Naruto: This Genius is Somewhat Ordinary-Chapter 451

"So another Shinigami dares to step into my domain," the skeletal king roared, black flames flaring within his eye sockets. "And this time you bring two Vast Lorde with you. What do you want?!"

Fujimoto Tōma paused.

So someone really did come before us.

The answer was obvious. Aizen.

Which meant that by this point in time, Aizen had already set foot in Hueco Mundo and shattered this so-called king’s rule.

Still, calling Baraggan the "King of Hueco Mundo" felt generous. Neither Starrk nor Ulquiorra seemed to care about that title in the slightest.

At that moment, Tōma’s voice echoed quietly in Starrk’s and Ulquiorra’s minds.

Don’t reveal my name.

They glanced at him, then nodded without a word.

"We only came to see this ’King of Hueco Mundo’ everyone talks about," Tōma said flatly. "Now that I’ve seen you... you look more like a guard dog beaten into submission by Aizen."

There was no reason to waste time.

If Baraggan had already crossed paths with Aizen, then recruiting him was off the table. The uncertainty alone made him a liability.

"What did you say?!" Baraggan bellowed. "You know that bastard Aizen?! What are you to him?!" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

His spiritual pressure exploded in rage, filling the palace.

It didn’t matter.

Tōma and Starrk stood unaffected. Ulquiorra felt the pressure more clearly, but even he didn’t falter.

That reaction confirms it, Tōma thought. Definitely Aizen.

Starrk glanced at Tōma, suddenly understanding why that name had been mentioned back when they first met.

"So you are enemies," Starrk muttered to himself.

"I have nothing to do with him," Tōma said calmly. "Come on. Let’s go."

He turned to leave.

Baraggan’s voice thundered behind them.

"You think you can come and go from Las Noches as you please?!"

Tōma stopped and looked back, mildly puzzled.

"...You plan to stop us?"

Baraggan hesitated.

He couldn’t read Tōma at all. Just like Aizen back then.

Starrk’s pressure was unstable, but overwhelmingly strong. Ulquiorra, at least, looked beatable.

But one out of three meant nothing.

"Why are you following a Shinigami?" Baraggan demanded, trying another angle. "You’re Hollows! Shinigami are your enemies!"

"I don’t see it that way," Starrk said lazily. "Same reason I don’t see you as a potential companion."

"Why must Hollows and Shinigami be enemies?" Ulquiorra asked instead.

Baraggan froze, then sneered. "They hunt us. Destroy us. How are they not enemies?"

Ulquiorra shook his head. "Then you really know nothing."

That calm dismissal struck harder than an insult.

"Are you mocking me?!" Baraggan roared.

"No," Ulquiorra replied evenly. "I’m stating a fact."

Then he added, voice just as flat,

"You’re also too weak. That’s why I follow him instead of you. I’m not even sure you could defeat me."

Tōma and Starrk both looked at him.

Wow, Tōma thought. That’s not trash talk. That’s just... honest.

Baraggan snapped.

A massive black double-bladed axe materialized in his grip. His pressure surged, but it locked onto Ulquiorra alone.

Ulquiorra glanced back at Tōma and Starrk, signaling them not to interfere.

Then he stepped forward alone.

The two spectators moved aside.

"So," Tōma asked quietly, "who do you think wins?"

"Honestly?" Starrk said. "Baraggan has the edge. Higher pressure, more experience. Ulquiorra’s lived alone too long."

"Sounds familiar," Tōma replied.

Starrk chuckled. "Exactly why I keep beating him."

"But it’s not settled," Tōma said, watching closely.

If Ulquiorra crossed the boundary here, completed his transformation mid-battle, everything would change.

The fight began.

Both unleashed Cero at the same instant.

Black and emerald beams collided, tearing through the palace. The shockwave sent lesser Hollows flying.

Ulquiorra lost the clash first. His Cero shattered, Baraggan’s following through before dissipating.

Ulquiorra immediately formed a green, lance-like blade of energy and hurled it.

Baraggan didn’t dodge.

Black mist surged around him. The lance touched it and dissolved, as if rotting away.

Ulquiorra frowned.

"That’s all?" Baraggan laughed. "Where’d that confidence go?!"

Ulquiorra threw more. Same result.

The black aura erased everything it touched.

Then, without warning, a compact green projectile punched straight through Baraggan’s torso.

"WHAT?!" Baraggan snarled.

"You talk too much," Ulquiorra said.

It wasn’t enough.

Ulquiorra knew it. The attack was fast, not strong.

Long-range won’t work. Then... close combat.

Dangerous. But the only option.

"I won’t accept defeat," Ulquiorra murmured.

He charged.

Blades collided. Baraggan shattered Ulquiorra’s weapon and counterattacked.

Ulquiorra barely dodged.

Then the black mist surged from the axe itself.

Too late.

It wrapped around his arm, withering it instantly.

Ulquiorra retreated using high-speed movement, barely escaping pursuit.

He looked at his arm, already rotting away.

Without hesitation, he formed a blade and severed it at the shoulder.

Regeneration began at once.

Baraggan clicked his tongue. "Shame. Another moment and you were dead."

He glanced toward Tōma and Starrk.

One on one... I can win. One on two... maybe.

The battle was far from over.