Vasto Lorde

Soul Society, West Rukongai, Third District.

It was spring, with flowers in bloom and the weather pleasantly warm. Yoruichi Shihōin and the Shiba siblings, eight people in all, had gathered together, chatting, laughing, and playing around. The atmosphere was lively and harmonious, and even Kisuke Urahara had unusually set aside his research.

Shadow stood on a high tree branch, watching Yoruichi Shihōin play happily beneath the tree. A faint smile crossed his lips.

Although he had been watching Yoruichi Shihōin all along, the vigilance in his heart had not diminished in the slightest. A vast net of spiritual power spread through his mind, covering a fifty-meter radius. Not even the slightest rustle of wind or grass could escape his notice.

The Mental Secret Arts improved from the Yamanaka clan's techniques of his previous life were Shadow's greatest source of confidence.

Suddenly, Shadow's body stiffened. His hand moved to the hilt of the sword on his back, and his expression turned grave.

Just now, in that brief instant, a ripple had appeared in his spiritual detection net. It had been fleeting and abrupt. If Shadow had not possessed absolute confidence in his spiritual power, he might have dismissed it as nothing more than an illusion.

Unease. A deep, suffocating unease filled Shadow's heart. It was an instinctive reaction forged through countless brushes with death and repeated bloody battles.

Danger! But who was the enemy? Where were they? Shadow frowned and leaped down from the branch.

"Shadow!"

Everyone stared in surprise.

"What is it?" Yoruichi Shihōin asked softly.

Shadow had no time to answer Yoruichi Shihōin's question. He controlled his spiritual power, condensing it into an airtight net that scattered in every direction, yet he still found nothing.

Shadow's frown deepened. Just who could avoid detection by his spiritual power?

Then Shadow's eyes suddenly narrowed. He hurled a shuriken toward a corner, rapidly covering it with spiritual power at the same time.

Yet there was still nothing. He could no longer sense the shuriken either, as though it had simply vanished, evaporated into thin air.

"What? Damn it!" Shadow gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath.

Just then, another extremely faint ripple came through. It was to the northwest.

"Lady Yoruichi, wait here for me!"

With those hurried words, Shadow activated the Body Flicker Technique and immediately gave chase.

"What happened?" Mashiro Kuna asked in confusion.

"Someone's here," Kensei Muguruma said grimly, drawing the Zanpakutō at his waist.

"Well, don't worry so much. Shadow has already gone after them, hasn't he? It'll be fine," Kaien Shiba said.

Thinking of Shadow's terrifying strength, everyone could not help but relax. Yet for some reason, a trace of unease suddenly rose within Yoruichi Shihōin's heart.

In an instant, everyone's bodies froze in place. Dense beads of cold sweat covered their foreheads as an immense, gloomy Reiatsu flooded heaven and earth, crushing them so severely they could barely breathe.

The murky yellow sky seemed to be torn apart like a rag, releasing a piercing screech as a figure slowly stepped out from within. The hollow in its chest and the fragment of white bone mask on its forehead revealed its identity.

A Hollow—and a high-ranking Menos Grande. A Vasto Lorde, a level beyond an Adjuchas and surpassing even Captain-class fighters.

At the same time, the captains of the Gotei 13 all sensed that immense Reiatsu. Their expressions changed drastically as they vanished one after another. A Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande! How could one appear in Rukongai, so close to the Seireitei?

At the same time, Shadow, who had already chased far away, sensed that terrifying Reiatsu as well. Without a second thought, he immediately rushed back, abandoning the person he had been relentlessly pursuing. His face was filled with worry, while his dark eyes brimmed with icy killing intent.

Lady Yoruichi, hold on!

The instant Shadow departed, beneath a large tree not far away.

"Crash! Crash!" The sound was like a mirror shattering. A figure watched the direction Shadow had left with a strange smile.

"Nonial, don't die."

A gentle breeze swept by, lifting the figure's brown hair...

"Revolve, Water and Heaven! Nejibana!!!"

Facing the Vasto Lorde and sensing its gloomy Reiatsu, Kaien Shiba did not hesitate to release his Zanpakutō.

"Damn it! Why is there a Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande here?!" Kensei Muguruma shouted through gritted teeth, tightly gripping his Zanpakutō.

"Forget that for now. Kukaku, Yoruichi, Hiyori, Lisa, Mashiro, get out of here first!" Kaien Shiba shouted without turning back. "The three of us will hold it off here!"

"But..."

"The captains of the Gotei 13 may arrive soon," Kisuke Urahara said with a grave expression. "Shadow will be back soon too. We'll be fine, so don't..."

"Oh? Shadow?"

The Vasto Lorde stood still, not moving in the slightest as it spoke mockingly. "Are you talking about the one who was lured away just now? What a pity. He may be strong, but he will never make it back."

"What..."

Yoruichi Shihōin's heart was filled with unwillingness and helplessness. Why? Why had a Vasto Lorde appeared here? The Reiatsu of a top-tier Menos Grande was so powerful that she had no strength to resist it at all.

Looking at Kaien Shiba and the others lying on the ground, feeling the Reiatsu bearing down on her from the front, her body could not make the slightest response.

Move! Move, damn it! Why can't I move at all?! Am I really going to die here?!

Shadow, where are you?! Yoruichi Shihōin closed her eyes in despair.

"Yoruichi..."

Kaien Shiba, Kensei Muguruma, Kisuke Urahara, and the others, who barely retained a shred of consciousness, watched with their eyes split wide in fury. Yet there was nothing they could do. They could barely save themselves.

"Yoruichi..."

Shihōin Shanqing, who had arrived alongside the captains, wanted to save Yoruichi Shihōin, but there was simply no time.

"Lady Yoruichi..."

Shadow, racing back at top speed, roared. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!

"Spatial Forbidden Technique: Cross-Plane Shift!"

He expended a tremendous amount of spiritual power and Reiatsu to use Cross-Earth Shift, a spatial forbidden technique he had improved in his previous life from Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage's signature Ninjutsu, the Flying Thunder God.

It was a forbidden move capable of ignoring time, space, and all existing rules. But likewise, its greatest and most difficult drawback was that it consumed an enormous amount of spiritual power and energy.

Like the Eight Gates, it was a forbidden technique that cost the enemy a thousand while costing its user eight hundred. Even Shadow did not dare use it recklessly. Losing Reiatsu was not much of a problem, but the massive expenditure of spiritual power was often accompanied by weakness and drowsiness.

But at this moment, no matter how great the price, Shadow could not afford to care.

As the technique activated, Shadow's figure vanished from where he stood.