"Szayel Aporro Granz!"
"You're actually here..."
Pesche's face darkened slightly.
In their field of view stood a man with glasses, short pink hair, and golden eyes.
He wore the signature battle uniform of the Espada, exuding an air of elegance.
Espada No. 8 — Szayel Aporro!
Unlike the despair embodied by Nnoitra, Szayel Aporro represented a different face of death, madness. He was the embodiment of the insane scientist.
As Hueco Mundo's researcher, Szayel Aporro excelled at intelligence gathering and experimentation, conducting countless dangerous and cruel tests.
It was because of him that Lady Nilu was ambushed by Nnoitra in the past, nearly dying as a result.
That was something Pesche would never forget.
"Hey, Pesche. Do you dare question me?"
Szayel Aporro casually pushed up his glasses, swept his bangs behind his ears, and scoffed:
"Know your place. You're just a subordinate, and not even at Adjuchas level anymore. What gives you the right to question me?"
"Is it because you're clinging to that Shinigami behind you?"
As he spoke, Szayel Aporro shifted his gaze to Shinji and smiled.
Then, without warning, he vanished, instantly launching an attack.
With gloved fingers like sharpened needles, he pierced toward Pesche's heart.
Pesche's expression changed drastically.
He instinctively spun away, but Szayel Aporro's speed was superior. He closed the distance in a flash, Pesche could only watch helplessly as the gloved hand shot toward his chest.
"Don't be so arrogant, you piece of trash."
But the fatal strike struck something, hard.
Bang!
A burst of air exploded outward.
Szayel Aporro looked up in surprise, his fingers were stopped by Shinji's bare palm, completely uninjured.
"No wonder you could kill that fool Nnoitra... a Shinigami with defense like this, interesting."
Backing off, Szayel Aporro fixed his gaze on Shinji's hand with growing fascination.
What was shocking was that...
Szayel Aporro didn't seem to care about Nnoitra's death, despite Nnoitra being ranked above him in the Espada.
Even stranger, he looked at Shinji like one might a test subject.
"Nelliel... to think you'd actually follow a Shinigami. How amusing."
His golden eyes flicked to Nilu, hiding behind Shinji, filled with twisted curiosity, a touch of madness dancing within.
After all, Nilu was once a Vasto Lorde, a female Menos Grande.
Even if she was weakened and broken now, that fact couldn't be erased.
So, what kind of Shinigami was Kuchiki Shinji, for her to follow?
"Looks like you'd make for some very interesting test data." Szayel Aporro licked his lips and said with a twisted grin. "That outfit... are you a captain of the Gotei 13?"
"And that number... 10th squad, right? You must be the newly appointed Captain, Kuchiki Shinji."
His tone was confident, disturbingly so.
Then, Szayel Aporro carefully straightened his clothes until they were perfectly pristine, reflecting his pathological obsession with cleanliness.
Shinji nodded slowly. "You seem to know quite a bit about me."
In the next moment, Shinji vanished and reappeared behind Szayel Aporro.
"Then you should know... I passed the captain's test by defeating two captains."
Before the words fully left his lips,
Szayel Aporro flew out like a missile.
Boom!
A cloud of golden sand erupted high into the air.
Climbing out of the crater, Szayel Aporro's face darkened further when he saw the dust and dirt clinging to his body.
"You... bastard! You dirtied me?!"
His eye twitched violently. He trembled, not out of fear, but out of disgust. His cleanliness obsession had been triggered.
In a fury, Szayel Aporro pushed up his glasses, drew his sword, and slashed at Shinji without hesitation,
Only to be immediately overwhelmed.
Bang!
Szayel Aporro stared in disbelief as he was flung backward, again.
Physically overpowered, by a Shinigami?
"...What?!"
Looking down at his dropped sword, Szayel Aporro stared at Shinji in confusion and suspicion.
Sure, he was near the bottom rank of the Espada, but this kind of physical domination from a Shinigami was far beyond normal.
This Kuchiki Shinji… was not normal.
"Captain... would you like to participate in an experiment? I'm very curious about your body."
Picking up his weapon, Szayel Aporro stared at Shinji like prey, the gleam of a mad scientist in his eyes.
"It doesn't matter if you say no... because I never needed your permission."
His gaze turned icy.
"Resurrección, Sip, Fornicarás!"
Szayel Aporro grinned as he raised his sword, and swallowed it whole.
A narrow beam of purple Reiatsu exploded from his body, surging outward.
Tentacles burst from below his torso, before retracting and forming into legs again. Four skeletal wings unfolded from his back. His eyes shimmered with bizarre, prismatic hues.
Szayel Aporro, had entered his Resurrección form!
Crash!
Rain began to fall.
Pesche touched his cheek, and froze.
"...These raindrops are purple?!"
"If I can take you back, I'll have so many new materials to study." Szayel Aporro narrowed his eyes.
Unusual Reiatsu.
Unusual strength.
Unusual defense.
All signs pointed to Kuchiki Shinji being a major anomaly.
"Lord Shinji! Be careful, these raindrops might be poisonous!"
Pesche shouted, rushing to Nilu's side. Together with Dondochakka, he raised a barrier of Reiatsu to shield them.
But!
These raindrops were corroding their spiritual energy!
Watching their shield decay rapidly, Pesche's heart sank.
Compared to the brute-force type like Nnoitra, Szayel Aporro was far more dangerous, because with him, you never knew what horrifying trick he'd use next.
"You're too noisy, Pesche."
Szayel Aporro appeared high above them, looking down at Nilu with a sneer.
"That idiot Nnoitra couldn't kill you... but as compensation for all the data I extracted from you, I'll personally send you to hell."
"Goodbye, Nelliel."
He raised his hand.
A swirling sphere of condensed Reiatsu formed, dense, heavy with pressure. Even the air itself seemed to burn around it.
The space began to tear.
Szayel Aporro unleashed Gran Rey Cero!
Pesche's eyes widened in horror as the blast streaked down toward them.
Their barrier, melted in an instant.
But then, in a flash, Shinji stepped in front of the blast.
Rumble!!!
The purple Cero slammed into Shinji's palm, sending tremors through the desert. Reiatsu exploded outward, carving a long trench across the land.
And at the epicenter,
The Cero vanished.
Shinji had caught and extinguished it, with his bare hand!
"This... did he just block Gran Rey Cero with his bare hands?"
Pesche and Dondochakka exchanged glances, feeling that the number of shocks they'd experienced today had already surpassed those of an entire year.
At last, all the purple light dissipated.
A faint puff of blue smoke rose from Shinji's palm.
"Did it... break through my defense?"
Shinji frowned slightly.
Even Nnoitra's Cero couldn't damage the surface of his body.
But Szayel Aporro just did it.
Although it was only a light burn that healed almost instantly, it was indeed a breach.
Szayel Aporro... is more dangerous than Nnoitra.
Still, there was some good news.
Shinji's gaze flickered as he brushed his palm over his chest.
This would help increase Hōgyoku's fusion rate.
"You even blocked Gran Rey Cero? That level of defense…"
Gaining new data, Szayel Aporro looked at Shinji warily, then suddenly grinned: "But kid, you've already been tricked!"
As Szayel Aporro laughed smugly,
A drop of black liquid suddenly dripped from Shinji's palm.
Plop.
The black droplet hit the ground.
Then, like rapidly dividing cells, it began to writhe and expand, until a "Kuchiki Shinji" grew out of it.
But this "clone" was clearly different.
While it wore the same captain's haori and had a similar silhouette, its features had been altered, beautified, according to Szayel Aporro's aesthetics.
"Fascinating, isn't it?"
Szayel Aporro pointed at the clone proudly. "My Resurrección, Fornicarás, can secrete a black fluid from my back. If that fluid touches someone, a near-perfect clone will be created."
"The clone's appearance can be modified according to my preferences, and it inherits all of your abilities."
"In other words, this replica possesses all of your powers..."
"So, what now, Captain Shinigami?"
Szayel Aporro squinted smugly.
"How… how are we supposed to fight that?!"
Pesche felt a headache coming on.
Szayel Aporro was already dangerous, but after seeing Shinji kill Nnoitra, he had full faith in the Shinigami.
But now the enemy had another Shinji?
Pesche shuddered.
That apocalyptic blade pressure and overwhelming Reiatsu, he didn't want to feel it even once!
"Dondochakka, evacuate Lady Nel right now, no, go back ten kilometers!"
"No, make that fifty kilometers!"
Pesche yelled, his expression deadly serious.
If that clone really had Shinji's power, even fifty kilometers might not be safe!
"Oh? You're all scared of him?"
Szayel Aporro pointed at the clone, pushing up his glasses with a carefree smile. "That's natural. He can take a Gran Rey Cero head-on and has superhuman durability, speed, and strength."
"From any angle, he's a terrifying existence…"
At that moment,
Shinji finally spoke.
"Are you done talking?"
"…Huh?"
Szayel Aporro froze.
What was going on?
Why did this Shinigami show no change in expression?
He had already cloned him, shouldn't Shinji be panicking?
Could it be... he wasn't scared at all?
Szayel Aporro's brows furrowed.
His name, after all, meant one who plays with life in the palm of his hand.
He delighted in manipulating his opponents, watching them scream in despair as he broke them down bit by bit.
That was his fulfillment.
"You're really pissing me off."
Shinji raised his Zanpakutō and pointed it at the clone.
The clone mimicked the movement exactly, lifting its own blade.
It copied everything Shinji did, including combat techniques.
This was the horror of Fornicarás.
But to Szayel Aporro's shock,
Shinji's expression twisted with rage.
"Look at my face. Look carefully, punk!"
"What the hell did you squeeze out?!"
"Does my face look that big to you?!"
"And that outfit?! Since when is the captain's haori such a revealing mess, you bastard?!"
Shinji's eyes were practically spitting fire.
Was he mad about being copied?
No, he was furious at how hideously the clone had been styled!
What was Szayel Aporro thinking, to 'beautify' his face that much?
So he was that kind of creep after all?
A figure-obsessed freak who made creepy knock-offs?!
Szayel Aporro: "???"
What's wrong with my body aesthetics?
I think it looks great!
Wait... why are we even talking about this?!
Szayel Aporro snapped out of it, shaking his head.
Looking at Shinji's scowling face, he felt a bit of disbelief.
So... you were fuming this whole time over how ugly the clone looked?!
"You really think my design is ugly?!"
Szayel Aporro's face twitched with rage, his eyes burning.
"You blind fools just don't understand perfect beauty!"
"Look at it again, really look at it! Is it that bad?! Does that clone look nothing like you?!"
"My aesthetic sense is flawless. You're just ignorant!"
He trembled with fury.
To Szayel Aporro, being questioned was unforgivable.
Arrogant. Conceited. And proud of it.
Just like Nnoitra, another brainless idiot!
"You know what? The more I look at it, the more I hate it. It's a fucking eyesore."
Shinji's eyelid twitched. He raised his Zanpakutō and slashed down.
This ugly clone?
Time to erase it!
The "Shinji clone" mirrored his move and swung down its own blade.
Boom!
Lightning clashed.
Under Szayel Aporro's disbelieving gaze, the "Shinji clone" was pierced by lightning on impact.
Then,
Countless bolts of thunder descended, shredding the clone until not even ashes remained. The storm raged for a long while before finally dissipating.
"D-dead?"
Pesche blinked in shock.
That clone… just got obliterated?!
What? It turned out to be a cheap knockoff?!
Pesche let out a long breath.
Thank goodness.
He thought the clone had Shinji's terrifying power.
But clearly… he'd been overthinking it.
There was no way a fake could replicate the true Kuchiki Shinji's strength!
"Szayel Aporro… you've seriously pissed me off."
At that moment,
Shinji walked forward, dragging his thunder-cloaked Zanpakutō behind him, expressionless.
Then, after a brief pause, he muttered:
"Yeah… it's definitely best if I just hack you to pieces."