An unwritten rule in Hueco Mundo was that the smaller a Hollow's size, the weaker they were. As for Shinigami, they were universally viewed as weaklings—just like right now.
Even Adjuchas, who served as the mainstays of both intelligence and combat power, held this mindset. However, whether in his past life or his current one, Kōe believed that Old Man Yama alone was enough to flatten Hueco Mundo. Forget the nonsense about Vasto Lorde being stronger than captain-class; captain-class had never been a level that could be measured by specific numerical values.
Besides, flattening Hueco Mundo was not something that had never happened before. Aizen from the Shinigami side and the future Wandenreich had both achieved this feat. Therefore, Kōe really could not understand where this deep-seated confidence of theirs came from.
"Be a good boy and get in my mouth. I promise to swallow you in one bite to save you some pain, Shinigami."
Looking at the five massive creatures laughing together, Kōe was left somewhat speechless. He swung the Zanpakutō in his hand, pointing it diagonally at the ground, and lowered his voice. "Then I shall also make you a promise. Those who answer my questions properly and do not raise a hand against me, I can spare your lives."
"Hahaha, are you crazy, Shinigami?!"
"This old man really thinks he's lived too long! Hahaha!"
Unbridled laughter rang out once more. The hedgehog-like Hollow was just about to throw out a few more taunts when he realized the other party's figure was already gone.
*The old guy talks a big game, but he sure doesn't hesitate when it comes to running away.* Just as he was feeling contempt in his heart, a sudden *pfft* sound echoed beside him, somewhat inconspicuous amidst the loud laughter.
"Add one more rule. Those who refrain from making such a racket, I can spare your lives!"
The aged voice sounded from behind, but it was somewhat difficult to hear over the thud of his subordinates collapsing on both sides. Those two idiots were actually still laughing even as their heads were cleaved in half.
"You!" the hedgehog Hollow roared loudly, the quills on his back standing on end. Just as he turned around to attack Kōe, a blindingly white light appeared before his eyes, splitting his entire world in two.
"Add one more rule. Those who do not speak without permission, I can spare your lives." Kōe raised his right hand, pointing his bloodless Zanpakutō at the remaining two Adjuchas. "That is all for now. Do you understand?"
Seeing the two surviving Adjuchas nod blankly, Kōe sheathed his Zanpakutō back at his waist. One of the lessons Old Man Yama had taught him was that when dealing with arrogant and disobedient children, a good beating was all it took to quiet them down.
"Good that you understand. Now, I ask you, how exactly did you discover me ahead of time?" Kōe asked curiously.
He was absolutely certain he had not leaked any Reiryoku. As for the so-called scent, once a Hollow stepped into the Menos stage, the scent of a spirit body that Seth had initially mentioned disappeared. Much like Shinigami, Menos also relied on their five senses combined with spiritual sense to detect opponents.
"L-Lord Shinigami, it is because I can perceive minute vibrations within a certain range," the sun-headed Resen explained tremblingly. Who could have imagined that this Shinigami standing before them, who emitted not a single trace of Reiatsu, was actually this powerful? Perhaps only the few Vasto Lorde in Hueco Mundo could defeat him.
"Oh?" Kōe looked at Resen and continued asking, "Is this the ability you developed after becoming an Adjuchas? You can only sense vibrations?"
Resen shook his head. This was indeed the ability that appeared after he became an Adjuchas, but its underlying principle was not merely sensing vibrations.
His ability was actually stagnation. Through the ring of spikes on his head, he could halt the movement of anything he desired. It was originally a very strong ability, but it had a bit of a bullying nature to it; only beings much weaker than him could be forcibly halted, while Adjuchas of the same level were almost entirely unaffected.
The reason he was able to discover Kōe's tracks was that Resen had stagnated the air within a certain range. The moment Kōe stepped into this area, he broke that stagnation, allowing Resen to naturally sense his presence.
"Then did you use this ability to stagnate my movements just now?"
Kōe's sudden shift in tone gave Resen a fright. Shaking his head and waving his hands, he anxiously explained, "No! Lord Shinigami, you have to believe me. I really didn't release any stagnation on you just now."
"Why not? Don't give me that nonsense about being afraid of me. You were all acting quite smug just a moment ago."
"It wasn't out of fear, but because you were too fast. Besides, my ability hasn't been used in combat for a long time. Those weaker than us don't require my ability, and we generally don't provoke those stronger than us..."
After listening, Kōe asked the other Adjuchas, "Is what he says true?"
"It's true, not a single word is a lie!"
*Alright then.* It turned out this entire group was made up of cowards who only picked on the weak and went after soft targets. Running into him meant they had messed with the wrong person. Therefore, judging strength based on size and race was indeed foolish.
However, foolishness aside, Kōe was still very interested in Resen's ability. There were many ways to achieve a stagnation effect. For example, Urozakuro's Reiryoku fusion could achieve a stagnation effect through means of control.
But if Resen wasn't exaggerating, the principle behind this ability might be spatial fixation or temporal fixation. Thinking even bigger, it might be an ability that altered rules, similar to Inoue Orihime's, even if it didn't quite look like it.
Once he found Roca, he could bring this Resen along and analyze his ability to see if he could develop a Kidō with a similar function.
"Have you ever heard the name Roca Paramia?"
"Never heard of it."
"Roca... I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before..."
The two Adjuchas gave different answers. Kōe narrowed his eyes, letting out a soft, ambiguous hum. "Have you heard of it or not?"
"I really haven't! We've eaten all the Adjuchas we've ever met, and I've never heard the name Roca at all. How would we know the names of those we haven't met? Unless it's one of those unnamed Vasto Lorde, but who knows what their names are!"
The Adjuchas beside Resen was practically on the verge of tears. Although this old Shinigami in front of them hadn't explicitly stated what would happen if they lied, they were going to die just for not answering a question. Wouldn't lying be even worse?
"Resen, are you remembering wrong? When have we ever met a Roca Paramia?!"
"I remember now!" Resen, who had been deep in thought, suddenly raised his head. "Two Adjuchas we ambushed a while back were chatting, and they mentioned something about Roca being taken by Lord Szayelaporro for experiments. They didn't know if she would make it back alive, saying it was quite pitiful."
"Is that so?" Kōe didn't ask Resen, but instead turned to the other Adjuchas to inquire.
"I think they might have said that, but I can't remember clearly. It might not have been the name Roca..."
Before he could finish speaking, Kōe suddenly drew his blade and cleaved the Adjuchas in half. Resen didn't even see how Kōe had drawn his sword before his other companion collapsed to the ground.
"I do not need you to filter information for me," Kōe muttered to himself. Looking at Resen, who was slumped on the ground, he continued, "I am very satisfied with your performance. I will add one more rule for you. From now on, follow my orders. If you harbor no treacherous thoughts, I can spare your life."
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