Everywhere they looked, it was a scene of utter devastation.
Facing an opponent they could not defeat even after giving it their all, the Espada once again felt true despair. At the same time, they gained a clear understanding of the Soul Society's true top-tier combat power.
No wonder their King was so absurdly strong; it turned out they were cut from the same cloth.
"Cero Metralleta."
Considering the sheer strength of their enemy, Starrk did not agree to let Lilynette take the lead in their Resurrección this time. Instead, he took the fight seriously—a rare sight.
Scorching tongues of fire spewed forth madly as countless Ceros erupted with reckless abandon.
As Cero was Starrk's signature technique, the moment he got serious, his individual output could surpass the combined total of all the Arrancar from earlier.
A torrential downpour of Ceros poured out, covering the entire sky in a torrent of pale blue. Space itself twisted, filled with countless distorted, trembling ripples.
Wherever the attack passed, whether white sand or flames, everything was instantly reduced to nothingness.
The terrifying scale of the attack caused the ground beneath their feet to tremble. Silver sand danced wildly in the air, looking like the descent of the apocalypse.
Just the shockwaves alone were beyond what any ordinary lifeform could endure.
On the other hand, Yamamoto, facing the torrent head-on, remained completely unaffected. He simply lowered his body slightly toward the front.
In the next instant, a volcano erupted.
Accompanied by a sweeping shockwave, his figure vanished from the spot, leaving only a perfectly straight scorch mark lashing across the earth.
Yamamoto instantly appeared right in front of the Cero torrent. Twisting his waist, his muscles rippled like water. As power brewed within, his arm instantly swelled in size.
Crimson Reiatsu blasted from his fist, forming an impact that resembled a blazing torch.
A massive, sweeping tornado of flames roared forth, clashing head-on with the torrent of Ceros.
Crimson and pale blue painted the night sky, appearing to be locked in an even stalemate.
But this was merely Starrk's illusion.
In reality, the two forces clashed for less than a second before the Cero torrent was completely overwhelmed by that single burst of fist pressure. The crimson pillar of light completely gained the upper hand.
It could only be said that Starrk truly lived up to his title as Number One of the Espada. In terms of combat performance alone, he was already the MVP of the battlefield.
However, even someone as strong as him could not stop Yamamoto's advance.
The moment that demonic figure obliterated the Cero torrent, he instantly appeared in front of Starrk and brought down a punch holding absolutely nothing back.
Starrk's eyes widened in shock. He used Sonído with all his might, yet he was still grazed by the scorching heat.
In an instant, a large portion of his flesh was charred black, and intense agony swept through his nerves.
His body skipped across the desert like a stone on water, smashing out over a dozen deep craters in succession and kicking up waves of dust that reached the sky.
With Starrk's fall, the other Arrancar were completely routed.
They couldn't even withstand a single move.
Fortunately, even in their defeat, they remembered to protect their heads. Thus, even though their bodies were battered and broken, their lives were not in danger.
Immediately after, the oppressive figure appeared right in front of Naraku Sora.
Golden, slit-like pupils stared at the man before him, a dangerous glint flashing in their depths.
Although he lacked the capacity for rational thought at the moment, instinct told Yamamoto that he absolutely had to brutally beat the living daylights out of this highly irritating brat in front of him.
He had to teach him a very profound lesson.
This was the greatest wish of his life.
If he couldn't accomplish this, he probably wouldn't be able to rest in peace even in death.
Just as the master and disciple were staring affectionately at each other, Aizen's calm voice suddenly rang out from the side.
"Hadō #90—"
"Kurohitsugi."
A black torrent erupted from the ground, shooting straight into the clouds and transforming into an indestructible iron wall that blocked the path forward.
The massive coffin sealed shut.
"Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of madness! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep..."
Although he had already witnessed Yamamoto's battle just now, seeing it was one thing; experiencing it was another. As a researcher, he could only obtain the most accurate data by personally participating.
Torrents of gravity erupted inside the Kurohitsugi, echoing with muffled explosions.
Everything seemed to be going normally, but in the next second, a look of astonishment appeared on Aizen's face.
A pair of burning, massive hands forcefully tore open his Kurohitsugi. A demon-like figure stepped out from within, his icy gaze instantly locking onto Aizen.
That momentary daze allowed Yamamoto to appear directly in front of him. The muscles on his body rippled like flowing water as scorching power burst forth.
Just as the fist was about to land, a cluster of black and red lightning arcs abruptly appeared in the corner of his eye.
The next moment.
Churning air currents roared beneath the sky. All things seemed to lose their outlines in that instant. Space twisted under the flash of the black and red lightning, and a terrifying power instantly erupted.
A scorching Black Flash descended, forming a massive, visible pillar of light that completely engulfed Yamamoto.
The ruthlessness of the strike undoubtedly carried a hint of personal grudge.
"Sōsuke, step back!"
Naraku Sora's white haori had blown off to who-knows-where. He had undone his top and tied it around his waist, revealing a perfectly sculpted, muscular physique. As his bones and muscles shifted, a scorching heat spread out.
"Let me be the one to beat the loot out of this old geezer!"
"Countless eons, Vajrayati."
Boom—
Blazing karmic fire ignited from within Naraku Sora's Reiatsu. The endless light instantly illuminated the gloom of Hueco Mundo, looking as if a radiant sun had risen from the horizon.
It radiated boundless light and heat.
Even from several kilometers away, one could still feel the irresistibly terrifying high temperatures.
In the distance, the Arrancar looked at the figure standing tall in the sky with complex expressions, once again personally experiencing Naraku Sora's immense power.
An opponent that the Espada couldn't even hold back by joining forces had been sent flying by a single punch from Naraku Sora.
They had originally thought that with all their hard work, they would finally be able to fight alongside their King.
But they never expected that instead of closing the gap between them, they were only drifting further apart.
The endless desert instantly disintegrated and collapsed. Pure destruction turned into a tidal wave, surging straight forward like an apocalyptic disaster, completely swallowing Yamamoto.
When the dust settled, a slightly disheveled figure walked out from the wasteland. His body was covered in scorch marks, and the beard he had finally managed to grow back was reduced to a tiny tuft.
He completely lacked the oppressive aura he had at the beginning.
Seeing this, Naraku Sora grinned, revealing a satisfied smile.
Although he had taken advantage of a sneak attack, the results spoke for themselves. No matter how you spun it, he had the upper hand and had mercilessly beaten Yamamoto.
This was a classic case of the subordinate overcoming the superior, a complete reversal of the natural order!
Aizen stood in the distance, his brows furrowed tightly.
Things were not quite as he had anticipated; some unexpected variables had appeared.
Yamamoto's strength seemed to have exceeded his expectations.
The Kurohitsugi he had unleashed with full power had actually failed to cause any effective damage.
This meant that after undergoing Hollowfication, Yamamoto had not only gained High-Speed Regeneration but had even acquired the ability of Hierro.
Although it defied common sense, remembering that the opponent was Yamamoto Shigekuni made everything seem perfectly logical.
The only problem was that a certain someone was probably about to suffer a terrible stroke of bad luck.
Thinking of this, Aizen quietly crossed out a few pages in his notebook.
Then, he quietly waited for the good show to begin.
From within the massive crater, Yamamoto slowly walked out. He twisted his arms, and the joints all over his body let out a series of crackling sounds like firecrackers, making one's scalp tingle.
At some point, a wisp of crimson had ignited within those golden, slit-like pupils.
In the next second, terrifyingly high temperatures, accompanied by a Reiatsu several times more violent and heavy than before, instantly swept across the entire battlefield.
The scorching brutality recklessly eroded everyone's senses, making them feel as if they were submerged in magma.
The moisture in the atmosphere was rapidly evaporating.
Harribel suddenly realized that she was completely unable to use any water-related techniques.
Even with every breath, she could feel a burning sensation coming from within her internal organs.
Nnoitra, who was slightly closer to Yamamoto, had his vision go black and was nearly knocked unconscious by the sheer force of the terrifying Reiatsu.
Watching the old man recover in an instant, Naraku Sora sucked in a breath of hot air, a bad premonition suddenly welling up in his heart.
This was not what he had expected at all.
It should be known that he hadn't held back with that Black Flash just now.
Yet, looking at Yamamoto, it seemed he hadn't suffered any negative effects.
Instead, because his beard was gone, he had directly entered his second phase.
Realizing this, Naraku Sora didn't dare delay. He instantly erupted with an equally massive Reiatsu. A violent pillar of fire shot straight into the clouds, dyeing the night sky black and red.
Pressing his left hand in front of his face, a large amount of chitin formed from his Reiatsu, instantly creating a ferocious bone mask.
At the same time, magma-like patterns spread across his body. Flashing arcs of lightning leaped between them, distorting the surrounding air and blurring Naraku Sora's figure.
Shikai, Hollowfication, and Shunkō—the triple amplification was completed in an instant.
However, in the very next second, his field of vision was completely filled by a bone mask crisscrossed with red and black patterns.
Then, a bulging arm pulled back.
Single Bone!
Scorching flames erupted from behind Yamamoto's shoulder blade like a rocket thruster, and his burning fist slammed unreservedly into Naraku Sora's head.
Crack—
In the distance, Urahara Kisuke seemed to hear the sound of something shattering. He hurriedly stood up to look, afraid of missing a single detail.
Although bringing items like a Denreishinki to this experiment was forbidden, being able to record this beautiful scene with his own eyes was also excellent.
When he went back tonight, he would definitely use today's material to have a wonderful dream!
Feeling the sudden influx of violent power, Naraku Sora's proud defense was instantly torn to shreds, and his entire body was sent flying backward.
Like a shooting star streaking across the sky, he burst through rings of white shockwaves before crashing into the earth with a thunderous explosion.
Yamamoto stood in place, the color of the flames wrapping his body becoming increasingly pure, as if all impurities had been burned away.
Meanwhile, in his inner world.
Seireitei, amidst the endless ruins.
In a flash of lightning, a long sword forged from thunder pierced through Yhwach's chest from below, causing him to freeze in place instantly.
Seizing the opportunity, Yamamoto brought his blade down without holding back, ending this tragic war.
Looking at Yhwach, who had been turned into a charred corpse, Yamamoto furrowed his brows, a look of confusion flashing in his eyes.
Although he had achieved victory, he did not feel happy; instead, a strong sense of worry welled up within him.
He couldn't shake the feeling that he had forgotten something...