Chapter 271: Dual Arrancarization!
"Oooh, ooooh!!!"
Cirucci raised her insect-like elongated arms and touched her face.
There, it was no longer a white bone mask, but soft skin.
Before the experiment began, Aizen had explained the general information about Arrancarization to them.
The bone mask shattering, revealing a human-like face... without a doubt, she had succeeded!
Her eyes shining with excitement, she looked at the two:
"Lord Satoru! Lord Aizen! I did it, I made it!"
"Well done."
Aizen didn't hesitate to praise her, even clapping his hands.
After working so hard for so long, he had finally created the first artificially Arrancarized Menos Grande.
A sense of elevation filled him, something he hadn't felt in a long time.
He glanced at someone, the corners of his mouth curling arrogantly.
Satoru stared at him for a few seconds before showing a sudden expression of realization.
"Sugoi! Subarashii!!"
He raised his hands with an admiring look, clapping at a speed barely visible to the naked eye, producing a series of bizarre popping sounds.
"..."
Although he had achieved the desired effect, he couldn't help feeling somewhat irritated.
Aizen turned his head back, slightly narrowed his eyes, and added another entry in Satoru's dedicated grudge notebook.
"Cirucci, release your Reiatsu at full power. I need to record the data."
Upon hearing Aizen's command, Cirucci nodded without hesitation.
But just as she was about to act, she suddenly paused.
Then, with an excited expression, she said: "Lord Aizen, my current power far surpasses what it was before!"
"With such immense power, unleashing it here would likely cause massive destruction... Please take me to a more open area for testing!"
Upon hearing this, Aizen gave her a rather peculiar look.
"Satoru."
He didn't answer Cirucci, merely calling Satoru's name.
"Yo!"
Satoru stood up, cracking his neck as he walked over.
Under Cirucci's somewhat surprised gaze, Satoru came before her and grinned.
Then, with both hands, he pulled open the clothing on his chest.
"If you're afraid to release your Reiatsu, use me as your test subject."
"Enter your name, zodiac sign, bank card number, and password here. We'll determine which anime character you are at lightning speed!"
"?"
Cirucci blinked, showing a confused expression.
Aizen narrowed his eyes as he looked over.
Satoru quickly coughed:
"Wrong script just now, let's try again..."
"Come on, hit me with your strongest move. I'll measure your power level in an instant!"
Hearing this, Cirucci was shocked.
"How could I! How could I!"
"Lord Satoru, my current power is too immense. If I were to injure you, I could never atone even with ten thousand deaths..."
"No problem, you can absolutely try to kill me."
Satoru showed a warm, boy-next-door smile.
With that smile, he added: "You must use your full strength. If you don't, I'll roast and eat you."
"?"
Cirucci's pupils trembled violently.
After wrestling with herself for a few seconds, she nodded.
Since it was an order, she had no choice but to comply.
She could only hope that if this lord were injured, he wouldn't become enraged and kill her to vent his anger...
With somewhat resolute determination, she drew the Zanpakutō at her waist.
Though she had just become an Arrancar, the method to release her power emerged as if by instinct.
"Rip Off, Golondrina!!"
The release command rang out loudly.
Amid swirling Reiatsu, her form had already transformed back into the giant moth appearance from earlier.
Under Satoru's gaze, Cirucci let out a roar, Reishi gathering behind her to form a massive glowing axe!
"Be careful, Lord Satoru!!"
"Ala Cortadola Hachador!!!"
With a loud shout, the enormous Reiatsu axe, dozens of meters wide, came crashing down fiercely toward Satoru!
The moment she struck, Cirucci's heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
This axe strike of hers was much more powerful than she had anticipated!
With this axe blow, Lord Satoru would likely suffer more than just injury.
There was a high probability he would be cleaved in two by this single strike!
Anxiety, regret—various emotions surged in her heart.
But after all these emotions came an incessantly rising excitement.
She had become stronger.
Become incredibly strong!
Her current power probably already rivaled these two lords!
No!
What two lords? What lords were these?
Her power had surpassed these two Shinigami!
She grinned, revealing a bloodthirsty smile.
Starting with you, Satoru Mikami!!
CLANG!!!!
The massive axe formed from condensed Reishi, radiating brilliant light, descended from the sky and struck fiercely against Satoru's chest.
The special effects were dazzling, the light show maximized, as if splitting a mountain to rescue one's mother.
But the smile gradually faded from Cirucci's face.
Under her somewhat bewildered gaze, her great axe remained motionless against Satoru's chest.
That incredibly sharp, overwhelmingly powerful axe blade was actually blocked by mere flesh?!
Looking down at the axe blade pressed against his chest, Satoru made a thoughtful sound.
"Not bad. Just from a Reiatsu perspective, you've already reached the level of a veteran vice-captain."
"However, your technique is far too lacking. If a true veteran vice-captain used this move, it should have been able to make me feel some stinging pain."
As he spoke, he forcefully thrust his chest forward.
A hidden force traveled through the giant axe, sending Cirucci stumbling backward several steps before she fell to the ground with a thud.
Eyes wide and mouth agape, she stared at the man, momentarily unable to accept reality.
She had clearly become invincibly strong, so how could she be so thoroughly crushed?
Satoru... just how powerful was this man?
Having casually dealt with Cirucci, Satoru approached Aizen and reported the results of his testing.
Aizen listened attentively, occasionally taking notes.
After recording most of the information, he nodded:
"Good work."
Putting away his folder, Aizen turned his gaze to Cirucci.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, as if watching a particularly entertaining performance.
Then he said gently: "Cirucci, the strength test you wanted has concluded. Do you have any other questions?"
"N-no..."
In a flash of light, Cirucci returned from her Resurrección state to her human form.
She shook her head desperately, all her previous arrogance completely gone.
Two Shinigami?
Two lords!
Two gods!
She felt like crying but had no tears, wishing she could stuff her previously inflated self into a crack in the ground.
Seeing that Aizen and Satoru showed no intention of punishing her, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned to leave.
The beginning is always the hardest. After completing the first Arrancar transformation, Aizen followed the same method, gradually speeding up the process.
Ultimately, among the thirty-plus Hollows that participated in the testing, he successfully created three Arrancar.
Eleven showed significant power increases but hadn't broken their masks—becoming incomplete Arrancar.
Most of these Hollows exhibited overconfident reactions similar to Cirucci's.
However, under Satoru's iron-fisted education, the Arrancars quickly learned what society truly meant.
As for the remaining dozen or so, all of them died.
If the test subjects had been Shinigami, such a high mortality rate would have undoubtedly caused a major uproar, likely resulting in Aizen being sealed in Muken for ten thousand years without question.
But for Hollows, this meant nothing.
A mere mortality rate was completely insignificant when faced with the possibility of becoming stronger.
Adjuchas who were originally only at seated officer level would enter and emerge with vice-captain level power.
Adjuchas who were originally at vice-captain level would break through to captain level after the process.
Although only their Reiatsu improved without any combat technique enhancement, for Adjuchas living in constant fear of degeneration, this was already an enormous temptation.
Aizen didn't need to conscript anyone—that very day, numerous Adjuchas were scrambling to join the second phase transformation program.
Aizen expressed appreciation for the Menos Grande's determination to grow stronger.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he could stably produce Arrancar.
When the time came, he would transform those Menos Grande that Satoru had taken a liking to into Arrancar, satisfying his comrade's rather unsightly desires.
The thought of Satoru weeping tears of gratitude, kneeling on the ground to thank him for his magnificent creations, brought Aizen great pleasure.
...
...
As the experiments continued to advance, the number of Arrancar in Las Noches gradually increased.
The area, once teeming with monstrous creatures, now carried a faint resemblance to the Seireitei.
Figures with human appearances and long swords hanging at their waists could be seen from time to time.
During this period, Satoru had his uniform factory secretly produce batches of uniforms in various sizes.
All Arrancars received several sets.
After donning the neat, unified white uniforms, the Arrancars' presence was noticeably elevated by another level.
Aizen expressed great satisfaction with this.
Originally, he had considered Satoru's uniform factory to be nothing more than a farce.
Unexpectedly, it had become such a great help in the blink of an eye.
Without Satoru's uniform factory, he estimated he would have had to specially train a group of Hollows to handle clothing production.
As the number of Arrancars increased, a new task presented itself to the two of them.
Las Noches needed a new hierarchy.
In the past, the hierarchy of Las Noches had been simple.
Baraggan was the emperor, with a group of Adjuchas as his trusted aides.
Those who had not advanced to the Menos Grande level, or those among the Menos Grande who were weaker and failed to gain Baraggan's favor, were managed by the trusted aides and could be dealt with arbitrarily.
This utterly unimpressive system did not align with Aizen's aesthetics.
He planned to first complete the two projects at hand and then settle down to assign a set of stylish titles to the Hollows under his command.
However, before he could even begin, Satoru caught wind of the matter.
"You should've said so earlier, Sōsuke! When it comes to naming, I, Satoru MIkami, am the best!"
Under Aizen's skeptical gaze, Satoru confidently took on the task.
In less than an hour, he returned to Aizen with his results.
Aizen reached out and took the document, studying it carefully.
"Supreme Commander of Las Noches, Sōsuke Aizen."
"The Three Great Generals... Baraggan Louisenbairn, Starkk, Cirucci Sanderwicci."
"Chief Scientist, Szayelaporro."
"The Seven Hollow Blades... Nelliel, Grimmjow, Zommari, Harribel, Ticalo, Gontenbein, Dordoni."
"And the respective subordinate officers assigned to each of the above departments..."
Aizen stroked his chin, lost in thought.
Although these department titles seemed somewhat peculiar at first glance, upon closer consideration, they actually sounded quite pleasing to the ear.
Wait, why wasn't that guy Satoru among these positions?
Aizen narrowed his eyes and carefully scanned through the names in each department.
Finally, he found his target.
Female Arrancar Dormitory Manager, Satoru.
His blood pressure spiked.
Aizen took a deep breath, suppressing his urge to kill someone.
"I'll use your system, except for this one."
He picked up a pen, aimed the tip at Satoru's name, and prepared to cross it out.
Satoru suddenly let out a piercing scream, startling Aizen.
Under Aizen's somewhat surprised gaze, Satoru covered his forehead with one hand, bent his waist downward as if enduring great pain, and stretched out his other hand forward.
"Sōsuke, don't cross it out... that list has special rules. Once you cross out my name, I'll immediately turn into a puddle of pus..."
"Is that so."
Aizen decisively crossed out Satoru's name with his pen, then turned and walked away amidst the latter's screams.
With the announcement of the first batch of executive appointments, the Menos Grande had mixed reactions—some were delighted while others were discontent.
Cirucci, Gontenbein, and others were artificial Arrancar created in previous experimental phases.
Having emerged victorious from hundreds of Adjuchas to become executives was undoubtedly the greatest encouragement for them.
However, many Arrancar were dissatisfied.
In the past, they were indeed far inferior to Nelliel, Harribel, and others.
But after successfully becoming Arrancar, their power had evolved to a new dimension.
Some of the strongest among them had even surpassed these two.
Nelliel was acceptable—just one of the Seven Blades, not too excessive.
But Harribel... merely in Resurrección form, what qualified her to be one of the Three Great Generals?
Many Hollows secretly protested, wanting to challenge Harribel and seize the position of Great General.
The loudest voice among them was Grimmjow's.
After Las Noches changed hands, he frequently came to challenge Satoru.
After one particular battle, when he intended to leave, he was forcibly detained and underwent the Arrancar conversion procedure.
Feeling his power multiply several times over, this big cat Grimmjow was finally tamed and stayed.
He approached Satoru multiple times, wanting to challenge for position exchange.
But Satoru rejected him every time.
According to Satoru's explanation, the Three Great Generals and Seven Hollow Blades had just been established and were in a novice protection period.
It wouldn't be too late to challenge after this period ended.
Although Grimmjow was displeased with this, he couldn't openly oppose it.
Finally, as time passed, the novice protection period that Satoru had promised was about to end.
Grimmjow was extremely excited and headed to the Las Noches arena ahead of time.
He wanted to eliminate Harribel and become one of the Three Great Generals at the first opportunity!
He wasn't alone in this thinking—quite a few Menos Grande shared similar intentions.
Five Arrancar left their residences and made their way to the arena.
Only half an hour remained until the end of the novice protection period.
They were already growing impatient!
Just as the Arrancars were sizing each other up, contemplating how to eliminate their competitors after defeating Harribel, a terrifying Reiatsu suddenly swept over them!
BOOM!!!!
The Reiatsu crashed against their faces like violent tidal waves.
The Menos Grande stared in shock toward the main hall of Las Noches.
This Reiatsu... they all recognized it.
One of the three top commanders of Hueco Mundo—Tier Harribel!
Grimmjow's eyes widened.
"That guy... became an Arrancar?!"
Before his words faded, a second wave of Reiatsu struck—
BOOM!!!
"Nelliel! It's Nelliel!"
"That guy became an Arrancar too!!"