King of Hueco Mundo, Yamabuki Daitō / The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

A Hollow was searching for food when suddenly it sensed a Reiatsu from a completely different dimension. Even when it got close, the pressure dissipated.

He desperately tried to escape, but it was too late. His body was rapidly disintegrating under the influence of the Reiatsu, and moments later, it turned into Reishi and vanished into the world.

Just after the Hollow completely disappeared, a solitary figure appeared in the desert not far away. Hueco Mundo only had Hollows, not people, but this figure looked exactly like a human, except for the hole in his chest. According to the legends of the Shinigami, the closer a Hollow's appearance is to a human, the higher its rank. And this Hollow, which looked almost identical to a human, was Vastolorde, a figure that had only appeared in legends.

His name is Coyote Starrk.

Loneliness has been a constant companion to him since he became conscious, and his dream is to one day meet a companion who is not afraid of his own strength.

Ordinary Hollows, let alone fear him, would be crushed simply by the unconscious Reiatsu emanating from his body if they just got close.

Therefore, he has been wandering alone in Hueco Mundo, and has always been accompanied by loneliness.

Coyote Starrk sat casually on the ground, staring blankly at the unchanging moon in the sky, lost in thought.

Suddenly, a Garganta appeared in mid-air, from which several extremely powerful Reiatsu emerged. The surrounding Garganta sensed these Reiatsu and quickly retreated.

Coyote Starrk was slightly startled and looked up at the sky. He saw four people emerge from the Garganta: one man, two women, and one who couldn't be described as human at all, as he was just a skeleton. However, the skeleton also exuded a very strong Reiatsu, which was only slightly inferior to his own.

"That's... Baraggan? He calls himself the King of Hueco Mundo, how did he become a prisoner?" Coyote Starrk noticed that Baraggan had iron chains on his arms. Those chains could suppress Reiatsu and control the Reiatsu of living beings within a certain range. They were similar to the chair that would control Aizen's Reiatsu in the future. However, this technology was far from mature and could not control too strong Reiatsu.

"Baraggan, this is your territory. Go and call out your henchmen! If you dare to play tricks on me, don't blame me for being impolite." Yamabuki Chidori looked coldly at Baraggan. Although he didn't think Baraggan would obediently follow his orders, using Baraggan to conduct a search of Hueco Mundo was the fastest way.

Baraggan appeared submissive on the surface, but in reality, he was thinking about how to escape. However, given the current situation, it was best to temporarily comply with the other party's suggestion.

He learned about the Quincy from Yamabuki Chidori. These people regarded Hollows as their mortal enemies and would kill them without hesitation whenever they encountered one, leaving no room for mercy.

Baraggan didn't want to encounter this kind of enemy, so both sides temporarily agreed on a common goal: to kill these Quincy first, and then resolve the issue between Shinigami and Hollows once Quincy were dead.

Their first stop was Las Noches, but when they Las Noches, they found it had been completely changed.

All intelligent beings are bound to fight for interests, and Hollows are no exception. After Baraggan was captured, his Adjuchas led their subordinates in a fierce battle to seize the throne of King of Hueco Mundo. The fighting was so intense that it was like fighting dog brains. After months of struggle, the casualties were heavy, and only a few relatively strong Adjuchas were still fighting.

Baraggan was heartbroken. He had only been away for a short time, yet his empire had collapsed so suddenly. Back when he was still alive, how dare these insignificant Adjuchas covet his throne? Now he would tell everyone, Hueco Mundo, your emperor has returned!

"Stop it, all of you!!!" Baraggan unleashed his Reiatsu. Although his Reiatsu was only limited to a certain range, it was still quite astonishing to ordinary Hollows.

"Emperor Baraggan has returned?" Upon seeing Baraggan's return, the Huns all wore expressions of extreme horror.

But not all Hollows are brainless. On the contrary, these cunning Hollows are no less intelligent than humans. They noticed at a glance that Baraggan was still wearing handcuffs.

We've finally managed to build a new empire, how can we willingly hand over the power we've just gained when this old man comes back?

"Don't be afraid, everyone! Look at his hands! He's still a prisoner. He's definitely betrayed the Hollow and become a lackey of the Grim Reaper. How could such a Hollow become our king? Everyone, attack together! Tear these people to shreds!" shouted one of the stronger Adjuchas.

With someone taking the lead and standing up, there were naturally those who blindly supported him. A bunch of Hollows were shouting for Baraggan to get out of Hueco Mundo. Baraggan looked helplessly at Yamabuki Chidori: "See? I told you before that I should take off the handcuffs. Now you've made things worse, haven't you?"

Suddenly, Yamabuki Chidori asked, "How did you become the King of Hueco Mundo back then?"

Baraggan revealed a smug look. "Of course, it's based on strength! In Hueco Mundo, the strongest Hollow is the king. If you can defeat all the Hollows here, from then on you will be the king of Hueco Mundo..."

Baraggan finished speaking, he suddenly realized something was wrong. He turned around and, sure enough, Yamabuki Chidori had an eager look on her face.

Behind them Unohana and Katoru Hatsunoya shook their heads with sighs. Men, why are they all such competitive creatures?

Yamabuki Chidori strode over with a cold smile, pointing her finger at the arrogant group of kimonos. "I'm not targeting anyone in particular, but all of you here are trash! If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one!"

An Adjuchas pounced from the side—a sneak attack? Does it look down on me, an eighteen-year-old old man?

With a single Yamabuki Chidori severed the head of the Adjuchas, shocking everyone. Sure enough, most of the Hollows showed expressions of fear upon seeing the Adjuchas killed.

But many of the Void creatures were completely unreasonable and fearless of death, continuing to charge forward. Yamabuki Chidori wanted a large number of scouts, and their strength was irrelevant. They killed them one by one, and no one could withstand a single blow. In a short time, the battlefield was filled with mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Standing atop the Hollow corpses, Yamabuki Chidori coldly gazed at the monsters. "I am now the King of Hueco Mundo! Who dares to challenge me?"

Baraggan blinked. "I'm the King of Hueco Mundo, when did it become you? Oh well, I can't beat you anyway. I'll figure out a way to escape later, then I'll find a place to hide."

Just when Yamabuki Chidori thought no one dared to challenge her, a lazy voice came from not far away. "You're so strong! Can we have a fight?"

Yamabuki Chidori hurriedly turned around and saw Coyote Starrk standing alone in the distance, looking at her.

Chapter 188: The King of Hueco Mundo, Yamabuki Chidori

Yamabuki Chidori never expected to encounter Coyote Starrk here, the future number one ranked member of the "Espada".

Since the concept of the "Espada" was introduced, fans online have been discussing the strength of the Espada, with each side having its own reasons and no one able to convince the other.

However, Coyote Starrk's strength as the "First Espada" is undeniable. As a Vastolorde, the highest-ranking Menos Grande, and the only Menos Grande among the Espada who automatically Arrancar the Espada, his strength is even above that of Baraggan, the King of Despair, who is known as the "King of Hueco Mundo." Moreover, this ranking was set by Aizen himself.

And now, Coyote Starrk appears before Yamabuki Chidori.

Yamabuki Chidori observed Coyote Starrk closely. He gave off the feeling of a lone wolf, exuding a melancholy and lonely aura.

Katoru Hatsunoya gazed at Coyote Starrk before him, a hint of nervousness in his heart. He knew that Vastolorde- level Menos Grande were a rare sight indeed.

Looking at the entire "Bleach" world, the only Menos Grande of Vastolorde caliber are Coyote Starrk, Baraggan, Tier Harribel, Nel Tu, and others, plus Ise-Ise-Iseba, who is sealed in the Soul King Palace; each of them is legendary.

Baraggan had never met Coyote Starrk before, yet he was still shocked by the Reiatsu emanating from him. He never expected that there would be a Hollow in Hueco Mundo with Reiatsu stronger than his own.

Yamabuki Chidori looked at Coyote Starrk. Although he wasn't afraid of fighting him now, his mission was to find the Quincy, so he politely declined.

"Sorry, we came here on a mission and don't have time to fight you. Let's do it next time." Yamabuki Chidori calmly looked at Coyote Starrk. If a fight really broke out, he wouldn't obediently fight one-on-one with the other party, but would directly gang up on him. He still had two Captain-level powerhouses on his side, and he couldn't just stand by and watch.

Coyote Starrk seemed quite easygoing; he wasn't angry when the other party rejected his suggestion, but rather tilted his head helplessly. "In that case, there's nothing I can do. Maybe next time!"

Surprised that a Hollow would have such a good temper, Yamabuki Chidori was a little taken aback, but thinking about it, it made sense. The main reason Coyote Starrk hung out with Aizen was to escape his loneliness.

Previously, Coyote Starrk was so powerful that he became too lonely, and even split his soul in two to create a companion.

"Want to have a drink together?" Yamabuki Chidori asked, taking two bottles of liquor out of her backpack and tossing one bottle to Coyote Starrk.

Coyote Starrk looked at the bottle curiously. In Hueco Mundo, where resources were extremely scarce, Yamabuki Chidori had read an official Bleach novel about Aizen's life in Hueco Mundo after he betrayed Soul Society. Because Aizen liked Black Tea, but Hueco Mundo didn't even have a drop of water, he had to ask Gin Ichimaru to buy Black Tea and alcohol in the Human World.

Every time Aizen hid the sake, Gin Ichimaru would steal and drink it, which left Aizen feeling helpless, yet he couldn't blame Gin Ichimaru for just one bottle of sake.

By the way, I heard that these Black Tea and the water used to brew Black Tea were bought at a high price from Kisuke Urahara.

Despite being the strongest being in Hueco Mundo, Coyote Starrk had never drunk alcohol before, but after taking a sip, he fell in love with the drink.

The group entered Las Noches, Yamabuki Chidori sat directly in the seat that Baraggan had once occupied, enjoying the treatment befitting an emperor.

Although Las Noches has experienced large-scale battles and its number of Hollows is far less than before, there are still thousands of Hollows under Yamabuki Chidori's command.

Yamabuki Chidori took out a painting depicting the Quincy's palace. "Everyone, go find this building. If you find it, there will be a great reward."

Waiting was the most agonizing part of the day, so Yamabuki Chidori took out all sorts of snacks from his backpack and laid them out on the ground. He certainly didn't dare to eat them all by himself.

Katoru Hatsunoya asked with a helpless expression, "Don't tell me you came carrying all this stuff and it's all this stuff inside."

"Of course, food is essential for life. Even if the mission is urgent, how can you not eat? You look like you come from a wealthy family. You don't know the hardships of missions. Come on! Let's all eat together. Oh, right, Baraggan, there's no food for you," said Yamabuki Chidori.

Baraggan looked puzzled. "Why wasn't there any for me? I've been with you all this way."

Yamabuki Chidori pointed at Baraggan's body. "Can you eat like this?"

Baraggan squatted in the corner, drawing circles with a helpless expression. "I didn't want to be like this either."

"You are Death, aren't you? You are completely different from the Death I know," Coyote Starrk said calmly. "The Death I know are all vicious and ruthless, always ready to kill on sight."

"Who told you Hollows to consume souls? If left unchecked, the world will eventually lose its balance and be destroyed. I rarely encounter a Hollow as rational as you," said Yamabuki Chidori. In fact, he wasn't particularly averse to Hollows, after all, he himself possessed Hollow Power, especially from his two older sisters, Tier Harribel Nel Tu.

I love older sister types the most.

Nel Tu can not only transform into an older sister, but she also usually acts like a little girl – a legal little girl!

Imagine dragging Nel into your bed on a dark and stormy night for some legal sex—exciting, isn't it?

No need to call the police, I'll turn myself in.

"You seem to be thinking about something strange, Yamabuki." Unohana looked at Yamabuki Chidori with a smile.

Yamabuki Chidori hurriedly rubbed her face. Was she really that strange?

Katoru Hatsunoya sighed and shook his head. "Men in this world are all the same. They can't even hold onto a pretty girl who throws herself at them."

After Coyote Starrk finished his drink, he stretched and yawned. He was in a much better mood today because he had met such a strange group of people.

Just then, a Void creature entered from outside.

"Your Majesty, we have found the building you mentioned," Xu said.

Yamabuki Chidori was startled. So fast? As expected of Kyo, his efficiency is truly remarkable.

Yamabuki Chidori tidied up the food on the table, put her empty wine bottles there, and then, along with Unohana and Katoru Hatsunoya, rushed towards the building that the Hollow had discovered as fast as they could.

If it's true, then this time I can't go in alone. I'll just call the Old Man over. Under the Zanka no Tachi, all beings are equal.

Of course, Baraggan was also forcibly taken away; Coyote Starrk went there purely out of curiosity.

After everyone left, Las Noches returned to its usual tranquility. Suddenly, several figures appeared in front of Las Noches, staring at the departing Yamabuki Chidori and the others.

"The plan was a success. Was that boy the one who tried to assassinate His Majesty last time? Hmph, he's doomed this time." A hand picked up the wine bottle that Yamabuki Chidori had used and then disappeared.

Chapter 189: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

On a sand dune not far from Las Noches, five white-robed figures were waiting. If Yamabuki Chidori were here, she would immediately recognize them as members of the Sternritter.

Several of them were acquaintances.

That bootleg Hulk Eugene, the Chain- wielding Momo who loves bondage, and the Sandstorm guy Bard.

There was also a thin boy who sat on the sand dune playing in the sand. His expression was very gloomy, giving people a feeling of keeping people at a distance.

The last man was a middle-aged man with abundant body hair, an extremely robust physique, and a sunny and cheerful smile.

You can tell at a glance that he's a sunny and cheerful young man.

Suddenly, a white shadow flashed past the five of them.

A girl wearing a cloak appeared before them. She took off her cloak, revealing a face as delicate as a porcelain doll.

"I got the item!" The girl gently shook the bottle in her hand. "I'm sure it was drunk by that person; there should be his saliva on it. This can be used as a medium."

He then handed the bottle to the boy who was playing in the sand nearby.

"Justin, stop fooling around. The rest is your job. I didn't expect these Shinigami to actually guess that we could move to Hueco Mundo. If we don't deal with them quickly, the consequences will be unimaginable. Especially that guy who calls himself Chief Strategist, Yamabuki Chidori. The Commander has ordered that he be killed in Hueco Mundo at all costs." The girl took off her cloak, revealing a head of long, golden hair.

This young woman held a very high position in the Sternritter; her name was Wolian, and she was the twin sister of Mardon, the Grand Master of the Sternritter.

Using Hollows as their spies wasn't just something Yamabuki Chidori thought of. As soon as Mardon arrived in Hueco Mundo, he thought of using Hollows as his scouts. Once these Hollows discovered a Shinigami, they would immediately report the news to the Quincy.

Although the Void seems terrifying, once it enters a large-scale army battle, it directly becomes cannon fodder for both sides.

Lacking both organizational and leadership skills, they were a disorganized mess.

Therefore, Yamabuki Chidori' whereabouts were exposed not long after they entered Hueco Mundo.

The little boy playing in the sand looked bitter as he picked up the bottle and extracted the saliva from it.

This little boy's name is Justin. He has a very special ability: he has no direct combat ability, but he can transfer physical damage to a designated target.

His Schrift is M, the name of his power, Self-Harm.

By the way, only the damage he suffers when he self-harms is transferred to the target. If someone else cuts him, he will only suffer the damage himself. Moreover, due to the special nature of his ability, the pain he suffers when he self-harms is twice that of an ordinary person.

Furthermore, a corresponding medium is required to specify a target.

When the Quincy besieged Yamabuki Chidori and Saitō Fubōfu, the two often had inexplicable wounds appearing on their bodies. In fact, it was this boy who was secretly causing the trouble.

During the battle with Bard, Yamabuki Chidori was whipped to pieces by the yellow sand, and Justin used this blood as a medium to strike Yamabuki Chidori.

Of course, this attack is not unlimited. Each time he launches an attack on the enemy, some of the medium will be consumed. Once all the medium is exhausted, the connection between him and the target will be severed.

After he had exhausted the blood of Yamabuki Chidori, he saw that Saitō Fubōfu had a lock of hair cut off. He used that lock of hair as a medium to launch an attack on Saitō Fubōfu Saitō Fubōfu, almost killing him.

At the same time, his ability can only transfer damage, not death.

In other words, if he stabs himself in the heart with a knife while activating his ability, causing him to die immediately, he will truly die, and the damage will not transfer.

It is precisely because the conditions for activation are so stringent that his abilities appear even more mysterious and unpredictable, making them difficult to defend against even by gods and demons.

This made Yamabuki Chidori exclaim that she had seen a ghost.

Moreover, he was very good at hiding his true identity, and he never revealed it until the very end.

Justin took a dagger from his bag, then took out a bottle of specially prepared poison and sprinkled it lightly on the dagger.

This highly potent poison is specially crafted. Once it enters a person's body, it will rapidly flow into the heart via the bloodstream, causing the heart to dissolve. Whether the target is a Shinigami or Quincy, death is certain when faced with this poison.

"Are you sure this deadly poison won't harm me?" Justin asked, trembling.

If his ability isn't activated in time, he'll be the one who dies.

"A man should have courage! Boy, want me to help you?" The muscular man with abundant body hair grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.