Swish!
Toshiro's figure reappeared, then the surging Reiryoku within his body converged towards his Zanpakuto.
Swish!
A wave of Kenatsu glowing with an icy-blue light swept horizontally towards the group of Gillian ahead.
Schlick!
Wherever Toshiro's Kenatsu passed, all Gillian in its path were instantly cut in half at the waist.
Then, Toshiro's figure flickered, suddenly appearing before the Adjuchas that had been hiding behind the Gillian.
"H-How... how is this possible?!" The Adjuchas looked at Toshiro with terror-filled eyes.
Earlier, when Toshiro easily killed several Gillian, this Adjuchas knew Toshiro's strength was extraordinary and that he likely wasn't Toshiro's match. That's why he hid behind the Gillian, commanding them to attack. But he never expected Toshiro's strength to be this extraordinary.
That one wave of sword pressure from Toshiro just now killed at least several dozen Gillian, directly clearing the path of Gillian blocking this Adjuchas.
Although Gillian were the weakest among Menos Grande, killing dozens with a single strike… in this Adjuchas's view, even a Captain of the Gotei 13 couldn't do that.
"Die, trash!" Toshiro said, then directly slashed down at its head.
Seeing Toshiro's downward slash, the Adjuchas felt a chill and instinctively raised both claws to block overhead.
Schlick!
Toshiro's Zanpakuto sliced through the Adjuchas's claws as if cutting tofu, smooth and without the slightest resistance, then continued down towards its head.
After Toshiro's Zanpakuto fell, the Adjuchas instantly stood frozen in place, motionless. Then, a bloody line appeared right down the middle of its head. Following this line, the Adjuchas split cleanly in two from head to toe.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
After Toshiro killed this Adjuchas, the remaining Gillian began to fall into chaos.
Although Gillian were Menos Grande and their strength wasn't weak, their intelligence was low, and their movements sluggish. Therefore, having lost the command of the Adjuchas, they could only attack Toshiro on instinct.
But for Toshiro, if these Gillian could coordinate and attack in an orderly manner, they might cause a bit of trouble. Now, in utter chaos, attacking on instinct, they posed no real threat to him.
So, what followed could hardly be called a battle… it was more like Toshiro slaughtering the Hollows one-sidedly.
And so, Toshiro continuously slaughtered the Hollows. Yet, their numbers showed no sign of decreasing, because more and more Hollows were being drawn by Toshiro's Reiatsu.
The situation reached a stalemate for a while.
Unbeknownst to Toshiro, half a day passed. He had lost count of how many Hollows he had slain.
By now, Toshiro was somewhat numb, only knowing to keep swinging his sword, letting it fall, and watching Hollows die under his blade.
'Sigh... When will this end? Why hasn't Ashido come yet? Is Ashido not in this area?' Toshiro began to let his thoughts wander.
Once Toshiro started pondering, his hand movements inevitably slowed a beat. And it was precisely at this moment that a Gillian swung its claw at Toshiro.
By the time Toshiro reacted, the Gillian's attack was almost upon him.
However, Toshiro didn't panic. With his strength, even if hit by this Gillian, it wouldn't really matter.
A Gillian's attack power simply couldn't truly injure Toshiro.
Unless a large group of Gillian combined their Cero to attack Toshiro simultaneously, they might cause a bit of trouble. The attack of a single Gillian, even if it hit, couldn't cause substantial harm.
This was also why Toshiro dared to let his mind wander during the battle.
After all, losing focus in battle was a very basic mistake. If an opponent seized the opportunity, it would be a life-or-death situation.
But for Toshiro, facing these Hollows, even losing focus didn't matter.
Yet, just as Toshiro prepared to tank the Gillian's attack, a figure suddenly appeared.
Swish!
A flash of blade light, and the Gillian about to attack Toshiro was cleanly bisected.
Then, a figure appeared in Toshiro's line of sight.
The newcomer wore a Hollow mask, was dressed in a Shihakusho, cloaked in a cape with a skull, and held a Zanpakuto.
'It's him!' Toshiro thought with certainty.
'This attire, if I'm not mistaken, it must be Ashido,' Toshiro surmised.
Ashido glanced at Toshiro, then said one sentence: "Follow me."
Without waiting for Toshiro's response, he cut his way through the horde and headed out.
Seeing this, Toshiro immediately followed.
Toshiro's purpose in coming here was to find Ashido, not to fight these Hollows. Since Ashido had appeared, Toshiro naturally wouldn't linger.
The number of Hollows in the Forest of Menos was simply too vast. Even if Toshiro wanted to eliminate them all, it was an impossible task.
Shunkuho!
Toshiro's figure flickered, directly appearing beside the swiftly moving Ashido.
Ashido couldn't help but show surprise, clearly not expecting Toshiro's speed to be this fast.
However, Ashido didn't say anything more, continuing to move forward. After all, this wasn't the place for conversation.
Ashido remained silent the whole way, and Toshiro didn't rashly start a conversation either.
They moved swiftly for a considerable time until they entered a cave, where Ashido finally stopped.
"Who are you?"
Although Toshiro knew the person before him was Ashido, he still asked the obvious question.
But Ashido didn't answer Toshiro's question. Instead, he suddenly attacked, slashing at Toshiro with his sword.
Clang!
Without a second thought, Toshiro's Zanpakuto was instantly drawn, meeting Ashido's attack.
Clang!
Blades clashed. Toshiro felt a powerful force transmit from Ashido's sword. Toshiro's body was actually forced back several steps involuntarily.
Then, Toshiro looked at Ashido again, seeing that he also couldn't help but take a step back.
Even so, Toshiro was still very shocked. Although Toshiro acted hastily earlier and didn't exert his true strength, being forced back a step by Ashido was still remarkable. Judging from this, Ashido's strength was definitely above Lieutenant-level.
"Interesting. Come on! Go all out. Let me see your true strength!" Toshiro said with great interest.