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As Ichigo and his companions invaded Hueco Mundo, both Hueco Mundo and Soul Society sprang into action at that moment.
Only Ishikawa remained in the West 38th District, far from the center of the storm, continuing his lengthy spiritual body repair work.
At this time, Ishikawa had dedicated all his attention to the 'analysis and reconstruction' of his spiritual body; he was unaware of the changes in the outside world and had no interest in knowing them.
Because with his spiritual body not yet recovered, no matter what progress was made, he could not participate, and he didn't even have the ability to protect himself.
Perhaps due to fundamental reasons, both the analysis of the spiritual body and its reconstruction were incredibly slow.
However, Ishikawa also had a feeling that when his spiritual body was reassembled, his Reiatsu would surge accordingly, possibly even reaching a level similar to his physical body.
His physical body had already reached 800,000 proficiency, meaning the upper limit his Reiatsu could reach would also be this level, which made Ishikawa hesitate whether to invest all of his remaining 100,000 experience points into his physical body, thereby driving a further increase in Reiatsu.
However, after careful consideration, Ishikawa still abandoned this idea.
Because he had a feeling that when the Reiatsu value broke through 900,000, his spiritual body was very likely to undergo another qualitative change, truly making him what the system rated as...
—First Stage!
While that would certainly cause his strength to skyrocket, the Reiatsu and spiritual body required for spiritual body reorganization would also undergo a qualitative change, becoming an extremely terrifying number.
If he couldn't restore his spiritual body, then becoming stronger would be useless.
Moreover, his current reserves of spiritual bodies had been nearly half consumed, with the vast majority of the weaker spiritual body corpses having completely dissipated, transforming into nutrients for Ishikawa's spiritual body reorganization.
What remained were all villains whose spiritual bodies were already extremely powerful during their lifetime!
The most urgent task at hand was to reorganize his spiritual body before the Reiatsu Crest collapsed, rather than pursuing further advancement.
Otherwise, if he failed, he would be completely defenseless against Aizen.
Compared to the tranquility of Soul Society, Hueco Mundo was extremely lively at this moment.
At least, Cirucci thought so.
She stood by the window, gazing at the massive Las Noches, a strange glint flashing in her eyes.
Even standing here, she could still feel the powerful and bizarre Reiatsu of the invaders, a Reiatsu very similar to that of an Arrancar; the only difference from an Arrancar was that... the opponent's Reiatsu was primarily that of a Shinigami, and compared to an Arrancar, it was more similar to Kaname Tōsen, who was by Lord Aizen's side.
As for Ichimaru Gin, who was also a close attendant of Aizen, he had not undergone Hollowfication, maintaining his Shinigami form from beginning to end.
Aizen respected his choice in this regard.
"That direction..."
Cirucci's gaze shifted, and she murmured, "Have two people broken into the three-digit area?"
If she hadn't regained her Espada position because of Ishikawa, she would probably have already encountered the invaders, right?
She was genuinely curious what the outcome would be if she, without Ishikawa's help in evolving, were to encounter these invaders.
She would probably be utterly defeated, right?
Cirucci shook her head slightly. Now, she could clearly feel the gap between her current self and her former self.
This gap did not refer to the Second Cero, but rather the difference between her current normal state and the First Cero.
Ishikawa once said that the existence of the Hollow Mark would not enhance the normal state or First Cero of an Arrancar, but he was mistaken on this point.
However, this was understandable, after all, she was his first creation after he created the Hollow Mark!
Initially, even Cirucci herself didn't notice the changes in her body, but as time passed, these changes became clearer and clearer.
Hollow Mark...
It didn't just allow an Arrancar to master the so-called Second Cero, but rather it was a kind of...
Breakthrough of limits!
That's right, just like the Hōgyoku, the Hollow Mark, infused with Ishikawa's Reiatsu and flesh, gradually strengthened the 'Shinigami aspect' of Cirucci's abilities. It wasn't obvious at first, but this process was almost identical to the feeling of being Arrancar-ified by the Hōgyoku.
The only difference from the Hōgyoku was...
The Hōgyoku was an instantaneous evolution, while the evolution of the Hollow Mark was a lengthy process; the longer the time, the greater the changes it brought!
And the reason she thought so was entirely due to Picaro.
Because if the Hollow Mark truly was as Ishikawa described, then Picaro, whose rank was originally above hers, would be far stronger than her after accepting the Hollow Mark.
But the result was...
Now, in the same Second Cero, it was not difficult for her to defeat Picaro.
However, what was strange was...
Cirucci had a feeling that the reason for this evolution was not only due to the Hollow Mark but more so because of Ishikawa's flesh that had condensed the Hollow Mark.
It was as if the combination of his flesh and the Hollow Mark made the Hollow Mark, which originally did not possess such an effect, acquire the same characteristics as the Hōgyoku.
But Cirucci herself found this feeling hard to believe...
Because as a former Espada, she knew very well what the origin of the Hōgyoku was. If that were the case, wouldn't it mean that Ishikawa's flesh was very likely on the same level as the origin of the Hōgyoku?
Shaking her head slightly, Cirucci completely dispelled the thoughts in her mind. She would never let anyone know about this matter, not even allow it to exist in her own mind, otherwise, it could bring danger to Ishikawa.
"That..."
A somewhat bewildered voice came from behind Cirucci: "What does three-digit mean? Aren't most Arrancar with numbers two-digit?"
"What's wrong?"
Cirucci turned to look at Orihime behind her and smiled, "Are you very worried about your companions who came to rescue you?"
"Mm..."
Orihime nodded. After the initial joy, she now only felt worry for Kurosaki and the others.
Having been in Las Noches for ten days, and with Ms. Cirucci being extremely friendly and answering almost all her questions, Orihime had gained a clearer understanding of Las Noches' strength.
"The three-digit area is where I used to live."
"Oh?"
"In other words..."
Cirucci paused, her tone complex as she said, "Those who can live there are the eliminated ones, former Espada. I was just lucky... or maybe not so lucky, to regain my position as an Espada."
"Then doesn't that mean..."
Orihime's expression changed, but before she could finish, Cirucci shook her head: "The words 'eliminated ones' already explain everything. They might be able to fight some ordinary captains of Soul Society, but for stronger individuals... they are simply eliminated ones."
"Moreover, the two currently residing there are actually good guys at heart."
Cirucci shook her head slightly. Due to being ostracized by everyone in the Espada except Cirucci, she rarely interacted with the Espada. In Las Noches, she often went to the three-digit area to chat with Dordoni and Gantenbainne.
Thinking of this, Cirucci hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed softly and turned to look at Roka, who was silent beside her.
"Roka, I need to go out for a bit."
Cirucci paused, then continued, "Those two reckless little girls might take advantage of my absence to take advantage of little Orihime. When that happens, I'll entrust her protection to you."
"Yes."
Roka responded expressionlessly, but a flicker of determination flashed in her seemingly emotionless eyes.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
Cirucci smiled slightly at Roka. Orihime, seeing this, had a somewhat strange expression.
Because...
Cirucci's smile at this moment felt incredibly familiar to her.
The same warmth, the same radiance, the same kindness, the same approachability... exactly like Mr. Ishikawa.
Connecting this with her experiences interacting with Ms. Cirucci, Orihime vaguely realized something, yet she found it somewhat hard to believe...
Roka nodded at her words, then shook her head again.
Cirucci smiled at this and didn't say anything more. Although she had never seen Roka fight, and Roka herself believed she wasn't suited for combat, Cirucci could vaguely sense something within Roka.
The greater her emotional fluctuations, the clearer that feeling became.
Without going into specifics, Cirucci felt that Roka was not as weak as she perceived herself to be; the reason it hadn't manifested was simply due to a lack of emotion.
Therefore, ever since Cirucci took Roka under her wing, she had been trying to help her develop her emotions. When interacting with her, she didn't treat her as a master treats a servant, but always treated her as a friend, trying to help her emotions become more complete.
It was precisely because of this that when interacting with Roka, she subconsciously learned from Ishikawa, something Cirucci herself hadn't even noticed.
On the other side, Roka watched Cirucci's departing back, her face moving as if trying to mimic Cirucci's smile, though it appeared somewhat stiff.
How long had it been?
Roka had forgotten how long it had been since she had experienced the same feeling. She had always been treated as trash, even by her creator.
"You trash, stop getting in the way, or I'll stomp you flat." This was the big guy, number '10'.
"As an Adjuchas, yet without any pride of an Adjuchas, you truly are pathetic." This was the exterminated '9', who always felt a strange sense of superiority whenever he saw her humble demeanor.
"You're really clumsy, not even fit to be a tool, huh?" And her creator always treated her as a tool, believing that tools shouldn't have emotions, and would stomp on her regardless of whether she did well or not.
"Accept your cowardice and cherish it. Resistance will only bring new pain." '7', that guy who always acted superior and pitied her, just like '9', both died at the hands of the same person.
Countless people treated her as trash and a tool like this.
Unbeknownst to herself, Roka also came to believe it.
Among the Espada, only one person had ever said something to her that was unclear in meaning, and that was the person numbered '3'. She once told her: "Even if you have no reason to live, don't forget that you possess the power to resist and survive on the battlefield."
That person, besides Lady Cirucci, was the only Arrancar who didn't treat her as trash or a tool. Although her attitude wasn't friendly, it made Roka feel an inexplicable joy.
And Lady Cirucci...
The time spent with her could be said to be Roka's happiest time.
She treated her like a friend, without condescension or disdain, but often pulled her along to chat and taught her all sorts of interesting things.
This gave Roka a 'reason for self-awareness' again.
The former Roka was sent to Aizen as an experimental subject for Hollowfication experiments, then gained a nearly human appearance as an Adjuchas and became a character responsible for handling miscellaneous tasks and healing other Arrancar.
Although she was given such clear responsibilities, she could not feel joy because of it.
Because Aizen, like her master, only saw her as a tool. And she believed that to Aizen, she probably didn't even have half a reason to exist.
This made Roka completely unaware of the meaning of her own existence.
Until she was taken under Lady Cirucci's command.
While being with Lady Cirucci made her incredibly happy, the first person to make her feel this way wasn't Lady Cirucci.
It was long ago, before Cirucci had the '3', the female who held that number—Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck.
She was also a very gentle person.
"Why do you, as an Arrancar, not have a Zanpakuto?"
...Lord Szayelaporro said... when Lord Aizen turned me into an Arrancar, my Zanpakuto never appeared..."
"Oh... But I think with such a human-like appearance, you should have a Zanpakuto... Maybe it manifests in another form."
Lady Nel was not warlike, but when facing Roka, she also told her: "Living in this world, when facing wild large spiritual insects and hostile Hollows, it's good to have a way to protect yourself."
And in her spare time, she constantly helped her, assisting her in drawing out the power of her Zanpakuto.
However, that period of time ended quickly.
"Pesche, Dondochakka, I want to ask you something... I want to ask Lord Aizen to assign Roka to me as my Fraccion... Do you think that's a good idea?"
Roka once heard such joyful conversations through the 'threads' left in Lady Nel's palace, and her mood subtly lifted.
At the same time, she also felt guilty for eavesdropping on these conversations and quickly cut the threads.
...If I could become Lady Nel's Fraccion, could I also smile and talk with them?
This thought, while making her feel guilty towards her master Szayelaporro, also filled her with anticipation, perhaps she could taste what 'happiness' was like.
—However, this expectation still turned into a bubble.
A few days later, Lady Nel and her Fraccion went missing, disappearing from Las Noches.
Soon after, Roka used her only ability, 'threads,' to secretly investigate that Lady Nel had been attacked and exiled outside Las Noches, and one of the assassins was Szayelaporro. But she could neither blame her master nor join Nelliel and her two Fraccion in wandering the desert.
But this time, she must protect everything she currently had!
The task Lady Cirucci entrusted to her was out of trust, so she must also respond to Lady Cirucci's trust with all her might.
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