Kazuma didn't react much to the departing Picaro and Cirucci joining the fray.
He just narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold smile playing on his lips.
'So what if Baraggan and Cirucci team up against Batsu'unsai and Neliel?' he mused to himself, his eyes glinting with absolute confidence.
Kazuma was well aware of Baraggan and Cirucci's raw strength, but he also knew that his wife and friend were no pushovers.
Neliel had learned Shunpo and Kidō from him, which had massively enhanced her combat versatility
And Batsu'unsai was a founding Captain of the original Gotei 13—the sheer, bloody weight of that title was not to be underestimated.
However, that wasn't the most crucial factor.
What truly filled Kazuma with confidence for this battle was the seed of stellar Reishi hidden within Batsu'unsai's soul sleep.
Once this mysterious, higher-dimensional power was fully unleashed, it would produce apocalyptic might.
Kazuma firmly believed that as long as Batsu'unsai brought forth that sliver of immortal power, Baraggan would undoubtedly face certain death.
At this thought, Kazuma couldn't help but reveal a smug smile.
He sat quietly on his rock, anticipating the exact moment Batsu'unsai would reveal her true strength and teach the King of Hueco Mundo a very harsh lesson.
The fierce battle raged on, and before long, the surviving Picaro returned to the battlefield with the heavily armed reinforcements: Dordoni, Gantenbainne, and Szayelaporro.
"Oh, reinforcements have finally arrived? So what?" Kazuma still couldn't muster any real interest.
Just then, a leering man with short pink hair, glasses, and golden, reptilian pupils stepped forward, launching an immediate, slimy attack on Batsu'unsai and Neliel's flank.
"Huh?"
Kazuma, who had been enjoying the show, narrowed his eyes.
That creepy appearance... it had to be Szayelaporro Granz.
Looking at Szayelaporro's distinctly lewd expression as he attacked the women, Kazuma was suddenly reminded of the location of the Arrancar's Hollow hole and the twisted nature of his Resurrección ability in the anime.
An involuntary shiver of pure disgust ran down his spine.
'Damn! This guy is seriously twisted. A Hollow hole in THAT exact place... Ugh~'
'And his ability, forcefully impregnating enemies and turning them into liquid to be reborn...'
'Nope. Absolutely not! I can't think about it anymore, i'm going to actually throw up if I do!'
A wave of nausea washed over Kazuma, and he decided it was best to erase Szayelaporro from existence as quickly as possible.
However, when he saw Szayelaporro's golden eyes staring at Batsu'unsai and Neliel with obvious, predatory intent, Kazuma's disgust instantly boiled over into white-hot, homicidal rage.
"Disgusting bastard, i'll execute him first! How dare he look at my wife and my friend with those sickening eyes. I'm going to slaughter him and completely scatter his ashes to the wind."
With that, Kazuma triggered Flash Blink, pouncing toward Szayelaporro faster than a phantom.
However, before Kazuma could even draw his blade, the pink-haired Arrancar sensed the apocalyptic danger.
His leering expression shattered into pure panic, and he rapidly retreated.
He had heard from the Picaro that this Shinigami sitting on the rock was terrifyingly strong.
Although Szayelaporro didn't know why he was suddenly being targeted, he had absolutely no desire to die here.
"Sip, Fornicarás!" Szayelaporro shrieked in absolute panic, forcing his Resurrección immediately to survive.
A dazzling purple light erupted from his body, forming a powerful, desperate Cero that shot straight toward Kazuma with ferocious momentum.
"A Gran Rey Cero? This guy actually has some survival sense, going straight for his ultimate move," Kazuma muttered, his lips curling up slightly.
He casually raised a hand, gathering dense stellar Reishi into a circular, glowing shield.
The shield, acting like an impenetrable, divine barrier, effortlessly absorbed Szayelaporro's desperate attack.
However, when Kazuma lowered the shield and looked at Szayelaporro again, he couldn't help but frown in deep revulsion.
After his Resurrección, Szayelaporro's body had swollen and burst open, revealing a completely grotesque new form.
His lower body had turned into a mass of countless, writhing tentacles, like a giant, mutant octopus.
Then, the tentacles gradually solidified and vanished, replaced by a pair of feet and a long, flowing hem.
From his back sprouted four massive, bulbous wings, with unknown, fleshy objects dangling from them.
Even more startling were the colorful, demonic patterns that had appeared around his eye sockets.
Kazuma felt his stomach literally churn.
"Disgusting! You are utterly revolting," Kazuma cursed, violently forcing down his discomfort.
Kazuma decided to take this nauseating freak out in one blow.
He placed his hand on the hilt of his Zanpakutō, but immediately changed his mind, letting go of the weapon entirely.
'I refuse to kill this filth with Hokushin Raitei. I don't want to get my sword dirty.'
"Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō."
Kazuma raised his hand, instantly slamming six massive rods of light into Szayelaporro's torso.
"How is this possible?! A mere mid-level Bakudō can hold me in my released state?!" Szayelaporro shrieked.
"It shouldn't be! My power is definitely not something that can be restrained by a Shinigami spell of this level!"
He desperately twisted his grotesque body, trying to break free from the blinding restraints, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't even budge.
'Am I going to die here today? Dammit, I still have so many beautiful experiments I haven't completed yet! I can't accept this!' Szayelaporro thought, his heart filling with unwillingness and rage.
He didn't want to die like this!
Kazuma raised a single hand high above his head, and dozens of massive, red orbs of light began to rapidly manifest in the sky around him.
"Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands, unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders. Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, silken treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly. Hadō #91: Senju Kōten Taihō."
The fully-incanted, absolute-destruction Kidō rained down upon the immobilized Szayelaporro like a localized meteor shower.
A cataclysmic explosion instantly occurred at his location, and a massive, blinding mushroom cloud rose high into the false sky of Hueco Mundo.
"Did he... did he really need to use a fully-incanted 90s-level Destructive Kidō just to kill one Hollow?"
At some point, Batsu'unsai, Neliel, and the surviving forces of Las Noches had entirely stopped fighting.
Staring at the towering mushroom cloud, both sides were completely, utterly dumbfounded.
"It's because he was looking at you with that lewd expression, and his released form disgusted me," Kazuma said smoothly, dusting off his hands with a straight face.
"I said I'd completely scatter his ashes to the wind, and I am a man of my word."
Hearing this, Batsu'unsai felt a little touched by his protectiveness, but was mostly just speechless.
"Kazuma... you didn't scatter his ashes. You completely vaporized his entire existence! There is literally not a single dust of him left."
"What's the difference? He's dead either way," Kazuma shrugged casually.
At this moment, Baraggan and his remaining subordinates snapped back to their senses, staring nervously at the monster in the white haori.
"You... didn't you explicitly state you wouldn't interfere?!" Baraggan demanded, sweat pouring down his face.
"I already told you, he was having disgusting, lewd thoughts about my wife, so I had to exterminate him. As for the rest of you, let me think..."
Seeing that Kazuma seemed to be genuinely considering slaughtering the rest of them, Baraggan decided he couldn't hold back any longer.
It was do or die.
"Rot, Arrogante!"
In his Resurrección, Baraggan transformed entirely.
He wore a multi-layered crown, his face and body stripping away to become a terrifying skeleton, and his entire form was cloaked in thick, black flames.
A long, silver chain hung from a corner of his crown, completing the image of the traditional Grim Reaper.
"Respira."
Baraggan opened with his absolute ultimate move.
The black breath of death rushed forward like a tidal wave, and everything in the surroundings—sand, rocks, and even the ambient Reishi—began to rapidly age, rot, and turn into barren dust.
"Out of respect for your position, I suppose I'll actually release my Zanpakutō, though it's really not necessary," Kazuma sighed, finally drawing his blade.
"Pierce the veil of night and rain down the heavenly wrath. Strike, Hokushin Raitei."
The breath of absolute death surged forward like a tsunami, but slammed to a dead halt thirty feet in front of Kazuma, as if it had hit an impenetrable, invisible wall, completely unable to advance another inch.
With a determined, icy gaze, Kazuma stepped forward.
The crushing gravitational pressure of his localized domain swept across the area like a hurricane.
The breath of death, which was supposed to age all things, was physically forced back by the sheer density of Kazuma's stellar Reiatsu, slowly flowing backward toward Baraggan.
Kazuma concentrated his Spiritual Pressure, forming a perfectly smooth, protective barrier around his body.
This shield enveloped him like a bubble, effortlessly warding off the surrounding aura of decay.
Baraggan watched in absolute, stark terror as his own death aura flowed back toward him.
He realized that if he didn't act quickly, his own absolute ability could backfire and rot him to dust.
Desperate, he decided to retract his Respira to avoid being harmed by his own power.
The moment the black fog cleared, Kazuma used Flash Blink to appear directly before him.
Hokushin Raitei clashed heavily with Baraggan's massive axe, producing a crisp, deafening ringing sound.
Just then, two words softly escaped Kazuma's lips.
"Absolute Seal."
His voice was deep and powerful, containing endless, ancient majesty.
As his voice fell, the dense stellar Reishi surrounding his blade flared violently.
At the exact same time, Baraggan felt an unimaginably powerful, suffocating force surge through his very soul.
He discovered with absolute horror that his Resurrección state was being forcibly, violently canceled by the localized gravity, and all of his Hollow abilities were being entirely sealed away.
'It's over. I am going to die here today,' Baraggan thought.
Reverted to his original, unreleased form and completely powerless, his face was ashen with despair.
But the expected death blow never came. Baraggan looked up, confused.
"You're... you're not going to kill me?"
"Did I say I was going to kill you? I don't think so, Bakudō #4: Hainawa." Kazuma used a simple, low-level Kidō rope to bind the powerless King of Hueco Mundo.
He then marched Baraggan over to the massive main gate of Las Noches, hung him up by his ankles, and gave him a sound, utterly humiliating beating.
"I told you I'd hang you up and beat you! Not even the Soul King himself could save you from this thrashing!"
"Batsu'unsai, Neliel, come over here and try it! This feels incredibly therapeutic!" Kazuma called out to the two stunned women.
The surviving Arrancar of Las Noches watched in absolute, traumatized silence.
The terrifying, undisputed King of Hueco Mundo was currently being hung upside down and beaten like a cheap piñata by a man in a white haori.
After a thorough, deeply humiliating thrashing, Kazuma dusted off his hands.
"Baraggan, I said I wouldn't kill you, but you did attack me. Now, you have a choice. Offer me your absolute loyalty, or I vaporize you like Szayelaporro. Death or submission, you choose."
Baraggan's face was deeply bitter, his pride completely shattered. "I... I will submit. It's better to live a miserable life than to die a meaningless death."
"Good! Remember this, Baraggan, other Shinigami or twisted schemers might come to Hueco Mundo in the future trying to take your throne. If you can't handle them yourself, you can contact me. After all, you are my subordinate now, and I protect what's mine."
Having completely subdued the King of Las Noches, Kazuma, Batsu'unsai, and Neliel left the fortress, continuing to wander the endless dunes of Hueco Mundo, keeping an eye out for Kuruyashiki and Ashido along the way.
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