Yoshitada had been brought to the middle of the desert with a group of vizards, Sorako, and Tada. Each vizard aside from a green haired girl in a sleeveless shinigami uniform sat outside a barrier set up by Hachigen. Her hair curved like a helmet to her head, she looked like a teenager.
"Are you ready?" she asked with a smile, putting her hollow mask on. Yoshitada nodded. He had already decided to sit still no matter how close the blow came to making contact. He nodded to the girl and took out his zanpacto, "let's go!" she shouted in a deepened voice.
She flashed to his side and swung her sword at his open side.
You idiot!
The world around him vanished in a sea of black. As light returned, he could see everything his physical eyes took in above him, and nothing but darkness beneath that. From the darkness stepped Benikami.
"I really believed you were a capable warrior," he muttered, shaking his head.
"So, were you my inner hollow all along?" Yoshitada asked, taking out his sword.
"I've been around far longer than you'd think, you see, I came several millennia before you, in fact, I've been around since the first human civilization. I was assassinated and removed from the throne by my best friend. I became a hollow and massacred his whole family and those who supported him, including my own brother. After he became a hollow, we met again and reconciled our differences.
"When we found other hollows, we devoured them, becoming the first Gillians, we continued past that, gradually reaching adjuchas, from there we became Vasto Lordes, from there we devoured other Vasto Lordes, gaining the powers of Gods, we called ourselves Maxo Lordes. When we learned that the Vasto Lordes weren't granting us enough power to further grow, we turned on each other once more. My brother landed a lucky blow and destroyed my physical form, however, my mind remained in the empty regions between the three worlds. It was a thousand years before I crossed paths with another being: you.
"I merged with you and pieced together an image you could relate to: the image of an oni. I became your zanpakuto and allowed you to achieve bankai, waiting for you to attempt to control your inner hollow. Well, here I am, are you ready to challenge a god?" he shouted. Yoshitada didn't change his expression, his eyes stayed focused, brows straight, cheeks relaxed, "I know you can hear me, don't pretend to be deaf!"
"I heard you, and I'm intrigued. You see yourself as a god, huh?"
"Yes, dumbass, I just explained it to you!"
"Interesting, I don't doubt how much power you have, it's just that I've always heard that gods were immortal, indestructible, and omnipotent. If you were created, and once human, you can't be a god. You may be extraordinarily powerful, but not a god. I must applaud you for surviving against other hollows, and becoming a pioneer in each area, but I'm afraid this fight has yet to be determined," Yoshitada stated. Benikami ran at Yoshitada, forming two blades from the fires in his hands, one black, one white. Yoshitada took out his zanpacto and prepared for the attack. Before he swung, Benikami disappeared, reappearing behind him. Yoshitada blocked the blow and flashed behind Benikami, swinging at his back, the blow cut his robe.
"Was this part of your divine plan?" Yoshitada mocked. Benikami growled as he swung back at him, sending a wave of black fire. Yoshitada dodged it and sent a wave of his own. Benikami blocked it with his other sword and flashed above Yoshitada, stabbing at him. Yoshitada dodged and slashed Benikami's side, "I'm having trouble taking your claim seriously, I mean, sure, you're strong, but if you were a god, you'd have foreseen my actions, you'd be all-knowing."
"Damn you!" he shouted. Benikami lit with white fire, curling in a ball. Yoshitada flashed back to a safe distance as the fire shot from Benikami in all directions. Yoshitada used a wind kido to part the fire wide enough for him to slip though. Yoshitada flashed to Benikami's side before the shockwave had died out, running the sword through his stomach, "How?"
"You believe that all it takes is power, but there is more to it. I'll take your power and combine it with my skill, from here on, the god will become the servant."
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Yukima had led Yoshiko out of the Menos forest having fought hundreds of hollows, now, on the surface, another battle took place. The fight between the three Vasto Lordes and Kurokami had spilled out to the plains on the surface of Hueco Mundo. The three Vasto Lordes were pushing Kurokami's forces back as mother and daughter returned to the surface.
"Alright, as long as they're distracted with each other, we have little to worry about, let's get out of here," Yukima directed, heading away from the battle. As they turned away, an arrancar appeared in front of them. He was an ichikurai. The remainder of his hollow mask was a pair of horns from the corners of his jaw. He wore white robes and black hakama, his name was Ryumaru.
"Lord Kurokami has ordered that you assist in his battle," he stated, standing with his arms folded behind his back.
"No," Yukima muttered, starting to walk around the enemy.
"If you won't go willingly…" he began, a pair of arrancar appeared beside Yoshiko with their swords at her neck.
Yukima took out her sword and flashed to the front of Ryumaru who blocked her attack. The two clashed in a frenzy of attacks and blocks, flashing around the desert. Finally, Ryumaru landed a blow on Yukima's left leg. Before he could move away, she too landed a blow, stabbing into his right thigh.
The two separated and readjusted themselves. Yukima flashed to Ryumaru, stabbing at his chest. He batted the blow away and she flashed behind him, slashing at his back, he flashed behind her before the blow landed and slashed her lower back.
She flashed away and fell to one knee, gasping in pain, "Prowl, Akumaneko," Yukima muttered, switching to her released form. Before the smoke could clear, she flashed to Ryumaru, blurring around him in a flurry of slices and kicks, each hitting before either Ryumaru or physics could react. When she finished with him, she flashed across the two arrancar guarding Yoshiko, decapitating both in a single slice. They dropped harmlessly to the ground. Across their battlefield, Ryumaru's heart finally beat once more, sending his blood spraying out. Only a few drops still remained inside, he was dead.
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Yoshitada stumbled out of the exoskeleton he had been trapped in for the brief time he battle his inner hollow and zanpacto, Benikami. The woman he had battled sat on the ground, waiting for the finishing blow as she stared in horror from behind her shattered mask.
Yoshitada took his own mask off as he walked to her side, "Are you alright?" For a moment she just stared at him.
"Maaaaaaaaaaaan, that was scary!" she exclaimed wiping sweat off her forehead.
"Sorry, had I known what level my inner hollow was at, I would have warned you. How long did it take?"
"Twenty minutes, but I felt she was doomed from the first one. Hachigen had to rebuild his shield twice, and it barely survived the second time," Rose answered, "So, you know the level of your inner hollow?"
"He had described himself as a Maxo Lorde, far above those of even Vasto Lorde power. We'll be facing one more of his strength in Hueco Mundo," Yoshitada announced.
"Then you'll need our help and the help of the shinigami," Ire, leader of the vizards, noted, "We will lend a hand, though you will have to be the one to take down the other Maxo Lorde, we will hold off the army, as long as the shinigami will join us, leave us out of negotiations if you need to, we'll 'just happen to show up'."
"Thank you, I'll inform them immediately."
"Wait, before you're ready to battle with your new abilities, we need to see how long you can hold it," Rose stated, holding out his sword. Yoshitada put the hollow mask on. It was plain white with horns from the front and flowing white hair growing from the edges, covering his head. The face was almost human aside from the teeth.
Yoshitada spared with Rose for nearly half an hour before his mask crumbled, by that point, even Rose's mask had gone, "I've never seen one gain such control of their mask so early…" Rose muttered.
"It's an ignorant hollow that believes power will conquer all, I defeated it outright, using skill, not power. Because of this, I have complete control over it."
"Well, I suppose it's time to call on your friends back home," Rose noted. Yoshitada nodded as Sorako brought a jar with a hell butterfly. She opened the jar and Yoshitada allowed it to land on his finger, recording the message. It then flew quickly to Seretei to send the message to Urahara so that he could recruit all they were able to find.