Ever since discovering his Shikai ability, Reno's first thought had been to infiltrate the Soul Society by disguising himself as a Soul Reaper. This would allow him to see Retsu Unohana, who looked exactly like his mother, and take revenge on Rukia.
"I wonder if my Hollow Hole will disappear after evolving into an Adjuchas..." Reno mused, touching the Hollow Hole on his chest, which had shrunk by half after absorbing Kurosaki Masaki.
"I need to get stronger quickly so I can infiltrate the Soul Society!"
Wielding the Thunder Emperor Slash, Reno resolved inwardly, "If I don't evolve into an Adjuchas, infiltrating the Soul Society will be a death sentence!"
Squeak... The Thunder Emperor Slash reverted to its ordinary Zanpakuto form, sheathing at Reno's waist. The Soul Chain coiled back around his body, appearing merely ornamental to those unaware of its true abilities.
Casually picking up half of the Pig-shaped Adjuchas' shattered mask, Reno affixed it to his face. In Hueco Mundo, lacking any semblance of a mask would make him stand out too much.
Reno then set off on foot in the opposite direction from Las Noches. Having decided to infiltrate the Soul Society, he wanted to avoid any contact with the Espada for now. After all, Hueco Mundo was vast, teeming with Adjuchas ripe for hunting.
"Destroy the living, shatter space-time! Descend, Thunder Emperor!"
Reno's resonant voice echoed across the endless desert as a towering pillar of lightning erupted from his body.
"Heh... an amusing little brat..."
Facing Reno, a Humanoid Hollow barely twice his size burst into laughter upon witnessing his Resurrección.
Since leaving his initial entry point into Hueco Mundo, Reno had swiftly encountered and devoured several Adjuchas within days.
Reno soon encountered a humanoid Hollow with a monstrous tail trailing behind it—an Adjuchas whose mask remained perfectly intact.
"Cassiro! You'll pay for underestimating me!"
Upon unleashing his Resurrección, Reno immediately manifested his Thunder Emperor Hollow Form, his Reiatsu surging to Adjuchas-level intensity.
The Cassiro Reno spoke of was the very humanoid Hollow before him, the one who had torn his Shinigami robes to tatters.
"Oh? Your Reiatsu has increased..." Cassiro remarked, surprised by Reno's Resurrección. He quickly sneered, "Even with that and your Hierro, you'll only prolong your death and eventual consumption by me!"
"Hmph~ We'll see who devours whom!" Reno retorted, though his expression betrayed no composure. Even with his Resurrección, Cassiro's Reiatsu still surpassed his, and the Hollow's mastery of his abilities was overwhelming. Victory seemed impossible.
"Hmph~ Still defiant even on the brink of death!" Cassiro scoffed, raising his hand toward Reno. An orange Cero immediately coalesced in his palm.
Pfft! Cassiro's Cero shot toward Reno like a blazing comet.
Zzzzt! Seeing Cassiro unleash a Cero, Reno immediately took the attack seriously. He opened his mouth and condensed his own Cero, firing it directly at Cassiro's.
Boom! The two Cero collided mid-air between Reno and Cassiro, sending both of them staggering back several steps.
"Oh? Your Cero's power is now on par with mine?" Cassiro exclaimed in surprise, noticing that Reno's Cero had blocked his own. Previously, Reno's Cero had lacked such destructive force.
"Hmph," Reno scoffed, inwardly relieved that his Cero could match Cassiro's. He immediately surged forward, Dark Red Lightning crackling around his fist.
"Thunder Fist!"
"Hmph! Let's see how long you can keep this up!" Cassiro sneered, meeting Reno's Thunder Fist with his own punch.
Bang! Reno was sent flying backward from the force of the collision. After regaining his footing, he shook his slightly numb right hand. "So strong!"
"Damn it! It has a paralyzing effect!" Cassiro cursed, shaking his own numb right fist. Though he had only retreated a single step, Reno's Thunder Fist's paralyzing effect had caught him completely off guard.
"Hmph! I'll devour you today, no matter what!"
Cassiro roared, shaking his right fist to dispel the lingering paralysis. He immediately launched himself at Reno.
Bang! Bang! Two muffled grunts echoed as Reno, relying on his formidable Hierro, quickly engaged Cassiro in close combat. Cassiro was repeatedly forced back by Reno's strikes, needing to shake off the paralyzing effects of Reno's Dark Red Lightning.
Reno fought with growing exhilaration. The minor pain was nothing compared to the trials he had endured in the Dark Thunder Prison. With each strike, he refined his Thunder Fist technique.
Cassiro, however, grew increasingly frustrated. Roaring in fury, he loathed the lingering paralysis from the Dark Red Lightning. Yet he refused to believe Reno could endure for long, maintaining his relentless assault.
"Pesche! Is someone fighting over there?"
Far from the battle, a cute little girl in green stood atop a giant insect, addressing a Humanoid Hollow beside her. The mask on her head was cracked and broken—it was Nelliel, the former Third Espada of Hueco Mundo.
"Mhm! Someone's fighting, Nelliel-sama!" Dondochakka, standing beside her on the insect's back, grinned.
"Fighting isn't pretty, Nelliel. Let's go play hide-and-seek!" Pesche called out, watching Reno and Cassiro's battle from afar.
"Hmm... But Nelliel likes watching fights..." Nelliel replied, her eyes still glued to the battle with a curious, almost pitiful expression.
"Pesche, Pesche! Look! That Hollow in the dark red clothes is so strong! The yellow Hollow can't even touch him!" Nelliel exclaimed excitedly.
"Ah! He got knocked back again! Pesche, should we go save him?" she asked moments later, her voice filled with worry.
"People who fight aren't good people! We don't save bad guys... Hmm! They're bad Hollows!" Dondochakka interjected, eager to keep Nelliel out of the fray.
"Oh!"
***
"Hmph!" Reno spat, scrambling to his feet, his eyes burning with savage fury. Cassiro, his opponent, was at most a Fracción-level subordinate of the Espada. If he couldn't even defeat a subordinate, how could he ever break through to the next level? Infiltrating the Soul Society would become a complete joke!
What can I do? My attacks can't even scratch him!
Though his heart seethed with the desire to destroy Cassiro, Reno's mind remained coldly calculating.
His rudimentary Thunder Fist, which relied on basic lightning manipulation, was utterly ineffective against Cassiro. To inflict serious damage, Reno needed to unleash a far more powerful technique. A Cero might work, but it was ill-suited for close-quarters combat.
"Hahaha... Finally about to collapse, are you?" Cassiro roared with laughter, watching Reno struggle to his feet, his body swaying slightly.
"I told you! That steel skin of yours only delays your death... Hahaha..."
Cassiro, still laughing maniacally, ceased his advance. He raised his right hand, and a yellow Cero began to coalesce once more.
"Cero..."
Seeing Cassiro unleash another Cero, a flash of inspiration struck Reno. Why not condense pure Dark Red Lightning into a Cero-like energy sphere? Its power would far surpass a Cero merely infused with Dark Red Lightning!
Faced with Cassiro's Cero, which could inflict grievous injury, a ruthless glint flashed in Reno's eyes. Instead of countering with his own Cero, he couldn't suppress the idea burning within him. He raised both hands, channeling all the Dark Red Lightning in his body to condense between them.
Zzzzt! A crimson Lightning Orb crackled into existence between Reno's palms, radiating an aura of destruction. It pulsed violently, as if on the verge of exploding at the slightest misstep.
"What's that?" Cassiro's expression darkened as he sensed a faint but undeniable aura of danger emanating from the Lightning Orb.
"Hmph! No matter what tricks you have left, you're dead today!" Cassiro gritted his teeth, focusing his Cero and unleashing it toward Reno.
"Aaaah... Go!" Reno roared, channeling every ounce of his power into the Lightning Orb between his hands, and hurled it toward Cassiro.
Boom! To Reno and Cassiro's surprise, the Lightning Orb detonated just one meter from Reno, unleashing a massive explosion that surged skyward. Even Cassiro's Cero was obliterated by the blast.
Bang! The force of the explosion sent Reno flying backward, instantly shredding his Shinigami robes. Fortunately, the Soul Chain wrapped around his body absorbed most of the blast's energy. When Reno crashed into the desert, he merely lost consciousness, narrowly escaping death.
"No..."
Cassiro, caught within the explosion's radius, managed only a single, agonized scream before his body was obliterated into dissipating Reishi. Unlike Reno, Cassiro lacked the latter's monstrous Hierro.
After Reno lost consciousness, his body immediately reverted from Resurrección to Arrancar form. The dormant Zanpakuto within him reappeared at his waist, steadily channeling Reishi into his body.
Meanwhile, Reno's unconscious body began automatically absorbing the ambient Reishi of Hueco Mundo.
"Cough, cough..." Reno coughed, his eyes fluttering open to reveal the same unchanging, desolate sky.
"Wah! The bad guy's awake!"
A moment later, Reno noticed a small, adorable figure hovering above him, addressing the Thunder God. With lake-green hair, a cracked mask perched on her head, a scar across her face, and wide, curious eyes, she gazed at Reno with childlike wonder.
"...Who are you?"
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