Shin said, "Use your Resurrección, Grimmjow."
"Human, it seems you know quite a lot. You even know about Resurrección."
"However, this level isn't enough to make me release my Resurrección."
Before Grimmjow could finish speaking, a flame-wrapped fist landed on his chest.
So fast!
Grimmjow only saw Shin's figure vanish before a sharp pain shot through his chest. He flew backward, tumbling across the desert.
"Cough! Cough!"
Grimmjow coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, his chest charred black.
"Is this enough?"
Looking at Shin's smiling face, Grimmjow was instantly filled with rage.
"Bastard!"
He held his Zanpakutō in his right hand, and his left hand brushed over the blade. The Zanpakutō turned entirely blue, and the overflowing Reiatsu whipped up a tornado in the desert.
"Grind!"
As the dust settled, Grimmjow transformed into his panther-man form. His body became a white panther, his hair grew long, reaching his waist, his ears became panther ears, and he had sharp fangs and claws, his entire body covered in tight white armor.
"Has it come?"
Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine!
The sky turned blood-red, and a shrine rose behind Shin, with countless skeletons beneath it.
In an instant, Grimmjow felt a shock to his soul. That mountain of corpses and sea of blood-like aura overwhelmed him, completely different from the Reiatsu Aizen had exerted on him.
Countless white slashes attacked Grimmjow.
"Ah!!!"
Desgarron!
Grimmjow roared, extending massive blue claw-like energy from both hands, swinging them wildly to fend off the overwhelming slashes.
'This won't do, I'll be worn down to death sooner or later.' Grimmjow thought.
Shin made no move, quietly watching Grimmjow struggle.
"Damn it! Don't underestimate me!"
Grimmjow spun his body, rushing towards Shin like a whirlwind.
A giant white net unfolded in front of Shin, flying towards Grimmjow. It was Cleave, strengthened by the domain
Grimmjow's attacks shattered inch by inch, and to his horror, the net cut into his body.
At this moment, time seemed to freeze.
Grimmjow could clearly feel his armor being cut open, the giant net slicing into his body bit by bit.
'It hurts so much! Am I going to die here today?' Grimmjow slowly closed his eyes.
However, the sensation of being cut all over his body disappeared the next instant.
Shin had retracted his domain.
The sky had returned to its original state, and Grimmjow lay in a pool of blood.
"Grimmjow-sama!"
Seeing this, Shawlong immediately rushed forward to check Grimmjow's injuries.
Shin slowly walked towards the two.
Shawlong saw Shin approaching and was about to fight to the death, but Grimmjow stopped him.
"Shawlong... step back."
Grimmjow then looked at Shin and asked with difficulty, "Why... didn't you kill me?"
Shin said, "I think you have great potential. Although you're only an Arrancar now, I believe you will evolve into a Vasto Lorde."
"How about it? Will you follow me?"
Grimmjow was very confused and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Reverse Cursed Technique!
Shin extended his hand, wanting to test the effect of Reverse Cursed Technique on others.
Grimmjow's wounds healed at a visible rate.
Then, he aimed at Shawlong's left arm, but found that the recovery speed slowed down, and his own consumption increased.
Grimmjow and Shawlong were both in a complex mood, defeated by an enemy, yet being healed by that same enemy. They couldn't even guess Shin's full strength. The intel clearly stated he was a human who manipulated fire, but Shin barely used his fire ability in the recent battle.
A moment later, both of their injuries were mostly healed.
"I can help you get stronger, and I can also find you a formidable opponent." Shin continued to raise the stakes.
Grimmjow was extremely obsessed with getting stronger, and even more interested in evenly matched opponents.
"A formidable opponent?"
"That's right, the kind that gets stronger the more you fight them."
Shin silently apologized to Ichigo in his heart, it seemed he couldn't escape the panther's entanglement.
Zaraki, Ikkaku, and now Grimmjow were added to the list.
Grimmjow stood up, hesitating for a moment.
"Alright, I agree to follow you."
[Mission Complete: Subdue Grimmjow]
[Obtained Black Cloak (Aizen Sōsuke's improved version)]
[Black Cloak: Can completely conceal the user's Reiatsu and figure]
Shin looked at Grimmjow, his head was not bowed.
'It seems he's outwardly obedient but inwardly rebellious.'
However, Shin didn't care, completing the mission was enough.
Given Grimmjow's personality, it was impossible for him to be utterly convinced so easily. He didn't need Grimmjow to do anything for him, but if Grimmjow were to block his path, he wouldn't hold back again.
Shawlong, beside them, remained silent, unconditionally supporting all of Grimmjow's actions.
"Big brother, are... are you alright?"
Nel jumped onto Shin's back from behind, her eyes glaring fiercely at Grimmjow and Shawlong.
She had just been dragged far away by Pesche and Dondochakka.
Grimmjow was somewhat speechless. Clearly, they were the ones injured, and why would an Arrancar call a human "brother"?
"I'm fine." Shin patted Nel's head.
"Nel, I still have something to do. Can you, Pesche, and Dondochakka find a place to wait for me?"
"Big brother, you're not going to abandon me, are you?"
Nel's expression changed upon hearing this, and she looked like she was about to cry again.
"How could I? I just need to go to a place. I'll come find you after I'm done."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
Shin looked at Nel with a serious expression.
However, Nel's teary-eyed look was really cute. Oh no, was he going to awaken some strange new attribute now?
Shin cleared his mind and looked at Grimmjow. "Let's go, we're going to Las Noches."
Aizen had only sent one of the Espada to investigate the situation, there were no major movements. Now, Shin was going to take the initiative.
"Las Noches?"
"Just going in directly like that?"
Shin looked at him strangely. "How else would we go?"
Grimmjow was bewildered. Who invades an enemy's stronghold alone?
"Don't worry, Aizen and I are old acquaintances. I'm just going to pay him a visit."
Saying this, Shin bid farewell to Nel and the others. "Nel, Pesche, Dondochakka, goodbye."
"Big brother, goodbye."
...
Not long after, the three arrived at the outer perimeter of Las Noches.
Meanwhile, inside Las Noches.
Aizen looked at Shin in the surveillance footage, his expression unreadable.
"Kaname, tell the subordinates not to make any moves."
"Yes, Aizen-sama."
Kaname immediately left to relay the orders.
Gin narrowed his eyes. "Captain Aizen, what do you think Shin's purpose is, coming here alone?"
Aizen said, "Gin, perhaps we are about to gain another member."