Indeed, to learn Bankai, one ultimately has to rely on oneself!
Yamabuki staggered out. He remembered that Yamatake Chiyo was still missing and her fate unknown. Now that the urgent matters were dealt with, it was time to retrieve her body—no, it was time to save her.
Yamabuki believed that Yamatake Chiyo's life was definitely tough, and she wouldn't just die so easily!
...
Morning.
Dew dampened one's clothes, and bird calls occasionally echoed through the mountains. Yamatake Chiyo woke up groggily.
"Where am I?" Yamatake Chiyo opened her eyes and found that she hadn't collapsed in the wilderness but was in a small wooden cabin, covered by a thin blanket. The blanket emitted a strange smell, like the medicine her mother brewed for her when she was sick as a child, only this smell was stronger than medicine.
Yamatake Chiyo couldn't help but cover her nose.
It seemed she must have been rescued by someone.
Could it be an even more cliched hero-saves-the-damsel scenario after jumping off the cliff? The person who saved her must be a handsome and dashing young man? And then they would embark on a poignant love story!
It should be like that, right?
Oh, right, what about the Menos Grande that was chasing her? If the Menos Grande was still nearby, she wouldn't be safe right now!
Yamatake Chiyo stood up from the bed and found many bandages on her body, indicating that her wounds had already been treated.
Just then, the door of the small wooden cabin creaked open.
A figure walked in from the doorway.
Yamatake Chiyo had been imagining that her rescuer would be a handsome and tall young man, but upon seeing the person, Yamatake Chiyo's expression immediately fell.
This was no handsome young man! It was clearly a shabby Old Man!
From his appearance, he looked about seventy or eighty years old, leaning on a walking stick, with dark brown skin and a face full of wrinkles. He held a medicine bowl and was walking towards her with a chuckle.
And the smile on his face was sinister and eerie, not at all like the smile of a good person.
"Young lady? You're awake? You're badly hurt! Would Old Grandpa like to check your body? Oh, and this is medicine I just brewed. Drink it quickly! It's good for your health!" The Old Man hobbled over, leaning on his stick, looking as if he would crumble with the slightest movement.
Yamatake Chiyo looked at the bowl in the Old Man's hand. The liquid inside was purplish-black, emitting a foul, nauseating odor, and bubbling. It looked nothing like medicine for healing; it looked more like deadly poison!
No, even deadly poison wouldn't smell this bad! This must be a bowl of sludge scooped from some swamp.
Drink this???
"Old... Old Grandpa, thank you, I... I'll drink the medicine right away! Hahahaha!" Yamatake Chiyo's face showed the fakest smile imaginable.
"Drink the medicine, and your injuries will heal faster! I won't disturb your rest, I've left the medicine here for you." The Old Man squinted, scrutinizing Yamatake Chiyo's body, making her feel completely uncomfortable.
The Old Man slowly turned around and hobbled out of the small wooden cabin. As he turned, Yamatake Chiyo quickly poured the dark medicine into the grass outside the window. The grass instantly withered upon contact with the medicine, a sight that sent shivers down Yamatake Chiyo's spine.
What kind of medicine is this? This is definitely poison! I've run into a pervert!
If only I hadn't joined the Gotei 13. If I hadn't joined the Gotei 13, I wouldn't have participated in any combat drills. If I hadn't participated in combat drills, I wouldn't have encountered a Menos Grande. If I hadn't encountered a Menos Grande, I wouldn't have ended up in this sad state!
Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, escape is the best. Although this Old Man saved her, Yamatake Chiyo felt he had ulterior motives, especially since she was a young, cute, and beautiful maiden.
Yamatake Chiyo moved her body slightly. Falling from the cliff had caused some damage to her bones and muscles, but she remembered using Kidō to cushion her fall, so her injuries weren't too severe.
Time to run! Time to run!
Yamatake Chiyo gently opened the window, intending to gracefully flip out of it, but she overestimated her athletic ability. While flipping, her thumb hit the windowsill, and she landed face-first on the grass.
Then she clutched her thumb, almost crying out!
"Ow ow ow ow!" Just as Yamatake Chiyo was in tears from the pain, a figure loomed over her, chuckling as he looked down.
Yamatake Chiyo stiffly looked up and saw the Old Man bending over, a sinister smile on his face: "Little sister~ Where are you going? Why didn't you tell Grandpa?"
"I... I... I..." Yamatake Chiyo's mind raced, searching for an excuse. Suddenly, the roar of a Hollow echoed through the valley.
A Menos Grande was striding this way.
Yamatake Chiyo saw it and knew her chance had come. Although she didn't know the Old Man's strength, facing a Menos Grande would surely keep him occupied for a while. She just needed to seize this opportunity to escape.
The Old Man stumbled as he turned, his movements exactly like Old Grandpa Wang next door, ninety-nine years old and suffering from a stroke.
"Why are there so many Hollows out last night? So annoying!" The Old Man slowly raised his walking stick, but the next second, he completely vanished from his spot. When he reappeared, he was already in front of the Menos Grande. The walking stick in his hand was like an indestructible blade, instantly piercing through the Menos Grande's mask. Then, his figure flickered, and he returned to his original spot, resuming his crumbling appearance.
Yamatake Chiyo's mouth hung open. She couldn't believe what had just happened was real.
The Menos Grande, pierced by the walking stick, didn't die immediately. Instead, its body began to melt. In just one or two seconds, a Menos Grande over fifteen meters tall melted into a puddle of pus, completely disappearing.
"This is… poison!" Although Yamatake Chiyo was not old, she was still a child from a high-ranking noble family, well-traveled and knowledgeable. She recognized the Old Man's attack method at a glance.
The Old Man's cane was coated with a highly corrosive poison that could melt a body.
Thinking of the medicine the Old Man had given her just now, Yamatake Chiyo grew even more afraid.
What exactly did this Old Grandpa want to do?
He wouldn't want to turn me, a youthful and lovely young girl, into a specimen, would he?
"Little sister, you didn't eat the medicine Old Grandpa gave you earlier, did you?" The Old Man looked at Yamatake Chiyo with a smile.
"I… I… I have no appetite!" Yamatake Chiyo forced out a smile uglier than a cry.
Was I born under a bad sign this year?
Why do I always encounter all sorts of perverts?
First, there was a perverted Chief of Staff, then Unohana, and now an even more perverted one!
Help!
....
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