Chapter 49: The taste is really good

It wasn't until the figures of Uehara Shiroha and Valdez disappeared into the distance that Suì-Fēng finally snapped out of her daze.

She exhaled sharply, her mind still reeling from what she had just witnessed.

The battle had been too perfect.

Every movement Uehara Shiroha made, every counterattack, every maneuver—flawless. It wasn't just power; it was absolute mastery over combat.

To face the siege of four Hollows—including a Vasto Lorde—without even breaking a sweat?

That level of experience, skill, and adaptability should have taken centuries to cultivate.

Yet this man had achieved it in just twenty years.

For the first time, Suì-Fēng felt something deep inside her waver.

How do you surpass a monster like that?

The pale moonlight cast eerie shadows over the endless sand dunes of Hueco Mundo, painting the wasteland with a sense of desolation and doom.

Even the crescent moon in the sky seemed ominous, as if it, too, was watching the events unfold with silent judgment.

Heavy footsteps shattered the stillness.

Valdez was running for his life.

His nerves were on high alert, his Hollow detection ability scanning the surroundings relentlessly.

Vasto Lorde had superior detection compared to the Shinigami's spiritual perception. Their reaction time and movement speed were, under normal circumstances, faster than even Shunpō.

That was why Valdez was confident he could escape.

As long as he could make it back to that person—

"Reincarnation!"

A fiery voice boomed from behind.

Before Valdez could even turn his head, a storm of slashes descended upon him.

Twelve blade forms of Sun Breathing—woven together into a devastating dance of the Fire God.

Valdez screamed, his own ability erupting instinctively in an attempt to counter.

"How can a mere Shinigami kill me!?" he roared.

But Uehara Shiroha's Shunpō and his blade moved faster than even the Vasto Lorde's nerve detection.

For a fleeting moment, Valdez saw nothing but a sky filled with fire.

And then—

Pain.

The right side of his body—completely burned away.

His nerves—severed.

His once-proud regeneration—halted.

The scent of burnt flesh filled the air, thick and acrid, like melted plastic and charred bone.

Valdez staggered, his mind teetering on the edge of collapse.

He had never faced an opponent like this before.

An enemy with unbreakable defense, overwhelming strength, and terrifying speed.

How do you fight something like this?

His will to fight shattered completely.

But he still had one last option.

Gathering what little strength he had left, Valdez channeled all his spiritual pressure, unleashing a barrage of black Cero and his remaining Hollow abilities in one desperate attempt.

Uehara Shiroha didn't even blink.

With a casual wave of his sword, he countered effortlessly.

"Flying Wheel Sun Flame! Ice Coffin!"

Fire and ice collided.

Valdez was caught in the storm.

His left side—frozen solid.

His right side—consumed by fire.

Before he could react, Uehara Shiroha moved again.

Sun Breathing—Thirteenth Form: Reincarnation.

A pillar of crimson fire shot into the sky, engulfing Valdez entirely.

The sheer heat and force penetrated even the deepest layers of his Hierro.

A final scream echoed through the desert—

Then, silence.

Valdez, the Vasto Lorde, collapsed onto the sand—charred, broken, defeated.

Uehara Shiroha stepped forward and calmly ended it with one last strike.

His golden eyes regarded the motionless corpse with disappointment.

"As a Vasto Lorde, you had potential," he murmured, shaking his head.

"If you had been a little more ruthless… if you had fought a little harder… you might have escaped."

But Valdez' spirit had crumbled before the fight had even ended.

That was the difference between the strong and the weak.

Uehara Shiroha let out a sigh.

Honestly, this entire battle had been anticlimactic.

Hueco Mundo isn't what it used to be.

Even Vasto Lorde-class Hollows were disappointing.

Szayelaporro and Barragan were considered powerful.

But one was obsessed with research, and the other was lost in his delusions of being a king.

Neither of them had the mindset of a true Shinigami.

This was why Hueco Mundo belonged to Aizen.

Barragan was a false king.

Aizen broke the old system and introduced evolution—a true competitive hierarchy with the Espada system.

Barragan's subordinates were weak, his palace was a joke, and he didn't even have a worthy queen.

Meanwhile, Aizen's Espada had palaces, servants, even loli subordinates—

It was like modern civilization against cavemen.

As Uehara Shiroha pondered the future, his thoughts turned to Szayelaporro's trap.

This setup had been too precise.

It wasn't just a random ambush—it had been planned with detailed knowledge of Shinigami captains.

The Five Dragons of Annihilation technique wasn't something ordinary Shinigami even knew about.

And yet, Szayelaporro had it.

Which meant—

Aizen was already in contact with Hueco Mundo.

It wouldn't be long before Aizen completely took over.

And when that happened…

The Hollows would evolve into something even more terrifying.

I hope they'll be more interesting than this, Uehara thought to himself.

After all, even Yhwach had been interested in Hollows.

Ding!

A crisp bell sound rang through the air.

A moment later, a murderous aura surged forward like a tidal wave.

Before Uehara Shiroha could fully process it, an attack came from behind.

"Clang!"

A sharp sound of metal clashing echoed across the battlefield.

Without hesitation, Uehara raised his right hand, catching the incoming blade barehanded.

He lifted his gaze.

A wild grin greeted him.

A single eye, gleaming with madness and excitement.

Zaraki Kenpachi.

His bloodthirsty grin widened as he saw Uehara blocking his Zanpakutō with his bare hand.

The sword in his grasp was a tattered, jagged mess, looking like it could break at any moment.

And yet—this very blade had killed the previous Kenpachi.

Those who knew feared it.

But Uehara's hand wasn't even scratched.

Kenpachi's eye burned with pure joy.

"This… this is it!" he growled, his voice trembling with excitement.

The fighting spirit radiating from his body made the air itself feel scorching.

It had been too long since he felt this sensation.

A real battle.

A real opponent.

And now, staring at Uehara Shiroha, he had finally found one.

As Kenpachi Zaraki's excitement reached its peak, his body trembling with anticipation, a small pink head suddenly popped up from behind his broad shoulders.

Bright round eyes, a cheerful smile, and an innocent expression—

The 11th Division's Vice Captain, Kusajishi Yachiru.

She clapped her tiny hands together, her voice ringing out in delight.

"Wow! So strong! Pretty boy is so strong!"

Despite being Kenpachi's vice captain, Yachiru cheered for his opponent.

Why?

Because she understood Kenpachi better than anyone.

For him, nothing in the world was happier than finding a powerful opponent—a worthy adversary to fight to the death.

Facing Kenpachi's overwhelming battle lust, Uehara Shiroha remained calm.

"I know you're excited, but don't be so impatient," he said casually.

Then, with a smirk, he added, "By the way, didn't you say last time that I could cut you first? Why are you the one attacking first? Isn't that unfair?"

Kenpachi grinned wildly. Without hesitation, he ripped open his Shihakushō, exposing his battle-scarred chest, muscles like forged steel.

"Hahahaha! Fine then! Come on!" he roared, spreading his arms. "Use your strongest move and cut me as much as you want!

"I'll even let you cut twice—neck, eyes, whatever you want! It's all up to you!"

"Your words," Uehara Shiroha said, drawing his sword without hesitation.

White Album—Time Capsule!

A burst of ultra-low temperature energy erupted from his blade, and in an instant—

Kenpachi Zaraki was frozen solid.

A massive ice sculpture now stood in his place, its face still wearing a gleeful, battle-hungry grin.

From a safe distance, Yachiru pouted angrily.

"Pretty boy! You can't bully Ajian like that!"

Uehara Shiroha glanced at her.

"Got it."

Before she could react, an icicle shot forward, encasing her in ice as well.

Now, under the eerie Hueco Mundo moonlight, two glittering ice statues—one big, one small—stood side by side.

Uehara Shiroha crossed his arms and nodded in satisfaction.

"A family should always stay together."

With that, he turned and ran away.

Not long after, an explosion of spiritual pressure shattered the ice.

Kenpachi burst free, his single eye burning with fury.

"That bastard!" he bellowed, veins popping on his forehead. "Damn it!"

It wasn't just that he had been frozen—

It was the frustration of not being able to fight at full force.

The sensation of being helpless—unable to swing his sword, unable to feel the thrill of battle—was worse than death.

"This ability is too damn annoying!" Kenpachi growled.

For the first time, he regretted wearing his eyepatch—the one that sealed his spiritual pressure.

If he had removed it, he wouldn't have been frozen so easily.

With a furious swing, he sliced through the ice encasing Yachiru.

"Pretty boy! So annoying!"

Yachiru grumbled as she wiggled free, shaking off the frost.

She puffed out her cheeks, looking like she was about to spit curses.

She hated being frozen.

Meanwhile, Back at the Seireitei…

Uehara Shiroha had long forgotten about whether Kenpachi and Yachiru were upset.

He was too busy enjoying himself.

Seated comfortably, he had a table full of the finest sake, and behind him—

Ise Nanao, with her delicate fingers, was giving him a skilled massage.

Her usually serious face had softened, glowing with youthful beauty.

She worked her hands over his shoulders and back, using subtle Kido techniques to enhance the effect.

"Hnnngh."

Uehara Shiroha inhaled sharply, relaxing as a wave of pleasure spread through his body.

"Not bad," he praised. "Your technique has improved."

After taking a sip of sake, he chuckled.

"But, Nanao, you've started to pick up some bad habits."

He glanced over his shoulder at her.

"You're using your teacher as an experiment."

The awkwardness in her movements was obvious—this was her first time trying this.

Clearly, she had chosen him as her test subject, believing that his body's endurance could handle it.

She wasn't wrong.

The sheer amount of spiritual pressure he passively emitted was already stronger than most captain-level Kido barriers.

Nanao giggled, her voice lighter than usual.

Watching her, Uehara Shiroha realized something.

The serious, almost rigid Ise Nanao he once knew…

She was changing.

And maybe… this was the real her.

A version of her that was more open, more relaxed.

I kind of like this side of her, he thought to himself.

Elsewhere, in the First Division headquarters, Captain Kyoraku Shunsui was reporting the latest battle results.

Despite his usual laid-back demeanor, he was in high spirits.

This mission to Hueco Mundo had been a huge success.

His niece, Ise Nanao, had gained valuable battlefield experience.

And most importantly—

He didn't even have to do anything.

A Vasto Lorde and three Adjuchas—all defeated by one man.

That alone would earn him a significant contribution in the records.

He didn't care about promotions.

But he could trade this achievement for better sake—

Now that's a reward worth celebrating.

Not only that, but the spies planted by the Tsunayashiro family within the Stealth Force had been eliminated.

Everything's turning out great, thanks to Uehara Shiroha, he mused.

A Meeting of Captains

Shortly after, in the First Division's captain's office, the remaining captains of the Gotei 13 convened for a meeting.

Captain Ukitake Jūshirō was absent due to his illness, but the rest were present.

A messenger from the Stealth Force stepped forward, handing over a battle report to Head Captain Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.

The old Shinigami read the document, and for a brief moment—

His eyebrows raised slightly.

Without a word, he passed it to his vice-captain, Chōjirō Sasakibe.

Sasakibe took the report, skimmed it, then paused.

His expression changed.

After reading it again, he finally spoke aloud:

"7th Seat Uehara Shiroha single-handedly defeated a Vasto Lorde, rescued Captain Suì-Fēng, and eliminated three Adjuchas."

Silence fell over the room.

Several captains' eyes widened in shock.

They had already suspected that Uehara Shiroha possessed captain-level strength.

But even for a captain, slaying a Vasto Lorde alone was no easy feat.

Vasto Lorde-class Hollows were not only as strong as captains but also possessed greater physical prowess and intellect.

Only captains like Kenpachi Kuruyashiki—who were acknowledged by the Zero Division for their raw combat power—could reliably defeat a Vasto Lorde.

And yet…

Uehara Shiroha had done it.

And he wasn't even a Vice-Captain, let alone a captain.

Some captains exchanged glances.

Ichimaru Gin, a genius from the same academy class, was still just a vice-captain.

Had Uehara Shiroha awakened… Bankai?

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