Being defeated by Nelliel was, in itself, a disgrace for Nnoitra.
Having his life spared by Nelliel over and over again made Nnoitra feel worse than death.
What Nnoitra disliked most about Nelliel was her smile devoid of killing intent and her overly naive dreams.
They were Hollows!
A Hollow for a day, a Hollow for life!
The instinct of Hollows was to fight, to slaughter, to devour.
This was the meaning of a Hollow's existence.
The Hollow hole on their bodies was proof of their incomplete souls.
Throughout their lives, Hollows sought something to fill the emptiness in their hearts.
But Nelliel was different from all other Hollows.
She disliked meaningless battles and rejected killing the weak.
Even though Nnoitra provoked her multiple times, she never killed him.
But now, Nelliel was showing killing intent towards him, which was what excited Nnoitra the most.
Whether he killed Nelliel or died by her hand, Nnoitra could accept either outcome.
"Die!"
Swinging the huge, figure-eight-shaped crescent scythe, Nnoitra slashed at Nelliel from the air.
Clang!
Nelliel instantly drew the Zanpakuto at her waist, blocking the center of the figure-eight scythe.
"Nnoitra, all these years, you don't seem to have improved much!"
With a casual swing, Nelliel directly repelled Nnoitra.
Then, her figure flashed, appearing right in front of Nnoitra, kicking him in the abdomen.
"Pfft-"
Nelliel's original Hollow form was that of an antelope.
Kicking was one of Nelliel's most proficient fighting styles.
This kick directly bent Nnoitra into a '>' shape, making him spit out some blood.
"This woman's strength is much stronger than over a decade ago!"
After just one exchange, Nnoitra knew from Nelliel's attack that there was still a significant gap between their current strengths.
His Hierro was the strongest among the Espada.
Even the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, who was only one rank lower, couldn't break his defense without releasing.
But just now, Nelliel only needed one kick to make him spit blood.
This level of power was far beyond what he could match.
"Damn it!"
"Pray - Santa Teresa!"
Seeing Nelliel's figure appear again, Nnoitra roared and uttered his Resurrección incantation.
Boom-
Yellow Reiatsu erupted from Nnoitra. The figure-eight-shaped crescent scythe in his hand instantly transformed into a 7-shaped double-edged scythe.
Two additional arms grew from Nnoitra's shoulders, each holding a double-edged scythe.
And on Nnoitra's head, crescent moon-shaped horns also appeared.
Swish swish swish swish-
Nnoitra's four arms swung, making the scythes form an impenetrable wall of blades, forcing the approaching Nelliel back.
Seeing Nnoitra release so quickly, both Yammy and Ulquiorra turned their attention to the battlefield.
No matter what, Nnoitra was the Quinto Espada. Although the strength gap with the top four Espada was significant, he was not someone ordinary beings could compare to.
:Ha!"
Clang clang clang clang!
A series of sparks erupted between Nelliel and Nnoitra.
Although Nelliel's sword was much smaller compared to Nnoitra's scythes, and Nnoitra now had four arms, quadrupling his attack frequency...
Nnoitra did not gain any advantage in his fight with Nelliel.
On the contrary, he was still the one being suppressed by Nelliel.
'Nelliel's swordsmanship is much stronger than a decade ago!'
'Moreover, her fighting style has changed quite a bit.'
'Damn it!'
Nnoitra roared inwardly.
Over a decade ago, he had to team up with Szayelaporro, make Nelliel see the tragic state of her Fracción, and then ambush her to severely injure Nelliel.
Over a decade later, standing before Nelliel again, he was still the weaker side.
This made Nnoitra feel like he hadn't made much progress over these years.
"Kill!"
Boom
After roaring, two more arms grew from Nnoitra's back. Six scythes swung, pressing towards Nelliel with an even more dense barrage than before.
"Hee… yah!"
Nelliel retreated. Pink Reiatsu erupted from her sword.
Swish swish swish-
As Nelliel swung, pink slashes flew out, clashing with Nnoitra's scythes.
Boom!!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom boom boom-
Under these pink slashes, Nnoitra's scythes were directly deflected. Then, more pink slashes slammed into Nnoitra's body, blasting him away.
"Hah!"
"That guy Nnoitra is too weak!"
Seeing Nnoitra being beaten down by Nelliel, unable to gain any advantage even after releasing, Yammy couldn't help but mock.
"Ulquiorra, let's leave this place to Nnoitra. We'll continue forward to capture that guy from the City of Daylight."
"I'm sorry, but under that person's orders, we will stop you here."
Before Ulquiorra could speak, Rudbornn appeared in front of Yammy and Ulquiorra, drawing his Zanpakuto.
"Oh? I remember you."
Seeing Rudbornn, Yammy narrowed his eyes.
"You, weren't you the one who handled those trash for Aizen-sama before?"
"I wondered when you died. Turns out you betrayed Aizen-sama."
"What?"
"Do a weakling like you also want to stop me?"
"Don't forget, you're only Arrancar No. 61, not even a three-digit. How could you possibly be a match for me?"
The numbering of Arrancars in Hueco Mundo is based on strength.
Numbers 1 to 10 are the ten strongest Espada in Las Noches.
Afterwards, if an Espada is defeated, a batch number is added in front of their original number.
For example, Espada from the first batch, after being defeated, would become three-digit Arrancars like No.101, No.102, No.103.
Although these three-digit Arrancars sound like their numbers are towards the back, their strength should not be underestimated.
After all, they were former Espada.
Two-digit Arrancars like Rudbornn are numbers given to trash who aren't even qualified to be Espada candidates.
Of course, because Rudbornn's ability was valued by Aizen, making him the leader of the Hueco Mundo's Exequias, it shows that although Rudbornn isn't an Espada, his strength is also quite extraordinary.
There were former Espada who betrayed Aizen and were eliminated by Rudbornn fighting one against three.
"Yammy-sama, without trying, how do you know I can't stop you?"
"This ability of mine was recognized by that person as a 'god-like ability'!"
That's right. The reason Rudbornn was persuaded to defect by Kyoya was precisely because Kyoya acknowledged his [Calavera] ability as a 'god-like ability'.
In Las Noches, although Rudbornn believed his ability was 'god-like', clearly, Aizen did not think so.
Otherwise, Rudbornn wouldn't be No.61, but No.6.
Because he couldn't gain Aizen's recognition for a long time, even though Rudbornn's strength surpassed some of the lower-ranked Espada, he couldn't obtain the title of [Espada].
Therefore, in Rudbornn's heart, he held immense admiration for the Espada recognized by Aizen.
After being abducted by Kyoya, Kyoya acknowledged his 'god-like ability' and stated directly that his strength was not inferior to the Espada, making him his right-hand man to manage the City of Daylight alongside Nelliel.
One could say that with Kyoya, Rudbornn received the respect and recognition he couldn't get from Aizen.
In such circumstances, Rudbornn directly pledged allegiance to Kyoya, becoming the Chief Executive Officer of the City of Daylight.
Ulquiorra is the Fourth Espada, Yammy is the Tenth Espada.
Both of them are very strong.
But, it's not that they can't be fought!
"Hahaha, interesting, interesting!"
Yammy laughed, but there was not a trace of amusement in his eyes.
Then, Yammy violently threw a punch with his left fist.
Boom!
A red energy sphere was instantly launched by Yammy, swiftly flying towards Rudbornn.
This was Yammy's favorite move… Bala!
Although in terms of power, Bala is far inferior to Cero.
But in terms of firing speed, Bala is twenty times faster than Cero.
That means, in the time it takes another Menos to fire one Cero, Yammy can fire twenty Balas!
This move is very effective against Hollows with low defense and ordinary Shinigami.
Boom!
Facing Yammy's Bala, Rudbornn drew his Zanpakuto and directly slashed down-
Swish-
The Bala was directly split in two by Rudbornn, flying past his sides and finally exploding upon hitting the ground.
Boom boom!
"Useless probing."
"Yammy-sama, such moves pose no threat to me."
"No, I should say, you pose no threat to me."
"Oh?"
"You really dare to say that!"
A trace of savagery flashed in Yammy's eyes.
Previously, during the mission to the Living World, his arm was severed by Ichigo, which caused some doubt about his position as the Diez Espada.
Right before being called out by Ulquiorra for this mission, Yammy had just dealt with a few guys who wanted to challenge him, thinking his strength had declined.
Good grief, one after another, they couldn't see the situation clearly.
It's true Yammy lost an arm, but that didn't mean any random nobody could defeat him.
Among the other Espada, aside from the two top-ranked guys, who did Yammy fear?
Even Starrk and Baraggan, once Yammy accumulated enough anger and reached his peak, would just be a matter of one punch each.
Now, even trash like Rudbornn dared to challenge him!
"I hope your strength is as tough as your mouth. That way, I can properly vent my anger."
Saying this, Yammy drew his own Zanpakuto and roared loudly-
"Rage - Ira!"
Boom!
Immense Reiatsu erupted from Yammy's body.
His Zanpakuto dissolved into Reishi and merged into Yammy's body, causing Yammy's size to abruptly increase.
Boom!
The over-ten-meter-tall Yammy crashed to the ground. His missing right arm made Yammy roar again. Red Reiatsu erupted from his body, causing Yammy's size to continue growing.
Seeing this, Ulquiorra's figure flashed, leaving the battlefield.
Rudbornn looked into the distance from within his skull, seeing that Ulquiorra had no intention of bypassing him to head towards the City of Daylight, so he focused his attention on Yammy.
"This Reiatsu, and this form..."
"So strong!"
Yammy, after his size surged again, was already forty to fifty meters tall, and his lower body was nearly a hundred meters long.
Now, even if Yammy just stood on the ground, his head was much higher than Rudbornn flying in the air.
"Insect, have you prepared how you want to die?"
Raising his left hand high, Yammy grinned savagely at Rudbornn.
Boom!
This punch carried the momentum of a meteorite falling to earth.
The fist, the size of a small hill, with just the air pressure, blasted a huge deep crater in the dune below Rudbornn.
Facing Yammy in this form, even Rudbornn had to give his all.
"Grow - Arbol!"
Boom!
With Rudbornn's low shout, the Zanpakuto in his hand merged into his body, making Rudbornn's lower body elongate downwards like tree roots, burrowing into the ground below.
And Rudbornn's back grew numerous lightning-bolt-shaped branches.
"Come forth, my Calavera Legion!"
Massive Reiatsu was channeled by Rudbornn into the branches on his back. The ends of these branches rapidly blossomed and bore fruit, finally condensing into troops wearing skull masks and white robes.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh-
The moment these Calavera Legion Hollows appeared, they immediately drew the Zanpakuto at their waists and slashed into the air-
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh-
White crescent-shaped slashes flew out like a rainstorm towards Yammy's fist.
The Calavera Legion was Rudbornn's proudest ability.
Because these Calavera Legion soldiers would inherit part of Rudbornn's strength.
The stronger Rudbornn was, the stronger the Calavera Legion would be.
Under Kyoya's command, since Nelliel received Kyoya's swordsmanship guidance, Rudbornn naturally wasn't left out either.
When Rudbornn broke through the [Great Swordsman] level, these Calavera Legion soldiers received an epic-level enhancement.
And this was also the reason Kyoya valued Rudbornn.
Rudbornn was truly someone who could 'be an army by himself'.
There was no problem with him considering his 'god-like' ability.
The problem was only that Rudbornn himself was too weak and couldn't fully unleash this ability's potential.
But Kyoya made Rudbornn's wish come true.
Boom boom boom-