The summer sun blazed.
Human World, Mihua Town.
Ginjō Kūgo was leisurely reclining on the sofa of his rented room, a straw dangling from his mouth as he sipped an iced soda.
Beside him, on the bedside table, a small centipede with dark golden patterns on its body lay sprawled. Suddenly, the small centipede slightly raised its head and looked out the window.
"Whoosh!"
With a sound, a young man suddenly sat on the sofa in Ginjō Kūgo's rented room. He wore a white robe, had short, slightly curly dark brown hair, gray-blue eyes, and a slight beard on his jaw.
Ginjō Kūgo had no idea how this person had appeared in his room so silently.
"I finally found you. You must be Ginjō Kūgo, right?"
As Starrk spoke softly, Ginjō Kūgo finally realized that a stranger had intruded into his room. He immediately reached for the Cross of Scaffold around his neck, on alert.
"Who are you?"
Ginjō Kūgo asked cautiously, gripping the Cross of Scaffold tightly in his hand, because he clearly sensed the newcomer's power. The faint Reiatsu unintentionally radiating from him made him tremble.
Unexpectedly, in the next instant, the white-robed man, who had been sitting on the sofa, appeared in front of him without warning and grabbed his right hand, which held the Cross of Scaffold.
"Don't be nervous. I'm here to give you a gift. This is Lord Yekawa's reward for you!"
With that, Starrk waved his hand and directly pulled Ginjō Kūgo's spirit body from his physical shell. Then, he thrust the hand holding the sub-hogyoku directly into Ginjō Kūgo's chest!
"Ah!"
Watching his chest being cut open by this mysterious man of unknown origin, a sharp pain immediately followed, and he directly fainted.
It wasn't until half a day later that Ginjō Kūgo slowly woke up on the bed in his rented room.
The first thing Ginjō Kūgo did upon waking was to pull open his shirt and check his chest, only to find not a single scar. There were also no signs that anyone else had entered his rented room.
"Was it a dream?"
Ginjō Kūgo rubbed his dizzy head and looked at the small Hollow centipede on the bedside table.
...
At the same time, Yekawa opened his eyes above the main hall of the Great Hollow Home.
Through the small centipede's vision, Yekawa discovered that Ginjō Kūgo seemed to have a very high degree of fusion with the sub-hogyoku.
Just the initial fusion had doubled Ginjō Kūgo's Reiatsu. His Reiatsu had now leaped from the level of a seated officer directly to that of a strong vice-captain, and this was a continuous process of improvement.
Although Ginjō Kūgo was essentially a Soul King Candidate, just like Kurosaki ichigo, there was too great a disparity in the origin of their powers. Not to mention that he lacked the power of a Quincy compared to Kurosaki ichigo, even among the remaining three powers, there was a qualitative difference between him and Kurosaki ichigo.
His Shinigami power came from Ito Makoto's gift, and his Hollow power was due to the faint residual power left in his body after his parents were attacked by ordinary Hollows. The only thing he could truly boast of was his self-taught Fullbring, the Cross of Scaffold. Therefore, his Fullbring had always been the dominant force among his three powers.
Even the artificial human, Tsukishima, created by Yamada Seinosuke and Tokinada Tsunashiro, had a much higher starting point than him. Ginjō Kūgo could be said to be the weakest among the three Soul King Candidates.
However, with the presence of the sub-hogyoku, it could subtly strengthen the Shinigami and Hollow powers within him, helping him to make up for his shortcomings. In a sense, the sub-hogyoku would provide him with a greater boost than it would to even the Vasto Lorde.
Yekawa looked at the six colorful cocoons in front of him, his eyes filled with anticipation. Once the remaining six Vasto Lorde under his command successfully became Arrancar, he would have eight Vasto Lorde-level Arrancar, plus over a hundred Adjuchas-level Arrancar.
Moreover, with his current prestige in Hueco Mundo, more Menos Grande would join his ranks, drawn by his reputation.
And Yekawa's own evolution was still ongoing. Once he accumulated enough Reiatsu and ascended to Vasto Lorde, his strength would undergo another great leap. By then, he was confident that he could face Yamamoto Genryūsai's Zanka no Tachi without any external assistance.
Now, Yekawa's wings were growing stronger. Soon, he would become the third major power, after the Soul Society and the Wandenreich!
...
"Attack me, Tsubaki Izusuke!"
Yekawa casually waved to the bewildered Amagai Shūsuke.
Amagai Shūsuke, on the other hand, showed a cautious expression. He reached up and wiped his face, and a mask with flame patterns appeared on his face.
Clearly, after more than ten years of dark and arduous training in the Great Hollow Forest, Amagai Shūsuke had already skillfully mastered the ability of Hollowfication.
Now that Yekawa had some free time, it was a good opportunity to guide Amagai Shūsuke's training!
Facing Yekawa, who had already become an Arrancar, Amagai Shūsuke felt an unparalleled pressure. Therefore, he immediately used his Hollowfication ability and released his Raikazuchi.
"Lord Yekawa, be careful!"
After Hollowfication, Amagai Shūsuke's speed and Reiatsu increased significantly. He raised Raihuo, which was engulfed in blazing flames, and attacked Yekawa.
"Hoo!"
Yekawa didn't even look, he just blew a breath, directly extinguishing the flames on Raihuo. Then, with just one index finger, Yekawa blocked the extinguished Raihuo.
"How... is this possible?"
Seeing this, Amagai Shūsuke was stunned on the spot.
"Tsubaki Izusuke, pull yourself together! Do you really think this level of strength can defeat Yamamoto Genryūsai?"
Yekawa's voice was deafening, jolting the dazed Amagai Shūsuke awake.
"You've mastered it, haven't you? Show it to me!"
Yekawa sensed Amagai Shūsuke's Reiatsu and found that in the past decade or so, he had advanced from the level of a seated officer to a Squad Captain with Third Class Reiatsu. And when he used Shikai just now, he didn't seem to have called out his Zanpakuto's true name.
Being able to do this meant that Amagai Shūsuke had already mastered Bankai, the ultimate secret art of a Shinigami.
Regarding this, Yekawa could only say that the power of hatred was immense. The will for revenge had allowed Amagai Shūsuke to master Bankai in just over ten years, truly possessing Squad Captain-level strength. This growth rate made Yekawa's Shinigami clone feel ashamed.
Of course, it was undeniable that Amagai Shūsuke's talent was also top-notch!
"Yes, Lord Yekawa!"
Amagai Shūsuke was clearly not surprised that Yekawa knew he had mastered Bankai. In Amagai Shūsuke's mind, Yekawa was already an omniscient and omnipotent being.
"Bankai — Raihuo Gyōenkaku!"
As Amagai Shūsuke chanted the release command, his Zanpakuto erupted in a scorching blaze, and a huge, strange weapon instantly appeared in his hand.
The front of this weapon was fiery red with a hook, and its tail resembled a shield, like a volcano about to erupt.
"Come, strike me!"
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