As an excellent teacher, Yoshio naturally had to master completely whatever he was going to teach.
With his current buff state, he was extremely sensitive to the spiritual energy around him.
On his way back, he sensed a faint, almost imperceptible Hollow pressure.
He glanced around—it was already dusk. By the time he returned to Seireitei, it would basically be the end of his shift.
To be targeted by a Hollow at this hour… how unlucky.
Yoshio pretended not to notice, continuing forward, but his mind was already racing with strategies.
If it were just an ordinary Hollow, he could handle it.
But if it was a Menos Grande…
Trying to fight with only Shinigami techniques would be impossible.
He'd have to rely on the spiritual abilities he'd recently obtained.
Right now, his usable ones were "Ultimate Defense" and "Special Beam Cannon." Hopefully the opponent was bird-shaped, because then he could use Kira's "Bird Killer."
The enemy Hollow seemed to have intelligence—it was observing him carefully. Battling such a Hollow required extreme caution.
Yoshio warned himself internally. The next second, his sense of danger peaked!
A dark shadow loomed over him. He executed a Shunpo step instantly and reappeared ahead, just as planned.
He turned around—and saw the Hollow.
It resembled a spider: limbs sprawled across the ground, with red fleshy tendrils protruding from its back that almost looked like tentacles.
The appearance made Yoshio's heart jolt. Why does it look exactly like Metastacia?
Metastacia was a Hollow capable of erasing Zanpakutō, as well as performing spiritual fusion—a very dangerous monster indeed.
Years later, 13th Division lieutenant Shiba Kaien would be fused with it and end up dying by Rukia's blade.
And worst of all—Metastacia had been one of Aizen's experimental creations!
Aizen?!
No way, has Aizen already set his sights on me?
Yoshio hoped desperately that the Hollow had just come here independently. If Aizen had deliberately released it against him, then it meant Aizen was already watching him…
Sure, he wanted to eventually befriend Aizen, but not this soon!
According to the manga, Metastacia was a nesting Hollow, rarely straying far from its territory.
For it to appear here now—it was probably guided by Aizen.
Because I interacted with Renji and the others yesterday? That quick to notice? This guy's too sharp…
Still, Yoshio outwardly kept a calm, poker-faced demeanor.
He glared at the Hollow and muttered,
"So troublesome… I'm about to clock out. Couldn't you have waited until tomorrow morning to bother me?"
"Strange Shinigami," Metastacia sneered. It had felt earlier that Yoshio shouldn't have been able to dodge its attack. "But no matter. Hand over your soul!"
It lunged forward. Yoshio didn't move. He knew Metastacia's threat level—he could only win with a decisive, lethal strike while the Hollow underestimated him.
If it were allowed to activate its Zanpakutō-erasing or fusion ability, he'd be finished.
So Yoshio stood frozen, feigning terror.
Metastacia actually laughed.
"What, Shinigami? Too scared to move?!"
Thinking its prey weak, it opened its jaws wide and bit down.
Crack!
But the bite—
Had no effect!
Its pupils widened. In the next instant, Yoshio's finger pressed against its lower jaw.
"Farewell," Yoshio whispered.
"Special Beam Cannon."
BOOM!
From his fingertip a compressed black point of light formed, then erupted into a narrow beam, about the size of a thumb.
Zing!
The beam pierced straight through Metastacia's head, from bottom to top, shooting skyward.
"You…"
The Hollow tried to speak, but regeneration wasn't omnipotent. Destroying the brain and heart left it no chance of recovery.
With ruthless precision, assisted by his [Strict Teacher Produces Outstanding Students] ability, Yoshio had instantly identified its weakness.
Its heart's location was ambiguous due to its alien shape—but its brain was obvious. Destroy the brain, and victory was absolute.
He gave it no chance to erase his Zanpakutō or attempt fusion.
"Tch…"
Looking at the Hollow's corpse collapsing to the ground, Yoshio sighed softly.
"I really didn't want to fight."
Turning, he continued calmly toward Seireitei.
To fight Metastacia he'd used not only Special Beam Cannon, but also Ultimate Defense—the one he'd gotten from Hinamori. Without that defense, he would've been bitten in half already! He had to stop burning through his trump cards so carelessly.
He almost hurried back, but reminded himself—Aizen might be secretly watching.
Maintain composure. Maintain image. Maintain dignity.
Without dignity, Aizen wouldn't value him.
If he wanted to gain Aizen's favor, groveling like a sycophant would never work. Aizen would despise such behavior.
Instead, he had to make Aizen take notice.
Not just by appearing strong—but appearing mysterious.
Aizen's nature was never to interrogate harshly right away. He preferred to believe everything was under his control, slowly peeling away secrets like a game.
Let him dig. The more he dug, the higher the chance of approval.
And when the time was ripe, when Yoshio had enough standing to converse with him—
He would "coincidentally" reveal: Oh? You dislike the Soul King too? Me as well. Let's kill him together and seize the throne!
That would surely make a better impression than rushing to fawn now.
So Yoshio returned to Rukongai as if nothing had happened, crossed through the White Road Gate, and re-entered Seireitei.