~ Next Bonus, 100!
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Two days later, Baraggan sent word to Shin—Coyote Starrk had been found.
"It seems Baraggan is quite efficient. If I hadn't wiped out his subordinates, he probably would have found him even sooner," Shin remarked.
Taking Yoruichi with him, Shin headed toward the location where Coyote Starrk was reportedly staying.
"Shin, aren't you worried that Baraggan is lying to you? What if he's leading us into a trap or a dangerous area to ambush you?" Yoruichi asked, a hint of concern in her voice.
"That's not something you need to worry about. Do you really think Baraggan has the nerve to try that? Besides, even if he did, I have no reason to be afraid."
With Shin's current level of power, he simply couldn't find a reason to fear anything in this world. If anyone should be afraid, it was Baraggan.
"I'm still uneasy, but since you're so confident, I'll let it drop," Yoruichi said, suppressing her doubts.
In truth, Baraggan had considered setting an ambush for Shin. However, the moment he recalled Shin's terrifying power, he abandoned the idea immediately.
The logic was simple: if he made a move against Shin Uzumaki, he would definitely die. If he didn't, he still had a chance to live. The choice was obvious.
Following the intelligence provided by Baraggan, Shin successfully located Coyote Starrk.
Starrk was also surprised to see Shin and Yoruichi. He hadn't expected Soul Reapers to invade Hueco Mundo, let alone run straight into him.
Shin looked at Coyote Starrk with a flicker of surprise as well. Currently, Starrk was alone.
His Fracción, Lilynette Gingerbuck, had not yet appeared. In reality, Lilynette and Starrk were originally one being. Because his power was too immense and his solitude too profound, he had split his soul to create her, dividing his power in the process.
The Coyote Starrk standing before them now was his whole, undivided self—Starrk at his absolute peak.
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"Are you here to deal with me?" Starrk asked, looking at Shin and Yoruichi.
"Yeah, you could say we're here to deal with you. Being a natural-born Arrancar is quite impressive," Shin nodded.
Saying he was there to "deal with" Starrk wasn't exactly wrong. Shin wanted to test his mettle against him. If this were the version of Starrk who had already split his soul into Lilynette, Shin wouldn't have been nearly as interested.
While the split Starrk remained powerful, he couldn't compare to his current, complete state.
"To become an Arrancar naturally... I have to admit, your potential is incredibly high," Shin said, looking at Starrk with a touch of appreciation.
"Is an Arrancar someone who can use powers similar to a Zanpakutō?" Yoruichi couldn't help but ask Shin.
At this point, Yoruichi didn't know much about Arrancars—her knowledge was limited to what she was seeing.
"Well, you could say that," Shin nodded slightly.
Without undergoing Arrancarization, a Hollow certainly couldn't use a Resurrección, which was essentially equivalent to releasing a Zanpakutō.
"I didn't expect Hollows to possess such power. If this becomes widespread, we Soul Reapers are going to be at a disadvantage," Yoruichi said with some worry.
Shin wasn't worried. The Bleach world essentially had three major factions: Soul Reapers, Hollows, and Quincies. As for Fullbringers and normal humans, they were negligible.
While Fullbringers possessed some unique and broken abilities, they were exceedingly rare.
As for humans... technically, Soul Reapers, Hollows, and Quincies could all trace their origins back to humanity or human souls.
Initially, one might think the Hollows' power was overwhelming, but once the top-tier Soul Reapers got involved, it was clear the Soul Society held the upper hand.
If Old Man Yamamoto truly decided to act, he could wipe out Hueco Mundo single-handedly.
Of course, Yamamoto wouldn't do that. If Hueco Mundo were destroyed, the balance of souls would collapse, and the entire world would fall into chaos. The World of the Living, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo had to maintain a balance—otherwise, the consequences would be catastrophic—total annihilation wasn't out of the question.
Shin's primary goal in seeking out Coyote Starrk was to acquire his power. Starrk's Los Lobos (The Wolf Pack) ability was formidable.
"Kick about, Los Lobos."
Coyote Starrk released his Resurrección.
In the original timeline, Starrk needed to merge with Lilynette to enter his released state because she was essentially his Zanpakutō. But right now, he didn't need that. He relied entirely on himself.
"Come on then. Let me see what you can do," Shin said, completely unfazed by the opponent's transformation.
Starrk's power was undeniable. His Cero Metralleta could fire a thousand Ceros in an instant.
Starrk wasn't one for talking. Hearing that Shin was there to cause trouble, he chose to attack immediately.
Seeing Starrk raise his guns, Shin raised an eyebrow slightly. He lifted his own hand.
"Bakudō #81: Dankū (Splitting Void)."
This was one of Shin's favorite defensive Kidō. When he used it, it could block almost any attack.
"Cero Metralleta."
In an instant, an endless barrage of Ceros fired toward Shin and Yoruichi. However, the transparent barrier of Dankū stood as an impenetrable wall before them. Breaking it anytime soon was a pipe dream.
Countless blasts slammed into the barrier, but they were all stopped dead. Not a single scratch reached Shin.
"It seems your Ceros are a bit weak. They can't even crack my defense," Shin commented to Starrk.
Shin's expression remained calm, but Yoruichi was startled. The attack was terrifying—the sheer volume of Ceros was overwhelming. If it were her standing there, blocking it would have been incredibly difficult.
Just because Starrk fired many Ceros didn't mean their individual power was diluted. In fact, the destructive power of each blast was significant.
[System, copy Coyote Starrk's power,] Shin commanded silently in his mind.
He had to copy Starrk's power. Passing up such an ability would be a disservice to himself.
Shin's spiritual pressure was already far greater than Starrk's. He could spam Jakuhō Raikōben (Soi Fon's Bankai) infinitely, turning it into a weapon of mass destruction. Imagine what he could do with Los Lobos.
In Shin's hands, every single shot from the Cero Metralleta might hit with the force of a Jakuhō Raikōben. Unleashing that would basically be world-ending.
Well, that was Shin's theory, but the reality shouldn't be far off.
Consuming a Divine Replication Card, Shin perfectly copied Coyote Starrk's power.
At this moment, Starrk, still firing his guns, had no idea his power had already been stolen. He was currently focused on trying to figure out how to breach the Dankū barrier.
If he couldn't break the defense, he couldn't touch Shin.
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