"Tch, they escaped? Menos Grande has actually appeared in the World of the Living."
"Both of them gave it their all. Logically speaking, even though they were just Quincy an ordinary Menos Grande could defeat, but both of them died in battle..."
"It might just be Soul Reaper's doing. How disgusting!"
Six men dressed in pristine white trench coats arrived first, their voices dripping with murderous intent. The other three remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.
The tragic Quincy put immense pressure on all the Quincy present. Without the powers bestowed upon them by the 'Quincy,' even at their full strength, they couldn't defeat Menos Grande, let alone conquer the Soul Society.
With things having come to this point, the Quincy felt that reforms were necessary, at least to make the 'Quincy: Letzt Stil' stronger.
At this time, although the Quincy had split into factions, they had not completely separated, and everyone was waiting for their 'Emperor' to wake up.
Hueco Mundo, a seasoning containing not a single trace of Reishi, became the spiritual pillar that sustained Zero and Grimmjow in their search for Vasto Lorde.
As always, Grimmjow carried various miscellaneous items, constantly switching between the desert and the Menos Grande Forest, all in search of Vasto Lorde.
Zero originally planned to hunt Quincy alone, but he was afraid of exposing himself and affecting his chances of becoming the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 and unifying the Seireitei and Soul Society...
According to intelligence, although the Soul Reaper and Quincy are currently at loggerheads, they still occasionally hold talks.
Zero was afraid of accidentally letting a Quincy live, who would then tell the Soul Reaper that there was an unidentified person with a red Greatsword hunting Quincy, and that would be a real mess.
Reiatsu can be faked, Kidō can be abandoned, and Shunpo can be replaced by Sonído, but Shikai cannot be hidden.
If he were discovered, he would definitely be hunted down by both the 'black' and 'white' factions. Zero knew quite a bit about the strength of these two factions, and he didn't want to be forced to hide in Hueco Mundo just yet...
In the Menos Grande Forest!
After dozens of days of hunting and devouring, Grimmjow's claws have recovered. As long as the Adjuchas' masks are not bitten by Hollows of the same or higher level, the rest of their bodies can gradually grow back by devouring their own kind.
This was possible before the Arrancar, but it's no longer possible after the Arrancar. You can no longer become stronger by devouring your own kind, so you have to find another way.
At this moment, Grimmjow had just finished another great battle, defeating a rare humanoid Hollow. The opponent was so powerful that it took him a lot of effort.
Zero isn't here; he's hunting down one of the humanoid Adjuchas's subordinates.
"Not bad, he's already close to humanoid as Nangong said, but to be defeated so easily by me, he definitely can't be Vasto Lorde."
Grimmjow held his head high with arrogance, while the Adjuchas on the ground, with sharp horns on its shoulders and legs, was a humanoid Hollow that walked upright.
According to Zero, the smaller the Hollow, the more humanoid it is, and the stronger its Reiatsu is than that of Adjuchas, the more likely it is Vasto Lorde.
The one before Grimmjow, though humanoid and only about three and a half meters tall, had Reiatsu lower than Grimmjow's own, making it impossible for it to be Vasto Lorde.
Wow!
"Damn it, it seems I can't escape death. Before I die, I want to ask you a question: what is your purpose in seeking out Vasto Lorde, you and that sword-wielding Soul Reaper?"
Dordoni vomited a mouthful of blood; his internal organs had been damaged by Grimmjow.
That's right, this Adjuchas is one of the three Espada under Aizen's command in later years. The three-digit ones are the Espada who were eliminated.
"Purpose? The purpose is, of course, to devour him. Once I eat Vasto Lorde, I can reach that level!"
Grimmjow's ambitions went beyond this; there was a realm beyond that. He turned to Dordoni and said, "Judging from your tone, it seems you know where Vasto Lorde is? Tell me the truth, or I'll kill you on the spot."
"Heh, since we're all going to die anyway, I'm not going to tell you. And don't even think about gaining memories by devouring me, because I'll erase all memories of that information from my own mind."
"You bastard, I'll kill you right now."
Dordoni gave a wicked smile, which enraged Grimmjow so much that smoke billowed from his left nostril and fire shot from his right, and he wanted to kill him on the spot.
As Grimmjow lunged forward, a strange Tornado with upper and lower jaws appeared from the sharp point on Dordoni's left shoulder, truly like a dragon attacking Grimmjow's throat.
"Hmph, Slacking-Off Missile!"
How could Grimmjow not know such a trick? Under the bandages near his spine, a bright green hidden weapon appeared, a power that Grimmjow had acquired in the last two days.
In the original timeline, it should have been called 'Panther Hook', but Zero messed it up here, naming it Grimmjow after the 'Slacking-Off Missile' skill of a certain game's cat.
This thing is incredibly destructive. Dordoni was knocked down on the spot after taking two of them. This one is also very powerful, and the Tornado was instantly shattered. The 'Slacking-Off Missile' rushed towards Dordoni's throat.
Clang! Boom!
Just as Dordoni closed his eyes and awaited death, a clang of metal rang out. Zero deflected the attack with his Zanpakuto, and the deflected 'Slacking-Off Missile' completely destroyed a Quartz Tree.
"This new skill is amazing, the destructive power is incredible..."
After Zero deflected the attack, his hand went numb for several seconds. He had analyzed Grimmjow's attack power.
It is a single-target physical attack that generates a shockwave upon hitting the target, causing damage starting from within the target's body.
If a powerful creature were to eat one, its internal organs would be ruptured; as for those who weren't powerful, they would be instantly blown to pieces. The same goes for buildings; they would be shattered on the spot.
"Nangong, this is my prey, don't interfere!" Grimmjow was furious that Zero had saved this guy who infuriated him.
"I've told you countless times, don't be impatient. Since he has information about Vasto Lorde, he has a reason to continue existing."
Zero stood beside Dordoni, and after using the 'Bakudō Sixty-Three Chain Binding', he wasn't worried at all that Dorudoni would suddenly attack again.
"May I have your name?"
Zero sat down nonchalantly, removed the mask that seemed to have been taken from somewhere, and asked Dordoni's name with what he thought was a kind smile.
"Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio..."
Dordoni, lying on the ground, spoke calmly. He knew he had the information Zero needed and didn't have to die for the time being.
"Um... Doruni Alexandre Soraka..."
He gave his name, but Zero was dumbfounded; he couldn't remember such a long name at all.
"Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio! You disrespectful bastard!"
Dordoni could only repeat himself, much more annoyed this time; Zero could only sigh inwardly, honestly admitting that he simply couldn't remember, a consequence of the vast differences between Eastern and Western cultures.
"Hmm, Dordoni, right! My name is Nangong Ling, and the white cat over there is called Grimmjow..."
"I am the leopard, the king of leopards, the fastest Adjuchas, you @##✘."
Zero introduced himself, Grimmjow interrupted with the Roar, followed by a string of incoherent ramblings. Zero ignored him and continued, "How about a deal? Take us to that Vasto Lorde, and once we see him, we'll let you go!"
"Why should I trust you? What if you still try to eat me after I see him?"
Dordoni wasn't stupid either. Zero was, after all, the Grim Soul Reaper, much like the kind of guy who would use someone to do his bidding and then kill them, a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"Stop rambling on and on, beat him up first, if that doesn't work, bite his mask a few times, let him slowly degenerate into Gillian, see if he'll talk then..."
Grimmjow, unable to tolerate Zero's dawdling, resorts to torture, using the deepest fears within the Menos Grande Hollow to coerce Dordoni.
"See! This guy is weaker than me and doesn't respect me, yet I've kept him around until now. How could I possibly break my promise to you!"
Zero smiled and spoke to Dordoni, showing no annoyance at Grimmjow's interruption.
"I can take you there, but I have one condition: you have to join me, and I want to become Vasto Lorde..."
After glancing at Grimmjow and Zero, Dordoni finally agreed, but he also put forward a condition for joining.
"Since you're willing, then come along!"
Zero didn't refuse him, which meant he gained another subordinate or follower.
After so much time, Zero finally understood that Menos Grande with self-control wouldn't devour their companions; since they had chosen to be together, they would trust each other.
Having spent so much time with Grimmjow, Zero no longer harbors the idea of 'devouring him once he becomes a Grimmjow Vasto Lorde '.
Grimmjow only challenged him, and even held back when practicing sneak attacks; for example, when he first awakened the Slacking-Off Missile, Grimmjow could fire up to five Slacking-Off Missiles at the same time.
If he had caught Zero off guard then, he would have definitely had a chance to severely injure Zero with five Slacking-Off Missiles, and killing him would have been impossible... But after he hit one, he stood there smugly watching Zero's miserable state.
"Actually, I don't even know if that guy counts as Vasto Lorde."
As the three were running, Dordoni suddenly spoke.
"Why?"
Zero's eyes suddenly turned dangerous; if he were fooled, he would definitely kill him.
"That guy's Reiatsu is extremely strong, far exceeding your current Reiatsu, but his size is also enormous, much larger than Gillian, and he's not humanoid."
Dordoni's mindset has changed somewhat as he transitioned from leader to follower... As for revenge for his former subordinates? Sorry, their relationship isn't that good yet, especially in Hueco Mundo where they can see each other's souls.
"The Reiatsu is even stronger than ours?"
Zero's current Reiatsu is 1.4, and he resealed a wave of it. Grimmjow's is 1.5, and he only evolved into the Slacking-Off Missile at this stage.
If it far exceeds that, at least twice as much, then it's highly likely that this is an Adjuchas with special abilities, capable of accumulating a large amount of Reiryoku and transforming it into its own Reiatsu.
They traveled at breakneck speed through the dark Menos Grande Forest for an unknown amount of time until they sensed a surge of Reiatsu, at which point they slowed down.
The area was very quiet; there wasn't Gillian, let alone a single Ragged Hollows.
"We've arrived. Ahead lies a large rift valley, from which one can ascend to the surface. That guy has over a dozen subordinates who drive the Hollows to the rift valley every day, forcing him to constantly feed..."
According to Dordoni, that guy does nothing but eat and sleep all day. Strangely, he has devoured all the Hollows around him, leaving only some small Beast Hollows that have no fighting power.
Zero sent Grimmjow and Dordoni to hunt down the dozen or so Adjuchas, while he went to fight the Adjuchas that was even bigger than Gillian.
Yanis also said that he had been in Hueco Mundo for hundreds of years and had never seen an Adjuchas larger than Gillian; the largest was only about fifty meters tall.
He was also curious about what this giant Adjuchas looked like and how powerful it was.