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[Anime] Ch 275: Let's Inform Lord Aizen
🕑 Added 2025-05-31 15:59:26 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
Fragments of spirit energy scattered like dust from Midoriko's palm, vanishing into the wind. She looked up at Tier Harribel with her usual gentle smile.
But right now, to Harribel, that smile felt like a bottomless abyss—chilling and suffocating.
"Impossible…" Harribel's knuckles whitened as she gripped her sword, Tiburón.
Her Ola Azul had just been crushed? By bare hands?
No weapons, no tricks—just her body.
Harribel's expression turned grim.
Still, if she was that strong physically, why bother setting up a barrier beforehand?
Was it—A bluff? To throw her off?
Harribel frowned, trying to puzzle it out.
On the other side, Midoriko's golden aura suddenly flared up. Her shrine maiden robe fluttered as though caught in a wind that wasn't there.
She slowly raised her right hand. At her fingertip, a talisman pulsed with blue light.
"My turn," she said softly.
The moment she released it, Harribel's pupils shrank.
That seemingly light, fluttering paper charm sliced through the air like a shrieking arrow, evaporating every trace of spirit energy in its path!
Instinctively, Harribel raised Tiburón to block it—
BOOM!!!
The collision between the talisman and her giant blade felt like getting hit by a meteor.
Tiburón let out a tortured groan, and spiderweb cracks spread across its surface.
The sheer force of the impact sent Harribel flying hundreds of meters back. She barely managed to stop herself using her reiatsu.
"Ugh…" Harribel dropped to one knee mid-air, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She looked down at her beloved Zanpakutō—her partner in countless battles—now gashed with a deep, terrifying fracture.
From afar, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez swallowed hard. "The Tres Espada's Zanpakutō… almost shattered in one hit?"
Ulquiorra Cifer's emerald eyes flickered with unease. "Strange."
He stared at Midoriko. There was a strange feeling—like something terrible would happen the moment you got too close.
What was she?
Midoriko met Harribel's gaze and said quietly, "I told you—my power has a bit of an advantage against you."
A bit? Harribel looked down at Tiburón, its blade corroded like it had been splashed with acid, and her eye twitched.
"Purification," Midoriko continued. "That's my ability."
Then she added, with a cheerful smile:
"Specifically—purification that targets soul-based beings~"
Every Espada present felt a chill shoot down their spine.
"Targets… soul-based beings?" Grimmjow's jaw dropped.
Soul-based…?
That's… them. That's what they were!
A perfect counter.
But—How the hell is that just "a bit" of an advantage?!
Grimmjow blinked and mimicked a gesture like a tiny pinch with his fingers, speechless.
"Soul-targeting purification." Harribel stood frozen, stunned by the revelation.
So that's what it was.
She glanced at her broken blade and whispered, "No wonder it turned out like this…"
Zanpakutōs… have souls, too.
"I'm sorry, Tiburón," she murmured apologetically. Then she looked up, eyes sharp again. "But…"
"The fight's not over yet. It's not time for you to rest."
Her voice was resolute, her gaze locked firmly onto Midoriko.
Midoriko could tell—this alone wasn't going to make Harribel surrender.
"In that case…"
"Aramitama: Night Parade of 100 Demons."
As Midoriko murmured the incantation, countless pale ghostly hands shot out from a magic circle around her. Each hand pulsed with purifying energy, like sharks drawn to blood, all of them reaching toward Harribel!
"Damn it!" Harribel's eyes widened. She ignored her injuries and pushed off with all her strength to retreat.
But the hands were faster.
Within a blink, they were just three meters behind her.
The lead hand brushed her cloak—and it disintegrated, burned away to ash by the purifying force.
At the last possible second, Harribel's eyes gleamed with resolve.
She suddenly spun and stabbed Tiburón into the water conjured earlier by Ingvild Leviathan.
"Cascada!"
BOOM—
The water exploded upward as spirit energy was forcefully extracted from it, forming dozens of high-pressure water pillars.
They blasted into the swarm of ghostly hands, finally slowing their advance.
Seeing this, Harribel let out a small breath of relief.
If she had been caught by those purifying hands… she didn't even want to imagine the result.
But—This wasn't over yet.
That purification ability…
Harribel gritted her teeth. It was worse than Baraggan's decay—it was absolute torment for someone like her.
No—Not just for Hollows. Even Shinigami would be terrified of that kind of power.
After all…Spirits aren't just Hollows.
Shinigami are spirits too.
How would Aizen handle something like this?
No—Now's not the time to think about Aizen!
Harribel snapped back to focus, using the water pillars as cover. She raised Tiburón high, eyes shining with determination.
Her massive blade shimmered with moisture, the ridges along its surface glowing like shark gills.
Then, like a cannon, a torrent of water blasted out with tremendous speed, piercing through the pillars and shooting straight toward Midoriko!
Midoriko's expression didn't change. She casually tossed out a few talismans in its path.
SPLASH—
As soon as the water hit the talismans, it collapsed midair, drizzling down harmlessly.
"Dammit," Harribel muttered, annoyed. "So these little tricks don't work on you, huh…"
"If that's all you've got," Midoriko said with a carefree tone, "then this little bet of ours might end sooner than you think~"
She was relaxed.
Even though Harribel was easily at the level of an Ultimate-Class devil in terms of raw magical power…
Midoriko had the one thing that trumped everything—Innate soul-based purification.
It was like a cat playing with mice.
Against Hollows or Shinigami, this wasn't just an edge—it was domination.
And besides—Midoriko wasn't the only one here with powers like this.
Thinking of that, she glanced in Yotsuya Miko's direction.
Seeing her busy grinding through some minions, Midoriko didn't bother watching any longer.
...
Back on the battlefield…
Harribel clenched Tiburón, staring in silence for a few moments before speaking in a complicated tone:
"Well damn…"
"Guess I was underestimated after all."
A faint blue glow shimmered at the tip of Midoriko's finger, the spell tag in her hand radiating purifying energy. She looked calmly at Harribel, whose expression was tense. Her voice was gentle, almost regretful.
"Give it up. Your Zanpakutō won't survive another hit."
Harribel wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her blade—Tiburón—riddled with cracks that screamed defeat. She took a deep breath, then suddenly stabbed the massive sword into the ground.
"You think… this is over?"
A tremendous surge of Reiatsu exploded from her body, making the surrounding seawater boil violently. Midoriko furrowed her brow, instantly deploying a triple-layered barrier in front of herself.
"Cero Ola Azul!"
Harribel gripped the hilt with both hands, and a golden beam shot from the tip of her sword, distorting the very air it passed through.
Midoriko didn't flinch. She tossed seven glowing spell tags into the air.
The golden and blue energies clashed midair in a blinding explosion of light. Taking advantage of the flash, Harribel used Sonído to instantly appear behind Midoriko, Tiburón aimed straight at her heart.
But just three inches away from hitting its mark, the blade froze mid-air—caught in the grasp of a massive hand made entirely of pure purifying energy.
"Sorry…"
Midoriko turned her head to look at Harribel, her tone soft.
"My powers… aren't exactly fair to you."
Even as she said that, her actions showed no mercy.
With a snap of her fingers, hundreds of talismans burst from her sleeves, weaving into a glowing net that enveloped Harribel. A rain of purification energy fell from the sky like a downpour. Harribel let out a pained grunt and dropped to one knee.
Hssssss—!
The sound of burning echoed from her body. Even her Zanpakutō wasn't spared.
Already on the brink of shattering, Tiburón trembled violently under the strain of the attack.
Harribel gripped the hilt tightly, bit her lip, and muttered under her breath, "Tiburón…"
Following such an incompetent master must be suffering, huh?
Frustration twisted in her chest.
Still, she looked up at Midoriko and said sincerely, "There's no such thing as unfairness. I simply wasn't strong enough."
No matter how countered or restricted she was, if her power had been greater, none of this would've mattered.
In the end, she just wasn't strong enough.
Midoriko blinked, a little surprised by Harribel's attitude. "Damn, she's got real warrior spirit."
But then a sly look appeared in her eyes.
"Don't forget you made a promise~"
Harribel's expression stiffened.
The loser becomes the spoils of the victor.
Was she really… going to just accept that?
Harribel's grip tightened on her damaged blade. She wanted to resist. Just a little more.
But looking at the state Tiburón was in—covered in deep gashes and burns—she couldn't bear it. In the end, she lowered her head and said nothing.
Midoriko crouched down in front of her, grinning sweetly. "Silent treatment? I'll take that as a yes~"
It wasn't that she didn't want to respond.
Harribel stared silently at Midoriko, her heart aching for her Zanpakutō.
Noticing the look, Midoriko's eyes drifted to the ruined blade—and she realized something.
With her ability to sense spiritual resonance, she could hear the pained, sorrowful cries echoing from Tiburón's soul.
Midoriko blinked and scratched her cheek with a nervous smile.
Yeah, it's all fun and games when they're the enemy. But if Harribel really joined her familia… became one of her own...
Then what?
How the hell do I explain destroying my new comrade's beloved weapon on our first day together?
Wait a minute, this is a Zanpakutō, right?
Midoriko stared hard at the weapon in Harribel's hand, intrigued.
A weapon with a soul?
It reminded her a bit of her own techniques.
But each Zanpakutō had unique abilities—how exactly did that work?
It felt like she was missing some crucial piece of the puzzle.
Her heart began to race with curiosity.
If she could figure it out, maybe she could finally solve the weapon shortage problem among her retainers!
Huff…
Midoriko exhaled, her eyes shining with anticipation.
Word is: The Soul Society is where Zanpakutō were originally created.
Looks like a little field trip is in order.
— — —
Meanwhile…
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez stared at the defeated Harribel, eyes wide in disbelief.
"She just got taken down like that?!"
They'd always ruled Hueco Mundo with overwhelming power—yet today, they were getting stomped, one after another.
Sure, Nelliel was one thing. She used to be Third Espada, after all.
Taking out Fifth and Eighth Espada in quick succession? That was already pushing it.
But this?
These strangers… what the hell were they after?
He could stomach someone going toe-to-toe with the First Espada, the Primera.
But now even the Second had been taken down—by a random shrine maiden no one had ever heard of?!
Gulp.
Grimmjow felt a cold shiver of unease crawl up his spine.
...
Ulquiorra Cifer stood in silence for a moment, then calmly placed a hand on his sword and stepped forward.
"Enough watching."
Intervening in someone else's fight was dishonorable, sure.
But if they kept letting things play out, they'd get picked off one by one.
He didn't really care about his own pride…
But this was Lord Aizen's territory—and he would allow no threat to remain.
Besides, the Espada were a critical piece in Aizen-sama's next move.
They could not allow anything to derail his plans.
As he thought this, Ulquiorra's emerald eyes grew darker, his Reiatsu beginning to rise.
"Ah—!"
Grimmjow flinched, then quickly caught on. "Right, yeah!"
Yammy Llargo let out a low chuckle. "Well, if that's the case, guess I can't just sit back either."
Ulquiorra glanced sideways at the hulking brute beside him. He didn't say anything.
He also didn't expect much.
Before stepping onto the battlefield, Ulquiorra paused, then said: "Just in case… someone go inform Lord Aizen."
He didn't really think that even all of the Espada together wouldn't be able to handle this.
But there was a gnawing sense of unease in his chest that he couldn't shake.
So best to let Lord Aizen know what was happening in Las Noches, just in case.
If he got involved, then no matter what the problem was.
It would all be handled.
.
.
.
