The moment Baraggan's words fell, no orders were needed. The Adjuchas behind him, as if eager to strike, charged toward Kinroku Izuhara.
Piercing roars merged into a wave, forming a deafening bellow.
"ARRRRRHH!"
Kinroku stood calmly in place.
Katori, her face cold, shifted slightly, stepping forward with her spear.
"Stand firm in flame, Kurikara!"
In an instant, her slender form surged forward, vanishing like a phantom.
When she reappeared, a shadow of Katori stood before each leading Adjuchas. Her naginata swept through, blazing white waves slicing the air, effortlessly piercing their masks in a shrill cacophony.
Only the crisp, rapid sound of shattering bone masks filled the air.
The Adjuchas' cries shifted from rage to piercing wails.
Yet neither Baraggan nor Kinroku spared them a glance.
The moment their eyes met, both gauged the other's strength.
With a brief pause, Kinroku's form flickered.
Clang!
His Asauchi clashed with Baraggan's black axe, sparking golden embers in midair.
Immense forces locked in stalemate.
Captain-level Shinigami and Vasto Lorde alike stood leagues above Adjuchas.
"Terrifying…"
Kinroku pressed harder, his tone almost playful, "Is this the might of Hueco Mundo's king?"
"Or merely a self-proclaimed title?"
"Foolish."
Baraggan's voice was icy.
As he spoke, their blades crossed, scraping with shrill metallic screeches, sparking bursts of sound.
Kinroku twisted his blade, ducking low as he bypassed the axe, his weapon sliding along the axe's handle, aiming for Baraggan's white bone fingers.
His speed was astonishing.
But Baraggan suddenly released his grip.
Kinroku's gaze faltered.
Only then did he notice the black chains extending from Baraggan's sleeves.
The chains coiled around the axe's handle, yanking it in a swinging arc with a piercing gust.
Clang!
The axe blade struck Kinroku's sword back, ringing dully.
Under the immense force, Kinroku's body tumbled through the air, hurtling away.
Baraggan loomed above, extending a pale bone finger.
"Cero!!"
At his command, a dozen dark red Ceros formed behind him, rippling like a wall of infinite swords.
They shot toward Kinroku in unison.
"Oh my, this is quite something."
Kinroku barely stabilized, reversing his blade.
His gaze grew solemn.
"Fuhahara!"
A black void opened before him.
The Ceros rained down like a storm, but only the stray ones hit the ground, kicking up massive dust waves.
The rest vanished silently into the void's depths.
The ghostly flames in Baraggan's dark sockets dimmed.
"A spatial ability…"
"Truly rare."
Kinroku's tone was even, "I once thought so too."
"Had Captain Commander Yamamoto not shattered it with one strike, I might've kept boasting I could cut anything."
"After seeing more of the world, I realized I'm not so special."
Baraggan chuckled lowly, "A talent like you would serve well under me."
"Join me, and I'll forgive your prior insolence."
"No can do, Baraggan." Kinroku's smile grew genuine. "At your level, you couldn't block Captain Commander Yamamoto's blade."
"Oh?"
Baraggan's interest piqued, "To sway a warrior like you, this 'Yamamoto' must be formidable."
"How strong is he?"
Ruling Hueco Mundo for millennia, Baraggan's perspective was vast.
Over countless years, he'd seen endless so-called champions.
Yet, in all that time, none had ever defeated him.
In a sense, he was Hueco Mundo's 'Yamamoto.'
Though their strengths weren't on the same plane.
At this naive question, Kinroku paused, then his lips curled, a low "hehe" escaping.
Baraggan waited patiently.
Finally, Kinroku raised a finger, his tone kind, "One strike."
The flames in Baraggan's sockets flared, as if insulted.
Kinroku, still smiling, emphasized, "He'd kill you with one strike."
"Someone like you doesn't measure up to Captain Commander Yamamoto."
"I'm enough for you."
His calm voice carried unmatched pride and arrogance.
That's the kind of man Yamamoto was.
As an enemy, he inspired rage and fear.
As an ally, he was the ultimate trump card.
Long ago, Kinroku knew.
He'd been thoroughly bested by him.
"…Is that so?"
Baraggan's voice sank, barely containing his fury.
With his heavy breaths, black mist poured from his body, spreading endlessly in all directions.
The moment Kinroku sensed the mist, his eyes narrowed sharply, as if realizing something.
As Baraggan's voice fell, his black axe snapped forward.
"Respira!"
Black mist surged ahead relentlessly.
Kinroku Izuhara initially paid it little mind.
But then, vast swathes of pale desert decayed, the tiny Hollows hidden in the sand, nature's decomposers, wailing as they crumbled to ash.
His eyes, framed by glasses, turned grave.
He slashed a line before him.
"Void Slash!"
A void-line rose, forming a spatial wall that severed the world.
The black mist, like a tidal wave, collided with the line, rippling violently.
Their Reiatsu clashed, sending shockwaves that split the desert into black and white.
The sand caught in the center, trapped in a rift of space and time, dissolved, shattered, and vanished into nothingness.
A Shinigami's battle is a battle of Reiatsu.
Yet, against a rule-based power like Baraggan's, only another rule-based ability could stand firm.
"Our compatibility's quite good, isn't it?" Kinroku's tone was calm. "But that's about your limit."
"And besides…"
"I'm not alone."
As his words landed, the ghostly flames in Baraggan's dark sockets flickered.
The dozens of Adjuchas circling him had been wiped out.
Katori, blood-soaked, adjusted her crimson-stained glasses with a pale fingertip.
"Why waste words? Let's just kill him."
Saito appeared nearby, Zanpakuto slung over her shoulder, visibly impatient.
The three formed a triangle, subtly encircling Baraggan.
Even Baraggan grew wary, inwardly shocked.
Had the Shinigami grown this strong "
Though loath to admit it, he recognized that any one of these three could match him in combat.
The eldest, Kinroku, was only a step below him.
One against three…?
If this was their strength, what of the Soul Society's thirteen divisions?
The concept of the Soul Society grew unfathomably deep in Baraggan's mind.
Still…
"Hmph."
"You've slain so many of my subordinates. You'll leave something behind before you go."
With that, Baraggan's bone-white hand yanked the black chains.
The chains, unnoticed, had burrowed deep into the desert's depths, now churning up a cascade of sand.
Kinroku's pupils contracted, his head snapping toward Katori.
"Katori! Below you!"
As he shouted, Makoto's voice cut through simultaneously from behind,
[Your axe will strike its target.]
The moment his words rang out, the text seemed to weave a prophecy into reality.
At that instant, a black axe shot from the desert below, but as if striking an unseen barrier, it spun wildly, veering meters off course, crashing into a towering dune with a boom.
Baraggan, sensing something, whipped his head toward the source.
That Reiatsu…
The one who felled Szayelaporro?
Following his gaze, Makoto, hands braced on his Zanpakuto, struggled to stand, offering a faint smile.
[Sokushinteigi]
His definition of truth and falsehood had broken free from Playlife x Pleasure World's constraints.
Katori glanced at him, smiling softly.
Though the axe posed little threat to her anyway.
This guy?!
Baraggan's inner flames blazed hotter.
Yet the seasoned rationality of an ancient being stirred a quiet fear deep within.
In that moment, he knew.
He couldn't win.
Kinroku saw through it, speaking calmly, "So, Baraggan."
"Shall we call it quits?"
"After all… you don't truly care how many Hollows we've killed in Hueco Mundo, do you?"
Baraggan's gaze grew heavier, "What are you Shinigami really after?"
Kinroku adjusted his glasses, "For…"
"The balance of the three worlds."
"Baraggan…" His voice carried rising menace. "You wouldn't want your Hueco Mundo to collapse one day due to an imbalance in the three worlds, would you?"
At that, Baraggan fell silent.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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