driven by madness and ambition.