"Roar!"
Looking at the once-proud Leopard King, now reduced to the size of an ordinary house cat, still baring his fangs and hissing furiously while being held in his hand, Raizen Kō could not help but feel a touch of helpless amusement.
"If this were my previous life," he muttered dryly, "I would definitely send you straight to the veterinarian for neutering."
Staring at Raizen Kō's half-smile, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez suddenly felt an inexplicable chill run through his body and instinctively clamped his hind legs together.
"Grimmjow," Raizen Kō said calmly, "pledge allegiance to me, and I will spare your life.
How about it?"
"You wish!" Grimmjow snarled fiercely. "If I also become a Vasto Lorde, I can definitely defeat you! You're only relying on your higher rank to suppress me right now!"
Hearing Grimmjow's stubborn defiance, Raizen Kō burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! What a stubborn little cat!"
Grimmjow had clearly mistaken Raizen Kō for a Vasto Lorde. If he ever learned that Raizen Kō was, in truth, still technically nothing more than a highly evolved Gillian, the expression on his face would surely be priceless.
However, Raizen Kō had no intention of explaining such matters to him.
"Zzzzt!"
A dark-golden lightning orb condensed in Raizen Kō's left hand, crackling with destructive energy. Seeing this familiar technique, Jiwa Barnes and Yuan Puck, who stood nearby, instantly turned pale beneath their masks.
Both of them had personally experienced the terror of that lightning orb in the past. It was precisely because of this technique that they had been thoroughly subdued and forced into submission.
Although three years had passed and they now served Raizen Kō willingly, the mere sight of that crackling sphere still filled them with instinctive fear.
"Whimper!"
Holding Grimmjow firmly by the neck with his right hand, Raizen Kō forcefully shoved the lightning orb into Grimmjow's mouth with his left, causing the proud Hollow to whimper involuntarily.
Ignoring Grimmjow's furious glare, Raizen Kō spoke slowly and deliberately.
"Little cat, I know you feel that I am suppressing you simply because you believe me to be a Vasto Lorde. That must make you quite indignant."
"But as long as you swear allegiance to me, I will give you the opportunity to continue becoming stronger."
"If one day you truly manage to surpass me and defeat me, I will personally remove the lightning orb from your body. I would even be willing to serve you in return. There is no harm in that."
"But if you refuse…" Raizen Kō's tone suddenly turned cold. "Then I will simply devour you and make you a part of me."
"I will give you only five seconds to consider."
As he spoke, a brilliant crimson Cero began to gather in Raizen Kō's left hand, aimed directly at Grimmjow's head.
"Five!"
"Four!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
"I I am willing to surrender!"
Just as the terrifying Cero was on the verge of firing, Grimmjow finally shouted his submission.
"Hm, that's a good boy."
Raizen Kō smiled faintly.
"My name is Raizen Kō. Remember it well. When you feel you have grown strong enough, come and defeat me."
"Until that day arrives, I will be your only King."
With that, Raizen Kō relaxed his left hand, and the fully charged Cero, which had been ready to fire at any moment, instantly dissipated into nothingness.
Seeing this, Grimmjow, still held in Raizen Kō's right hand, widened his eyes in disbelief.
"This level of control… how is that even possible?"
He was utterly stunned.
A Cero that had reached the brink of release was like a grenade with its pin pulled once formed, it was supposed to detonate no matter what.
If someone tried to forcibly cancel it at the last moment, the backlash alone would be enough to cause severe injury.
Yet Raizen Kō had casually made it vanish without the slightest consequence, as if extinguishing a candle flame.
This clearly demonstrated that his control over spiritual pressure had reached an unimaginably terrifying level.
Immediately afterward, Raizen Kō casually tossed Grimmjow aside. The cat-sized Adjuchas rolled across the pale Desert sand seven or eight times before finally managing to stabilize himself.
"Click."
Raizen Kō snapped his fingers.
At that moment, Grimmjow felt the overwhelming spiritual pressure suppressing his body suddenly disappear, and his size instantly returned to normal.
"Go," Raizen Kō said indifferently. "Become as strong as you possibly can. You are still far too immature now. At your current level, you are not yet qualified to stand beside your King."
Grimmjow, now restored to his original form, stared at him in confusion.
"You're really letting me go?"
"What, do you want me to escort you?" Raizen Kō replied with a faint smirk.
Hearing this, Grimmjow immediately used Sonído to put a large distance between them. After confirming that Raizen Kō truly had no intention of pursuing him, he turned and departed without hesitation.
"My King," Yuan Puck asked cautiously at that moment, his body still scorched black from the earlier Cero, "are you really letting him go? Should we chase him back?"
"Slap!"
Before Raizen Kō could respond, Jiwa Barnes rushed over and smacked the goat Hollow across the head with his tail.
"You idiot! The King naturally has his reasons. Chase him back? Do you even have the ability to defeat him if you tried?"
Raizen Kō looked at the two clowns under his command and felt the corners of his mouth twitch, briefly resisting the urge to simply devour them both on the spot.
In truth, there was a clear reason why he had allowed Grimmjow to leave.
From observing Grimmjow's spiritual pressure, Raizen Kō had determined that he had only recently evolved into an Adjuchas and had not yet reached the level of strength he possessed when first appearing in the original timeline.
Keeping him around at this stage would only hinder his natural growth.
After all, Raizen Kō himself did not have nearly enough Hollows to devour. Why would he share his limited prey with another predator?
For subordinates who possessed the potential to eventually become Vasto Lorde, Raizen Kō was willing to grant a certain degree of freedom.
Moreover, Grimmjow now carried the lightning orb implanted inside his body. As long as he remained within Hueco Mundo,
Raizen Kō would always know his location.
Whether to kill him or not was merely a matter of a single thought.
As for Grimmjow one day surpassing him and reclaiming his freedom, that was nothing more than an impossible dream Raizen Kō had deliberately painted for him.
Even now, while still technically a Gillian, Raizen Kō stood far beyond Grimmjow's reach.
In the future, that gap would only grow wider.
…
Las Noches.
Located in the deepest region of the Hueco Mundo Desert, it was the place where Reishi concentration was highest in the entire realm.
The enormous circular fortress resembled a giant stone bowl inverted upon the white sands, with four massive pillars rising around its perimeter.
Unlike ordinary palaces, Las Noches possessed no roof at all.
Within the main hall of Las Noches, seated upon the highest throne, was a humanoid skeleton clad in a dark robe and wearing a golden crown.
This was the current undisputed ruler of Hueco Mundo Baraggan Louisenbairn.
"Great King Baraggan," an Adjuchas in a half-human, half-tiger form reported while kneeling on one knee, "we have once again discovered traces of that female Vasto Lorde in the southern region of the Desert."
"However, she still refuses to submit to your rule."
"She even dares to call you a madman who knows only conquest and slaughter!"
"Ignorant fool!" Baraggan roared angrily. "How dare she defy the sole ruler of Hueco Mundo! She must be conquered!"
"Conquer her!"
"Conquer her!"
The Adjuchas seated below the throne shouted in unison, clamoring for war.
Seeing that the atmosphere had reached its peak, Baraggan slowly rose from his throne.
"I am Baraggan Louisenbairn, King of Hueco Mundo! I shall personally conquer this insolent rebel!"
Thus, Baraggan led the majority of the Adjuchas forces out of Las Noches.
None of them noticed the tiny centipede-like Hollow emerging quietly from beneath the sand near the entrance.
"They're leaving already?"
Far away, Raizen Kō, who had been devouring mindless Gillian, abruptly stopped his actions.
Through the clone he had planted near Las Noches, he clearly observed Baraggan departing with his main force.
Sensing the spiritual pressure inside, he determined that sixty-three Adjuchas still remained within the fortress.
"That's almost enough."
Raizen Kō's expression filled with excitement. He had been waiting for this exact moment for a long time.
Originally, he had planned to act only after Aizen's arrival in Hueco Mundo. He never expected Baraggan himself to conveniently create such a perfect opportunity.
Those sixty-odd Adjuchas left behind in Las Noches were now nothing more than his long-awaited feast.
"Hehehe…"
Raizen Kō could not help but let out a strange, delighted laugh.
Beside him, Jiwa Barnes and Yuan Puck shivered nervously.
"My King… what's wrong?"
Raizen Kō's voice rang out calmly.
"Wait for me here. I'll be right back."
Before his words had even faded, he transformed into a streak of dark-golden lightning and shot straight toward Las Noches.
He intended to arrive as quickly as possible.
After all, a grand buffet awaited him.