Baraggan collapsed onto the scalding white sand. His purple robes were in tatters, and even his most vital skull had a sizable chunk blown off.
His torso was nearly severed in half, with bone fragments scattered all over the ground. The dignity belonging to the King of Hueco Mundo had been utterly shattered.
On the other hand, Naraku Sora himself was hardly faring any better.
Although he had obliterated the endless black tide, stacking multiple buffs had still inflicted a tremendously heavy toll on his body.
His exposed skin was cracked with bleeding fissures, his Reiatsu was depleted, and he was weakened to the absolute limit.
Fortunately, the high-speed regeneration effect of his active Hollowfication state was several times greater than normal. Therefore, even with very little Reiatsu remaining, he could still heal himself.
He deactivated his Shunkō and Lightning Release modes. The demonic mask crumbled and scattered like sand as he slowly walked toward the figure lying on the distant sand.
Baraggan stared up at the sky, his hollow eye sockets seemingly devoid of ambition, resembling a lifeless husk drained of all purpose.
The agonizing pain in his bones left his mind nearly blank. After a brief moment of panting, he began to replay the despair-inducing battle in his head.
Even up to the very last moment, Baraggan still had no idea what kind of ability this young Soul Reaper had used to neutralize his power of aging, which was capable of rotting all things.
He did not understand.
Why, even after breaking through the soul boundaries of a Hollow, even with the assistance of multiple clones, and even when the black tide symbolizing his power of aging was enough to annihilate the entirety of Las Noches...
Baraggan lifted his gaze, just in time to meet the eyes looking down at him. Although the young man's face was slightly pale, his fiercely burning fighting spirit was still clearly visible.
He had every reason to believe that if he could still fight, the guy standing before him would absolutely choose to entertain him to the bitter end.
He was like a wild beast completely ignorant of fatigue and pain.
After a moment of silence, Baraggan slowly spoke.
"I don't understand..."
"How were you able to sever the power of 'aging'? And that white bone mask you were wearing earlier... what was that?"
"..."
Naraku Sora sat down cross-legged without the slightest bit of guard, speaking frankly.
"Although I'm not a scientist, as one of the very few people in this world possessing world-shaking wisdom, I am more than capable of answering your questions."
Baraggan glanced at the guy in front of him, who was only wearing the bottom half of his Shihakushō. His entire body was covered in lean, muscular definition, and despite being covered in cuts and bruises, his fierce and valiant aura remained undiminished.
He decisively swallowed the words that had just reached the tip of his tongue.
Even though he believed from the bottom of his heart that this person possessed no such so-called world-shaking wisdom.
If only he hadn't been beaten so thoroughly...
"First of all, there is no such thing as an absolutely invincible mechanic in this world. That refers to so-called abilities, like your power of aging, or that flashy pink pineapple's ability to clone others."
"All mechanics must be built upon corresponding stats."
"If your stats aren't high enough, no matter how strong the mechanic is, it's nothing more than a toddler swinging a sword. One careless move, and you might even hurt yourself."
"Unfortunately for you, my stats are higher than yours."
Naraku Sora's eyes burned brightly as he spoke with assurance to the defeated general, fully displaying his world-shaking wisdom.
"As for your second question, that's a good one."
"Aren't you a perfect example yourself? Using the body of a Menos Grande, you broke the boundary between Hollow and Soul Reaper, gaining power that surpasses the limits of the soul."
"Correspondingly, if a similar situation occurs within a Soul Reaper, it goes by another name—"
"Hollow Mask."
As he spoke, Naraku Sora raised his right hand and curled his five fingers inward. Pitch-black Reiatsu flowed between his fingers, converging and solidifying to instantly form a ferocious demonic mask.
Then, he placed it over his face, and a deep, overlapping voice suddenly echoed:
"We are of the same kind..."
Baraggan was filled with sheer astonishment.
The tragic and fierce battle had ended.
Even though the instigators were clearly the underdogs, they still secured victory without any suspense.
By the time Naraku Sora returned to Las Noches carrying a half-dead Baraggan, Nelliel had already taken care of the remaining Adjuchas.
Perhaps because they had followed Baraggan for too long, this group of Adjuchas were the type to bend with the wind.
Upon realizing that it was impossible to defeat their enemies no matter what, they instinctively chose to surrender.
It was worth mentioning that the fortunate Dondochakka had not yet been sent off for modification.
As for Szayelaporro, he dropped to his knees in surrender even faster than Baraggan. The moment he saw Naraku Sora obliterate the endless black tide with a single slash, he immediately lost all will to fight.
He then spinelessly requested prisoner-of-war treatment from Aizen.
"I know that because of [Hell], you cannot casually kill an enemy of my caliber. If the balance is broken, a catastrophic disaster will descend."
Szayelaporro's words caused a look of surprise to appear on Aizen's face.
Too many unexpected things had happened today.
For instance, Szayelaporro's cloning ability.
Or how Naraku Sora had actually defeated seven Kings of Hueco Mundo head-on, forcefully turning around a battle that should have ended in defeat.
And now, the fact that Szayelaporro actually knew the secret history of the Soul Society.
"It seems we need to have a detailed conversation."
Looking at the calm-faced young Soul Reaper, for some unknown reason, a chill arose out of nowhere in Szayelaporro's heart, as if he were directly facing some terrifying natural predator.
*'This guy seemed even more terrifying than Naraku Sora.'*
Inside a half-ruined palace, a mostly recovered Baraggan stood quietly by the window, gazing at the ruin-like scenery outside.
He was still constantly pondering the words Naraku Sora had spoken after his defeat.
Even though he had broken through the boundary between Hollow and Soul Reaper with Szayelaporro's assistance, compared to Naraku Sora, who had automatically broken his limits, he was ultimately still lacking.
The disparity in their tiers was the true reason for his defeat.
*'Submit?'*
*'For the King of Hueco Mundo, a great existence standing above countless Menos Grande, to kneel at the feet of a Soul Reaper and bow his head in submission?'*
Baraggan was quite unwilling to accept this.
But when he recalled the brilliant blade light that had severed the black tide, an uncontrollable palpitation surged within him once more.
No matter how many times he replayed the battle in his mind, he couldn't see even the slightest possibility of victory.
The only ultimate outcomes were death or submission.
Yet Baraggan, who controlled the power of aging, feared death itself more than anything else. This was a secret he had never mentioned to anyone.
Gladly marching toward death was easy to say, but as the King of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan seemingly lacked such courage.
Naraku Sora.
Baraggan sat back down on his throne of white bone. After chewing over the name for a moment, his deep voice echoed in the room:
"..."
"You want to build a prison in Las Noches?"
In a certain room within Las Noches, Aizen looked at Naraku Sora with a puzzled expression, not understanding what kind of crazy idea he was having now.
"As a Prison Warden, what else would I build but a prison? A new Gotei 13?"
Naraku Sora sat upright in his chair, speaking nonchalantly:
"One must always prioritize their duties. That's what Teacher Yamamoto taught me."
After a grueling battle, they had finally managed to take down Baraggan and Szayelaporro.
As some of the few Vasto Lorde in Hueco Mundo, it would be a massive loss for him if he couldn't convert them into a source of profit.
But blatantly smuggling two Arrancar Vasto Lorde into the Soul Society would be showing far too little respect for the Head Captain of the Gotei 13.
And if he just slaughtered them, it would be far too much of a waste.
After all, the rewards for suppressing them and killing them were no different.
Furthermore, to Aizen, two Arrancar Vasto Lorde were incredibly rare and precious experimental materials.
After mulling it over, Naraku Sora decided to try building a new prison to see if he could reap rewards through this method.
After thinking for a few seconds, Aizen nodded:
"It's not impossible."
"There are a few Adjuchas that are very well-suited for construction. Baraggan most likely gathered them specifically from across Hueco Mundo to build his palace."
"I'll design a simple blueprint for you later. You can just have Nelliel supervise the construction."
Hearing this, Naraku Sora grinned:
"Thank you, Sōsuke. I knew you were my best friend."
Aizen didn't respond. He merely sighed helplessly, turned around, and left the room, heading toward Szayelaporro's exclusive laboratory.
The construction process went extremely smoothly.
The beetle-like Adjuchas spent less than a day completing the prison. The facilities inside were essentially a replica of the Shino Prison.
Specially designed by Aizen.
Naraku Sora and Nelliel walked down the bright and spacious corridor, inspecting the neat and clean cells on both sides.
"Want to go in and sit for a bit?"
Upon reaching the end of the hall, Naraku Sora suddenly extended an invitation to Nelliel.
The naive girl didn't suspect a thing. She happily opened the cell door and walked right in.
The moment the cell door closed, the air rippled like fine silk. A light screen, visible only to Naraku Sora, slowly emerged.
*'?'*
Feeling the barely noticeable increase in Reiatsu and the practically non-existent gain in Zanjutsu comprehension, Naraku Sora slowly typed out a question mark in his mind.
Facts proved that world-shaking wisdom did exist.
It was just that the pitiful amount of rewards truly exceeded Naraku Sora's expectations.
The participation rate was understandable.
But for Nelliel, a Vasto Lorde, to have a Sin Value of a mere two hundred and fifty points... was he sure this number wasn't a deliberate mockery of her foolish nature?
"Nel, how exactly did you evolve into a Vasto Lorde?"
Inside the cell, Nelliel looked up in confusion:
"What evolution?"
"I was born looking like this."
Naraku Sora fell silent. "..."
Giving up on tracing Nelliel's origins, he decided to leave the headache of a natural-born Vasto Lorde to Aizen.
After confirming that the newly built prison was effective, Naraku Sora immediately called Szayelaporro over and shoved him into a cell without a word of explanation.
When a shattering sound echoed from the depths of his soul, scorching hot Reiatsu continuously gathered within his body. His limbs and bones felt as though they were being endlessly forged in a raging fire.
A metamorphosis occurred.
Fluid-like white bone emerged from the dissipating Reiatsu, instantly transforming into a mask that covered Naraku Sora's face as a scorching, fiery wind swept out wildly.
Nelliel's eyes widened as she stared blankly at the Hollowfied figure, her delicate nose twitching slightly.
She seemed to catch a familiar scent coming from the good guy...
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