The Arrancarization of the Hollows in Hueco Mundo was an event of absolute significance to every Hollow in Las Noches.
A fiery longing burned in every Hollow's eyes—they yearned to become stronger through the Arrancarization, to step into a higher realm and complete a further evolution.
Starrk watched that hunger in their eyes and fell into thought.
Yoshio had put it well: if you want to make friends, if you don't want to drown in solitude, then you need one thing—"social ease."
If everyone else wants to do something and you don't, then you simply won't fit in.
"Don't go thinking you're hot stuff," Yoshio murmured beside him again. "There are plenty of strong ones out there—you're not the strongest. In a world like this, wanting to grow weaker is downright arrogant."
"Maybe," Starrk sighed.
He fell silent. In that silence, more and more Hollows completed their Arrancarization.
Even Baraggan swallowed his pride and accepted becoming an Arrancar under Aizen's rule.
Starrk exhaled another sigh, then took Lilynette by the hand and walked forward.
Yoshio stiffened for a moment.
Wait.
Starrk and Lilynette were once a single existence, and yet also two independent individuals.
They'd already entered the Arrancar stage, so Yoshio wasn't sure what would happen if they were further strengthened by the Hōgyoku.
But now, Yoshio faced a practical problem.
If both Starrk and Lilynette received Hōgyoku enhancement, did that count as one enhancement or two?
Yoshio scratched his head—this really pushed past his knowledge boundary.
If they could be enhanced twice, wouldn't that be kind of cheating?
Aizen seemed mildly surprised to see Starrk approach, but he didn't refuse to grant more power.
The Hōgyoku's power washed over Starrk, and in an instant, a gentle light enveloped both him and Lilynette at his side.
Under its power, he directly entered his Resurrección, allowing Lilynette to return into his soul.
As the light gradually faded, Starrk's form shifted once again.
All the Arrancar present fixed their eyes on Starrk, because they understood that whatever form he was about to take represented a possible further evolution for them all.
Under their expectant stares, Starrk's chest suddenly split open again—
A hollow hole!
Starrk and Lilynette's holes had originally both been near the chest; but now, Starrk bore two: one in his chest and one in his abdomen.
Most importantly, both holes seemed filled with some kind of energy—as if that energy were occupying the emptiness, somewhat like the hole in Hollow White.
But whereas Hollow White's hole was wedged with a heart-like lump of flesh, Starrk's was packed with an energy that seemed to lack physical substance.
The twin pistols in his hands also changed. Their shapes stayed the same, but the engraving on each was no longer identical.
The patterns on both barrels shifted into crescent motifs, and five rays of light fired from the crescents' mouths.
This look…
Yoshio thought about it and decided it resembled the Hōgyoku-boosted Espada version of Starrk from the Shinigami mobile game.
Except the colors weren't as gaudy—the game's tacky browser-game palette was gone, replaced by the classic black-and-white of Shinigami aesthetics.
Is this… Segunda Etapa?
"And now you…" Aizen seemed quite interested in Starrk's condition—after all, Starrk was the only special case among Hueco Mundo's Arrancar. He watched Starrk, who had his eyes closed, and asked, "How do you feel?"
"It's…" Starrk opened his eyes, looked down at his hands, and said reflexively, "Not bad."
As he spoke, he seemed to relax. His body reverted to the initial Resurrección form, the two holes merging back into one. Then he even canceled the Resurrección, and Lilynette separated from him again.
Once they returned to being two people, only a subtle residue of the changes remained.
Whether it was Starrk or Lilynette, their hollow holes shimmered with a mysterious light—an intangible force that seemed intent on filling the emptiness.
"This guy…" Baraggan eyed Starrk with displeasure. He already had Shinigami above him—so why was there a Hollow more advanced than the King of Hueco Mundo himself?
It shouldn't be like this!
He was the King of Hueco Mundo, god of all Hollows! Anything that defied him should not exist in this world!
"With this, the Hollows of Las Noches have basically all completed Arrancarization," Yoshio hopped down and said to Aizen. "I think we can officially form the Espada now."
Then he couldn't help adding, "Oh, right—there's still one Hollow who hasn't undergone Arrancarization."
"Szayelaporro?" Aizen said coolly. "Don't worry about him. He won't be out any time soon."
Aizen clearly understood Szayelaporro's experiments.
Yoshio wasn't surprised.
Ever since obtaining [The Animals], Szayelaporro had holed up in his lab conducting secret research.
The last time Yoshio saw him was a month after he'd delivered the fluid from Aaroniero to Szayelaporro; he'd gone back to retrieve research data.
It had been three years since then. Szayelaporro had remained sealed in the lab the whole time, never emerging.
He must be undergoing a critical evolution to achieve the immortality he craved.
What Yoshio couldn't see didn't mean Aizen couldn't.
Szayelaporro's research prowess was formidable—depending on whom you compared him to.
With Aizen's techniques, he could fully infiltrate Szayelaporro's lab; there were no secrets where that man was concerned.
So Yoshio had no doubt Aizen knew Szayelaporro wouldn't be appearing soon.
Perhaps, by Aizen's judgment, Szayelaporro no longer needed the Hōgyoku for enhancement.
"What do you plan to do next?" Yoshio stood beside Aizen and asked, "So it's time to decide a new 'disposition' for Yoruichi Shihouin and Kisuke Urahara, right?"
Aizen smiled at that. "Yoshio-kun, you haven't done anything wrong."
"Kisuke Urahara… His life is too comfortable in the Human World. If he simply rots away there, that would be boring for me."
Aizen pushed his moonlit glasses up and said softly:
"It's time they felt some urgency—enough that even their lives might be forfeit."