XX-level Hokage

Time...froze? "Bylergan's hoarse voice carried a hint of disbelief. His proud power of "aging" had actually stopped for a moment. Although it was only for a moment, for a Hueco Mundo master like him who regarded the laws of time as everything, this was undoubtedly a fantasy!

"What...what kind of power is this?!"

Barragan Louisiana, the former King of Hueco Mundo, experienced unprecedented horror for the first time. His ability to "age" was a law that transcended all life, a manifestation of death.

However, this woman of unknown identity could actually stop "time"! This was completely beyond his comprehension. Mashiro, observing the unease flickering in Barragan's empty eye sockets, curled a playful smile at the corner of her lips.

"Hey, King of Hueco Mundo, your time isn't absolute, you know." She chuckled, as if speaking to a clueless child.

Barragan was enraged. He awoke from his position as Espada, believing himself to be Aizen's strongest subordinate and the new ruler of Hueco Mundo. But the woman before him shattered his myth with ease.

"Arrogant! You mere Grim Reaper, how dare you spout such nonsense before me!" Barragan roared, swinging his massive bone scythe once more.

He no longer relied on the "automatic erosion" of aging, but instead concentrated his power on one point, attempting to tear apart the seemingly delicate woman before him with pure brute force and speed.

With a whooshing sound, the bone scythe instantly covered a distance of more than ten meters and slashed at Mashiro's waist!

However, Mashiro simply stood there calmly, without even making a move to dodge. "Choose, Zero!"

As she began her soft chanting, the azure-blue Samurai Force in her Zanpakuto form, "Sea of ​​Time," burst forth with dazzling light. A jade-green gem at the hilt lit up instantly, and as the light swirled, the entire Samurai Force transformed.

The blade of "Zero White" began to resemble bamboo, showing a segmented shape, with emerald green light emanating from the blade and enveloping her entire body.

The once slender katana had transformed into a delicate, short, emerald-green dagger, exuding a mysterious and ancient aura. Pure Glass Body.

Mashiro's voice was like an ancient chant as she slashed her wrist with the emerald green dagger.

Everyone's heart tightened, thinking she was about to harm herself. However, a strange thing happened: there was no wound on her wrist. Instead, green fluorescent light, like ripples, quickly spread from her wrist to her entire body.

The green light carried a vibrant spiritual energy, forming a faint, glass-like film on her body.

This light membrane wasn't simply a defensive structure, but rather a peculiar energy field. "Boom!"

Barragan's bone sickle slashed fiercely at Masami's body.

However, the expected carnage did not occur. The moment the bone scythe made contact with the white light membrane, the immense force seemed to have struck a soft yet resilient barrier. All the impact was absorbed and deflected by the light membrane, ultimately dissipating into nothingness.

"What?!" Barragán stared in astonishment at the scene before him.

"Too slow, King of Hueco Mundo." Mashiro's voice was clear and distant. "Your attack is meaningless to me."

Her "Pure Glass Body" ability works by guiding the scattered spiritual energy around her to "glass" the surrounding area, allowing the user to absorb the spiritual energy of the "glass" area to defend against attacks or perform healing.

In the area of ​​Hueco Mundo, where spiritual energy is extremely abundant, her defenses are virtually impenetrable.

Barragan refused to believe it. He roared and swung his bone scythe repeatedly, each strike carrying enough power to raze the entire Hueco Mundo to the ground. However, each attack was like hitting cotton, easily neutralized by the emerald green glassy membrane.

"Damn it! Then try this!" Barragan was furious. He once again condensed a jet-black "Aging Cero" and blasted it towards Mashiro!

Mashiro neither dodged nor evaded; she simply flicked her emerald green dagger. "Ruri, return it!"

The "glass" light membrane around her instantly became even more dazzling, and all the spiritual particles around her began to be attracted and devoured by her, including Barragan's aging spiritual pressure.

When the pitch-black "Aging Cero" struck her, the decaying power was absorbed and purified by the glassy light membrane around her, eventually dissipating into nothingness. It was as if she had transformed the "passage of time" itself into a part of her own power!

"Impossible!" Barragán roared in terror for the first time.

His pride in his "aging" was so easily shattered in front of this woman!

“Nothing is impossible.” Mashiro’s voice was calm and cold. “Before my power, your aging is merely a tributary of time, while I… am the end of time.”

Her deep, starry eyes gleamed with an all-seeing wisdom. "Now, the game is over." With a flash, Mashiro vanished from her spot.

A flicker of wariness flashed in Barragan's empty eye sockets, but Mashiro's speed exceeded the limits of his ability to detect. "Sea of ​​Time."

Suddenly, a bright blue gemstone lit up at the hilt of the samurai sword. As the light flowed, the entire samurai sword changed, transforming from a short, emerald-green dagger exuding a mysterious and ancient aura into a long sword shaped like a blue crystal.

Zhenzi's voice, like a whisper from Dangu, echoed in Bailergang's ears.

“My Zanpakuto is called Zero White. One of its abilities is related to time.” Mashiro slowly raised his hand, and a bright blue light appeared in his palm. The light was like the ocean, deep and vast. “In the form of blue, within the range of my spiritual pressure, time will no longer be linear, but rather, a chaotic void.”

As Mashiro spoke, her spiritual pressure erupted instantly, and the azure light spread outwards from her, enveloping the entire hall.

The immense aging power of Barragan began to become chaotic after entering this azure sea of ​​time! The torrent of time that was originally rushing towards Mashiro was instantly disrupted. Some parts stopped for a moment, while others accelerated, and some even began to flow backward in the opposite direction!

What... what is this?! A genuine fear flashed in Barragan's empty eye sockets. His aging power was absolute and irresistible, yet in Makoto's Sea of ​​Time, his proud ability had somehow lost control!

The Sea of ​​Time can disrupt time itself; the closer one is to the center of spiritual pressure, the deeper the disruption to time. "Mashiro's voice was calm and cold, as if recounting an ancient legend, 'In my Sea of ​​Time, your power of aging is but a tiny ripple.'"

Barragan's massive body suddenly froze. He felt an even stronger force than before, completely freezing his "time"! At that moment, his thoughts, his spiritual pressure, his very existence were all in absolute stillness. He could see the azure longsword in Mashiro's hand...

It slowly glided across his chest.

"puff!"

There was no sound, no blood.

The emerald green dagger seemed to have traversed another dimension, piercing through Barragan's powerful body without any hindrance.

Mashiro's movements were fluid and graceful. She drew the dagger from Barragan's body and then gently blew on the blade. "Click!"

A crisp sound.

Barragan's enormous body, starting from the spot where Shinpaku had slashed it, was instantly covered in cracks. Then, like shattered glass, it collapsed with a roar, turning into countless emerald green spirit fragments that dissipated in the hall of Hueco Mundo.

The First Espada, the former king of Hueco Mundo, Barragan Louisiana, has fallen!

Hitsugaya Toshiro, Renji, Rukia, and the others stared in astonishment at the scene before them. The enemy they had tried their best to reach but could not, had been easily defeated by this mysterious woman with a single blow!

Mashiro sheathed her Zanpakuto, the emerald green short sword transforming back into its azure katana form. She glanced at the heavily wounded Shinigami on the ground, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

“Pfft, that’s so wolfish.” She shook her head and walked over to Nelieel.

"Fortunately, my Pure Glass Body can not only absorb spiritual energy, but also heal." Mashiro smiled slightly and gently touched Nelliel's chest with her finger.

The azure longsword transformed back into a bright green shortsword, gently slicing across Nelliel's chest.

A powerful emerald green light erupted from Shiro's fingertips and then entered Neriel's body! Neriel's body, weakened by Barragan's aging...

Her body, which had been eroded by the power, began to recover instantly! The signs of aging disappeared at a visible speed, and her spiritual pressure began to return!

Just like when she cut her own wrist before, no wounds were left, but streaks of emerald green fluorescence spread from the tip of the knife and quickly entered Nelieel's body.

Nerieluna's decaying body was visibly restored to its original state! "This is... healing?" Rukia exclaimed in astonishment.

"My Pure Glass Body" can transform the surrounding area into glass by guiding the scattered spiritual energy. "Mashiro's emerald green eyes shimmered with a strange light. "And I can use the spiritual energy of the glass-transformed area to resist attacks or perform healing."

Her voice carried a chilling composure, as if everything she did was perfectly natural.

"The difference is really that big." Looking at Mashiro, Hitsugaya Toshiro muttered to himself with difficulty, then clenched his hands tightly.

He now finally understood why Captain-Commander Yamamoto valued Mashiro so much—not only because she was one of the original Gotei 13 members, but also because of her formidable strength.

It could be said that the woman before him was a more terrifying being than Aizen, or even more terrifying than he had ever imagined.

"Alright, let's go. It's good that nothing happened," Mashiro said softly. Then she opened the portal.

Upon hearing this, Toshiro nodded and struggled to his feet. He then had Rukia help the heavily injured Nelliel up and stepped into the eerie portal. The portal slowly closed, and Mashiro stood there, watching the light completely dissipate.

"Aizen, Ichigo... and that old man over there," Mashiro murmured to herself, a hint of anticipation in her voice, "Don't let me down." Her figure disappeared from the main hall of Las Noches as the portal closed.

The central hall of Las Noches returned to a deathly silence, with only the spirit particles of the First Espada, Barragan Louisenbon, flickering in the air, recounting the fall of this first Hueco Mundo king.

Chapter 214: The Present World

In the present world, Karakura Town.

Night fell over the tranquil city of Karakura, with pale moonlight casting its light.

A crack in the interdimensional portal silently tore open in the air, without making a sound, as if it had never existed.

Immediately afterwards, Kisuke Urahara, along with Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, Chad, and Uryu Ishida, fell out of the distorted space and crashed heavily into the alleyway below.

When the light of the portal completely dissipated, and the familiar, bustling atmosphere unique to the human world rushed towards him, Ichigo Kurosaki's consciousness was finally pulled away from the deathly oppressive atmosphere of Hueco Mundo. He gasped for breath, his muscles aching all over, as if he had just experienced a life-and-death cycle.

Orihime Inoue, standing beside him, was pale, but her eyes were filled with the relief of surviving a disaster. She immediately poured her spiritual power into Ichigo's body, trying to speed up his recovery.

"Kurosaki-kun, are you alright?" Kisuke Urahara's voice came from the side. He was still wearing his signature green hat, but the smile on his face had long since disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.

“I’m not going to die yet…” Ichigo struggled to sit up and glanced around. They had landed in a secluded park. Karakura Town was peaceful under the cover of night, showing no signs of the impending apocalyptic war.

"Ishida, Chad, you're injured too." Kisuke Urahara looked at Uryu Ishida and Yasutora Chad, who were following behind Ichigo. Ishida's left hand was still wrapped in bandages, and his face was pale. Chad's right arm was also covered with battle marks.

"Mr. Urahara, how is things in Hueco Mundo?" Uryu Ishida pushed up his glasses, his tone tinged with worry.

He understood that they had been pulled back to the real world by Kisuke Urahara from a desperate situation, while Toshiro Hitsugaya and the others remained in that perilous place. "Captain Hitsugaya and the others... have their own plans." Kisuke Urahara didn't say much, only giving them a deep look before casting his gaze into the sky.

Above Zamachi, "We have more important things to do now."

"Is Aizen really coming?" Chad asked in a low voice, his fists clenched and all his muscles tense.

Kisuke Urahara nodded, his gaze becoming unusually profound: "From the moment we entered Las Noches to Ulquiorra's attempt to kill Kurosaki-kun, this..."

Everything was part of Aizen's plan. He lured us to Hueco Mundo to buy time to carry out his grand plan in the human world.

"The grand plan? Is it the... the key you mentioned?" Ichigo's voice was slightly hoarse. He knew what that term meant—the lives of 100,000 people in Karakura Town!

“That’s right.” Kisuke Urahara’s face showed a bitter smile. “Aizen’s goal is not just to destroy the Soul World. He wants to surpass the Soul King and become a higher-dimensional being. The ‘King Key’ is the only key for him to reach the Soul King’s Palace. And the method to create the King Key is to condense the spiritual particles of 100,000 souls into a huge spiritual particle barrier, centered on Karakura Town.”

Ichigo's pupils contracted sharply as anger and resentment surged within him. He couldn't imagine what fate awaited the residents of Karakura Town, his family, and his friends if he had arrived even a moment later.

"Then... what should we do now?" Inoue Orihime's voice trembled slightly. Although she wasn't skilled in combat, she knew the cruelty of this war. "Now, all we can do is wait," Urahara Kisuke said with a hint of helplessness. "Aizen has already begun his actions, and his Espada..."

They will arrive in the mortal world one after another, buying him time to create the King Key. Therefore, we must stop them all here.

Just as Kisuke Urahara finished speaking, a strange spiritual pressure fluctuation suddenly came from above Karakura Town! The spiritual pressure was not as violent as a Cero, but rather an aura that was elegant yet full of danger.

"Aizen's Espada have arrived." Kisuke Urahara's eyes sharpened instantly.

A massive rift appeared to tear open the sky, and three figures slowly emerged from it.

The woman at the head of the group had long, golden hair, a tall figure, and a cold, beautiful face; she was none other than the 30th Espada—Tia Harribel.

Beside her were two women who looked exactly alike: one a little girl with pigtails and the other a mature woman with a single ponytail. They were none other than her subordinates, Apache, Mira Rhodes, and Sun Sun.

"Oh, it seems we've arrived just in time." Apache's voice carried a hint of arrogance. "Lord Aizen said that as long as we kill all the Shinigami here, we can open the path to the throne for him."

"Enough with the nonsense, Apache." Harribel's voice was cold and calm, her icy blue eyes sweeping over Ichigo and the others below. "We don't have time to waste here. Take care of them, then complete the mission."

"Tia Harribel..." Ichigo's eyes hardened. He knew this was an enemy he had to face.

"Ichigo, your body isn't ready for battle yet," Kisuke Urahara's voice rang in Ichigo's ear. "I'll take over."

“No.” Ichigo interrupted Kisuke Urahara, his gaze fixed on Harribel in the air. “This is Karakura Town, my home. No one can harm my friends and family here.”

Ichigo's weakened spiritual pressure erupted again, though much weaker than before, but his unwavering will was stronger than ever before!

“Zangetsu…” Ichigo murmured, a deep rumble emanating from his Zanpakuto. “Hollowfication!”