If Ling and the Fallen Silver Group, who were being secretly watched by the Seireitei, showed any intention of or took any action that would cause great harm to the Soul Society, they would definitely be wiped out in an instant.
At that point, Ling sent Maki and the others away so they wouldn't hear the conversation that followed.
"Become a Soul Reaper? I haven't thought about that yet, but could I ask you to take me Hollow hunting, Mr. Niino? You seem to have a way to detect them."
Ling hadn't noticed Niino's attempt to sound him out, and even made a request that caught Niino completely off guard.
"Huh? Go kill Hollows? No, that's our job, and it's dangerous. We can't drag Rukongai residents like you into it. Even if you're strong, you're still a Rukongai resident."
The stunned Niino flatly refused, saying it was against the rules, though he couldn't quite remember which rule it was.
Ling wasn't angry. Instead, he gave a cheeky grin. "Is that so? Then I'll report you to your superiors for playing cards with two widows in our neighborhood and accuse you of neglecting your duty..."
The two Soul Reapers usually lived in West Fallen Silver Town, and they dealt with Hollows when they appeared at night. When there weren't any, however, they would find a few lovers to pass the long nights with.
He wants to kill Hollows? This kid says he doesn't want to become a Soul Reaper, but his body and thoughts are being honest. All right...
"Bastard... Fine! I agree, but if there's danger, I won't care whether you live or die. And I'll only take you along for one day..."
On the surface, Niino had given in, but in truth, he wanted to steer Ling toward the Seireitei and get him to become a Soul Reaper.
"One day isn't enough. Take me at least five days a week!"
"All right!"
Ling said one day wasn't enough, so Niino could only accept his proposal and take him to fight Hollows five days a week.
Niino's report to his captain also changed: Nangong Ling, relying on his own strength and undaunted by danger, insisted on accompanying his subordinate to slay Hollows. According to his subordinate's observations, he was doing so to increase his own power...
Today counted as one of those days. After returning to West Fallen Silver Town, Ling sent Maki and the others back to the base, while he set off with Niino.
Niino belonged to the Thirteenth Division of the Gotei 13. Its captain was already Jūshirō Ukitake, but there were still roughly 270 years before the start of the Arrancar storyline Ling knew about.
But Ling didn't care. He was so weak right now, so why concern himself with those powerful people's affairs? His time would be better spent improving himself...
"That's the nineteenth one today. Is your job this busy all day, every day? It's like there's no end to these Hollows."
As Ling sheathed his sword, he asked Niino, who was standing beside him. Together, they had defeated a motley-haired Hollow over seven meters tall.
"If you're tired, go back on your own. You were the one who begged to come... But come to think of it, what's been going on lately? There are so many Hollows..."
Irritated by the heavy workload, Niino shouted at Ling, but then he reconsidered and realized that something really was wrong. There hadn't been this many Hollows just after the war ended.
To be safe, Niino decided to report his findings to the captain, lest something really happen and they be too late.
Normally, Ling did the fighting while Niino led the way. Ling wouldn't let him fight, and Niino himself was rather lazy and didn't want to lift a finger.
On the night of Ling's third day hunting Hollows with Niino, they returned to West Fallen Silver Town. There were too many Hollows to kill them all, and the other guy was still running around, working as hard as he could.
As soon as Ling returned, he entered Zan Zen for his daily communication with his Zanpakuto. After constantly cutting down Hollows, his Reiryoku had increased again, but the voice of the person inside still came through as an indistinct buzzing that he couldn't make out.
It had been a peaceful day, but just as he entered his Zanpakuto World within his heart, an ominous Reiatsu reached him, along with an evil roar...
"A Hollow? It's so close!"
Jolted awake, Ling rushed outside. People also began pouring out of the rooms surrounding the compound, all of them elites of the Fallen Silver Group.
"Lord Nangong, it's a Hollow! A Hollow is running wild in the street outside..."
A subordinate burst in from outside in a panic. He had seen the Hollow devouring souls with his own eyes.
Ling kicked the panicked fellow to the ground. "What are you panicking for? Come with me and kill it..."
Seeing how calm their leader was, the others shouted their agreement. A few days ago, Maki and the others had told them that Lord Nangong Ling had slain several Hollows on his own, and the story had gotten their blood pumping.
But when they left the compound and reached the street, they understood why their brother had been so panicked. Their blood stopped pumping.
A humanoid Long-Legged Hollow walked upright down the street. It was ten meters tall, with legs that accounted for six of those meters. Its arms hung down to its knees and were an estimated seven meters long.
"It's... it's that big?"
"That height... It's ten meters, isn't it?"
"Did Lord Nangong kill monsters like this?"
"Lord Nangong is amazing! We're sure to win."
Looking at the Hollow before him, which made the ground tremble with every step, Ling answered his subordinates in his heart, I've never killed one this damn big...
The Long-Legged Hollow reached into a house, pulled out a person, and stuffed them into its mouth. It didn't swallow them whole, but chewed several times. The sound of its teeth crushing bones was chilling beneath the night sky.
Panic spread like a plague. Residents without Reiryoku fled in all directions, crying and shouting. Even the members of the Fallen Silver Group who had Reiryoku had trembling legs. If Ling hadn't been there, they probably would have joined the fleeing crowd.
Ling had killed Hollows before, after all. He roared at his subordinates, "Brothers, attack together! A Hollow's weak point is its mask. Hack at its feet and keep it occupied while I cut its mask!"
Without waiting for an answer, Ling charged at the giant monster first. His skin ached faintly, as if warning him that he really could die this time.
Noticing that only a handful of people had followed him, Ling didn't feel too burdened by it. He had never intended to rely on these people for help in the first place. Then Genji's voice rang out...
"Our leader has already charged in, and you're still hesitating? Don't let people look down on you!" Genji roared, then followed Ling.
"Damn it, let's do this!"
"Bastard, the worst that can happen is death. I've already lived longer than I could have hoped for."
"Kill it!"
Seeing that Ling had already charged right up to the Long-Legged Hollow's face, the dozens of Fallen Silver Group members overcame their fear of the Hollow and roared as they rushed forward.
The Long-Legged Hollow had already spotted this group of more delicious food. Souls with Reiryoku were more tempting to Hollows.
"Die!"
Ling leaped high into the air, gripped his Zanpakuto in both hands, and slashed at its mask. But the Hollow was no fool. It raised its right hand, which it hadn't yet fully lowered after grabbing and eating that person, and held it in front of its mask.
The Zanpakuto struck the enormous hand, which was over a meter across, and sank deep into it. The Hollow roared in pain and reached for Ling with its other hand.
Ling planted both feet against the huge hand, forcibly pulled his sword free, and jumped down. Taking advantage of Ling's inability to reposition himself and dodge in midair, the Long-Legged Hollow stopped trying to grab him, balled its massive left hand into a fist, and smashed it toward the falling Ling.
"Shit!"
Ling had just landed when he saw the enormous fist crashing down. His legs were numb, and it looked like he wouldn't be able to dodge, but a short figure suddenly darted out and yanked him aside.
Boom!
The enormous fist struck the ground, leaving a crater two meters across. Only then did Ling have time to see who had saved him. It was Maki.
Meanwhile, Genji slashed the Hollow at the base of its leg from behind, making it scream again. The Fallen Silver Group's elites roared with bloodshot eyes, stabbing, smashing, and slashing as they brought all their weapons down on the Long-Legged Hollow's feet.
Perhaps because its wounds were too deep for it to remain standing, the Long-Legged Hollow could only drop to its knees. Seeing that they could wound the Hollow, the group excitedly charged again.
Unfortunately, the Long-Legged Hollow swept more than a dozen of them away with its arms, leaving their fates unknown. It reached out again, grabbed two group members, and moved to put them in its mouth.
Genji jumped up and slashed with all his might at the arm holding them. The Long-Legged Hollow released its grip in pain, saving the two unlucky men.
"Thanks!"
Ling thanked the panting Maki, got up, and charged again. With the Long-Legged Hollow down, he didn't have to jump as high this time. He quickly circled around behind it.
Genji understood what to do. He slashed the Long-Legged Hollow twice from the front to draw its attention, while Ling climbed up its back to the top of its head, raised his Zanpakuto, and stabbed it into the creature's skull.
The Long-Legged Hollow sensed that something was wrong and reached for Ling on its head. But Ling gave it no chance. He abruptly poured Reiatsu into his Zanpakuto and split the Hollow's head, mask and all, in two.
"Phew, we finally killed it." Ling breathed a sigh of relief. It was the biggest Hollow he had seen so far.
"We did it!"
"As expected of Lord Nangong."
"Hey, I got a slash in too, didn't I?"
"Haha, bastard, your slash didn't even break its skin..."
The terrified residents gradually calmed down, and the underlings began laughing and cheering. Even Genji smiled.
But before they could celebrate, Niino, the Soul Reaper who hadn't come out to deal with the Hollow until now, appeared. His face was filled with panic. He had just received a message telling him to clear all the souls out of this district...
"Nangong, have your subordinates help spread the word. Everyone needs to evacuate this district."
Niino shouted as soon as he arrived, drawing everyone's attention.
"What's going on?"
Ling looked at Niino, with his wild boar-like hairstyle. Even this lazy fellow could panic? That was rare.
"A Menos Grande has appeared nearby. Hurry and go..."
Rip!
A sound like paper tearing rang out. The distant sky shattered, revealing a dim, lightless space, like an abyss waiting to devour people.
A gigantic figure emerged from it, draped in a witch-like black robe and wearing a white mask with a long nose like a clown's.
Setting aside the Gillian's Reiatsu, its hundred-meter frame alone was enough to strike fear into the hearts of anyone seeing it for the first time.
But this was only the beginning. That enormous maw, darker than the night, continued to spew out giant Gillians.