#5 Encounter with a Mad Scientist
Mayuri stepped through the Senkaimon, humming an interesting tone and smiled like a lunatic. Eventually the World of the world of the living came into focus—a dark, misty night that shrouded the small village in black.
Behind him, the weaker Shinigami from Squad 12 stumbled through the gate, their nervous energy palpable. They were clearly out of their depth, but that didn't matter to Mayuri. They were expendable tools, nothing more.
"All of you spread out, go look for that Hollow, Mayuri spat out. "Find the Hollow and drive it toward me. Don't waste time, or your lives, for that matter."
The Squad 12 members obeyed, scattering into the shadows. Mayuri, meanwhile, casually strolled through the village.
As he moved closer, he began to hear the sounds of the carnage. Screams of terror echoed through the night, followed by sickening crunches and slurping noises. Mayuri's grin grew wider. The Cries were like Music to his Ears.
As he got close enough to the village, he saw a Gigantic White Silhouette "A Gillian ? Mhh, it appears to be a rather advanced one with unique features. However, it already has Adjuchas level of riatsu, meaning it is almost on the verge of evolving into one. I did not expect such a rare specimen."
It was then that he saw several weak Kido spells being aimed towards the white Gillian, however the Gillian merely ignored the Kido Spells and stomped the Members of squad 12 to death and knelt down and grabbed several of them only to immediately stuff them into their mouth.
Mayuri continued to observe her from the distance "Perhaps I should capture it alive so that I can observe the evolution from Gillian to Adjuchas in my laboratory."
Meanwhile Stella finished the last remaining Shinigami and quickly stuffed them into her Mouth.
As she looked around trying to find more delicious Shinigami, she saw another vague Figure with very high riatsu, even higher than her own.
She looked towards the Figure "Another One, but you are different , more delicious for sure." After that, she instantly fired a cero towards the Shinigami
Mayuri of course saw this "Bakudō #39. Enkōsen"
A Held out his hand and generates a yellowish Riatsu that quickly took the form of a large spinning disk of condensed. It managed to completely block the cero with several cracks that slowly started to spread throughout the Kido.
Mayuri smiled watching the cracked Kido "A Fantastic Individual indeed, A Gillian capable of speech and you almost broke through the Enkōsen with a basic cero.
The sound of the Shinigami's voice sent a jolt of fear through Stella. She started to shiver in dread. That voice—it was Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Stella panicked as she realized the danger she was in. She had to flee. No matter what, she couldn't let herself be caught by this Shinigami.
"Marvelous!" Mayuri exclaimed, his voice tinged with glee. "Such strong instincts, and you recognize the danger you're in. Your intelligence is astounding for a Gillian! You truly are a remarkable specimen!"
In a flash, Mayuri used Shunpo, appearing directly in front of Stella. Despite being nearly, a hundred times taller than him, she was frozen with terror. Her mind raced, desperately searching for a way out.
In a last-ditch effort, she fired out several weaker Ceros, Then, with all the power she could muster she infused with her Stolen Soul Poison Ability turning it a Slightly purple hue from the normal red one. She overloaded it and just before it exploded in her face and fired it, she took a several steps back, hoping Mayuri got distracted enough by the cero's
The Unstable cero exploded creating a Giant Poisonous Purple Smokescreen that slightly obscured vision and Mayuri then relied on his riatsu sense instead of sight to locate Stella.
Mayuri's grin never wavered as he continued to track Stella. "You can't hide from me, my dear," he murmured, "You are quite a big target, and I have experience."
Stella did not care, the moment the cero was fired she forcefully ripped open a garganta as fast as she could. Her form was already slipping through the portal, the darkness swallowing her up as she fled back to Hueco Mundo.
Mayuri watched as the Garganta closed behind the fleeing Hollow, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of curiosity and anticipation. The poisonous smokescreen did not matter enough to stop him enough from pursuing the hollow, but he made no move to follow. Instead, he chuckled softly, tapping a slender finger against his chin.
"How intriguing," he murmured "With such a Strong survival Instinct, she is sure to evolve, chasing it would be a waste, maybe it could even become a Vasto Lorde given a century or two."
One of the surviving Squad 12 members limped toward him, coughing from the lingering toxins in the air. "Vice-Captain Kurotsuchi, should we organize a pursuit? We might still be able to track her down."
Mayuri waved a dismissive hand, his gaze never leaving the spot where the Hollow had disappeared. "No need for that. Our encounter provided sufficient data for now."
The subordinate looked puzzled. "But sir, she eliminated several of our team and poses a significant threat. Allowing her to escape could be dangerous."
Mayuri's grin widened, revealing his sharp teeth. "Precisely. Let her grow stronger. I want to see the extent of her evolution without interference. A specimen observed in its natural progression yields far more valuable insights than one prematurely contained."
He turned to face his subordinate fully, eyes glinting with excitement. "Besides, I've already ensured we'll meet again."
The Shinigami blinked in surprise. "You have, sir?"
Mayuri lifted his hand, revealing a small, barely visible thing between his fingers. "During our little exchange, I managed to attach a reiatsu-tracking beacon to her. It will monitor her development and movements closely. We'll know exactly when and where to find her when the time is right."
Understanding dawned on the subordinate's face. "I see. That's... quite ingenious, Vice-Captain. Mayuri"
"Naturally," Mayuri replied, his tone dripping with pride. "However I need to shut up, every detail is important and cannot be leaked." He took out a syringe and injected the member of squad 12 before he could react.
As his subordinate began to dissolve, Mayuri took one last look at the sky where the garganta had been. "Run and evolve, little Hollow," he whispered to himself. "When you reach your peak, I'll be there to dissect every secret you hold."
With a satisfied sigh, Mayuri adjusted his haori and began opening another Senkaimon, his footsteps light and carefree despite the carnage surrounding him. For him, this night had been anything but a failure.