As soon as Zero stepped into Taro City, a large amount of Reiatsu erupted near their landing point. There were three streams of spiritual pressure, belonging to Grimmjow and the two Quincy.
Zero randomly scanned and sensed five other low-level Reiatsu here, none of which belonged to Soul Reaper.
"There aren't any Soul Reaper here? Does the Seireitei have no jurisdiction over this area?"
Zero couldn't help but wonder, since each Squad was supposed to assign some Soul Reaper to guard the World of the Living, could this side have been overlooked?
It's clear that the Seireitei didn't overlook this area, but rather that they were unable to intervene; this is simply because there are a large number of Quincy here, and the Quincy and the Soul Reaper are already irreconcilable enemies.
"It shouldn't be. Back when I was still Lesser Hollow, I think I witnessed Soul Reaper and Quincy fighting. That was a long time ago, and I don't know the specifics."
Yanis, of course, didn't understand; to him, they were both enemies, just different weapons.
However, if the opposite of Hollow is the wholeness of the human soul, then the opposite of Soul Reaper is Quincy; the ideals of Soul Reaper and Quincy can only exist one at a time, they cannot coexist.
Therefore, the Quincy, the Soul Reaper, and the Hollows form a triangular relationship; apart from those of the same kind, the other two are enemies...
At this time, the World of the Living was still in the 18th century, and Taro City did not have High-rise Buildings, but it had a large population. Pirates and outlaws made a great contribution to the city's nighttime economy.
Some humans with higher Reiryoku only felt a tightness in their chest and felt very uncomfortable when they sensed zero Reiatsu. No matter what they were doing, they were not in a good state.
Several blue arrows shot out, aimed at Zero's head, showing no mercy, intending to kill him.
"Halt! Who are you? Get out of here, or you will die!"
The speaker was also Quincy, holding a Spirit Bow, the most powerful of the five Reiatsu Zero sensed.
But this is just the tallest one among a group of short people; nothing special.
"I am Menos Grande Vasto Lorde, the Hollow. You're Quincy, right? I have a question for you: Is there a spice processing workshop around here?"
Zero was speechless. He only asked who I was after he shot me. He just asked where the market was. If he couldn't get the answer, he would have to search for it place by place, which was too troublesome.
"Menos Grande? Damn it, a guy of that level..."
This Quincy completely ignored Zero's problem, his mind racing, trying to come up with a way to delay Zero.
"You weren't listening at all? Well then, goodbye..."
Pfft!
Zero, with a helpless tone, acted instantly. There was no reason for him to let the person who shot him go. He then fell into the street below and disappeared into the dim light of the oil lamp.
The Quincy couldn't even cry out in pain; a deep wound had already severed his internal organs from his chest.
A few drunkards would occasionally appear on the streets of this small town, but no one could see Zero until Zero encountered a boy's spirit curled up in a corner.
After only a brief conversation, the boy's spirit told Zero where to buy spices, and Zero, disguised as a thief, immediately went and looted the place.
During the looting, Grunts encountered four other Quincy. Zero swiftly slashed their blades, shattering their Reishi into fragments that dissipated after their deaths.
When Zero returned carrying three large sacks, he sensed Grimmjow's rampant Reiatsu, and there was also a strong Reiatsu emanating from the person opposite him.
Confused as to what was going on, Zero quickened his pace. Perhaps the opponent had some other trump card up their sleeve; after all, a race that could fight against Soul Reaper for so long must be quite formidable.
Several Reishi Arrows flew straight at Zero, causing him to stop in his tracks. It was a blond Quincy.
Rewind to when Zero had just stepped into Taro City. Grimmjow lunged at the two Quincy. The Quincy scattered, Grimmjow attacked the white-haired man first, sending him flying.
The other person had blond hair and was a little further away. Grimmjow turned his head and spat out a Bala.
The blond man dodged the attack with the Quincy's signature move, the "Hirenkyaku." Grimmjow wasn't surprised or paused; instead, he continued charging towards the white-haired man who had been sent flying, intending to deliver a fatal blow.
The blond man's counterattack came quickly. He fired several powerful arrows from his black and white Spirit Bow, forcing back Grimmjow, who was about to finish off the white-haired man.
"Tch, I never expected that besides the Soul Reaper, there would be such powerful humans in this World of the Living. What's going on with you guys?"
Having dodged the Reishi Arrows, Grimmjow finally asked the question. The language of this world is universal, so he wasn't worried that they wouldn't understand.
Grimmjow was curious because these two humans had strong Reiatsu from the start and had survived his first attack.
"You keep calling me a Soul Reaper, how long have you been in Hueco Mundo? We are Quincy, far superior to those Soul Reaper!"
The white-haired man who had been knocked down slowly got up and answered.
The bones from his right shoulder to his right chest were almost shattered, yet he was still able to stand up and exuded an even stronger Reiatsu.
"Quincy? Never heard of that. What kind of technique is this? Your bones are broken, and your ligaments have been severed by my claws."
Grimmjow squinted, observing; he sensed danger.
"The Ransōtengai is Reishi Arts specifically designed for us Quincy. With this move, we Quincy will fight to the death."
The blond man slowly uttered the name of the move, which his partner Mode, had to use to continue fighting because he was slow to react.
"Cairo, I'll handle this one. You go to Taro City and deal with the other one! You've sensed it too, haven't you? Longerte and the others have met with misfortune."
The Quincy named Mode sent his companions away to stop Zero, while he himself was determined to stop Grimmjow.
"Mode, you wouldn't be thinking of using that trick, would you!"
Cairo's expression was solemn. Although they were pure- Quincy, using that technique would cause them to fall into a state of no Reiryoku for a long time due to the excessive consumption of energy.
"That's right. This kind of enemy can't be defeated without using ultimate techniques, and we might not even be able to wait for reinforcements to arrive."
Mode's right arm was now mobile, and he slowly took off the glove he was wearing on his left hand. Seeing this, Cairo turned and headed towards Taro City.
Grimmjow was about to give chase when he saw this, but Mode moved in front of him with Hirenkyaku and exuded a powerful Reiatsu.
"You'd better take care of yourself first! Look closely, this is the Quincy’s Final Form!"
A pair of wings formed from Reishi Condensation appeared behind Mode, making him look like an angel, and the surrounding Reishi continued to converge towards him.
His right hand, which should have been holding a bow, had instead transformed into a blue, Reishi double-pointed spear; upon closer inspection, one could see that the Reishi were constantly vibrating...
"After all that rambling, you're finally going to use your ultimate move! Fine, if you don't want me to chase you, then I'll just take you down first!"
Grimmjow was also a Hollow who understood the situation. The strange human opposite him, who called himself Quincy, was not simple. Based on the opponent's Reiatsu at this moment, he could no longer take him lightly.
Hueco Mundo is home to all sorts of people with incredibly diverse abilities. Having spent so much time with Zero, Grimmjow has learned to be cautious and observant; otherwise, he would have died long ago in Hueco Mundo...
"Kill me? You evil souls shouldn't be joking!"
Mode moved with his Hirenkyaku, the blue Reishi spear less than a centimeter from Grimmjow's head, but he dodged it with Sonído.
Grimmjow's claws were imbued with Reiatsu similar to Cero, as he aimed to smash the Quincy's head from the side.
However, it was blocked by the Reishi Spear, while Dali sent Mode flying.
"In the end, we're just human beings. That's the end of it!"
The Cero was gathering, then quickly released, striking Mode was still in a state of weightlessness.
But before the Cero could explode, the spear shot out like an arrow, shattering the Cero and pointing directly at Grimmjow.
Drip, drip! Blood was dripping, Grimmjow appeared from the side, his eyes filled with uncontrollable murderous intent.
"Tch, the Reiatsu contained in the Cero was too intense, slightly altering the direction of the Bow and Arrow?"
Mode knew he had missed, and a huge Reishi Bow appeared in his hand. The spear that served as the arrow merely grazed past the side of the Menos Grande.
"Your Bow and Arrows are hard to hit, so you were aiming at me with your Bow and Arrow while I was using Cero attack? Impressive maneuver, but that's all for now."
Grimmjow unleashed his Reiatsu relentlessly, and every time he clashed with Zero, he was at a disadvantage, no matter what he did.
He asked Zero why, and the answer was simple: Soul Reaper are souls, Hollows are also souls, and the power between souls manifests as Reiryoku. Strong Reiryoku manifests as Reiatsu, and Reiatsu means strong combat power...
There was a long passage after that, but Grimmjow didn't remember any of it; he only remembered up to the part about 'Reiatsu means stronger combat power'.
Grimmjow understood this concept very well: no matter what methods the opponent uses, as long as one's Reiatsu is stronger than the opponent's, one will never be at a disadvantage in battle.
"You think you still have a chance to beat me? How could I possibly lose to you when I've used the 'Quincy: Letzt Stil' at the cost of losing my power!"
With a roar from Mode, the surrounding Reishi flew over, and his own Reiatsu rapidly increased. Another large arrow appeared on his Reishi Bow...
Zero rushed over because he sensed the Reiatsu they were releasing, but he was stopped by the blond Quincy.
Rumble!
"Your Reiatsu is significantly stronger than those few scumbags. Quincy, what's your name?"
A huge bombing sound came from the other side. Zero wasn't in a hurry to go over. Judging from his Reiatsu Grimmjow wasn't seriously injured. He estimated that the battle wouldn't end anytime soon.
"My name is Cairo. Who exactly are you?"
Cairo also expressed his doubts, noting that Zero possessed Zanpakuto, but that kind of Reiatsu seemed to be something only a Hollow could have.
"As you can see, I'm a thief, I just wanted the salt and pepper powder, don't get me wrong..."
Zero gestured for Cairo to look at the sacks behind him, three of them completely full, brimming with pepper, salt and pepper, and other seasonings.
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, because saying it only made Cairo angrier. For what? To kill several Quincy for seasoning? That joke wasn't funny at all.