The barefoot child took out a few coins covered in green rust from his pocket.
It was the first time Yamabuki had seen the Soul Society's currency, which was an oval bronze coin.
"Little brother, what's your name? Have you eaten? I have food here!" Yamabuki handed him a rice ball, which was originally his dry ration.
"My name is Chōjirō... Can I really eat this rice ball?" The little fellow looked like he hadn't had a full meal in a long time. After seeing Yamabuki nod, he ate the rice ball in a few mouthfuls.
"Little brother, can you tell me what exactly happened? What did that Hollow look like? Where did it appear?" Yamabuki began to gather intelligence.
After all, a thousand years ago there was no technology development zone, so it was impossible to monitor the entire Soul Society; they could only use this clumsy method to obtain information.
After a brief conversation, Yamabuki learned that Chōjirō and Hanako were a pair of siblings. Although they lived on Mount Li Fu, their lives were very difficult. Three days ago, while they were digging wild vegetables in the wilderness, a spider-shaped Hollow appeared and took his sister away...
"Wait." Yamabuki immediately found a blind spot: "Are you sure that Hollow took your sister away? And didn't eat your sister on the spot?"
Chōjirō nodded vigorously: "I'm sure."
Yamabuki, through his understanding of the plot in his previous life and his close observation of Hollows in this life, came to a conclusion: most Hollows have no intelligence and will eat food immediately if it's in front of them, never saving it for tomorrow.
However, this young man said his sister was taken by a Hollow.
There are only two possibilities.
Either the young man's memory is confused, his sister died tragically in front of him, but he is unwilling to admit it deep down, believing that his sister was only taken away and there is still hope for her survival.
There is another possibility, which is that this Hollow has evolved intelligence.
This was the result Yamabuki least wanted to see.
Moreover, according to the young man's description, his sister was taken three days ago, making the little girl's chances of survival extremely slim.
Yamabuki had already made up his mind: if he rescued Hanako unharmed, it would naturally be a happy ending.
If the girl had already met with misfortune, Yamabuki would say to the young man, "Your sister ran away. I don't know where she ran to, so you'll have to find her yourself."
He would leave a glimmer of hope for the young man.
Even if there is only a tiny bit of hope left in life, it is much better than complete despair.
However, it would probably not be easy to lure this Hollow out.
"Chōjirō! I can agree to help you save your sister, and I don't want your money, but you have to do me a small favor!" A mischievous smile appeared on Yamabuki's face.
At this time, the young man had not yet noticed the seriousness of the problem.
"As long as I can save my sister, I'll agree to any conditions!"
Transition.
"Help! Why are you tying me up! You're not trying to use me as bait, are you? I'm still a child! How can you do this to me! Quickly untie me!" Chōjirō was tied up like a fish and hung on a tree, still struggling non-stop!
"You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. Don't worry, with me here, the enemy will either flee or be utterly defeated. When that Hollow comes, I'll just cut him down! Hache! I didn't sleep well last night, and Old Man Yamamoto dragged me up for training early this morning. I'm going to catch up on some sleep. Call me if the Hollow comes!" Yamabuki hugged his Zanpakuto and dozed under the tree!
"Wake up! Don't sleep! Are all the people in your Gotei 13 so unreliable? Quickly untie me! What if a Hollow comes?"
The only response he got was Yamabuki's snoring.
No matter how Chōjirō called out, it was useless.
Just as Chōjirō had given up struggling, a rustling sound came from the distant bushes. Chōjirō nervously stared at the bushes in the distance: "Hey! That Shinigami... something's coming... wake up!"
Yamabuki's snores grew louder, and he even had a snot bubble hanging from his nose!
"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"
The rustling in the bushes grew louder and louder. Just as Chōjirō's fear reached its peak, a small cat jumped out of the bushes.
A false alarm!
It turned out to be just a cat...
No, although the cat had walked out, the rustling in the bushes hadn't stopped. What was that thing in the bushes?
Soon, a monster wearing a white mask emerged from the bushes. Chōjirō was so scared that all the blood in his body seemed to freeze. He wanted to shout loudly to Yamabuki, but due to extreme fear, no sound came out of his throat.
The Hollow ignored the small cat in front of it and stared intently at Chōjirō. However, very quickly, the Hollow shifted its gaze to Yamabuki's body.
The stronger a person's spiritual power, the more likely they are to become a Hollow's prey.
Yamabuki now possessed Vice-Captain-level spiritual pressure, making it easier to attract Hollows.
The Hollow stretched out its pale tongue, its demonic face seemingly sneering, and its four limbs pressed down on the ground, like a giant praying mantis!
Just as its arm hooks were about to cleave Yamabuki's body, a silver sword light suddenly flashed, instantly severing its hooks. Before the Hollow could even react, the Zanpakuto had already pierced through its mask and impaled its head!
And the hilt of the Zanpakuto was in Yamabuki's palm.
"Brat! Don't shout so loudly! I can hear you!" Yamabuki sharply flicked his blade upwards, splitting the Hollow's head in two: "Job done! Is this the Hollow that took your sister?"
Chōjirō's face was solemn, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat: "No, that's not right! This isn't the Hollow that captured my sister!"
"Hmm?" Yamabuki was stunned for a moment, then showed a surprised expression. There might be more than one Hollow!
Just as Yamabuki was momentarily distracted, a spider silk as thick as a baby's arm shot out from the distant bushes, tightly binding Yamabuki's wrist.
"Not good..."
Then, an extremely massive figure appeared.
It was a spider-shaped Giant Hollow, over five meters tall, with eight spider legs extending over ten meters.
The Spider Giant Hollow's abdomen had a grotesque human face with half a mask.
"Fools, throwing out a mere cannon fodder made you drop your guard!" The Spider Giant Hollow again sprayed a large amount of spider silk, almost completely enveloping Yamabuki.
Yamabuki struggled desperately, but the more he struggled, the tighter the remaining spider silk constricted.
The Spider Giant Hollow let out a wild laugh, dragging Yamabuki towards the depths of the mountain. With this great tonic, whether the boy tied to the tree was eaten or not was irrelevant.
Only Chōjirō remained, looking at the vast darkness with a terrified expression.
....
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