"You can use Cero Doble?"
Nel tilted her head in astonishment, struggling to believe that Nanatsuki could swallow a Cero like that.
"I reinforced my stomach with Reiatsu. That allowed me to regurgitate it," Nanatsuki replied with a casual explanation.
Cero Doble was far more complex than it looked on the surface. It required using one's stomach as a container to momentarily store incoming Cero blasts. That kind of feat demanded an extraordinarily durable internal structure—something Nanatsuki now achieved by learning how to strengthen his organs with Reiatsu.
"Reinforce your stomach with Reiatsu? That sounds really complicated..." Nel murmured, clearly not following. Regurgitating Cero was instinct for her—she never needed to understand how it worked.
"Sensei's just way too strong. There's no hope of beating you," she added, sighing. Even after evolving into a Vasto Lorde, her strength had improved drastically, yet her teacher's depth remained unfathomable.
"You've already made excellent progress. That new technique you used just now wasn't bad—quite powerful, actually." Nanatsuki nodded in approval before turning toward the other disciple. "I brought something today… something that can help you evolve into an Arrancar."
He revealed the incomplete Hōgyoku he had brought along—a half-finished version refined after dozens of tests. It was now confirmed safe for aiding evolution without side effects.
Harribel had yet to become an Arrancar. It was time.
"An Arrancar?" Harribel's normally composed expression stirred. "You mean… the same kind of evolution as Nel?"
She and Nel had been together for over twenty years. Naturally, she had asked Nel how she became an Arrancar—only to hear that it was their teacher's doing.
"It requires a higher-tier force to serve as the catalyst for your transformation," Nanatsuki explained, retrieving a transparent, multi-faceted container holding a glowing azure orb.
This wasn't Aizen Sōsuke's Hōgyoku. Nanatsuki had mastered the related craft himself. After Aizen created his Hōgyoku, Nanatsuki replicated the process—using fragments of the Soul King. In fact, this version contained more fragments than Aizen's and surpassed his in power.
By Nanatsuki's estimation, his half-finished Hōgyoku had already reached half the potency of a completed one.
Even in its current state, it could influence Menos externally, while Aizen's required implantation into the target's body to take effect.
This was thanks to the hidden treasures of the Shihōin and Tsunayashiro clans. Without the Soul King fragments preserved by their ancestors, it would have taken far longer to forge this orb.
"What is that?"
Nel and Harribel leaned in curiously.
"The Hōgyoku. It can facilitate your evolution," Nanatsuki said after a moment's thought. "Harribel, you've already reached the upper limit of Adjuchas. You're just one step away from becoming a Vasto Lorde. With this, you might break through—and evolve into a Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar in one stroke."
"Really?! Lil' Harribel's gonna become a Vasto Lorde too!" Nel looked more excited than Harribel herself.
"Let's begin."
With a single thought, the orb drifted out of its container.
Suspended in Nanatsuki's palm, it glowed with an ethereal blue light.
He could feel it—the pulsing life within.
The Hōgyoku wasn't inert. It had a will of its own.
Its consciousness wasn't like that of living creatures; Nanatsuki couldn't communicate with it directly.
But it understood desire. It manifested what it sensed around it.
Nanatsuki reached out and gripped the orb. Threads of black light stretched out from it, piercing his fingers.
The Hōgyoku began to shift from blue to black.
Then, in a sudden flare, it exploded with radiant brilliance—enveloping Harribel entirely.
The light surged into her body—Reiatsu rushing in like a rising tide.
Nanatsuki's Reiatsu poured into her in some subtle, mysterious way.
Like overfilling a vessel, it pushed her to the brink.
Under the force of death god power, Harribel broke through the wall that had halted her as an Adjuchas. Her Reiatsu exploded in magnitude.
The white carapace encasing her body began to crack.
Crack, crack...
Spiderweb fractures spread rapidly across the surface.
Then, with a sharp shatter, the shell fragmented and fell away—revealing soft, flawless bronze skin beneath.
The carapace covering her upper body vanished, leaving only pauldrons, gauntlets, and white fragments protecting key areas of her chest.
Her lower armor fell in shards, leaving behind a skirt of white plating.
Below that, long, powerful legs emerged as the shell fell away—down to her knees, where it halted in the form of white armored boots.
"Wow! Lil' Harribel's figure is amazing!" Nel gushed, leaning in to poke at the toned lines of her abs.
"...Such immense power..."
Harribel clenched her fists, awed by the force surging through her.
"Congratulations—you've become a Vasto Lorde." Nanatsuki smiled.
She had stood at the very edge of Adjuchas for years. Now, with one push, she crossed into the rarefied realm of Vasto Lorde-class Menos.
"It's all thanks to you, Sensei!" Harribel bowed her head. She knew well how hard that step was—how many Adjuchas had perished trying to reach it.
A familiar Status Interface chimed softly:
[Disciple Tier Harribel has evolved into a Vasto Lorde. Reward calculated.]
[Reward received: 100,000 General Ability EXP]
[Reward received: Scorching Sea Current]
Scorching Sea Current—one of Harribel's signature techniques. It generated streams of superheated water to attack foes.
Many of her abilities were derived from this single skill, branching into variations through different manipulations of that boiling tide.
"Now, try to focus inward," Nanatsuki said gently. "Like Nel—reel in your power."
"I'll try."
Closing her eyes, Harribel searched within.
She quickly located the instinctual power—and her form began to shift.
The remnants of her carapace and the white-toothed greatsword on her right hand vanished, condensing into a single Zanpakutō.
"Don't catch a cold!" Nel blushed and tossed a cloak over her.
In that instant, Nanatsuki also confirmed something quietly: the location of Harribel's Hollow hole. (T/N: It's in the lower abdomen, on the area of her womb if anyone doesn't know!)
"...Mm." Nanatsuki kept his tone calm. "Now you're both Vasto Lorde-class. That gives you real standing in Hueco Mundo."
He still had a mission unfinished.
The "Birth of a New King" quest required the rise of a ruler over Hueco Mundo. That meant claiming Las Noches.
Barragan had died years ago, and now rogue Menos occupied the palace.
Nel and Harribel would need to suppress them—and seize control of Las Noches.