"Claw of the Panther King!"
Brilliant blue trails of light extended and erupted from the sharp claws, causing the air to emit a piercing sound like tearing silk. A fierce sensation rushed forth, as if it were going to tear the surrounding space apart.
Grimmjow activated Sonído. The dull boom echoed across the desert, like a sounding battle horn.
Two figures surged upward almost simultaneously, their bodies blending into the swirling, rolling white sands. They engaged in a fierce collision, resembling a soaring symphony.
Grimmjow felt his heart beating madly. Surging Reiatsu rushed forth in the collision, as if transforming into a scorching branding iron that burned his blood into blazing magma, pulsing and flowing feverishly through his veins.
If their first battle was a one-sided crushing defeat, then every battle since he chose to stay in Las Noches had been an evenly matched confrontation.
Whenever he made progress, Naraku Sora's strength would rise in tandem, steadily suppressing him.
This kind of battle neither made one feel powerless with no hope of victory, nor was it so weak that one couldn't enjoy the pure thrill of combat.
It made him unknowingly intoxicated by it!
Relying on the skills honed through countless hunts, Grimmjow integrated his instincts into the battle, extending them into every single attack.
His sharp eyes stared fixedly at the figure erupting with astonishing speed before him. His consciousness was more active than ever, clearly memorizing the subtle changes of every clash and seamlessly wedging them into the deepest instincts of his flesh.
Even Grimmjow did not realize that his Reiatsu was slowly rising at a steady rhythm.
Immediately after, a deafening roar suddenly erupted from the battlefield.
The silent desert abruptly trembled, as if awakening from a deep slumber.
The Claw of the Panther King tore through the air, instantly bursting with a piercing screech that stung the eardrums of the Adjuchas who had gathered at the edge to watch.
It sounded like sheet metal scraping against glass, causing goosebumps to break out over their skin.
Naraku Sora watched the streamlined figure flying toward him and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He brought up his arm backhandedly to block, and the explosive ring of clashing metal ensued.
Countless sparks splattered, and the fanatical sounds rushed wildly across the battlefield.
Accompanied by the eruption of Grimmjow's Reiatsu, the desolate silver sands were torn open by the turbulent shockwaves, revealing hideous ravines that looked like abysses.
The area of effect continued to expand.
The spectating Adjuchas stared intently, terrified of missing a single detail.
Although they were all Adjuchas, Grimmjow was far stronger than them; they weren't even on the same dimension.
If they were in Naraku Sora's place, they would have been torn to shreds by that brilliant Claw of the Panther King in the very first exchange.
As the slaughter grew more intense, Naraku Sora suddenly noticed that not only was Grimmjow's Reiatsu slowly increasing, but his physical size was also continuously growing.
A tyrannical aura lingered around that streamlined body.
His eyes were crimson, his condition was at its peak, and his hands were itching with an unbearable thirst for a fight.
Just feeling this outwardly released aura gave the Adjuchas an instinctive sense of trembling, as if they were facing a superior existence far above themselves.
"Is Grimmjow about to evolve into a Vasto Lorde?"
"He can evolve just by getting beaten up every day? Does this guy have some kind of special fetish?"
"Hard to say, but I think His Majesty's fists might just have some magical power."
"It really makes a Hollow envious. I want to be beaten up by His Majesty too."
The Adjuchas of Las Noches no longer rejected Naraku Sora for being a Soul Reaper.
In truth, they were inherently the most pure-minded type of creature.
In the eyes of Hollows, the law of the jungle had always been the fundamental rule of Hueco Mundo.
Whether one was a Soul Reaper or a Menos Grande, as long as they were strong enough, they were worthy of unwavering loyalty.
Furthermore, in the eyes of many Adjuchas, Naraku Sora was actually more like a Menos Grande wearing the skin of a Soul Reaper.
In terms of aura alone, he was even more terrifying than Szayelaporro, who had already achieved Arrancarification.
"Prepare to die, Naraku Sora!"
Grimmjow let out an excited roar. The panther sprinted, streaking across the sky like a flash of light. The Claw of the Panther King swung down, unfurling a curtain of azure light.
However, before the attack could land, the figure before him abruptly vanished. The moment his attack missed, a premonition of death covered his entire body like needle pricks.
*Where did he go?!*
Grimmjow's pupils shrank drastically. He released his Pesquisa to its absolute limit, searching for any trace of Naraku Sora.
The next second, an indescribable chill struck him.
Grimmjow instinctively twisted his waist, unleashing a Cero in tandem with the Claw of the Panther King. The brilliant trails of light severed the darkness, erupting with a dazzling radiance.
Then, it was mercilessly crushed by a pair of large hands.
Grimmjow froze. His originally pure gaze suddenly became somewhat dazed and at a loss.
He tilted his head, suddenly unable to comprehend the scene unfolding before him.
Immediately after, a whip kick lashed out without warning, and an unbearable, terrifying impact transmitted from his waist.
Instantly, the several-meter-long white panther turned into a shooting star, dragging a tail flame formed by materialized Reiatsu as it streaked beneath the crescent moon.
*Boom!!*
A stone pillar hundreds of meters away collapsed with a crash. Countless clouds of dust billowed upward, and the turbulent shockwaves surged into the sky.
Falling rubble directly buried Grimmjow within.
A perfect cat-petting session thus came to an end.
Naraku Sora stood in place, briefly sensing Grimmjow's Reiatsu in the distance, and nodded in satisfaction.
In truth, he had only discovered this by accident.
Unlike the other Adjuchas, Grimmjow possessed the potential to evolve into a Vasto Lorde.
Aside from the fact that his body had never been bitten by his own kind, the most important reason was that he had a heart that pursued strength.
Although it sounded somewhat ethereal, for Menos Grande who were missing something in their souls, a "heart" was actually a very important thing.
Naraku Sora didn't understand the specifics either. He had only heard Aizen say that if they could understand their own pursuits, Adjuchas could step onto the path of evolution.
Devouring their own kind was not the only way.
Inside the laboratory, Szayelaporro brought up a massive light screen, where colossal amounts of data scrolled across like flowing water.
His gaze rapidly scanned along with the changing data, capturing the important contents.
The reflection of the light screen mirrored in his pupils as he frantically performed deconstructive calculations.
In front of him, inside a petri dish enveloped by Reiatsu, a mass of flesh tissue continuously squirmed and multiplied, as if it were a living creature.
It even attempted to escape the petri dish.
However, under the coverage of his immense Reiatsu, all its actions were futile. Even its rate of multiplication was controlled within a certain range.
This was the important project Szayelaporro had been researching all along, the ultimate goal he had strived for his entire life—
A truly perfect lifeform.
One capable of cycling seamlessly between death and regeneration, with no eternal end, no so-called limit to its power, and even a life form distinct from any known species.
But as the research progressed, when Szayelaporro attempted to inject a sliver of a soul into it, the flesh tissue suddenly began to multiply madly out of control.
Until it completely collapsed.
"A pity. Just a little bit more."
A familiar voice rang in his ear.
Szayelaporro subconsciously nodded. Just as he was about to analyze where he had made a mistake, an indescribably eerie feeling welled up in his heart.
*Wait!*
*I clearly closed the door before the experiment. Why is there someone else's voice in the laboratory?*
*There is no one in Las Noches who could silently infiltrate the laboratory and stand beside me without me noticing.*
*An enemy invasion?*
*A Soul Reaper, or a Menos Grande?*
Without any hesitation, Szayelaporro extended his finger, immediately firing off a terrifyingly powerful Cero.
*Smack!*
A crisp sound rang out. Under his astonished gaze, a hand was raised. The moment it opened, it firmly grasped the Cero within its palm.
As the five fingers closed, the Cero—powerful enough to instantly kill an ordinary Adjuchas—was effortlessly extinguished.
Seeing this scene, Szayelaporro froze for a moment, before a matter-of-fact expression appeared on his face.
"So it is Your Majesty Naraku."
There weren't many people who could snuff out a Cero barehanded, and Naraku Sora was definitely the best among them.
Even now, he hadn't figured out through his research whether this new generation's King of Hueco Mundo belonged to the Hollows or the Soul Reapers.
In terms of Hierro strength alone, he easily surpassed any Vasto Lorde.
"What were you researching just now?" Naraku Sora asked curiously.
Szayelaporro grinned and briefly described the concept of the "perfect lifeform" in terms that a certain someone could understand.
After listening, Naraku Sora stroked his chin.
"Then couldn't you just clone me directly?"
"I perfectly fit the description of a so-called 'perfect lifeform'."
Szayelaporro stood frozen in place, his expression blank. He pondered for a long time, his mind seemingly deducing all the myriad things in the world.
Although it made a lot of sense, he still felt that something wasn't quite right.
Just as he was deep in thought about exactly what went wrong, a shrill alarm suddenly blared, interrupting Szayelaporro's train of thought.
He hurriedly stepped in front of the screen and quickly brought up the alert footage captured by the Spirit-Recording Bugs.
Within the territory of Las Noches, two figures—one tall and one short—were walking slowly across the silver sands.
Both were draped in tattered gray cloaks. One of them had dark brown, slightly wavy short hair and a bit of stubble on his jaw, giving off the aura of a decadent middle-aged man.
Beside him, beneath a worn gray cloak, was a petite figure with light green short hair and a mask covering half of her face.
The middle-aged man seemed to sense something. He raised his gaze and glanced toward the location of the Spirit-Recording Bug.
*Smack!*
An invisible force suddenly fell upon the ugly bug. As if pinched by a large hand, a slight application of pressure instantly caused it to explode into countless fragments and viscous liquid.
The final image on the screen was a pair of lazy, grayish-blue eyes.
After watching the entire process, Naraku Sora crossed his arms, turned his head, and grinned.
"Flashy Pink Pineapple, can I take this to mean—"
"That they are provoking my Las Noches?"