The three Espada arrived at the end of the road, which seemed to be a dead end. In front of them, only black clouds were in sight, while below, there was a long fall into nothingness.

"It seems like we'll have to skywalk if we want to continue" Gin observed.

"Tch... These assholes don't even finish the roads they lead you into" Grimmjow complained. "How are we supposed to find the Demon?"

"Wait, that looks like... Some kind of... Platform" Harribel pointed out, as a floating structure came into sight.

"Hm? You're right, Harribel-san!" Gin applauded her. "That should be the last trail before we reach our final destination"

"Where in the Hell are we even going?" Grimmjow rudely asked.

"Ulquiorra said that each Prince had a Temple for them to rest, as well as use their Majinbuki to its full extent" Harribel answered.

"Which means that the Wind Temple must be just ahead" Gin added.

The three jumped into the floating object. As they set foot in it, they realized it was a piece of ground and rocks, even having beautiful grass growing in it.

"What is this? It's like a fragment of the very Earth..." Gin observed. "I wonder what keeps it in this position..."

"Whatever reason it has, it must have something to do with the Demon laying ahead" Grimmjow commented.

"If he's able to do this... It must be quite fearsome" Harribel said.

"I believe so as well. However, such doesn't seem to be the case" Gin refuted. "You see, this is supposed to be the Prince of the Wind, yet there is not an especially powerful storm or something that would make you imagine that the wind is responsible for keeping these things in the air. If I had to bet, I'd say that there is some sort of gravity manipulation in these platforms"

"That would be even more impressive if you ask me" Grimmjow chuckled, eager to fight such an opponent.

"Whatever reason it is, it speaks greatly of our adversary" Harribel concluded.

"In any way, we won't find out until we have him face to face" Gin replied. "So why don't we go ahead and find out?"

"You don't have to ask" Grimmjow grinned.

The trio jumped from one island to the other. Each one was just like the first, a mass of fertile ground and rocks, some even having trees growing on them.

After about twenty islands of that kind, they reached one that seemed more like a flatland, completely shadowed by the black clouds.

"You should try to have your eyes open" Grimmjow teased Gin.

"Haha, how funny..." The Ex-Captain replied. "Though it's amazing that even with my eyes like this I am more perceptive than you" He giggled as he entered the dark haze ahead.

"Tsk... We'll see about that!"

"Wait you two! We don't know if the enemy-"

"The enemy has been watching us since the start, Harribel" Gin clarified, dispersing the black clouds in a flash just with swings of his sword. "Despite that, he seems interested in facing us here anyways"

With the air clear, the rest of the flatland was easily sighted.

It seemed to be some kind of Japanese Shrine, having statues of Shinto Gods and Oni. There were also Tori Gates that showed the way into the main temple.

On the stairway to the main temple, a bald Tengu-like being of green skin and lightgreen feathers was waiting for them. He had a long Katana in his hand, two black pointy horns coming out of his head and the Kanji for wind in the center of his chest. It was the Prince.

"Hello Majin-san!" Gin saluted mockingly as he approached him.

"The name's Kazenawa. Welcome to my dominion, the Temple of Wind" The Prince replied politely.

"Thank you for such warm welcome" Gin bowed a bit. "However, I'm afraid that I have a request to make you..."

"What would that be?" Kazenawa inquired.

"Could you please die?" Gin made his innocent smile as he let an infantile aura of bloodlust out of his being.

"*sigh* I should've imagined you would say something of such bad taste" The Prince replied. "Mortal Souls have a disgusting habit of speaking so casually of death. I understand that your deaths might not be absolute, but even so, it is an insult to those of us who live an eternity seeing as you kill each other over the most mundane reasons"

"You may speak for most, but I don't fit that category" Grimmjow joined. "I fight cause I feel alive when I do so. There's nothing like the feeling sweat, blood and pain give you. It is the only way I know of living, and it's the only reason I have to risk my life by coming here!"

"Of course, I know your kind very well too" Kazenawa said in reply. "You are savage beasts that seek conflict to quench your thirst for battle, harming yourselves and others without any reason at all. You're worse than beasts"

"Even if that is the case, you're no one to judge them, not anymore at least" Harribel refuted. "After the senseless massacres you've brought upon, you have no right to call us beasts either"

"Really? Do you really believe it is all senseless? Do you have any idea of the injustice that pushed us to this decision?" Kazenawa seemed insulted. "You may not know it, as you were left by the Old Gods for longer than you or your respective societies would know, but the negligence of this world sickens me and Yama-sama to a point in which we cannot be indifferent anymore"

"Negligence? What do you mean?" Harribel asked.

"The way in which this world was left unsupervised. Sure, the Soul King may exist, but that's just a mean to keep balance, and it's far from perfect" Kazenawa explained.

"Ah, so you share the same opinion as Aizen" Gin deduced. "There is no such thing as a being ruling above all in this world... Aizen used to say that. He wanted to become a truly perfect God, one that could not only take the Soul King's place, but surpass it, becoming the ultimate overseer"

"Yama-sama has had said idea for eons however, and his plan has been carefully crafted through those years" Kazenawa revealed. "We know of this man, Aizen, and while I must admit that he has a far superior intelect to that of most beings, probably even mine, Yama-sama is in a completely different dimension"

"Really? How scary..." Gin commented, his grin unchanging. "Guess I'll have to try twice as hard this time!"

Ichimaru opened his blue eyes as he charged towards Kazenawa.

Grimmjow and Harribel entered Segunda Etapa and took the sides for support, a bit surprised that Gin attacked so straightforwardly and without releasing his Zanpakutou.

"He's either crazy or a real monster" Harribel thought about his ally.

"Let's see what you're made of... Commander" Grimmjow thought with an eager expression.

Gin's level had always been above the Espada during Aizen's reign, so it wasn't surprising that his base form as an Arrancar could be on pair with their normal Resurrección, in fact, he was probably the second strongest pure Soul Reaper in Karakura during that fight, only surpassed by Yamamoto. However, it was ridiculous thinking his power was comparable with Segunda Etapa without even releasing his true power.

Gin could feel how Kazenawa's speed was monstrous. The Demon attacked relentlessly, flying through the battlefield so quickly that it looked like he was constantly appearing and disappearing.

The only thing he could rely on, was his senses and instinct, and even then, sight was not an option. Attempting to follow Kazenawa with his eyes was a complete waste of time and energy.

However, by hearing and feeling the air around him, he could predict where and how to block his attacks just in time.

For Kazenawa it wasn't any easier either, but not because of Ichimaru. The two Espada that were supporting him from the distance could see his movements as an equal. He had to dodge Ceros and other ranged attacks.

"Winter Wind" He used his wings to create giant hurricanes that he directed at Harribel and Grimmjow.

The two Espada had to use Sonido to escape the range of the giant air attack. While they had gotten faster, they hadn't gotten to Nel's level with her Velocidad, and it was understandable, since she developed such an ability under training from the Shunpo goddess herself.

Even with the other two busy, however, it was still difficult for Kazenawa to deal a single succesful attack on the silver haired man.

"Tch... You are better than I thought, Ichimaru Gin"

"Wow, you know my name!" Gin giggled as he thought: "I have no choice but to do this perfectly. A single attack from this guy would completely obliterate this body with no effort...!"

"As I told you before, we knew of Aizen, which means that we also had our eye on you and a couple other subordinates of him. Ulquiorra for example, ended up being chosen by Yama-sama as he was the one with the most potential. Unfortunately, he has now gone to your side, but that's not even worth considering in the face of a God like Yama-sama" Kazenawa explained as his Zanpakutou clashed against Gin's. "You were pretty impressive in your intent to defeat Aizen, although you failed in the end. In spite of that, I believe you deserve some credit"

"Oh, really? Cause I think otherwise" Gin refuted, remembering Rangiku's tears. "I don't deserve anything. For as long as she's still crying, I haven't attained a single victory, hence I'm not worthy of any award" He thought, delivering a wild barrage of slashes at Kazenawa, who even took damage.

"You gotta be kidding me... Can a mere Arrancar be this strong?!" He thought in shock.

"For your look, I can tell that you never imagined I could give you trouble" Gin mocked him. "It's true, I can't see you, but that just means that I have to beat you using all my other senses" He stuck his tongue out. It was long and bifid.

"Don't tell me you...!" Kazenawa understood it in that moment.

"Snakes are able to tell lots of things by sticking their tongues out... From the temperature to the hostility of the environment they're immersed in" He took advantage of that moment, quickly stabbing Kazenawa.

The Demon flinched as he spat blood.

"Ungh... You... Snake!"

"Thank you" Gin chuckled proudly.

"Whatever... I have eight more of those. Oni have seven, but Majin have nine" Kazenawa extirpated his dead heart with his hand.

"I know. Ulquiorra told... Us"

As soon as Gin said that plural, Kazenawa remembered the true nature of the battle.

"Cero Eléctrico!"

"Cero Volcánico!"

Of course, it was too late to realize said thing, as an electrifying and a burning Cero obliterated other four of his hearts.

"Gha!" He fell to the floor, feeling as weak and hopeless as never in his immortal existence. "I have only four left... I cannot give them any more chances"

"That position suits you a lot better..." Gin grinned maliciously. "Do you feel like fulfilling my request now?"

"Fuck you..." Kazenawa lost his patience, holding his Katana tightly. "Mortals should never defy those above them... But it looks like I will have to teach you that personally"

Gin approached him with Sonido ready to stab his remaining hearts before he tried anything else.

"You're slow... You're gonna regret not using your release from the start..." Kazenawa chuckled. "Divide the skies... Ziz!"

~~~~X~~~~

Kon woke up with a pain on his neck. He had fallen asleep on the chair as he waited for the girl to awake.

He had left some spare clothes Rukia had laying around in the house, just in case she woke up.

As soon as he noticed that the clothes were gone, he jumped from his seat and ran down the stairs.

"Shit! Where the hell did she go?!" He muttered to himself, only to find the TV on. "Eh...?"

The girl was watching a Dorama with an uninterested expression as she ate from a bag of potato chips.

Kon forced her to stand up and pulled her back to the room.

"Y-You woke up! Why didn't you tell me?! You can't just go out like that!" Kon exclaimed. "

The girl deviated her look a bit, not looking at him straight in the eye.

"You're the one that brought me here?" She asked, indifferent.

"Yeah! I saw you passed out in a-"

"Pervert" She replied, getting in a defensive position. "You brought me to your house, naked and unconscious! What were you thinking?"

"WHAT? But I literally saved you! And I didn't do anything weird!" He shouted, while thinking: "Despite my compulsive need to just let go..."

"Really? Do you have any proof of that?" The girl was as sceptical as possible.

"Well... No, but-"

"Get away from me! AAAaaahhh!" She screamed.

"No! Please, stop screaming!" He covered her mouth. "Look, I even left clothes for you! A pervert would've left you naked"

"Hm... I guess I can believe that much" She replied, accepting not to scream.

"Now, tell me something more about you. Like, how in the world did you end up there in... Your condition...?"

"My name is... *sigh* Look, I don't want you meddling into my business so, I don't think I should tell you anything"

"Why? It's not like I don't know anything. You have Reishi, so you must come from the Soul Society, right?" Kon deduced.

"What? How can you...?"

"Cause I'm not a human. My name's Kon, and I'm a Mod Soul inside a human body! Though you probably don't know what that is..." He scratched his head.

"No way... D-Did you say... Mod Soul?" The girl seemed to be frightened upon hearing that term.

"Yeah. An artificially made soul. The smart guy of the Candy Shop said that we were designed to be used as a weapon, being able to enter corpses and control them from the inside... But they canceled the project due to its macabre nature"

"No... I... I know about it..." She admitted.

"Really?! But... How?" Kon seemed even more intrigued.

"I'm sorry, Kon... But I have a feeling things will only get more complicated if you try to help me" She sadly replied. "In fact, I should be going, otherwise someone will come for me and-"

Door knocking was heard.

"Who is it?" Kon wondered, going to it.

"Shit!" The girl cursed. "Try to entertain them a little. I must go, now!"

"Huh?" Kon was stranged, but did as she told him, casually opening the door.

A green haired man in a strange yellow tunic was at the door, escorted by two Shinigami Lieutenants, apparently, Nanao and Kira.

"Hi, can I help you with...?"

"Move, there's no time to explain!" The strange man barged in without delay.

"Woah! Hey, you can't just do this!" Kon protested.

Despite his efforts, the man had already checked what he needed.

"Dammit! She's not here... But she couldn't have gone too far...! Look for her!"

The two Lieutenants did as he ordered.

"What is going on...? Who the hell are you?!" Kon pushed him.

"Get your filthy hands off me, weakling!" The man used the first Hadou without any effort, tying Kon's hands behind his back.

"Ungh...! Why you...?!"

"That damn brat... Only delaying the inevitable..." The man muttered as he exited the Kurosaki household.

~~~~X~~~~

Kazenawa had changed his form completely, now looking like a half-humanoid, his lower half being like a griffin.

The Demon shot a barrage of powerful gusts of wind at his three enemies effortlessly with his released weapon.

His Majinbuki had become a long spear that reminded Grimmjow of Chauve-Souris, due to his contempt for the Primera Espada. He could easily remember how it created hurricanes and gusts of wind as well.

"Could it be...?" Grimmjow thought, deviating an attack with a strong Reiatsu blast, only to be countered by the Prince, personally.

"Die!" Kazenawa was about to stab him, when Harribel intercepted the attack by shooting boiling water at the Demon.

"Grimmjow, don't lose focus!" She ordered.

"Sorry, Tier!" He jumped to ger side. "It's just that... Isn't that weapon a lot like-"

"Ulquiorra's. I also thought about it" She replied, pensive. "It has similar traits and abilities"

"Its looks are clearly different though" He pointed out.

Kazenawa couldn't help but chuckle at the ignorance of the two Espada.

"Heh, if only they knew..." He murmured to himself.

"Over here!" Gin said, attempting to stab him in the back, literally.

Kazenawa, however, was above his current capabilities, easily dodging the attack and countering right away.

"Too slow..." He replied as he scratched Gin with one of its paws, dealing a deadly amount of damage.

"Tsk... That hurt" Ichimaru admitted, feeling as his body had been completely broken inside. "Looks like I've got no other choice... The other Espada are not doing much better either"

"You better start taking things seriously, Ichimaru" Kazenawa warned. "Otherwise, I won't be able to contain my urge to rip you apart any longer!"

"Heh... If you can't help yourself, you can come and try" He spat a bit of blood. "I died once... Surely I can die again"

"Oh really? In that case, it will be my pleasure" The prince flew right at him, pointing the great lance to kill him in an instant.

"Fool" He thought as he licked his Zanpakutou in an instant, opening his eyes as he released it. "Slither and kill... Basilisco!"

An explosion of silver-white Reiatsu filled the air.

Once the smoke was cleared, Harribel and Grimmjow had a look at Gin.

His skin became paler, and his sky-blue eyes had a reptile pupil. His hair seemed to become longer and wilder, falling at his shoulders. The rest of his body seemed unchanged, as it was below his clothes, but it had grown scales on his skin, which grew up to his neck, adding a special coat of a harder Hierro on top of his skin.

As soon as Kazenawa stared into his eyes, Gin closed them again and threw a stampede of white snakes that came after him.

"What is this?" Kazenawa thought, flying so that the snakes would not reach him. "While his attacks may be futile in terms of damage, this guy is full of surprises... I should avoid his attacks no matter what" He thought.

Unfortunately for him, Gin knew he would do something like that, so he anticipated his move and attacked him in the air with a long white blade.

As soon as Kazenawa realized the situation, he tried to evade the Katana, but to his great surprise, the sword not only continued extending itself, but it even bent towards him, flexibly changing its direction and even curving itself.

"What's with that sword...? It's just like a living snake!"

"It's really similar to its master, don't you think?" Gin asked back, throwing a handful of white snakes from his long sleeve at him.

The snakes bit as soon as they felt the warmth produced by the skin of the Demon, or so it looked like to Kazenawa.

"Kgh!" He made a sound of pain as he felt the poisonous bites, still trying to keep himself in the air.

"Cascada Hirviendo!" Harribel attacked with the boiling torrent of water.

"Desgarrón Destructor!" Grimmjow added lacerating Reiatsu slashes to the siege.

Kazenawa's body suffered massive damage as he took the two attacks. Probably, separated they weren't much, but together it was a fierce demonstration of power, even for a Prince. Harribel's boiling water left his hard skin vulnerable, while Grimmjow's slashes left large open wounds in it.

"And now for the final touch..." Gin prepared a final blow. "Shinso!"

Despite being his Hollow Zanpakutou, it perfectly understood Gin's command, extending itself at a terrifying speed.

"Mordida Culebra" Gin opened his eyes as he left a piece of his sword inside the Demon's organism, all thanks to the wounds Grimmjow had opened, otherwise his Zanpakutou wouldn't have been nearly able to pierce his hard skin to that extent.

As Kazenawa fell to the ground, he felt his blood running slower and slower through his body.

"What...? What did you do to me?!" He didn't seem to understand.

"I basically did the same I once tried on Aizen, the only difference being the inexistence of a Hogyoku inside you. I left a piece of my Zanpakutou in your body, and as you may believe, a deadly poison is now making a mess in your organism. You might be a Demon, so it will be a bit slower... But sooner or later, you will disintegrate and irrevocably die" Gin explained, delighted.

"Tch... You're lying... You must be lying!" He was in complete denial. "I can't... I can't fail against such a chep tactic...!"

"Heh, and you wanna know what's even better? Hehe..." He giggled. "Those snakes you saw, they are not even real"

"W-What?!" Kazenawa was in shock. "That's a blatant lie...! I saw them, I felt their bite, filling poison into my body!"

"~Ah-aah~" Gin melodically retorted. "That was all just an illusion created when you looked within my reptilian eyes" He opened them again. "It's almost ironic. I spent about a hundred years earning Aizen's trust to get that out of him... The way to stop his Zanpakutou's terrifying ability... Only to receive eyes that did the same myself"

"You're bluffing..."

"If you wanna believe that..." Gin raised his shoulders. "In any case, it's becoming late. Look at yourself"

As soon as he said that, Kazenawa did as he told him. His bestial body was shaking and feeling number for every second that passed.

"So... I will die" He accepted his fate, calmly.

"Hm?" Gin seemed amaze at his sudden resolve.

"In that case... Might as well take you all with me..." He grinned as he activated the true power of his lance, a disgusting Aura emanating from him. "Cataclysm"

"No way..." Gin sighed in disbelief. "Also... What's with that ominous energy I see in him?"

During the fight, neither of the three Espada had noticed that all the floating structures of before were flying above them.

"The true power of Ziz... Is to control the gravity of the objects with large quantities of my Reishi" Kazenawa chuckled. "All those wind attacks were just my doing, not my Majinbuki's... And would you look at that?"

The black clouds had reunited all on the same spot.

"You're shitting me..." Grimmjow spouted as he stared straight into the sky.

"To me, it looks like just the time for a perfect storm... Ahahahahahaha!" Kazenawa laughed madly. "Cataclysm is not just a name, it's literally what it means. A full fledged natural disaster..."

"Shit..." Gin thought, realizing the magnitude of the Prince's attack. "I just need a bit more of time... My blade is still not ready..." He looked at the Zanpakutou, which slowly gained a silver bright.

Kazenawa stood up, not feeling his own body.

"I might as well put an end to this giving it my all. The truth is... I was never an experienced fighter, unlike Kachiki, for example... But I never give up" The Demon declared. "If my body has lost all senses, not feeling pain will be the key to keep fighting. I won't let you get away, that's a given"

"Tch... What a son of a bitch!" Grimmjow cursed. "You could've given it your all since tge start, and now you play the mighty warrior card?!"

Kazenawa attacked him with a barrage of stabs with his lance, the Espada giving it his all to evade them.

"You were lucky that I didn't give it my all until now" Kazenawa clarified. "You're strong, for your race... But in no case comparable to the likes of us!"

One of the stabs reached him.

"Argh!" He fell to the ground immediately, unable to stand up as a tremendous weight pushed him down. "W-What...? What's going on?!" He was starting to feel an unbearable despair, something he couldn't comprehend.

"Gravity Bomb" Kazenawa said. "I used my weapon to embed you with a portion of Reiatsu. The fact that you are moving even a bit, speaks highly of your strength, but don't worry, I'll just apply more in the next stab"

"I don't think so!" Harribel stopped him with a swing of her cannon-like blade. "Ola Azul" She attacked from point blank range, so it managed to make the Demon flinch.

"Heh, I see that you won't be giving up either" Kazenawa praised. "Sadly, we don't have much longer. If you escape, he'll die, unable to move from that spot. If you fight me, you will die, trying to defeat me as the ground falls down"

Harribel's emerald eyes shined as she processed those words.

"Are you saying... That I... Need to make a choice?"

Gin was about to join them, when he noticed something changed in her.

"Of course. Will you sacrifice your friend? Or... Would you rather sacrifice yourself trying to save him?" Kazenawa asked, the clouds starting to shoot lightnings randomly as the seconds passed, the giant structure of earth, plants and rock falling straight at them.

She could clearly remember the way in which her attacks forced others to sacrifice something... How she had to always make a sacrifice in order to protect something much greater for her.

However, this time was different. Whatever choice she made, was the same as losing it all. For the first time, she couldn't embrace her own nature.

She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she sacrificed Grimmjow. She would rather die...

But even then, Grimmjow would probably die as well. The only possible way was killing Kazenawa before the cataclysm fell upon them, and it was impossible for her in that moment.

The only option was... Breaking her limits one last time.

"Whatever sacrifice I make... Won't save me this time" She concluded. "That means... The only way out of this... Is to try to keep it all for the first time in my life!"

"What?" Kazenawa seemed amused by her decision.

"No more sacrifices... It's time I act out of selfishness for once" Harribel's yellow Reiatsu was brimming out of her body in an unseen way. "I won't sacrifice Grimmjow, nor myself, nor anything else!"

"Harribel..." Gin also opened his eyes, truly amazed as he witnessed that moment.

"I will cherish all the things I love... And I will fight...!"

"T...Tier" Grimmjow muttered with difficulty, beholding her.

"...TO PROTECT IT ALL!" A yellow expansive wave exploded, blinding Kazenawa for a second.

After the yellow Reiatsu rose, a black layer grew arpund it, culminating in a white flash.

Out of the light, Harribel came out in Resurrección: Etapa Final. Her hair turned grey, with two strands of it falling at the length of her neck in the front, while a very broad and long hair tail fell to her rear's length in the back. Crowning her head, two great black and grey pieces of mask rose like peaks to the sky.

Her eyes had black scleras with yellow irises, and under them, blue bolt-like markings were drawn down her cheeks.

Her upper body was almost completely exposed, and had black and yellow lines that looked like shark gills in her stomach and back. The only pieces that were covered were her right shoulder, which had an armor made from black and grey piece of mask with shark-teeth appearance, and her breasts, though only a thin line of grey and yellow armor covered them through the center.

Right below her stomach, in the center of jer waist, her Hollow Hole could be seen, surrounded by the armor-like mask.

Her right leg had her thigh uncovered, while the left one was completely protected by a black, grey and yellow armor which extended to her foot and butt, from which an elegant whale-shark tail came out. Her right side had only her knee and quill covered by the armor, showing her dark-skinned foot, which looked a lot more bestial.

Her left arm had said armor from her elbow to the back of her wrist, which displayed a pointy piece of grey mask protecting it. Her hand had beauttiful pointy black nails.

Finally, her right arm was completely covered by the armor, having several yellow veins of Reiatsu in it, was shaped in a way that allowed her to change that arm into a cannon for her elemental attacks and better aim with Cero.

Right in front of her, a trident with glistening yellow energy was embedded in the ground, waiting for her to use it.

"My final weapon... Megalodon" Harribel murmured as she felt the trident in her hand, overflowing with power. She looked at the sky, as it kept menacing to fall on them. "There's no time. I'll end this in a flash"

"So, you got an ultra convenient power-up, didn't you?" Kazenawa mocked her. "It's useless. You're just a Hollo-"

"Cero Luna"

Harribel gave no shits as she blasted a white and yellow Cero on the Demon's face, sending him flying towards the Japanese temple, which got smashed to pieces.

"Ichimaru" She called his attention. "That attack earlier, you did something, didn't you?"

"Ah, yeah..." He nodded.

"Will it kill him?"

"If it works, yes. But, I need time..." He clarified.

"How much?" Her bright yellow irises looked straight at him.

Gin looked at his Zanpakutou. It wasn't shining as brightly as it had, but it was almost ready.

"About a minute. But... I don't think we'll have that much" He said bitterly, his mouth being serious.

"Worry not" She replied, calmly. "I can smash the smaller islands. With that, we'll have enough time for your plan to work. However, you're gonna have to fight on your own in the meantime"

"There won't be a need for that" Grimmjow replied, standing on his feet with a lot of difficulty, but not willing to fall again, not after he defeated that ominous feeling of despair. "I'll take care of the falling islands, you keep breaking the shit out of him, Tier..."

"Grimmjow...!" She was delighted to see him standing up despite the Demon's attack.

"I won't be able to withstand it much longer..." He spat. "So I'll just end it all in the easiest way"

He scratched his own chest, his hands covered in blood as he pointed them to the sky, as well as charging the electricity to the maximum.

"Gran Rey Cero: Sangre y Trueno!"

From his hands, a gigantic blue Cero surrounded by electricity was directed at the structures above, turning them into debris as soon as they came into contact with the beam, as well as charging the black clouds in the atmosphere with its blue energy.

Seconds later, the power overload culminated in a giant thunderbolt that fell from the skies into the biggest falling island, cracking it, yet not destroying it.

"Ungh..." Grimmjow fell unconscious and defeated by the greater gravity in his body.

"Grimmjow..." Harribel muttered, admiring him even in that weak state. "Even after taking all that... Ichimaru!" She called his name, full of determination.

"Y-Yes!" He was caught off-guard.

"Let's end this...!" She charged against the Demon, who was now ready for the next assault, despite his face being burned almost completely.

"Impressive... While it did not hurt, that was only due to the mortal poison... Not because it was a weak attack" He admitted. "I can see that the beast also had quite a bit of energy left, but it was not enough! You have no salvation!"

The gigantic rock was getting closer, almost reaching their island.

"No... You are the one who is more than finished" Harribel declared, pointing her trident at Kazenawa. "Marea Negra!"

From the trident, a giant black wave rose, swallowing everything in its path.

"Deathwind" Kazenawa tries to counter the wave with an attack of multiple cutting air waves. "You won't... Win... Mortals..."

"You are Kazenawa, right?" The young God asked him. "You're known for being the quickest Archangel, faster than the wind, some say..."

"Yes... I don't really fight that much anymore" He replied.

His blue hair, gray eyes and greenish skin made him quite noticeable. He used to be one of the strongest Angels, so he was ascended to the position of Archangel, in which his strength didn't stand out, but his speed was another topic.

"I know... There's not much to do nowadays. Takemagahara is just a place for mediocre Gods to rest and find comfort. The realms below were all left unattended, poorly balanced by the Soul Cycle, as they called it" The young God replied.

"Yes. I've been working as a messenger as a result, but... I can't stand it, Sorayama-sama"

"Just call me Yama. We share the same view after all, don't we?" He smiled at the Angel with a hypnotic charm.

"A God as powerful as you... With no purpose whatsoever and picked on by the mediocre likes of the Gods who enjoy this system... It's unforgivable" Kazenawa clenched his fist.

"Then... Would you be willing to help me? All I want is to put everything in order. To sit in that long-forgotten throne and rule it all as best as I can. That would be the perfect work for someone like me, don't you think?" Yama closed his eyes as he innocently proposed such a scheme.

"Hmph" Kazenawa chuckled. "Yes, Yama-sama... That would be a most fitting place, for a majestic God like yourself. I'm all ears..."

"Yama-sama... Is the embodiment of perfection... The true balance this world needs, yet was rejected by the weak and lazy scum that didn't want to do its job" Kazenawa thought angrily, using all the strength he had left in an intent to stop Harribel's attack.

The black tsunami was clashing against his fiery storm, slowly losing its power.

"I... Won't... Give... Up..." Kazenawa muttered as his power started to cancel the Espada's attack. "HaaaaaaAAAAA!"

The wave exploded, turning the blackwater into nothing as it was splattered through the platform.

"I... Did it..." Kazenawa grinned with pride. "Yama-sama... I didn't fail you..."

But in spite of all his efforts, the three Espada had already achieved victory.

"Kazenawa..." Gin called his attention.

The Demon raised his look to see the Arrancar.

"It's over..." Gin looked at him straight in the eye, his orbs shining with a silver light. "Mirada Mortal"

Kazenawa's body turned into stone, starting right where the fragment of Gin's sword had been left.

"I deceived you" Gin said. "The poison is real, so were the snakes. I cannot create illusions. My eyes are simply the key to activate the effect of my Basilisco. As soon as the fragment has tainted all of your Reiatsu with a special poison, a single look into these eyes will turn you into stone. The poison is quite convincing, isn't it? But I'm afraid that it cannot kill just like that" Gin raised his sword's handle as a shining sand came back to it, reforming the Zanpakutou. "This sword is a snake, one that can change its shape easily by assembling and dissassembling itself in a microscopical level. Hmph... I am really weak in fact... A single well-given blow would have easily ended my life, but you said so: I always have these cheap tricks, and that's my aspect of death, Deception"

Harribel blasted a Gran Reina Cero at the cracked island, finishing what Grimmjow started and saving him.

"I... See..." Kazenawa accepted, the stone reaching his neck. "You might... Not understand... Us... But I... Can see... That you don't... Take life... Lightly..." He closed his eyes with a confident expression as his face became literally petrified.

Gin let out a loud sigh of relief as he walked away of the statue, the black clouds slowly dispersing into nothingness, leaving the rest of Jigoku in the background.

"That's a scary power you have right there" Harribel commented, amazed at the deadly ability of her previous Commander as an Arrancar.

"It's no use, unless my Zanpakutou can reach the inside of the enemy" He clarified. "I'm more amazed by your transformation. If it wasn't for that, we would've been screwed anyways"

"Yes, we almost perished... But it seems that such a hopeless situation had to occur for me to release the last stage in a Hollow's evolution" She replied, stoic. "And actually... I'm really happy with the result" She smiled as she picked the unconscious Grimmjow up. "I can finally return him the favor"

"Now, it looks like I'm gonna have to get way stronger in order to stand a chance in the future. Geez..." He said with bother. "I should at least get to Segunda Etapa shouldn't I?"

"Well, if you stay as an Arrancar that is to be expected. But... That doesn't seem to be the case" She knew about his talk with Urahara. "I heard... That you were planning to go back to being a Shinigami. How is that possible?"

"Well... Urahara-san believes that my 'resurrection' was a product of the Hogyoku. He says, that said artifact has a will of its own, and that it recognizes the potential of the people around it" Gin explained. "In my case, the fact that I deceived Aizen and almost killed him was an action that 'impressed' the Hogyoku, so it granted me another chance to reach my goal, which was manifested in an alteration to the typical cycle between the Soul Society and the Human World, turning me into an Arrancar instead"

"That sounds... Unbelievable, to say the least, though not in a bad way. It's simply... Amazing" She recognized.

"I think so too" Gin nodded. smiling again. "And I cannot act so carelessly anymore. This is my last chance. I can't waste it dying miserably without even seeing her once" He thought determined.

"Let's... Head to the entrance" Harribel said, going back to her base form. "None of us are in condition for another fight, so we might as well wait for the rest to return. In the worst of cases, we could replenish our energy and help someone out if they need it... Although I see it difficult after this encounter"

"True... The best we can do is believe in them. Let's go back" Gin decided, pretty exhausted himself, slowly walking along Harribel and the sleeping Grimmjow.

And that was it! As you can see, I finished this one as soon as possible. It's not that I don't like these fights, they have their touch, but knowing what lays ahead... It's just not enough.

Entering another topic, I received a couple critics on previous Chapters (probably of the same person) regarding wrong power-scaling, which I refuted. Still, I wanted to remind you that Bleach's power-scaling is really criptic itself, so I've done a huge effort describing and comparing the power of the different characters. Also, I think it's clear that many of the abilities I've described are not necessarily power-based, so even if a character is leagues below another, under certain conditions it is still possible for the weaker one to deal damage or even win, depending on his ability.

I'm not hurt at all by critics, in fact I like that people share a different view. However, it's really meaningless if the comment shows a lack of information or comprehension. Nobody is perfect, so I appreciate if you point out my mistakes, but please do it informed and in a respectful way, and this goes for everything.

Reviews:

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: hoohoo! Loved this chapter! I really enjoyed it a LOT! My favorite part was obviously Yoruichi getting one-upped by Kisuke in the teasing department. As well as her actually BLUSHING! The Queen of Tease? Acting like your average schoolgirl with a crush?! LOL! I also must say that her "Neko" side is quite cute as well!

But yea. Keep up the good work! I wonder who's fight is up next? Ichigo (Ulquiorra and Nel are obviously on the sidelines right now)? The Visoreds? Or the trio of Gin, Harribel, and Grimmjow?

Reply: I made that part to show Urahara's intellect and knowledge of Yoruichi allows him to tease her back and even win! Though someone may argue that Yoruichi would never fall for that. Honestly, I don't know, Kubo doesn't really touch that side of most characters, so it's left for the imagination.

This time we had the Espada trio, but next up Ichigo's struggle will continue, and, the Vizards will have their encounter with the last and strongest Prince. I hope you enjoy it!

thereceiv3r: I have a feeling the demons are gonna make an attack on Las Noches while the "buff" team are out. But who knows? They've already done pretty good damage the last time that shadowy demon was there (shadows are my favourite power :D) I thought Orihime would have gone out with Ichigo and Ulquiorra. I really want to see her Hollow powers. Oh well, that is something to wait for.

Reply: We'll see about surprise attacks, after all, Hueco Mundo is not really unattended... Kurokage's power is pretty cool, isn't it? I kinda picked up the idea from Doflamingo's character, as it is a power that's not really strong in essence, but that its full mastery makes a very dangerous adversary. Regarding Orihime, my first 'Beta' of this Arc (for putting it in a way) had her supporting the main trio, but I changed it later. Just be patient, you'll understand whenever the time comes.

Thank you for reading and see you next Chapter! Evhron out.

Glossary:

Basilisco: Basilisk, the mythological creature that reigns over all snakes and kills in a single look by turning to stone.

Mordida Culebra: Snakebite. Also, a song by Racer X.

Mirada Mortal: Death Gaze.

Sangre Y Trueno: Blood And Thunder. A song by Mastodon lol.

Marea Negra: Black Tide, Harribel's strongest attack, though not fully appreciated in this Chapter. Also, a band that was amazing in their first album. Then it became quite terrible.

PD: Her design is basically CFYOW, with a few modifications, but it's almost the same.