Chapter 521 - 521 Farewell, 'Former' Sexta!

Hueco Mundo, Las Noches.

Aizen sat upright on his throne, expressionlessly watching Starrk, Grimmjow, Yammy, and the others who had just returned from the Living World. The gentle smile that usually hung on his face was gone.

Not only were Starrk, Grimmjow, Yammy, and the others who had gone to the Living World on the mission present in the hall, but the other Espada were also standing on both sides.

Aizen simply sat there silently. However, Grimmjow, Luppi, Yammy, and the others standing in the hall, along with the other Espada and Arrancar, felt a pressure as heavy as a mountain. Cold sweat unconsciously dripped from their foreheads.

After a long while, Aizen, who had remained silent, finally spoke.

"The mission failed. Ulquiorra is dead. Heh, you've done very well, very well indeed."

Aizen smiled again, but compared to his usual refreshing smile, this smile sent a chilling cold through everyone present.

Aizen was genuinely a bit angry this time. Of course, he wasn't angry about the mission failing, nor about Ulquiorra's death.

Although Ulquiorra was loyal to Aizen and very powerful, he wasn't worth Aizen, a cold and ruthless person, getting angry over.

What truly angered Aizen was that he seemed to have overestimated the Espada he had created and underestimated Toshiro's intelligence.

"I-I'm sorry, Aizen-sama."

Luppi, who had replaced Grimmjow as the Sexta Espada, was the first to crack under the pressure, looking panicked and begging Aizen for mercy.

Aizen took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress his anger, and then put on his usual refreshing smile again.

"No, I am the one who should apologize. I'm truly sorry, everyone. Knowing this mission was extremely dangerous, and that we might even encounter a terrifying existence like Hitsugaya Toshiro, I still forced you to carry out this dangerous mission. That was my mistake. So, no one needs to feel guilty."

Having said that, Aizen withdrew the pressure he had seemingly unconsciously released, allowing the Espada and other Arrancar in the hall to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

"Speaking of which, Grimmjow, you seem to have been beaten quite badly."

Aizen suddenly looked at Grimmjow among the group.

Grimmjow had a huge wound on his chest, looking hideous and still bleeding, which hadn't fully healed yet. This was the injury he had received from Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho after Ichigo used Hollowfication.

"Tch!"

Seeing Aizen and the others' gazes fall on his wound, Grimmjow clicked his tongue in displeasure. Then, afraid others might think he couldn't beat Ichigo, he couldn't help but explain: "That Ichigo bastard is even more seriously injured than me."

"Alright, Grimmjow, you don't need to explain. I, of course, believe in your strength. Actually, I prepared a gift for you this time. Originally, I planned to give it to you as a reward after you returned from completing the mission."

"Although you didn't complete the mission this time, I thought about it. Since the thing is already prepared, it would be a waste to just leave it there. So, I'll give it to you directly. Szayelaporro."

With that, Aizen signaled to Szayelaporro, who was standing on the left side of the hall.

"Yes, Aizen-sama."

Hearing Aizen's words, a male Arrancar with short pink hair and glasses walked out. This was Szayelaporro Granz, the Octava Espada.

Szayelaporro was not only an Espada but also a scientist in Hueco Mundo. His scientific research ability was probably not much weaker than Mayuri's of the Gotei 13.

After receiving Aizen's order, Szayelaporro walked directly to Grimmjow's side and took out a syringe filled with a mysterious green liquid.

"Don't move, Grimmjow."

Szayelaporro warned Grimmjow, then directly jabbed the syringe into Grimmjow's severed arm stump.

Grimmjow frowned but didn't stop Szayelaporro.

"Gah... ah..."

After Szayelaporro injected the mysterious green liquid into Grimmjow's body, Grimmjow suddenly felt an aching, numb, itchy sensation coming from his severed arm stump.

Then, after a short while, a new arm suddenly grew back from Grimmjow's severed stump. Moreover, the huge wound on his chest and other injuries on his body were also gradually healing.

"What! How is this possible!"

Seeing Grimmjow's arm regenerate, Luppi, standing nearby, exclaimed in shock.

"Wh-what did you do, Szayelaporro!!"

Luppi then shouted at Szayelaporro, his voice blustering but lacking conviction.

To be honest, Luppi's heart was panicking. The reason he had been able to become an Espada was that Grimmjow had made a mistake and had his arm severed by Tosen, which also affected his strength.

So Aizen hadn't let Grimmjow continue as an Espada, allowing Luppi to replace him as the new Sexta Espada.

If Grimmjow's severed arm recovered, his strength would surely return to its peak. Could Luppi's Espada position still be safe? More importantly, after Luppi replaced Grimmjow as an Espada, he had loudly mocked Grimmjow, the 'former' Espada. Would Grimmjow, with his strength back at its peak, let him off?

After Grimmjow lost his arm, Luppi assumed he was no match for him. But if Grimmjow returned to his peak, Luppi had no confidence he could beat him.

After all, if he could have beaten Grimmjow, Luppi would have become an Espada long ago, not just gotten the position after Grimmjow was kicked out.

"Grimmjow, how do you feel?"

Szayelaporro completely ignored Luppi's pathetic wailing and asked Grimmjow about his condition, wanting to understand the specific effect of the medicine.

"Hmm, I feel great. Not only my severed arm, but my other injuries have healed too. Although this new arm is a bit weaker than the original, it doesn't affect my performance in battle."

Grimmjow said, moving his newly regenerated left arm.

"That's good. However, I must tell you that the drug I developed greatly stimulates the body, significantly increasing cell division and metabolism rates. So, while it can regenerate your arm and other injuries, it comes at the cost of consuming a large amount of your life force."

Szayelaporro warned.

"Hmph, that doesn't matter at all. As long as I can fight at full power, what's a little life force?"

Grimmjow said nonchalantly.

Having said that, Grimmjow looked down at the places where his various wounds had been, finding that most of the scars had disappeared.

"Oh, even the scar here has healed?"

Grimmjow noticed that an old scar on his waist had completely vanished, revealing the number '6' that had been hidden beneath it.

"Hmph, heh heh heh..."

Grimmjow suddenly looked at Luppi with a cold smirk.

"Wh-what are you going to do, Grimmjow?"

Cold sweat involuntarily dripped from Luppi's forehead.

"Ha! Isn't it obvious what I'm going to do?"

Squelch—!!

Grimmjow suddenly flickered, ambushing Luppi. Before Luppi could react, he used his newly regenerated arm to pierce through Luppi's body.

Luppi said in disbelief: "Gr-Grimmjow... you... how dare you..."

Grimmjow smirked coldly: "Hmph, farewell, 'former' Sexta."

Boom!

Grimmjow fired a Cero from his newly regenerated left hand that had pierced Luppi's body, blasting Luppi's upper body into pieces.