What Azashiro Sōya was currently facing were the Espada Arrancars, whose strength had just been enhanced and who were right in the middle of an inflated sense of power.
Even Nelliel, who had a better temper, cast displeased glances at this mysterious watcher.
Opening and closing his mouth with words like "manage" and "rebellion," he afforded these Hollows absolutely none of the respect and courtesy they deserved. He was simply incredibly unlikable.
Because of Azashiro Sōya's appearance, the Spiritual Pressure Aizen had been using to suppress Grimmjow was retracted, allowing the latter to stand back up from the ground.
Grimmjow shook his arms, which had gone numb from the suppression of Aizen's Spiritual Pressure. His gaze bypassed Aizen and landed on the suddenly appearing Azashiro Sōya.
"Hey, you."
He strode right up to Azashiro Sōya, sizing him up from head to toe.
Azashiro Sōya didn't reply. He was somewhat disgusted by the dense Hollow power radiating from Grimmjow's body. Restraining the urge to strike was already giving Aizen and Soifon a tremendous amount of face.
"Although the two leaders gave you the position of Hueco Mundo Watcher..." Grimmjow chuckled disdainfully. "Why do I get the feeling that you're the weakest guy in the management tier?"
"You really don't live up to the title."
After saying this, Grimmjow tilted his head slightly, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Soifon and Aizen, who were standing side-by-side on the sand dune.
Neither of them spoke, nor did they show any reaction.
As if having received tacit approval, Grimmjow's smile grew increasingly feral.
He took a step forward, his Spiritual Pressure beginning to leak out uncontrollably, blowing the sand beneath his feet into a rippling circle.
"A Hollow is a Hollow, in the end." Azashiro Sōya furrowed his brow. "Even if you attain power, you cannot change your barbaric nature."
The Spiritual Pressures radiating from their bodies erupted simultaneously, colliding and tangling in the air above Hueco Mundo's desert.
The other Espadas present couldn't help but step back a few paces, giving the two enough space. All of them harbored the thought of watching Azashiro Sōya eat dirt.
The climbing Spiritual Pressures reached a tacit peak, and then, the two moved at the exact same time.
"Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō."
Azashiro Sōya's incantation was completed almost the instant he raised his hand. Golden lightning surged from his palm, and a thick pillar of thunder shot toward Grimmjow with a devastating aura.
The lightning collided head-on with the blue figure, blasting a massive crater into the desert.
As the light dissipated, Grimmjow stood up from the sandy pit and patted the dirt off his body. Those scorched black marks were fading at a visible rate.
He panted slightly, looking up at Azashiro Sōya in the sky with a mocking expression. "Is this all you've got?"
Azashiro Sōya's Kidō was enough to suppress Grimmjow in his Hōgyoku-enhanced Resurrección state, but inflicting heavy damage quickly was still difficult to achieve.
Their fiery tempers flared brighter as they fought, the fierce melee lasting for several minutes.
Finally, after one particular clash, the two leapt back simultaneously, pulling dozens of meters apart.
Both were accumulating power for their strongest strike.
Suddenly, a powerful Spiritual Pressure erupted from Soifon's petite body, interrupting the charging attacks of both Azashiro Sōya and Grimmjow. The two plummeted from mid-air in unison, crashing onto the sandy ground. A trail of blood leaked from the corners of both their mouths.
"Enough." Soifon intervened, halting the escalation of the situation. "Stopping before things go too far is sufficient. Are you two trying to fight to the death?"
Then, without looking at anyone else, she turned and walked in the direction of Las Noches.
"Nelliel, Harribel."
"Follow me."
The two who were called out paused slightly before immediately following her.
Nelliel jogged a few steps to catch up to Soifon, walking slightly behind her at her side, while Harribel followed silently on the other side.
Just like that, the three of them left the desert, leaving the others who were still locked in a standoff behind.
On the way back to Las Noches, the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.
Nelliel kept her head down, her emerald-green hair hanging down to obscure her expression. Harribel remained silent as well, a few more complex emotions welling up in her eyes.
Azashiro Sōya's words from earlier were still echoing in their ears.
The undisguised discrimination and condescending judgment felt like a thorn piercing their hearts.
Sure enough, Shinigami all had prejudices against Hollows, even if they had become Arrancars.
They wondered... did Lady Soifon view them the same way?
Harribel pressed her lips tightly together, quietly raising her eyes to look at Soifon walking ahead of her.
Her footsteps slowed down. She stared at Soifon's back, conflicted for a long time—so long that the silhouette of Las Noches had already appeared in the trio's field of vision. Gradually, Harribel's footsteps came to a complete stop.
Step.
Standing firmly on the sand, Harribel finally mustered the courage to speak to Soifon. "Lady Soifon."
Nelliel whipped her head around; just one look was enough for her to know what question the other woman was about to ask.
Soifon halted her steps and turned to look back at them.
Harribel took a deep breath. Her verdant eyes gazed directly at Soifon as she asked the question that had been swirling in her heart for a long time. "Do you... also believe, just like that guy, that Hollows are existences that should be guarded against and managed?"
She was someone who spoke her mind directly. She disliked beating around the bush, and she disliked suspicion.
If Soifon truly felt that way, then Harribel would consider drawing a clear line between them, removing Soifon from the realm of her friends.
Nelliel's eyes widened. She looked at Harribel, then at Soifon. Her lips parted, but ultimately, she said nothing.
She wanted to know too, but she didn't have the courage to ask Soifon like the other woman did.
Soifon looked at Harribel quietly, weighing her words in her mind.
"If it's you and Nelliel, I consider you to be existences on equal footing with me."
"But, it must be admitted that the Hollow race still has many individuals lacking in intelligence..."
In the end, Soifon didn't use any pretty words to sugarcoat her thoughts.
Taking ten million steps back, if there was no need to manage and guard against Hollows, the Soul King would never have been born into this world.
"Is that so... that is what Lady Soifon believes..."
Receiving Soifon's honest answer, Harribel still felt very gratified. At the very least, Soifon hadn't deliberately spoken pretty words just to win their loyalty.
Besides, she herself didn't harbor any fond feelings for those barbaric and crude Hollows either.
In the very next second, Nelliel blurted out, "So, what Lady Soifon means is... Harribel and I are special?"
We are special...?
Less than half a second after Nelliel's words fell, Soifon turned around and started walking toward Las Noches.
"Don't ask such boring questions anymore."
With that said, Soifon's figure flickered, disappearing from before their eyes.
"Harribel, tell me..." Nelliel gazed at the other woman's unhidden face. "Is Lady Soifon acting shy?"
"I don't think so." Harribel quietly pulled up her collar to cover the lower half of her face. "Perhaps Lady Soifon just thinks you talk too much and are a bit annoying."
"—! Am I really that annoying?!"
"Sorry, I might have gone a bit too far..."
____
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