(T/N: Hello!! This is the first chapter of the day! If you like the novel, don't forget dropping Power Stones!! That will be greatly appreciated!!)
Nanatsuki pulled a faintly glowing thorn from his backpack.
He could sense with his spiritual perception that it contained a dense concentration of Hollow Reishi.
It was reminiscent of Hollow remains — and not just any Hollow, but a powerful one.
Yoruichi scratched her face with her index finger, recalling her encounter in Hueco Mundo. "This was something I found deep within the Forest of Menos. I don't actually know what it is…"
"From time to time, we organize teams to investigate the Forest of Menos."
"During one of those missions, I ran into an unexpected incident and got separated from my team."
"While searching for my companions, I lost my way and accidentally wandered into the depths of the forest."
"That's when I came across something radiating a dazzling glow."
"As I got closer, I discovered it was a cluster of luminous thorn bushes."
"The clusters were massive, towering like small mountains."
"For some reason, when I stood before them, I felt an overwhelming, irrational urge — a craving so intense it drove me half mad — to hurl myself into those thorn bushes."
"When I finally came to, due to the an Armament I had, I realized my skin had already been pierced by the thorns." Yoruichi's expression darkened as a hint of lingering fear surfaced on her face. "If I had taken just a few more steps forward, I might've ended up skewered like a hedgehog!"
"The Forest of Menos really is dangerous!" Kana gasped. "Then these thorns are…"
"Of course, they're the very same ones that pierced me. I broke a few off and brought them back," Yoruichi explained.
"These glowing thorns might be fragments of a Hollow — or perhaps even part of a Hollow itself." Nanatsuki's gaze sharpened slightly as a thought surfaced in his mind: the story of Ulquiorra from the future.
Ulquiorra had achieved his partial Arrancar form through a luminous thorn cluster just like this one.
As far as Nanatsuki knew, there were only three known ways for Hollows to undergo Arrancar transformation:
Through the Hōgyoku.By reaching the upper threshold of Vasto Lorde-class Reiatsu.Through a white tree with many sharp spines deep within the Forest of Menos.
If these thorns Yoruichi brought back truly came from the very place where Ulquiorra evolved, then they were absolutely worth investigating.
"Yoruichi, can you still find that place?" Nanatsuki asked.
"No problem," she replied confidently. "That place was so strange I figured I'd want to come back someday, so I marked it before leaving!"
Nanatsuki nodded lightly. He intended to have Yoruichi take him there — perhaps those glowing thorns hid secrets yet to be uncovered.
Several days later, Nanatsuki and Yoruichi arrived at the Forest of Menos.
Nanatsuki wanted to see the glowing thorn cluster she had discovered.
They had already ventured deep into the forest, where the cries of Menos echoed all around them.
Suddenly, a Gillian opened its massive jaws, a red Cero gathering within its mouth.
In a flash of thunder, Yoruichi appeared behind it.
Her body crackled with lightning, Reiatsu surging from her shoulders and intertwining with arcs of thunder, forming what looked like luminous wings of pure electricity.
The Gillian froze mid-action as a sharp, crisp sound rang out from behind its mask.
Crack — a clean incision split its mask neatly in two.
With a muffled boom, the unstable Cero exploded inside its own maw.
Yoruichi's body dissolved into a streak of lightning, darting toward a rocky tree above.
Nanatsuki stood upon that tree, calmly observing her progress, evaluating the results of her training.
The lightning subsided, and Yoruichi's figure emerged in front of him.
"Teacher!" Yoruichi beamed, her face glowing with excitement. "Pretty amazing, right?"
Nanatsuki ruffled her hair, smiling softly. "Very impressive. Your Shunkō has grown increasingly refined, and now that you've merged it with your Zanpakutō's power, your speed has climbed to an entirely new level. I'd wager most vice-captains wouldn't be able to keep up with you."
Yoruichi had grown close to Raibyō and had learned to fuse her Zanpakutō's lightning into her Shunkō.
It was even stronger than Shunkō cast through lightning-based Kidō, and this synergy had elevated her strength dramatically.
Yoruichi grinned mischievously. "It's all thanks to you, Teacher. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have reconciled with Raibyō at all."
"You've grown so much. It's gratifying as your teacher to see." Nanatsuki nodded, then asked, "How far are we from the glowing thorns?"
"Let me check. Before leaving last time, I used an Onmitsukidō tool to mark the spot." Yoruichi pulled out a rod-shaped device and twisted off its cap. Colored Reishi particles floated free, drifting toward the right.
Moments later, the particles ahead shifted from blue to deep crimson — the marker zone had been reached.
Yoruichi glanced at the rod in her hand, which displayed a scale indicating how much Reishi had been released, allowing her to calculate the distance.
"Not far now, about thirty-six hundred meters," she reported.
"Then let's keep moving," Nanatsuki said.
Following the Reishi particles, they swiftly traversed the forest, reaching the designated spot shortly after.
On an otherwise unremarkable rocky tree, a nail-shaped marker had been driven into the trunk. As the floating Reishi touched the marker, it turned deep crimson.
Nanatsuki paid the marker little attention — his gaze was already drawn to a luminous radiance just ahead.
Before them lay a cluster of semi-transparent objects, glowing brilliantly.
Nanatsuki immediately noticed that the Reishi here was unusually active, severely interfering with spiritual perception.
Even so, his captain-level senses picked up faint fluctuations of Reiatsu emanating from beneath the ground.
His eyes narrowed. This thing… was alive.
Because of the interference, he couldn't gauge its exact level of power.
"Teacher, those glowing thorns came from this thing," Yoruichi warned. "They were so hard that I had to use my full strength just to break off the ones stuck in my body."
"Be careful," Nanatsuki cautioned. "If this thing's alive, it might be a Menos Grande."
They slowly approached the source of light.
As they drew nearer, the sight became clearer.
A dense forest of thorns stretched before them, each spike glowing brilliantly, weaving together into a breathtaking yet ominous cluster.
Standing before the thorn grove, Nanatsuki felt a sudden, overpowering impulse — an almost primal craving — to hurl himself into the dazzling spikes.
"This thing… it's influencing the mind!" His Reiatsu surged violently, snapping him back to clarity.
When he turned his head, he saw Yoruichi's golden eyes already glassy and unfocused. Her mind had fallen under its sway, and she was drifting unconsciously toward the thorns.
Nanatsuki stepped forward, placing a firm hand on her back, channeling his Reiatsu into her body.