"How can we split up now? Haven't you seen horror movies? Monsters always go after people who wander off alone. I'm in charge of this operation, so listen to me: we stay together." Just thinking about the horror movies he had watched in his previous life gave Yamabuki Chidori goosebumps. If he pushed aside the weeds in front of him, would a bloody face suddenly appear?
Hatsunoya and Gen'en Kinra had no objections. Yamabuki Chidori might not be reliable most of the time, but he came through when it mattered. The three cleared a narrow path through the weeds and, sure enough, found a small village not far away.
They hurried toward it, only to catch a foul stench before they got close.
It was the smell of rotting corpses!
Hatsunoya covered her nose, her brows drawn tight.
Gen'en Kinra seemed entirely unbothered.
Yamabuki Chidori's heart sank. He went over to look and found that every villager had been slaughtered.
They had been dead for some time. Their bodies were already badly decomposed.
Bandits or an enemy army could have done this. In such chaotic times, the sight was hardly surprising.
Gen'en Kinra calmly examined the wounds. All had been inflicted by sharp blades, but he noticed something else that was very strange.
"So many people died. Why can't I find their souls?" Gen'en Kinra asked.
After death, a soul left its body. Those with fewer attachments entered Soul Society more easily, while those with stronger attachments were more likely to become Hollows. The villagers had died violent deaths, so they should have been full of resentment. It would not have been surprising if every last one had become a vengeful spirit.
Yet apart from the corpses strewn everywhere, not a single soul remained in the area.
Where had they all gone?
Yamabuki Chidori's expression grew grimmer.
There were three ways to make souls vanish completely.
First: when someone guilty of terrible crimes died, the Hell Gate opened. Hell took their soul away to suffer for all eternity.
Second: a Hollow had appeared nearby and eaten everyone's souls.
Third: Quincies could destroy souls completely. Their usual prey, however, was Hollows. They generally did not target ordinary souls.
Quincies hunted Hollows on a vast scale because Hollow Reiatsu was poisonous to them. To wipe out their natural enemies, they slaughtered Hollows indiscriminately. If that continued, the balance of the Three Realms would inevitably tip.
"What do you think, Yamabuki?" Gen'en Kinra asked.
"First, it can't be Hell. Hell only takes the souls of the truly wicked. Are you telling me there wasn't one decent person in an entire village? That's absurd. And as for Quincies, they're a devious bunch, but they shouldn't go after ordinary souls..."
"So a Hollow came here and ate everyone's souls?" Gen'en Kinra's face turned ashen.
Yamabuki Chidori remembered that a Soul Reaper was supposed to be responsible for guiding souls in this area. According to the report, that Soul Reaper had suddenly lost contact with Soul Society. They had most likely met a grim end.
And now the three of them had no leads at all. What a headache.
Suddenly, a faint noise came from a house behind them. Yamabuki Chidori drew his sword at once.
Had the Hollow stayed here after eating everyone?
"You two go in! I'll cover you from here!" Yamabuki Chidori said shamelessly.
He couldn't help it. Those two were far stronger than him.
Gen'en Kinra took the lead. His naginata was too long to wield easily in a cramped room, which would make any sudden trouble hard to handle.
At last, they traced the faint sound to a chest.
Gen'en Kinra drew his sword and flicked it upward. The chest split open, and a little boy of six or seven tumbled out, shaking from head to toe.
"One got away?" Yamabuki Chidori said in surprise.
The boy looked terrified. He had probably mistaken the three armed strangers for bandits.
Hatsunoya's maternal instincts surged at the sight of the child. "Don't be scared, little one," she said gently. "We aren't bad people."
"That's right! We're all good people. Tell us what happened here," Yamabuki Chidori said.
The boy looked at Yamabuki Chidori, then at Gen'en Kinra. In the end, he chose to hide in Hatsunoya's arms.
"You look like a bad person," the boy said, pointing at Yamabuki Chidori.
Then he pointed at Gen'en Kinra. "And he looks like a creep! This big sister's the nicest!"
"What a good judge of character," Gen'en Kinra said with a smile that never reached his eyes.
"Hey, what kind of thing is that to say?" Yamabuki Chidori rolled up his sleeve and flicked the boy on the forehead. It was time he learned that the world was a harsh place and he couldn't just say anything he liked.
"What exactly happened here?" Hatsunoya asked gently. "Why did so many people die? And why were you hiding in that chest?"
The boy looked ready to cry. "Bandits. Bandits suddenly attacked the village and killed everyone. I only survived because I hid in the chest..."
"Survived? What are you talking about? If you'd survived, you wouldn't be able to see us. Turn around and look at what's over there," Yamabuki Chidori said.
The boy turned. Wasn't that his own corpse lying on the floor?
The Monster
"How... how can this be?" Panic flooded the boy's face. He hurriedly looked down and felt his body, only to find a broken Chain of Causality at his chest.
"That's called the Chain of Causality," Yamabuki Chidori explained. "Once it breaks, you're dead. We aren't asking about the bandits. People leave souls behind when they die, just like you did. Where did everyone else's souls go after the bandits killed them?"
The boy still could not accept that he was dead. He stared at his hands, trembling.
"We're Soul Reapers, gods who look after the souls of the dead," Yamabuki Chidori said.
"Soul Reapers! Then I really am dead?" The boy looked at Hatsunoya in despair. She nodded gently.
The boy burst into tears.
Hatsunoya spent ages comforting him. He kept burrowing into her arms, making Yamabuki Chidori green with envy.
I'm a kid too, aren't I?
Next time, I'll cry like that and bury my face in Hatsunoya's arms too! She won't cut me down, will she?
Once the boy had calmed down, he told them everything he had seen.
"I saw a monster take everyone away! No, it took their souls away," the boy said.
"What kind of monster? Describe it carefully. Did it have a big hole in its chest and a strange white mask on its face?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.
The boy shook his head hard. "No. It was a really strange man. Very tall and big and fat!"
A man?
All three were startled.
So a Hollow had not eaten the villagers? A "person" had taken away their souls?
Yamabuki Chidori's face turned grave. Had his guess been right after all? Were Quincies responsible for everything here?
"That monster took everyone's souls that way," the boy said, pointing north.
"Hatsunoya, stay here with the child. The two of us will go take a look..." Yamabuki Chidori was cut off before he could finish.
"You stay here," Hatsunoya said coldly. "Otherwise, you'll only get in the way if there's a fight." For some reason, the moment anyone mentioned "looking after the child," her manner turned frosty, even though she liked children.
Yamabuki Chidori glanced at Hatsunoya's ample chest. Now I finally understand why Kurosaki Ichigo chose Orihime Inoue. Adults can put up with hardship, but children shouldn't have to go without, right?
Gen'en Kinra smiled, then left with Hatsunoya using Flash Step. Only Yamabuki Chidori and the boy remained in the village.
The boy asked, trembling, "What's going to happen to me? Do Soul Reapers eat people's souls?"
"Smart kid. You guessed it. Know who I like eating most? Children. Their flesh is tender. I mince them up and mix them with rice. See that man with glasses just now? He likes peeling off people's skin and admiring it. And that big sister you like? Her hobby is smashing people's heads with her sword! Exciting, isn't it?" Jealousy ran wild in Yamabuki Chidori as he filled the boy's head with nonsense.
Sure enough, the child burst into frightened sobs.
"If you want to live, draw me a picture of that strange man," Yamabuki Chidori said.
The boy kept sniffling. He picked up a little stick and drew two circles in the dirt: a small one on top, a big one underneath, and two thin lines on the small circle.
"Hm? What's this supposed to be? A rice dumpling? How could a person look like that? Doesn't he have arms or legs? Even a big dumb bear would be better-looking." Curious, Yamabuki Chidori looked up, only to find the boy backing away in terror and pointing behind him.
"Me? You don't have to be so scared of me! I was only joking. Soul Society might be chaotic too, but it's still a little better than the Human World..." As Yamabuki Chidori surveyed the desolate scene around him, something caught his eye. There were shadows on the ground—two of them.
It hit him: the boy was not afraid of him. He was afraid of whatever stood behind him!
Yamabuki Chidori slowly moved his hand to his sword hilt and glanced back from the corner of his eye. With his strength as an elite Lieutenant, he could rank among the top thirty in all of Soul Society. Unless he ran into a Vasto Lorde or an Adjuchas...
Whoever was behind him, he would cut them first!
"Take this! Sword-Draw Slash!"
His Zanpakuto flashed from its sheath, its silver blade moving like lightning. But the strike hit nothing.
Even so, Yamabuki Chidori clearly saw what had been standing behind him.
It had to be a person!
Why "had to be"?
Because the person's build was simply too bizarre!
If he had to describe it in one word, it would be... enormous.
The man stood over two and a half meters tall and was grotesquely fat. He had no visible neck, only a thick roll of flesh between his head and torso. Two tiny braids hung from his head as he stared at Yamabuki Chidori with a cruel expression.
He looked exactly like the boy's drawing, with a likeness of ninety-nine percent.
So I was wrong about the kid!
"What kind of monster are you?" Yamabuki Chidori hastily retreated two steps, watching the strange man nervously.
As far as he knew, only one person in Soul Society had a build like that: the legendary Oomaeda Marechiyo.
Countless legends surrounded that man!
"Stand down, Aizen!"
"This is as far as you go, Yhwach!"
He could crush Aizen with his Reiatsu alone!
He could stand still and take over ten thousand strikes from Zanka no Tachi without a scratch!
He could kill the Soul King in an instant.
One look from him could drive Yhwach back!
The god of gods!
Oomaeda Marechiyo!
I fucking knew those urban legends were true! Yamabuki Chidori stared at the monster before him in terror.
The strange man gave Yamabuki Chidori a vicious grin. "Soul Reaper, your Reiatsu is so strong! If I use you as a test subject, I'm sure I can make something I'll be happy with."
"Huh?" Yamabuki Chidori did not understand.
A test subject? Is the legendary Oomaeda Marechiyo also a brilliant scientist? It's possible!
With all those legends about him, it wouldn't be surprising if his technology surpassed Kisuke Urahara's and Kurotsuchi Mayuri's!
"Soul Reaper, what's your name?" the strange man asked.
"Shouldn't you give your own name before asking for someone else's?" Yamabuki Chidori stopped letting his imagination run wild and faced the man cautiously.
"Me? I'm Zendouji Yuuhin. A scientist... by choice!"
P.S. This is fan fiction, so please don't worry about whether people used the word "scientist" a thousand years ago.
The Original 12th Division Captain makes his appearance.
Initial concept: a mad scientist with maxed-out strength, speed, recovery, and destructive power who experiments on his own body. But because of his unusual constitution, he's the only one who can use the advanced technology he develops.
The Original Mad Scientist
Zendouji Yuuhin?
The Captain of the Original 12th Division of the Gotei 13?
What was he doing here?
As Yamabuki Chidori puzzled over it, Zendouji Yuuhin's massive body vanished. He appeared behind Yamabuki Chidori like a ghost, reaching down with a huge hand to seize his head!
How could someone so enormous move so fast?
Yamabuki Chidori heard the rush of air behind him and used Flash Step without a second thought!
Before you continue