~ Next Bonus, 100!

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"Why are you following me?"

Shin looked irritably at the little girl trailing behind him. She had green hair, a broken skull mask on her head, a red line painted across her nose, and a scar on her face.

Shin recognized her immediately.

Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, or Nel for short. The former Tercera Espada. She had been ambushed by Nnoitra Gilga, who shattered her mask, causing her to sustain heavy injuries and lose her memory. Nnoitra had then cast her out.

Harribel had since taken her place as the Tercera Espada.

Shin had found this little girl in the desert of Hueco Mundo, and she had been following him ever since.

"I... I can’t find Pesche and Dondochakka. C-Can you help me, mister?"

Nel asked, her voice choked with tears. They had been playing hide-and-seek in the desert, and she couldn’t find her two "brothers."

Of course, Pesche and Dondochakka were actually her former Fracción. They had deliberately hidden the truth to protect her.

Nel had once been a Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar with incredible combat power. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have become the Tercera Espada.

After all, Aizen chose his Espada based on strength. If Nnoitra hadn’t ambushed her with the help of Szayelaporro Grantz, he never would have been able to defeat her.

Of course, Nel’s personality had also played a part. She was too naive and kind. In a peaceful world, that would be a virtue. But in Hueco Mundo, where slaughter was the law of the land, it was a liability that brought her nothing but disaster.

"You want me to help you find them? You must be joking. I don’t have time for that."

Shin waved his hand. Help Nel find her friends? Was he that kind of person?

He might not be a pure villain, but he certainly wasn’t a hero.

As Shin turned to walk away, Nel scrambled forward and wrapped her arms around his leg. She looked up at him, her face crumpling as she burst into tears.

Shin’s face darkened. Anyone who didn’t know better would think he had bullied her. He finally just picked her up.

Once she was in his arms, Nel stopped crying, perhaps too scared to continue.

"You can follow me for now." Shin didn’t wait for her to agree and simply carried her away.

Long after they had gone, two figures emerged from the sand. They were Nel’s former Fracción.

Pesche and Dondochakka looked at each other.

"Was this the right thing to do?" Pesche whispered, his voice laced with doubt. "Letting that Soul Reaper take Lady Nel... What if she’s in danger?"

"It’s more dangerous for her to stay in Hueco Mundo. Since he didn’t harm her from the start, he probably won’t do anything to her. Don’t forget who he is. If he’s willing to protect Lady Nel, no one will be able to hurt her."

"Sigh, I guess this is our only choice. Our strength isn’t enough to protect Lady Nel."

That’s right. They wanted Shin to take Nel with him.

The dangers of Hueco Mundo were too great. They didn’t have the ability to protect her forever. Who knew when some Hollow would appear and devour them? Sending Nel to a safe place was the best option for them.

They knew about Shin Uzumaki—a being even the great Lord Aizen was wary of. And according to the news, he had even killed Nnoitra, the one who had harmed Lady Nel.

Of course, they had also seen that Shin had no intention of harming Nel. Otherwise, they would have come out and fought him to the death.

’Those two guys... they saw me take Nel, but they didn’t try to stop me. What’s their game?’

Shin was a bit puzzled.

He knew they were hiding there. There was no way they could have hidden from him. If they had that kind of power, they wouldn’t be struggling to survive in Hueco Mundo.

"You’re being quite obedient," Shin said, glancing at Nel.

Though Nel wasn’t particularly afraid of Shin, she was still shy around strangers. But since she couldn’t find her two brothers and didn’t know where to go, she could only follow Shin.

"Well, I guess I’ll take you home and raise you."

Shin opened a Garganta, left Hueco Mundo, and returned directly to the 2nd Division barracks.

The moment he arrived, Soi Fon and Yoruichi knew. They immediately rushed over and saw Nel beside Shin.

"Why did you bring a Hollow back?" Yoruichi asked, looking at Nel with confusion.

"Can’t I?"

"Of course not. If that stubborn old man Yamamoto finds out, you’ll be in real trouble. He probably won’t let you off the hook," Yoruichi said.

"Actually, old man Yamamoto might not be as stubborn as you think," Shin said with a smile. He doubted Yamamoto would declare him an enemy over something like this. Of course, he’d definitely be furious.

While Yamamoto could be stubborn at times, he wasn’t incapable of bending the rules. In the original story, he had cooperated with Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends, hadn’t he? That was a clear violation of the rules.

"Still, it’s best to keep it from him if you can."

Though Shin felt Yamamoto would eventually compromise, he would undoubtedly cause him trouble first. To avoid that, Shin thought it was better if Yamamoto didn’t know.

"She’s actually really cute. You didn’t bring her back just because she’s cute, did you?" Yoruichi asked, looking at Nel.

Indeed, the child-form Nel was very cute. Shin had brought her back partly because of that. If it had been some obnoxious brat, Shin wouldn’t have bothered. He’d be lucky if Shin didn’t eliminate him.

"I’m surprised you admitted it. I thought you wouldn’t," Yoruichi said, a sly glint in her eyes as she looked at Shin.

"Why can’t I admit it? What does it matter if I do?" Shin said, pinching Nel’s little cheek.

And Nel, after her initial shyness, had grown quite fond of him. It seemed Shin was quite popular with children.

"So what were you really doing in Hueco Mundo?" Yoruichi’s curiosity was piqued. She looked at Shin, desperate to know.

"Nothing much. I was just bored, so I took a trip to Hueco Mundo. That’s all," Shin said with a shrug.

Yoruichi pouted, clearly not believing him. In her eyes, Shin was so lazy he wouldn’t even leave his room. Would he really go to Hueco Mundo for no reason?

Believe it or not, that was the truth. Shin really had gone to Hueco Mundo out of boredom.

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