"You want to try hollowfication into an Arrancar right now?"
Natsuro looked at Ulquiorra with a hint of anticipation.
"All right," Ulquiorra replied earnestly.
Then, before Natsuro and Stark's eyes, Ulquiorra simply reached up and tore at his own mask, ripping it clean off by force.
Beneath the mask was a head of black, tousled hair, chalk-white skin, and the deep green tear-marks running down his face.
"That's it?" Stark said in surprise, almost dumbfounded. If it was really that simple, then splitting his soul to create his twin pistols had made him look like a complete clown…
"No, not that simple. This doesn't count as becoming an Arrancar, because the mask will grow back again. I'm right, aren't I?" Natsuro said, sensing that Ulquiorra's power hadn't really changed.
"Yes. I don't know how to stop it from regenerating," Ulquiorra admitted.
Natsuro turned to Stark, the only one here who had successfully completed the process.
Stark looked a little helpless. "I don't really know either. I just wanted a companion, so I split my soul in half and poured it into my gun… and then somehow the process completed on its own."
"I see." Natsuro nodded. He thought of the Arrancar's "Bankai", their Resurrección.
Resurrección. Return to the blade. If the blade meant weapon, then perhaps when Ulquiorra hollowfied into an Arrancar, he needed to condense his body into a weapon of his own, a Zanpakutō.
Natsuro shared this theory with Stark and Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra considered it, then nodded. Yes, it made sense.
"Then I'll try again," he said. His mask, once torn off, reformed in an instant under his control.
This time, though, he hesitated.
He didn't know what weapon to form. After a long moment, his gaze shifted between Stark's twin pistols and Natsuro's Meikyō Shisui.
In the end, Ulquiorra chose to shape a weapon like Natsuro's. His own fighting style didn't suit Stark's pistols.
Before their eyes, Ulquiorra's mask began to vanish. At the same time, a katana appeared in his hand.
Natsuro pushed his perception to the maximum. Ulquiorra's reiatsu was fluctuating wildly, brimming with Hollow power... yet within it, he sensed something familiar: the power of a Shinigami.
His eyes gleamed. So it's true. The powers of Hollow and Shinigami can be fused.
And it didn't have to be in Ichigo Kurosaki's bizarre, unrepeatable way, his strength had come from too many coincidences to reproduce.
But if Stark and Ulquiorra could break their masks on their own, bridging the line between Hollow and Shinigami, then Shinigami too should have that potential.
Suddenly, a realization struck Natsuro.
Perhaps his own path was closer to Ichigo's than he'd thought. When Meikyō Shisui completed its hollowfication, its nature would be the same as Ichigo's inner "bull-headed" Hollow.
Ichigo had only once lost control and used that form's full power, never again afterward.
But he intended to go further, he would completely integrate Meikyō Shisui's power into himself.
A spark lit his eyes. Maybe… maybe this really can push me past my limits.
But then, Ulquiorra's "Zanpakutō" shattered in his hands, unstable from the start, and the mask that had almost vanished reappeared on his face.
"Failed?" Stark frowned.
"Not exactly. He just hasn't fully grasped the power yet. With practice, he should succeed," Natsuro said.
"Yes. I couldn't quite control the new force that surfaced," Ulquiorra admitted.
His reiatsu dropped sharply, drained by the attempt.
He seemed ready to try again, but Natsuro stopped him.
"Wait until you've fully recovered. There's no rush," he said.
"Understood." Ulquiorra nodded.
Natsuro studied him. Does he really… obey that easily? Was it his imagination?
"So, Natsuro, where are we going next?" Stark asked. With both Natsuro and Ulquiorra at his side, he was satisfied. If they found no more companions, it wouldn't bother him.
"Let's just wander for now," Natsuro said. His goals in Hueco Mundo were already complete, he could leave at any time.
"Are you looking for strong companions?" Ulquiorra asked suddenly.
"That was the goal before. But with you here, it's basically done," Stark replied, yawning. His drive seemed to evaporate at that moment.
"So… we don't need to find more companions?" Ulquiorra looked a little lost.
"You know of strong Hollows nearby?" Natsuro asked, catching the implication.
"Yes. I overheard those who once shunned me. In the very center of the sand sea lies Las Noches. They said a king rules Hueco Mundo from there."
"The King of Hueco Mundo?"
Both Stark and Natsuro were surprised. Could that really be true?
They exchanged glances. They'd roamed the sand sea for ages without finding any such power.
Still, neither suspected Ulquiorra of lying. For as little as they knew him, he seemed… straightforward.
"Natsuro, should we go check it out?" Stark asked.
"Why not? Let's go meet this so-called 'king' of Hueco Mundo." Natsuro's interest was piqued.
"Fine." Stark nodded. The idea intrigued him too. The king of Hueco Mundo, if such a ruler existed, then when had he gained one?
"And by the way," Natsuro asked suddenly, "how's your training gone since I left?"
"Uh…"
Stark felt a chill. He scratched his head, trying to dodge the question, but Natsuro gave him no chance. He drew Meikyō Shisui immediately.
In moments, under a barrage of pure-white sword pressure, Stark was soundly defeated again.
"Seems like you haven't improved much," Natsuro said, sheathing his blade.
"No, it's that you've gotten stronger again…" Stark muttered.
This style of sword pressure was something Natsuro had picked up from Kenpachi Zaraki. Not refined, but brutally simple. Just swing with overwhelming reiatsu, and the resulting shockwaves were devastating.
Against Stark, Natsuro didn't even bother using his blade forms, just this crude style was enough to test him.
And clearly, Stark had spent the past month focused entirely on finding Ulquiorra.
Watching from the side, Ulquiorra's eyes were fixed on Natsuro's sword swings, the crushing reiatsu behind each blow, the absolute oppression of his spiritual pressure.
From the beginning, Ulquiorra had felt Natsuro was powerful. Seeing him now confirmed it.
"Ulquiorra, from now on, you'll spar with Stark for practice. Your powers are closer, you can push each other," Natsuro said.
"All right." Ulquiorra nodded without hesitation.
That was when Stark finally noticed. Something was off.
"Ulquiorra, why do you listen to Natsuro so easily?" he asked.
"Because he's far stronger than me. Listening to the stronger one, is that wrong?" Ulquiorra replied calmly.
At this point, Stark was left speechless. In Hueco Mundo, the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, was perfectly normal.
But somehow, it didn't seem to apply among the three of them anymore.
Natsuro glanced at Ulquiorra and said, "Generally, it's better if you have your own thoughts and opinions too. Companions can't completely dictate your every move."
Ulquiorra nodded, showing he understood.
"Then may I ask, why does your aura feel different from ours?" Ulquiorra finally voiced the question that had been on his mind.
He had noticed it long ago, Natsuro's aura wasn't like his or Stark's. But since Natsuro was far stronger, he hadn't dared to ask until now.
And after what Stark and Natsuro had told him, it seemed safe enough to ask.
"Because I'm a Shinigami," Natsuro replied.
"Shinigami? What's that?" Ulquiorra asked blankly. It was yet another new and strange concept.
Right now, he was fascinated by everything he didn't yet understand.
Since Natsuro had already explained this once before to Stark, Stark took over and described the relationship between Shinigami, humans, and Hollows.
"Then… shouldn't Natsuro be our enemy?" Ulquiorra asked after listening.
"Of course not. Hollows and Shinigami aren't inherently enemies," Stark answered. "As Natsuro explained, if the balance of the three realms breaks, Hueco Mundo itself would be destroyed."
"So the Shinigami are guardians of that balance?" Ulquiorra frowned.
"That's right," Natsuro nodded. "Because the Shinigami side is stronger."
"I see." Ulquiorra nodded. In the end, it always came down to strength.
The three of them then continued toward the center of the desert. With Ulquiorra guiding them, it wouldn't take long this time.
On the way, Stark and Ulquiorra sparred several times. Stark won most of the bouts.
Watching, Natsuro nodded. As expected, without his second Resurrección, Ulquiorra couldn't really be Stark's match.
As for Ulquiorra's progress with becoming an Arrancar, he could now hold the state for quite some time, but the final step still eluded him.
Eventually, the three came upon a palace.
"So this is Las Noches?" Natsuro muttered, a little impressed. Without a guide, it really would have been impossible to find.
"Probably. But there aren't many Hollows around. Is this really the palace of Hueco Mundo's king?" Stark asked, scanning the area curiously. By now, he had at least learned to suppress his reiatsu enough that weaker Hollows didn't instantly collapse under it.
"I only ever heard about it. I'd never actually seen what Las Noches looked like," Ulquiorra said.
"This should be the place. Inside, I can sense a reiatsu at least at the Vasto Lorde level," Natsuro said, eyes narrowing.
"Then let's go see," Stark said. It all felt surreal to him.
For so long, he had wandered alone, unable to find a single companion. And now in such a short time he had found Natsuro, Ulquiorra, and perhaps even whoever was inside this palace.
Of course, there was no guarantee the figure within would become a companion.
The three entered Las Noches. Any Hollows that tried to approach scattered instantly when Stark released even a fraction of his spiritual pressure. None dared block their path.
....
Inside Las Noches...
Natsuro looked around. How to put it… Compared to the endless desert, it was slightly better. But still utterly barren.
Calling this place a palace was generous to the point of flattery. To him, it looked like nothing more than crude stone houses—just larger, with a few simple pillars nearby.
Most of the structure was rough, unpolished rock walls.
Compared to modern buildings, no, even compared to primitive ones... it was laughably crude.
But they hadn't come here for architecture. Soon, the three of them saw him—
Seated on a throne, glaring at them in fury, was Hueco Mundo's so-called "king."
A skeleton crowned with a diadem, his body wreathed in black flames!
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Currently on Chapter 500 - How to Reach The Soul King?