Bleach : I Need To Rizz To Become Stronger ?!-Chapter 40: The Gillian

The sky was dark and cloudless, the waning moon hanging high in silence.

Several figures dashed swiftly across rooftops. Abarai Renji, grasping his asauchi, was alight with excitement as he pursued a Hollow roughly the size of a human. Its body resembled some kind of crawling beast, but against the coordinated assault of Renji, Hinamori, and Kira, it was utterly panicked, scrambling in every direction.

The three of them were standouts among the first-years, and their performance during this field exercise had been nothing short of stellar.

Hinamori leapt ahead, intercepting the Hollow with a well-aimed Shakkahō—a blast of crimson Kidō that struck it square in the face. But due to her limited spiritual pressure, the spell lacked the power to do serious damage.

As the smoke cleared, Renji and Kira closed in from either side, cleaving the Hollow into three clean pieces.

Its body disintegrated into reishi particles as Renji sheathed his asauchi across his back.

"Damn, you're quick, Kira. But I totally had that one solo," Renji grinned.

Kira chuckled. "Don't say that—it was a team effort."

Renji waved a hand, pride gleaming in his eyes. "I'm built for fighting Hollows. This training stuff? A bit too tame."

Hinamori rolled her eyes as she walked up. "Ugh, you never quit."

Renji frowned. "Hey, I'm being honest!"

She didn't let up. "Every time it's the three of us working together, but somehow it's always your victory, huh? Are you planning to only mention yourself in the mission report too?"

Renji scratched the back of his head and looked away, eyes drifting toward the upperclassmen on the distant rooftop.

"Man, they're sure taking it easy," he grumbled.

Kira explained, "It's our training. They're only here to intervene if things get dangerous."

Renji scoffed. "With Hollows this weak? Danger's not happening."

Hinamori groaned. "There he goes again."

Not every student had it this easy. For some, it was their first time facing a Hollow, and their fear nearly erased everything they'd learned. Fortunately, the upperclassmen remained vigilant in the shadows, preventing injuries.

Those upperclassmen were also tasked with evaluating and recording the performance of each team.

Meanwhile, on a high vantage point overlooking the entire town, Shin, Hisagi, and Kesa watched the exercise unfold.

The Hollow Shin had previously annihilated never got the chance to reveal itself before being cut down, so few noticed anything strange.

The three of them had decided to keep quiet about it for now.

And regarding the barrier team's explanation—they had no choice but to trust it, at least temporarily.

"Looks like Hinamori's group is doing great," Hisagi observed, scanning the area through his Denreishinki.

Of all her peers, Hinamori's Kidō prowess was already far ahead of the curve—her talent in that domain was remarkable, though her spiritual pressure still held her back. Renji, for all his hotheadedness, had impressive combat instincts; his only real weakness was Kidō. And Kira was a jack-of-all-trades—well-rounded in swordsmanship, flash step, and spells alike.

Hisagi scribbled notes in a file, giving brief evaluations of their performance.

Kesa remained laser-focused on the field, eyes sweeping for any anomalies. Aside from that unexpected large Hollow at the beginning, things had been smooth. She and Hisagi were starting to believe that really had just been a fluke.

But Shin said nothing.

He watched the oppressive dark sky in silence.

"Shin?" Hisagi finally turned to him. "You've been staring like that for a while. What's wrong?"

Kesa being quiet was normal. Shin's silence wasn't.

"Nothing," Shin replied lightly. "Just looking around."

Hisagi studied him. "You're worried about something."

Shin didn't confirm or deny it.

After a moment, Hisagi just nodded, figuring Shin's caution might not be a bad thing.

It was only the first night, after all. The exercise still had days to go.

Shin remained alert, monitoring every ripple of spiritual pressure within the barrier.

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Later that night.

As fatigue set in, students regrouped at the rendezvous point to rest and replenish their energy.

Groups from various classes chatted animatedly—this field experience was new and thrilling to most. Others were quiet, discouraged by their own struggles.

Shin and Hisagi arrived as well. Hisagi offered a few words of encouragement and reminded everyone not to let their guard down.

As the students settled down, Hinamori approached Shin.

"President!"

She waved cheerfully, then nodded to Kesa. "Kesa-senpai."

Kesa merely returned the greeting with a cool nod.

Hinamori beamed with pride. "Did you see how our team did?"

Finally, Shin gave her a small smile. "I did. You worked well together."

Hinamori took the opportunity to gripe. "At first we had great teamwork, but that idiot Abarai kept running off trying to solo every Hollow. No matter how many times I warned him, he wouldn't stop."

Shin raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Call him over."

Hinamori perked up—but quickly hesitated. "Maybe not. I'll talk to him later. If you scold him, he'll just blame me behind my back."

Shin chuckled. She's thought this through.

"Keep it up, and stay sharp."

Hinamori gave a determined nod. "I will! I'm not scared, because..."

She smiled brightly. "You'll protect me, right?"

But then—her smile froze.

Behind Shin and Kesa, something tore open the night.

A horizontal rift appeared in midair, pure black, like a wound in space. From within, a monstrous white mask emerged—huge, inhuman, with glowing red eyes. Terrifying.

What... is that...?

Hinamori's brain stalled for a second before it registered.

Some powerful Hollows possessed special abilities—one of them being Garganta, the black throat.

Much like the Senkaimon allowed Shinigami to travel between realms, Hollows used Garganta to rip open space.

Shin felt the enormous pressure before it even struck.

He whirled around as a titanic hand descended like a collapsing mountain.

BOOM!

The monstrous hand smashed into the earth, obliterating the ground.

"President!!"

Hinamori screamed.

Kesa was flung away by the shockwave, crashing hard into a nearby wall.

When she looked back—her pupils contracted.

A deep crater now marked the spot where Shin had stood.

Only broken stone and shattered earth remained.

She suddenly remembered—just before the impact, Shin had grabbed her and thrown her clear.

But what about him?

Where's Shin?!