Seven days later, the Four Directions Thunder World that had enveloped the main hall of the underground palace suddenly dissipated.
Harribel and Nel, dressed in exquisite Arrancar attire, walked out refreshed.
Both women had rosy complexions and were full of energy, chatting and laughing as they walked.
A moment later, Yekawa slowly emerged from the main hall.
He stood with his hands on his hips, looking a bit tired.
As if he had been overworked…
"Ah, I'm so tired!"
Although Yekawa said this, his expression showed he was still not satisfied.
There was no other way; helping every Vasto Lorde Arrancar grow was his duty as the Child of Hueco Mundo, and no matter how hard it was, he had to endure it.
"Indeed… with great power comes great responsibility!"
Thinking of this, Yekawa immediately felt much better.
After all, not everyone possessed his formidable combat power, capable of battling two Hōgyoku-transformed Vasto Lorde Arrancar for seven days and seven nights straight, yet still moving with ease and maintaining a clear advantage.
"I never expected the Child of Hueco Mundo's status to also provide a boost in this aspect! It truly is too comprehensive!"
…
"Pass down the order: everyone should thoroughly familiarize themselves with their powers after becoming an Arrancar. In half a month, the Espada selection ceremony will be held, where rankings will be determined by strength!"
Yekawa's voice, carried by the free-floating spirit particles in the air, reached every corner of the Great Hollow Home's underground palace.
"Yes, Lord Yekawa…"
Many Arrancar responded to Yekawa's words.
…
Fifteen days later, somewhere in the Great Hollow Forest.
Yekawa and his subordinate Arrancar had all gathered here.
All the giant trees in this area had been felled, leaving only a vast open space, divided into individual arenas by fallen giant trees.
Around each arena, various colored spirit particle barriers shimmered.
These barriers were for the battles among Yekawa's many Arrancar.
And at the very center of these barriers was a colossal barrier, several miles long, wide, and high, completely invisible from the outside, with an endless dark golden lightning flickering around its perimeter.
This super-sized Four Directions Thunder World was personally set up by Yekawa, a stage he specifically prepared for the Vasto Lorde-class Hollows who had fused with the Hōgyoku!
On a small hill not far away, Yekawa was currently leisurely seated on Baraggan's bone throne, watching with interest the Arrancar in the arena who were eager to show their skills.
Baraggan himself, along with the other seven Vasto Lorde-level Arrancar, stood obediently behind Yekawa.
Clearly, after his last battle with Yekawa, he had correctly positioned himself.
"Snap!"
With a snap of Yekawa's fingers, a young boy, dressed in Arrancar attire, with purple hair and carrying a steel fork, walked to the front, looking down at the Arrancar below and announcing:
"Hello everyone, welcome to the inaugural Arrancar Ranking Tournament! I am your host, Jiwa Barnes!"
"The purpose of this tournament is simple: to determine the ten strongest among all Arrancar, who will be the Espada! It will also rank your strengths!"
"There is only one rule in this tournament: intentionally killing comrades is forbidden!"
"That concludes the instructions. Which contestant is willing to be the first to step onto the stage?"
Barnes's voice, carried by spiritual pressure, echoed all around, full of excitement and anticipation.
"Oh, this looks quite proper!"
Yekawa, reclining on the bone throne, was a little surprised; he hadn't expected the strange fish Barnes, who had volunteered to host, to be quite capable.
"Hehe, as long as I'm the host, I won't have to get on the stage! I, Lord Barnes, am truly too clever!"
The strange fish Barnes thought to himself, secretly pleased.
The next moment, a middle-aged man, dressed in Arrancar attire, with a red sash around his waist and a mask resembling a forehead protector, entered the arena with a flamboyant spin and jump, shouting and acting comically.
Before he could even stand steady, he stumbled and fell face-first onto the stage.
"Choo choo choo!"
"Choo choo choo!"
The middle-aged Arrancar hummed a terrible tune that made Yekawa frown.
It also drew constant boos from the many Arrancar in the arena.
"Are you fighting or not? If not, get down, don't make noise!"
Suddenly, a voice came from among the many Arrancar watching the battle.
"Uh… this contestant, who exactly do you want to challenge?"
This awkward scene even made the usually outgoing Barnes feel a bit embarrassed.
"Good question! I, Dorudoni Alessandro Del Socaccio, challenge you!"
The middle-aged Arrancar named Dorudoni pointed at Barnes, who was hosting the match on the hilltop.
"This contestant… I am the ho…"
"Bang!"
Just as Barnes was about to use his status as host to refuse the match, he suddenly felt a great force push him directly off the hill, causing him to fall onto the stage where Dorudoni was.
"Which bas…"
Just as Barnes turned his head to see who had pushed him off the stage, he met Yekawa's half-smiling gaze, and immediately swallowed the words he was about to say.
He then turned to Dorudoni and said:
"I can't believe you, challenging the host right away! Since that's the case, I'll humor you!"
"What a man…"
While Dorudoni was still engaging in friendly banter with Barnes, Barnes, without any sense of sportsmanship, seized the moment when Dorudoni was speaking animatedly, directly raised the steel fork in his hand, and, using Sonido, lunged at Dorudoni's face!
"Bang!"
Unexpectedly, this sudden attack was parried by Dorudoni with a back whip kick.
Barnes was even kicked quite far away.
He barely managed to regain his balance.
"I was just about to praise you, but I didn't expect you to be such an unsportsmanlike boy!"
Dorudoni merely smiled faintly and waved his hand at Barnes.
"Hey, hey, hey, is this for real? How can the host be the first one to fight on stage?!"
Barnes was directly woken up by Dorudoni's kick; he was now crying over his foolish decision to volunteer as host.
But when he turned his head and saw the 'expectant' gaze of Lord Yekawa watching from above, he was instantly filled with motivation.
"Damn it, I can't let Lord Yekawa down!"
In reality, Yekawa just wanted to have some fun and watch the self-proclaimed clever Barnes get beaten up.
After all, Dorudoni, in the original work, was an Espada, and his combat power was among the top tier of Adjuchas-class Arrancar.
Barnes, this little weakling, definitely couldn't win.
In the arena, Barnes raised the steel fork in his hand and then chanted:
"Sway, Hollow Fish!"
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