Hey, You're Really Unreliable! / The Gillian Appears

If Hollows did not show themselves, how was he supposed to find one on a mountain as vast as Kofuku Mountain?

Just as Yamabuki Chidori was at his wits' end, a barefoot child timidly approached him and asked, "Excuse me, are you a noble?"

Yamabuki Chidori replied gently, "I'm not a noble. I'm a Soul Reaper from the Gotei 13, here specifically to kill Hollows!"

Though the child did not know what the Gotei 13 was, he became excited upon hearing that Yamabuki Chidori was there to kill Hollows. "Then can you save Delia? She was taken by a Hollow. As long as you're willing to save her, I'll give you all the money I have!"

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Hey, You're Really Unreliable!

The barefoot child pulled several green-patinated coins from his clothes.

It was Yamabuki Chidori's first time seeing Soul Society currency. They were oval Bronze Coins.

"Little brother, what's your name? Have you eaten? I have food here!" Yamabuki Chidori handed him a rice ball, which had originally been his own rations.

"My name is Chōjirō... Can I really eat this rice ball?" The little boy looked as though he had not had a full meal in a long time. Once Yamabuki Chidori nodded, he wolfed it down in a few bites.

"Little brother, can you tell me exactly what happened? What did that Hollow look like? Where did it appear?" Yamabuki Chidori began gathering information.

After all, there had been no Research and Development Department a thousand years ago. There was no way to monitor the entire Soul Society, so he could only obtain intelligence through this clumsy method.

After a brief conversation, Yamabuki Chidori learned that Chōjirō and Delia were siblings. Though they lived on Kofuku Mountain, their lives were extremely difficult. Three days ago, while digging for wild vegetables, a spider-shaped Hollow appeared and took his sister away...

"Wait." Yamabuki Chidori immediately spotted the issue. "Are you sure that Hollow took your sister away instead of eating her on the spot?"

Chōjirō nodded hard. "I'm sure."

Based on his understanding of the plot from his previous life, combined with his close observation of Hollows in this life, Yamabuki Chidori reached a conclusion: most Hollows had no intelligence. If food was right in front of them, they would eat it immediately. They would never save it for tomorrow.

Yet this boy claimed that his sister had been taken away by a Hollow.

There were only two possibilities.

Either the boy's memories had become confused. His sister had died horribly before his eyes, but deep down, he refused to accept it and believed she had merely been taken away, that there was still hope for her survival.

Or this Hollow had evolved intelligence.

That was the outcome Yamabuki Chidori least wanted to see.

Moreover, according to the boy, his sister had been taken away three days ago. The chances of the little girl still being alive were minuscule.

Yamabuki Chidori had already made up his mind. If he rescued Delia unharmed, then all would be well.

If the girl had already met with disaster, Yamabuki Chidori would tell the boy, "Your sister escaped. As for where she went, I don't know. Go look for her yourself."

He would leave the boy with a sliver of hope.

Even if life only had the faintest thread of hope left, it was far better than total despair.

Still, luring this Hollow out would probably not be easy.

"Chōjirō! I can promise to help save your sister, and I don't want your money. But you have to do me a small favor!" A sly smile appeared on Yamabuki Chidori's face.

At that moment, the young boy had not yet realized the seriousness of the situation.

"As long as you can save my sister, I'll agree to any condition!"

Scene change.

"Help! Why did you tie me up? You're not planning to use me as bait, are you? I'm still a child! How can you do this to me? Let me go!" Chōjirō was tied up like a fish and hung from a tree, flailing nonstop!

"You can't catch wolves without sacrificing a child. Don't worry, with me here, any enemy who faces me either runs away or gets crushed. Once that Hollow comes, I'll just cut it down with one swing! Achoo! I didn't sleep well last night, and early this morning Old Man Yamamoto dragged me up for training. I'm going to catch up on some sleep. Wake me when the Hollow comes!" Yamabuki Chidori hugged his Zanpakuto and took a nap beneath the tree!

"Wake up! Don't sleep! Is everyone in that Gotei 13 you mentioned as unreliable as you? Let me go already! What if the Hollow comes?"

The only response he received was Yamabuki Chidori's snoring.

No matter how Chōjirō called out, it was useless.

Just as Chōjirō had given up struggling, a rustling came from the distant grass. He stared nervously in that direction. "Hey! Soul Reaper... something's coming... Wake up!"

Yamabuki Chidori's snoring only grew louder. He even had a snot bubble hanging from his nose!

"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"

The sound in the grass grew louder and louder. Just as Chōjirō's fear reached its limit, a little cat jumped out of the grass.

False alarm!

It was just a cat...

No, although the cat had come out, the rustling in the grass had not stopped. What else was in there?

Soon, a monster wearing a white mask crawled out of the grass. Chōjirō was so frightened that the blood in his body seemed to freeze. He wanted to shout for Yamabuki Chidori, but his terror had closed his throat so completely that no sound came out.

The Hollow ignored the cat in front of it and stared straight at Chōjirō. However, it soon shifted its gaze to Yamabuki Chidori.

The stronger a person's spiritual power was, the more likely they were to become a Hollow's prey.

Yamabuki Chidori possessed Lieutenant-level Reiatsu, making him far more likely to attract Hollows.

The Hollow stuck out its pale tongue. Its demonic face seemed to be grinning viciously as it pressed its limbs against the ground and lunged like a giant praying mantis!

Just as the twin hooks on its arms were about to tear Yamabuki Chidori apart, a flash of silver sword light streaked out, instantly severing both hooks. Before the Hollow could react, the Zanpakuto had already pierced its mask and skewered its skull!

And the Zanpakuto's hilt was in Yamabuki Chidori's palm.

"Kid! Don't scream so loudly! I can hear you!" Yamabuki Chidori jerked his blade upward, splitting the Hollow's head cleanly in two. "Job done! This is the Hollow that took your sister, right?"

Chōjirō's expression turned grave, his forehead covered in cold sweat. "No, no! This isn't the Hollow that took my sister!"

"Hm?" Yamabuki Chidori froze, then his face filled with surprise. There might be more than one Hollow!

While Yamabuki Chidori was distracted, a strand of spider silk as thick as a baby's arm shot from the distant grass and wrapped tightly around his wrist.

"Not good..."

Then, an enormous figure appeared.

It was a gigantic spider-like Hollow, more than five meters tall, with eight spider legs spanning over ten meters.

A bizarre human face grew from Spider Menos Grande's abdomen, wearing half a mask.

"Idiot! Tossing out a bit of cannon fodder was enough to make you lower your guard!" Spider Menos Grande fired another huge mass of silk, nearly wrapping Yamabuki Chidori's entire body.

Yamabuki Chidori struggled with all his strength, but the more he fought, the tighter the remaining spider silk constricted around him.

Spider Menos Grande let out a wild laugh and dragged Yamabuki Chidori toward the depths of the mountains. With such a nourishing prize, whether he ate the boy tied to the tree no longer mattered.

Only Chōjirō remained, staring into the vast darkness with terror written across his face.

Gillian Appears

Yamabuki Chidori was wrapped from head to toe in spider silk as Spider Menos Grande dragged him deeper into the mountains.

After being jostled all the way, Yamabuki Chidori was brought into a cave.

There were many cocoons woven from spider silk inside the cave. They appeared to contain people captured by Spider Menos Grande.

"Overconfident Soul Reapers, just wait obediently to be eaten!" Spider Menos Grande opened his huge mouth, revealing two rows of sharp venomous fangs as he prepared to inject venom into Yamabuki Chidori's body.

Suddenly, a streak of sword light cut through the cocoon, and Yamabuki Chidori easily broke free from the spider silk.

"So this is your lair! Nice location. It'll make a fine grave for you." Yamabuki Chidori smiled at Spider Menos Grande.

Spider Menos Grande stared at Yamabuki Chidori in horror. "My spider silk has a powerful anesthetic effect. Why are you fine?"

"Why don't you look at how much higher my Reiatsu is than yours? A Soul Reaper's battle is a battle of Reiatsu. The same applies to Hollows. If I hadn't wanted to rescue these people, do you think I would have deliberately let you capture me?" Yamabuki Chidori mocked him.

"Still, you actually kept a spider's habit of storing food."

"You tricked me! You dared to trick me!" Spider Menos Grande let out a shrill roar. All eight spider legs moved at once as he charged at Yamabuki Chidori.

Yamabuki Chidori used Flash Step to appear directly above Spider Menos Grande and brought his sword down, splitting the giant spider in two. Only now was the battle truly over.

The two halves of Spider Menos Grande's corpse twitched on the ground for a moment before finally going completely still, ending his sinful life.

Yamabuki Chidori used his Zanpakuto to cut open a spider cocoon. Inside was a half-conscious middle-aged woman. She was still breathing, and as long as she was alive, that was enough.

Spider Menos Grande's venom was only anesthetic. These people would wake up soon.

There were more than a dozen spider cocoons in the cave, containing men, women, old people, and children. He just did not know whether Delia was among them.

Freed from the cocoons, those with stronger constitutions woke first. Seeing that they were alive and Yamabuki Chidori standing nearby with a sword, they assumed nobles from the Seireitei had rescued them.

This was a great opportunity to advertise the Gotei 13, so Yamabuki Chidori hurriedly took the chance to promote them.

"You're welcome, everyone. I'm a Soul Reaper from the Gotei 13. Killing Hollows is our duty. Is there a girl here named Delia?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.

The youngest girl raised her hand and timidly said, "I'm Delia."

The girl was only six or seven years old. She was adorable, with two little horn-shaped braids and a pair of oversized shoes.

"Your brother is waiting for you at home. Let's go home together," Yamabuki Chidori said.

Upon hearing they could go home, everyone became excited.

But Delia alone said with a terrified expression, "But, but..."

"What is it, Delia? Is there something else? Don't be afraid. I've already killed the Hollow," Yamabuki Chidori said gently.

Delia whispered, "But if we leave the cave, will an even stronger Hollow eat us? The day I was captured, I saw that spider kneeling before an unbelievably huge Hollow!"

As soon as she said that, the cave fell silent.

Yamabuki Chidori frowned deeply.

"I should have realized it sooner. How could a Hollow resist eating food right in front of its mouth? A higher-ranking Hollow must have ordered it to gather food here." Yamabuki Chidori forced himself to remain calm. If even he panicked, these ordinary people would panic even more.

"It's all right. I'll protect you. That Menos Grande might not come now, so we'll use this chance to leave first," Yamabuki Chidori told them.

The moment the group left the cave, Delia suddenly said, "Look at the sky. Why is there a red moon?"

Everyone was drawn by Delia's words and looked up. A scarlet moon hung in the sky, falling at incredible speed.

Yamabuki Chidori's expression turned extremely ugly. That was not a moon at all. It was a Cero!!!

"Go back! Quickly, get back into the cave!" Yamabuki Chidori drew his Zanpakuto, gathered all his Reiatsu, and leaped into the air, slashing at the Cero.

If that Cero hit the ground, everyone except him would die!

An unprecedented sense of danger washed over him. His blade struck the Cero, and the immense pressure made Yamabuki Chidori grit his teeth. Finally, putting all his strength into both hands, he managed to knock the Cero away.

The Cero arced into a distant forest, where a massive explosion instantly flattened the woods.

"So this is the power of a Cero?" Yamabuki Chidori's expression was solemn. Looking up, he saw a Menos Grande staring straight at him.

"A Menos Grande actually appeared in the Soul Society!" Yamabuki Chidori had thought the Soul Society only had ordinary Hollows.

Then he slapped his forehead. How could he be so stupid? Years ago, an Ancient Menos Grande had come to the Soul Society, defeated the still-young Yamamoto, and slaughtered its way to the Soul King Palace. It had even swallowed the Soul King.

Fortunately, Zero Division's Monk had intervened in the end, rescuing the Soul King and taking the Ancient Menos Grande's name. It was eventually forged by the Sword God into a Zanpakuto: Ise-Ise-Iseba.

If even a Menos Grande of that level could enter the Soul Society, then a low-level Menos Grande like a Gillian could naturally enter as well.

"Thankfully, it's only a Gillian. I can handle it." Yamabuki Chidori relaxed slightly.

With his Lieutenant-level strength, dealing with a Gillian would not be difficult. It seemed this Gillian was the final boss of this mission.

Just as Yamabuki Chidori prepared to fight the Gillian, he suddenly noticed that the Menos Grande was smiling at him.

In an instant, Yamabuki Chidori felt a chill run down his back.

It was actually smiling at him!

Could this Menos Grande possess intelligence?

Most Hollows had no intelligence and could only act according to their biological instincts. After devouring a certain number of Hollows or souls, they would evolve into low-level Menos Grande known as Gillians.

Gillian were generally not very intelligent either, but among tens of thousands of Gillian, one or two would always develop intelligence. They would devour their own kind, and after consuming hundreds or thousands of them, they could evolve into Adjuchas.

Adjuchas possessed Captain-level strength.

Above Adjuchas were Vastolorde, which possessed strength beyond that of ordinary Captains.

This Gillian was actually smiling at him. That meant this Menos Grande most likely possessed intelligence. If left alone, it would likely evolve into an Adjuchas and become a great threat.

That made it even more imperative not to let it go!

"Sekienton!"

Yamabuki Chidori released Kidō to conceal his presence, then used Flash Step to get behind the Menos Grande, preparing to finish it with a single strike!