Hueco Mundo Desert.
More than ten Shinigami in black uniforms were lying behind a sand dune.
"Lieutenant, this Hollow is really tough! There are too many Cero bombs, we can't get close to her at all!"
Marenoshin Ōmaeda's hand, clutching his shoulder, trembled slightly.
The pressure from that Hollow was too immense.
They were completely outmatched.
"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and heal your wounds!"
Yoruichi Shihōin assessed her subordinates' condition. It wasn't looking good.
After just a brief clash, the Onmitsukidō had already suffered over fifty percent casualties.
The subordinates she brought this time were all elite Shinigami from the Onmitsukidō!
But they still couldn't resolve the current predicament.
The Hollow they encountered could turn other Hollows into Cero bombs, and they were now trapped in a circle of them. There were too many to defend against.
After several attempts, they had failed to break through the encirclement of Cero bombs.
The Shinigami hid behind the sand dune, using Healing Kidō to treat their injuries as quickly as possible.
"This can't go on. To defeat that Hollow, we have to find a way to break through the Cero bomb circle."
Marenoshin Ōmaeda gritted his teeth, the hand on his shoulder trembling even more fiercely. "Lieutenant, let us draw the Cero bombs away for you!"
Marenoshin Ōmaeda intended to charge one more time.
"No! That's no different from suicide!"
There were too many Cero bombs outside. Once caught in them, death was certain. Yoruichi was unwilling to send her subordinates to their deaths.
Just then, the sand of the dune suddenly burst open, and a pangolin-shaped Hollow burrowed out from underneath.
"Are you all rested?"
A sweet, childlike voice came from within the pangolin Hollow.
"If you're rested, come and play with Tim!"
Even more terrifying, beneath the pangolin Hollow was a pile of other Hollows with only their heads exposed.
These Hollows' bodies swelled rapidly, and fearsome energy erupted from within them.
"Get away!"
Yoruichi shouted urgently.
The Shinigami were horrified, immediately moving away from the area at their top speed.
A blue sun rose in the Hueco Mundo desert.
"BOOM—!!!"
Countless sand dunes were obliterated. The shockwave sent waves of sand rolling outwards like a turbulent sea.
After the shockwave subsided, the terrain of the dunes had changed significantly.
A massive, sunken crater had formed with the blast zone at its center.
Outside the crater, Yoruichi pushed aside the sand pressing down on her and struggled to climb out.
"Pfft—"
Yoruichi spat a pool of blood onto the sand.
Although she had escaped the center of the explosion in time, she was still injured by the shockwave.
Her entire body ached.
Yoruichi took out a secret medicine and swallowed it. The pain throughout her body quickly subsided.
Her injuries were temporarily suppressed.
Sensing the spiritual pressure fluctuations of her subordinates, Yoruichi's expression immediately darkened.
None of them could stand. Her subordinates had basically lost their ability to fight.
"If you don't tell me the true name of my Bankai soon, we're all going to die here together, Naruneko!"
Yoruichi's gaze shifted to her side, where there was nothing.
But in reality, a black-haired, cat-eared girl that only she could see was there.
That was her Zanpakutō, Naruneko.
The traditional way for a Shinigami to master Bankai is to first achieve materialization of the Zanpakutō's spirit, then force it to submit to learn the Bankai's true name.
Yoruichi didn't want to be left too far behind by her professor, so she hadn't slacked off in her training over the years.
She had already completed the materialization step.
But Naruneko was a stubborn cat and had yet to tell her the true name of her Bankai.
"Having Yoruichi die with me sounds pretty nice, you know!" Naruneko's ears twitched. "She's coming!"
"I don't want to die here!" Yoruichi quickly leaped away.
A giant black shadow appeared in the sky. A giant Hollow fell from above, crashing into the spot where Yoruichi had just been.
Thud—
"The other toys are all breaking..."
Tim, standing on the giant's shoulder, looked regretful. "Can you last a little longer?"
"Otherwise, Tim will get bored again!" Tim's expression suddenly turned into a vicious grin. "Crush her for me, Pascal!"
Thump—
The giant vanished in an instant, reappearing right above Yoruichi's head.
The giant Hollow swung its iron fist, smashing down towards Yoruichi.
At this moment, Yoruichi had already activated her Shunkō form.
The lightning power of her Zanpakutō intertwined with the turbulent spiritual pressure, pushing her speed to the absolute limit.
Swoosh—
Yoruichi used Shunpo to appear behind Tim.
"I was just wondering how to get close to you, and you delivered yourself to my doorstep!"
Yoruichi's figure transformed into a flash of lightning, instantly passing through Tim's body.
Tim felt her vision shift and fall, her sinister smile quickly turning to confusion.
"How am I... seeing... my own body?"
Tim held her severed head.
Without a head, her strength was rapidly drained, and she fell from the giant Hollow's shoulder.
"Tim... is down..."
Tim, holding her own head, crashed to the ground.
"Finally dealt with that bomb girl..."
Yoruichi breathed a small sigh of relief.
What frustrated her most was that the bomb girl was constantly setting up Cero bombs, preventing her and the Onmitsukidō from getting close.
This bomb girl's close-combat ability wasn't strong. If not for the protection of the giant Hollow and the Cero bombs, Yoruichi would have cut her head off long ago.
Now the bomb girl had come close on her own.
How could she miss such a golden opportunity? She drew her blade and killed her in one move!
"TIM!!!"
The giant Hollow let out a deafening roar.
It was the first time Yoruichi had heard the giant Hollow speak. The sound, like the beating of a drum, made her ears ache.
"WHY DID YOU BREAK MY TIM!!!"
The giant Hollow picked up Tim's head, which had rolled onto the ground, and threw it at Yoruichi.
Yoruichi's eyes narrowed. She sensed an astonishing fluctuation of spiritual pressure from that empty head. This was not the spiritual pressure a Hollow's corpse should have.
Tim's head swelled rapidly, and a terrifying blue Cero burst forth instantly.
"BOOM—!!!"
A blue sun rose once again in the Hueco Mundo desert.
Swoosh—
Yoruichi's figure appeared high in the sky.
"This Tim is also a Cero bomb!"
Yoruichi understood. The Hollow manufacturing the Cero bombs was actually the giant Hollow!
The seemingly active, small-bodied Hollow was just another Cero bomb he had made!
The giant Hollow on the ground picked up Tim's corpse and tore an arm from it.
"WHY DID YOU BREAK MY TIM!!!"
The giant Hollow threw Tim's arm over, and another Cero exploded.
"Give me back my Tim!"
"I'm going to make you into the new Tim!"
Tim was like a tattered rag doll, its limbs continually torn off by the giant Hollow and thrown at Yoruichi, until only a broken torso remained.
Yoruichi's figure flashed through the air, constantly dodging the Cero explosions while steadily closing the distance.
The next moment, Yoruichi appeared above the giant Hollow's head and brought her sword down.
Clang—
The Zanpakutō struck the armor on the giant Hollow's head, surprisingly making the sound of metal clashing.
Yoruichi's pupils shrank. Her Zanpakutō couldn't cut through at all!
The giant Hollow's iron fist came smashing towards her, but Yoruichi used Shunpo to get away just before being hit.
"I can't break its defense!"
Yoruichi panted slightly.
The combination of Shunkō and her Zanpakutō's lightning power could boost her speed to an incredible level, allowing her to dodge the Cero explosions, but maintaining this form for a long time was also draining her stamina.
Seeing that throwing Cero bombs was ineffective against Yoruichi, the giant Hollow tossed Tim's remaining torso into its mouth and began to chew.
The next moment, the giant Hollow opened its massive mouth.
A beam of blue light shot out from its mouth instantly.
Such a fast Cero!
The thought flashed through Yoruichi's mind.
This Cero had no gathering process for spiritual pressure; its activation speed far surpassed any Cero she had seen before.
Moreover, this Cero anticipated her movements. In her haste, she couldn't dodge it.
Yoruichi could only choose to take it head-on.
"BOOM—!!!"
A blue sun illuminated the sky and land of Hueco Mundo in a wash of blue.
"Did I hit it?"
The giant Hollow felt a pang of regret. He had wanted to make this Shinigami into a new "Tim." It wouldn't be good if she was just blown to bits.
Two Onmitsukidō Shinigami lying on a distant sand dune witnessed the scene.
"Lieutenant!"
The Shinigami cried out in grief.
"Wait, what is that!"
Marenoshin Ōmaeda had sharp eyes and saw something overflowing from within the blue sun.
"That's lightning!"
Just then, a thunderous roar echoed from the turbulent spiritual pressure in the air.
Lightning flashed in the sky, so bright that even the light of the blue sun couldn't conceal it.
As far as the eye could see, there was only lightning.
A claw formed from the majestic power of lightning tore open the blue sun in the sky.
A giant beast composed of lightning emerged from the blue sun.
And Yoruichi was at the center of this lightning beast.
"Bankai, Rai Ikariyō (Thunder Beast Armor)!"
The lightning beast had the shape of a feline, and its movements were as agile as a cat's.
In an instant, the lightning beast was in front of the giant Hollow.
The lightning beast swiped with its claw, and the giant Hollow was sent flying by the immense force.
"Can't... move?!"
The giant Hollow found its body paralyzed by the lightning, able to do nothing but let itself be thrown backward.
Boom!
The giant Hollow crashed through two sand dunes before coming to a stop.
After stopping, the giant Hollow staggered to its feet. The lightning still coursing through its body severely hindered its movements, causing it to twitch from time to time.
He tried to gather a Cero, but the residual lightning interfered, making it much more difficult.
Panic began to set in for the giant Hollow. He regretted having used up all his Cero bombs while toying with his playthings earlier.
"So this is my Bankai!" Yoruichi's spirits lifted. "Maybe I can try that unfinished technique..."
A cat's curiosity overcame reason, and a hint of lightning seemed to dance in Yoruichi's golden pupils.
"Shunkō: Ra-jū Gogyō!"
The lightning beast rapidly contracted towards Yoruichi at its center.
The lightning clung to Yoruichi's body, as if she had donned clothes made of pure thunder.
The lightning on her head intertwined with her long hair, making it look like she had grown a pair of cat ears.
Above her hips, a tail made of lightning was connected.
After learning the secret art of cat transformation, Yoruichi had developed some feline habits.
Now, merged with the power of Naruneko, the beast within her was fully revealed.
Yoruichi crouched on all fours, like a shapeshifting cat demon.
Swoosh—
Yoruichi appeared behind the giant Hollow, a piece of bone armor in her hand.
She sniffed the armor curiously, then showed a look of disgust and casually tossed it aside.
The giant Hollow felt a strong sense of paralysis from the top of its head.
It reached up to touch its head and grabbed something soft.
Opening its palm, it saw a complexly patterned white substance.
It was a piece of brain!
The top of the giant Hollow's skull had been torn off.
The thing Yoruichi had just grabbed was the giant Hollow's skullcap!
With a part of its brain missing, the giant Hollow didn't die immediately but went completely insane.
"ROAR!!!"
The giant Hollow's body swelled rapidly. It was going to turn itself into a Cero bomb to blow Yoruichi to bits!
Yoruichi glanced back, and her figure vanished again.
The next instant, a flash of lightning pierced through the giant Hollow's chest.
When Yoruichi reappeared in the air, she was holding a beating heart in her hand.
Her movements were so fast that the heart hadn't even realized it had left its owner's body.
The giant Hollow's transformation came to an abrupt halt. As if deflating, its swelling body rapidly shrank.
Crash—
Its massive body collapsed to the ground.
"Tim... I want Tim..."
The giant Hollow mumbled, falling into an eternal sleep.
"It's... it's over!!!"
"We survived!"
"The Lieutenant is so amazing!!!"
The Shinigami who were still conscious all breathed a sigh of relief.
They had been gravely injured by the Cero blasts and had no strength left to fight. If Yoruichi had been defeated, they would have likely all died here.
Fortunately, their Lieutenant defeated that powerful Hollow.
At that moment, Yoruichi's nose twitched, as if sensing something.
Her eyes lit up. "That's the Professor's lightning!"
Yoruichi's figure vanished in an instant. She had actually just left!
In her current state, her animal instincts were overriding her reason. She couldn't think rationally and just abandoned her subordinates.
"Wait... where is the Lieutenant going? Come back and help us!"
Lying on the ground, Marenoshin Ōmaeda saw that Yoruichi in the sky had no intention of paying them any mind and instead just left directly.
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Note from Lizbeth
This message is for one person who, after watching just one episode, thinks they know the worth of everything I do. But it's one thing to dislike something — and another to lie, make things up, or spread hate. That's never okay, under any circumstances.
We can all have different opinions, but anyone with common sense knows that lying is never acceptable.
I take the time to edit, check, correct, and make sure everything is fine before uploading. I don't do it carelessly. While some people waste time criticizing or making up things, I'm working hard to deliver something with quality.
I know I can make mistakes sometimes, but I always try to do my best and improve every day. Everything I post has time, effort, and dedication behind it.
I understand that not everyone will like what I do, and that's fine. But going to the reviews to lie or make things up just because you don't like something isn't giving an opinion — it's acting in bad faith.
There's also another person who keeps complaining because I delete their reviews. Of course I delete them if all they do is insult or spread hate. If you spend all day watching what I do, then my work can't be that bad.
I accept respectful criticism, but if you come just to spread hate or lies, your message goes straight to the trash.
I put a lot of effort into everything I do, and I won't let someone who knows nothing come and say my work has no value.
If you don't like it, don't watch it. My work has value, and I'll keep doing it — with or without your approval.
This message is for two people who've been doing the same thing for weeks. I'm not mentioning names because I don't like to.
To everyone else who leaves kind comments, constructive criticism, or points out mistakes — thank you so much. Thanks to you, I can see the errors I make and correct them. Sending a kiss, your friend Lizbeth.