The light red Reiatsu in the warehouse was almost solidifying.
The immense Reiatsu formed a turbulent, plowing up the entire ground.
The rising gale made Shinji's white haori coat flap loudly.
Shinji completely ignored these things, his eyes fixed on Nelliel without blinking.
Boom!
Just then, the red Reiatsu, carrying a shockwave, spread in all directions.
Dull, terrifying, oppressive.
An indescribable pressure undulated continuously in the warehouse, finally stabilizing.
"This is.. the mask breaking again?" Unlike Cirucci and Gantenbainne, who still retained Hollow characteristics on their bodies, Nelliel's residual Hollow features were only the mask on her head and the hollow hole on her body.
But this time..
Under Shinji's gaze.
Nelliel's goat horn mask on her forehead, suddenly developed a large number of cracks, then, as if weathering, quickly disappeared.
Nelliel's mask vanished.
That wasn't all.
The red Reiatsu continuously surged, Nelliel's heartbeat was like thunder, an extremely dangerous and terrifying aura gradually awakened, accompanied by a heavy, chilling, terrifying pressure.
Bang!
The red Reiatsu and the Super Reiatsu Wall continuously collided, and the ground seemed to sink in an instant.
If it weren't for Shinji's Barrier stabilizing it, Mayuri Kurotsuchi's laboratory outside would probably have collapsed instantly.
In front of him.
Transparent Single Shield constantly appeared.
Isolating the uncontrolled, violent Reiatsu turbulence.
Just then.
All the light red Reiatsu instantly disappeared, aggregating back into Nelliel's body.
Just like the ebb and flow of a tide.
A light red pillar of light erupted in all directions.
Nelliel's shinigami uniform was instantly burned away in large sections, and the mask on her forehead completely vanished.
"It seems it was a success." Shinji said, a hint of a smile in his eyes, as he watched Nelliel slowly land on the ground.
Adjuchas Arrancar, after Resurrección, they would retain part of their mask on their head, and a very small amount of Adjuchas characteristics would remain on their bodies.
As for Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar, their only non-human feature was the mask on their head.
But now.
Having surpassed the Vasto Lorde, the mask on her face completely disappeared.
Nelliel no longer had any Menos Grande characteristics!
"Hmm." A faint murmur sounded.
Nelliel slowly opened her eyes.
her eyes were blurry for a while, then a little confusion.
After a few seconds.
Nelliel's eyes suddenly widened, and she rushed towards Shinji with a whoosh.
"Shinji!!"
Boom!
A white shockwave and explosion flashed by.
A bottomless giant pit instantly collapsed beneath Nelliel's feet, and like teleportation, Nelliel headbutted Shinji in the chest, carrying him away.
Bang!
Single Shield that could withstand Captain-level attacks were directly smashed through, crashing heavily into the Super Reiatsu Wall before stopping.
"Nelliel, you really are.." Shinji smiled wryly, holding Nelliel.
The Super Reiatsu Wall released by Shinji himself, of course, would not harm him.
Nelliel's current strength was simply too terrifying.
Before her evolution.
Nelliel's Super Headbutt could already make a Captain Shinigami internal bleeding in head.
And now after evolution.
Even if a Captain Shinigami took this Super Rocket Headbutt from Nelliel, even if they didn't die, they would probably be lying on the ground with little combat capability.
The force of this blow was unimaginably great.
It was estimated to be about half the strength of the Sword Pressure Shinji would unleash in his normal state!
"Shinji, I'm happy to see you." Nelliel didn't hear what Shinji was saying, she just hugged him like a spoiled child, constantly rubbing against him, her smiling eyes full of happiness and joy.
"Alright, alright." Seeing that Nelliel was even showing signs of wanting to lick him, Shinji pulled her up.
Then, he touched his nose.
A knocking sound rang out.
Shinji glanced at Nelliel's shinigami uniform, which had been largely burned away by her evolution, he took off his white haori coat, and put it on her.
he opened an entrance in the Barrier.
A few seconds later.
Perhaps sensing that he could enter, Mayuri Kurotsuchi walked in from outside, his face full of curiosity.
Behind him followed Nemu Kurotsuchi.
And two newly Vasto Lorde.
"Captain Kucihki Shinji, and Vice-Captain Nelliel made quite a commotion."
"Even with the Barrier isolating it, I could still detect a faint Reiatsu flash from inside." Mayuri Kurotsuchi said with narrowed eyes.
"This feeling.. I can barely breathe." as soon as they entered the warehouse.
Cirucci and Gantenbainne's expressions changed simultaneously.
They looked incredulously towards the source of the pressure.
They could no longer sense Nelliel's Reiatsu!
This clearly indicated that Nelliel's Reiatsu had completely surpassed their dimension, so even if Nelliel stood right in front of them, they couldn't perceive her Reiatsu!
She didn't need to release a single trace of Reiatsu.
Just standing there, even though Nelliel was still cuddling in Shinji's arms.
But the terrifying pressure that naturally emanated from her still made Cirucci and Gantenbainne subtly tremble.
Just her aura made them want to kneel.
Nelliel, she had completely surpassed the Vasto Lorde, entering a higher dimension beyond the Vasto Lorde-class!
"She's not even releasing Reiatsu, and she's already generating this kind of pressure, she's practically a monster." Mayuri Kurotsuchi also noticed that he couldn't feel Nelliel's Reiatsu at all.
It clearly indicated that Kucihki Shinji's experiment had been a complete success, and Nelliel, she had evolved to a new level beyond the Vasto Lorde!
She had just completed her evolution, she couldn't yet fully control this inherent aura.
After observing for a few seconds, Mayuri Kurotsuchi said with excited eyes "Not only that, even the unique mask of a Hollow is completely disappeared."
"It seems this is the manifestation of evolving to a higher level."
"Beyond the Vasto Lorde, if you only look at her appearance, Vice-Captain Nelliel is no different from an ordinary person."
"This is truly amazing, that such a thing could happen." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's fingers fidgeted, and without hesitation, he immediately took out a pen and quickly recorded the newly updated data.
With this data and Szayelaporro's corpse, he could begin some forbidden experiments.
"This evolution isn't perfectly complete yet, Nelliel should be able to evolve further." Shinji tightened the collar of Nelliel's uniform in his arms, letting the Captain's white haori coat cover Nelliel's body.
"Oh? She can still evolve further?"
Upon hearing this, Mayuri Kurotsuchi's pen tip paused slightly, He looked up and asked curiously.
She has already completely surpassed the Vasto Lorde is that still not the end of a Menos Grande's evolution?
"Could it be.. that even Nelliel, who has evolved to such a dimension, can still continue to evolve?" Tier Harribel and Gantenbainne asked, incredulously.
This was an new level!
And She still can evolve further?
Cirucci stared at Nelliel in Shinji's arms, her eyes filled with shock, speechless for a long time.
"Based on my deductions, yes, she can." Shinji nodded, walking towards them and slowly said "There's no specific name for beyond the Vasto Lorde level, and Nelliel's mask is completely shattered, so for now, let's call this stage, Segunda Etapa."
"However, I noticed that Nelliel's hollow hole hasn't disappeared, which indicates that Nelliel can still continue to evolve."
Although Nelliel's mask was completely shattered, Shinji had just seen through the damaged shinigami uniform that Nelliel's hollow hole was still present.
This indicated that
Nelliel's evolution was not perfect she still had room and potential for further evolution, far from reaching her limit.
"I see." Mayuri Kurotsuchi nodded, jotting down what Shinji said, then looked up and asked "Then why doesn't Captain Shinji help Vice-Captain Nelliel evolve directly to a higher level?"
"If it's Captain Shinji, he should be perfectly capable of doing that, right?" He could even help Menos Grande evolve and provide the substance that enables Menos Grande evolution.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi didn't believe Shinji could only achieve this much.
Thinking of this, Mayuri Kurotsuchi probed, "Could it be.. that the evolution has stopped?"
Just like Adjuchas, does Nelliel's evolution also have a limit?
Will it stop evolving immediately upon reaching an insurmountable bottleneck?
Shinji's next words dispelled his doubts "It's not that the evolution has stopped, Nelliel needs a period of adaptation, Once she fully adapts to her current power and her power reaches its limit again, placing her at the cusp of evolution, she can undergo the next evolution." Shinji shook his head, explaining.
The Hōgyoku did not deny his will.
Shinji's gaze was deep, and his palm brushed his chest.
Since the Hōgyoku did not deny his will, it was clear that Nelliel could continue to evolve.
The next step in evolution would most likely involve the removal of the hollow hole, completely restoring her to a full human form.
The reason Nelliel's evolution was stopped was because.
Shinji speculated that Nelliel's current state was likely somewhat similar to his own.
However, Nelliel did not need and could not fuse with the Hōgyoku.
As long as she familiarized herself with her own power and her Reiatsu once again reached the limit of her current state, she could undergo the next evolution..
"Is that how it is?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi seemed to understand, and his eyes showed a hint of joy as he gained more useful data.
Collaborating with Kuchiki Shinji, even if his life was controlled by Kuchiki Shinji as a result, still seemed to be one of the most correct decisions he had ever made.
His previous most correct decision was initiating the Nem project and creating Nemu Kurotsuchi, the Artificial Shinigami.
Now.
he had obtained even more rare experimental data and the qualification to participate in these experiments.
"Nelliel, if you can, would you like to fight me?" Cirucci's eyes held a hint of fighting spirit and desire "I want to see how big the gap truly is."
"How much difference there is between a Vasto Lorde and Segunda Etapa."
Gantenbainne took two steps forward, his intention also very clear.
Seeing this, Nelliel looked at Shinji with gentle eyes, as if asking for his opinion.
"Go ahead and try, You really need to get familiar with your own power now, It's a good opportunity to see what level your current power is at."
Shinji paused slightly and rubbed his nose "However, we need to change the venue, This place is too small and not suitable for a fight."
"Nelliel, you need to change your clothes." Shinji reminded her as if casually.
The Captain's white haori coat was enough to cover her body.
"Alright." Nelliel covered her mouth and smiled softly, then rested her head on Shinji's shoulder again.
-Kuchiki Clan's underground space.
The surroundings had been reinforced with multiple Barriers by Shinji, even if a battle occurred here, no movement or Reiatsu would leak outside to be detected by others.
"I never expected Captain Shinji to have such high proficiency in Barriers."
"Instantaneous use of the ninety-ninth forbidden Bakudo, Sword Pressure that can sever my Bankai with a wave of his hand, Shunpo that is far faster than a Captain Shinigami, and Hakuda that can suppress two Captains, as demonstrated in the Captain's assessment."
"It seems that whether it's Kido, Swordsmanship, Shunpo, or Hakuda, Captain Shinji has mastered them all to their limits."
"Captain Shinji is a monster, an ambitious monster." Watching Shinji quickly set up the Barriers, Mayuri Kurotsuchi mistakenly believed that Shinji was even proficient in Barriers to such an extent, and he exclaimed in surprise.
Being able to instantly use the ninety-ninth forbidden Bakudo to seal, Tōsen Kaname.
The Sword Pressure he unleashed with a wave of his hand severed his Bankai and "killed" him.
And his Shunpo and Hakuda were also at a level beyond Captain Shinigami.
By all accounts, Kuchiki Shinji was a monster.
How did he train?
He had only spent six years at the Spiritual Arts Academy and had remained obscure during that time.
Could it be that
in just six years,
Kuchiki Shinji had already reached the limit of a Shinigami..
No! To be precise.
He broken through the limit of a Shinigami?
Looking at the man standing beside him, Mayuri Kurotsuchi's eyes were filled with a probing look.
If he could get Kuchiki Shinji's permission now, he would immediately want to dissect Kuchiki Shinji to see what Kuchiki Shinji's body structure was like.
"What kind of look is that? You're not thinking of dissecting me, are you?" Shinji cast a sidelong glance at him, and as Mayuri Kurotsuchi chuckled awkwardly, his thoughts exposed, Shinji continued "Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, I've told you before, I don't have much ambition."
"I like to become stronger, and I want to become stronger, but becoming stronger is only to live better and enjoy a leisurely, retired life."
"Ambition?"
"I don't have such a thing at all." His palm brushed his chest.
Shinji's gaze lowered.
Is the desire to become stronger and the desire for a leisurely life contradictory?
They are not contradictory.
Both are what Shinji desires.
To live a better, leisurely life and survive safely in this dangerous world, one needs powerful strength.
Lieutenant Shinigami who only master Shikai possess various endless abilities.
The Captain Shinigami of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads each hide more trump cards than the last, capable of unleashing combat power beyond Captain in minutes.
And Aizen, who wants to replace the Soul King, cannot possibly coexist peacefully with himself, who possesses the Hōgyoku.
Finally, there's Yhwach, who wants to destroy the world and recreate it.
How dangerous this world is, goes without saying.
Without power, one cannot survive safely.
And with powerful strength, one can live more safely and also protect those around them.
This idea is not contradictory at all.
Shinji yearns to become stronger.
Shinji has this desire to become stronger that the Hōgyoku can continuously fuse with Shinji, prompting Shinji to evolve to a higher dimension.
And now, he is about to evolve to 4th stage.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, no ambition at all, huh?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi gave Shinji a deep look, his lips curving into an exaggerated grin.
Kuchiki Shinji, a man like you cannot be hidden, Retirement, that's not suitable for a monster like you.