"Hmph!"
Toshiro looked coldly at the Hollow horde below and swung Hyorinmaru.
"Roar!"
The frost dragon circling around Toshiro roared and instantly plunged into the Hollow horde below.
Simultaneously, an aura of bone-chilling cold capable of freezing everything emanated from the frost dragon, sweeping across a radius of nearly a kilometer.
The frost dragon rampaged through the Hollow horde. Everything in its path was frozen.
By the time the frost dragon's Reiatsu was exhausted and it vanished, the 'sea' composed of countless Hollows seemed to have been frozen solid.
Innumerable Hollows were turned into ice sculptures. The originally sand-yellow desert had transformed into a vast, white world of ice and snow.
"Icicle Birds!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Countless ice pellets descended upon the remaining Hollows like flocks of birds.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The continuous barrage of ice pellets fell like hail upon the Hollows, freezing them.
Under Toshiro's relentless assault, the originally seemingly endless Hollows began to decrease at a visible rate, eventually reduced to less than half.
"Roar!"
Seeing Toshiro standing arrogantly in the sky, attacking them so brazenly, some winged Hollows refused to be slaughtered. They flew towards Toshiro with all their might, wanting to attack him up close.
"Hmph! Ignorant Hollows. The sky is my domain! No one else can stand in the sky but me!"
Looking at the Hollows flying towards him, Toshiro snorted disdainfully.
"Weather Subjugation- Sky Lock!"
Toshiro extended his left hand towards the approaching Hollows and suddenly clenched his fist.
The Hollows flying mid-air suddenly felt their bodies freeze, completely immobilized.
"Roar!"
The Hollows in mid-air began roaring in panic and struggling desperately. However, no matter how they struggled, they couldn't move an inch!
[Weather Subjugation] was one of Hyorinmaru's most basic abilities, yet also one of its most powerful, said to control all aspects of the sky.
And [Weather Subjugation - Sky Lock] was a new technique Toshiro developed based on the [Weather Subjugation] ability.
It used Hyorinmaru's dominion over the sky to repel and restrain enemies in the air.
As long as an enemy was in the sky, they would face the rejection of the entire sky!
Of course, though it sounded impressive, currently it could only be used against weak enemies.
Against powerful Captain-level or even Lieutenant-level opponents, its effect wasn't significant. Although it could cause some restraint and pressure, it couldn't completely stop their movement in the air.
But Toshiro believed that as his strength grew and he developed the ability further, he would one day become the true ruler of the skies.
Then, no one would be able to stand above him in the sky!
"Vacuum Ice Blade!"
Looking at the Hollows restrained and immobilized mid-air, Toshiro casually swung his Zanpakuto.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Ice blades pierced through the Hollows' bodies. The freezing power contained within the blades then froze them solid.
Boom!
The frozen Hollows fell from the sky like meteors, shattering into pieces upon impact.
Under Toshiro's attacks, the Hollow horde's numbers dwindled further, while the Hollows couldn't harm Toshiro at all.
Finally, the Hollows began to feel fear!
At first, a few Hollows started running away from the battlefield.
Then, it triggered a chain reaction. More and more Hollows began fleeing in all directions.
Seeing the Hollows scattering and fleeing, Toshiro couldn't help but frown.
Since the Hollows were scattering instead of staying grouped, the number each of Toshiro's attacks could kill decreased.
"Well, whatever. Let me show you my true power!" Toshiro declared arrogantly.
"Bankai! Daiguren Hyorinmaru!"
Toshiro shouted.
Boom!
Powerful Reiatsu erupted from Toshiro's body, sweeping out in all directions.
Simultaneously, Toshiro's appearance underwent a dramatic change.
His sword-wielding right arm was covered in ice crystals, resembling a dragon's limb. A pair of massive frost wings spread from his back, nearly enveloping his entire body.
Then, three sets of twelve-petaled crimson ice lotus petals appeared behind him.
His entire being radiated a sacred and imposing aura.
"Bankai!"
"Did Commander Hitsugaya just shout 'Bankai'?"
The Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force's members exclaimed in disbelief.
The reinforcements from the Soul Society showed no surprise. They had heard countless times in the Soul Society about Toshiro knowing Bankai.
"What exactly is Bankai?" A regular Shinigami from the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force instinctively asked.
Most Shinigami never achieve Shikai in their entire lives, let alone Bankai. They only knew Bankai was a technique used by Captain-level Shinigami.
"Bankai... It is the ultimate secret of the Zanpakuto, usable only by Shinigami who stand at the pinnacle. Shinigami reaching such a level are rare, appearing perhaps once every few decades or centuries. But any Shinigami who masters Bankai will, without exception, have their name etched into the history of the Soul Society. That is Bankai," Ando, the deputy commander of the 1st Corps, found himself explaining.
"Hey, Ando, how do you know all this?" Amagai asked curiously.
Ando looked somewhat sorrowful. "Commander Yamazaki told me. Commander Yamazaki's strength was approaching Captain-level. To train for Bankai, he specifically researched about it. It's a shame... Commander Yamazaki was just one step away from mastering Bankai, but he sacrificed himself to cover our retreat."
At this, the corps commanders fell silent.
"Thousand Year Ice Prison!"
Standing proudly in the sky after releasing Bankai, Toshiro looked at the scattering Hollows and used one of Hyorinmaru's strongest ultimate techniques.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
One colossal ice pillar after another suddenly rose from the ground, blocking the Hollows' escape routes.
Boom!
All the massive ice pillars rapidly closed in towards the center, forming a gigantic icy prison, like a cage of divine punishment.
The Hollows inside were all frozen, each preserved in their frantic, fleeing postures.
In the sky, Toshiro looked around. The attacking Hollows, numbering at least ten thousand, were now reduced to a few hundred. The rest had been annihilated by Toshiro!
Even these remaining few hundred Hollows were intentionally left alive by Toshiro.
In the Soul Society, Hollows usually appeared singly or in small groups, rarely in large-scale hordes.
Therefore, the reinforcements Toshiro brought from the Soul Society had no experience fighting large Hollow hordes. Thus, Toshiro decided to leave these few hundred Hollows for them to practice on.