Chapter 173 – 173 ⥤ The New King? Of Course It’s Me!

Perhaps becoming a turncoat wasn’t such a bad choice — especially after Aizen heard certain deranged remarks.

Just moments ago, he had used Kyōka Suigetsu to hypnotize all the Adjuchas in Las Noches, methodically defeating and binding them with Kidō for his future experiments. They were now his personal property.

After completing this task, he rushed to the distant battlefield to support Akira.

To Aizen’s surprise, Baraggan — who had been merely a Vasto Lorde not long ago — had already mastered powers similar to Szayelaporro’s Resurrección, indicating his transformation into an Arrancar. His performance suggested he had obtained and applied Szayelaporro’s research to himself.

This revelation made Aizen reassess the pink dog’s value. The ability to independently develop Resurrección powers suggested Szayelaporro’s research capabilities rivaled those of Mayuri, perhaps even matching his own and Kisuke’s.

It seemed wasteful for such a precious resource to spend each day merely soaking in nutrient fluid.

Ignoring someone’s arrogant expression, Aizen carefully examined the new Arrancar shrouded in black mist.

Baraggan’s Resurrección had restored his fractured skull and regrown his purple robe. Most notably, his giant death axe had transformed — now sharper and more extreme, its elongated blade appearing capable of slicing through space itself.

As Aizen observed him, Baraggan studied him in return.

Gone was his contemptuous attitude. As a Vasto Lorde who had dominated Hueco Mundo for countless ages, he rarely encountered beings who could match his strength.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was one such being, and now this Shinigami claiming to be the Captain of the 11th Division.

In fact, Akira was the strongest opponent he had ever faced — without exception. The way he endured the corrosive power of aging while inflicting heavy injuries proved his exceptional combat ability.

Yet now, seeing how highly Akira regarded this Shinigami named Sōsuke, his combat prowess must be even more terrifying.

Also, don’t Shinigami show their age in their appearance?

Despite his youthful looks, he apparently had a son — truly surprising for a Hollow.

Aizen narrowed his eyes, watching the contemplative Baraggan in the distance. His intuition warned him that the King of Hueco Mundo harbored rather unfriendly thoughts.

⤫ Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi ⥤ Black Coffin! ⤬

At his command, black patterns materialized around Baraggan. Wild gravitational flows surged forth as twisted lines filled the space around him. In an instant, coffin-like barriers — as solid as iron — surrounded him.

Before he could react, darkness imprisoned him. The air grew heavy, and a raging Reiatsu storm erupted within the black coffin, ravaging his body.

But something unexpected happened. An even deeper darkness leaked out from within the black coffin, the Reiatsu-constructed coffin walls visibly decaying, even the Reishi inevitably diminishing. The black mist was like bone-eating maggots, frantically gnawing at the black coffin.

In an instant, the massive gravitational force dissipated into nothingness, and the Skeleton King stood before them, completely unscathed.

“Mere Shinigami…” With his power proven effective, Baraggan’s kingly arrogance returned as he gazed down upon them, his hollow eyes gleaming with disdain.

“An impressive ability indeed,” Aizen observed coolly, “By accelerating time to cause rapid decay and collapse, you’ve created a power that even Vasto Lordes cannot resist. No wonder you’re called the King of Hueco Mundo — it truly seems invincible.”

Akira: “…”

After all that boasting about his adopted son, he had only managed to cast Kurohitsugi before apparently surrendering to the enemy’s might.

“Sōsuke, you can’t give up now!” Akira urged anxiously, “Quick, use your invincible Kyōka Suigetsu — think of something!”

Aizen cast him a steady glance, “Just watch. I’ll handle Baraggan myself.”

At these words, Akira’s face lit up with joy.

His adopted son could be relied upon in crucial moments after all. He’d worried he would need to do the heavy lifting again, but this young one was stepping up to take full responsibility.

Baraggan, overhearing their exchange, let a cold, contemptuous smile play across his skull face, as if mocking Aizen’s audacity.

“You insignificant weeds — taste death!”

He raised his right hand, bone fingers spread wide. A tsunami of death force erupted from his palm, transforming into rolling black mist that swept majestically toward the pair. Wherever it passed, the silver sand decayed completely, carving massive gaps in the ground. Fresh sand rushed to fill these voids, only to dissolve instantly upon touching the black mist.

Truly, Baraggan’s power surpassed nearly all others. One didn’t become God King of Hueco Mundo through empty boasts.

The black mist flood engulfed the seemingly unprepared Aizen and Akira in an instant. Their bodies decayed into nothingness as they let out agonized screams.

Or so Baraggan thought he witnessed.

“Is this your solution?” Akira sneered, “Baraggan can’t harm us, but we can’t do much to him either. As long as he lives, you’ll never claim Hueco Mundo’s throne. Let me tell you, Sōsuke — with your Kyōka Suigetsu backing me, I’ll crush that skeleton in three punches and drink from his skull.”

Aizen gave his friend a measured look, “That’s enough. Watch carefully now — this is what real combat looks like.”

As he spoke, a faint Reiatsu light began emanating from his body, growing steadily stronger with each breath, as if without limit.

The silver-white sand beneath them suddenly compressed, as if gravity had multiplied, dropping several meters in a dramatic display of power.

“Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders.”

Aizen softly chanted the complex Kidō incantation, his elegant demeanor reminiscent of a wandering poet as he extended his right hand toward Baraggan’s black mist-shrouded form.

Like heaven itself collapsing, magnificent Reiatsu descended upon the battlefield. The silver-white desert compressed and sank as if struck by a cosmic hammer. Before Aizen, cherry-colored flames erupted while the Reiatsu pressure intensified like an overturning ocean.

Even Akira couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock.

“Sōsuke, you’ve changed — learned to hide your power. Without a sound, you’ve built up such tremendous Reiatsu.”

Due to Aizen’s youthful appearance, Akira had always assumed he hadn’t reached his limit. That’s why he would rush to the front in every battle.

He had worried himself sick trying to protect his brother. Who would have thought that in such a short time, his adopted son’s Reiatsu would surpass his own by more than one level?

For the first time, his cheat ability seemed useless.

Which one of us is actually overpowered?!

“Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired.”

As the beautiful poetic Kidō incantation reached its end, Aizen’s Reiatsu finally revealed its true form — as deep and unfathomable as the Mariana Trench.

⤫ Hadō #91: Senju Kōten Taihō ⥤ Thousand-Hand Incandent Heaven Culling-Sear! ⤬

The cherry-colored flames vanished instantly, transforming into dazzling beams of light suspended in the sky, similar to Akira’s Sword Rain: Thunder Fire — but with far greater power.

Kidō’s power depends on Reiatsu. Though Akira had the enhancement of patterns and incantations, his Reiatsu was significantly inferior to Aizen’s current level.

Fortunately, his fighting style didn’t entirely depend on it.

As the Senju Kōten Taihō took form, doubt flickered across Baraggan’s skull face.

How could these Shinigami brats endure for so long? Had their defense truly come to rival a Vasto Lorde’s steel skin?

The deep night sky turned crimson, as if sunset had risen again — time itself reversing.

Aizen calmly gazed down at Baraggan, casually pointing his finger as countless cherry-colored beams burst forth toward the rolling black mist.

The Hadō #91 erupted with a thunderous boom. Pillars of scorching fire shot skyward, forming crosses of light that annihilated the silver-white sand in all directions!

The black mist enveloping Baraggan’s body decayed the incoming flames. Red and black colors divided sharply as shock waves swept outward, their aftershocks rippling in expanding circles.

Where the aftershocks passed, the silver-white sand crumbled to ash, dissipating into the air!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—

But this was just the beginning. As the Thousand-Hand Incandent Heaven Culling-Sear countered the aging force around Baraggan’s body, Aizen raised his hand to the sky and began chanting another complex Kidō incantation.

“Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy. Boil forth and deny. Grow numb and flicker. Disrupt sleep. Crawling queen of iron. Eternally self-destructing doll of mud. Unite. Repulse. Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness!!”

⤫ Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi ⥤ Black Coffin! ⤬

When Baraggan focused all his attention on the sudden Kidō attack, twisted patterns appeared within the dense mist without warning.

In an instant, the black coffin took form!

The moonlight from above was swallowed by this darkness. Where Baraggan stood, a massive black coffin towered. The surging, violent black mist came to an abrupt halt, instantly dispersing into nothingness.

Although Aizen rarely participated in battle, his control over combat opportunities had reached perfection.

Such mastery couldn’t be achieved through battle experience alone. Only transcendent talent could explain it.

Soon, countless black fragments shattered, disintegrating before their eyes. A disheveled figure appeared within — Baraggan’s purple great coat in tatters, inner bones clearly visible, large sections of his form collapsed as if sliced by countless blades.

If not for his Reiatsu’s support, Baraggan would have completely crumbled.

“Shinigami, show yourself!” The Skeleton King let out an ear-splitting roar, rolling black mist expanding outward from his body, continuously corroding and decaying the sand below.

Drawing on battle experience accumulated over countless ages, he had roughly deduced that Aizen’s ability was related to illusions.

“Hmph, a rat that hides its head and shows its tail!”

His attempt at mockery fell flat — not even reaching one-hundredth of Akira’s skill — completely failing to cause even the slightest emotional response in Aizen.

Aizen calmly gazed at the raging Baraggan below and said softly, “Fear has already taken root in his heart. When a king’s heart harbors emotions unbefitting his status, complete defeat is not far away.”

He turned slightly to Akira, “Now it’s your turn to take the stage.”

Akira tilted his head, expressing confusion.

“The one who defeats the old king should ascend to the new king’s throne.” Aizen explained, “I’m better suited to control things from behind the scenes. This way, no one will harbor too much suspicion about me, and it will be more convenient for subsequent plans to unfold. Or rather, you are more suited than I am to be the God King of Hueco Mundo.”

Akira’s eyes lit up — as expected of his good brother, even these flattering words sounded better than what Kisuke said.

Since that was the case, he wouldn’t be modest about taking the throne of Hueco Mundo.

As Aizen released Kyōka Suigetsu’s hypnosis, maniacal laughter echoed in the sky above, immediately drawing Baraggan’s angry gaze.

“Mere Bananan, your body shattered by my adopted son’s two Kidō, nothing but a broken-backed Hollow, yet you dare to yap here!” Akira laughed wildly, “Let me end your delusional life!”

⤫ Mugen Murasaki Kaen Bakuha ⥤ Unbounded Purple Flame Burst! ⤬

Deep purple flames surged skyward in terrifying pillars, their brilliance too dazzling to behold!

BOOM!!!

The boundless battlefield shuddered violently, as if the world itself were ending.

⤫ Senescencia ⥤ Senescence! ⤬

Baraggan unleashed a roaring howl as rolling black mist surged forth, its endless aging force reaching toward the sky.

But his attack missed its mark. Akira seemed to tear through space itself, materializing before him with Kidō fire gathering around both fists and white energy bursting from his shoulders like thrusters.

⤫ Shunkō: Sōkūhaku Hakai ⥤ Flash War Cry: Double Empty Destruction! ⤬

⤫ Campo de Dilatación Temporal ⥤ Time Dilation Field! ⤬

As Akira’s fists descended, his movements suddenly slowed to a crawl. Layers of black mist materialized before him, blocking his attack.

“I am invincible!” Baraggan’s low roar echoed, “No living being can escape this power of death that stands before life!”

⤫ Respira ⥤ Breath of Death! ⤬

The black mist extinguished the Kidō fire and fell upon Akira’s skin.

Yet something unexpected occurred — though his flesh began to decay, the deterioration was remarkably slow.

Akira’s lips curled into a grin, “Sorry, seems like that doesn’t include me.”

His bone-clad fist crashed down, and the explosion erupted. The desert trembled as scorching winds raged and pillars of intense fire pierced the heavens!

The shock wave rippled across several kilometers, sending waves of sand rolling layer upon layer to the horizon.

Dazzling beams of light engulfed the skeleton’s body, shattering his supposedly indestructible white bones as if determined to obliterate him completely.

Disbelief flickered in Baraggan’s hollow eyes.

The power he had claimed absolute in this world — blocked by a mere Shinigami!

As searing pain tore through his body, the defeated king’s wail echoed across the battlefield and through Hueco Mundo’s sky…

⤫⤬⤫

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep