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A volley of a thousand Ceros fired simultaneously, causing the very sky of Hueco Mundo to tremble. The vast, azure torrent swept forward majestically, threatening to swallow everything in its path like a tsunami.
It descended.
A scene akin to a natural disaster unfolded upon the battlefield.
Arriving late to the scene, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez stared dumbfounded at the distant spectacle, feeling his own fragility and powerlessness for the very first time.
At this moment, he was like a mortal facing a natural disaster—completely devoid of any means to struggle, forced to watch helplessly as the apocalypse approached.
Wherever the azure torrent passed, even space itself warped.
Yet, despite the terrifying might of the Infinite Reload Cero, it could not advance a single inch against the crimson pillar of light crackling with frenzied lightning.
The Cero beam, hundreds of meters long, was wreathed in the devastating destructive power of a Soul Reaper's Kidō.
Arcs of electricity surged, and fierce light ignited.
Like a solar flare erupting in a coronal mass ejection, the azure torrent of Ceros melted away like spring snow, annihilating at a visible rate.
The crimson radiance and the azure torrent painted the sky, standing as equals in a fierce stalemate. It was like the collision of water and fire, constantly canceling each other out.
But soon, a victor emerged in this clash of Ceros. Scorching heat radiated outward, melting the silver sand below and forming rippling, concentric waves.
As a Vasto Lorde who had naturally become an Arrancar, Coyote Starrk's Reiatsu—before he split his soul with Lilynette—was so overwhelmingly powerful that merely releasing it unconsciously was enough to erode the souls of weaker Hollows.
Even though his strength had diminished due to splitting his soul, his Reiatsu intensity still far surpassed that of other Menos Grandes, making his Ceros incredibly devastating.
Even so, in terms of sheer intensity, it still fell significantly short of the Cero unleashed by Naraku Sora.
A Hadō-fused Cero!
Leveraging his perfect mastery over certain Hadō spells, Naraku Sora seamlessly fused incantations like Twin Lotus Pale Fire Crash and Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Lightning Cannon into his Cero as he fired it.
It erupted with the ultimate, purest form of destruction!
The only problem was that its single-burst duration was relatively short, unable to completely obliterate Starrk's Infinite Reload Cero.
Before the power of the first Cero was exhausted, he had to seamlessly chain a second Cero, then a third, and even a fourth.
He had to keep going until the azure torrent covering the sky was completely annihilated, reduced to nothingness.
The fierce light, intertwined with thunder, surged forward recklessly as if it had no limits. While it melted the silver desert sand below, it also forced Starrk to use Sonído to evade.
At the same time, he was utterly shocked by Naraku Sora's method of attack.
*What the hell is this?!*
*A Cero?!*
*What?*
*Whether looking at his appearance, his Reiatsu, or even the aura of his soul, this irritable guy is purely a Soul Reaper. Yet he actually fired a Cero?!*
Starrk's eyes grew somewhat dazed.
He now seriously suspected that he had wandered alone in Hueco Mundo for far too long, causing him to become completely disconnected from the outside world and abandoned by the mainstream.
*Could it be that the Soul Reapers already conquered Hueco Mundo centuries ago?*
*And then, over those long years, the Soul Reapers discovered there was no reproductive isolation between the two races, leading to the birth of a crystallization of love born from mutual affection?*
*Is this Soul Reaper in front of me actually a half-breed between a Soul Reaper and a Hollow?*
For a moment, Starrk's gaze became rather peculiar.
Naraku Sora: "?"
Although he didn't possess mind-reading abilities like Aizen, he could clearly read an expression of sheer offense on the man's face.
It was simply because he frequently saw that exact same look on Urahara Kisuke's face.
Over time, having seen it so often, he had gradually learned to guess what it meant.
This had also forced Urahara Kisuke to suppress his own emotions, lest he accidentally let something slip and end up receiving a brutal beating from his unscrupulous superior.
*Buzz—*
Activating Sonído, Naraku Sora forcefully closed the distance between them. His blade, wreathed in flames of Reiatsu, appeared directly in front of Starrk without any warning.
*Clang!*
The sharp sound of clashing metal echoed out. Starrk raised his hands, crossing his twin guns in front of him. A thick layer of Reiatsu coated the weapons as he attempted to block the unadorned slash.
Countless sparks flew, scattering like raindrops.
The surging shockwaves of the impact spread outward, forming visible ripples beneath the night sky.
Looking down from above, it was as if ripples were spreading across the surface of a lake.
Although Starrk excelled at long-range attacks, his close-quarters combat was not weak in the slightest.
Even if his fighting style lacked any formal technique, he still relied on his Hollow instincts to parry slash after slash.
Brilliant sparks erupted one cluster after another, like flowers blooming wildly in the boundless desert, adding a unique touch of color to the desolate Hueco Mundo.
Naraku Sora shifted his blade and rolled his shoulders, his joints popping with the sound of grinding steel. As he sidestepped to dodge a Cero, he deliberately allowed the butt of Starrk's gun to smash into his shoulder bone.
"Waaah, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"
Surprisingly, the cry of pain didn't come from Naraku Sora, but rather from Lilynette, whose physical hardness had vastly increased after transforming into the twin guns.
"How do you even have a Hollow's Hierro? Are you a Soul Reaper or a Hollow?!"
"A Soul Reaper, of course!"
Naraku Sora brought his blade down in a backhand slash, causing the air to shriek like tearing silk.
"However—"
"How could a mere Vasto Lorde Arrancar ever match my thoroughly tempered flesh?"
It was as if an invisible storm had galloped past, crushing everything into ash and dust with overwhelming force.
The blade's gleam flashed and vanished, leaving a chasm resembling an abyss in the earth below.
Starrk wiped the cold sweat seeping from his forehead, gaining a much clearer understanding of Naraku Sora's strength once again.
*I absolutely cannot engage him in prolonged close combat!*
Otherwise, he and Lilynette would end up just like the earth beneath their feet—mercilessly crushed.
Even now, Starrk still couldn't understand why his opponent's Reiatsu didn't feel overwhelmingly strong, yet the destructive power he displayed was suffocatingly terrifying.
Even a special existence in Hueco Mundo like himself was unable to defeat him.
"Damn it, Starrk! Since the Infinite Reload Cero isn't working on this guy, it means the Ceros aren't powerful enough. We have to up the ante!"
A muffled voice echoed from the twin guns in his hands as they trembled slightly.
Starrk furrowed his brows tightly. "But..."
"Ugh, no 'buts'! I'll take the lead this time. You just focus on providing the Reiatsu."
Lilynette's tone became exceptionally arrogant. It was almost as if one could see a miniature phantom of her standing there with her hands on her hips, glaring fiercely ahead.
"I'm going to blast that guy to pieces!"
Starrk wanted to say something else, but the force coming from the twin guns forcibly redirected the muzzles. A brilliant azure light surged forth, dancing wildly like electric arcs.
Although it was a bit crazy, it was rare to encounter such a powerful opponent. Going all out just this once didn't seem entirely unacceptable.
As for whether the other party would die, Starrk figured it wouldn't be that simple.
Reiatsu as vast as the ocean gathered within, constantly compressing the high-density Reishi of Hueco Mundo and causing the surrounding air to emit continuous crackling sounds.
Watching the scene unfold in the distance, Naraku Sora raised an eyebrow.
*The commotion seems completely different from when he fired those Ceros earlier.*
A torrent of dazzling blue light swarmed in, condensing into a massive blue sphere at the muzzles. Jagged, distorted patterns scattered around it, and the nearby space even emitted a scalp-numbing creaking sound.
Right then, Starrk's calm voice rang out. "A Cero unleashed using blood as a medium. Its power is several times stronger than the previous ones."
"But its scale won't diminish."
"So, try to survive, Soul Reaper."
The moment his words fell, the desert trembled and quaked. The deep, dark night sky was replaced by an endless blue torrent.
Like a tyrannical storm churning across a vast ocean, everything within sight let out an overwhelmed wail.
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was dumbfounded.
Everything happening on the distant battlefield nearly shattered his entire worldview.
As a Menos Grande, no one knew the upper limits of the Cero ability better than him.
A Cero of this scale—let alone him, even Baraggan Louisenbairn and Szayelaporro Grantz, who had already completed their Arrancar evolutions, couldn't possibly achieve this.
As for how Grimmjow knew this, that was another bitter tale of blood and tears.
"Gran Rey Cero."
A familiar voice drifted over. Grimmjow turned his head to see Szayelaporro Grantz, clad in a white lab coat, standing nearby with a gleam of excitement flashing in his eyes.
"A Cero that can only be used after completing the Arrancar evolution. Its power is extreme, capable of causing spatial distortion to a certain extent."
"Only Menos Grandes who have completed their Arrancar evolution can unleash it, but not just anyone can fire a thousand consecutive shots at once like that guy did."
"In terms of sheer Reiatsu output alone, I'd call him the strongest!"
Because he was wrapping up his research, he had arrived a bit later than Grimmjow, but fortunately, he still managed to catch this grand opening act.
Hearing this, Grimmjow couldn't help but lower his head, falling into deep thought.
*An Arrancar, huh?*
Naraku Sora was like a lone skiff facing a world-destroying tsunami. The shockwaves of Reiatsu crushed everything in their path, obliterating the souls of the animal Hollows at the edge of the battlefield.
The explosive bright light ascended into the sky, raising an azure sun over Hueco Mundo.
However, not a single trace of fear could be seen on his face. There were only his increasingly bright eyes, facing the surging, violent impact head-on.
A black and red torrent swirled around his body, and white bone attached itself to him. His black hair danced wildly as a tyrannical aura erupted in an instant.
The corners of Naraku Sora's mouth split into a grin. Wisps of white steam hissed from between his teeth as a hideous, demon-like white bone mask materialized.
His Reiatsu immediately surged, skyrocketed, and exploded in power!
Pitch-black Reiatsu enveloped his blade, igniting it with black embers.
He raised his blade and slashed down.
In that instant, the world lost its color.
*Sweep.*
The moment the sword pressure collided with the Cero, a massive shockwave erupted like a flood. Smoke and dust towering thousands of meters high turned into ripples, sweeping outward in all directions.
The grayish-white dust merged the desert and the sky into one. Violent gales howled endlessly, and the deafening roar left Hueco Mundo with only a single sound.
The blue sun was split in two. A pitch-black scar seemed to sever the sky itself, extending all the way to the edge of sight until it vanished into the distance.
Starrk's face was filled with astonishment; he could hardly believe his eyes.
*How is this possible?!*
*That was a Gran Rey Cero using blood as a medium, not some casual Cero you can just fire off!*
*And it was forcefully slashed in half...*
Just as he was reeling in shock, a tyrannical Reiatsu barged into his perception. Starrk jolted awake and fired a Cero backhandedly.
Then, he watched helplessly as the attack was effortlessly crushed.
Gazing at that domineering figure overflowing with a tyrannical aura—a figure that felt more like a Hollow than an actual Hollow—Starrk swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly as he spoke.
"C-Can we call a truce?"