Not only did one of Nnoitra's arms block Kenpachi's attack, but the second arm on the same side swung back immediately, slashing Kenpachi and knocking him to the ground!
Seeing Kenpachi fall and stay down, Nnoitra thought his move had finished him off.
He began walking toward Yachiru, not far away.
He knew she was Kenpachi's lieutenant. Since Kenpachi had taken out his Fracción, it was only right for him to take out Kenpachi's subordinate too!
But before Nnoitra could take more than two steps, Kenpachi's monstrous reiatsu erupted behind him like a demon's breath!
In a flash, one of Nnoitra's arms was severed by a single swing from behind.
Kenpachi walked forward, a deep wound slashed across his chest.
"Don't just go picking fights with other people… Our battle isn't over yet. I was just lying there, thinking about how to deal with your four arms," he said casually.
"…You came up with something?" Nnoitra asked, genuinely curious what kind of miraculous plan Kenpachi had devised.
And sure enough…
"Not really. I'll just go harder," Kenpachi said.
Ichigo nearly faceplanted. So that's the brilliant plan you came up with while lying on the ground?!
But hearing that, Nnoitra actually started laughing.
"Hahahaha! Then you're going to be disappointed!" he roared, golden reiatsu flaring as his severed arm began regenerating!
Like a high-speed time-lapse, the limb regrew instantly, perfectly matching the original!
It wasn't as fast as Ulquiorra's regeneration, but it still exceeded most Arrancar.
Even Nel, a Vasto Lorde, had given up the ability for High-Speed Regeneration. For Nnoitra to retain some of it was a rare trait.
Not every Hollow could evolve like Ulquiorra—keeping regeneration and gaining tremendous power.
Fully healed, Nnoitra picked up his scythe and launched another fierce assault with his four arms.
But now that Kenpachi had seen through Nnoitra's patterns, defending wasn't difficult anymore.
He still swung his Zanpakutō one-handed and parried the attacks effortlessly.
Nnoitra gritted his teeth and used all his strength to knock Kenpachi away with one heavy strike—but in the blink of an eye, Kenpachi used shunpo to reappear, grabbed Nnoitra's head, and slammed it into a pillar!
Ichigo nodded, sensing the remaining spiritual pressure from both fighters. "Looks like Nnoitra isn't going to beat Kenpachi."
But Nel frowned. "No… Ichigo, I have a bad feeling. Something's still off."
Ichigo looked puzzled and turned his gaze back to the battlefield.
Kenpachi had one hand pressed down on all four of Nnoitra's arms, steadily increasing the pressure. He was clearly winning.
But then—something pierced through Kenpachi's body.
Nnoitra smirked. One of his hidden arms had stabbed Kenpachi clean through!
Nel's eyes widened. "That's it! Nnoitra is a mantis! He doesn't just have four arms—he has six!"
Ichigo sighed. "Bit late for that, Nel."
Yachiru watched with worry. No one had expected that move.
Even so, the sneak attack still couldn't completely take Kenpachi down.
Just like during his fight with Ichigo—despite a hole being torn through his chest, Kenpachi suppressed the bleeding with his reiatsu and kept going!
Not only that, he was even grinning—genuinely excited.
But to Nnoitra, that smile was unbearable.
Even though he'd wounded Kenpachi more… Even though Kenpachi had bled more… there was zero fear in him!
He was completely immersed in the fight!
That expression—pure, unfiltered joy. It shouldn't be on the face of someone already winning!
That's what it meant to fight someone who didn't care about dying.
In Nnoitra's eyes, Kenpachi was no longer a Shinigami.
He was something worse than a Hollow. A monster.
"Die already!!" Nnoitra roared, unleashing all his spiritual power.
Six arms whirled like a storm. He overpowered Kenpachi's blade and carved a deep gash across his neck!
Orihime gasped in shock.
Ichigo nearly activated Tensa Zangetsu on the spot!
But Kenpachi just said calmly, "I don't want to die yet… Guess I'll have to use it. The swordsmanship the old man taught me."
Ichigo's head filled with question marks. Swordsmanship?
That word did not match anything he knew about Kenpachi.
And yet… Kenpachi adopted a formal kendo stance, both hands gripping his Zanpakutō.
He stared at Nnoitra and said, "Hey, Hollow. Do you know the difference between using one hand and two?"
Nnoitra sneered. "How the hell should I know something like that?"
Kenpachi took a deep breath. "The difference… is massive."
Nnoitra thought it was just more nonsense and launched himself at Kenpachi, reiatsu surging to its peak.
"Kendō—Dual Strike!" Kenpachi bellowed.
He brought down his Zanpakutō with both hands in a devastating slash!
BOOOM!
The sound echoed like an earthquake.
Nnoitra charged straight into the blow—and was obliterated.
The crescent horn on his head cracked. The arms on his back snapped. His entire body was nearly cleaved in two!
And even then—he didn't die.
Kenpachi stared at the barely breathing Nnoitra, struggling to stay alive.
Deciding not to deliver the final blow, Kenpachi turned to leave.
But to Nnoitra, that was the ultimate insult.
PTSD from Nel's mercy kicked in hard.
"HEY!! You're just going to walk away?! Give me the finishing blow, you bastard!!" Nnoitra screamed.
He forced himself to stand, blood pouring from his wounds. Kenpachi paused and glanced back.
He understood.
To Nnoitra, mercy was humiliation.
If that's what he wanted… then so be it.
Kenpachi raised his sword.
The final strike.
And with it—Nnoitra's life ended completely.
In those final moments, memories flooded back.
Back then, he and Nel had followed Aizen's orders, searching for Vasto Lordes.
During those missions, Nnoitra had ruthlessly killed every Hollow he encountered.
Nel, unable to accept the senseless slaughter, scolded him.
He challenged her, but Nel refused to fight, calling him a child.
Later, he was attacked by powerful Hollows, defeated—and saved by Nel, the one he looked down on.
To him, that was true humiliation.
Dying by Kenpachi's hand… maybe it was what he'd wished for all along.
Even as he died, he stared at Nel.
But this time—Nel didn't save him.
She just rested quietly on Ichigo's shoulder… watching his soul fade.
——
Some time earlier…
After defeating the No.105 Arrancar, Uryū and Chad continued their search for Orihime.
This time, luck was on their side—they reunited with Renji.
Together, the three stumbled into the trap of the Octava Espada: Szayelaporro.
Unlike the other Espada, Szayelaporro was originally the Zero Espada—a true Vasto Lorde.
But his beliefs were unique.
He thought the heart of a warrior compromised scientific focus.
So, to eliminate all distractions, he divided himself—separating out his "warrior heart."
That fragment had once been Ilforte Granz—Grimmjow's Fracción who fought Renji in the World of the Living.
They were once the same being.
Because of this, Szayelaporro had dropped out of the Espada ranks.
But thanks to his research and mastery of his powers, he regained Adjuchas-level strength and rejoined the Espada as No.8.
Now, Uryū and the others were facing that Espada.
With his bizarre experiments, strange gadgets, and anti-Bankai room, Szayelaporro had them completely on the ropes.
Renji even tried a human bomb-like Hadō spell, but it barely scratched him.
These types of weird scientist enemies are the hardest to deal with—unless you take them out instantly, they just keep torturing you.
Eventually, Renji and Uryū resorted to suicidal tactics—finally pissing him off.
"Sip… Evil Lust!"
Before their shocked eyes, Szayelaporro devoured his own Fracción.
Then his body swelled and ruptured.
His lower half transformed into tentacles, which coiled and reformed into robes. Four wings sprouted behind him, and colored patterns filled his eye sockets.
As expected of a former Vasto Lorde, even in Resurrección, he still looked human.
In fact, the more advanced a Hollow becomes, the more human-like they become.
Look at No.1—Starrk. Even his shoes didn't change post-transformation.
Or No.3—Halibel. She barely looked different.
Or No.4—Ulquiorra. His Resurrección just added bat wings.
Vasto Lordes are basically on the evolutionary path back to humanity.
But the moment Szayelaporro finished transforming, he released a flood of black liquid from his back.
Uryū and the others were immediately on guard. Who knew what kind of trap this was?
"Get back! Don't let it touch you!" Uryū warned the others.
But the room was too small. Even dodging at full effort, the black liquid touched all three of them.
And the moment it did—it transformed into exact copies of them!
If not for the purple markings on their faces, they'd be indistinguishable from the originals.
"Hahahaha! This is the power of Evil Lust! What's it like, facing perfect versions of yourselves?" Szayelaporro laughed.
Renji immediately lashed out with Zabimaru.
But the copy didn't dodge—it just stood there, taking the hit and getting split in two!
Renji grinned. "Tch! Not so tough, huh?"
But Uryū and Chad's expressions darkened.
"Renji… look," Uryū said, pointing to the puddle.
The two halves of black liquid each morphed into new Renjis.
"Damn it… This just got messy," Renji muttered.
Uryū and Chad now didn't dare strike their clones carelessly.
If they kept multiplying…
And just because they hesitated—didn't mean the clones would.
(End of Chapter)
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