Chapter One Hundred Forty-Three: The Duel

“Ah—?”

Yawning his characteristic long sound, Yammy narrowed his eyes slightly, somewhat intrigued as he watched a petite female Shinigami nearby suddenly unleash a surge of spiritual pressure.

“What’s that? A Bankai?”

He grinned widely, though his mask twisted the smile into something grotesque.

He had seen the captains’ Bankai before in Hueco Mundo, but his simple mind found it perplexing. The differences between captains’ Bankai were huge, yet to him, they were all the same.

At his current level, no matter how powerful a Bankai might be, it was difficult to cause him any real harm—especially now that he had evolved into this massive form. For them to try to bring him down with a Bankai was simply a fantasy.

“Such a tiny Bankai, little Shinigami.”

Mocking Suzumebachi’s ‘Hornet Thunder Whip’, Yammy opened his mouth exaggeratedly.

Indeed, to Yammy, the massive and cumbersome whip Suzumebachi wielded might as well be a toothpick. Though, of course, no toothpick suddenly exploded like a nuclear bomb.

“Hmph, tiny, huh?”

Suzumebachi sneered coldly at the mountain-sized Yammy before her.

Her Bankai might seem insignificant to such a behemoth, but she'd soon show him the true power of this ‘tiny’ thing.

“Hornet Thunder Whip, go!”

“Boom!”

The gigantic missile burned with flames at its tail, streaking across the sky and hurtling straight at Yammy with a fierce roar.

Better to exhaust oneself trying to dodge this Hornet Thunder Whip than leave this increasingly irritating giant around. It was time to clear him out before he became a real nuisance.

“!”

As the whip drew closer, Yammy sensed the unusual spiritual pressure it carried.

He stared straight at the missile-like weapon as it entered his attack range, then simply reached out and caught it in his hand.

“Boom!”

The Hornet Thunder Whip exploded violently in Yammy’s grasp, sending a thunderous blast echoing.

“Whoosh!”

The hurricane created by the explosion spread instantly in all directions, nearly blowing away the weaker Apache and others. Even Harribel and Ulquiorra couldn’t help shielding themselves from the fierce gale—it wasn’t comfortable having such a storm blow across your face.

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Just as everyone awaited the outcome, Yammy suddenly let out a scream from within the thick smoke and dust.

“Idiot, I told you not to be careless.”

Ulquiorra’s cold voice came from behind, as he lowered his hand and saw Yammy who had taken the full brunt of the Hornet Thunder Whip.

Yammy’s entire arm had been blasted off—not cut, but shattered into a bloody pulp.

“Tch…”

Suzumebachi, who had been flung backward by the recoil but caught by Komamura, bit her lip in frustration as she looked at Yammy missing an arm.

In truth, the power of Suzumebachi’s Bankai had exceeded everyone’s expectations—Yammy’s spiritual pressure was well known, and to obliterate an entire arm in one blast was impressive. Yet this only showed just how terrifying Yammy’s defense truly was.

“Gah…”

A flood of saliva dribbled from Yammy’s mouth. To him, it was just saliva, but to others, it was like a deluge.

“Damn… How dare you—”

Though he could regenerate rapidly, the pain was far from trivial.

“I’ll kill you!”

Yammy suddenly opened his great mouth toward Suzumebachi, and a huge crimson sphere of energy began to form, growing larger by the second.

“That’s… a Cero?”

The three Arrancars from Hueco Mundo couldn’t believe it. Despite his immense size, Yammy casually producing such a Cero was outrageous.

“Boom! Boom!”

The Cero blasted from Yammy’s mouth, hurtling straight at Suzumebachi.

“Hahaha! Not a single bone left!”

After firing the Cero, Yammy took a deep breath, satisfaction flooding him as he stared at the empty space where his opponent had just been.

“Oh dear…”

“!”

But things did not go according to Yammy’s wishes. His lazy voice came from behind the Arrancars.

“If that Cero had hit, it would have been devastating.”

With a grotesque smile that sent chills down the spine, Hirako Twirling his uniquely styled Zanpakutō, spoke.

“Too bad it was aimed the wrong way.”

“You bastard…”

Yammy, insulted, immediately unleashed another powerful Cero aimed at Hirako and the others.

Once more, his front was cleared.

“I told you to aim properly.”

“!”

Hirako, seemingly bored, twirled his Zanpakutō leisurely as he stood behind Yammy, one hand casually tucked into his pocket.

“Damn it…”

Yammy opened his mouth to fire another Cero but was stopped by Ulquiorra.

“Hmm?”

Though he had assumed the internal dynamics of Hueco Mundo were discordant, it seemed these two strange fighters at least had a decent relationship.

“Your Zanpakutō’s ability seems quite special.”

Ulquiorra calmly observed Hirako spinning his sword. This was no time to let Yammy recklessly unleash attacks.

He never expected Yammy’s simple mind to operate effectively in battle. Even if it did, Ulquiorra didn’t expect good results; Yammy was the typical muscle-headed fool.

If Yammy kept haphazardly firing Ceros, it wouldn’t just fail to defeat the enemy—it might lead to their own downfall.

“Haha, special, huh…”

Hirako tossed his Zanpakutō high and caught it firmly.

“Want to give it a try?”

“My ability—Reverse Stroke.”

“Boom!”

“!”

Just as Ulquiorra pondered how to understand Hirako’s Zanpakutō power, a muffled explosion suddenly echoed from the red cube at the top of the battlefield, startling everyone.

“What’s going on…”

Since the red cube had appeared, no sounds or spiritual pressure had been detected from within—not even from the imprisoned Chojiro or Aizen. Now, hearing a noise, everyone’s nerves instantly tensed.

“What’s happening in there??”