The Bone Circle gathered around Baraggan's crumbling throne as the sunless sky of Hueco Mundo stretched endlessly above us. Yammy, still nursing bruises from his earlier beatdown, stomped up, pride somehow still intact despite being half-buried in sand an hour ago.
I crossed my arms, looking down at him with a wide grin.
"GRUAAAH!"
[Translation:Yammy, wanna join my Bone Circle?]
Baraggan, sitting nearby with one eye half-open, yawned and translated.
"He says you wanna join or what, loudmouth?"
Yammy cracked his knuckles.
"Tch. Yeah. But only if I get to fight the strongest member first. One-on-one. Fair and square this time!"
The Bone Circle fell silent. The 4 idiots looked at each other, muttering things like "Is he serious?" and "That's suicide."
I raised a brow ridge.
"GRUHHHH."
[Translation:And who's that supposed to be?]
Yammy pointed a fat finger straight at Baraggan.
"That one! The old skeleton! He's the god-king, right? Gotta be the strongest if he's sitting on the throne!"
A hush fell over the circle.
Grimmjow, perched on a rock, snorted and muttered,
"Moron."
I broke into a massive, toothy grin and let out a guttural, echoing roar.
"GRUOOOUUHH!"
[Translation:I like your choice, Yammy! But you talk big and you're a chicken. Baraggan's the weakest here.]
Baraggan's skull tilted slightly as he translated it to Yammy, a smug grin in his hollow sockets.
Yammy blinked.
"Huh? What do you mean weakest? He's sitting on the god-king throne!"
Baraggan sighed dramatically.
"He says I'm the weakest. Ten fights with him. Ten losses. Zero wins."
Yammy's jaw dropped.
"Then… then who the hell's the strongest!?"
I pointed dramatically to the castle gates.
And there, as if summoned by fate, stood Spike o Sensei.
The mighty cactus guard — ten meters tall, arms spiked with thick thorns, a straw hat perched slightly sideways on his head — unmoving as always, silently radiating terrifying authority.
I grinned wide.
"GRUAAH."
[Translation:Spike o Sensei. 100 wins. Zero losses. The strongest in the Bone Circle.]
Baraggan translated word-for-word, shaking his head like a man who'd given up on sense long ago.
Yammy stared at Spike, gulping visibly.
Then, trying to play it cool, he laughed.
"Hmph! If you're strong, you don't need guards. But if you have one… it means that guard's even stronger."
Grimmjow burst out laughing.
"He finally gets it."
The 4 idiots clapped like idiots.
Even Aizen gave a low woof of approval, with Kukkapūro barking twice in excitement.
Yammy, bruised and limping, stomped towards Spike o Sensei, his pride too big to back down now.
I grinned wider.
"GRUUUUUHH!"
[Translation:Today… a ten-meter cactus fights a ten-meter idiot.]
Baraggan sighed.
"He says you're an idiot, Yammy. But a brave one."
The Bone Circle howled in excitement. No punches yet, but the tension in the air felt thick enough to choke a Menos.
Current EP: 85,105,000 / 100,000,000.