After Ulquiorra had embarrassed Aaroniero, the next fight would hopefully not be a one-sided massacre.
Hopefully, this one would be fair—a fight between the current second strongest Sin versus Grimmjow, the strongest newcomer.
The man had survived Gabriel's special program. That program was made to help Hollows with potential forcibly evolve into Vasto Lorde. Every day, they would have to fight. There were a lot of Arrancar they needed to beat.
Sometimes, Gabriel would even let prisoners of battle into the area, so if they lost, they died. It was a brutal battle. Out of the 300 or so members who entered the program, only about ten or so Hollows came out.
The death rate was quite high. And the Hollows who died would be fed to the victors in order to further help them reach that new stage of evolution.
Needless to say, for someone like the great Grimmjow, that place was like a dream come to life. He had unlimited access to fade in there. Granted, some of his allies did die, but oh well—you can't make an omelet without cracking some eggs.
And when he got his Sin, his authority, he was just happy. Giddy, even.
Here was something that made all Hollows strive to become a Sin. Once someone reached the level of a Sin, they gained an authority. TL;DR—an utterly broken ability.
For example, let's use Nel's authority:
"Imperium Primordialis" (Primordial Dominion).
Neliel's authority embodies the supreme right to rule. Unlike direct negation abilities, her authority reshapes reality around her will, imposing "laws" upon the world that must be obeyed.
TL;DR, she can set rules on the world. So let's say you attack her, and she says, "No attack can harm me." Your attack won't do jack shit. At the same time, though, if she says, "I take no damage," she loses the ability to heal since she no longer recognizes harm.
If she claims, "Only equals may harm me," weaker opponents physically cannot damage her.
If she states, "Your attacks belong to you," any energy-based assault reflects back at the user.
If she declares, "My strikes cut through all," then no matter the defense, her attacks always pierce through. This includes her, so yeah.
Grimmjow could be seen looking at Belial. This man's authority was basically copying other people's techniques, but the copy always had a flaw.
So it wasn't as good as the original, and if the person he was fighting was weaker than him, he could impose a flaw on that person's technique.
Granted, all of the Hollows with authority did not fully know how to use them yet—still in their baby stage.
And as for why Gabriel would give them such busted power?
He can take all of them on.He only needs a single touch to strip that power away from them.His Reiatsu is so massive, he could just outright negate them.
So yeah.
Across from him, Belial Cabrón loomed in the shadows, his body shifting with a sickly green-black aura, his hollowed-out eyes burning with jealousy.
Belial tilted his head. "You're the embodiment of Wrath?" He scoffed, his voice laced with venom. "Tch. You don't even deserve it. That rage of yours? It's just mindless violence. A beast pretending to be a warrior."
"And you're just a damn copycat. Ain't nothin' worse than a weakling who can't stand on his own." The usual shit talk before a fight.
"Let's test that theory."
Belial would win. That, he was certain of. Yet he was still envious—envious of the fact that Grimmjow got to become a Sin so quickly. That he got to join His Majesty's side so quickly.
BZZZT—BOOM!
Grimmjow vanished in a blur of speed, his Sonído tearing across the battlefield, his claws already aimed at Belial's throat—
But instead of dodging, Belial moved exactly like him.
He was already using his damn ability, and the fight had barely started.
BZZZT—BOOM!
A perfectly mirrored Sonído, Grimmjow's own feline speed thrown back at him—except Belial's was faster, leaving jagged black trails in the air.
Grimmjow barely had time to pivot before Belial's claws raked across his side, leaving a deep gash along his ribs.
Blood splattered onto the floor.
Grimmjow's eyes narrowed.
"The hell was that?"
"Your Sonído. It's mine now." Just like his second-in-command, he had just hit a devious ass lick.
Grimmjow's jaw tightened. He hated this feeling—like something was off. His movement was supposed to be flawless, but there had been the slightest hitch in his reaction, like his own body doubted itself for a split second.
Wait... that was Belial's authority.
Grimmjow looked annoyed. If that could affect him, that only meant one thing.
"I can feel it, you know? That doubt creeping in. My power—" He flexed his fingers as a twisted teal energy crackled between them, mimicking Grimmjow's signature Cero. "—makes you second-guess yourself. Even if only a little."
He was not weaker than that bastard. Grimmjow looked at his opponent before—
BZZZT—BOOM!
They clashed again. Left, right, kick, dodge, parry, Cero, claw strikes. They went at it—punch for punch, kick for kick, sword clash for sword clash.
Grimmjow's Cero? Belial's version was slower but poisonous, corrupting the very air.
Grimmjow's Hierro? Belial's was denser but heavy, making his movements sluggish.
But Belial wasn't perfect. He staggered after every stolen technique, his body fracturing, as if it struggled to hold so much power at once.
Grimmjow noticed.
"I knew it. You cannot hold my power. Your body is breaking down for even trying."
Grimmjow seemed quite happy at this. That meant his powers couldn't be copied by a bum.
Belial chuckled, but there was strain in his voice. "Maybe. But the more I take, the closer I get to perfection. And you... you're just a brute trying to punch his way through something he doesn't understand."
That was the downside of his ability—his body was not built to handle so many abilities at the same time. He wanted more. He was envious, wanting whatever wasn't his, being envious of others' gifts.
Yet his body was not accustomed to those gifts. Sure, he could copy the ability, but without the body for it, he couldn't execute it properly.
It was like copying Messi's skills but not having the body to do what he does. Things would end up drastic. Or copying Shaq, but you're like 4'11", 90 pounds.
"Shut the hell up!"
With a feral roar, he released his Resurrección.
"Grind, Pantera!"
A violent explosion of Reishi rocked the battlefield. His claws extended, his body became lithe and predatory, and his fanged grin dripped with murderous intent.
"Oh? Finally getting serious?" More shit he could copy.
Grimmjow's eyes glowed feral blue. "You're damn right."
And with that—
The real fight began.
They clashed, over and over again.
Grimmjow slammed Belial into the wall, only for Belial to use Grimmjow's face and slam him into the ground.
"CERO!"
"CERO!"
Two beams of energy clashed in the middle of the arena, causing a massive explosion. Grimmjow ran on all fours as he rushed at the man.
Flipping into the air, he kicked the man straight into the ground—
Only for Belial to hit him with that same combo.
Only his kick was two seconds faster.
Grimmjow was getting annoyed. He wanted to end this shit now.
Grimmjow lunged for the final strike—
But Belial, with one last effort, activated his Resurrección.
"Reflect, Espejo de la Invidia."
His body shattered into living mirrors, an eerie wave of distorted images consuming the battlefield.
Grimmjow froze.
"What the hell—"
The battlefield was filled with him. Dozens of him. Hundreds of him.
Each one moved differently, attacking with different patterns, different speeds. Some were weaker. Some were stronger. And some—
Were stronger than he had ever been.
Grimmjow was jumped by himself.
A diabolical ass combo.
A single clawed hand pierced his back.
His eyes widened.
Belial's voice whispered in his ear.
"You're strong, Grimmjow. But you're just one. I am every version of you. And that... is why you lose."
With a sickening rip, Grimmjow's body collapsed onto the ground, blood pooling beneath him.
He won....Belial won, plus now, he had a new ability, this was neat.
He would make sure to use Grimmjow Pantera, greatly.