Upon hearing the final punishment, Szayelaporro Granz immediately cried out in protest.

"I was merely interested in Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck’s Fracción. I wanted to conduct an experiment on Arrancar after they lose their masks. It was Nnoitra Gilga who ambushed Nelliel and shattered her mask!"

"Szayelaporro, you bastard..."

Nnoitra glared at Szayelaporro, murderous intent blazing in his eyes.

For Hollows, evolution from Menos Pequeño, to Menos Grande, and finally to Gillian simply required devouring a sufficient number of souls.

However, evolution beyond Gillian was far more demanding.

Furthermore, once a Hollow embarked on the path beyond Gillian, if it failed to reach the highest level of Vasto Lorde, there was a risk of regressing back to a Gillian.

Moreover, after regressing from an Adjuchas to a Gillian, even their own consciousness would dissipate, becoming a mindless beast driven only by the instinct to devour, just like those found in the Forest of Menos.

Only Vasto Lorde-class Hollows were free from the fear of regression.

After becoming Arrancar, these Adjuchas-turned-Arrancar indeed no longer felt the constant fear of regression.

However, who could say for sure whether they would once again experience that fear if their masks were shattered?

It was precisely to understand this that Szayelaporro had conspired with Nnoitra, personally injuring the 3rd Espada, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, and tearing off the masks of her two Fracción, Pesche Guatiche and Dondochakka Bilstin, to observe their condition and research whether they would regress due to the loss of their masks.

After monitoring the trio for a while, Szayelaporro discovered that Pesche and Dondochakka’s reiatsu had begun to dissipate after their masks were removed.

If they didn’t engage in combat, they might be able to hold on for a while longer.

However, if they experienced intense battles, leading to excessive reiatsu depletion, they wouldn’t even have the chance to regress into mindless Gillians. Their entire bodies would simply dissipate.

Nelliel, on the other hand, despite having her mask shattered by the 5th Espada, Nnoitra, and her reiatsu constantly dissipating, had not regressed in rank due to the loss of her mask. After all, she was a Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar.

Szayelaporro even discovered that Nelliel's instincts still drove her to absorb reishi. At this rate, it was possible she might even recover someday.

Szayelaporro was only an Adjuchas-class Arrancar. Once his mask was removed, even if his situation was better than Pesche and Dondochakka's, he would inevitably regress into a mindless Gillian.

Therefore, after learning of Ailin's punishment, Szayelaporro was terrified.

Betrayed by Szayelaporro, Nnoitra swung his crescent-shaped weapon at him.

"I'll kill you!"

Boom!

A flash of golden lightning erupted, and Nnoitra was sent flying, crashing into the wall of Las Noches.

At that moment, the other Espada noticed that the golden lightning bolt was actually a long spear radiating golden light.

Nnoitra’s entire body was pierced through the chest by the spear, pinning him firmly to the wall.

"Pfft..."

Nnoitra coughed up a mouthful of blood, horror filling his eyes.

It wasn’t just Nnoitra who was horrified.

Aside from Coyote Starrk, the 1st Espada, Baraggan Louisenbairn, the 2nd Espada, and Ulquiorra Cifer, the 4th Espada, the remaining five Espada were even more terrified than Nnoitra.

The Espada’s rankings were determined by Aizen based on their strength.

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The lower the number, the greater their power.

Initially, in order to compete for a higher rank, battles were inevitable.

After all, before them, there had been Aizen's first batch of experimental subjects.

Those Hollows were the original Espada.

However, as they joined the ranks, the original Espada had been eliminated, becoming three-digit numbered Arrancar.

Because they had all fought each other, they had a good understanding of Nnoitra Gilga, the 5th Espada.

But the more they understood Nnoitra, the more terrified they became at this moment.

Although Nnoitra was only the 5th Espada, this did not mean he was weak. It was just that the four Espada above him were too strong.

While Nnoitra's attacks weren't particularly impressive, his Hierro, a Hollow's natural armor, was undoubtedly the strongest defense among all Arrancar.

Even Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, the 6th Espada, in his base form, couldn't inflict any damage on Nnoitra.

But now, Nnoitra had been pierced by a golden spear.

If they were in his place, would they have survived this attack?

The key point was, none of them had seen where the attack had come from.

Could it be that there were other powerful individuals hidden beside Lord Aizen, whom they didn't know?

"Nnoitra, I do not object to your infighting. After all, it is a Hollow's instinct. However, the Espada are a team I have painstakingly assembled. If you can find someone stronger to replace them after you kill one of your comrades, I will pardon your transgression.

But if you cannot bring me a stronger Espada and dare to attack your comrades, weakening my forces, you will face punishment from me."

With those words, the golden spear that pinned Nnoitra to the wall dissolved into reishi, and the severely injured Nnoitra fell from the wall, crashing onto the ground with a thud.

No longer paying attention to Nnoitra, Ailin swept his gaze over the assembled Espada.

"Everyone, this world will face a tremendous transformation within a hundred years at most. And transformation means war. You should be grateful. By following me, you will participate in this transformation and witness the change of the world's king.

However, if your strength is insufficient and you fall behind, I will not wait for you. Now, return to your respective duties and prepare yourselves. Our battle will begin in a few decades, or at most, a hundred years."

"Yes, Lord Aizen."

"Ulquiorra, remain here. I have something to discuss with you."

"Yes, Lord Aizen."

After the other Espada had departed, Ailin addressed Ulquiorra.

“Ulquiorra, the strength of the 9th and 10th Espada is not sufficient for their positions. I want you to find one or two powerful individuals to replace them after I leave.”

“As you command, Lord Aizen.”

The reason for entrusting Ulquiorra with the task of finding new Espada was because Ailin remembered that Yammy Llargo, the 10th Espada, had always been Ulquiorra's underling.

Presumably, there was some special connection between the two.

Although Ailin didn't know the specifics of this connection, it didn't stop him from assigning the task of finding Yammy to Ulquiorra.

As for the 9th Espada...

He was still in Soul Society, and Ailin didn't spend any extra time paying attention to him.

If he could grow strong enough, Ailin would naturally use the Hōgyoku to help him undergo Hollowfication and grant him a seat among the Espada.

If he couldn't…

He was merely an insignificant Espada, expendable.

His absence would have no impact on Ailin’s plan.

...

Within the Kuchiki Manor in Seireitei, Ailin sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the courtyard, using Zanzen to enter his Innate Domain.

Closing his eyes, he stretched out his hands.

Immense spiritual pressure erupted from him, forming a golden pillar of reiatsu that soared towards the sky. Blue lines spread from the pillar, weaving through the Innate Domain.

Buzz! Buzz!

As these lines inscribed themselves upon Ailin’s Innate Domain, Unlimited Blade Works, nine Zanpakutō shot skyward, radiating brilliant light.

Finally, they revealed their latest forms, transforming into streaks of golden light and embedding themselves on the sword hill according to their strength.

"This, this is...?"

At the very top of Unlimited Blade Works’ sword hill, a towering wooden cross stood tall. A figure was bound by chains to the cross.

Sōsuke Aizen, the former captain of the 5th Division.

On the cross, the sealed Aizen’s pupils trembled. He seemed to have witnessed something incredible.

As the creator of the Espada, Aizen was intimately familiar with the abilities of his subordinates.

If he wasn't mistaken, the nine Zanpakutō he had just seen… their abilities and shapes felt almost identical to those of his nine Espada.

No, not almost… they were exactly the same!

But how was that possible?

The Hollowfication of Shinigami, the process that created Arrancar, their Zanpakutō’s abilities weren't released through Shikai and Bankai. It was called "Resurrección."

It meant to completely release their true forms.

This was a completely different concept from the Zanpakutō of Shinigami.

Why would the Espada's Zanpakutō appear here?

...

Due to the disparity in their strength, Aizen had been unable to force Ailin to use other Zanpakutō abilities when he had been dragged into Unlimited Blade Works. Ailin had defeated Aizen with only Hakuda and Shunpo, sealing him on the sword hill.

Over the years, Sōsuke Aizen had discovered some secrets of this world created by Ailin.

On this sword hill, he sensed many familiar presences.

Those were the presences of other Shinigami’s Zanpakutō.

Among them was his own Kyōka Suigetsu.

Unfortunately, Kyōka Suigetsu in this world did not respond to Aizen's call, offering him no feedback.

However, precisely because of this, Aizen speculated that this world contained all the Zanpakutō of the Shinigami in Seireitei.

Previously, in order to investigate the secrets of the Soul King, Aizen had secretly entered the Great Spirit Book Gallery and perused many documents.

Among them, Aizen had also learned some secrets about Zanpakutō.

He knew that the first batch of Zanpakutō were forged by Ōetsu Nimaiya, the "God of the Sword," using the souls of some powerful Shinigami. Because these Shinigami possessed powerful abilities in certain aspects, the first batch of Zanpakutō were all incredibly powerful.