Chapter 176: Sōsuke, Did You Do This?
Seeing this massive face, the vice-captains all showed expressions of shock.
"It's a Menos Grande!"
"A Gillian-class Menos Grande!"
"Can this machine even attract Gillians?!"
Amid the exclamations, Chōjirō stepped forward.
"Do not panic!"
"A mere Gillian-class Menos Grande is nothing to worry about!"
Hearing Chōjirō's voice, some of the more nervous vice-captains immediately looked relieved.
Seeing their reactions, Satoru couldn't help but feel confused.
What's going on?
It's just a Gillian… Why are they so shocked?
Sōjun stood solemnly in front of Seinosuke, looking as if he were facing a formidable enemy.
The scene made Satoru wonder for a moment if he had traveled to another world.
Was this a super-difficulty, modified version of the Shinigami world?
As if guessing his thoughts, Aizen came to his side and whispered:
"Many of the vice-captains are newcomers appointed temporarily after the war, like me. It's normal for them to have never seen a Menos Grande."
Satoru glanced at him.
The first part made sense, but the second part was a bit much.
Just then, a cry of alarm rang out.
Satoru turned.
He saw several more Gargantas open.
One Gillian after another stretched their claws out from the cracks.
These Gillians swayed as they began squeezing their way out.
Satoru raised an eyebrow. "Sōsuke, you didn't do this, did you?"
"?"
Aizen looked at him in confusion.
How could this possibly be linked to him?
His blood pressure spiked.
Seeing it wasn't Aizen, Satoru grew curious.
"If it's not you, then this is interesting."
"I don't believe it's normal for so many Gillians to appear at once."
Aizen couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Anyone with half a brain would know it's not normal…
Chōjirō Sasakibe, the vice-captain of the Third Division, couldn't hold back a gasp of surprise.
"How could there be so many?!"
The young vice-captains quickly turned their attention to Chōjirō.
Chōjirō frowned slightly.
The machine they were using to attract Hollows had been tested and certified by the Twelfth Division, confirmed to only attract ordinary Hollows.
Why were so many Gillians appearing?
Was the machine malfunctioning?
With his own strength, defeating these Gillians wouldn't be difficult.
However, the current situation was clearly abnormal. If something new went wrong while he was fighting, it would be troublesome.
He needed to find someone to assist him...
His gaze swept over the group.
Then it stopped on Satoru.
Looking at Satoru, who unlike the others was calmly chatting with Aizen, Chōjirō's eyes lit up.
That's right! Before coming to the human world, the Captain-Commander had said that if they encountered any danger, they should seek Satoru's help!
As expected of a man who had ventured into Hueco Mundo, remaining so composed even in such a crisis.
"Satoru! I..."
Chōjirō called out loudly.
He wanted to say: I'll take care of these Gillians, you protect the others.
But before he could finish, he saw Satoru nod and say:
"Don't worry, old man Chōjirō, I understand. Leave it to me!"
As he spoke, Satoru let out a sharp cry and charged directly toward the Gillians!
Chōjirō: "..."
"Vice-Captain Chōjirō, I'm going too!"
Lisa Yadōmaru shouted and chased after Satoru.
While running, she called out to Satoru's back: "Satoru! You take the east side, I'll handle..."
Before she could finish, she was shocked to see Satoru draw his Zanpakutō.
"Break, Risō Jakumetsu!"
With Satoru's shout, twin blades burning with blue flames appeared in his hands.
After releasing his Zanpakutō, Satoru laughed wildly and began spinning in place.
The two Zanpakutō, connected by long chains, rotated around his body as the center.
Blue flames formed a massive ring of fire around Satoru.
As the flames danced, the entire sky was dyed blue.
Satoru himself seemed to transform into a meat grinder with a radius of dozens of meters.
This meat grinder charged into the midst of the Gillians and began tearing their bodies apart madly!
"ROAR!!"
"UOH!!!"
Under the astonished gazes of the vice-captains, Satoru swung his two blades, effortlessly slicing all the Menos Grande into pieces like cutting fruit.
The Menos Grande, having lost their physical forms, turned into fine Reishi particles and disappeared between heaven and earth.
Satoru stopped spinning and retracted his arms.
The black chains came flying back with a rattling sound, coiling around his arms.
The twin blades also returned to his hands.
This entire sequence had taken less than five seconds.
Chōjirō's eyes widened.
Out of master-servant etiquette, he never watched when Satoru trained with Yamamoto.
And regarding Reiatsu... when Satoru trained with Yamamoto, they always isolated their Reiatsu.
Therefore, although he knew Satoru was strong—even stronger than an ordinary captain—he never imagined the guy had already reached such an incredible level!
Lisa stood stunned for a few seconds, then smiled wryly and released her grip on her sword hilt.
She hadn't even drawn her blade yet, and Satoru had already resolved the battle.
Ever since losing to Satoru last time, she had been training hard.
She had thought that perhaps the gap between them might narrow by their next meeting.
At the very least, win a move or two against him.
Little did she expect that upon witnessing his true strength, she would realize the speed of his progress was far beyond anything she could have imagined.
If her own growth during this period was a 5, then Satoru's... was probably closer to 100!
Thinking this, she couldn't help but feel somewhat defeated.
Not far away, as he watched Satoru effortlessly eliminate the Gillian, a flicker of doubt passed through Aizen's eyes.
The appearance of these Gillians was clearly abnormal.
The machine they brought to attract Hollows was far from powerful enough to draw in Gillians.
Yet... it didn't quite seem like some elaborate scheme either.
Although Tsunayashiro Senzaemon had lost to Yamamoto, he had actually come very close to success.
Someone like him shouldn't be behind such a crude plan.
He was genuinely curious about who the mastermind really was.
If it wasn't one of Baraggan or Tsunayashiro's subordinates, then so be it.
But if it was one of their subordinates... then this attack was likely an act of insubordination.
After eliminating all the Gillians, Satoru narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings.
Finally, his gaze settled on a patch of empty sky.