sprit limit exceeded

"Roar! Roar! Roar...!"

One after another, terrifying howls echoed through the darkness.

Out of the shadows, wave after wave of savage-looking Menos Grande emerged. Their glowing red eyes were fixed greedily on Qiye.

There were no weak Hollows among them—all of them were at least Gillian-level.

From a distance, it looked like a horde of demons had crawled out of a nightmare—some massive and monstrous, others shaped like wild beasts, all of them crowding together in the darkness.

Just looking at them would make anyone's skin crawl.

Kadisheh trembled in fear, clinging to Qiye's back.

"M-Master Qiye, your spiritual energy… it's like the ultimate meal for them."

Bilstein, just as terrified, added with a shaking voice:

"If they devour you, even these Gillians might evolve into Adjuchas!"

"Is that so?"

Qiye licked his lips, his eyes burning with excitement as he stared at the swarm of Hollows.

"So I'm like the Tang Monk's flesh now, huh?" he joked, referencing the mythical meat demons craved in folklore.

"But I'm no helpless monk."

"Amaterasu!"

"Flame Control!"

In the next moment, Qiye's left and right eye techniques activated.

His left eye sparked the flames—his right eye fed them. In an instant, black flames ignited the darkness, blazing across the battlefield.

The Amaterasu flames—black, undying, and impossible to extinguish—spread rapidly, consuming Hollows by the dozens.

Screams filled the air, blood-curdling and inhuman.

Dozens of Gillian-level Hollows burned in agony, unable to put out the cursed fire. No matter how much they struggled, the flames stuck to them, devouring them whole.

In just a few minutes, the entire area was covered in white ash.

Over a hundred Menos Grande had already perished, completely reduced to dust.

And this was without Qiye even targeting them carefully.

If he had focused the Amaterasu with precision, the number of dead Hollows could have easily reached seven or eight hundred.

But he didn't want to do that.

Although Hollows were corrupted souls, things changed once they gained reason.

Take Nel, for example. Even though she used to be the Third Espada, she had a kind heart. Not all Menos were mindless beasts.

There was no need to kill those who weren't out of control.

"Now that I think about it, I do know a little healing Kidō..."

Qiye gently pinched Nel's cheek and tried using a Kaidō spell to heal her injuries.

Little Nel blinked, confused.

"…Still no good," Qiye muttered. "Looks like I'll have to leave it to someone more skilled."

A few minutes later...

While Qiye was still waiting and watching the forest, a fierce roar echoed from the distance:

"INVADER—GET OUT!!!"

Charging through the forest, Nnoitra appeared—his golden spiritual pressure boiling like a storm, and a massive, figure-eight-shaped scythe in his hands.

He charged through everything in his way—Menos Grande, twisted trees, stone pillars—cutting down anything that stood before him.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of Hollows lay dead in his path.

Some of them weren't even mad—some were calm, rational Gillians—but Nnoitra didn't care. He slaughtered them all without hesitation.

It was as if he was venting his rage... or just trying to tear his way through the Menos Grande Forest by force.

"That idiot Nnoitra again…"

"Damn it, still killing like a madman for no reason..."

Kadisheh and Bilstein clenched their jaws in frustration.

Even little Nel frowned. She puffed up her cheeks in anger, then sulked and popped two candies into her mouth.

"Nilu can't beat him..." she said sadly.

Qiye chuckled, reaching over to ruffle her hair. "But I've been killing Hollows too. Why aren't you mad at me?"

Nel shook her head.

"The ones you killed were already lost. They were completely insane—no way they could ever think clearly again. They weren't like me."

"..."

Qiye was quiet for a moment.

Then he nodded, his expression thoughtful.

He now understood the Hollow race a little better.

Even if they were all Hollows, there was a difference.

To an intelligent Hollow like Nel, the mindless ones weren't truly her kin.

Only the ones who kept their minds—the rational Menos Grande—were seen as equals.

Even rational Menos Grande had many flaws in their personalities, so battles among them broke out often.

"Alright then," Qiye smirked, "go stop that guy!"

He had absorbed a huge amount of spiritual energy from the Menos Grande and awakened several new abilities.

It was the perfect time to test them out.

Deep in the Menos Grande Forest

Nnoitra had become separated from the other Espadas. His eyes burned with fury as he slashed down another Menos Grande in his path.

Not slowing for a second, he stormed forward—his spiritual pressure flaring like wildfire.

When a massive boulder appeared in the distance, Nnoitra snarled:

"Cero!!"

A blast of golden energy erupted from his mouth, slamming into the rock with a thunderous boom, completely obliterating it.

"Invader!! Get out here!!!" he shouted, rage filling his voice.

Daisile had been his right-hand man—loyal and strong—ever since Nnoitra became the Eighth Espada of Las Noches. He never imagined Daisile would fall today… especially not at the hands of some outsider.

That thought alone made him want to kill.

But as he crossed a clearing, Nnoitra suddenly stopped.

His expression froze in disbelief.

"…Daisile? You're still alive!?"

The figure emerging from behind the stone-gray tree trunk looked just like Daisile.

But Nnoitra could clearly sense it—Daisile's spiritual pressure had disappeared in Las Noches.

Now, the one standing before him was something else entirely.

This was Animal Path Pain, controlling Daisile's body. His glowing purple Rinnegan stared coldly at Nnoitra. Without a word, he slapped the ground.

"Summoning Technique: Menos Grande Forest!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

(TLNOTE-ADDING 2 MORE BOOMS FOR 5 BIG BOOMSS!!)

Explosions of white smoke filled the area.

From within each cloud of smoke stepped a Gillian—each one monstrous, masked, and filled with bloodlust.

They weren't normal Hollows.

These were Gillians that Pain had forcibly contracted over time.

"Kill him."

At his command, dozens of Menos Grande with glowing Rinnegan eyes roared and charged toward Nnoitra.

"Damn it, what the hell's going on?!"

Nnoitra growled, swinging his massive scythe as he cut down wave after wave of attackers.

"Intruder!! What did you do to Daisile?! Why does he look like that?!"

Far above, perched on a pale tree branch, Qiye sat with little Nel in his arms, watching it all unfold.

He chuckled and clicked his tongue. "Nilu, the way things look right now, we seem like the villains here."

Nilu puffed up her cheeks and raised her tiny fists. "Qiye's not a bad guy! He is! He's the one who keeps chasing Nilu and my big brother!"

Qiye smiled gently. "Then I'll help you get revenge."

Back on the battlefield

"Bang!"

Nnoitra slashed down hard, cutting through the last Gillian in front of him.

Breathing heavily, he glared at Daisile—no, the creature controlling his body.

"Daisile! If you mess with me again, I swear I'll kill you!!"

At that moment, Nnoitra's usual wildness was replaced by cold, lethal rage.

But the beast-like Pain only responded calmly.

"Try it."

In the next instant, he unsheathed his sword and called out:

"Ambush: Fang Armor!"

A powerful burst of captain-level Reiatsu exploded around him.

His body morphed into a terrifying boar-shaped Menos Grande, covered in dark armor and pulsing with spiritual power.

"What...!?"

Nnoitra's face twisted in disbelief.

"Your spiritual pressure... it's far beyond what it used to be!"

The beastly Daisile—now fully controlled by Pain—looked down at him.

"Nnoitra Gilga. Fifth Espada of Kyon Palace. You are finally worthy of being one of my Asura 13."

Without waiting for a response, he charged in, swinging his weapon with full force.

"I'LL KILL YOU!!" Nnoitra shouted, rushing in to meet the attack with his giant scythe.

Their weapons clashed violently.

The sound of blades crashing echoed through the forest.

Spiritual pressure surged like a hurricane. Every swing tore apart trees, shattered stone, and turned the ground into a wasteland.

Even Gillians that came too close were instantly destroyed by the shockwaves.

Two massive forces were colliding—one a current Espada, the other a former subordinate reborn through pain and fury.

Nnoitra's eyes widened with disbelief as he struggled to keep up.

"This is impossible... how did you get so strong!?"

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