Las Noches.
At this time, the King of Las Noches was still Baraggan Louisenbairn—the second Espada from the original story, the skeleton capable of aging and rotting all things.
As the uncrowned King of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan had lived the life of a local tyrant for thousands of years. Looking down at the Hollows kneeling and trembling before him, the skeleton felt a surge of pleasure. A detached voice echoed from his hollow ribcage: "You say... three powerful Hollows slaughtered your entire tribe?"
"Y-yes! My King! We are your loyal subjects! Please, deliver justice for us!" the Hollow on the ground stammered, kowtowing repeatedly.
No emotion could be seen in Baraggan's empty sockets, but the kneeling Hollow felt a gaze land on him. It was a light, effortless look, yet it carried the suffocating weight of death! After several minutes, Baraggan waved a hand toward a rhino-like Hollow standing nearby.
"Go handle it for them."
The rhino Hollow was overjoyed and bowed immediately. "Rest assured, my King! I will resolve this matter perfectly!"
Baraggan ignored them. Anyone could spout pretty words. He watched the rhino Hollow lead a group of subordinates away, remaining motionless on his throne, simply waiting for the result. As the King of Hueco Mundo, he only needed to sit back and wait.
Ren's Side.
They had wiped out a Hollow pack two days ago. After a magnificent feast, they hadn't left the area. A survivor had claimed to be a subordinate of the "Hollow King" and threatened to bring reinforcements to kill them.
Ren had been dismissive, telling the survivor to bring as many people as he wanted; they would be right here waiting!
"Are we really going to wait? If the enemies they bring are too strong, won't we lose?" Little U asked with a hint of worry. Having spent so much time with Ren, Little U had picked up new vocabulary, and more importantly, he had become much more cautious. His first reaction to a problem was now to hide and scheme rather than charge blindly.
Ren waved a hand dismissively. "Against Shinigami, we might lack top-tier combat power, but in Hueco Mundo? I refuse to believe anyone can dance in front of us!"
"Exactly! We are invincible!" Lilynette nodded with great satisfaction, looking at Ren with much more approval. "We wait here. No matter how many come, I'll shoot them all down for your dinner!"
"Hey, hey! Don't make it sound like you're keeping me as a househusband!"
"Huh? What's a househusband?" Lilynette didn't quite get it.
"Explaining that is difficult; you wouldn't understand right now." Ren didn't want to elaborate on that point. He turned to Little U. "How is that new move you've been researching? Want to give it a try later?"
Little U nodded without hesitation. "It is essentially complete, though I am unsure of its true power."
"Then the next fight is all yours. Lilynette and I won't lift a finger." Ren lay back leisurely.
"Like you ever lift a finger anyway..." Lilynette grumbled.
"Isn't it to show off how brave and divine you two are? If I had to move while following two Vasto Lordes, people would think you're weak and need an Adjuchas to support you!" Ren bullshitted with a straight face.
Suddenly, Little U stood up, his emerald-green eyes fixed on the horizon.
"Oh? Quite a lot of them. Sure you don't need my help?" Lilynette looked into the distance. A dense swarm of at least a thousand Hollows was surging toward them. The leaders were clearly at the Adjuchas level—delicious-looking prey!
"A rare, high-quality pack. Eating them should push my strength up another notch!" Ren stood up, his gaze turning predatory.
Little U raised his hands, centering them before his chest. A massive amount of Spiritual Pressure was compressed into his palms. Following a flash of green light, a javelin made of emerald energy appeared in his grasp!
Is that... Lanza del Relámpago? Ren's heart skipped a beat.
Little U had already developed his ultimate late-game move! When he fought Ichigo Kurosaki later, he'd claim it was a "newly researched move" that was "unstable"?
Talk about humble.
Or perhaps Ren had traveled too far back in time; if he thought about it, once Little U reached Segunda Etapa, he threw these things like they were cheap throwing knives.
Little U fixed his gaze on the approaching horde and swung his arm, launching the javelin of ten thousand thunders!
Under the pitch-black sky, the seemingly small Lanza del Relámpago touched the ground and detonated with unimaginable force. A massive pillar of green energy erupted like a skyscraper. Everything it touched was pulverized—boroboro.
Ren and the others were at least ten kilometers away from the impact zone. Even at that distance, the shockwave made Ren's face feel numb. In the anime, this move looked incredible. But standing in Hueco Mundo, right next to Little U, and witnessing it in person... Ren felt his very soul tremble.
No wonder the top four Espadas were in a different league. If it weren't for Baraggan's broken aging ability, Little U's "brick-throwing" ability would easily put him at number two.
(By the way, no one ever seems to doubt that Little U is stronger than Tier Harribel... Poor Harribel.)
Once the explosion subsided, Ren peeked out from behind Lilynette and cheerfully went to devour the powerful Hollows left behind.
Lilynette, surprisingly, didn't demand a duel with the "newly upgraded" Little U. Instead, she rubbed her chin, lost in thought.
"The power is good... almost as strong as my Cero Oscuras. And it doesn't require consuming blood to fire... Hmmm, I feel like something is about to grow in my brain!"
Little U stood still, reflecting on the release. It wasn't a Cero, yet its power was greater. For him, even a Gran Rey Cero couldn't match the destructive potential of the Lanza.
However, a memory of Lilynette's Cero Metralleta surfaced in his mind, and he began to have some bold ideas about how to refine the Lanza.
When Ren returned after finishing his meal, he saw the two of them sitting quietly, palms centered, with occasional bursts of terrifying Reiatsu flickering around them.
"Hey, what are you doing? Researching new moves?" Ren asked curiously.
"Yeah. I feel a continuous stream of inspiration flowing out. Don't disturb me!" Lilynette turned away, focusing inward.
Little U spoke up: "Ren, I want to further refine Lanza del Relámpago. Do you have any suggestions?"
He had followed Ren for a long time and seen his various combat methods, knowing Ren was quite insightful in these matters.
"Refining it, huh? That move of yours is too scattered. A spear is meant for penetration. You should focus all that power into a single point—keep the energy compressed rather than letting it disperse. Hit one spot with everything. When I went over there just now, I found a few tough Hollows were still twitching. I had to finish them off myself. What a sin, truly a sin~"
Ignoring the "sin" part, Little U focused on the concept of "hitting one spot." His sixth sense told him Ren was right; that was exactly what he should do!
Beside them, Lilynette's ears had perked up. She didn't fully understand the technical jargon, but it sounded very impressive.