"So Nilu is the king-class Menos Grande of the Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar? How is that possible?"
Kyoraku Shunsui fidgeted.
In this era, the Adjuchas-class Arrancar is roughly equal to an ordinary Vasto Lorde, essentially on par with a captain-level Shinigami, while the Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar is clearly superior to any captain-level Shinigami.
There was no doubt.
Each king-class Menos Grande of the Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar was an absolute monarch in Hueco Mundo!
If Nilu was really such a being, didn't that mean Shinji had a loyal, obedient, ultra-captain-level powerhouse right beside him?
"Is it… Vasto Lorde?"
A rare hint of shock flashed in Captain Yamamoto's eyes. "Although something feels off to this old man… "
Nilu looked at Shinji. After receiving a signal from his eyes, she spoke softly:
"I was attacked by other Arrancars in Hueco Mundo. My mask was broken, and I lost much of my Reiatsu, which is why I reverted to that childlike form and had barely any fighting ability."
"After I lost my memory, I survived by feeding on weak Hollows and occasionally absorbing small amounts of human Reiatsu."
"Thanks to meeting Shinji, I was able to regain my current form and return to the Vasto Lorde level."
Her tone softened at the end, and her gaze was locked only on Shinji, ignoring everyone else.
Seeing this, Shinji smiled and straightened her hair gently.
Nilu squinted contentedly and rubbed against his hand.
"She's so cute"
A king-class Vasto Lorde-level Arrancar.
And a beautiful girl at that, loyal, cute, and affectionate.
Kyoraku Shunsui glanced at Nilu with envy, only to be met with a cold squint.
She clearly disliked him.
"It seems you'd already figured out Nilu's origin, Captain Kuchiki Shinji," Yamamoto said, eyeing Shinji carefully.
"Eh… just luck," Shinji replied with a faint smile.
"Luck or not, this kind of situation is not common."
Captain Yamamoto shook his head slightly.
With a loyal Vasto Lorde-class powerhouse like Nilu at his side, and Reiatsu beyond the norm for a captain, Shinji now stood toe-to-toe with the strongest captains.
"Chōjirō."
Yamamoto called out.
The door opened.
A dignified, middle-aged man with white hair and golden eyes entered, Chōjirō Sasakibe.
"Captain."
He bowed respectfully, glancing at Shinji.
So this was the new 10th Division Captain… and his Zanpakutō might also be lightning-based?
"Prepare a new identity for Nilu. From today, she is officially registered as a member of the Kuchiki family."
Hearing that, Chōjirō hesitated.
"Captain… isn't that too sudden?"
Granting residency to a Menos Grande? That had never happened in Soul Society's history!
The Central 46 would never allow this.
"It's fine, Vice-Captain Sasakibe." Kyoraku clapped him on the shoulder. "Since old man Yama said it, he must have a way."
A strange gleam flashed in Kyoraku's eyes.
Nilu was shockingly strong, obedient, and loyal.
A Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar being that docile was almost unbelievable.
—
10th Division Barracks
Shinji was writing with a brush at his desk.
As a noble from the Kuchiki family, calligraphy was second nature to him.
"By the way, can you sit somewhere else?"
He looked at Nilu sitting on his lap, setting the brush down.
Nilu clung to him like glue, practically wishing to sleep with him every day.
"No! I want to stay with Shinji." Nilu pouted. "But Shinji… I'm a bit hungry."
Shinji hugged her waist and turned around.
"Did the earlier battle take too much out of you?"
After all, Nilu had been heavily injured before, reduced to the Adjuchas level.
Then she transformed, defeated a captain-level Shinigami, severely injured the super-captain-level Hikoya, and then defeated a Zanpakutō made from a Vasto Lorde.
That was a huge burden on her body.
"As long as I can help Shinji, I'm happy."
She smiled and asked cautiously:
"Can I bring my two subordinate here to the Soul Society?"
"Your subordinates?"
Shinji paused.
As a king of Hueco Mundo, Nilu naturally had her own followers: Pesche Guatiche and Dondochakka Birstanne.
Like Nilu, they too had lost Reiatsu and reverted from Arrancar to beast-like forms.
But if they could recover, they'd be captain-level fighters again!
"Can you contact them?" Shinji asked.
"Yes. If I leave a trace of my Reiatsu, they'll find me."
Nilu nodded happily.
But suddenly, she clutched her stomach.
"Shinji… I'm so hungry…"
Her voice trailed off,
Then poof,
As if she deflated, she suddenly shrank back into her child form.
"Neliel?"
Shinji called.
"Shinji, I'm so hungry…"
She sat on the floor like a crying child.
Shinji's face froze.
She'd reverted and lost her memory again.
The transformation and fighting had clearly taken too much from her. Even if she returned to the Vasto Lorde class, it was only temporary.
To stabilize her form, she'd need continuous Reiatsu feeding.
Good thing Shinji had the Hōgyoku to help accelerate her evolution, maybe even fully repair her broken mask.
As Shinji "donated" his Reiatsu to her, he asked:
"Nilu, are you sure you can contact your two subordinates?"
Nilu's eyes lit up.
"Yes! If Shinji is talking about Pesche and Dondochakka, I can!"
—
Meanwhile, in Hueco Mundo…
Two Arrancars wandered the endless desert.
"Damn it! Where did Lady Nilu go?! She vanished in a flash!"
"Pesche, I'm tired. Let's rest…"
"You've got nerve saying that, Dondochakka! If you hadn't fallen asleep, would she have vanished?!"
"You're blaming me?! You were asleep too, you idiot!"
"Wanna fight?!"
"Fine by me! Take this, Cero!"
"It doesn't work!"
"Block again!"
Their bickering grew louder, then eventually, they cried out in unison:
"Lady Nilu, where are you!!!"
—
Back at the 10th Division...
"Ara? Why is the Captain back in the barracks so early today?"
Matsumoto Rangiku opened the Door and saw Shinji.
As a special operations unit, the 10th Division didn't usually have many squad members inside, so the place was always fairly quiet.
So naturally, the seductive Matsumoto Rangiku walked in directly, leaned over to meet Shinji's gaze, and suspiciously asked,
"Suddenly remembering your duties, are you showing pity for me, a poor, overworked woman?"
These days, she'd basically been handling all the responsibilities of the vice-captain of the 10th Division by herself.
Shinji? He clocks in and out on time, dumps everything on the secretary, and does nothing else.
Nilu? Expecting a cute little girl to handle official squad duties? Not a chance.
"Well, I just remembered something I forgot to do," Shinji replied with an awkward smile.
Having a Someone like Rangiku around was like having a treasure.
Not only was she pleasing to the eye, she could also handle all the paperwork and team logistics flawlessly.
So of course, Shinji fully committed to slacking off.
Expecting him to be a proper, responsible captain?
That was never going to happen.
He had already decided to learn from Kyoraku Shunsui, the absolute king of slacking off.
"What's with her?" Rangiku pointed curiously at Nilu, who was sleeping soundly in Shinji's arms, confusion in her eyes.
Wasn't Nilu supposed to be the king-level Menos Grande among the Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar, and had already returned to her full form?
Why was she back in child form again?
Wait a minute.
So the cute little girl she had been bullying all this time… was actually a Vasto Lorde-class female Arrancar?
Suddenly, she felt a bit afraid… but also, no wonder.
She had a huge sense of accomplishment!
And now? She wanted to do it again!
Matsumoto Rangiku stared at Nilu in Shinji's arms and suddenly had the urge to grab her and mess with her again.
Bullying a Vasto Lorde-level Arrancar stronger than a captain?
That wasn't fear, that was glory!
"When she was severely injured before, she reverted to her child state," Shinji said as he gently rubbed Nilu's green hair and listened to her talking in her sleep.
"She needs to gradually absorb Reiatsu to return to the Vasto Lorde level. But yesterday's battle put a lot of strain on her, so now she's back down to Adjuchas level."
But honestly, this wasn't a big problem.
As long as she kept "squeezing" Reiatsu out of Shinji, she should be able to return to the Vasto Lorde stage again soon.
Also...
Shinji squinted slightly, placing his hand on his chest.
Between constantly being "drained" by Nilu, fighting Kurotsuchi Mayuri, and yesterday's confrontation with Tsunayashiro Tokinada...
His Hōgyoku fusion progress had leapt forward again.
At this rate, he could reach the "Hōgyoku Fusion: Stage Three" within a month.
Once he got to that point, Shinji would transcend the typical Shinigami hierarchy and ascend to an entirely new realm of existence.
"Eh??"
"Are you writing some kind of plan?"
"'Captain Training Plan... Day...'"
" I wanna see!" Rangiku shouted flirtatiously and lunged to grab the paper Shinji had been writing on.
The "Captain Training Plan" title really caught her eye. It looked interesting!
"Hey! Cut it out!" Shinji replied helplessly, hugged Rangiku like a child and gently setting her aside.
Just then,
A Reiatsu signal flashed across the sky.
Rangiku froze mid-struggle.
It was Tenteikūra, Bakudō #77
Its purpose was to track multiple targets via their spiritual pressure and establish a secure communication channel.
Usually used for covert intel transmission.
But this time, Tenteikūra was being used to broadcast a message to the entire Soul Society.
"This is Chōjirō Sasakibe, Vice-Captain of the First Division," said the voice that followed.
"Last night, the head of the Tsunayashiro clan, Tsunayashiro Tokinada, sent assassins to infiltrate the Kuchiki estate and To murder the 10th Division Captain, Kuchiki Shinji."
"During the battle, the assassins were executed on-site by Captain Kuchiki."
"Afterward, when Captain Kuchiki went to confront the Tsunayashiro estate, he discovered that Tokinada was performing Hollow experiments, acts strictly forbidden by Soul Society."
"Because Tokinada attempted to kill him, Captain Kuchiki eliminated him in self-defense."
"These are the events that took place last night. Please remain calm."
"As for Tsunayashiro Tokinada's crimes, and the Tsunayashiro family's failure to monitor his behavior, the following punishment has been issued,"
"The Tsunayashiro family is stripped of one-third of its residence area within the Seireitei, which will be redistributed to compensate other harmed families."
"Additionally, no members of the Tsunayashiro family will be permitted to enroll in the Shin'ō Academy for the next ten years."
"End of announcement...."
Elsewhere,
"So... you decided to hide what really happened last night, Captain Aizen," a teasing voice echoed.
Gin Ichimaru leaned against the wall with a sly smile.
"Ah, Gin," Aizen said softly as he removed his glasses. "There's no need for the public to know everything. We must avoid unnecessary panic."
"That's not what Central 46, or the other captains, would want."
For those in power, chaos was always the enemy.
Besides... that child wasn't just some random forbidden experiment.
Aizen's gaze darkened, a small smirk playing on his lips.
"Tsunayashiro Tokinada… He was a dangerous man. To have succeeded in such forbidden research, in complete secrecy..."
Gin opened his eyes slightly, his tone playful:
"Thinking of getting your hands on Hikoya?"
After last night, Hikoya had been hospitalized in the 4th Division.
His body had collapsed from the unstable experiment, so he was under Unohana Retsu's care, and also detained.
"There's no need, Gin," Aizen replied calmly, sliding his glasses back into place. He held up a vial in his hand, inside was red, swirling blood.
"I've already obtained the data I needed."
"Life is a bundle of desires. Unsatisfied desires bring pain. Fulfilled desires bring boredom. We swing endlessly between the two."
"Tsunayashiro Tokinada... truly an interesting man."
"Right, Gin?"
Aizen pushed up his glasses once again, wearing that familiar benevolent smile.
Ichimaru Gin chuckled slyly. "But it looks like you've already got a new experiment, don't you?"