Two days later.
"Nelliel is going back to Hueco Mundo... I won't be able to share snacks with you anymore..."
Kana Azashiro looked regretful, a pastry box in her hand. "I bought some from the new pastry shop, Gashin-sai!"
The others in the dōjō had different tastes. Only she and Nelliel were obsessed with sweets.
With Nelliel gone, there would be no one to share desserts with.
"Thank you, Kana~" Nelliel happily accepted the farewell gift.
Nelliel opened the box. Inside was a reishi space, filled with all sorts of pastries.
"Hehe, actually, everyone pitched in to buy them!" Kana scratched her face. "Yoruichi even found a box from her family's secret vault with a preservation Kidō formula on it."
Yoruichi's family also had many strange spiritual tools. This pastry box, with its large capacity and preservation function, was something she had dug out from her family's vault.
"You should take these orange wines too," Sajin Komamura set down several jars of wine.
He had just returned from Inuzuri and had bought some Inuzuri orange wine that could only be found there.
"I think you said you liked the Shiba clan's rice cakes before. I brought some for you. They're all in that pastry box," Isshin Shiba said with a smile.
Although the Shiba clan had fallen on hard times in recent years, they still had some businesses. Shiba rice cakes were the signature product of their pastry shop.
The others had also bought some pastries from various shops, and they were all placed in the box.
"Thank you, everyone!" Nelliel said repeatedly.
Nelliel would be staying in Hueco Mundo for a long time. Sora's disciples had all returned to the dōjō to see her off.
"Be careful in Hueco Mundo, Nelliel. There are still many strong fighters there," Yoruichi handed over a map. "This is the latest exploration map of Menos territories. It's been updated with a few harsh, dangerous environments and the territories of some powerful Menos. These places are very dangerous, try to avoid them."
"Thank you, Yoruichi!"
Nelliel was very moved. All her senior classmates had come back to see her off.
"If you run into any danger you can't handle, contact me with the Onmitsukidō's Denreishinki! I'll bring people to help you out!" Yoruichi patted Nelliel's shoulder.
The Onmitsukidō's Denreishinki had a dedicated encrypted channel. Besides the Technology Development Bureau, which could intercept the information with technical means, no other division's Denreishinki could access it.
A Shinigami's Denreishinki received information more like a radio; as long as you tuned to the right channel, you could communicate and receive information on it.
"Waaah~ I'm so happy!!!" Nelliel's eyes were brimming with tears. After becoming Sora's disciple, she had been a bit nervous about coming to the Soul Society. She had never thought she would make so many friends.
"The relationship between Shinigami and Hollows is not entirely adversarial, and not all Hollows are without reason."
Kaname Tōsen felt the lively atmosphere and couldn't help but think about what he had recently learned at the academy.
The chances of encountering a Hollow in the Rukongai were almost nil. He had never actually seen one there.
At that time, his knowledge of Hollows was all hearsay.
He had learned from a soul who came to the Soul Society from the human world that Hollows were terrifying monsters that lived by devouring souls.
After entering the academy, the knowledge he gained from books and teachers only deepened this impression.
But the Nelliel he met at the dōjō was completely different from this impression.
This made Tōsen feel very conflicted.
After saying goodbye to everyone, Sora and Nelliel once again went to Hueco Mundo.
Just as they stepped out of the Senkaimon, they felt two spiritual pressures clashing violently.
A battle was taking place up ahead.
One of the spiritual pressures was very familiar to Sora.
It was Harribel's!
"Little Harri is fighting!"
Nelliel's eyes narrowed. She sensed Harribel's spiritual pressure weakening.
Harribel was on the losing side of the battle!
The two moved quickly and arrived above the battlefield.
The one fighting Harribel was a crimson, shark-like Menos.
Both Sora and Nelliel found this Hollow's appearance somewhat familiar.
"Professor, look over there! It's that Black Shark King!"
Nelliel pointed to the lower right. Riel, the Black Shark King, was fighting the trio of animal-like Menos.
Two of the trio were already down, and the remaining Deer Hollow was also in a precarious situation.
"The one fighting Harribel must be a helper the Black Shark King called."
Sora quickly assessed the situation. "You take care of the Black Shark King. I'll handle things with Harribel."
"Okay!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the two vanished from the spot.
The Black Shark King grabbed the limp snake tail and swung it like a long whip, smashing the Deer Hollow out of the air.
He stepped on the deer's leg.
Crack—
The leg broke with a snap.
"Aaargh!!!" the Deer Hollow screamed in pain.
"Heh~ scream all you want. Let's see who can save you this time," the Black Shark King said arrogantly. "No matter how strong the Shark Queen is, she can't beat my brother. My brother is a powerful Vasto Lorde-class Menos!"
After losing to Harribel, the Black Shark King had grown angrier the more he thought about it. He had gone next door to get his older brother, the Red Shark King, to come for revenge.
Just then, he heard a sound like a drumbeat from behind him.
Thump—
Nelliel appeared behind the Black Shark King, her eyes filled with rage.
Harribel's companions were her companions. How dare this Menos harm them!
Nelliel's figure spun rapidly in the air. Her right leg, wrapped in a gust of wind, kicked fiercely at the Black Shark King.
The Black Shark King's expression changed. He sensed the movement behind him but only had time to raise his right arm.
Nelliel's kick landed on his right arm, which instantly twisted and broke.
The force of the attack did not diminish, carrying the broken arm along as it struck his neck.
Boom—
The Black Shark King was sent flying, crashing into a stone mountain.
"Why did this Black Shark King attack you all again!" Nelliel was furious.
"He lost to Lady Harribel before and was unwilling to accept it, so he went and got a helper..." the Deer Hollow breathed a sigh of relief. With Lady Harribel's professor and senior classmate here, the two Shark Kings couldn't cause any more trouble.
The Black Shark King was embedded in the stone mountain.
His head was bent at a ninety-degree angle, almost fused to his shoulder.
Nelliel's furious kick had used all the power of her current form. The Black Shark King had been completely unable to resist.
The powerful force had broken his arm and neck in one go.
"How... is it... that... Vasto Lorde..."
The Black Shark King breathed his last.
Until his death, he couldn't understand how the Vasto Lorde he had met by chance was now with the Shark Queen's group.
On the other side.
Harribel's giant shark-tooth sword was broken in two, and a deep sense of powerlessness washed over her.
She was no match for this Red Shark King.
She had originally planned to leave the stone forest with her companions and find a place with a high concentration of spiritual particles.
But she had run into the Professor and Nelliel here and had changed her plans, deciding to wait for them to return.
However, Nelliel had to say goodbye to everyone before leaving the dōjō, and it took some time for the others to get leave and prepare gifts.
So, Sora and Nelliel had returned two days late.
While waiting for them, Harribel's group had run into the vengeful Black Shark King and Red Shark King.
"You are strong. For an Adjuchas to be able to last this long against me is already very impressive," the Red Shark King grinned, revealing the fangs in his mouth. "But unfortunately, I am much stronger than you!"
"I only used thirty percent of my strength, and you couldn't block my attacks," the Red Shark King held up two fingers, indicating he had used very little power.
Harribel didn't say a word. This Red Shark King was a Vasto Lorde-class Menos, and his strength was indeed great.
She even felt that the pressure he gave off was greater than Nelliel's!
However, she didn't know that when Nelliel had fought her, she had been suppressing her strength. Without using her Resurrección, Nelliel's spiritual pressure was only slightly stronger than hers.
After catching her breath for a few moments, Harribel pushed herself up against a rock wall and stood.
"Oh~ you can still stand?" A hint of surprise flashed in the Red Shark King's eyes. "A strong will. I admire you more and more."
"Pledge your allegiance to me. You will become a sharp blade in my hand, and together we will take over Las Noches!" The Red Shark King spread his arms and spoke grandly. "Baraggan is dead. Las Noches is now occupied by incompetents. It's time to correct this. Hueco Mundo should be ruled by a strong leader like me!"
After getting the news of Baraggan's death, some of the powerful Menos lurking outside of Las Noches's territory had become restless.
As a Vasto Lorde, the Red Shark King was one of them.
If Baraggan were still alive, he would not have had such thoughts, and would not even have bothered to help his brother.
But now that he was interested in contending for the throne of Las Noches, he needed to gather some Adjuchas-class Menos to serve him.
When he heard from his brother that there was a powerful Adjuchas here, he had rushed over, wanting to make her his subordinate.
"I will not serve you," Harribel said coldly.
"Heh... I gave you a chance..." The Red Shark King's smile faded, his voice gradually turning icy.
There was no shortage of Menos in Hueco Mundo. He wouldn't waste his time on this one.
"Next, I will use fifty percent of my strength," the Red Shark King said with regret. "You can change your mind anytime before I kill you. The benevolent Red Shark King can generously accommodate any who submit."
Harribel's heart sank, and she braced herself.
Just then, several thunderclaps echoed from above.
A bolt of lightning suddenly fell from the clear sky.
Harribel's eyes tried to track the lightning, but it was too fast. She only saw a blur.
The lightning struck the Red Shark King.
The next moment, a terrifying shockwave exploded outwards.
BOOM—!!!
Harribel was instantly sent flying by the blast.
Even Nelliel and the others in the distance were affected by the shockwave.
Nelliel's figure flashed, catching the three animal-like Menos who had been thrown into the air.
Harribel was thrown several dozen meters away.
She quickly adjusted her position and landed on the ground.
Harribel looked up, her face filled with horror.
She looked towards where the Red Shark King had been, but he was gone.
The Red Shark King was nowhere to be seen.
In its place was a large, dark crater.
Her professor, Katori Sora, was half-crouched in the center of it.
Arcs of lightning flickered around his body. A visible torrent of spiritual pressure intertwined with the lightning behind him, lingering for a long time.
Raikiri: Shunkō: Gorai Hidō!
Sora had just tried combining his newly learned Hakuda technique, 'Gorai Hidō', with his 'Shunkō: Raikiri' form.
The effect was outstanding.
Although 'Gorai Hidō' could achieve teleportation-like speed within a certain range, its casting distance was not far.
When Sora was in the air just now, the distance to the ground was beyond the range of the move.
So, he entered his 'Shunkō: Raikiri' form and used the explosive power of 'Gorai Hidō' for a three-stage acceleration.
The speed provided by 'Gorai Hidō' gave his kick an extremely terrifying power.
Even his own dynamic vision couldn't keep up with the speed. By locking onto the target's position in advance and delivering the kick, he had landed on the ground in an instant.
The Red Shark King had become one with the sand and soil of Hueco Mundo.
"Whew— this move is a bit taxing..." Sora was still in the kicking posture.
In fact, his right leg had lost all feeling. He was now using his 'Healing Factor' ability to repair the injury.
The kick he delivered had also caused him some damage.
After more than ten breaths, feeling returned to his right leg, and he pulled it out of the ground.
The sandal, sock, and the lower part of his hakama on his right leg had all been destroyed in the impact.
He stepped barefoot onto the dark ground, which was a bit hot.
The sand had been melted by the high-temperature lightning, forming a harder substance.
Sora stood in place for a moment until the injury to his right leg was completely healed.
"Professor!" Nelliel used Sonído to appear beside him, the shock still on her face. "Was that your move just now?!"
"I was testing a new move. The effect is pretty good," Sora nodded lightly. "Let's go check on Harribel. She hasn't come over yet, she must be seriously injured."
The next moment, Sora and Nelliel appeared in front of Harribel.
She had already been injured by the Red Shark King and was then hit by the shockwave. She could no longer stand.
"I couldn't control that move well. You got caught in the blast."
Sora crouched down and used healing Kidō on Harribel.
"The Professor is so strong..." Although Harribel's body was exhausted and heavy, her spirits were unusually high, her eyes filled with admiration.
The Vasto Lorde-class Menos who had beaten her so easily had been killed with a single kick by her professor.
It was the first time Harribel had witnessed this level of power, and her heart was pounding.
"Train hard, and you can become strong too," Sora said with a smile.
"Such immense power! I just looked, and even the sand was melted!" Nelliel was very curious about this move. "What is it called?"
"Let's call this move... 'Daikōraiin'," Sora explained. "It uses Gorai Hidō to provide acceleration, making the attacks in the 'Shunkō: Raikiri' form even more powerful."
"Raikiri... a Kidō sword technique..." Nelliel was a bit disappointed. "It's a shame I can't learn Kidō, so I can't learn these moves."
"Hollows have their own advantages. You can create moves that are more suitable for them, like the one you just mastered that combines a Cero with a spiritual pressure blade. Its power is not small," Sora chuckled.
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