"Special Beam Cannon!"
A beam of pure, pitch-black light shot once more from Yoshio's fingertip, piercing straight through the Menos Grande's body.
Though the Menos Grande was massive, once its vital point was punctured it couldn't regenerate, and at last it collapsed onto the white, reishi-laden sands. For something that size, its fall was like a skyscraper toppling, blasting white sand into the air in a billowing storm.
Yoshio frowned at the Menos Grande lying before him.
In theory, even an ordinary Menos Grande is seated officer–class, even high seated–class. Yet this one didn't have a Souls Ability…
What a—
Piece of trash.
He didn't know what conditions a Hollow needed to possess a Souls Ability. Did they have to be highly intelligent, like Metastacia?
If that was the case, then he really did need Aizen—so he could quickly turn Menos Grande into Arrancar, and in doing so acquire more abilities.
Damn it, he had to have it both ways.
He wanted Shinigami Souls Abilities, and he wanted Arrancar Souls Abilities too.
If possible, he wanted Quincy Souls Abilities as well.
No one complains about having too few abilities; Yoshio, at the very least, wanted to possess many soul-based powers.
To this day, Yoshio still didn't know what was happening outside, not even whether Tanimoto Toru was still alive.
Because he had permanently obtained Tanimoto Toru's Souls Ability, ["Special Beam Cannon."] Even if Tanimoto Toru's favorability toward him later dropped below eighty, or he died, Yoshio would still keep ["Special Beam Cannon."]
So he couldn't determine whether "Tanimoto Toru" was alive by checking whether he still had that ability.
With that thought, he greedily absorbed Hueco Mundo's reishi.
Hueco Mundo's reishi concentration was far denser than the Soul Society's. If he acclimated to it, he'd only grow stronger.
And this dense reishi was better for training.
In such an environment, his accumulation toward [Black Sun] also grew ever thicker.
Yoshio walked to the fallen Menos Grande's corpse and plopped down on it.
After resting for around ten minutes, he was just about to stand when he keenly sensed a Hollow's spiritual pressure.
The Hollow wasn't hiding its reiatsu and wasn't approaching quickly. Yoshio rose from atop the Hollow; he could feel that its reiatsu was extremely powerful—far stronger than his own.
"Did I just bump into a future big shot?"
Yoshio knit his brows. Although he wasn't strong right now, Hueco Mundo in truth hadn't fully evolved yet.
Only after Aizen Sōsuke formally became King of Hueco Mundo and used the Hōgyoku did Hueco Mundo undergo a wholesale evolution. So although he was alone in the Hollows' world, as long as his luck wasn't terrible, he generally wouldn't run into danger.
After all, Hueco Mundo was vast, while the number of Vasto Lorde was small. Spread across such a broad world, an ordinary Hollow might never meet a Vasto Lorde in its entire existence.
When Yoshio said earlier that he wanted to find Starrk, he was just joking. How could a Shinigami go looking for a Hollow?
But now, he felt he truly had encountered a powerful opponent—at least… a mid-tier Adjuchas.
With his current strength, dealing with a low-tier Menos Grande wasn't an issue. Despite their huge frames, Gillian were just big, clumsy targets for his Special Beam Cannon.
But starting from mid-tier Adjuchas, Hollows became agile. While his Special Beam Cannon could ignore defenses, it didn't have a guaranteed kill attribute.
With an Adjuchas's speed, dodging his Special Beam Cannon was fairly easy.
But running was out of the question. Even though, by his senses, the Hollow wasn't approaching quickly, if he tried to flee, with his current power he likely couldn't outrun a mid-tier Adjuchas.
Of course, if it came to a fight, he had no fear.
Because he still had his long-accumulated [Black Sun].
By continuously pouring reiatsu into the [Black Sun]—even he could hardly imagine how strong [Black Sun] had become now.
If that reiatsu erupted all at once, it would likely rival a captain's powerful Bankai strike.
As long as the approaching opponent wasn't a Vasto Lorde, Yoshio could stand his ground.
However, when he saw the opponent's form, he felt he might be able to save this [Black Sun].
What came into Yoshio's view was an antelope-shaped Menos Grande, slowly walking toward him.
That form, combined with her Souls Ability called ["Size Alteration,"] instantly made Yoshio realize her true identity.
Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck.
The future former Espada Number Three, ambushed by Nnoitra and turned into the child Nel Tu. Of course, at this moment, she was still a powerful Vasto Lorde.
Powerful as she was, however, she likely posed no threat to him.
Nelliel walked over, saw the Menos Grande lying on the ground, then looked at Yoshio standing on it and asked, puzzled, "A Shinigami? How are you in Hueco Mundo?"
"I didn't want this either," Yoshio shrugged. "It's just that someone insisted on sending me. Don't worry—I bear no ill will toward Hollows."
"A Shinigami… saying he bears no ill will toward Hollows?" Nelliel said, surprised.
"Well, think of me as an oddball among Shinigami. I… hate killing and prefer peace."
Yoshio chuckled. "Even in Hueco Mundo, as long as no one tries to kill me first, I won't target Hollows."
"You're a strange one."
Seeing this, Nelliel stopped, then turned again.
"In that case, I have no need to avenge my kin."
With that, she started to leave.
"Kin?" Yoshio asked with interest. "Do Hollows have a sense of camaraderie? You knew this Menos Grande?"
He knew a bit about Nelliel. Though a Hollow, she wasn't an "evil spirit" in the traditional sense.
Among Hollows, she was relatively kind and disliked killing.
If she said "avenge," it was likely just posturing.
"…" After a pause, Nelliel said, "Hollows have our own kingdom. If you don't want to die, hurry back to your Soul Society."
Yoshio thought for a moment. "You're a strange one in Hueco Mundo, and I'm a strange one in Soul Society. In that case, how about we be friends?"
"…?" Nelliel froze, then said in surprise, "You, a Shinigami… want to be friends with me, a Hollow?"
"So what?" Yoshio smiled. "Didn't I say? I don't like conflict. Aside from my personal interests, other people's 'sides' have nothing to do with me."