Over five hundred years ago, there lived a king whose kingdom fell in a single night, whose names have been lost to time, ill-fated to never see their legacy carried on in the written word.

He'd come from a faraway land and laid waste to the kingdom. The castle was his in a week, and with his coronation came calamity.This foreign king knew not of mercy nor peace, worshipped no god of love nor life. He brought with him a false idol and spirits of death. He ate and drank his fill while he chained his subjects and left them to till the soil and blister in the heat. The skulls of his enemies served as his chalice, and their blood, his wine. None could best him in battle, yet his blade hungered for flesh, and so on he pressed, to destroy, to conquer, to consume.

Unimaginable wealth was hoarded in his treasury, oceans of diamonds and money, all his to lavish in. Not all was glitter and gold, however, for within their depths was hidden something more precious—people's memories, their lockets and holy texts and swords. Their portraits, their love letters, the words they spoke and the thoughts they did not, he wanted them all.

He struck down their temples and their gods so that he was the only one they worshipped. But when they prayed at his feet, they did not pray for good will.

They prayed for death.

And it was death they received.

This king, this hollow, empty shell of a man, who could not be satisfied no matter how many lives he took, would soon find that fate had come to collect its dues. For all the blood he spilled, he would spill just the same. In the cold months, he was awakened by the light of the moon and coughed up as many cups as he'd drank, bathing his chambers in a brilliant crimson. The once feared tyrant soon became a husk, barely able to hold a sword. Death only enraged him. Did their puny gods think this would stop him? There is no god above him, no idol nor fate! This was his life, and everything in this life belonged to him! He dared anyone to try and take it!

This is the price of gluttony and greed, the priests said. He had their bodies hung from the church step, and heads piked at the gate. Where is their god now? Was the coward even listening?

But as he grew weaker, the people conspired. Those closest to him, they counted the days. They were not going to allow fate to take this from them, for they were just as greedy as their king, and they wanted to see if he bled. They wanted his death on their hands.

How the mighty fall. They found him knelt on the floor, swallowed by his luxurious furs. Even in death, he would flaunt his wealth, that wretch. Get up, they order. He cannot, and they pull him by his hair. They find his heart through his ribs, and they plunge their daggers. Out comes blood, fresh and real, that of his enemies, his friends, his own children, it pours and pours and pours, a river of opulence. He falls and drowns in it. Finally, he is defeated. And his loyal subjects have never felt so free. As he did unto others, was done unto him.

Burning his body to ash could not protect them from what was to come. They were foolish to try. For such an evil could not be contained with their silly rituals. The soul survived onwards, full of hatred and hunger. How dare they steal from him? He watched them crown a new king, he watched them seat him upon his throne. He watched as his wife laid with another man, and watched his sons call this man father.

Not even dead a week, and they'd forgotten all that belonged to him. A mistake they would regret. The feeble chain grounding him to what little humanity remained broke, and he transformed into a terrible beast.

And he ate.

Oh, how he ate.

He awakens. 

White sand below for his bedding. Black sky dawns above. His eyes take time to adjust to the low light, and from what he can see, the nothingness stretches on for miles. He is alone. Devoid of memory yet his hands are empty, and he can't help but flex his fingers around something that should belong to him but is missing. Something's been taken from him. Why is that his first thought? There is no one here. Though he senses no threat, he is listless, angry. He doesn't know how long he travels for until he sees another soul. It is deformed, but the sight of it stirs something within him. Upon meeting his gaze it lets out a horrible, metallic shriek, and lunges forward. His body moves. The soul cracks easily underneath his fingers and tastes like dust. For the first time since he opened his eyes, he feels. A gnawing emptiness. Hunger. That wasn't enough. None of them are enough. None of them will ever be enough. Hundreds of them fall, but he is still hungry. Whatever he was before he became this beast does not matter. 

All he knows now is to consume.

Dante was a calamity. His appearance was punctuated by a lightning strike that levelled the ground and, upon impact, disintegrated hundreds of Hollows. The entirety of Hueco Mundo shook with his descent. For five hundred years, he ruled the Land of the Hollows, not as its king, but as something much more sinister. With an insatiable hunger that went beyond the norm for his kind, he consumed everything in sight. Many tried to eat him, believing they'd surely ascend to Vasto Lorde level if they did, but none succeeded, for he'd achieved that very state merely by being born. They could not hope to compete.

As he grew in power, he grew in consciousness too. A distinct personality trait began to emerge, that of playfulness. At such a level, it felt pointless to keep eating when his prey bored him so. What he wanted was a challenge. Something to entertain him. A meal that left scars, because scars meant memory, as he found there were many gaps in his. Very few could give him what he sought, and so he expanded his horizons and looked to the human world for more. The Hollow of the living realm were weak in comparison to Hueco Mundo, and the Pluses weren't worth the energy to eat. When he was faced with new challengers, those who brandished blades instead of teeth and claws, he was excited for a moment, before again being met with agonizing boredom. They quivered in fear or ran away, and they tasted like piss and weakness. Was there nothing in this world that could satisfy him?

It came out of nowhere. A particularly flowery Reiatsu attracted him, though it was surrounded by nuisances. He quickly did away with the low level Hollows, and then he turned on the source. A peculiar looking thing, what he'd found was the shinigami, Hideyori. His Reiatsu was breathtaking, and despite the smell of his fear coming in waves, he opted to draw his blade and fight, holding steady. Excellent. Dante released a portion of his limiters. Limiting himself was something he'd gotten used to doing to drag on his fights with his rival Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez in Hueco Mundo, but Dante wanted to push this shinigami to his limits. 

Hideyori puts up a valiant effort. In the end, it's his loss. Dante pins him to the ground, and Hideyori closes his eyes, accepting his death. Except it never comes. Dante leans forward, licks Hideyori's face, and grins. "Let's play again." And he disappears, leaving the shinigami behind. Sure enough, Hideyori sees Dante again. And again. And again. And every time he sees Dante, he's stronger, he can keep up longer, he's having fun. The more they meet, the less Dante has to limit himself. When Hideyori releases his Bankai, Dante is ecstatic. 

Even if he loses the fight, Hideyori gains something else. Dante stays longer each time, allowing Hideyori to learn more and to teach him more. Hideyori discovers that Dante has a unique personality and holds personal beliefs. He hoards things he finds interesting in a den he's made for himself. He keeps a tiny chicken-like Hollow named Nini as a pet, and would actively reel in his Reiatsu so that Nini would not be harmed. He was territorial and cuddly and simultaneously restless and lazy. He found Hideyori funny and called him "kitty." He wanted Hideyori to stay with him in Hueco Mundo. Hideyori couldn't, but he wished he could.

Then one day, Dante stops coming. 

Hideyori is devastated.

Things were changing in Hueco Mundo faster than one could blink. The God King of Hueco Mundo, Barragan Louisenbairn, had been defeated by some smug shinigami. Dante didn't care. All kings fall eventually. It's what they get for clinging to a title instead of just being. What he wanted was to find that shinigami and test his strength for himself. That shinigami was looking for him, ironically, but he wouldn't get to Dante for quite a while. Grimmjow got to him first.

Long time rivals and partners, Dante and Grimmjow first ran into each other centuries before. Much like with Hideyori, Dante enjoyed his fight so much with Grimmjow that he kept Grimmjow alive, and much like with Hideyori, Grimmjow kept losing. Sometime between that time and the present, Grimmjow became an Arrancar through Sōsuke Aizen in an attempt to evolve his power. Wanting to test out his newly acquired skills, he fought Dante, who was still a Hollow, and Grimmjow still lost. It didn't make any sense to him. He was supposed to be stronger. To Dante, Grimmjow was stronger, because he didn't need to hold back at all, but to Grimmjow, it wasn't enough. Dante didn't see the big deal. What was the point in becoming an Arrancar if it wasn't gonna give you what you wanted? This angered Grimmjow. Dante wouldn't ever get it. He wouldn't ever understand what it was like to fight to achieve power. They parted ways on a sour note. It's no coincidence that soon after this, Sōsuke Aizen finds Dante.

Aizen had no delusions that Dante would willingly submit to him. He knew how these abominable Hollows operated. They needed to be forced into submission, and the only way that would happen was with a show of power. So that's what Aizen did. He told Dante that after his defeat, he would serve Aizen's interests. Dante laughed at the very idea. He'd spent so long at the top of the food chain, he'd forgotten what it meant to fear. He promised Aizen he'd savour the taste of defeat if it ever happened. 

While there were a few Hollows he'd needed to lift more than a finger to defeat, Dante was not an easy win for Aizen. It was a nuisance, to say the very least. And oh, what's this? This battle felt a little personal. That's because it was. Aizen knew of Dante. He'd known of Dante for a very long time. Aizen's spouse was none other than Yamamoto Hideyori, and Aizen had picked up on his partner's affections for his little Hollow pet. What Aizen saw was a conflict of interest, a distraction. He wanted to get rid of Dante so bad, but being the ever merciful husband that he was, he allowed Dante to keep existing.

Upon losing, Dante was thrilled. Finally, something exists that's stronger than he is! Then Aizen offered him a choice: Become an Arrancar and you will be stronger. What Dante heard was, 'and you will be stronger than me.' Not what Aizen said, but Dante filled it in. He casually accepted. It's not without consequence. Manifesting the will of its user, the Hōgyoku transformed Dante into an Arrancar, albeit one with a giant chunk of its memory missing. What Dante gained was even more power, and what he lost was priceless. Too bad he wouldn't ever remember what that was. 

His appearance in Las Noches pisses Grimmjow off. Dante lost to someone else, when he'd promised the only person allowed to defeat him was Grimmjow. Dante is flippant and dismissive. Why did it matter? If Grimmjow wants to defeat him, he'll just have to get stronger than Aizen. Grimmjow is welcome to try anytime he likes. Curiously, instead of fighting him right then and there, Grimmjow exercises some form of restraint, and stalks off. Neither of them realizes in that moment that Grimmjow was not only hurt, he was also jealous that Dante went and lost to someone else. That was his claim! His!

Aizen was a mystery to even his right hand men. He behaved in ways that confounded and confused those he called lesser beings, which was probably everyone according to him. Still, when he's gone for an extended period of time, Dante is curious. Every so often the new king of Hueco Mundo shows his ugly face, and every so often he comes back smelling of something pleasant and flowery—lavender, with a hint of vanilla. It almost makes Dante want to be around Aizen, if not for the smell alone. The more he smells it, the more it feels like he's missing something. His gut turns. His head hurts. Why is his chest so tight? Aizen must've done something to him, but it's not something he can figure out on his own. Eventually, he doesn't have to.

Aizen returns to Hueco Mundo with his usual posse, Gin and Tōsen, and another incredibly powerful signature. From all the way in Las Noches, Dante smells it, that lavender and vanilla stronger than ever, and he shoots off like lightning to find where it's coming from. He keeps his distance, but even from all the way over there, he can see Aizen in a heated battle with another shinigami. The new one has a Reiatsu that's suffocating in a good way, and boy he's pissed. He's not only holding his own, but he's giving that smug bastard a run for his money. He doesn't lose. He willingly withdraws his blade, warning Aizen that if he doesn't fulfill his promises, then next time his blade will not stop until it sheds blood. They return to Las Noches, perhaps not noticing that Dante is trailing behind.

To say that Dante is excited is an understatement. As soon as he's able, he kicks down the shinigami's door and challenges him to a fight. Except the shinigami doesn't pay him any mind. He's too busy reading a book. Dante gets his attention fairly easily, except he doesn't feel like fighting. Lame. How can one man have so much raw power and not use it? Dante spends day in and day out trying to convince the shinigami to give him a good show. They spend so much time together that eventually Dante's memories return to him, and he realizes this is the very same shinigami he'd fallen for over two centuries ago, Hideyori. Now Dante refuses to leave Hideyori's side, even when it's to his detriment. He only takes orders from Hideyori. Unfortunately, it's in following Hideyori's orders that he almost gets himself killed.

When Aizen leaves to the fake Karakura Town to enact the final steps to his plan, he leaves a distraught Hideyori behind, and though he tearfully pushes Dante away and demands to be left alone, Hideyori calls out to Dante later, and begs Dante to retrieve his zanpakutō, which Aizen had hidden away, for him. Dante loyally fulfills the request, only to be stopped short on his way back by two shinigami, Tadakatsu Ebihara and Yumeshiro Hatada, and they are not happy to see him with Hideyori's blade.

The one with a friendly face, Tadakatsu, questions why Dante has their friend's blade in his hand. Dante answers, "What's it to ya?" 

Yumeshiro, the asshole with the pomp, tells Tadakatsu not to bother, because regardless, they were going to "kill that abomination" and then take it back with them. 

Dante has a sinking feeling, and takes a threatening step forward, bearing his teeth in a snarl. "This is Hide's blade. It ain't goin' nowhere."

Yumeshiro snorts derisively. "We can't bring him back to Soul Society without it." Dante's grip on Hideyori's blade tightens. This only makes Yumeshiro snort again. He openly mocks Dante. "Aw, would you look at that? The mutt's attached. I wonder if it knows its master's been lying to it this whole time and will cut it loose the second it loses its usefulness?" 

Tadakatsu grabs a fistful of Yumeshiro's uniform and tells him to knock it off, but it's already over. Their good-cop bad-cop routine got old real quick. For the first and only time in his life, Dante attacks an unwilling opponent. 

Even fighting against two Captain-class shinigami, Dante has the upper hand. He's stronger, faster, more durable, and more determined, not to mention his opponents aren't well-coordinated. The friendly one is hesitant to fight. The asshole with the pomp, not so much. Dante doesn't care, all he's seeing is red. He's shredding them to ribbons until they kick it up a notch—Tadakatsu releases his Shikai, and Yumeshiro releases his Bankai, and suddenly Dante finds himself rotting from the inside out while being forced to switch between offense and defense. The sickness is almost faster than his healing abilities. Almost. He's not the only one rotting, however. That asshole with the pomp gets sick from his own blade, pathetic. Dante shows them true power by releasing his own Resurrección, opting to speed through this fight before his body falls apart.

At the last minute, seeing his friend is in grave danger, Tadakatsu finds the resolve to finish the fight, and the pair land a fatal blow on Dante. He falls to the ground, still clutching Hideyori's blade in his right hand. As he loses consciousness, only one thought is on his mind: 

You'll pay for taking what's mine.

Dante hadn't died. Though it was delayed long after his opponents had left him, his healing ability, Anidamiento, had finally kicked in, forming an impenetrable barrier allowing him to heal all wounds, even the fatal ones. He was in a deep hibernation-like slumber for days, but when he awoke, it was almost like he'd never been injured in the first place. Then his memory hit him like a freight train. 

Anidiamento only heals physical wounds, meaning the emotional injury persisted. At first he was distressed, searching frantically for Hideyori, for Grimmjow, for any sign that he still held onto what belonged to him. Neither of them showed their faces. Their Reiatsu only left trace scents that led nowhere, and he couldn't feel either of them within reach. Still he searched, and searched, and searched. Until finally he stopped to rest. Breathing heavily, having run for days, he stared at his empty hands and roared. He was furious and destroyed everything in sight. He destroyed the remains of Aizen's kingdom, and cried out even though no one would hear him. His heart was hollow once again.

As fate would have it, someone did hear him. Grimmjow had been slumbering too, and jolted awake when the pained howling pierced his bones. Though his body hadn't recovered with the same speed as Dante's, he ran to Dante, barreling into him. It was unclear at first whether Grimmjow was angry at him or happy to see him. All that mattered was that Grimmjow was alive. Then their heartfelt reunion was ruined.

"You look like shit," Grimmjow said.

"I've felt worse," Dante replied.

"You lost to someone else. Again." Grimmjow's expression was unreadable.

"I know." Dante's shoulders tensed. He was angrier than Grimmjow had ever seen him, and that angered Grimmjow too for some reason. Sensing something amiss, Dante's eyes narrow. "The hell's your problem? Not like ya won either."

Grimmjow didn't tell Dante what was wrong because he didn't know. He's the embodiment of destruction. All he knows is to make things worse. "That's twice. Looks like you're not so strong after all."

"Ya sayin' somethin'? Real petty of you to keep count! That's only twice in five hundred years!" His eyes were stinging, and there's a pressure behind them he's never felt before. Why did he suddenly feel so powerless?

Grimmjow snorts. "You lost when it really mattered."

Dante pins him to the ground. "Are y'tryin' to start somethin', Grimm?" A warning.

"Maybe." 

He knew what Grimmjow was doing. He knew exactly which buttons to press, just like that bastard with the pomp who called him a mutt and an abomination, who sneered in his face and told him he was being used. Grimmjow wanted a fight. Dante didn't want to fight. He didn't want to do anything. He just wanted the pain to stop. 

Then Grimmjow spat in his face.

Struggling turned to clawing which turned into an all-out brawl. The earth rumbled with their force of their strikes. This had nothing to do with their rivalry, and it wasn't any fun either. They were releasing feelings that had been building up in them since maybe forever ago. Dante hit to make a point. Grimmjow hit to hurt. Dante got Grimmjow down on his back, and when Grimmjow tried to get up, Dante sunk his claws into Grimmjow's shoulders to keep him down. Still, Grimmjow struggled, but it wasn't the same kind of struggling he'd been doing before. It was desperate and raw. Realizing his struggles were in vain, Grimmjow cried out and resigned. When Dante looked into his eyes, he saw the look of an animal backed into a corner. It was a look he'd never seen, and it made him freeze.

"I'm still here," Grimmjow gets out through gritted teeth. "I'm still here but you don't even see me. You haven't lost everything, you jackass." He can't look at Dante anymore, and turns his face. "Why don't you treat me like you treated him? Why can't I be your number one? Your most important possession? You know how much it fucking hurts to be second best in every damn thing?" 

At first Dante's confused. Then he relaxes. Then he laughs, and laughs and laughs. So that's what's wrong with Grimm. "You're always callin' me an idiot but you're the stupidest one here." Grimmjow would throttle him if he could move his arms, but the next thing Dante says stops him entirely. "You are my most prized possession."

They're forced to come to terms with the fact that there's been something between them for centuries now in all of 2 seconds. Then they're smashing their lips together, and they roll around in the sand for an entirely different reason. Afterwards, Dante explains that it doesn't matter what has been stolen from him, only that something has. All his possessions matter the same to him. They're all his. Nobody can touch what's his. Whoever stole from him, no matter what, was going to pay for it.

"So whaddya gonna do?"

"Turn Soul Society into hell."

"When?"

"When they can't see it comin'."

When the Quincy invade Hueco Mundo, everything quite literally goes to shit. Arrancar are rounded up or killed if they resist too much. Many of them run and hide. Dante vibrates with excitement. Eventually the fight is brought to him. Now he gets to see what they're made of. Turns out, it's not much. It's barely anything at all. They don't give him any challenge and he's bored instantly. That doesn't mean the fight is over, however, as a dying Quincy tells him his power is valuable to the Wandenreich and therefore the Quincy won't stop until he's tamed or dead. Are they for real? They're welcome to try, but this is getting old.

He meets his match in Adalberht Alberich, a teeny tiny Quincy with a lot of brute strength. They've got a ton in common. They love fighting, they love bloodshed, and they hate Soul Society. In the middle of Adalberht explaining the Wandenreich's plan for the world (which Dante wasn't paying attention to, mind you), Dante perks up at the mention of destroying Soul Society, and pins Adalberht to the ground, demanding the squirt say it again. Adalberht emphasizes how central the destruction of Soul Society is to His Majesty's plans, and Dante enthusiastically signs on to the cause. Wait, it was that easy? Ha! Yes! Excellent.

Adalberht smugly brings Dante back to the castle. He's just done what no other Quincy could! He tamed the most powerful Arrancar and even made it his pet! Other Quincy stare in awe, but it's not out of jealousy, it's rage. What does Adalberht think he's doing, bringing in that abomination, still armed with its blade, walking free? Dante dares any Quincy to step up to him. None of them do. After all, they'd heard tales of all that perfect and pristine Quincy blood he'd spilled. They glared and spat, but it's all they could do. They behaved just like the lowly Arrancar they so detested.

The invasion of Soul Society is like taking candy from a baby—easy and messy as hell. This was the society Hideyori wanted to rule over so badly? What for? None of its shinigami could put up a fight! He lavished in the bloodshed. Not like there was anyone to stop him. Well, turns out there was no need to. Dante found a reason to stop on his own.

He finds Hideyori again.

Surrounded by Quincy and shinigami on all sides, he gets a whiff of lavender and vanilla and his body moves on its own, mowing down enemies and allies to get to it. Hideyori feels that familiar spiritual signature and sheathes his blade. Next thing he knows, Dante is barreling right into him, and they embrace for a long, quiet moment. Suddenly everything is right with the world.

Hideyori cannot afford to stop for long. He'd been on a mission, and he needs Dante's help. "Hatada-san is going to do something he'll regret. We need to stop him." Who the hell's this Hatada guy? Well whatever. Adalberht's got everything covered, so Dante can run off with Hideyori for a bit, right? Wrong. As they get closer and closer to where they're supposed to be, Dante smells death and decay, rotting flesh, and pure hate. He'll never forget the first time he smelled it. He bolts ahead of Hideyori, just in time to stop that asshole with the pomp from striking at Adalberht.

Dante cannot help but laugh wildly. Oh this was perfect. Just when he thought this war couldn't get any better, he comes across the very man who'd stolen from him. And what's up with the horns and rash? Lookin' a little rough there, buddy. Hideyori catches up to them and realizes belatedly this might have been a mistake. "Dante wait, do—" But it's too late. Yumeshiro's gonna get what he deserves. He gives Adalberht the chance to get out of their way, and then Dante is striking to kill. He doesn't care that he's being infected with Yumeshiro's Pestilence. This is old news, he's dealt with it before. 

Though Dante's healing factor is fast, he's breathing in way too much of the miasma and Yumeshiro's output is insane. He's lost all his senses, transformed into a real oni now. The illness starts to cloud Dante's mind, and if he slips for even a moment, Yumeshiro turns his kanabō on Hideyori and Adalberht. Without a doubt Hideyori is strong, but protecting someone else while trying to keep your face covered is hard, and there's hesitancy in his strikes. He doesn't want to hurt Yumeshiro. He doesn't want to release his Bankai and take away Yumeshiro's will. The closer Yumeshiro gets to Hideyori and Adalberht, the harder Dante tries to push himself, until he can't, until his leg literally falls apart and won't grow back. This happened in their fight in Las Noches, too. Just what the hell is happening? He tries to get up but he cannot, as his arm begins to crumble as well. Something about this doesn't feel right, and he calls out to Hideyori to just fucking use your Bankai already. 

Just as Hideyori is lifting his blade and opening his mouth to say his release command, a gentle hand grabs his, and says "Don't. It's unnecessary." Nobody can seem to believe their eyes. That Tadakatsu guy has shown up looking like a godsend, a really shitty, half-dead godsend. There are badly healing wounds all over him. Ouch, those must've been dealt by Adalberht. No one else can cause such gnarly cuts.

"Katsu-niichan!" Adalberht runs up and hugs him.

"I told you I'd come back for you," he says, pretending like he's not in immense pain.

"We're not late, are we?" another shinigami says, one with dreadlocks.

Hideyori's relief is palpable. "No, Mutsuki. You're just in time."

Tadakatsu steps forward and draws his blade. With a smile on his face, he says, "Don't worry everyone, I'm here now! Leave it to me!" Even though he'd fought them before, even though Dante knew for a fact that Tadakatsu was nowhere near the same level as Yumeshiro, for a moment, even Dante feels at ease. He believes it. Somehow, Dante knows he can trust Tadakatsu. Everyone else knows it too. And then Tadakatsu says, "Bankai," and the fire that comes from his blade smells magnificent. It's unlike anything Dante has ever tasted. It bathes the field in red and blue flame, and it doesn't hurt him. It heals him. Dante is surprised to look down and see the damage reversed. Hell, it feels even better than before. Scrambling to his feet, he gets out of the way to let Tadakatsu take the reins, and watches in awe asTadakatsu beats the ever living shit out of Yumeshiro like it was nothing. Just where the hell had he been hiding all that power? Well, wherever it came from, it wins the battle, and frees Yumeshiro from Oniseigi's grasp at the cost of his arm.

The both of them collapse on the ground. Mutsuki collects Yumeshiro in his arms, and Hideyori asks Dante to carry Tadakatsu back with Adalberht to the Fourth Division medical bay, which he grumbles about, but obeys. The shinigami are surprised, to say the least, that a Quincy and a Vasto Lorde have just waltzed into their barracks like they owned the place. They accept their new patients. When they offer to treat Dante, he flashes his teeth at them, scaring them off. 

When he asks Adalberht what he wants to do, Adalberht says he just wants to stay by Tadakatsu's side. Adalberht asks him the same. "Dunno. Somethin' exciting, probably."

Then he's off. Now Soul Society has become a free for all. Whether you're shinigami or Quincy, you're dying by Dante's hand, and it probably would've ended there, had he not smelled yet another familiar scent and strayed off course to locate its source. There, coming from within a giant ball of death, he spots someone. Dante darts right through and emerges with Grimmjow and Urahara in his arms. "Huh, what the hell were ya doin' in there, genius?" 

Grimmjow snaps back, "None of your damn business!" while Urahara thanks Dante and breathes a sigh of relief.

BALA: (虚弾, Spanish for "Bullet", Japanese for "Hollow Bullet") — A technique that fires hardened spiritual pressure. Less powerful than a Cero, but can be successively fired at 20 times the rate..

CERO: (虚閃, Spanish for "Zero", Japanese for "Hollow Flash") — A powerful spiritual light fired by Menos Grande and Arrancar. There exist a number of variations of Cero, which are usually unique to the Arrancar using it. The way Dante uses his is through his legs, where in addition to being able to release it from his fingers and mouth, he can give a kick and release it in a sweeping motion. The colour of his Cero is turquoise.

DESCORRER: (解空, Spanish for "Opening," Japanese for "Loosed Void") — A technique used by Espada-level Arrancar and sometimes others to open a Garganta between the living world and Hueco Mundo.

HIERRO: (鋼皮, Spanish for "Iron", Japanese for "Steel Skin") — An Arrancar's outer skin with high spiritual hardness that serves as armour.

HIGH-SPEED REGENERATION: (超速再生, "Ultra-Fast Regeneration") — An ability which allows Arrancar to heal most injuries very quickly, with the exception of the destruction of the head or vital organs. Ulquiorra states most Arrancar gave up this ability for far greater strength, however, because Dante possesses just so much power, he retains this ability, and extends it to include regeneration of vital organs.

PESQUISA: (探査回路, Spanish for "Inquiry", Japanese for "Probe Circuit") — An Arrancar's ability to measure and locate Reiatsu. Dante possesses a unique kind of Pesquisa. With his heightened sense of smell, this ability is further extended in that he smells Reiatsu, and using any personal belonging, can use this acute sense of smell to locate beings by their Reiatsu no matter how far away they are.

SONIDO: (響転, Spanish for "Sound", Japanese for "Sound Ceremony") — This is the Arrancar's equivalent to a Shinigami's Shunpo. Dante's speed goes beyond mastery. Aizen once remarks on Dante's speed being equivalent to that of a lightning bolt.

HIDROFOBIA: (水の排除, Spanish for "Hydrophobia," Japanese for "Water Rejection") — This ability is unique to Dante. Like a wolverine, Dante's skin is coated in a special oil that is especially hydrophobic, making him completely resistant to freezing and water-based attacks, as well as giving his claws the strength to break through anything that is frozen.

Master Swordsman: Dante possesses tremendous skill in swordsmanship, despite preferring hand-to-hand combat. Though he does not face off any of the captains as do his Espada comrades, Dante has the skill to confidently hold his own against at least two captain-level Shinigami simultaneously.

Immense Spiritual Power: Even before becoming an Arrancar, Dante possessed tremendous spiritual power, high enough that it disintegrated weak hollows. Under Aizen's order, Dante is forbidden from releasing his Zanpakutō while inside the dome of Las Noches, for if he were to do so, his immense Reiryoku would be enough to demolish the fortress. Dante's Reiatsu is turquoise.

Instinctual Combatant: Dante possesses razor-sharp instincts and reflexes. His body notices things before his mind, and his reactions happen without hesitation and without reflection. He learns quickly, and trusts in his gut instincts, which are usually spot on, to guide him. He does not create or follow any plans.

Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: His favourite style of fighting. Despite not receiving any formal combat training, he fights like he was born to do it, with a combat style resembling that of MMA, though ramped up to a lethally destructive degree.

Enhanced Strength & Durability: Dante is both insanely strong and insanely durable. He fights two highly skilled Shinigami who almost slice him to ribbons, and his response to that is, "I'm going to take a nap," and he was fine upon waking. It is unknown how much damage Dante can withstand, but his strength his such that he can easily level a battlefield with little effort.

In its sealed state, Hambrón (貪欲な爪 — Don'yokuna tsume), Spanish for "Wolverine; the hungry," Japanese for "Greedy Claws," is a nodachi that is unusually dense, making it extremely heavy, adding to the momentum of Dante's swings. The blade itself is chipped and scratched, with a gold tsuba in the shape of an X. Its handle and sheath are red. He wears the sheath at the front of his belt, slightly off center.

Its release command is, “Hunt.” (狩れ, “Kare.”). To release his Zanpakutō, Dante cuts his lip on his teeth, spits that blood onto his blade, and drags a line of blood along the length of his blade with his thumb as he declares the release command. His blade begins to give off an eerie turquoise spark of electricity that rises up the length of his arms before engulfing him entirely in a spiral of flame that then explodes outwards and sends out a powerful blast of energy. 

Resurrección Special Ability: In his resurrected state, all of Dante's natural abilities are enhanced.

Territorial: (領土線, Ryōdo) — Dante's primary ability in his resurrected form is marking territory. He draws this territory in a similar manner to the way the Gillian use Negación, though its effects more closely resemble that of the Espada's Caja Negación. Once an opponent is trapped within this territory, their own Reiatsu is suppressed. The larger a target's spiritual pressure, the less time it takes them to break free of the confines of his territory.

Intimidación: (恫喝, Dōkatsu, "Intimidation") — Dante shoots out a lightning bolt in an X-shape from himself, electrocuting all who are caught in the path.

Desollar: (皮剥ぎの刑, Kawahagi no kei, Spanish for "Skinning," Japanese for "Flaying Punishment") — Dante creates a whip of electricity which he can wrap around opponents to electrocute them, or use to throw them around.

Banquete: (無限の食事, Mugen no shokuji, Spanish for "Feast," Japanese for "Endless Eating" ) — Extends a Negación-like barrier around a limited range, and anything with Reiatsu trapped within that range has its Reiatsu converted into "food" for Dante to consume. This barrier gives him about one minute of eating time, and whatever he consumes fuels him and is used to power his innate abilities.

Anidamiento: (なめる傷, Nameru kizu, Spanish for "Nesting," Japanese for "Licking Wounds") — An ability Dante uses in dire times, where he will form a barrier around himself much like the Gillian's Negación, which he uses to heal his wounds. It is impenetrable, and it activates subconsciously. Because it takes a massive amount of energy to do this, Dante will be put into a deep slumber for some time.