Despite everything running through his head, Coyote Starrk looked at Nelliel and Harribel, who were still fighting, and let out a long sigh before lowering his hands.
"Honestly, I never should've come here."
He looked toward Cyrus's back.
"Whatever happened around here had nothing to do with me. I didn't need to come looking for trouble. So… if I take them and leave now, would you let us go?"
Cyrus didn't turn around.
His memories of Bleach had been coming back piece by piece since arriving in this world. It hadn't actually been that long, either.
Even counting everything, he had only spent a few years in the One Piece world.
And from what he remembered, the Hollow behind him really was that kind of person.
Unfortunately for Starrk…
"No."
Cyrus rejected him immediately.
"Surrender, or I beat you until you surrender. Pick one."
Starrk instinctively raised a hand toward his hair again.
Well, that settled it. There was clearly no peaceful way out of this.
The frustrating part was that Starrk had meant every word.
Even if countless Menos had been killed, what did that have to do with him? He genuinely regretted getting involved.
Still, if a fight was unavoidable…
"Then I'll take the beating."
Surrendering without even trying was out of the question. At least Cyrus's wording suggested that losing wouldn't necessarily mean dying.
Spiritual power surged beneath Starrk's feet.
With a sharp crack, he vanished and appeared directly behind Cyrus.
Boom!
His fist slammed squarely into Cyrus's back.
Starrk had put his full strength behind the blow.
Cyrus didn't even sway.
Cold sweat instantly broke out across Starrk's forehead.
He swallowed, forced an awkward smile onto his face, and asked, "Is it too late to surrender normally?"
"What do you think?"
Cyrus turned with a smile.
His fist came with him.
Boom!
Starrk's chest caved in.
Even his Hierro couldn't withstand the sheer force behind the punch.
His body became a blur, skidding across the desert and carving a massive trench through the sand before finally coming to a stop.
Lilynette stood frozen nearby, staring blankly at what had just happened.
Cyrus had already turned his attention back toward Hancock.
She fought with her usual overwhelming confidence, long legs cutting through the air while both Armament and Conqueror's Haki coated her attacks.
Nelliel met her head-on, and the two exchanged blow after blow without either immediately giving ground.
Nelliel's current state was somewhat unusual. She seemed to have become an Arrancar on her own, but her body had not yet fully taken on a human form.
Robin's battle with Harribel, meanwhile, looked far more evenly matched.
That was good enough for Cyrus.
At the very least, the fights were giving them a clearer understanding of how strength worked in this world.
Their exchange finally began to reach its conclusion when Hancock used Love-Love Mellow and petrification started spreading across Nelliel's arm.
Footsteps sounded behind Cyrus.
Starrk was walking back toward him, one hand pressed against the deep depression in his chest.
"I thought you might use the opportunity to run."
Cyrus glanced over his shoulder.
"You said surrender was an option. Getting beaten into surrender still counts."
Starrk grimaced as he approached.
"I lost. That's that. And where exactly am I supposed to hide from someone like you?"
It definitely had nothing to do with Lilynette still being here.
Absolutely nothing.
Hancock flipped gracefully through the air and landed beside Cyrus. After glancing curiously at Starrk and Lilynette, she immediately wrapped both arms around Cyrus's arm.
"Finished?"
"We've decided the winner."
Hancock pointed toward Nelliel.
The petrification was spreading slowly from her arm toward the rest of her body, but it was undeniably advancing.
"If I were her, I'd cut the arm off now."
Starrk had noticed as well.
"You wouldn't."
Cyrus looked at him.
"It's easy to say when it isn't your arm. Unless High-Speed Regeneration can grow a new one for her almost immediately?"
"Not every Hollow has that."
Starrk shook his head.
Still, losing one arm was better than having her entire body petrified.
Nelliel, however, failed to make the decision quickly enough.
Whoosh!
Harribel abruptly disengaged from Robin and appeared beside Nelliel. She hoisted the partially petrified woman over her shoulder and immediately tried to escape.
Several golden beams of spiritual energy shot backward to prevent Robin from pursuing.
Then an entirely different kind of pressure descended from above.
Boom!
Harribel was driven straight into the desert as though an invisible mountain had dropped onto her shoulders.
Starrk's eyelid twitched.
His breathing instinctively became quieter.
Several more figures were approaching from the distance at tremendous speed, some racing over the surface while others travelled beneath the sand.
The moment they entered the affected area, however, every one of them crashed to the ground.
None could stand back up.
"Your Conqueror's Haki can do that now?"
Hancock stared at Cyrus with wide eyes, one hand rising to cover her lips.
She understood Conqueror's Haki extremely well.
It could be directed toward specific targets or concentrated within a limited area rather than simply released indiscriminately, but this was something else entirely.
Cyrus wasn't merely overwhelming weaker wills—his Haki was exerting enough force to physically crush people into the ground.
And the power behind it was enormous.
"This still isn't my limit."
Cyrus smiled and patted Hancock lightly on the back before walking toward Robin.
Starrk and Lilynette exchanged a glance.
Then Starrk, looking utterly resigned to his fate, led the equally miserable Lilynette after him.
Once they regrouped with Robin, they approached the edge of the enormous crater.
Cyrus withdrew his Conqueror's Haki.
Below them, Hollows of all shapes and sizes lay scattered everywhere, struggling even to move.
Only Harribel managed to force herself back onto her feet. She raised her broad sword and pointed it toward Cyrus above.
Cyrus gave her a brief look before turning toward Starrk.
"I'll give you a little time. Bring those two to me when you're done."
Then, with one arm around Hancock and the other around Robin, Cyrus lifted off toward the Rose Hunter.
"Me?"
Starrk pointed at himself, then stared down at the crater full of Hollows.
Naturally.
All the troublesome work got dumped on him.
And what was he supposed to do about it?
Refuse?
If he had the strength to refuse, Cyrus wouldn't have nearly killed him with one punch.
Starrk sighed and jumped into the crater.
Then he pointed at the dent still visible in his chest.
"Same situation as you."
"I know who you are."
Harribel watched him warily and made no attempt to lower her weapon.
"Good. That makes this easier."
Starrk gestured vaguely toward Cyrus's retreating figure.
"I fought him. I lost. We're not leaving."
"If we insist on trying, there's a pretty good chance we die. But apparently there's also an option where we stay alive."
"Is he a Shinigami?"
"No."
Starrk frowned.
"Not one of them, at least. Beyond that, I honestly couldn't tell you."
Cyrus's power felt completely unfamiliar to him, and the petrification spreading across Nelliel's body was equally strange.
"So pick her up and come with me."
Starrk glanced toward the unconscious Hollows scattered throughout the crater, then toward Nelliel, whose body was now half petrified and whose expression had begun stiffening along with it.
"Maybe we get killed anyway, but at least we'll find out quickly. Or maybe you survive—and your little followers survive with you."
Harribel remained silent for several moments.
Then she lifted Nelliel onto her shoulder.
Starrk nodded approvingly.
"Smart choice."
He turned toward the Rose Hunter.
"Let's go."