"Alright, you've worked hard."
Hinamori Momo nodded and said to Nelliel beside her, "Go to Grimmjow's location and just forcibly take him away."
"I'll handle Luppi. I don't want the people I brought to die here casually." Although fighting Tōshirō, Hinamori Momo could still sense the battle situations of the several Arrancar around them.
The Fifth Espada, Luppi, and the Sixth Espada, Grimmjow, were both not in good condition.
"Understood."
Nelliel replied.
She glanced at Hitsugaya Tōshirō, then flew in another direction.
"Wait!"
Hitsugaya Tōshirō wanted to block Nelliel, but Hinamori Momo stood in his way.
"Tōshirō, I have important business to attend to, so I won't play with you anymore."
She appeared behind Tōshirō with a Sonido.
"So fast!"
Hitsugaya Tōshirō's pupils contracted, and he swung his Zanpakuto behind him.
"Bakudo Number 61: Six-Rod Light Restraint!"
"Bakudo Number 63: Sajō Sabaku!"
Two Bakudo spells landed consecutively on Tōshirō. With Hinamori Momo's current spiritual pressure, augmented by Tobiume, Hitsugaya Tōshirō was completely restrained in an instant.
"Well then, see you next time."
Seeing the gradually disappearing figure, Tōshirō, restrained by the Bakudo, shouted hoarsely:
"Damn it!"
His power was already released, and he even used Bankai.
When did the gap between him and Hinamori Momo become so wide?
At Grimmjow's location.
Kurosaki Ichigo, who had only recently completed his Hollowfication, was no match for Grimmjow at all.
Grimmjow, in his release state, pressed one hand against the wound on his chest, looking at Hirako Shinji, the leader of the Visored, who had appeared.
"Heh heh, how despicable! If I remember correctly, you are what Hinamori Momo called Aizen's failures."
"This is a battle, not a competition. There's no such thing as too much despicableness."
Hirako Shinji wore his Hollowfication mask, showing no shame for his sneak attack on the Arrancar.
"Ichigo, watch carefully. I'll show you how to use Hollowfication now."
Kurosaki Ichigo's current three-second burst was simply not as sustained as Grimmjow's.
Especially against an Arrancar in their release state.
"Grimmjow, mission accomplished. You can return."
Suddenly, a voice rang out, interrupting the imminent battle.
"Nelliel, hmph! You, who discarded your Arrancar number, what right do you have to order me?"
Grimmjow was in a rage. He had just been cut and hadn't gotten his revenge yet, so how could he leave?
"Go back. This is Lady Hinamori's order."
"Hmph, Hinamori Momo…" Grimmjow's voice deepened, and he canceled his release state.
Even with Aizen's Hogyoku's second power boost, he wasn't confident he could defeat the strength Hinamori Momo displayed when she fought the Fifth Espada at that time.
"Good chance."
Although he didn't know the situation, since the opponent had canceled his Bankai-like state, it was the perfect time to attack.
Hollows and Shinigami are, after all, enemies.
Nelliel appeared in front of Hirako Shinji with a single Sonido.
Her Zanpakuto swept towards the attacking enemy.
Clang—
The sound of clashing weapons rang out, and two surges of spiritual pressure erupted instantly.
The jet-black spiritual pressure dyed the brilliant night sky with a thick layer of dark mist.
The powerful spiritual pressure pushed Hirako Shinji back, and Nelliel calmly said:
"Even if I discarded my number, my original number was 03. No matter what, I'm still stronger than Grimmjow."
Hirako Shinji, who had retreated more than ten meters, looked horrified.
Without Release, she effortlessly used a sword strike to force back a Captain-level Hollowfied Shinigami like him.
How many monsters like this had Aizen created in Hueco Mundo?
Behind Nelliel, a Garganta slowly opened.
Then, Grimmjow and Nelliel retreated into it.
"Damn it, I couldn't even keep one of them." Hirako Shinji was quite unwilling, having initially thought that his intervention would at least allow him to capture one or two of Aizen's pawns.
…
On the other side.
Luppi, who was ostensibly the Fifth Espada but actually weaker than Grimmjow, was in a truly miserable state.
One arm was severed, and blood gushed from the open wound.
His originally effeminate face was contorted in anger, his nose and eyes squeezed together.
"Urahara Kisuke, and you, this Shinigami from who knows where."
"You two bastards!"
He had just managed to defeat a few wandering Vice Captains and was about to deliver the final blow.
Then that clog-hatted man came over and, without him even noticing, cut off one of his arms.
If it weren't for these two wanting to capture him alive, he would probably be dead by now.
Is there really such a big difference between him and the other Espada?
Luppi had only become an Espada by riding on Hinamori Momo's coattails.
But he believed he wasn't much worse than the other Espada.
However, reality was so strange.
Ulquiorra had casually blocked the clog-hatted man's attack.
But when it came to him, he had an arm cut off.
They were only one number apart.
"Oh dear, Mr. Arrancar, why don't you try surrendering? You can't beat us anyway." Urahara Kisuke pressed one hand on his hat, the other holding his Zanpakuto, Benihime, and spoke faintly.
"Surrender? Dream on, Shinigami!"
No way! He was an Espada. How could he surrender to mere Shinigami?
Even if that clog-hatted man was rumored to be Captain-level, and the middle-aged man in the black uniform with a white haori also appeared to be a Captain based on his clothes.
But so what?
"There are only Espada who die in battle, not Espada who surrender."
"Oh? Is that so?" Urahara Kisuke's expression darkened. "I'm very interested in the Arrancar Aizen created, but Aizen doesn't just have you as an Arrancar."
"In that case, I can only…"
Benihime glowed with a blood-red light, indicating that Urahara Kisuke was getting serious.
"Hado Number 88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
A terrifying Hado crashed down, and a massive black pillar of light appeared in response.
It passed by Luppi, tearing through the entire sky.
"Who?!"
Feeling a fatal crisis, Urahara Kisuke and the Shinigami Captain beside him were suddenly startled.
"Bakudo Number 81: Dankū!"
A white, glass-like protective Kidō barrier appeared in front of them.
Boom!
The sound of an explosion reverberated across the entire sky.
The immense impact dispersed the clouds in the high altitude all around.
Crack—
Cracks appeared densely on the Dankū barrier.
"Impossible!"
Urahara Kisuke's pupils contracted.
His Hado mastery was already comparable to that of a Captain of the Kidō Corps, yet the Bakudo he used was about to be broken by a Hado Number 88.
Could it be Aizen?
"It's Hollow power. They've fused Cero into Hado, greatly enhancing the Hado's power." While Urahara Kisuke was still in shock, the short-haired Captain beside him explained.
"Hollow…" Urahara Kisuke was just too surprised that his Bakudo was broken by the opponent's Hado, but after being reminded by the other person, he also reacted.
"To fuse Cero into Hado, can someone actually do that?" Urahara Kisuke's expression was grave. He increasingly suspected that the voice he heard might be Aizen.
But it sounded like a woman's voice.
Could Aizen be so desperate to break through his limits that he used the Hogyoku to turn himself into a woman?
The more he thought about it, the more Urahara Kisuke felt it was possible.
After all, no one could guess Aizen's thoughts.
"Let me."
Looking at the about-to-shatter Dankū, the short-haired Captain stepped forward, shielding Urahara Kisuke behind him, and placed his hand on the hilt of his Zanpakuto.
Instantly, spiritual pressure far exceeding that of a typical Captain erupted from him.
"Burn, Engetsu!"
"Getsuga Tensho!"
Mixed with deep red flames, the blue and white blade light illuminated the night sky.