Chapter 554 - 554 Ashido vs Nnoitra!

After separating from Dordoni, Toshiro continued forward.

Meanwhile, Sojiro also defeated the Arrancar, Cirucci Sanderwicci, and continued along his path.

Another branching path.

Ashido was the one who encountered the last three-digit Arrancar.

Boom!

After a fierce battle, Ashido directly blasted the Arrancar, Gantenbainne Mosqueda, flying.

Bang—

Gantenbainne, sent flying backward, crashed directly through a wall, creating a large hole and landing outside.

"To have lasted this long against me, I must say your strength is considerable. But if you're this strong, why are you a three-digit Arrancar?"

"Generally, the larger the number, the weaker the Arrancar, right? It can't be that all 106 Arrancar ahead of you are stronger than you? If that were true, Las Noches would be far too powerful."

Ashido also walked out through the hole in the wall, coming to Gantenbainne's side, and asked.

"Cough, cough... that's because all three-digit Arrancar are those who have been stripped of rank. In other words, we three-digit Arrancar are all former Espada."

Gantenbainne, severely injured and lying on the ground, said with difficulty.

"I see. Former Espada... no wonder."

Ashido understood.

"Speaking of which... thanks to you, I had a good fight. So, I won't kill you. Good luck."

Ashido looked at Gantenbainne hesitantly for a moment, then said.

Logically, Ashido should have finished off Gantenbainne. But during their battle, Gantenbainne had shown a tenacious will that Ashido admired.

Moreover, Ashido could sense that Gantenbainne was just a warmonger, not a bad person at heart. So, Ashido didn't want to kill him.

Having been influenced by Toshiro for a long time, Ashido also felt that Hollows should be treated differently, not all exterminated indiscriminately, good or bad. Although there weren't many good Hollows...

"Speaking of which..."

Ashido surveyed his surroundings, looking puzzled. "What's going on here? Isn't this the inside of Las Noches? Las Noches should have a huge dome inside. But why can't I see the ceiling? And outside Las Noches, it's clearly night, but inside, the sky suddenly became daytime?"

"That's because the sky inside Las Noches is fake. Those blue skies and white clouds were created by Aizen-sama. Look out!!!"

Gantenbainne was explaining the Las Noches sky to Ashido when he suddenly seemed to see something. His expression changed drastically, and he immediately warned Ashido.

"Hmm?"

Ashido, who had been surveying his surroundings and listening to Gantenbainne's explanation, suddenly heard the warning. Before he could process what was happening, a frivolous voice sounded from not far behind him.

"Yo! You're the first one here?"

"What!"

Hearing the voice from behind, Ashido was greatly shocked. He immediately turned to look.

It was an Arrancar with medium-length black hair, wearing an eyepatch over his left eye, carrying a huge sickle formed of two crescent moon-shaped blades on his shoulder.

Swish—

The moment Ashido turned his head, the other party swung his sickle directly.

Ashido quickly raised his Zanpakuto horizontally in front of him.

Clang—!!!

The huge sickle slammed into Ashido's small Zanpakuto, producing a deafening metallic clash. Ashido felt a huge force transmit through his Zanpakuto, and his entire body was involuntarily sent flying.

Bang!

Ashido's body crashed into a wall, which then collapsed, burying him underneath.

"What's this? Is this all you've got? You're the first to reach the Espada's palace. I thought you'd be someone impressive. But you're only this strong. How disappointing."

The other party said contemptuously.

Of the five branching paths the group encountered, only three were guarded by three-digit Arrancar. The other two had weaker defenses.

However, regardless of whether a three-digit Arrancar guarded the path, exiting the branching path led to even greater danger! Because beyond the paths lay the Espada's palace!

Although Toshiro was the first to defeat his opponent among the five groups, Ashido was the first to exit his path. Toshiro had encountered his enemy shortly after entering his path, while Ashido only met his enemy near the end. After his battle, Ashido broke through a wall and was the first to enter the vicinity of the Espada's palace.

Boom!

On the other side, hearing the other party's mockery, Ashido shouted, pushing off the rubble burying him, and stood up again.

"Damn, I was too careless. As the most experienced fighter in the 10th Division, if Captain and Sojiro find out I made such a basic mistake, they'll mock me mercilessly, won't they?"

Ashido wiped a trace of blood from his mouth and laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Ha! 'Careless'? You're good at making excuses for yourself."

The Arrancar with the eyepatch over his left eye mocked.

"Whether it's an excuse, you'll find out soon enough."

Ashido gripped his Zanpakuto tightly with his right hand, adopting an offensive stance.

In truth, Ashido had indeed been careless just now. While surveying his surroundings, he had ignored potential dangers, so he could only block the sudden attack hastily. Otherwise, if Ashido had been properly vigilant, given his strength, he wouldn't have been sent flying by a single enemy attack.

"Ashido! Run! He's the Quinto Espada, Nnoitra! You're no match for him!!"

Gantenbainne, lying severely injured on the ground, suddenly shouted a warning.

Through their battle, Gantenbainne and Ashido had developed a mutual respect. That's why Ashido had decided to spare Gantenbainne, and why Gantenbainne now warned Ashido.

But Gantenbainne warned Ashido to run precisely because he had just fought him. Ashido was very strong, much stronger than him… Gantenbainne knew that well.

However, Gantenbainne knew even better that if Ashido's strength was only what he had shown in their fight, then Ashido was definitely no match for Nnoitra.

"An Espada? What a coincidence. I've dealt with an Espada before. A guy named Yammy. I gave him a pretty hard time. Want to try too?"

Ashido said. Although he became serious upon hearing Gantenbainne's warning, he didn't run away as advised. Instead, he seemed full of fighting spirit.

"Hmph! Yammy is just the Diez Espada. Don't lump a guy like that with me. Next, I'll show you that the difference in strength between Quinto and Diez is not just a matter of double!!"

Nnoitra snorted coldly.

"Haah!"

"Haah!"

Then Ashido and Nnoitra both shouted and charged at each other.