Gin Ichimaru looked at the Hollow before him, feeling a surge of surprise. He had assumed that Hollows could only remove their masks and become Arrancars by relying on the power of the Hogyoku. Even the self-proclaimed King of Hueco Mundo from before had relied on the Hogyoku to complete his Arrancarization and obtain the power of a Zanpakuto. Yet, this Hollow before him had already begun to tear apart his own mask.
In other words, had this fellow touched the limits of a Hollow even earlier than Baraggan Louisenbairn?
"This is Ulquiorra. Consider him a friend of mine. He only followed me here because he was bored, so let him stay here for a while—and please tell Captain Aizen not to use the Hogyoku to catalyze his power for the time being."
Friends made after a fight, is it?
Gin Ichimaru gazed at the Hollow. The other party merely swept a glance over him before beginning to observe the entire Las Noches, evidently not regarding Gin as any sort of threat.
"Rest assured, Mr. Suzuki. I will pass your message on to Captain Aizen."
"Trouble you to open the Garganta first. It's already quite late today; I'll head back to the Seireitei to rest."
The man opened the Garganta and watched as Suzuki Makoto disappeared into the Precipice World.
"You seem to harbor a little hostility toward him."
The sudden voice made Gin Ichimaru's eyes widen slightly, though he quickly reverted to his usual smiling, squinty-eyed appearance.
"Because I'm not too familiar with Captain Suzuki, you see. So, maintaining a certain level of vigilance is always appropriate."
"Meaningless vigilance. Even ten of you would not be his match."
Ulquiorra's understanding of vigilance was simple: vigilance only had value if the strengths were somewhat comparable, right?
Gin Ichimaru fell into silence. He hadn't been present during the night Aizen and Suzuki Makoto crossed hands; it was Kaname Tosen who had described it to him afterward. Yet, even those meager verbal descriptions were enough for him to recognize that Suzuki Makoto was actually a monster on the same level as Aizen.
Sosuke Aizen was already a monster he found difficult to deal with. Now, for there to be yet another one...
Relying on himself alone, could he really retrieve Rangiku's soul from the Hogyoku?
Perhaps he should reconsider his own plans?
Suzuki Makoto did not care about Gin Ichimaru's attitude toward him. His days were truly too fulfilling right now. The most urgent matter at present was to seize the time to rest. Tomorrow was the once-a-week 'Kenpachi Zaraki Blood Donation Day,' and after that, he had to return to Hueco Mundo to find Starrk and Lilynette.
However, just as he returned to his squad barracks and prepared to regulate his breathing, a wave of bizarre fluctuations instantly attracted his attention.
It was a peculiar Reiatsu, entirely distinct from both Hollows and Shinigami. The other party had opened a passage to the World of the Living from within the Seireitei, and then completely vanished into the Precipice World.
This fluctuation was extremely covert. If not for Suzuki Makoto's transcendent sensory abilities, he might not have been able to catch this fleeting difference.
"Someone is heading to the World of the Living at this time?"
Suzuki Makoto rubbed his chin. This type of Reiatsu, never seen before, should be a Quincy, right? After all, he was already very familiar with Shinigami and Hollows. The only ones left were the Quincies, who were supposed to be nearly beaten to extinction long ago.
But aren't the Quincies in the Seireitei limited to the Wandenreich? Before Yhwach launches the Quincy Holy War, they aren't supposed to leak a single trace. How could a Quincy suddenly head to the World of the Living?
The current timeline should be roughly in the middle of the ninety-year phase following the completion of Yhwach's nine-hundred-year slumber. Logically speaking, no Quincy should be exposing themselves at this time.
He carefully rummaged through his memories, and only then did he recall what this was about.
"Oh, right. That should be Uryu Ishida's grandfather, Soken Ishida, escaping from the Wandenreich."
Suzuki Makoto instantly became interested. The current Soken Ishida was undoubtedly one of the most excellent Quincies of the Wandenreich's current stage. This was evident from the fact that he could skillfully master and teach the unrefined 'Quincy: Vollständig.' He was completely worth crossing hands with.
Moreover, judging from the performance of Quincies, this race's combat style was evidently more compatible with Suzuki Makoto, because all their moves were formed by relying on a powerful control over Reishi.
Although it hadn't yet reached the point where Yhwach formally improved the Quincy combat methods, these were still moves that had been passed down and continuously improved over a thousand years. Suzuki Makoto was still very interested.
He memorized that Reiatsu signature, then continued to rest—if he wanted to go to the World of the Living, it would be more convenient to think of a way through Aizen's side.
The next day, after thrashing Kenpachi Zaraki once again and receiving a polite send-off from the victim's subordinates, Suzuki Makoto happily returned to Hueco Mundo.
"Oh, Captain Aizen, you came out?"
"I heard from Gin that you brought back a very interesting Hollow, so I came over to observe."
Sosuke Aizen was indeed very interested in this Hollow who was self-Arrancarizing. Even without Suzuki Makoto's reminder, he wouldn't use the Hogyoku to do something like pulling up seedlings to help them grow. After all, breaking through racial limits without external force was enough to prove his talent.
"Yes, it is indeed rare—by the way, what about that guy called Baraggan?"
"I had him go take charge of gathering those ordinary Adjuchas. After all, not one in ten Hollows can be catalyzed into an Arrancar by the Hogyoku. We need a massive number of test subjects to obtain a batch of valuable Arrancars. Relying on just the few of us to catch them would be a bit too inefficient."
Whether it was the Hollowfication of a Shinigami or the Arrancarization process of a Hollow, both were extremely dangerous matters. Breaking the boundaries of the soul was something impossible to persist through to the end without immense willpower.
This was also the reason Aizen paid such close attention to Ulquiorra. This was a self-directed Arrancarization in progress. If he could find some key points within this Hollow, his research on the Hogyoku would definitely take a massive step forward.
"Ulquiorra, do you want to fight again today?"
"Okay."
It was still a brief answer, followed by an all-out attack. Other Hollows who were constructing Las Noches instantly scattered and fled into the distance, while not a single hair on Aizen's head was ruffled as he leisurely observed every minute change in Ulquiorra.
By the time Suzuki Makoto stopped, Ulquiorra's mask had shattered even more. This was, of course, not from being beaten, but a completely spontaneous behavior.
"Did you observe anything?"
"I can only say that the race known as Hollows is indeed uniquely gifted. As long as they continuously devour souls, they can become stronger, and after becoming stronger, they can actively evolve—although this process is riddled with danger, every evolutionary threshold that is like a heavenly moat for a Shinigami is something a Hollow can achieve just by letting nature take its course."
Aizen sighed with some emotion.
It was no wonder that the earliest records stated that without the Soul King, the entire world would turn into a gigantic Hollow. Those words were indeed true.
____
New Story: Danmachi: But I am a God, time to make a family!
🔥 25% off something at the funeral parlor... care to take a look? 🔥
✅ New releases are dropping, plus get exclusive content & updates.
✅ Help us unlock community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan