Grimmjow showed no intention of stepping forward, having zero desire to intervene in their fight.
"You bastard, I'm going to chop you to pieces!"
Yammy, clutching his wound with his left hand, slowly drew his Zanpakuto with his right.
"Die, you bastard!"
With his Zanpakuto in hand, Yammy instantly charged towards Yuma, unleashing a rapid barrage of strikes.
Yuma parried continuously, forced to backpedal under the immense force of Yammy's blows.
"What a monster," Yuma gritted his teeth, thinking to himself. "This is just his normal state. If he releases his Zanpakuto and becomes the 0th Espada, his spiritual pressure will be so strong, I probably wouldn't even be able to withstand a single blow!"
"Haha, come on, weren't you so tough just now?" Yammy continued to swing his Zanpakuto, shouting at Yuma. "You're just an ant, a worm. I'll break your bones one by one, let you savor the pain."
"Bakudō #21, Sekienjun!"
Yuma forcefully parried Yammy's strike and immediately released the Bakudō, creating a thick cloud of smoke that enveloped them.
Seizing the opportunity, Yuma used Shunpo to dodge, then activated the Hōgyoku.
"With my right hand, I hold the stone that connects the boundaries. With my left hand…"
As Yuma chanted, the space around them began to ripple. Grimmjow, noticing this from afar, narrowed his eyes and vanished instantly.
He reappeared behind Yuma, his right hand reaching for Yuma's back.
Yuma had no time to defend himself before being struck. He gritted his teeth, enduring the tearing pain in his back, and used the force of the blow to step into the Garganta.
Outside the Garganta, Grimmjow and Yammy didn't follow. They stood in the distance, watching as the Garganta slowly closed before turning and leaving.
Back in his room, Yuma gasped for breath. "Damn it, he's only the 6th Espada, and his attacks are already so fast I can't react. If they could enter the Garganta, I'd probably be dead by now."
After tending to the wound on his back, inflicted by Grimmjow's claw, Yuma went straight to bed. He had no intention of returning to Hueco Mundo anytime soon.
…
The next day, Yuma was woken up by his phone ringing. At this hour, the only person who would call him was Peter Parker.
"Little Parker, can't you let me sleep in?" Yuma answered the phone, exasperated.
"Boss, something big happened! Didn't you see the news? There's a monster in New York, a huge green monster!" Peter's high-pitched voice boomed through the phone, forcing Yuma to hold it away from his ear.
"There are videos all over the internet. That monster is terrifying! He can knock down a building with one punch, jump dozens of stories high, and bullets don't even faze him…"
"Okay, I get it. I have something to do. I'll call you later." Before Peter could finish, Yuma hung up the phone.
Hulk is here already?
Yuma was very confused. According to the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, Hulk wasn't supposed to be exposed for a few more months. Then, he would have a showdown with Abomination on the streets of New York. Tony Stark would be attacked by terrorists during an arms deal not long after, then use the leftover materials from the Jericho missile he was building for them to create the first Iron Man suit, Mark 1, and begin his journey as Iron Man, "a man in a can, defying the odds."
Why was Hulk already exposed in 2008? This meant Abomination would probably find Hulk soon.
As Yuma pondered these thoughts, the system suddenly sent a prompt:
[Mission Issued: Assist the Hulk in defeating Abomination]
[Mission Reward: Determined by output ratio]
[Stage 1 Output 0-20%: Reward 1000 souls]
[Stage 2 Output 21-50%: Reward 5000 souls]
[Stage 3 Output 51-80%: Reward 30,000 souls]
[Stage 4 Output 81-100%: Reward 100,000 souls, Character Experience Card: Gin Ichimaru (Bankai)]
Yuma basically gave up on Stage 4. Abomination was stronger than Hulk in all aspects in his normal state. The reason Hulk could defeat Abomination was because Hulk got stronger the angrier he got.
Yuma estimated that with his current strength, he could get the Stage 2 reward if he went all out.
The situation now was that Hulk had already appeared, so Abomination would soon show up and fight Hulk.
He could wait for them to fight and then show up. The advantage was that he wouldn't have to search for them like a headless chicken, but the disadvantage was that he would attract a lot of attention and might get caught in the crossfire.
The other option was to follow Hulk's trail, become friends with Bruce Banner beforehand, and then show up as Banner's friend to help him defeat Abomination.
This would require him to find Banner beforehand, at least before General Ross and his team found him again.
Thinking about this, Yuma quickly asked the system, "System, does Bakudō #58, Tsukiyoi Tsuikage, work on people in this world?"
[Yes, as long as the battle fluctuations they leave behind haven't completely dissipated.]
Yuma breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, there was a good chance he wouldn't have to run around like crazy.
After packing a few essentials, Yuma decided to check out the area where Hulk had appeared yesterday to see if he could find any traces of him. If he waited too long, the fluctuations might disappear.
As for Peter, he would visit him later tonight.
Yuma hailed a taxi. Hulk had made a big scene, and any driver would know where it happened. The driver told him that he had already taken several groups of people who wanted to see the carnage, but the area was cordoned off by the police, so they could only watch from afar.
When he arrived, Yuma was stunned by the scene of destruction left by Hulk.
Even seeing this in a movie, even with 3D effects, couldn't compare to the shock of seeing it in person.
Several blocks around the area were in ruins. There were scattered bullet casings everywhere, damaged buildings, overturned and crushed tanks and cars, the ground was destroyed beyond repair, and there were huge craters everywhere.
"I wish I could have been there," Yuma shook his head regretfully. "It feels like I missed out on the fun of being a bystander."
Yuma found an empty spot and used Shunpo to appear in a building that had been most severely damaged. This should be where the battle fluctuations were strongest.
Yuma crouched down, drawing a formation on the ground with his finger: "South heart, North pupil, West fingertip, East toe, gather with the wind, disperse with the rain, Bakudō #58, Tsukiyoi Tsuikage!"
As Yuma finished chanting, a Reishi screen appeared on the ground, constantly flashing the coordinates where Hulk had been.
"Good, the fluctuations haven't dissipated, I can track him." Yuma breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the screen.
"Found him!" The screen stopped shortly after. Yuma quickly memorized Hulk's final location and canceled the Bakudō.
He opened the map, confirmed the corresponding address, and immediately set off to greet Banner.
As for Hulk, Yuma didn't want to see him right now!
-----
Check my P@treon for Extra Chapters:
p@treon.com/xiram21
> JOIN AS A FREE MEMBER FOR 5 EXTRA CHAPTERS
> Tier One == 15 Advance Chapters
> Tier Two == 30 Advance Chapters
-----