The Adjuchas that Sung-Sun and the others captured was a large Hollow shaped like a monkey.
But the fruit in Rosse's hand was, in fact, a Cow-Cat Fruit.
By logic, the two weren't particularly compatible.
However, Rosse just happened to want to see what kind of result would come out from combining a Hollow and a fruit that didn't match.
After all, in Hueco Mundo, there was nothing lacking. Except that there were too many Hollows.
Even among Adjuchas, there were hundreds or even thousands throughout the realm; only the Vasto Lorde were fewer than ten.
So Rosse had absolutely no reason to worry about the supply of test subjects.
And Hollows had one especially convenient trait.
Because their evolution depended on devouring their own kind, they had no such thing as a sense of kinship.
When survival and evolution depended on devouring one another, how could they possibly harbor goodwill toward others of their kind?
In this dead and desolate world, Hollows were both hunters and prey.
So even if Sung-Sun and the others caught every Hollow in Hueco Mundo, they wouldn't feel the slightest moral burden.
Besides, they themselves were Hollows; devouring humans or Soul Reapers didn't stir any unnecessary emotions in them. In short, they were the perfect subordinates.
The only pity was that their strength was still somewhat lacking, they urgently needed power.
Under Rosse's watchful gaze, the monkey Hollow underwent a violent transformation.
The originally five-meter-tall creature rapidly shrank in size, gradually taking on a human-like form.
The animal features of its monkey body, and even its unique Hollow traits, visibly faded away.
"Ugh, it's showing something disgusting," Sung-Sun murmured as she observed beside Rosse. Seeing the monkey Hollow develop some peculiar structure, she turned her face away in disgust.
It wasn't like it was Lord Rosse's, there was absolutely no reason to keep looking.
"Tch! So that's the difference between male and female, huh? Looks pretty tasty though," said Mila in her lion form, completely unconcerned, carelessly eyeing the creature and even commenting on its flavor.
"Bet it smells awful. I've devoured Hollows with human-world memories before, those memories weren't pleasant at all," Apacci said with disdain.
When Hollows devoured each other, it wasn't just their bodies, they consumed souls, so even memories were partly absorbed.
The ones who could evolve to the peak were those who could keep their sense of self even through endless cycles of devouring.
Once a Hollow lost itself to the memories it consumed, it lost its true mind and reached its evolutionary limit, that was the measure of a Hollow's innate talent.
At last, under Rosse's quiet observation, the monkey Hollow transformed into a humanoid monster that combined traits of Hollow, cat, monkey, and human.
However, the cat and human parts were more pronounced on its body.
Its power too had risen, from A-minus to full A-rank.
For an ordinary Zoan fruit to cause such change, it was truly an outstanding effect.
"ROAAAR!"
The monkey Hollow awoke, suddenly standing tall and letting out a fierce roar.
At this moment, he felt stronger than ever before.
"Hey, look at his mask!"
Sung-Sun noticed the Hollow's mask, completely shattered, with only a fragment left by the eye corner, revealing a lecherous-looking middle-aged face underneath.
"Seems it's working quite well. Now all that's left is the intelligence test. Harribel!", Rosse didn't move a step, merely called her name.
"Understood." Harribel immediately stepped forward.
BOOM!
In an instant, the monkey Hollow, who had been basking in his newfound strength, was slammed to the ground by Harribel. Her arm, shaped like a massive blade, pressed against his neck, just a little more pressure, and she would have decapitated him.
"Tch! Poor thing. Just evolved and ran into Lady Harribel," said Sung-Sun with a sympathetic tone.
"He's not that strong anyway, weaker than that shark one," Mila said dismissively, seeing how easily he was subdued.
"Idiot Mila, this Hollow used to be weaker than us. Now it actually takes Lady Harribel to hold him down. Lord Rosse didn't let us move because we probably couldn't suppress him. That shark was stronger than us from the start," Sung-Sun said with a light laugh.
She saw more than the others did, she knew Rosse's order for them not to interfere meant they likely couldn't handle the creature anymore.
And just a while ago, the three of them together could suppress him easily.
"Who are you people?", The monkey Hollow, now sobered from his power rush, looked at the group in despair.
Only now did he notice, two of them were almost human-shaped, and one was completely indistinguishable from a human.
As an Adjuchas, he knew that the more human-like a Hollow was, the stronger it was.
Rosse and Harribel clearly belonged to the Vasto Lorde class.
Wait, him, Paraki, a mere Adjuchas, how could he possibly attract the attention of two Vasto Lordes?
"Looks like he's regained his senses. Anyone interested in taking a pet?", Rosse smiled faintly, glancing at Sung-Sun and the others. He himself had no interest in keeping a monkey-like servant.
But Harribel and the rest would need subordinates to accomplish his goals.
And since this one was already being eroded by Rosse's world's power, until full assimilation was complete, it wasn't appropriate to just kill him outright.
If he were to die, he'd have to die within Rosse's world, which would be… troublesome.
"Lord Rosse, please leave him to me. But I request to undergo Arrancarization first, only then can I completely subdue him," Sung-Sun bowed low, her tone humble as she made her request to Rosse.
She had read his intent, and spoke accordingly before anyone else could.
She didn't particularly like the monkey Hollow either, but if that was Rosse's will, she would simply follow it.
And seeing that Rosse had prepared six fruits, with one already used and one reserved for the Gillian, it was clear that the next experiment subject would be chosen from among them.
Sung-Sun was clever, she knew being the first carried risk, but she was still willing to be the first to offer herself.
Not only for her own sake, but for her foolish companions' too.
If something went wrong, the others could be forewarned.
"Sung-Sun, that one's more like a dog than a snake," Apacci muttered inwardly, curling her lip.
A sycophant like her, how could Rosse possibly favor her?
"Well, since you want it that much, you'll be the first."
Rosse smiled knowingly, he could see right through Sung-Sun's thoughts.
But he liked such subordinates all the more.
He took out a white fruit meant for Sung-Sun and tossed it to her.
Without hesitation, she stretched out her neck and swallowed it whole.
The instant it entered her throat, her mask-covered face stiffened.
Even though they were spirit beings, they still had taste.
'This thing is disgusting.'
She had experienced many things, but nothing that tasted this vile.
Still, she didn't have time to care.
Almost instantly, her body began to change.
Seeing her transformation, Rosse glanced at the dumbstruck monkey Hollow, waved his hand, and a shimmering curtain of water enveloped the creature, completely sealing off his sight and senses.
There were some special scenes that he simply didn't want a pet to witness.
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