Nanatsuki stood still, feeling the power coursing through him.
Hollowfication had significantly amplified his Reiatsu.
[Reiatsu Lv.97 (+2)]
With the mask active, his Reiatsu now reached Level 99.
Across all of Seireitei, only one person still stood above him—Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
"Not bad. I've finally surpassed Sōsuke in Hollow mode..." he exhaled in quiet relief.
Being Aizen Sōsuke's teacher came with its own burdens.
One slip, and he'd be overtaken by the student with monstrous talent.
Aizen's growth showed no signs of slowing—no bottlenecks, no plateaus. Just raw, continuous progress.
Nanatsuki had checked his status panel during their last meeting: Aizen's Reiatsu was already at an incredible Level 98—surpassing Nanatsuki's base level.
"The mask holds for about five minutes longer now."
He timed it carefully. Hollowfication now lasted around fifteen minutes.
That was more than enough for an extended battle.
And given how quickly his Reiatsu regenerated, even after the mask wore off, he only needed to stall briefly to summon it again.
"My Hollowfication is at Level 87. Reaching Level 90 will take another 150,000 EXP..."
The disciples were close to mastering Blut Arterie. Once all four completed it, he'd receive around 80,000 EXP in feedback—leaving him just 70,000 short.
He wanted to push Hollowfication to Level 90 before the assault on the Wandenreich.
He had a hunch. Something would change at Level 90—perhaps a qualitative leap that could push his Reiatsu to the ultimate cap: Level 100.
The Wandenreich housed too many formidable foes.
Even if Yamamoto himself took the field, there was no way he could face them all.
Nanatsuki and the other captains would have to fight too.
And some of the Quincy powers… were just too strange. Caution was essential.
"I should strengthen Madarame Ikkaku and Kuchiki Byakuya too."
He'd laid enough foundation with them. It was time to move on to more advanced lessons.
Leaving the training hall, Nanatsuki entered his lab.
Inside were rows of cultivation pods—each containing a Hollow.
Most were Arrancar he'd personally evolved using the Hōgyoku.
But one pod held an exception.
This Hollow wasn't evolved by the Hōgyoku—it was the result of earlier vaccine experiments, born from the failed Hollowfication of a Shinigami.
Its body was clad in pitch-black armor, but its core was a pale, ghostly white. Two horn-like protrusions curled from its head.
Nanatsuki recognized that form instantly.
It was Hollow White—the very Hollow within Kurosaki Ichigo.
"Kurosaki Ichiryū must have been affected by Hollow Poison. But maybe... it wasn't just poison. If my guess is right, then the child Mei is carrying... might be Ichigo's mother."
His mind returned to the conversation with Kurosaki Mei.
Even back then, something about Ichiryū's sudden death felt suspicious—like a string being pulled by an unseen hand.
He doubted it was a coincidence that the mysterious Hollow targeted both Ichiryū and Mei.
Especially since Ichiryū's demeanor shifted drastically after the attack—leading to a sudden, romantic turn in their relationship.
The Soul King's designs were already in motion to bring about Ichigo's birth.
And on this side, Nanatsuki was raising Hollow White.
After checking over the diagnostics, Nanatsuki pressed a button on the control console.
A hatch opened in the lab floor, and the pod containing Hollow White dropped into the underground Sekkiseki training hall.
He hit another switch, releasing several more Arrancar from their pods.
Without the high-dose sedatives of the tanks, the Arrancar quickly regained consciousness.
But they had no idea that a predator was already awake—and watching.
Hollow White let out a feral screech and lunged at the nearest Arrancar.
CHOMP—
It bit off half the creature's head in one vicious snap.
"!!!" The victim screamed in agony, pounding desperately at the beast gnawing into its skull.
It was useless.
Moments later, it collapsed—devoured entirely.
Hollow White's bloodthirsty gaze swept to the others.
The rest of the Arrancar reacted at once. They knew—they had to take this thing down first.
A dozen Ceros launched at once.
BOOM—!
Their combined force shook even the reinforced floor beneath Nanatsuki's feet.
Good thing the training hall was made of Sekkiseki. Otherwise, the blast might've torn the lab apart.
Dust and rubble choked the air.
But none of the Arrancar relaxed.
Hollow White's Reiatsu hadn't weakened.
From within the smoke—red-black light flared.
A terrifying Cero burst through the dust and slammed into the gathered Hollows.
BOOOOM—!!
Its power exceeded that of the combined attack that preceded it.
The blast engulfed the entire group.
A wave of spiritual pressure surged up through the hatch—but was immediately suppressed by a heavy, invisible force.
When the smoke cleared, only one figure remained standing.
Hollow White.
"Stronger again. Its Reiatsu is probably on par with a Vasto Lorde now… Shame it's still so mindless. Otherwise, I'd take it as a disciple."
Nanatsuki observed from above as the beast feasted on torn limbs and broken masks.
This wasn't the first time.
Thanks to the Hōgyoku, Nanatsuki could mass-produce Arrancar—and feed them to Hollow White.
It had grown terrifyingly fast.
Eventually, Hollow White finished its meal.
Its crimson gaze rose—locking onto Nanatsuki through the hatch above.
THUMP—
Its body vanished in a blur, reappearing in front of Nanatsuki an instant later.
"RRRR—!!"
It lunged straight at him.
Nanatsuki calmly raised a hand—and flicked his index finger at its forehead.
THWACK—
The creature flew backward, somersaulting through the air and crashing into the pit below.
It didn't get back up.
He'd knocked it out cold.
"Bloodthirsty beast. No sense of gratitude."
Nanatsuki shook his head lightly.
It had grown powerful so fast—solely because of him.