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Thump, thump, thump—
Accompanied by crisp footsteps, Cirucci's figure appeared in everyone's sight.
Nnoitra looked at Cirucci with a gloomy gaze, but then he let out a disdainful chuckle, "You ask me where I got the courage?"
"Heh~ That's a question I should be asking!"
Nnoitra's words received no response, because Cirucci merely glanced at him before squatting beside Kuchiki Rukia and Orihime, carefully observing Kuchiki Rukia's condition, then nodded and smiled at the anxious Orihime:
"You continue to heal her. Don't let her die, okay?"
"Miss Cirucci~"
Orihime was delighted to hear this. Although Miss Cirucci had always taken good care of her, Shinigami and Arrancar were, after all, enemies. She had thought Cirucci would stop her from healing.
Meanwhile, Rukia looked at the mark on her palm, her expression a little strange.
Ever since the mark on her palm was activated, a Spell Inscription pattern had always existed in her palm.
This pattern…
The moment this female Arrancar with purple wavy hair, teardrop-shaped marks on her face, and dark purple lips appeared, it vanished from her palm, as if it had fulfilled its purpose.
"So you have this kind of hobby now?"
Nnoitra didn't attack, but instead watched Cirucci's actions with interest: "Have you grown so fond of your little pet that you're ready to betray Aizen for her?"
"I told you not to push yourself too hard."
Cirucci stood up and walked over to Roka, saying softly, "Leave the rest to me. You take… hmm, never mind. It will be over soon anyway." After speaking, Cirucci finally turned her gaze to the incessantly chattering Nnoitra, reaching for the Zanpakuto at her waist.
It will be over soon?
Nnoitra was startled at first, then his expression instantly turned grim.
And…
That hateful gaze again!
It wasn't the look one should have when facing someone stronger, but rather, like Nel, it was as if she was looking at a mischievous child, completely disregarding him.
She wasn't Nel, she was just a useless piece of trash!!
Nnoitra knew this better than anyone.
"Are you finally insane?"
Nnoitra sneered, looking at Cirucci's drawn Zanpakuto, and let out a strange laugh: "You don't think that kind of toy can threaten me, do you?"
That's right, it was just a toy!
Cirucci's Zanpakuto wasn't shaped like a typical blade. As the hilt was drawn, it wasn't connected to a blade, but rather to a thread, with a hollow disc attached to the end of the thread.
Overall, it looked like a yo-yo that children in the Human World played with.
But the Outer Circle of that disc was as sharp as a blade.
Nnoitra looked at the strangely shaped Zanpakuto and couldn't help but scoff. Even among the Arrancar, Cirucci's Zanpakuto, like her attire, gave off a unique and unconventional feeling.
Her ridiculous ability was even more so!
Of course, it wasn't to say it was weak.
The thread was tough and could self-repair, and could even extend indefinitely. Because it was completely controlled by Cirucci, it could freely change direction in mid-air.
The disc was similar; it could expand and contract the moment it was thrown, enhancing the disc's own power.
But none of this could erase the fact that, in the eyes of the fellow Espada, it was merely a toy.
Behind Cirucci, Kuchiki Rukia looked at Cirucci. From her prone angle, she could clearly see the number at the top of Cirucci's garter belt on her right leg.
The Espada having a connection with Ishikawa, even betraying Aizen for Ishikawa, was certainly surprising to her.
But…
This petite girl, whose figure was as small as Captain Soi Fon's, was the 9th Espada, while that perverted man was the 5th Espada… The disparity between them was self-evident.
"Why not?"
Cirucci tilted her head slightly, a smile appearing on her face.
This smile was completely different from before, wild and battle-crazed. Her large purple eyes were filled with a predatory glint, making her look like a different person, causing even Nnoitra's mocking smile to fade.
But in reality…
This was Cirucci's true nature!
She was incredibly devoted to battle, willing to use any means to achieve her goals, and in her eyes, there were never any 'comrades'.
The next second.
Buzz—
A heavy whooshing sound emerged, and the hollow disc shot directly towards Nnoitra. Almost the instant it left her hand, the hollow disc began to spin and rapidly expand!
This sight made Nnoitra frown.
Cirucci, whom he had mocked for so many years, suddenly had the courage to attack him. Nnoitra didn't think highly of Cirucci because of this; instead, he felt humiliated by her.
"You're looking for death~!"
The killing intent in Nnoitra's eyes intensified to the extreme. Facing the incoming hollow disc, he didn't dodge, nor did he use the crescent scythe in his hand to block.
In his opinion, Cirucci's attack was not worth his attention.
In several battles, Cirucci's performance was even worse than that useless Aaroniero. Such a weak attack could never break through his Hierro, which was the strongest defensive ability among the Espada.
But the moment the disc reached him, Nnoitra's mind suddenly jolted, and his body instinctively felt an inexplicable sense of danger!
Nnoitra, who had been through many battles, trusted his instincts implicitly. Before his brain could even react, his body had already responded, his slender waist twisting sharply as if it had no bones.
Whoosh—
The disc grazed his shoulder, causing Nnoitra to feel a sharp pain on his skin, and a streak of crimson flowed from the spot where the disc had brushed him.
How could this be…
Nnoitra's pupils suddenly constricted.
"Why did you dodge?"
Just then, Cirucci's voice came: "The lofty 5th Espada, dodging a toy's attack, aren't you looking down on yourself too much?"
Whoosh~
Before Nnoitra could respond, a whooshing sound came from behind him again.
Turning his head, he saw the disc that had missed its target, surprisingly turning in mid-air and once again attacking him from behind.
This time, Nnoitra didn't stand still and wait for the attack as before. With Reishi surging in his hand, he distorted his body and swung his crescent scythe directly at the disc.
Zzzzzzzzz—!
The disc and the crescent scythe collided, producing not the clang of metal, but a grating, teeth-grinding friction sound, with sparks flying everywhere!
"So that's it."
Looking at the disc that had collided with his scythe, Nnoitra suddenly let out a strange laugh.
Observing it up close, he finally realized that in addition to constantly spinning to increase its cutting power, the disc also maintained an extremely high frequency of vibration. It was this vibration that had cut through his Hierro!
"It seems you're not entirely useless after all."
Understanding the principle, Nnoitra suddenly felt enlightened.
Although he looked down on Cirucci, because of that inexplicable illusion he felt when facing her, he had done some research on her.
The most prominent feature of Cirucci's Cero was vibration.
Although he didn't know why she was able to use her Cero ability in her normal state, these were still insignificant tricks in Nnoitra's eyes.
Clang!
The Reishi on the scythe surged, and with a sweep, it immediately knocked the disc away.
Nnoitra turned his head to look at Cirucci, who was standing still, and sneered, "I admit, I truly underestimated you. Even the weakest Espada is still…"
"Do you know something?"
Nnoitra's words abruptly stopped. His pupils gradually moved downwards, looking at the figure that had suddenly appeared in front of him, not even reaching his chest.
He hadn't seen it…
When he looked, Cirucci was still standing in place, but under his gaze, she had vanished into thin air… and appeared in front of him without him even realizing it.
"I've wanted to kill you for more than just a day or two."
Kill me?
Nnoitra almost instinctively opened his mouth to mock, but his words caught in his throat as Cirucci looked up. The moment he saw Cirucci's expression, even Nnoitra couldn't help but tremble deep down.
Her already large eyes were wide to the point of splitting, a supremely bloodthirsty arc on her lips, and sharp fangs gleamed with a predatory chill.
Her once beautiful purple pupils were now completely dilated, giving off a morbid beauty, and were even filled with excited bloodshot veins, making one's heart turn cold at the sight!
Death seemed to materialize into a tangible shadow, instantly enveloping Nnoitra's mind.
Just then, a cold glint flashed before his eyes. Nnoitra instinctively sprang backward, but still couldn't completely dodge.
Pfft—!
The sound of blood spurting rang out, and an upward slash wound appeared on Nnoitra's chest.
Nnoitra didn't look at the wound on his chest, but instead looked at Cirucci, who was standing in his previous position. He saw that Cirucci was actually holding the constantly vibrating hollow disc in her hand.
That's not right…
It wasn't the disc that was vibrating, but because she was holding the disc in her hand, it vibrated.
The disc that attacked him earlier was the same; the vibration was transmitted from the hilt to the thread, and then through the long thread, it reached the disc.
And this transmission process had already caused the vibration to continuously decrease.
He could tell this from the wound on his chest. The hollow disc directly held by Cirucci felt completely different from the disc earlier!
"Who exactly are you?"
The Cirucci before him made Nnoitra feel unfamiliar. Both her Reishi and the feeling she gave off were completely different from his impression of her.
Cirucci didn't answer. She swung the hand holding the disc, and her entire being surged forward again.
Seeing this, Nnoitra's expression darkened, and there was no longer any hint of underestimation on his face; instead, it was replaced by gravity.
Clang—!
The sound of collision immediately echoed in the empty palace. Even with their eyes wide open, the three people in the distance could only see sparks flying in mid-air and blood blossoms occasionally blooming; they couldn't see the figures of the two combatants at all.
But one thing they could be sure of was that the battle at this moment was completely one-sided.
Cirucci, the 9th Espada, completely overwhelmed the 5th Espada, who was ranked above her, like a cat playing with a mouse.
This left all three, including Roka, with looks of astonishment in their eyes.
Although Roka believed that Lady Cirucci was very strong, this was actually her subjective judgment; she was well aware that Lady Cirucci had almost no presence among the Espada.
But the Lady Cirucci in the current battle made her subjective judgment a reality!
"Is she really only the 9th Espada?" Kuchiki Rukia murmured to herself.
"She is indeed…"
Just then, a voice suddenly came from beside her ear: "However, she is very different from the intelligence we received."
The three women were all startled and instinctively looked towards the source of the voice.
Upon seeing the person, Rukia's eyes lit up:
"Brother!"
The person was dressed in a shinigami uniform, wore a captain's haori, and had a Kenseikan on his head—it was Kuchiki Byakuya, who had come straight to his sister's location as soon as he arrived in Hueco Mundo.
Nodding to Rukia, Kuchiki Byakuya once again turned his gaze to the battlefield, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.
He had once seen TCiruccihen the Espada attacked Ishikawa in Soul Society; at that tCirucciibel had not shown any remarkable performance, feeling like she was two levels below the other Espada.
But the Reishi that Cirucci was currently displaying was completely different from what he remembered.
Moreover, having just arrived, he didn't understand what was happening before his eyes; he had initially sensed two powerful auras near his sister and thought his adopted sister was in danger.
Only upon arriving did he discover…
Although his sister was injured, she had already been healed, and the owners of those two powerful auras were engaged in battle.
"It's Ishikawa…"
Kuchiki Rukia noticed her brother's confusion and said, somewhat uncertainly: "Before Renji and I came, we went to find Ishikawa as you instructed. He engraved Spell Inscription on Renji and me. When I activated the Spell Inscription… this… um, Arrancar lady appeared here."
… Kuchiki Byakuya.
…
Just then, the situation on the field changed again.
With a roar, a figure shot backward, smashing through the palace wall and crashing onto the open ground behind the palace.
This figure was Nnoitra.
At this moment, he looked incredibly miserable, covered in various wounds, his entire body almost stained red with blood.
This is impossible…
Even now, he still couldn't believe that he was utterly powerless against Cirucci.
What exactly happened to her?
Although Nnoitra was not one of the original Espada, he was part of the second group to be promoted to Espada, just like Nel. When Cirucci was still the 5th Espada, he was already the 8th Espada, and he was confident he could kill Cirucci at that time.
It was just that his attention was entirely focused on Nel back then, so he never bothered to deal with Cirucci.
It wasn't until he dealt with Nel that he prepared to remove Cirucci from the position she didn't deserve, but Cirucci didn't give him a chance to challenge her; instead, she directly abandoned her Espada position, actively yielding the 5th seat to him, which made Nnoitra look down on her from the bottom of his heart.
But the current situation made him realize how ridiculous it was for him to look down on her.
"Cero."
Cirucci stood at the opening on the second floor of the palace and spoke.
Her words distorted Nnoitra's expression. Even though he had realized Cirucci's strength, being forced to use Cero before her was still difficult for him to accept.
But…
No matter how difficult it was for him to accept, he had to admit.
In his normal state, he was no match for Cirucci!
And…
It was that kind of gaze. At this moment, he finally understood why Cirucci's gaze towards him was so similar to Nel's, and why he felt so annoyed when she became an Espada again.
Because in their eyes, they never regarded him as an opponent of the same caliber.
"Hahahahaha—"
Suddenly, Nnoitra let out a burst of frenzied laughter. Realizing this, his mindset changed!
If he could eliminate the annoying Nel, then he could also eliminate this contemptible bitch in front of him.
And unlike with Nel, he had climbed to this position step by step by challenging those stronger than himself. The Cirucci before him would ultimately meet the same fate as Nel.
"Bitch, I'll make you regret not killing me before I use Cero!"
As he spoke, Nnoitra was instantly enveloped by a surging mass of materialized Reishi. The Reishi seemed to form a moon-like shape, and golden-yellow Reiatsu soared into the sky, distorting the artificial blue sky of the dome.
"Pray, Santa Teresa!"
The entire world gradually darkened at this moment.
In contrast, the full moon composed of Reishi became incredibly bright, formed by six amputated-like arms, each holding a double-bladed scythe.
Seeing this, Cirucci stepped forward, emerging from the opening, but instead of falling, she floated in mid-air.
The yo-yo-like blade floated before her chest, emitting a faint purple glow.
"Sever him, Tiburón!"
It was the same Reishi mass, but its shape was completely different. The Reishi was like a moving wheel, with a piercing, ear-splitting screech.
Nnoitra looked up at Cirucci, who was suspended in mid-air, a sinister grin on his face.
Cirucci's Cero was no different from what he remembered; it was still an incredibly ugly, moth-like appearance.
After Cero, Cirucci's appearance barely changed, only antennae appeared on her head, along with slender, elongated, strange arms, and with the two blade-like wings, she indeed looked like an ugly giant moth.
According to Nnoitra's understanding, in this state, Cirucci's wing vibration frequency was about 1.2 to 1.3 million times per second. Her main attack method was to control the release and retraction of her wing feather blades according to her will. Due to the blades' own vibration, Reishi-type attacks were basically unable to destroy her wings.
And the end of her fan-like tail could accumulate Reishi to form a huge fan-shaped blade or short sword as an attack method.
These were all well-known facts; her abilities were so simple it was almost laughable.
But Cirucci's performance in her normal state made Nnoitra dare not underestimate Cirucci in her current Cero, vaguely feeling that her Cero should also have some hidden abilities.
"Don't worry."
Cirucci slowly descended from mid-air and said: "My Cero abilities are the same as what you learned from Szayelaporro; they haven't changed."
Hearing this, Nnoitra let out a strange laugh, his eyes full of disbelief.
"At least not for now."
Now?
Nnoitra was startled, and the scene that followed made the strange smile on his face freeze.
Bang—!
The ground shook as the huge double wings made of feather blades crashed to the ground, along with the detached ugly arms and head antennae.
What is she doing?
It should be known that Arrancar's Resurrección is different from a Shinigami's. The reason it's called Cero is precisely because after performing Resurrección, the Arrancar's body returns to the form a Hollow should have.
And only by re-materializing the ability into a sword can they revert to the Arrancar's human form.
In other words…
At this moment, Cirucci had abandoned a part of her body, and this abandonment could never be recovered. For an Arrancar, it was no different from self-mutilation.
"What are you doing?"
Cirucci, who looked as if she hadn't used Cero except for her tail, shook her neck and replied: "Just discarding things I don't need."
"Since you know my abilities so well, you should also be very clear."
Cirucci looked down at the detached body parts and continued: "The wings and arms require a large amount of my Reishi to maintain. Discarding them allows me to be much lighter."
Nnoitra frowned. He had indeed heard about this from Szayelaporro, but Cirucci's vibration ability after Cero was mainly manifested in those discarded limbs.
By doing this, she was essentially giving up the strongest vibration characteristic of her Cero, only retaining the tail's attack ability…
Bang~
Another muffled sound, and Cirucci's tail also detached from her back.
Now, Cirucci, apart from her Reishi becoming stronger, had no difference in appearance from before Cero!
"How truly easy."
Meeting Szayelaporro's gaze, Cirucci's face showed a beautiful yet dangerous smile. Under this smile, the teardrop marks on her face gradually elongated, stopping only at her chin, transforming into two purple tear streaks.
And at the bottom of her strangely shaped skirt, budding flowers were about to bloom.
The next second.
A surge of Reishi, far surpassing the previous one, burst forth from Cirucci. The flower buds then bloomed, forming black feathers along the edge of her skirt.
At the same time, a black flash appeared.
Dark wings spread out from Cirucci's back, making the Reishi around her even stronger, even forcing the Cero Nnoitra to take a few steps back.
The incredibly comfortable feeling made Cirucci narrow her eyes.
This current Cero was actually a simplified version she created based on her second Cero, the most suitable form for herself.
It was also…
Her strongest form in her first Cero!
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