Just as Haruto drew his Zanpakutō, preparing to cleave the Gillian's skull, the Menos Grande's head surprisingly rotated 180 degrees and fired a Cero at him. Haruto dared not meet it head-on again and quickly used Shunpo to evade the attack.
When he used to watch the Shinigami anime, he felt that these Menos Grande were foolish, like targets, allowing people to hack them down. But when he truly faced them, he realized it wasn't like that at all. Their massive bodies, formidable strength, and powerful Cero meant that ordinary Shinigami were no match for them. Only Seated Officers could contend with these Menos Grande.
Moreover, in the anime, when Kurosaki Ichigo first faced a Menos Grande, Rukia even gave incorrect information. She said that such a Menos Grande could only be dealt with by a Royal Special Agent personally. At the time of watching, he felt that these Menos Grande had extremely high prestige, until the Las Noches arc, when the protagonist group arrived at the Las Noches Forest and found that these Menos Grande were mass-produced. Only then did he realize he had been deceived!
As these thoughts flashed through Haruto's mind, he adjusted his angle. The moment his feet touched the ground, he exerted force, causing the earth to crack. At the same time, Haruto's body zipped past the Menos Grande like a cannonball, simultaneously severing its left arm with a single strike.
The Menos Grande let out a painful roar, raised its right arm, and slapped Haruto, sending him flying hundreds of meters like a ball, breaking a pile of trees, and causing his entire body to twitch in pain! At the same time, the Menos Grande continued to gather a Cero.
"Can't the Old Man teach me some useful techniques? And you, can't you tell me your name?" Haruto slammed his head hard against the back of his Zanpakutō. Kurosaki Ichigo released his Zanpakutō so easily; he just fought a bit and leveled up. I'm also a Child of Destiny, so why is my strength improving so slowly?
Seeing the Cero about to descend, Haruto used Shunpo to get next to the Menos Grande and cut off its right arm with one strike. The Menos Grande let out a sharp shriek, and its massive body tilted forward, collapsing heavily to the ground, losing its combat capability.
"It's a good thing this Menos Grande hasn't evolved into an Adjuchas yet, otherwise it would have been a huge problem!" Haruto patted the dust off himself. To the people in the cave, the image of the young man with the Zanpakutō was incredibly glorious and mighty.
"Awoooooo! ! ! !" The Menos Grande let out a roar of unwillingness. It was about to evolve, yet it was going to die at the hands of this brat! Unwilling! Truly unwilling! At this moment, the Menos Grande saw a Hollow corpse in front of it—the Spider Hollow that Haruto had just killed. This was its last chance to evolve. If it succeeded, it would evolve to the next stage and also gain a chance to survive. If it failed…
"I will absolutely not fail!" The Menos Grande looked at Haruto, who was walking step by step, with malevolent eyes. "I will absolutely not fail!" It opened its gaping maw and bit into the Spider Hollow's corpse, swallowing it whole.
Haruto frowned. Still trying to struggle in death? Impossible! He didn't want to give the opponent a chance to turn the tables, so he stabbed his Zanpakutō towards the Menos Grande's head.
The Zanpakutō had already pierced the Menos Grande's mask. The Menos Grande let out a miserable wail. If the blade went in just a little deeper, it would completely take the Menos Grande's life! But at this moment, the Menos Grande's spiritual pressure underwent a qualitative change. Haruto realized something was wrong and tried his best to stab the Zanpakutō deeper, but the opponent condensed its spiritual pressure into a single point, and the Zanpakutō could not penetrate another inch!
The spiritual pressure on the Menos Grande's body became increasingly violent. At the same time, a frenzied, sinister laugh came from its gaping maw.
"I succeeded! I really succeeded! From today onwards, I am an Adjuchas! Hahahaha!"
The next second, a powerful spiritual pressure comparable to a Captain-level Shinigami erupted from its body, directly pushing Haruto back. Haruto's expression had become very serious. Wasn't on-the-spot upgrading only supposed to happen to a chosen one like myself? Why did this Hollow also upgrade on the spot? Could this Hollow also be a Transmigrator? Does he also have a golden finger?
"Shinigami! You are very strong; you almost killed me!" The Menos Grande actually spoke directly. "Now the tables have turned! Die for me!!!" The Menos Grande's body underwent a massive transformation. Its previously enormous body began to shrink, turning into a four-meter-tall ape-like Menos Grande with extremely long arms covered in a layer of white bone armor. Crimson Cero began to condense on the Menos Grande's huge fists.
Haruto was on full alert, but the next second the Menos Grande disappeared from in front of him, and a cold voice came from behind him. "Die!"
Haruto's pupils suddenly contracted. Sonido! The high-speed movement technique used by Hollows! In this urgent situation, he had no time to think and swung his Zanpakutō backwards, but the Menos Grande condensed the power of the Cero into its fist and unleashed it at point-blank range! This method could instantly unleash extremely powerful force!
At this moment, the power levels of the two sides were no longer proportional! As soon as the Zanpakutō touched the Hollow's fist, Haruto was blasted away by the explosive force, his mind a blank. His body flew tens of meters and was directly embedded in the cliff face nearby! The powerful force released by the collision of their spiritual pressures completely destroyed the surrounding trees. Haruto's mind was blank for a second or two before his consciousness returned, followed by the intense pain of his muscles tearing!
"This is… an Adjuchas! Captain-level strength!"
The Menos Grande gave Haruto no chance to breathe. Crimson Cero condensed on its fist again. It used Sonido to appear before Haruto and punched him in the stomach! This blow made Haruto clearly hear the sound of his ribs shattering! Blood mixed with fragments of internal organs sprayed from his mouth!
His consciousness gradually began to blur. Was he going to die just like this? He had only been in this world for a few days! Damn it! Am I not the protagonist? Am I not the Child of Destiny? Shouldn't I be crushing my opponents and slapping faces all the way? How could I be beaten like this?
"Hmm? Losing consciousness so quickly? I'm not done playing yet! Next punch, I'll smash your head!" The Menos Grande grinned sinisterly, raising its fist, and the Cero condensed again.
The moment its fist fell, Haruto found that everything around him became very slow. What was going on?
Then, an arrogant female voice entered his mind from the Zanpakutō in his hand. "Idiot, do you think knowing the plot of this world means you can control everything? This isn't a game, nor is it an anime; this is a real, existing world! If you continue to maintain that gaming mentality, you will die sooner or later!"