Chapter 522 - 522 That Former Shinigami!

"Hmph, hahahaha..."

Grimmjow laughed wildly: "I'm back! My power has returned!! I am the Sexta again!!!"

"I am the Sexta Espada… Grimmjow Jeagerjaques!!!"

Perhaps because he had been suppressed for too long, after regrowing his arm and returning to his peak strength, Grimmjow didn't care about any consequences and directly killed Luppi in front of everyone, even laughing wildly.

Meanwhile, the Espada and other Arrancar in the hall looked at Grimmjow in shock, clearly not expecting him to be so bold as to kill Luppi right in front of everyone.

Although no one really considered Luppi, the so-called Espada, to be much, he still bore the title of Espada. Grimmjow killing him just like that greatly surprised everyone, so much so that no one had time to intervene.

After the initial shock, the other Espada looked at Grimmjow with caution, raising their assessment of his dangerousness by several levels.

Of course, this wasn't because they were afraid of Grimmjow. After all, they were all Espada and didn't think they were inferior to him.

It was just that Grimmjow's behavior just now was too crazy, and no one wanted to be on the receiving end of Grimmjow, the 'madman', if he went berserk.

Throughout it all, only Aizen, sitting high on his throne overlooking the others, remained calm and collected, even watching the drama unfolding below with interest.

In fact, everything that happened in the hall was within Aizen's expectations. Aizen knew very well that given Grimmjow's personality, once his arm was regenerated and he returned to his peak, he would definitely be unable to resist killing Luppi, who had once humiliated him and 'taken' his Espada position.

But although Aizen knew what would happen, he never intended to stop Grimmjow, because this was precisely the outcome Aizen wanted to see.

With Ulquiorra dead and the mission failed, Aizen was already dissatisfied with the Espada's capabilities. He couldn't tolerate a fraud like Luppi continuing to exist among the Espada, further dragging down their average combat effectiveness.

Not to mention, Aizen had originally planned to let Grimmjow return to the Espada ranks, which was why he had Szayelaporro prepare the drug to heal his severed arm.

In fact, Szayelaporro's drug was just a backup. Aizen had originally wanted to capture Orihime and use her ability to regenerate Grimmjow's arm.

But the mission failed, and Orihime wasn't captured, so Aizen had to use Szayelaporro's drug, which had side effects.

"Alright, since Luppi is dead, Grimmjow will continue as the Sexta Espada." Aizen decided.

No one opposed Aizen's order. Starrk opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately said nothing.

Starrk wasn't exactly happy about Grimmjow becoming an Espada again, not for any other reason than Grimmjow killing Luppi just now.

There was no doubt that Starrk valued his comrades greatly. In his eyes, everyone in Las Noches was a comrade, so Luppi was naturally a comrade as well.

Seeing Grimmjow kill Luppi displeased Starrk greatly. If Grimmjow hadn't acted so suddenly, Starrk would have definitely intervened.

But now that Luppi was already dead, saying anything more was useless. Furthermore, Starrk understood that besides himself, no one else cared about so-called 'comrades'.

After all, they were all Hollows. The law of the jungle was a natural thing. Even the other Espada and Arrancar, though initially shocked by Grimmjow killing Luppi, after recovering, while becoming more wary of Grimmjow's madness, didn't think he had done anything wrong.

In fact, in everyone else's eyes, Luppi was killed by Grimmjow simply because he, a fraud, was too weak. No one felt any sympathy for him.

Knowing this was the reason, Starrk ultimately said nothing.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, you may all leave." After the drama ended, Aizen suddenly felt somewhat weary and dismissed everyone with a wave of his hand.

The news that nearly half the Espada had been deployed on a mission, only to fail and have the Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra, killed, quickly spread from Las Noches to the rest of Hueco Mundo.

…

At the border of Las Noches' sphere of influence.

"Roar!"

"Hahaha... You can't get away!"

Amidst a Hollow's roar and a burst of wild laughter, several figures appeared on a desolate wasteland.

Two oddly shaped Hollows were chasing a little girl.

The little girl being chased wore a hooded, cyan one-piece outfit.

Her head was covered by the hood, revealing a few strands of lake-green hair. She had golden-green eyes, rose-colored horizontal facial markings, and a scar extending from her forehead to the right side of her nose.

The little girl, being chased by the Hollows behind her, looked hopeless, desperate, and on the verge of tears.

Thud!

In her panic, the little girl suddenly fell. The pursuing Hollows took the opportunity to grab the pitiful little girl.

"Hahaha... Got you at last!" One of the Hollows laughed wildly.

"Waaah... Please... don't eat Nel... please..."

The little girl 'pitifully' cried and 'begged'.

Just then, another strangely shaped Hollow ran over from the distance.

"Alright, stop playing, Nel, Pesche. I have something important to tell you." The later Hollow said.

The little girl who had been crying and begging, and the Hollow laughing wildly, immediately stopped their Oscar-worthy performances.

"What is it, Dondochakka? Did something happen?" The little girl named Nel asked, wiping the snot and tears from her face.

There was no doubt about it. This little girl and the other oddly shaped Arrancar were none other than the former Tres Espada, Neliel Tu Odelschwanck, and her former Fracción, Dondochakka Birstanne, Pesche Guatiche, and their pet, Bawabawa.

"Listen to this, Nel. I overheard some other Hollows talking. Not long ago, Aizen-sama sent nearly half of the Espada on a mission. Not only did they fail, but the Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra, was killed!" Dondochakka said.

"What?! Even a great being like the Cuatro Espada was killed! Th-then what if he comes to kill us..." Nel was so scared her whole body trembled.

"Oh, don't worry! He won't come after us! Do you know who killed the Cuatro Espada?" Dondochakka asked impatiently.

"Who?" Nel asked with a blank, adorable expression.

"It's Hitsugaya Toshiro!" Dondochakka said in a deep voice.

"It's Toshiro!" Nel said, suddenly delighted.

Dondochakka replied: "That's right, it's Toshiro, Hitsugaya Toshiro. That former Shinigami..."