"Holy turtle!"
Looking up at the Gillian in the sky from below, alongside Ichigo, everyone was stunned.
"Seriously, if this thing had appeared during that game coin betting event earlier, wouldn't it have crushed Ichigo on the spot?"
"Gotta say, true! But I choose to believe in Ichigo."
"Right, believe first, question later. Family, respect!"
Thanks to the miracles and victories Ichigo had achieved along the way, the live stream audience had great confidence in him.
Coincidentally, Ichigo felt the same way.
Except for Rukia, who had been kept in the dark all along.
Facing the giant Gillian ahead, Ichigo took a step forward.
"Ichigo, don't go! You can't handle it!" Rukia urgently called out to Ichigo.
Hearing this, Ichigo turned his head and smiled slightly.
The next moment, Reiatsu surpassing that of a normal Lieutenant surged, forming a blue pillar of light that shot straight into the sky!
"Ichigo, you... how is this possible?" Feeling Ichigo's Reiatsu far exceeding her own, Rukia found it hard to believe.
'Was Ichigo still the Shinigami created using my Shinigami powers? Why was his power so much greater than mine?'
For a moment, even though Ichigo was someone she had watched grow, he felt so unfamiliar. Rukia had a thousand questions she wanted to ask.
Understanding Rukia's thoughts, Ichigo didn't explain but smiled slightly: "Don't worry, Rukia. It's just a Menos Grande! Believe in me!"
"Ichigo..." Rukia still wanted to say something.
But then, Kisuke pointed a single finger in front of Rukia.
A Bakudo was cast without incantation, not even its name spoken. Rukia was instantly bound, powerless, and slowly knelt down!
"Shopkeeper, you!!!" Rukia looked at Kisuke in disbelief.
Kisuke gave her a slight smile:
"Watch, Kuchiki-san. This is very important. If he can't even handle a single Gillian, then Kurosaki-kun doesn't need to continue on his path any further!"
Hearing Urahara's words, Rukia understood.
At some point unknown to her, Ichigo and Kisuke had already made some agreement.
"So, was it that day?" Rukia asked.
But this time, Kisuke remained silent.
Ahead, Ichigo continuously used Shunpo towards the sky.
A Gillian is formed by the fusion of hundreds of Hollows, nearly 99% of which are mindless lower-level Hollows.
But among these hundreds of Hollows, if one is far stronger than the others in all aspects, then this Hollow will dominate the entire Gillian's body, becoming a special entity among Gillians.
Then, this special entity will continuously devour other Gillians and grow!
The most notable characteristic of a special entity Gillian is that its mask is different from ordinary Gillians… it lacks the sharp nose!
This facilitates its ability to bite other Gillians.
But the Gillian before them had a sharp nose, indicating it was just a mindless, idiotic Gillian!
"If it has no brains, then it can only become another victim under my blade!"
Ichigo frantically channeled the Reiatsu within his body into Zangetsu.
Then, he swung it heavily!
"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo roared!
The next moment, a blue crescent, three stories high, was launched from his sword!
The curved crescent shot straight towards the Gillian!
Rumble-
A massive explosion erupted at the Gillian's neck!
"Owwww-" Howling in pain from the Getsuga Tensho strike, the Gillian had a large gash torn open on its neck!
Immediately, the Gillian, wanting to retaliate, began charging a red Cero in its mouth!
An unimaginably vast amount of Reiatsu gathered continuously within its dark oral cavity!
A dazzling bloody light shone down, making the world as if it had entered a blood moon!
However, Ichigo wouldn't give it the chance.
Watching the Gillian gathering its Cero, he continuously used Reishi to step on, using Shunpo to ascend!
It didn't take long for Ichigo to reach a height of a thousand meters!
Facing the Gillian, Ichigo waved his hand slightly: "Big dummy, hit me if you can!"
"Owwww!" The Gillian fired its Cero!
A red beam shot from the ground straight up into the sky!
But by the time the Gillian's clumsy Cero was fired, Ichigo was no longer in his original spot.
Taking advantage of the Gillian's lack of hands, Ichigo moved directly near the Gillian, slicing away at it with close-range Getsuga Tensho one after another!
Watching Ichigo's battle from start to finish, a few words popped into Rukia's mind: 'Completely at ease!'
And seeing Ichigo now fighting the Gillian, Rukia fully understood.
The Gillian is indeed strong, but its strength lies in its sheer size and collective power!
A group of Gillians obey higher-level Hollows. With their height advantage on the battlefield, they can act like merciless cleansing machines, continuously firing Ceros.
Also, due to their massive size, ordinary Shinigami truly can't do much against them, completely unable to cut through or kill them.
But once a Gillian faces a Shinigami of a certain caliber, it can't act so freely as it does now.