On the ground.
Tsugikuni Yoriichi was unaware of Gojoshibe Kenpachi's predicament and simply continued on his way.
Of course, even if he knew, he wouldn't care too much, because he wasn't interested in such things.
The desolate desert was exceptionally quiet.
Hueco Mundo, plunged into eternal night, seemed to have lost the concept of time.
No matter how far Yoriichi advanced, the silver moon hanging high in the sky never set a single inch.
Whoosh~
Occasionally, a gust of wind blew by, bringing a hint of coolness, and this tangible sensation made one acutely aware of their own existence.
He traversed through the stone forest with a relaxed mind.
Suddenly.
A faint scent of blood wafted into his nostrils.
Thud.
Yoriichi abruptly stopped.
"Ah~"
Not far away, in the dark part of the forest, a bored voice drifted over, like a deep, rich male bass, slightly lazy.
"So boring, the Hollows here are too weak; eating them provides no nutrition at all."
"When will I finally become a Vasto Lorde?"
A panther, completely covered in bone armour, squatted atop a pile of corpses.
It extended its tongue, gently licking its claws, its posture elegant.
The ground was stained with blood, and red sand gradually spread.
Its blue eyes scanned the hellish scene below, its mood filled with disdain.
A bunch of useless things.
Pah.
Spitting out a mouthful of saliva, Grimmjow, having eaten too much, prepared to lie down on the pile of corpses and doze off for a while to digest.
The next second.
It suddenly raised its head, looking towards the illuminated area.
The moonlight was as cold as water, and sensing the aura of a certain creature, its white muzzle curved slightly, revealing a dangerous smile.
Its sharp, blood-stained teeth were fully exposed, and its panther-like, ferocious face seemed to be etched with excitement.
"Interesting…"
Clatter—the bones beneath its feet slightly fractured, and its crouching body quickly stood up. It raised its chin and shouted towards that direction:
"Come out!"
"A spiritual pressure I've never encountered before…"
"You're a Shinigami, aren't you?!"
"How about we fight it out?!"
Rustle~
The pristine white sand indented as Yoriichi slowly stepped forward.
The ground was somewhat sticky. Standing at the junction of light and shadow, he slightly raised his head.
Through the dappled light, a blood-stained panther abruptly came into view…
—An Adjuchas?
His gaze deepened slightly, and Yoriichi drew his sword. The atmosphere, with the sword light crisscrossing, fell into a brief stillness.
Spiritual pressure erupted accordingly.
Boom!
The surrounding airwaves surged like a storm, and the tsunami-like spiritual pressure, transforming into a viscous substance, assailed Grimmjow's face, instantly turning him pale.
His four legs instinctively bent, but he stopped them with all his might midway, trying to straighten up.
Creak~
The sound of tearing muscles was incessant, as if facing the oppression of a giant. His eyes widened, bloodshot, and he could barely breathe.
The words half-spoken caught in his throat.
"You…"
Until.
Whoosh!—
Yoriichi suddenly retracted his spiritual pressure and looked to one side. The pressure covering Grimmjow gradually dissipated.
Before Grimmjow could catch his breath, Yoriichi's next words immediately made him intensely wary again.
"Come out."
"You've been following me for so long."
"!"
Grimmjow's breathing quickened. Following the direction Yoriichi indicated, he saw two human-like beings, one tall and one short, with different postures, emerge from the darkness on one side.
Just one glance.
Grimmjow's expression drastically changed.
—So strong!
Every cell in his body was warning him that these two were unusually powerful!
Humans? No, that's not right!
They are Hollows! Vasto Lorde!
And when they walked into the moonlight, Grimmjow had a full view of their forms.
Instantly.
The expression on his face completely froze.
Reflected in his eyes was…
A young man in a tattered cloak, barefoot on the sand, with a wisp of black bangs on his forehead swaying in the wind.
A small tuft of moustache on his chin made his overall demeanour slightly melancholic.
Beside him was a girl.
She wore a bone-white helmet, and her clothing was quite simple, with only a few pieces of cloth covering some important parts of her body.
They looked like a warm, ordinary, and even somewhat poor human father and daughter.
However.
The black hollows in their chests and eye sockets revealed their identity—Hollows.
Grimmjow's mouth was slightly agape, trying to make a sound, but no matter how hard he tried, his throat felt as if it were blocked.
Under the immense pressure emanating from both sides, he couldn't utter a single word.
—Damn it!
—Why are there Vasto Lorde in my territory!?
Gritting his teeth, Grimmjow was extremely unwilling. He forced himself to stand up, but…
The male Menos Grande below suddenly glanced at him, and in that instant.
Thud!
He knelt without warning, his body sinking directly into the bones.
After a moment, he struggled to climb out again, prostrating himself before the three, finally resigned to his fate.
At the same time, he also knew.
His desperate efforts were so laughable in the face of absolute power disparity.
"Why are you still here?"
While confronting Yoriichi, the male Menos Grande heard a sound and slightly turned his head.
When he saw Grimmjow still there, he said with a hint of surprise:
"This isn't a place for you Adjuchas."
"Leave quickly."
And the female Menos Grande said:
"Stop nagging, Starrk. If he wants to die, let him. We don't have the energy to worry about the life or death of an Adjuchas!"
"This Shinigami is very strong. At least two Vasto Lorde-level Menos Grande have died by his hand along the way."
"If we hadn't discovered him beforehand, perhaps the Vasto Lorde of Hueco Mundo would have been slaughtered clean by him."
"Finally, it will be our turn, Starrk. We cannot let him escape!"
"Is that so…" Coming back to his senses, the male Menos Grande named Starrk looked a bit helpless.
His posture was lazy, as if he didn't care about anything.
However, the spiritual pressure he unintentionally emitted was enough to stun creatures with third-class spiritual power and plunder their life force.
His movements were full of flaws, yet utterly flawless.
Reaching up to touch his chin, Starrk said casually: "But it's so troublesome…"
"Lilynette, tell me, is there a possibility that we don't need to fight, and can persuade him to stop hunting Vasto Lorde?"
"He is a Shinigami!" Lilynette Gingerbuck's voice fell, her pink eyes staring intently at Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
Without turning her head, her small body's muscles tensed as she continued:
"Starrk, you should understand the relationship between Shinigami and Hollows."
"We and he are like fire and water, incompatible."
"Even if we let him go, he won't let us go. The corpses on the road are enough to prove everything."
"I don't want to lose you…"
"…" Hearing this, Starrk sighed, his voice helpless, "That's why I hate fighting, I hate trouble."
"This Shinigami looks very strong."
"Although he's weaker than us in terms of spiritual pressure, if we really fight, casualties are always inevitable…"
At this point, Starrk suddenly looked up at Tsugikuni Yoriichi and suggested:
"Hey, Shinigami, how about we both take a step back?"
"Although I don't know why you're hunting those Vasto Lorde, could you stop here? I want to talk to you."
"How about we temporarily cease hostilities?"