As the berserk boar charged at him without a shred of rationality, Ichigo didn't even bother to raise his Zanpakutō. But before he could move, someone else beat him to it.
Clang!
Daisler's attack was stopped by a towering figure—someone even more muscular than the beastly Daisler himself!
"Yo, Ichigo. Weren't you here to rescue someone from Soul Society? Since when did that turn into babysitting?" the newcomer teased.
"Kenny? What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked in surprise.
That's right—the man who had appeared was none other than the Eleventh Division Captain, Kenpachi!
Sensing the crushing reiatsu of the newcomer, Nnoitra quickly used his secret technique to probe Kenpachi's spiritual pressure.
Daisler, however, saw his path blocked and roared in rage, "Bastard! Don't stand in my way!"
Kenpachi didn't even glance at him, still casually chatting with Ichigo. "What? Surprised to see me?"
At that moment, Nnoitra's scan revealed the abyss-like depths of Kenpachi's power, and he immediately shouted, "Daisler, get back! This isn't someone you can handle!"
Too late.
As the boar's furious howl rang out behind him, Kenpachi impatiently swung his sword.
Slash!
Daisler was cleaved from head to toe in a single stroke, instantly reverting to his pre-Resurrección form.
"So damn noisy. Can't a man have a decent conversation around here?" Kenpachi grumbled.
Ichigo, still holding Nel in one arm, blinked. "Wait, didn't Old Man Yama say he wouldn't send reinforcements to Hueco Mundo? Don't tell me you came just to back me up?"
Kenpachi gave him a deadpan look. "Ichigo, don't flatter yourself. The reason we were sent to the World of the Living was to retrieve the stationed Shinigami, to prevent them from acting on their own."
"Old man Yamamoto had already planned everything. He noticed how Orihime's power was improving after training with Rukia and Senna for the past month."
"No matter what, her power couldn't fall into Aizen's hands. So sending a rescue team was inevitable. You just rushed in too soon! And I'm not the only one here—others came too."
Ichigo blinked again. "There are more?"
"Yeah. The captains and lieutenants of Squad 4, 6, and 12. That's the full Hueco Mundo rescue team."
"You've really made an impression, Ichigo—enough for Old Man Yama to send this much firepower," Kenpachi said with a toothy grin.
"Unohana and Byakuya too?" Ichigo was ecstatic.
Yamamoto had essentially deployed the captains most closely connected to Ichigo—except for Soi Fon. Out of the four captains sent, three were quite close to him.
"Well, now that you know, step aside. I didn't come all the way here not to get into a good fight!" Kenpachi said as he turned around and hoisted his Zanpakutō, heading straight for Nnoitra.
Poor Nnoitra.
First, he got beaten by Ichigo. Then by Nel. Now it was Kenpachi's turn.
"Damn it! What am I, a punching bag?!" Nnoitra snarled, staring down the imposing Kenpachi.
But his rage was nothing more than impotent fury…
"What's your name, Espada? Actually, never mind. Doesn't matter. Just take this first!" Kenpachi said without pause, swinging his Zanpakutō straight at Nnoitra!
And the difference was immediately clear—Ichigo nearly wiped the floor with Nnoitra in one kick, and Nel even reverted him to child form. But against Kenpachi's blade?
Nnoitra didn't even flinch. He stood firm and let the blow land.
Clang!
The sound was like steel colliding. Kenpachi's sword scraped across Nnoitra's chest without leaving a mark!
Nnoitra brightened. Finally, someone couldn't just cut through him like paper!
"See that? My Hierro is the strongest among all Espada!" he bragged proudly.
Ichigo shook his head. Nel rolled her eyes. Funny how Nnoitra wasn't boasting like this earlier when they were handing him his ass.
"Oh? Strongest Hierro, huh?" Kenpachi's eyes gleamed. He loved breaking through so-called "invincible" things.
But excitement alone wouldn't get the job done. Kenpachi slashed two more times—still no visible damage. Meanwhile, Nnoitra's crescent-scythe kept nicking Kenpachi's body.
"What's wrong, Shinigami? Didn't you say you'd defeat me? You can't even scratch my skin!" Nnoitra taunted.
"That so?" Kenpachi smirked, then delivered a single, powerful blow that sent Nnoitra flying.
"What the hell?!" Nnoitra was stunned. Using the momentum mid-air, he hurled his crescent-scythe through the swirling sandstorm he'd just created.
It was meant to obscure Kenpachi's vision and land a surprise hit.
But Kenpachi dodged it easily—this was the same guy who could fight blind in Tōsen's Bankai using only instinct and touch.
Not only did he dodge it, he grabbed Nnoitra's weapon and yanked him forward by the chain!
The force was so great that Nnoitra was pulled straight into Kenpachi's grasp, where the captain slammed him into the desert floor.
Kenpachi's sword stabbed straight down at his skull.
This was no place to test Hierro—if it failed, Nnoitra would die.
So, Nnoitra quickly rolled away with a not-so-graceful but effective dodge, then yanked the chain to retrieve his weapon.
But the act of dodging confirmed something to Kenpachi.
He was afraid of Kenpachi's blade.
"HAHAHA! Didn't you say your Hierro was the strongest? Then why don't you stand there and take my sword head-on?" Kenpachi mocked.
For a guy with killer combat instincts, Kenpachi didn't miss a thing.
Nnoitra didn't answer. He was afraid.
So he attacked again.
This time, Kenpachi didn't dodge. He caught the attack with one hand.
"I've never seen someone block a blow with their eyes and throat," Kenpachi commented—then stabbed his blade right into Nnoitra's eye!
Nnoitra froze in shock—his eye and brain had been pierced!
He grabbed Kenpachi's hand and stabbed his own hand into Kenpachi's chest!
Then he used Kenpachi's own blade to lift his eye-patch.
Behind it? Nothing—no eye, no brain.
Only a hollow hole.
That's right. Nnoitra's Hollow hole ran straight through his head.
"Heh… You said anyone whose brain gets pierced would die. But I'm still alive. Know why? Because your sword never touched my brain! It just passed through my hollow hole!" Nnoitra sneered.
Kenpachi grinned even wider.
"HAHAHAHA! That's great! I was worried all the Espada were just trash!"
His wounds sealed under spiritual pressure as his battle lust reached its peak.
Kenpachi swung his blade again—this time, it carved a deep wound in Nnoitra's arm!
The desert exploded from the force of the strike.
Ichigo and Nel, watching from the side, muttered, "Fight properly, dammit. Why take it out on the desert?"
Nnoitra now realized—this Shinigami was an absolute monster.
"HAHAHAHA!" Kenpachi howled with laughter as he charged in, blade swinging wildly.
Nnoitra blocked with his scythe—but it might as well have been made of foam.
Kenpachi shattered it and slashed his face.
Furious, Nnoitra countered with a Cero from his tongue—his signature move.
The golden blast slammed into Kenpachi…
Only for the maniac to grab the Cero and throw it away with one hand!
Nnoitra was floored.
He'd thought he was finally fighting a normal opponent—but this was no normal man.
As Kenpachi emerged from the shadows, Nnoitra felt a flicker of fear rise in his heart.
But being the stubborn bastard he was, he refused to back down.
He threw aside his broken scythe and charged with his bare hands.
In a twist of fate, his punch struck Kenpachi's eye-patch—and knocked it off.
In that instant, Kenpachi's spiritual pressure exploded!
His next slash tore Nnoitra to shreds.
The full force of Kenpachi's suppressed power was now unleashed.
It wasn't quite at Nel's absurd level, but it wasn't anything to scoff at either.
Ichigo watched with a grin. "He's gotten stronger. But… still not quite on my level."
Nel nodded. In her heart, Ichigo was the strongest.
Nnoitra lay on the sand, stunned.
First, Ichigo humiliated him.
Then Nel awakened her true power.
Now Kenpachi—the walking monstrosity of raw reiatsu.
What the hell was this lineup?
What kind of cursed matchup system threw all the monsters at him?
But Nnoitra wasn't ready to give up.
"Your power may be overwhelming… but I still have one move left!"
Golden reiatsu surged around him.
Gripping his broken scythe, he roared, "Pray… Santa Teresa!"
His spiritual pressure swept across the desert—still far less than Nel's, but enough to match Kenpachi.
Yachiru, who had been watching from afar, couldn't even stand up under the pressure.
Thankfully, Orihime and Nel were completely shielded by Ichigo's protective aura.
But Orihime still felt it.
Now transformed, Nnoitra bore a crescent horn on his head, yellow markings on his face, and teeth-shaped armor covering his Hollow hole.
His two arms had become four.
All injuries were gone, and each hand now wielded a giant scythe.
Seeing this, Kenpachi's eyes lit up with joy.
Yes. This was the kind of enemy worth cutting down.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Kenpachi roared as he charged, blade swinging with deadly glee!
But now, Nnoitra had four arms.
And how was one sword supposed to beat four scythes?
The answer?
It wasn't going to be easy…
(End of Chapter)
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