Zero's plan to "attack the Soul King Palace" quickly fell through. Szayelaporro did locate the Soul King Palace, but he couldn't get in because there was a powerful Barrier there.
Baraggan also stated frankly that his opponent had only managed to break through dozens of layers of Barriers and reach the Soul King Palace after consuming tens of thousands of souls; however, he then disappeared without a trace, indicating that the guy had failed.
The 'Seventy-Two Heavens' of the Soul King Palace are not so easy to break through. Over the past thousands of years, countless people have tried to overthrow the Soul King, such as the 'Muken', the lowest level underground the Jail.
There were several hardened criminals imprisoned there who could not be killed, some of whom had even plotted to attack the Soul King Palace.
Although the attack plan failed, the search for the Soul King Fragments continues; however, searching within the Soul Society would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
The number of souls there is countless; even if the target is narrowed down to those with Reiryoku awakening and the Soul Reaper, the number is still enormous.
Many souls that died without Reiryoku in the World of the Living awaken their Reiryoku after arriving in the Soul Society; and those in the World of the Living who are born with Reiryoku fluctuations may have Soul King Fragment within them, which is a speculation derived from Laboratory research.
Therefore, Zero set the target in the World of the Living, which is why he ordered some Adjuchas with low combat power to go to the World of the Living to pursue them.
Zero did not convert many Adjuchas with insufficient combat power into Arrancars because the Hōgyoku had limited uses; however, as long as they found and brought back souls containing Soul King Fragment, Zero would help them become Arrancars.
Tempted, the Vegetable-level Adjuchas flocked to the World of the Living... At this time Adjuchas were divided into the weakest 'Vegetable-level', the next Brave-level ', the top- Sharp-level ', the relatively strong 'Commander-level', and the strongest 'Blade-level'.
The term 'Blade-level' refers to Adjuchas, who is qualified to be recognized by Zero and become one of the Espada.
This isn't the first time Zero's orders have involved the indiscriminate killing of innocent people; he previously ordered Hollows to attack intelligent humans in the World of the Living and bring them to Hueco Mundo to form Laboratories.
Those scientists in the Laboratory hated Zero? No, they were even happier after learning that the soul could live much longer after the body died. For these madmen, having a high degree of freedom to explore was something they couldn't ask for.
The Menos Grande dispatched at this time are better able to restrain their urge to devour humans, which is why many Menos Grande have recently volunteered to come to the World of the Living.
Meanwhile, the Seireitei was also quick to act, having already located a number of Menos Grande scattered throughout the World of the Living realm and was sending people to deal with them.
Currently, Naruki City, a 'Spirit-Dense Area,' has begun to develop at a frenzied pace. As World of the Living technology advances rapidly, the city's development naturally follows suit.
There aren't any High-rise Buildings, but there are many small houses of four or five stories, and as a world-leading Naruki City has electricity in every household.
However, there are things that science cannot explain at this time, such as a house explosion that kills everyone; or a child being suddenly hit by a car...
The real reason why people keep dying violently in Naruki City is that four Adjuchas are playing a cat-and-mouse game here, capturing powerful souls.
"Hahaha, this human brat actually possesses such powerful Reiryoku, he definitely meets the criteria. This means I can also Arrancar."
The Hollow, whose upper body resembled a crayfish but whose lower body only had four legs, was Menos Grande. This human imp, who played at night, had given him many surprises. After being killed, it actually condensed into a spirit immediately and stood there in front of him, stunned.
Just as the crayfish was about to reach out its red pincers to grab the soul, a powerful white Kidō light struck, severing one of its pincers.
"Ah, my pliers! You bastard, who are you?"
The crayfish roared and turned to look at the Grim Soul Reaper, who was thirty meters away to its side. Only then did the man slowly lower the hand that had just released the Kidō.
With his flowing black hair and the eye -Kenseikan headband, and a silver-white Flower-Wind Gauze wrapped around his neck, he proclaimed his identity as a member of the Great Noble Kuchiki Clan. This man was none other than Byakuya Kuchiki, who had become Soul Reaper (Grim Reaper).
"As you can see, we are the ones who purify your sins, yet you wantonly toy with humans. Your leader deserves to die just like you." Byakuya Kuchiki directly scorned the little lobster who Menos Grande.
The cold words came from the Soul Reaper's mouth, and the crayfish felt a surge of displeasure. He didn't think he had done anything wrong; he was merely following the rules of the world.
The crayfish roared and mocked, "Heh, a mere Grim Soul Reaper who's not even Captain dares to be so arrogant? Die!"
The crayfish raised its last remaining right claw and fired Giant Hollow bullet, but Byakuya was faster, already behind the crayfish and slashing with his sword.
Click!
The shrimp shell on its back cracked, and the crayfish roared Menos Grande as it turned to strike with its claws, but the attack missed.
With another flash of the knife, the crayfish, which already had four legs, lost another one, making it unsteady on its feet.
As another slash came, a red Reiatsu band emanated from the crayfish's body and scattered, leaving only an empty shell standing in place to withstand Byakuya's attack.
The Reiatsu belt gathered in the distance and continued to form the Adjuchas lobster.
"You will never be able to kill Lord Mogell... Heavy Water Domain, Die."
The crayfish Mogell, who introduced himself, raised his claws again and released a cage filled with water vapor, trapping Byakuya inside and rendering him unable to move. He then condensed Cero.
'Byakuya!'
Upon seeing this, Ginrei Kuchiki, who was secretly observing, was startled. Just as she was about to use Shunpo to rush over, she forcibly held back. Byakuya was also waving his hand, meaning that Byakuya had already discovered Ginrei Kuchiki and that he should not meddle in other people's business.
While Ginrei Kuchiki was still in a daze, Cero had already shot towards his most favored grandson... Boom! A terrifying explosion destroyed a large section of the residential building.
Click, click!
As the smoke dissipated, two cracking sounds rang out. The transparent glass wall in front of Byakuya protected him completely, having withstood the attack of the Cero. This was the Bakudo #81 - Dankū.
At this moment, Ginrei Kuchiki's heart finally settled down. Following Kōga and Sōjun, the Kuchiki Clan had finally welcomed another genius, and the Kuchiki Clan could still stand proudly as Great Noble in the Soul Society.
"Damn it, it actually blocked it? Is that what they call the Kidō?"
Mogell's shrimp-face mask is expressionless, but if it did, you could see his expression at this moment, as if he had eaten something indescribable and was in great discomfort.
"As the first Menos Grande I've ever killed, I should remember you for a while... Scatter, Senbonzakura!"
Byakuya's voice remained indifferent, but the Zanpakuto standing before his chest transformed into pink blades that scattered and, with the surge of Reiryoku, drifted and surrounded Mogell.
"Hmph, I possess the Shrimp-Shedding Technique... What? How is that possible? You despicable bastard."
As the sharp, thin blade came slashing down, Mogell continued to use his life-saving techniques, but this time the Reiatsu belt failed to re-condense as he wished, and was severed and dissipated by Senbonzakura. That angry curse had become his last act of defiance.
At that moment, Ginrei Kuchiki finally arrived with a Shunpo and praised, "Well done, Byakuya! Even the Vice-Captain might not be able to defeat Adjuchas so easily."
Ginrei Kuchiki was genuinely happy. Byakuya's ability to defeat Adjuchas unscathed was enough to prove that his strength was already at the Captain-level.
"Grandpa, don't worry about it. These Grunts are far inferior to the Arrancar mentioned in the intelligence. You can praise me after I defeat Nangong Ling."
Byakuya also had a smile on his face, but it was obviously very faint. He had already set his direction and goals and did not take pride in last-hitting minions.
"Hehehe, very good, Grandpa believes you can do it..."
Ginrei Kuchiki smiled encouragingly, revealing nothing of her true thoughts: 'When Byakuya becomes stronger and learns that the goal is even further, you'll definitely work even harder then. It's a pity that it's difficult to reach such a level alone, but Grandpa still hopes you can achieve your goal.'
Compared to her strict treatment of Kōga, Ginrei Kuchiki now treats Byakuya with more encouragement and a more hands-off approach, which makes Byakuya more confident and magnanimous, quite different from Kōga when he was imprisoned.
In Las Noches, Zero also witnessed this scene, and in his mind, he had already judged Byakuya to be a standard Captain-level.
"The prodigy of the Kuchiki Clan, huh? Not bad, easily slaying a Vegetable-level Adjuchas..."
Zero, reclining in his swivel office chair, said, "Make the arrangements. Whenever we find that this kid isn't accompanied by Captain-level, send a Half-Arrancar to fight him."
Zero gave the orders, mainly because he wanted to compare the combat capabilities of Half-Arrancar with those of a standard Captain-level.
Last time, Zero intended to use the Hōgyoku to Arrancar Adjuchas as Adjuchas, but in the end, the Hōgyoku only Half-Arrancarization Adjuchas they fell into a deep sleep.
After several more experiments, Zero finally concluded that the problem stemmed from having too many Arrancar at once...
More than a decade passed in this tug-of-war. Not to mention, Zero's Hōgyoku absorbed three fragments, causing its size to shrink slightly.
Fifteen years and only three fragments? Even Espada. He's trying to speed up the process of perfecting the Hōgyoku...