"Ling, don't say that. Who knows how many powerful fighters are hidden among Rukongai's three hundred and twenty districts..."
"Traitorous Soul Reapers, powerful fighters who can already release their Zanpakuto, expendable warriors the nobles keep outside... In any case, never underestimate Rukongai, especially those who come from Zaraki District at the very end..."
Genji recalled his years of wandering. He had once joined a group of a hundred as a foot soldier. Its leaders were five or six Soul Reapers who had left their posts without permission—traitorous Soul Reapers.
They had gathered in North 76th District, but before they could make their mark, they ended up fighting three outrageously powerful people. The three slaughtered the entire group of a hundred, and the Soul Reapers leading them died on the spot.
Only after the fighting did Genji learn that the three came from Zaraki District, the very last district. Criminals and rebels against Soul Society were everywhere there, struggling and fighting for survival at every moment.
"Tch, I know that without you telling me. But... all I have to do is become stronger than them, right?"
Ling's face was still full of disdain, but he had taken the warning to heart. Sometimes he couldn't just charge in recklessly.
Still, to hear his Zanpakuto's name more clearly, Ling chose to find Hollows to practice on. A dozen or so of his subordinates scattered, expecting certain death, and went around asking where Hollows could be found near the small town.
But as soon as those ordinary souls heard "Hollow," a byword for evil, ill fortune, and death, they fled in terror. How would they know...
"Damn it, these ordinary people have no idea where to find Hollows."
"There probably aren't any nearby! Those two Soul Reapers come for food every day. I bet they clear the area out while they're at it."
"Right. Then let's check the villages around here. Come on, Yinchuan!"
"Maki, will we be all right?"
"Don't worry! Maybe if we find some Hollows, Lord Nangong will reward us with a couple of Asauchi..."
Two foot soldiers in the Fallen Silver Group, Maki and Yinchuan, decided to travel to a village ten kilometers away to ask around.
Their efforts paid off. An hour later, the two came hurrying back and knelt before Ling to report what they had heard...
"Hey, is this where the villagers said the Hollows were?"
Ling threw an arm around Maki's shoulders. The boy was shorter than him and looked younger, but he had already survived in Rukongai for over twenty years.
His full name was Ichinose Maki. He had black hair and brown eyes, and he was now staring in alarm at the important figure Nangong Ling.
He was the Soul Reaper who would later join the Bount faction to avenge the tenth Kenpachi. He hated Kenpachi Zaraki, who had slain the tenth Kenpachi.
But that was a story for later. Ling, unfamiliar with this world, certainly didn't know who he was and only regarded him as a foot soldier for now...
"Yes, Lord Nangong. I-I heard there's a cave over there, with lots of Hollows inside!"
Maki did not yet have the mettle he would later show in fighting a captain one-on-one. Right now, he thought Ling was an important man with formidable strength.
"In that case..."
Rooaaar!
Ling had just been about to rush inside when his expression froze. The Hollows within had already sensed the Reiryoku fluctuations outside and came charging out with strange cries.
A caterpillar Hollow half a meter tall and four meters long led the charge, lunging straight at Ling with its jaws. Ling swung his Zanpakuto with all his might, striking its mask squarely.
So hard. Good thing I didn't hold back! The impact jolted through him, making Ling realize how extraordinary the terrifying mask on the Hollow's head was.
"Stay back!"
"Yes, sir!"
Maki and several members who had followed them retreated at once to watch from a distance. By then, three Ragged Hollows had half surrounded Ling.
Brutal, bloodthirsty Reiatsu kept pouring forth. The Hollow in the middle, which had a pair of huge iron fists but only one leg, jumped up and smashed a fist at Ling.
As Ling dodged and landed, the lowly Hollow on the right lunged at him. Apart from the mask on its head, it looked just like a dinosaur, and it opened its mouth wide to bite his head off.
Ling simply adjusted his blade and sliced down through the corner of its mouth, killing it on the spot.
The other lowly Hollow, which was also small, had two tails. It seized the chance to lash out with them. Ling dodged and stabbed its mask. It let out a scream and began dissolving into Reishi.
"They're not fast, so they're not that hard to kill!"
Ling realized that these Hollows were actually somewhat sluggish. Take the red-haired Hollow that had chased him before, for example: it probably wasn't that it didn't want to eat him, or that it had believed his nonsense, but that it had known it couldn't catch him.
Ling now faced the one-legged lowly Hollow, the only one left. It roared as it charged him, raising a fist and smashing it down. A large tree was instantly shattered.
Ling seized the chance to cut its fist, then quickly moved behind it and pierced its neck. Blood spurted out when he withdrew his Zanpakuto, and it clutched its neck and roared in pain.
"Its body isn't as hard anywhere except the mask... Whoa! It regenerated? They have an ability like that too?"
Ling had also been observing the Hollows' various weaknesses during the fight. He had thought it was done for, but after it roared for ten or so seconds, its wound healed.
"What's going on? Could it be..."
As Ling pondered, he seemed to understand something. He excitedly charged the one-legged Hollow and brought his blade down on its mask.
Sure enough, his Zanpakuto did not split the one-legged Hollow's head completely open. It only broke the mask, and the Hollow began to dissolve and scatter as Reishi.
"So the hard mask is its weak point!"
A smile appeared at the corner of Ling's mouth. These monsters really were strong. An ordinary person who had awakened Reiryoku might be killed fighting one, just like he would have been two months ago.
Maki and the others watched, dumbstruck. The three enormous monsters had filled them with instinctive fear, yet Ling, like an invincible god of war, had easily killed all three.
While they were still staring in a daze, Ling carefully entered the dark cave. Soon, two more roars came from inside, and Ling walked back out without a speck of dust on him.
There had only been five Ragged Hollows here. They normally hid in the cave and concealed their Reiatsu, coming out to devour people at night or when someone passed by alone during the day.
It was because of their caution that the Soul Reapers stationed here had never discovered them. This time, however, three had appeared at once, and the Soul Reapers stationed here had already detected their presence...
"Let's go! It's over."
After searching and finding that there really were no Hollows left in the cave, Ling called to his subordinates to leave.
"That was amazing! It's my first time seeing someone who isn't a Soul Reaper kill Hollows!"
"Ha, hahaha, isn't that great? The stronger Lord Nangong is, the stronger our group is."
"Right. We don't even have to fear Hollows anymore."
When Maki and the others looked at Ling's back, their gazes were filled with admiration for the strong, an admiration that was almost fanatical.
Ling heard their fanatical declarations behind him and couldn't help laughing. "Honestly... you're taking too much for granted! If all Hollows were as lowly as those ones, what would we need the Gotei 13 for?"
The strength of the Gotei 13 was beyond these ordinary people's comprehension. They could only see Ling's strength; they couldn't believe in what their eyes couldn't see.
Ling, however, could see it. If people like the captains, who stood at the pinnacle of Soul Society, existed, then there had to be terrifying individuals among the Hollows too, such as the Arrancar Espada mentioned in the anime he had watched in his previous life.
Before, the harder Ling had tried to remember, the more muddled his thoughts had become. Now that he had stopped thinking so hard, he suddenly recalled the Soul Reaper anime he had watched before. In the Arrancar battle arc, of which he had watched fewer than ten episodes, those Arrancar had been transformed from Hollows...
"Leader Nangong, may I ask if Hollows appeared here just now?"
A Soul Reaper with a boar's-head hairstyle appeared. He was Shinye, one of the two Soul Reapers stationed in this district.
"Mr. Shinye, you're late. I've already taken care of those Hollows. They weren't particularly strong opponents!"
Shinye interrupted Ling's thoughts, and Ling went up to greet him with a smile.
"What? You killed the Hollows? Hahahaha, impossible, impossible. The Hell Butterfly said there were three! Hahaha..."
Shinye, who was laughing for no apparent reason, suddenly froze. He saw a length of sword hilt protruding behind Ling. Its design was different from an Asauchi's. It was a Zanpakuto.
I see. Has his strength improved again? That makes sense. The number of Hollows in the district has increased again lately, and I've been so busy I didn't notice... Shock appeared in Shinye's eyes, but he quickly concealed it.
"I really did kill them!" Ling didn't care what Shinye was thinking. The moment he saw the man, another idea occurred to him.
"So you've manifested a Zanpakuto! No wonder, then. Hahaha, Leader Nangong, you're amazing. You'd have no trouble becoming a Soul Reaper!"
Shinye wasn't just praising Ling; he was also probing him to see what he wanted for the future...
No Soul Reapers had stopped Ling and his group when they attacked this place before, but that didn't mean the Soul Reapers hadn't known about it. Now that the Fallen Silver Group had grown to over a hundred members, it was bound to attract Seireitei's attention.
Shinye and the other Soul Reaper did more than kill Hollows; they were also responsible for watching the group. Reports about Ling's continual expansion of his territory had long since been sent up, but as long as he didn't incite unrest among ordinary souls or attack Soul Reapers, Seireitei would leave him to expand as he pleased for the time being.
After all, Soul Society's resources were limited. Even discounting those with awakened Reiryoku who were eaten by Hollows, many ordinary souls would still awaken Reiryoku. With limited resources, competition was inevitable.
Seireitei did not interfere in disputes among ordinary souls. Its first duty was to guard Seireitei and protect the nobles in power; only after that came clearing out Hollows and protecting Rukongai and the World of the Living.