Chapitre 77: More Shinigami Appear
Some more time passed, and Yuna, Hinata, Harribel, and her three Fraccion were currently standing on one of the many roofs of Las Noches, spectating a fight between Ichigo and Grimmjow going on in the distance.
Apparently, Ichigo had encountered Ulquiorra and had been utterly annihilated by him, leaving him dying on the ground. However, Grimmjow wasn't satisfied with Ichigo dying at someone else's hand, so he went to fetch Orihime, who consequently healed Ichigo.
Feeling two powerful Spiritual Pressures crashing into them, Harribels three Fraccion couldn't help but shiver due to the overwhelming power.
"Are you three afraid?"
"""N-No, Harribel-sama!"""
Hearing the trio deny her question, Harribel only shook her head as her gaze never wavered from the fighting duo.
"There is no need to deny it as there is no need to be ashamed about fearing what you are currently feeling. After all, it's a clash between incredibly powerful individuals."
Listening to the conversation between Harribel and her Fraccion, Yuna nodded in agreement as she continued spectating Ichigo's fight as well.
'Seems like he has finally learned how to properly use that mask.'
"Indeed, Harribel is right. Feeling fearful of something isn't the problem; letting fear control is."
The trio simply nodded their heads in understanding. Due to spending a few nights together, they no longer were as hostile toward Yuna as they initially were, so they had no trouble accepting Yuna's words.
Seeing the small interaction between Yuna and her three girls, Harribel couldn't help but smile a little as she pondered what kind of fight she was currently witnessing.
'Is this really a fight between a Shinigami and a Hollow? This feels more like two Hollow fighting.'
As the fight between Ichigo and Grimmjow continued, Yuna briefly glanced at Harribel, who seemed indifferent to what was happening in the distance.
"By the way, isn't he your fellow Espada? Don't you want to assist him?"
Harribel briefly shook her head as she moved her gaze from the fighting duo toward Yuna.
"I could ask you the same question. After all, aren't you and Ichigo both humans?"
"Mhh~ True, I guess. Well, he came here with the determination to rescue Orihime at the risk of his life, so I won't butt in. In fact, even if I were to go there, I'm certain Ichigo wouldn't want me to help him. What was it called? A warrior's pride? Well, something like that."
The fight between the two was pretty even, but Grimmjow slowly but surely managed to push Ichigo into a corner. However, unlike in canon, where Orihime needed Nel to encourage her to cheer for Ichigo, the current Orihime wasn't as psychologically suppressed.
So, as Ichigo continued getting more and more pressured, Orihime cheered for him, giving him the power to defeat Grimmjow... somehow.
"Just how emotion-based are that idiot's powers?"
Hearing Yuna's question, the other people present could only shake their heads. They had no idea what was wrong with Ichigo either.
Orihime was just about to heal Ichigo yet again when Grimmjow somehow managed to stand back up. However, as soon as he did so, his Resurreccion ended, signaling that he was out of juice.
Before he could get a single word out, a massive scythe weapon crashed into him, ultimately robbing him of his consciousness and sending Grimmjow flying away.
"I see, so that dirty little rat finally mounted his sneak attacks."
Yet again, Harribel nodded her head as she was not fond of the newly arrived Arrancar either. Naturally, there was only one Arrancar wielding such a massive weapon, the one being Nnoitra Gilga.
Personally, Harribel had no problem with him going for a sneak attack, but the problem was how he did it. Not only did he wait until the last moment, when his supposed ally was on the brink of death, the one he attacked actually WAS his ally.
That was already despicable behavior all in itself, but after doing such a disgusting act, he still had the gal to go around, flaunting his strength.
Frankly, Harribel half considered going over there and finishing off Nnoitra herself.
Seeing Nnoitra using Ichigo as a football, due to still being exhausted from fighting Grimmjow, Yuna pondered whether she should step or not, but before she could make such a decision, she felt another powerful Spiritual Pressure approaching, causing her to smile slightly.
Meanwhile, a few minutes earlier, a gate opened not too far away from the walls of Las Noches, followed by three people stepping through it.
"Che, why was I even sent here? Shouldn't Yuna and Naruto be more than enough?"
"Well, I doubt that my strength will be needed either, so I'll concentrate on healing the wounded like usual."
"Hehehe~ I, for once, can't wait to get my fingers on some nice research material."
Despite Head Captain Yamamoto's words, claiming that they wouldn't send anyone to save Orihime, he had dispatched four Shinigami towards Hueco Mundo. These four were, Unohana, Kenpachi, Mayuri, and Nemu, who hadn't spoken yet.
Well, neither of them was actually here to save Orihime but to scout out the situation and potentially launch a pre-emptive strike against Aizen's forces.
"Oh well, I'm going in."
"Yes, I feel a weakening Spiritual Power; I'll see if I can provide some assistance."
"I wonder if there are any researcher laboratories I can plunder~"
Just like that, the little group made their way into the walls of Las Noches, going after their respective targets, and only a few minutes later, Kenpachi found Ichigo struggling to keep standing, causing him to click his tongue in annoyance.
'Shit, am I a babysitter?'
Despite his thoughts, he still stepped in, kicking Nnoitra away, sending him flying into a boulder. However, feeling the toughness of the skin of the person he had just kicked away, Kenpachi couldn't help but grin a little.
"Well, this might be pretty fun~."
Simultaneously, in the depth of Las Noches, Naruto was still facing Szayelaporro, who had taken on a rather disgusting form, with weird-looking fleshy tentacle wings growing out of his back.
'Uhh, is it just me, or does that not like a form that can be used in combat.'
[Personally, I think whatever that thing is, it shouldn't exist at all, no matter of combat or not.]
'True.'
While Naruto was briefly conversing with Kurama, an ink-like black substance shot out of Szayelaporro's back toward Naruto, making him shudder in disgust.
'I would rather not have another man's liquid on my body, thank you very much.'
As the ink-like substance approached Naruto, he easily weaved through it while occasionally using some wind to blow some of it away.
Seeing how easily Naruto dodged his attack, Szayelaporro frowned as his four tentacle-like wings shot toward Naruto, making him feel even more disgusted.
'First a man's body fluids and now a man's tentacle, huh? Aizen sure has some interesting hobbies~'
However, even with the addition of the four tentacles, Naruto still easily dodged everything thrown at him as he got closer and closer to Szayelaporro.
"You sure are a researcher, aren't you~ You suck at this."
"SHUT UP, HUMAN!?"
As Naruto got closer and closer, Szayelaporro slowly started losing his composure as his attacks became even more frantic.
"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!!! I'M PERFECT!!! I CAN'T BE DEFEATED!!!"
The moment Naruto heard that he chuckled in amusement as he suddenly vanished from Szayelaporro's vision.
"Wha..."
"Perfect? Can someone so weak really be considered perfect? What a joke."
Before Szayelaporro could understand the situation, a blade pierced into his back, through his heart, and exited his body through his chest.
"Impossi..."
"So weak."
Naruto dismissively pulled the sword out of Szayelaporro's back and leisurely swung it once to get rid of the blood before putting it back into its sheath.
"Yay, Naruto won!"
Seeing Szayelaporro lifelessly falling to the ground, Nel started clamoring, causing Naruto to chuckle in amusement.
"See, I told you there was no need to worry."
"Hahaha, strong, Naruto is really strong!"
"Owowow, don't pull my hair, Nel!"
"Hahaha!"
Felling Nel continued pulling his hair; Naruto lifted her off his should and held her in front of his, so the duo's eyes could meet.
"Nel, I don't mind you riding on my shoulders but don't pull my hair. If you continue doing so, I'll have to punish you."
After that threat, Naruto expected Nel to calm down a little while becoming more obedient, but he truly could not have expected Nel's reaction.
"Punish me? Nel loves getting punished!"
Naruto's face froze up as his whole body stiffened when he heard Nel's words. He simply couldn't believe what he just heard a little girl that looked younger than four years old say.
'Right, she mentioned being a masochist, but I thought that was just something those other two weirdos made her say.'
[Does it really matter? I mean, I've already called the police, and you will be behind bars soon.]
'Oi, how is this situation my fault?'
[Tell that to the police, you degenerate.]
'I won't deny the degenerate part, but this is definitely too much!'
While Naruto was in inner turmoil, Nel tilted her head to the side, wondering what was going on with Naruto. However, before she could attempt to get him out of his daze, another voice echoed through the room.
"Oh my, you have already procured a specimen for me. Very good!"
Naruto was awoken from his daze due to the voice and decided to postpone thinking about whatever had just happened to a later date. Preferable never.
Looking at the source of the voice, Naruto noticed a somewhat familiar-looking Shinigami looking at the lifeless body of Szayelaporro, almost drooling, while totally ignoring Naruto.
"Mhh? You are that insane researcher guy, right? Mayuri was your name, right."
Hearing someone call his name, Mayuri looked at Naruto in displeasure as he shooed him away.
"Yes, yes, whatever. Get lost; I have a sample to preserve~."
"Mhh, you want the body? Sure, I'll send the bill to Seireitei~"
Seeing Mayuri waving him away yet again, Naruto simply chuckled in amusement as he turned around and walked away.
'I wonder what I'll demand from Seireitei~'
However, as Naruto walked away, Mayuri gave him another glance, noticing that a small child was riding on his back for the first.
"Wait a moment!"
Hearing Mayuri calling him, Naruto turned around, wondering what else he wanted, and seeing the greedy look in his eyes as he was staring at Naruto, a feeling of disgust overcame him.
'Has that weirdo switched sides? Wait, did he like women in the first place? Oh, whatever.'
Unaware of Naruto's thoughts, his gaze was fixed on Nel instead of Naruto, and after realizing what she was, he exclaimed in surprise.
"Ohh! An Arrancar child. How fascinating. Hand her over; I'll need her as a test subject as well."
The moment Mayuri made his demand, the air in the room solidified, causing Mayuri to frown while Nemu got ready for combat.
"Mayuri, I'm a rather generous person, so I don't mind handing over that body, but you shouldn't push things too far. Do you truly think you are in a position to demand anything from?"
Hearing Naruto's words, Mayuri chuckled a little as he spread his arms wide, signaling Naruto to look at the room there were currently in.
"Frankly, you are stronger than me; I'm pretty sure of that. However, we are still in this room. I'm a researcher, you know. I can easily tell that this place is suppressing your abilities."
Naruto hummed in acknowledgment as he unleashed his Spiritual Power, instantly causing Nell to fall to her knees while Mayuri subconsciously took a step.
"So?"
A single word, yet the message was very clear: My abilities to unseal my sword are sealed? So what? Do you have what it takes to defeat me with that kind of condition?
Realizing that Mayuri bit off more than he could chew, he clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned away from Naruto, putting his attention on Szayelaporro's body instead.
"F*ck, what's with all these monstrous humans lately?"
Seeing that Mayuri stopped paying attention to Nel, Naruto nodded in satisfaction and continued walking toward the depth of Las Noches.
In another part of Las Noches, Retsu Unohana was steadily approaching the weakening presence she felt. Now that she was a little closer, she realized that the presence belonged to Rukia, and after another minute of traveling, Retsu found Rukia's bleeding body lying inside a huge hallway.
In here, Rukia had found a person who looked exactly like Kaien Shiba, someone very important to Rukia.
However, after some back and forth, Rukia found out that the real identity of the person in front of her was a shapeshifting Arrancar that could copy the abilities, appearance, and memories of everything it devoured.
Its name was Aaroniero Arruruerie, and it was the Arrancar number Twelve and the closest one of the current Numeros to become an Espada.
The fight was a massive struggle for Rukia, and in the end, she only won because her opponent underestimated her massively.
Anyway, Retsu stepped into the and approached Rukia to heal her back up. She quickly checked her condition, and after finding out what needed healing and what would be the best approach, she started the process.
However, while she was healing, another Arrancar appeared. It was Zommari Rureaux, who initially came here to finish off the fallen Shinigami, but now that another one had appeared, he didn't mind killing that one as well.
Obviously, Retsu noticed the new arrival, so she smiled at him kindly and started speaking.
"Excuse me, I'm just a healer and have no interest in fighting. I would appreciate it if you could ignore me."
Hearing Retsu's words, Zommari scoffed in disdain as he drew his blade, approaching Retsu with malicious intent.
"What are you talking about, woman? We are at war, and you being a healer, makes it even more important to take you out. However, let me warn you that of all the Espada, my [Sonido] is the fastest."
The moment Zommari stopped speaking, he vanished from his position and appeared behind Retsu, his sword already swinging down at her, who was still looking after Rukia.
As the sword approached her, Retsu's calm smile vanished as her face twisted in insanity, her Zanpakuto appearing in her hand instantly.
Zommari continued swinging down, and to his surprise, he felt no resistance at all, as if he didn't cut through anything. However, Retsu clearly didn't move and was still treating Rukia.
Naturally, he was rather confused, but the moment he looked at the hand holding his Zanpakuto, that confusion was quickly replaced with terror. The arm he had used to attack Retsu was currently lying on the ground without a shoulder attached to it. Zommari's had no idea when or how it happened, but Retsu had somehow cut off his arm while he was swinging down.
"W-What? What happened!?"
"Ara~ Ara~ Seems like first aid is done, and Rukia is stable. Guess it's time to take out the trash~"
Retsu rose from her kneeling position and smiled at Zommari "kindly", almost causing him to wet his pants as he felt suffocating pressure engulfing him.
Gripped by fear, Zommari didn't even play with the idea of unsealing his sword and instead turned around and ran away, however...
'Huh? The world is spinning? What is going on? Is that... my own body!?'
... the moment Zommari's turned around to run away, Retsu appeared next to him and easily cut off his head with a single clean swipe of her sword.
Sheathing her sword, Retsu looked at the lifeless Espada on the ground and scoffed in disdain.
"Fastest [Sonido]? What a joke. If that was the truth, then this place is filled with weaklings."
As those words left her mouth, she continued healing Rukia, and only a few minutes later, Rukia was more or less fully healed and only needed to wait for her consciousness to return and her Spiritual Power to recover.
'Mhh, what should I do next? It's been a while since I had a proper fight, but I think I should prioritize healing people. Mhh, or I could look for Yuna~ Nonono; stay serious. After all, we are at war.'
However, Retsu suddenly heard something whisper from a distance. Initially, she couldn't make out what was said, but as soon as she could, she vanished from her position.
"It's Yuna time~"
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone