The Battle of Vengeance

"If you so much as lay a finger on Shyarly and the others, I will absolutely tear you apart!"

In the woods, the figure of Wu Biao turned into a blur. Every time his feet touched the ground, he surged forward dozens of meters. In less than a minute, he had already reached the edge of the cemetery, seeing from afar a furry Hollow chasing after Shyarly and Yuzu Kurosaki.

Shyarly had already been pinned to the ground by a giant claw. Seeing this, Wu Biao's eyes turned bloodshot. Although they hadn't known each other for very long, Wu Biao regarded these two little girls with their distinct personalities as his own younger sisters.

The moment his feet hit the ground, Wu Biao charged forward.

"Shyarly!"

Seeing Shyarly suddenly collapse to the ground, Yuzu Kurosaki didn't even think before turning back to run toward her, but after only two steps, she was lifted into the air by a tentacle wrapped around her neck.

"Scum, get the hell away!"

A roar exploded from afar, growing closer until, by the time the last word was uttered, the sound was a deafening shout right in the ear. As the word "away" fell, Grand Fisher felt a sharp pain in his tentacle, and the entire thing shattered into pieces.

After tearing the tentacle apart, Wu Biao turned to catch the falling Yuzu Kurosaki in his arms, using the momentum to launch a kick.

"Take your claws off her!!!"

The kick, carrying a fierce gale, landed directly on Grand Fisher's chest, causing it to shriek as it stumbled back several steps. The claw pinning Shyarly naturally loosened, and she took the opportunity to scramble up and run toward Wu Biao.

"Shyarly, take Yuzu Kurosaki and get far away!"

"Brother Biao..."

Shyarly stared blankly at Wu Biao, feeling for the first time that this gluttonous guy was actually incredibly reliable.

Wu Biao set the terrified Yuzu Kurosaki down on the ground and gave a wide, carefree grin: "Yuzu Kurosaki, get the bento ready. Brother Biao is going to finish off this bastard who bullied you, and then we're going to eat!"

Looking at Brother Biao's signature goofy smile, the fear in Yuzu Kurosaki's heart vanished for the most part, and she nodded vigorously: "Mm-hmm, good luck, Brother Biao!"

Wu Biao reached his left hand into the pocket of his lab coat, pulled out Yuichi, and handed him to Shyarly, instructing: "The three of you, run far away!"

"Yeah!" The two girls and the parrot all nodded, then turned and ran toward the back.

Watching the two girls and the bird move away, Wu Biao finally walked toward the wary Grand Fisher.

At this moment, Grand Fisher was already feeling the urge to retreat; the power displayed in that previous kick had stirred a trace of fear in his heart.

However, Grand Fisher was, after all, a Menos who had hunted countless Soul Reapers over the past fifty years. He calmed his nerves in an instant, looked at Wu Biao, and said in a deep voice: "What exactly are you?"

Although the kid in front of him looked like a human, that power proved he was definitely not an ordinary human. According to his guess, he should be some kind of combat weapon, like a modified soul.

"I'm not a 'thing'..."

Before Wu Biao could finish his sentence, he choked, then flew into a rage: "Damn it, you despicable, shameless, low-life piece of trash, how dare you insult me!"

"..." Grand Fisher was speechless. Where on earth did this lunatic come from?

"By the way, who is that ugly woman standing in front of you?" Wu Biao looked at the mushroom-haired woman standing in front of the Hollow—who was even shorter than Rukia—his face full of confusion.

"Yuzu Kurosaki, Shyarly!!!"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Kurosaki Ichigo and the others running toward them. Seeing that Yuzu Kurosaki and Shyarly were unharmed, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Kon, who had taken over Kurosaki Ichigo's body, didn't hesitate to take Yuzu Kurosaki, Shyarly, and Yuichi, leading the two girls and the bird far away, fearing that the ensuing battle would involve them.

"That is..."

When Kurosaki Ichigo and the others saw Grand Fisher and the woman in front of him, their expressions changed in unison.

Rukia and Xitang were slightly better off, as their change in expression was because they recognized this Hollow.

It hid its true form, used the mimicry on its head to disguise itself as a human, and specifically targeted those who could see the mimicry—the so-called high-spirit individuals. Therefore, this Hollow had always been a primary target for elimination by the Soul Society, and countless Soul Reapers had sought it out over the past fifty years.

But ordinary Soul Reapers were simply no match for it, and whenever a powerful Soul Reaper appeared, Grand Fisher would never show himself.

Kurosaki Ichigo, however, was different from the other two. He stared blankly at the mimicry in front of the Hollow, his mind involuntarily recalling that rainy night when his mother died. The woman who had appeared by the river back then was none other than this mimicry.

"What's going on?" Kurosaki Ichigo muttered, a faint realization dawning in his heart. A murderous intent, unlike anything he had ever felt before, surfaced in his eyes: "You... you're that guy from the river back then, aren't you!"

"What, is this one your classmate too?" Wu Biao scratched his head, speechless.

Kurosaki Ichigo ignored him entirely, staring straight at the Hollow: "Was it six years ago today?"

"Six years ago? Could it be..." Rukia exclaimed.

"Yeah, I tried to save her back then, but when I came to, she had already vanished, and Mom... she..." By the end, Kurosaki Ichigo couldn't continue, his whole body trembling.

Even without him saying it, everyone understood the meaning behind his words, even Wu Biao, who had been preparing to step forward and beat the Hollow to a pulp!

The scene fell into silence, and everyone's expression turned heavy.

Rukia told Kurosaki Ichigo the origin of this Hollow in a low voice, which made Kurosaki Ichigo understand the reason for his mother's death.

"Hee hee hee hee, so that's how it is!" Grand Fisher had also understood, letting out a series of mocking laughs: "To see me and still be alive today, what a lucky little brat. Maybe I wanted to eat you for your high spiritual power at first, but... women are still tastier!"

Although these words were directed at Kurosaki Ichigo, his peripheral vision kept secretly observing Wu Biao to the side, a flash of cunning in his eyes.

Kurosaki Ichigo, just as he had expected, flew into a rage, but he didn't rush forward immediately. Instead, he said to Wu Biao, who was in front of the Hollow: "Brother Biao..."

"Hiss, this arm suddenly hurts like hell!"

Wu Biao cut him off directly, holding his bandage-wrapped right arm with his left hand, turning his head to grin at Kurosaki Ichigo: "Leave this scum to you to hack into pieces!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Wu Biao retreated to the side without looking back and plopped down in front of Kurosaki Ichigo's mother's tombstone.

Seeing this, Kurosaki Ichigo was stunned for a moment, then a flash of gratitude crossed his eyes. Even without him saying it, Brother Biao had understood his intention, and had even proactively moved to the tombstone nearby to ensure the battle wouldn't disturb it!

"Ichigo!"

Rukia, standing behind him, wore a face full of worry. She had once looked up information on the Grand Fisher and knew full well how difficult this Hollow was to deal with. How could she possibly be at ease letting Ichigo, who had only just become a Soul Reaper, fight it?

"Stay back, Rukia!" Ichigo looked coldly at the Grand Fisher. "I'm begging you, don't interfere! This is... my fight!"

A battle of vengeance!

It was precisely because Wu Biao had sensed this that he had let the meal right in front of his mouth slip away.

"Come on then!" Wu Biao casually pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. "A man cannot run away from certain fights!"

Upon hearing this, Rukia gritted her teeth, but she did not say another word.

Xitang, standing to the side, wanted to say something, but after being glared at fiercely by Wu Biao, he obediently ran over to stand by the tombstone, though he couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.

What kind of situation was this? He, a dignified Soul Reaper of the Onmitsukido, was actually being threatened by a human in the Human World...

The Grand Fisher watched Ichigo charging toward it, its eyes filled with triumph. This was the very reason it had provoked Ichigo; even if it wouldn't admit it out loud, deep down, it did not want to come into conflict with Wu Biao.

That was why it had chosen to provoke Ichigo, forcing him to step out alone.

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(End of chapter)