Chapter 158: Arrancar

The increased Hollow activity had been noted, but under the 12th Division's watchful eye, it barely registered as a minor spike on their graphs. Like the tides, Hollow activity ebbs and flows, and this spike just happened to occur now.

Feeling uneasy, Naruto decided to investigate. After Mayuri Kurotsuchi explained the situation, it became clear that this wasn't an anomaly, and the "special Shinigami power" they were monitoring hadn't shown up. The rise in Hollow activity didn't seem directly related to Aizen's experiments.

"Hollows may not be very smart, but they have some brains," Mayuri said coldly, his tone indifferent as he stared at the squad members in the Imaging Hall. "In fact, some Hollows are smarter than foolish Shinigami."

"If something changes in Hueco Mundo, the Hollows will flee too."

"For example, if a Menos Grande or something even stronger dies, creating a new ecological niche, weaker Hollows will flee to avoid being devoured."

Mayuri's words carried a subtle implication.

Naruto nodded thoughtfully. Creatures stronger than Menos Grande? The Soul Society's textbooks mention Menos Grande, but the information is basic and not exhaustive, meant for ordinary Shinigami.

Menos Grande are actually divided into three levels. The type Naruto encountered before, the one described in textbooks, is called a "Gillian," the lowest class of Menos, akin to "foot soldiers." They are numerous and almost identical in appearance.

The Menos that ordinary Shinigami know about or encounter are usually this type. Above them is a class known as "Adjuchas," the middle-class Menos. Compared to Gillians, these Hollows are smaller and have more humanoid features. They command the Gillians, much like captains command their squads.

But Adjuchas are not the pinnacle of Hollows. It's said that there exists a higher class called "Vasto Lorde," of which very few have been discovered or recorded. However, Adjuchas and Vasto Lorde are active only in Hueco Mundo, and ordinary human souls are of no use to them.

Naruto had never encountered them. Was Aizen experimenting on these creatures?

"Is it impossible to monitor Hueco Mundo?" Naruto asked after some thought.

Mayuri operated the controls on the workbench, bringing up several surveillance images on the screens and zooming in. The vast expanse of Hueco Mundo appeared on the screens, with yellow sand stretching endlessly. Occasionally, a few Hollows would scurry across the screen, leaving behind blurry traces.

"This is all we have," Mayuri said, his expression flat as he continued to operate the controls, zooming in further. "I checked when the activity spike occurred and found nothing."

Naruto frowned. So this is Hueco Mundo? It was even more desolate and ruined than he had imagined.

"The Soul Society's surveillance of Hueco Mundo is very limited," Mayuri explained. "These monitoring devices are all we have there."

"Do you want to review the records from the past ten years?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, I doubt anything significant will be found."

Mayuri glanced at the squad members and motioned for Naruto to follow him out of the Imaging Hall into another room. A barrier was erected, completely isolating the space.

"Thanks to the power of the Menos Grande you brought me earlier," Mayuri said in a low voice, "I have a guess about what that guy is trying to do."

Naruto responded with a questioning sound.

"Have you ever heard of 'Arrancar,' Captain Uzumaki?" Mayuri asked.

Naruto shook his head.

"Arrancar is something that only Menos Grande above the level of Gillian attempt," Mayuri began explaining. "They try to remove their masks."

Naruto was taken aback. "Remove their masks?"

"Aren't those masks crucial to Hollows?"

The textbooks mentioned that the masks are a symbol of the Hollows' hidden identities and their descent into evil. When Shinji Hirako and the others were Hollowfied, the first Hollow trait to appear was their masks. From their example, it's clear that the mask is closely tied to Hollow power.

"Of course, they're important," Mayuri confirmed. "But do you know how an Adjuchas is born, Captain Uzumaki?"

Naruto shook his head again.

Mayuri clapped his hands. "A normal Gillian is a chaotic creature born from the fusion of hundreds of powerful Hollows. But if one consciousness is strong enough to dominate the others, it can devour the other Hollow minds and integrate their chaotic power. When this happens, a Gillian evolves into an Adjuchas."

Naruto realized, "So an Adjuchas is a new individual?"

"Exactly. Since it becomes a new individual, the past of any one soul within it becomes irrelevant," Mayuri explained, speaking as if reading from a script. "They then break their masks, searching for a new purpose in life."

He paused, drawing out his words.

"But—"

"That's what fools in the past thought."

"The idea of seeking a purpose in life is truly laughable."

"I'd love to crack open their heads to see what kind of filth is inside."

Mayuri grinned widely. "I dug up records from over a thousand years ago, and even some secret files from hundreds of years ago, and I confirmed one thing."

"Arrancar is actually a method by which Hollows attempt to evolve."

"The power they gain from this process is 'Shinigami power.'"

"All the power fluctuations from the recorded Arrancars match exactly with the 'abnormal Shinigami power' in the Menos Grande you brought me earlier."

Naruto furrowed his brow, summarizing briefly, "So Arrancar are Hollows attempting to self-Hollowfy into Shinigami?"

Mayuri chuckled and nodded.

"But," Naruto continued, "how come no one noticed this before now?"

"Until you—"

Mayuri interrupted him. "Captain Uzumaki, I'm different!"

"I'm a genius."

"I'm not like those incompetent fools, idiots, and dunderheads."

"Of course, it might also be because the evolution of those Arrancars is too slow. To this day, not a single fully evolved Arrancar has appeared."

"But useless people are still useless."

Naruto frowned even more. "No fully evolved Arrancar?"

"Aizen is experimenting with Arrancar. Is he trying to... control Hueco Mundo?"

He voiced this guess with some hesitation.

Mayuri whistled, sounding impressed. "What a grand idea."

"A Shinigami ruling Hueco Mundo."

Naruto looked at him sharply.

"I'm just marveling at the cleverness of the idea as a scientist, nothing more," Mayuri said with a smirk, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Don't you think it's fascinating?"

"Hollowfication of Shinigami."

"Shinigamification of Hollow."

"Two opposing forces intertwined, promoting even greater evolution."

Naruto's expression remained cold.

"Don't give me that look," Mayuri said, shaking his head and wisely holding his tongue. "I would never team up with someone like that."

"I don't have the convenient ability to stand against the Soul Society."

"I would die."

He stuck out his tongue, making a mocking, childish face.

Naruto scoffed.

Mayuri was about to continue when a sharp, urgent buzzing sound came from his chest.

He reached in and pulled out a creature, a small, eyeless humanoid insect that was emitting the noise.

"Your taste in aesthetics is really strange," Naruto remarked, frowning.

Mayuri chuckled. "This is interesting."

"What a marvelous shape. Captain Uzumaki, you're missing out on a lot of joy in life by not appreciating this kind of beauty."

He shook the creature by its tail, making it scream even louder. "Bad news."

"The 'Hollow Shinigami power' has appeared."

Naruto frowned.

"It's in the World of the Living," Mayuri said, flipping the creature to reveal a set of coordinates. "Let me see... it's in a remote area."

"I'll head there now," Naruto said quietly.

"Thank you, Captain Uzumaki," Mayuri blurted out, barely able to contain his excitement as soon as Naruto spoke.

In the World of the Living, in a remote mountainous area, only three members of the 13th Division's reconnaissance squad were still standing.

One female Shinigami looked in disbelief at the sword in her hand. Like Byakuya Kuchiki's "Senbonzakura," her blade was disintegrating into tiny fragments and scattering away.

But this wasn't her sword's ability.

In front of them was a Hollow with a strange body. It had the torso of a frog, but its head resembled an upside-down squid, with dozens of wriggling tentacles.

"Hehe," it sneered, its voice sharp and shrill. "Didn't expect that, did you?"

"This is an ability I can only use once a day at night."

"The first Shinigami to touch my arm loses their Zanpakuto."

"Just like you."

"Since the day I was born, I've had an ability completely different from other Hollows."

"When hunting other Shinigami before, I never had the chance to use it."

"But now, it's great!"

"So, I was born to hunt Shinigami!"

Feeling triumphant, it grew arrogant, its cruel nature surfacing. Tormenting these Shinigami, savoring the despair and fear emanating from their bodies, was far more enjoyable than simply devouring them.

The female Shinigami gritted her teeth and raised her hand.

"Hadō #12. Fushibi (伏火, Ambush Flare)."

She cast the spell without an incantation. Orange-colored binding lines shot toward the Hollow, but it deftly dodged them.

"As expected, once a Shinigami loses their Zanpakuto, no matter how strong they are, they become incredibly weak," it sneered even more viciously. "Tonight's dinner will start with you."

It pushed off with its six claws, leaping toward the female Shinigami.

Despair clouded her heart, but she didn't give up completely, continuing to counterattack with Kidō, though with little effect.

The Hollow grinned as it was about to bite her neck.

A golden light shot down from the sky, piercing the Hollow and pinning it to the ground.

An overwhelming spiritual pressure descended like a collapsing mountain, pressing down on the Hollow so heavily that it shrank against the ground, unable to move.

"Just because you have some special abilities," a cold voice said as a white-clad figure descended from the sky, "you dare to call yourself a hunter of Shinigami."

Terror gripped the Hollow's heart.

The mere presence of this spiritual pressure seemed enough to crush it.

~~~

Also I'm changing the Name Arrangements like before it's (Surname, Given Name) now I'll follow the wiki (Given Name, Surname)

Kuchiki Byakuya -> Byakuya Kuchiki

Kurotsuchi Mayuri -> Mayuri Kurotsuchi

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