"Oi, Ulquiorra, so this is the so-called World of the Living?"
A tall Arrancar arrogantly surveyed the park in Karakura Town.
"Yes. This is the city where Kurosaki Ichigo resides. Yammy, don't forget what Lord Aizen instructed us to do," Ulquiorra replied coldly.
"I know, I know!" Yammy sneered, taking a deep breath—instantly sucking the souls from everyone in the park!
Nearby, Tatsuki happened to witness the entire scene.
"Take this!" she shouted, conjuring fire in her hands and hurling a massive fireball at Yammy.
BOOM!
A fireball strong enough to vaporize a Menos Grande hit Yammy's palm—yet it didn't even singe his hand.
"Huh? Didn't expect to find such a human in the World of the Living," Yammy remarked with a trace of surprise as he looked at the slight black scorch mark in his palm.
"What's your name, woman?" Yammy asked, looming over Tatsuki.
"Hmph, my name is Arisawa Tatsuki!"
Yammy turned to Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra closed his eyes and said flatly,
"Arisawa Tatsuki, one of the humans who entered the Soul Society with Kurosaki Ichigo. She once defeated the 11th Division's 3rd seat."
"Ah? Never heard of her. Whatever. Eat my fist!"
Yammy swung his massive fist—larger than Tatsuki herself—toward her.
But Tatsuki didn't dodge.
Someone had arrived!
CLANG!
Sado Yasutora blocked Yammy's fist with his right arm!
Orihime appeared too.
"Tatsuki-chan, are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" Tatsuki shook her head.
But Sado was far too weak. After just one hit, his Fullbring-enhanced right arm was shattered, and his entire arm was rendered useless!
"Sado-kun!" Orihime immediately activated Sōten Kisshun to start healing him.
Tatsuki prepared to continue fighting, but—
"Hey, you bastard! Having fun beating people up?!"
Ichigo appeared in front of her in a flash.
"Oh? A Shinigami? Then you're Kurosaki Ichigo?" Yammy asked, glancing at Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra coldly confirmed, "That's him."
"Perfect! He's our target!"
Yammy raised his enormous hand to attack—but the moment Ichigo drew his Zanpakutō, Yammy felt a crushing pressure descend on him.
"You're the one who broke Sado's arm, aren't you?"
Ichigo's voice was deathly cold.
"Such spiritual pressure… but that's all you've got!" Yammy shouted as he swung at Ichigo.
But Ichigo calmly said, "Call forth… Zangetsu!"
SHING!
With just one strike—Ichigo severed Yammy's right arm cleanly!
Blood poured down as Yammy stared in disbelief.
"What?! You cut off my arm?! You're dead!!!"
Furious, Yammy's spiritual pressure surged to another level.
But to Ichigo—it was nothing new.
While it was harder for Ichigo to slice Yammy now, he still landed several deep wounds with ease.
"What?! Why can't I hit you?!"
Yammy grew more enraged by the second. His spiritual pressure kept spiking uncontrollably.
"That's enough, Yammy. Let me test his power instead."
Ulquiorra called out from behind.
"But Ulquiorra! He cut off my arm! I can't just let that go!"
"I said leave it to me!" Ulquiorra replied, voice firm and absolute.
Yammy had no choice but to retreat. It was clear: Ulquiorra outranked him—and Yammy obeyed.
Ichigo raised an eyebrow at this display.
So there's a clear hierarchy among Arrancar… and the pressure of upper ranks is absolute.
Feeling the strange spiritual pressure emanating from Ulquiorra, Ichigo gripped his Zanpakutō tighter.
"Getsuga… Tenshō!"
A white crescent slash flew toward Ulquiorra. It was just a probing attack—but it still made Yammy flinch.
Every other enemy Ichigo had faced—be it Hollow or Shinigami—either dodged his Getsuga Tenshō or blocked with their own Zanpakutō.
But Ulquiorra?
He simply raised one hand.
SLAP!
Just like swatting a fly—he smacked the crescent away with his palm.
Ichigo's eyes widened.
Even if that was a probing strike, Yammy would've been injured by it. But Ulquiorra had deflected it like it was nothing.
Still—it wasn't without cost.
Ulquiorra had used his High-Speed Regeneration the entire time to withstand the force.
His hand was soaked in blood.
After flicking the blood off, he looked at Ichigo.
"As expected of the one Lord Aizen warned us about… you're strong."
With that, Ulquiorra grabbed Yammy's severed arm and opened a Garganta.
"This ends here—for now."
Ichigo took one last look at the two Zanpakutō hanging at their waists.
At that moment, Urahara Kisuke and Yoruichi finally arrived on scene.
"What the—?!" Urahara was shocked.
If Grand Fisher had been like a baby Arrancar, then these two… were like college students—nearing graduation!
Ichigo, however, wasn't interested in chasing Ulquiorra or Yammy.
Instead, he turned to Orihime.
"How is he?" Ichigo asked.
"Sado-kun's injuries are serious… he needs to rest at home for a while," Orihime said, shaking her head helplessly.
Ichigo looked at the unconscious Sado, his expression dark.
What was Aizen planning?
Was this all just to spite him?
Ichigo didn't understand.
But—he still owed his sister Karin an explanation.
Later that night, Ichigo returned home.
Karin was waiting, her expression unwavering.
Ichigo sighed. He had no choice but to give her a basic explanation about Shinigami and Hollows.
Given her growing spiritual pressure, she was bound to become a Hollow's target sooner or later.
If she got hurt because he didn't warn her—that would be his failure as a brother.
...
The Next Day —
Just as Ichigo and his classmates were about to start class—
A loud commotion erupted in the hallway.
Ichigo turned to see the door swing open.
Standing there… were a bunch of familiar faces.
"Yo! Ichigo!"
It was Abarai Renji.
Along with him were Hitsugaya Tōshirō, Madarame Ikkaku, Ayasegawa Yumichika, and Matsumoto Rangiku—they'd all come to the World of the Living!
And of course, with them…
"Rukia! Senna! You're back!" Ichigo turned and beamed.
Seeing the two girls, Ichigo's mood instantly lifted.
Hitsugaya sighed, "Do you really have to play favorites like that?"
Rangiku puffed out her chest and smirked,
"Hmph! Just a kid. He still doesn't appreciate the charm of a mature woman!"
The arrival of all these Shinigami caused a small panic at school.
Ichigo had no choice but to bring Rukia and Senna home first.
"Rukia-nee, Senna-nee, you're back?" Yuzu greeted them warmly.
"Yuzu!" Senna rushed up and hugged her future sister-in-law.
"Did you miss me?"
Karin was still at soccer practice after school and hadn't returned yet.
After some small talk, Ichigo led the two girls up to his room.
"Ahhh~"
They both jumped onto his bed.
Senna closed her eyes and sighed,
"It feels so good to finally be home."
Rukia nodded slightly in agreement.
Ichigo shut the door and asked,
"So why did you bring the others to the World of the Living too?"
At that moment, four other Shinigami revealed themselves—having been hiding in his ceiling.
"Let me explain!" Rangiku popped her head down from the light fixture.
"Don't just tear up my house!" Ichigo scolded.
Rangiku, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Renji all jumped down.
"We were ordered by Captain-Commander Yamamoto to come here," Rangiku explained.
"Yamamoto-jii?" Ichigo was puzzled.
Rukia pulled out her sketchpad to help illustrate the situation as Rangiku spoke.
"Yesterday, you fought two fully-formed Arrancar, right?"
"Captain-Commander Yamamoto held an emergency meeting. Everyone's concerned about how fast Aizen is producing Arrancar!"
"It's only been a few months since he left Soul Society… and he's already producing completed Arrancar? Even Captain Mayuri and Urahara Kisuke can't believe it."
"At this rate, Captain-Commander suspects Aizen might attack before winter."
"That's why Captain Hitsugaya brought us vice-captains to the World of the Living—to defend against a possible sudden assault on Karakura Town."
Ichigo nodded in understanding.
"And what's with the Arrancar?"
Renji picked up the explanation.
"Arrancar are Hollows who've gained Shinigami powers—it's basically a way to make them stronger."
"But they're usually incomplete. What Aizen is doing with the Hōgyoku… is creating perfect Arrancar. The two you saw yesterday were finished products."
Ichigo nodded. Though neither Yammy nor Ulquiorra impressed him much, he knew the vice-captains wouldn't stand a chance against them.
Hitsugaya, who had been quiet until now, sat on the windowsill.
"Different Hollows gain different powers after becoming Arrancar."
"There are three types of Menos Grande."
"First, the Gillian—they're the lowest rank, massive in size but usually mindless. The one you killed before was a Gillian."
"Second, the Adjuchas—mid-tier Menos with their own intelligence. They're created when a Gillian devours enough of its kind. Much fewer in number—but far stronger."
"Third, the Vasto Lorde—the highest class. They look human-sized and are extremely rare."
"It's said there are only a handful in all of Hueco Mundo—and their power exceeds even captain-level Shinigami."
Hitsugaya looked at Ichigo.
"And that's just the unmodified Hollows. Arrancar created from them could be even stronger."
"If Aizen has more than ten Vasto Lorde-class Hollows, then we're in serious trouble. Even Soul Society may not be able to stop them."
Of course, that was just Hitsugaya's opinion—and the general consensus.
After all, no one in Soul Society had seen Yamamoto Genryūsai's Bankai in over a thousand years…
To be honest—his Bankai alone rivaled the power of the entire Gotei 13.
Ten Vasto Lorde? They'd be incinerated.
...
Meanwhile — In Hueco Mundo.
While Ichigo gathered intel about the Arrancar—
Ulquiorra returned with Yammy to report to Aizen Sōsuke.
His method?
He pulled out his own eye and… recorded the entire battle into it.
Only Ulquiorra's regeneration made this kind of thing even possible!
After reviewing the footage, Aizen asked,
"Ulquiorra, what do you think of Kurosaki Ichigo?"
As he spoke, a faint pain rippled through his body…
The "gift" Ichigo gave him back in Soul Society… still lingered in Aizen's memory.
(End of Chapter)
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