Chapter 447 - 447: Time to Stretch My Legs

The sword disappeared.

The moment Byakuya released his grip, Senbonzakura fell toward the ground.

As its tip touched the surface, ripples spread outward like water—and the blade vanished completely.

For a brief instant, the entire battlefield seemed to fall silent.

Then something resembling an enormous barrier took shape.

Towering rows of gigantic blades rose from the ground behind Byakuya, only to shatter into countless pink petals a moment later.

Like a vast cherry-blossom storm, they swept across the battlefield and engulfed everything within their reach.

From farther away, Cyrus watched the fighting at the edge of the forest with obvious interest.

"What is that?"

Robin was clearly fascinated by the sight.

From their position, the battlefield almost looked as though it had been enclosed beneath a hemispherical barrier, with countless pink petals flowing through it like currents of air.

Wherever the storm passed, Hollows were cut apart and dropped one after another.

"That's one of the special powers Shinigami use."

Cyrus gave it some thought before explaining casually.

"Every Shinigami's ability is different. You can think of it a little like Devil Fruits."

"Shouldn't we help?"

Hancock frowned as she watched the battle.

"That Shinigami's ability looks troublesome."

From her perspective, Cyrus had sent those Hollows out to fight, which effectively made them allies.

If their side was being pushed back, her first instinct was naturally to intervene.

"No need."

Cyrus waved a hand.

"They're not that easy to defeat."

Byakuya's Bankai was certainly powerful, but most Hollows possessed some degree of regeneration, and some even had High-Speed Regeneration.

The petal-like blades could suppress them at first, but once the Hollows understood what they were dealing with, they would begin finding ways to counter it.

And exactly as Cyrus expected, that was what happened.

The Hollows caught inside the storm were badly wounded.

Many had chunks of their bodies sliced away, as though they were being subjected to death by a thousand cuts.

But Hollows that had fought and devoured their way all the way to the highest levels of evolution were hardly fragile creatures.

Every one of them had survived countless battles to the death.

Boom!

Just as Hancock looked back toward the battlefield, a tremendous crash echoed through the desert.

Grimmjow forced his way directly through the storm of blades at maximum speed and slammed into Byakuya.

The impact was far worse than what Nelliel had done to Soi Fon earlier.

Byakuya was launched across the desert and skidded so far that he was thrown beyond the effective range of his own Bankai.

By the time he finally stopped and pushed himself back to his feet, blood was already running from the corner of his mouth.

That hit had clearly hurt.

"That guy…"

Cyrus didn't remember many Hollows in detail, but Grimmjow was definitely one of them.

He was a born battle maniac.

Even though he had not yet become an Arrancar, his combat ability was already impressive.

There were several Hollows around the same general level, yet Grimmjow still managed to stand out among them.

"Looks like you were right."

Robin watched the shift in the battle.

"But are you really planning to keep all these Shinigami here?"

Now that she knew the Hollows weren't simply being overwhelmed, her attention had moved to the larger consequences.

"You said you wanted to study the powers of Shinigami. If we imprison or kill this entire group, won't that make things much more difficult afterward?"

"That's what you're worried about?"

Cyrus smiled.

"Even without today's fight, do you think the Shinigami would happily volunteer to let me study them?"

"Of course not."

Robin shook her head.

"But if the Shinigami are part of an organized force, then keeping these people here will guarantee retaliation. We've only just arrived in this world. Even if you know something about it, immediately making enemies of one of its major military organizations will make everything afterward much more inconvenient."

"That's true."

Cyrus narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

"But with Aizen here, there are a few ways we could change the situation."

Robin knew that expression.

The moment she saw it, she realized Cyrus was about to start scheming.

"What are you planning?"

She asked cautiously.

"Imagine this."

Cyrus gestured toward the battlefield.

"These Shinigami are fighting for their lives against the Hollows, and then suddenly one of their own people betrays them. What do you think they'd make of that?"

Robin stared at him in silence.

"You're sure that man would actually do something like that?"

She knew exactly who Cyrus meant.

"Not at all."

Cyrus answered without hesitation.

"I can't completely predict what Aizen is thinking. Besides, if he openly betrayed them here, going back afterward would become a lot more troublesome for him."

"Then what are you going to do?"

Hancock and Baby 5 both looked at him with obvious curiosity.

"In that case…"

Cyrus considered it for a moment.

"We'll end the fight for now."

The more he thought about it, the more he agreed that keeping this entire group of Shinigami here would create unnecessary problems and interfere with what he wanted to do later.

Capturing them would certainly give him opportunities to learn something from them.

But the consequences would be disproportionate.

Worse, if it ultimately drew that old man here in person and the two of them actually fought…

Hueco Mundo might not survive the battle.

Cyrus raised one hand.

Green vines began growing from his palm.

They twisted rapidly together, compressing and hardening until they formed the shape of a mask.

The surface gradually smoothed over until only two openings for the eyes remained.

Then its color began changing.

Green faded into white.

A glossy, bone-like white that almost reflected the surrounding light.

Cyrus lifted the mask and placed it over his face.

Robin and the others immediately understood.

He was going to intervene personally.

"Try not to make too much of a scene."

Robin reminded him.

"Yeah."

Amusement colored Cyrus's voice.

"I won't use my abilities. They'd be a little too obvious to people here."

…

At the edge of the forest, the battle had already reached a fever pitch.

Byakuya was no longer the only captain using Bankai. Unohana had released hers as well, using its power to rapidly reach and rescue wounded Shinigami.

Even so, a direct battle like this heavily favored the Hollows.

The captains could temporarily hold back the strongest attackers with their Bankai, but more and more Menos were emerging from the forest.

Ceros began gathering everywhere.

Then they fired.

Beam after beam tore across the battlefield until the entire area dissolved into chaos.

Aizen still hadn't drawn his Zanpakutō, yet his Kidō alone was enough for him to display tremendous combat power.

Even so, part of his attention remained fixed elsewhere.

On Cyrus.

Aizen still had no idea what that man intended to do.

But one thing was becoming clear: allowing this battle to continue much longer would benefit no one.

Boom!

Aizen vanished with Shunpo.

A Cero engulfed the place where he had been standing a moment earlier, leaving behind an enormous blackened crater.

Starrk was directing large numbers of Hollows to blanket the battlefield with Ceros while adding his own full-powered, instant-fire attacks to the barrage.

Then—

Boom!

A figure dropped from the sky.

He landed directly in the middle of the battlefield.

The force behind the descent was deliberately exaggerated, and the instant his feet struck the ground, a violent shock wave erupted outward.

The impact rolled across the battlefield like an enormous ocean wave.

Sand, debris, Hollows, and Shinigami were all swept away as the terrain was transformed in an instant.

Those standing closest were thrown bodily through the air.

The entire battle ground to a halt.

Then the Hollows who turned and saw the newly arrived figure suddenly froze.

His face was concealed behind a white mask.

But they recognized his clothes.

They recognized his build.

And, more importantly, they recognized the feeling he gave them.

The monster who had defeated them all with a single move had arrived.