Yoriichi nodded after hearing Ichigo’s words.
“Then let’s just follow him.” Ichigo hesitated for a moment.
“Huh?
That simple?” Rukia glanced at him.
“How much more complicated do you want it to be?” Ichigo’s lips twitched, and he immediately rushed forward.
“Stop talking nonsense, let’s find Chad first.” The three followed the faint traces of Reiatsu.
The streets of Karakura Town weren’t fully bustling yet in the early morning; there weren’t many pedestrians.
Chad kept moving.
In Yoriichi’s perception, there was an even colder, more sinister Reiatsu that lingered nearby.
It was waiting for an opportunity.
Ichigo clearly noticed it too, and his expression grew increasingly grim.
“That guy might have already made his move, right?” “Possibly,” Rukia said in a low voice.
“Hurry up.” Soon, the three reached the edge of the city.
Ahead lay an abandoned industrial area.
Old wire mesh leaned haphazardly, and dilapidated factory buildings stood silently in the morning mist.
The air was thick with the smell of rust and dust.
Yoriichi stopped and looked towards the innermost factory building.
“There.” Ichigo, without a word, rushed inside.
The factory was dimly lit.
Several holes in the skylight let in shafts of morning light, illuminating the dust floating in the air.
Chad stood in the middle of the factory.
He had several more wounds, his school uniform was torn, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
The parrot in its cage was nestled behind him, protected.
Seeing this, Ichigo was instantly enraged.
“Chad, what are you doing?!” Chad turned around, his expression changing slightly when he saw Ichigo and the others.
“You shouldn’t have come.” Suddenly, the parrot in its cage spoke.
“It’s all my fault…” The voice trembled, filled with deep fear.
“Everyone will get hurt because of me.” Ichigo froze for a moment.
“The bird is talking?” Rukia said irritably, “Idiot, it’s not the bird talking, it’s that boy’s soul.” The boy huddled inside the parrot, his voice growing softer.
“Just throw me away.” “If you throw me away, you won’t be in trouble anymore.” “Please, old man… don’t get hurt because of me.” Chad looked down at the birdcage, his tone still heavy.
“I won’t abandon you.” “But…” “Grandfather said fists aren’t for hurting people.” Chad clenched his massive fist.
“They’re for protecting people.” Ichigo looked at Chad, his expression softening slightly.
This guy was still the same as always.
Even injured like this, he still only thought about protecting others.
The boy inside the parrot was silent for a moment, finally seeming to have made up his mind.
“That person… killed my mother.” “When I was running away, he chased me relentlessly.
I ran for my life, and then he fell off the building.” “Later, he turned into a monster.” Yuichi’s voice trembled noticeably at this point.
“He was the one who put my soul inside this bird.
He said that if I ran for three months, he could bring my mother back to life.” “I believed him.” “But he kept chasing me, kept killing anyone who came near me.” “Everyone who got close to me was attacked.” “That’s the truth about the cursed parrot.” Ichigo gritted his teeth.
“That bastard, what does he take children for?” Yoriichi stood rooted to the spot, his expression almost icy calm.
Toying with life, deceiving the dead, forcing a child to endure such suffering.
This kind of evil shouldn’t be allowed to exist.
Just then.
From deep within the factory, a piercing, metallic scraping sound suddenly erupted.
The next moment, an immense, suffocating Reiatsu exploded.
BOOM!
A gigantic Hollow smashed through the brick wall and charged in.
It wore a ghastly white mask, its arms were like twisted, jagged claws, and its mouth gaped open, emitting a grotesque, echoing laugh.
“Found you, Yuichi!” “You really know how to cause me trouble!” Yuichi was instantly terrified.
“Ah!” Chad immediately stepped in front of the cage.
But the Hollow was too fast.
With a single, brutal swipe of its claw, it sent Chad flying.
Thud.
Chad slammed heavily against the concrete wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Ichigo’s expression changed drastically.
“Chad!” The Hollow had already grabbed the birdcage, its claws gripping the bars, a savage grin spreading across its face.
“Don’t come any closer.” “Anyone who dares to move, I’ll tear this brat’s soul to shreds first.” Ichigo’s steps faltered.
Rukia’s expression also darkened.
Using a hostage as a threat.
And the most troublesome kind at that.
Chad struggled to his feet.
The Hollow stared at him, sneered, and kicked out.
Bang.
Chad was kicked away again.
But he gritted his teeth and forced himself up.
Because Yuichi was still in the Hollow’s hands.
So he couldn’t fight back.
He could only endure it.
A punch.
A claw.
A kick.
New wounds kept appearing on Chad’s body, blood streaming down his arms and forehead.
Yuichi was almost crying in the cage.
“Leave me alone!” “Please, leave me alone!” Ichigo trembled with rage.
“Bastards…” He was about to rush forward when Yoriichi stopped him.
Ichigo was stunned.
“Yoriichi?” Yoriichi looked at the Hollow in front of him, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper.
“Enough.” The next moment.
His figure vanished.
Ichigo’s pupils constricted sharply.
Not only him.
Rukia hadn’t even seen how Yoriichi moved.
A blur of crimson flashed past.
Yoriichi was already standing in front of the Hollow.
He had drawn his Zanpakutō in a fraction of a second, the crimson blade humming with the heat of the sun.
With a simple, effortless flick of his wrist, he slashed forward.
Shk.
The Hollow’s body split cleanly in two.
Before the ferocity on its face could even fade, its massive form was already cleaved in half.
Only then did the gust of wind rise, a beat too late.
Ichigo opened his mouth.
“That’s…
it’s over?” Rukia’s eyelids twitched as she looked at the severed Hollow.
This guy was still so outrageous.
Yoriichi had already caught the falling birdcage, rescuing Yuichi.
“It’s alright.” His voice remained calm.
Yuichi stared blankly at him, momentarily forgetting even to cry.
The Hollow on the ground was still struggling.
But its body had begun to disintegrate into white spiritual particles.
Just then.
The air inside the factory suddenly changed.
An even more sinister, ancient aura pressed down from above without warning.
Then, the ground began to shake.
Rumble.
A massive, pitch-black portal slowly tore open in the void.
Heavy, blackened chains were wrapped around the towering doors, and an eerie, blood-red light emanated from the cracks, as if countless agonizing screams were howling from the abyss behind it.
The temperature in the entire factory seemed to drop instantly.
Ichigo felt a chill run down his spine.
“What the hell is this?” Rukia’s expression changed drastically, her voice trembling slightly.
“The Gates of Hell…” The Hollow, which was in the middle of disintegrating, let out an even more piercing, terrified scream upon seeing the door.
“No!” “Don’t take me away!” The chains on the door suddenly sprang out like living serpents, instantly binding the Hollow’s body.
No matter how much it struggled, it was utterly useless.
The next moment, it was forcibly dragged towards the dark portal.
Click.
The massive doors opened slightly.
The suffocating aura emanating from within made even Ichigo take a half-step back.
Chad stood against the wall, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
Yuichi huddled trembling in his cage, terrified.
Only Yoriichi remained standing quietly, staring at the massive, sinister black doors.
His gaze was calm, but also held a hint of deep scrutiny.
What lay behind that door was no ordinary thing.
Moreover, the Hollow it had taken away didn’t seem to have undergone ordinary purification.
Thinking this, Yoriichi turned to look at Rukia.
“What exactly is that thing?” “Will the Hollow that was sucked in die?”