Nel and Harribel returned to Nanatsuki's side.
"Sensei, I won! That uh..."
She suddenly paused—realizing she didn't even know the Hollow's name.
"That so-called 'King of Hueco Mundo' was ridiculously weak!"
"You're already a Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar.
If you still couldn't beat an Adjuchas, I'd have no choice but to give you a serious punishment."
Nanatsuki chuckled softly.
"Can't believe Las Noches didn't have a single Vasto Lorde left.
An Adjuchas actually dared to call himself the king of Hueco Mundo."
Harribel frowned.
"Maybe the other Vasto Lordes just aren't interested in fighting."
Nanatsuki thought of Starrk, the Primera Espada—a Vasto Lorde who hated conflict.
After accepting Nel and Harribel as his disciples, he had once searched for Starrk in Hueco Mundo.
But at this point in time, Starrk was still wandering. He had no fixed abode, and Nanatsuki had not found him.
"Nel, I'm appointing you as the ruler of Las Noches."
With that simple declaration, Nanatsuki chose Nel as the new king.
In Hueco Mundo, strength ruled all. No ceremony or titles needed.
And right now, Nel was stronger than Harribel. That made her the natural choice.
"Me? I don't have any experience..."
She hesitated—then lit up with renewed energy.
"But if Sensei believes in me, I'll give it my all!"
She walked forward and faced the gathered Hollows.
"From today forward, I'm your ruler! Anyone got a problem with that?"
"...You should act a little more dignified," Harribel whispered behind her.
"Ahem—"
Nel cleared her throat, put on a serious face, and released her Reiatsu.
"I, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, shall be your new sovereign. Swear your loyalty to me!"
A crushing pressure fell over the chamber like a mountain.
The Menos bowed low, unable to resist.
"We pledge our loyalty!"
And with that, Nel took control of Las Noches.
In name and strength, she was now the King of Hueco Mundo.
At that moment, Nanatsuki's Status Interface flashed.
[Unique Quest Completed: Birth of a New King – Guide your disciple Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck to become the King of Hueco Mundo.]
[Reward Received: 500,000 General Ability EXP]
[Reward Received: Power of the Hollow]
The special quest had been fulfilled.
The reward far exceeded Nanatsuki's expectations.
He had never received this much EXP in one go.
"...If I nurtured someone into the Captain-Commander of the Shinigami...
Would I get an equally generous reward?"
He couldn't help but ponder.
Hollows had a king.
Shinigami had a supreme commander—the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13.
Suddenly, the interface erupted with new pop-ups:
[Unique Quest: Birth of a Commander – Guide your disciple Azashiro Kana to become Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13.]
[Unique Quest: Birth of a Commander – Guide your disciple Muguruma Kensei to become Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13.]
[Unique Quest: Birth of a Commander – Guide your disciple Madarame Ikkaku to become Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13.]
A flood of notifications nearly blinded him.
"Old Man Yama's still alive and well, you know!"
Nanatsuki winced. The system had triggered a quest for every Shinigami disciple.
But like with the Hollow King quest, only one of these could be completed.
Once one disciple achieved it, the others' quests would vanish.
"...And what about the Quincy?"
His thoughts drifted toward the Wandenreich. The Quincy had a leader too.
[Unique Quest: Birth of the Quincy King – Guide your disciple Meninas McAllon to become King of the Quincy.]
[Unique Quest: Birth of the Quincy King – Guide your disciple Liltotto Lamperd to become King of the Quincy.]
The interface threw out four more notifications.
"...Then what about the Soul King?"
Nanatsuki couldn't help but think of Kurosaki Ichigo.
If someone could unite all three powers—Shinigami, Hollow, and Quincy—perhaps it was possible to raise a new Soul King.
But the interface didn't respond. No new quests appeared.
"Sheesh... None of these will be easy."
Nanatsuki rubbed his temples.
These quests would be even harder than becoming a Captain-Commander or Quincy King himself.
"Let's focus on the reward we just got."
He turned his attention back to the other reward from the Hollow King quest:
Power of the Hollow.
If he guessed correctly, it would allow him to obtain true Hollow powers.
But when he tried to claim the reward, a new system message appeared:
[This reward can only be claimed in an area with extremely high Hollow Particle Density.]
"...Seriously?"
Nanatsuki frowned.
"This is Las Noches. The highest Hollow particle density on the surface of Hueco Mundo."
And yet… it still wasn't enough.
This reward wasn't about receiving some external power.
It required absorbing Hollow spiritual particles into his soul—so that part of his essence would gain Hollow nature.
It was the same principle as a Zanpakutō.
Power born from one's own soul.
"Someplace even denser than Las Noches..."
He thought for a moment.
Then remembered one.
Years ago, in the Forest of Menos, he had discovered a white thicket—dense with spiritual energy.
There, he had once obtained a fragment of the Soul King.
At the time, the bones had shown signs of spawning new Menos under its influence.
But after he removed the Soul King fragment, the thicket had gone still.
"It's got to be that place."
After converting Grimmjow into an Arrancar, Nanatsuki went to the Forest of Menos alone.
Using his memory as a guide, he found the old white bone thicket.
The thorny remains were gone now—once remnants of ancient Menos.
Stripped of the Soul King fragment, they no longer held the power to birth new Hollows.
With a thought, Nanatsuki selected the option:
Claim "Power of the Hollow."
The next instant, an intense suction force radiated from within his body—drawing all nearby Hollow spiritual particles inward.
A massive vortex formed in the sky—swirling red and black, dense with Hollow matter.
The vortex spiraled downward like a funnel, converging entirely on Nanatsuki.
In that moment, he understood why the system required such a high-density environment.
Hollow Power was the inverse of Shinigami Power.
The stronger his Reiatsu, the more Hollow matter he needed to absorb.
The terrifying red-black vortex surged into his soul.
Any Shinigami below captain-class would've been torn apart instantly by this violent force.
But Nanatsuki's soul was absurdly durable.
With Blut Vene reinforcing his body, he surpassed even normal captain-class resilience.
The Hollow vortex couldn't harm him.
At the same time—his Inner World began to quake.