If given the chance, Kūgo Ginjō wouldn't hesitate to absorb Shūkurō Tsukishima's Fullbring power.
To maximize his usefulness, Ginjō had shared a considerable amount of Bringer Light with him. And now, he was more than ready to reclaim it—to recycle this waste and squeeze every last drop of value from him.
Unfortunately, he neither had the time nor the opportunity.
Harribel was watching him like a hawk.
Given the current situation, Ginjō had no choice but to give up.
As he brooded, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
Within his line of sight, the Arrancar woman who had been standing nearby vanished in an instant.
Her radiant blonde hair shimmered in the sunlight—so bright it was nearly blinding.
Before he could react, she reappeared with a sharp bang, less than half a meter in front of him, having used that technique again—Sonído.
Careless!
Far too careless!
These two women were absurdly fast. There was no warning, no chance to react—it was impossible to defend against them.
And if that white glove actually touched him... he had no doubt the consequences would be dire.
Ginjō's gaze locked onto the arm inching closer to his chest, his expression turning ice cold.
He couldn't let her touch him!
In the blink of an eye, a violent burst of steam exploded from his body, like a raging flood, kicking up a visible whirlwind.
"Don't understand human speech? You're nothing but power-wielding idiots! Fine, then—I'll show you what real power looks like."
His voice, seething with hatred and fury, rang out—thick with oppressive force.
A surge of deep purple Reiatsu erupted like a volcanic blast, the pressure shaking the very air around them.
The force was overwhelming.
Around him, the remaining Fullbringers broke into cold sweat, their bones creaking under the crushing spiritual weight, ready to snap at any moment.
In under a second, they couldn't take it anymore. One by one, they collapsed unconscious.
But in that same moment, Harribel's eyes narrowed coldly.
She swiftly released her own Reiatsu, forming a barrier that sealed the surrounding area—making sure the blast wouldn't leak and harm the ordinary citizens of Naruki City.
"Damn Arrancar."
"I didn't want to use this power."
"I gave you a chance—you just didn't know how to appreciate it. So don't blame me for what comes next."
A cold voice echoed from within the pillar of light.
Kūgo Ginjō swung his massive cross-shaped greatsword, slashing clean through the pillar of purple Reiatsu.
His crimson eyes locked onto Harribel, burning with savage intensity.
His hair had turned white.
The sword in his hand had transformed—the tsuba now resembled long, spiraled horns, curved like a ram's, with sharp fangs embedded in the gold frame's top and bottom. The blade's front edge had become jagged and vicious, while the rear looked like a spine.
The sword pulsed with a strange glow.
Within that glow surged four distinct types of Reiatsu: Hollow, Shinigami, Quincy, and Fullbringer.
Harribel's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the weapon.
She had never imagined someone could possess so many types of power at once.
Ginjō smirked arrogantly at her, voice dripping with mockery.
"Well? Shocked? This is my power—the power that transcends everything!"
He bared his teeth in a twisted grin, eyes blazing with disdain and madness.
"That fool Masatsuki Aozaki told me far too many secrets without hesitation. Naive idiot!"
"Fullbring doesn't only exist in Fullbringers."
"Hollows, Shinigami, Quincy—even ordinary humans. All of them can carry the essence of Fullbring: Soul King fragments."
"You want to know how many I've collected? One hundred and eight."
"For years, I borrowed the power of Soul Society while secretly harvesting Soul King fragments."
"Hollows, Shinigami, Quincy, humans—didn't matter."
"Once their fragment entered me, I consumed it—made it my own."
"And I made sure their bodies were erased, no traces left behind."
He grinned with twisted pride.
"And that idiot Masatsuki Aozaki... only realized it too late."
"He thought he could control everything. But in reality, he was just a piece on my board."
"Someone like me—someone with this power—I've long since surpassed both Fullbringers and Shinigami. I've surpassed him."
Ginjō let out a maniacal laugh and brought his colossal cross sword crashing down, radiating terrifying force.
"As an Arrancar—one who's already broken the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow—you should know exactly how powerful I am now, shouldn't you?!"
His face twisted with frenzy, eyes glowing with unrestrained exhilaration.
Boom!!
With a single swing, his massive sword unleashed a monstrous wave of purple Reiatsu. The blast blazed with a brilliant, eerie light as it tore forward.
Rumble!!
The ground shook violently, cracking and collapsing under the sheer pressure of the strike. The sheer force of the attack was monstrous.
But then—Ginjō's eyes suddenly changed.
He saw something that made his blood run cold.
His Crucifixion Blade... it stopped mid-swing.
The next moment—
A colossal force, completely beyond reason, struck him like a sledgehammer.
Faced with such absolute power, Ginjō couldn't even resist. He was blown away instantly.
The purple Reiatsu slash that had been meant to execute Harribel on the spot crumbled like paper under the weight of her counterattack—a single swing of her shark-marked greatsword shattered it completely.
In Ginjō's stunned gaze, Harribel advanced, clad in bone armor. Her blade swung through the air, and a golden Reiatsu wave shot forth.
Thwack!
With a muffled impact, Ginjō's Reiatsu barrier collapsed like it was made of tissue.
His enormous spiritual pressure couldn't withstand the razor-edged strike of Tiburón. In an instant, blood sprayed into the air.
"Wh... what the hell?!"
Ginjō clutched his chest, expression twisting in disbelief.
Tiburón had shattered his slash wave with one strike, then immediately broke through his Reiatsu defense and injured him directly?
It didn't make sense!
After absorbing over a hundred Fullbring fragments, he had even shattered the limitations of a Shinigami. The immense power in his sword was living proof of that.
And yet—despite holding both Fullbring and transcendent power, his defense was so easily broken in this clash of Reiatsu?
"This damned woman... her slashes are ridiculously strong."
His voice was low, tinged with a rare weight of seriousness.
He silently thanked himself for being cautious. This Arrancar's strength far exceeded his expectations. She was no ordinary opponent—she was a true threat.
He had believed his advantage in Reiatsu would allow him to crush her quickly, overwhelming her with force.
But now...
It was clear. She wasn't any weaker than him.
"Because that's what Masatsuki-sama taught me."
Harribel spoke quietly.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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