WebNovels

Chapter 136 - Chapter 136

As he spoke, Muramasa directly summoned a Hollow mask over his face!

This scene instantly shocked Ulquiorra!

For someone whose expression was normally unreadable, Ulquiorra's pupils suddenly contracted when he saw the white mask appear on Muramasa's face!

Clearly, Muramasa's move had completely exceeded his expectations.

"What's wrong? Are you scared after seeing what I look like now?" Muramasa's voice began to distort, now carrying a digitized tone.

And unlike normal Hollowfication, which had a time limit, Muramasa stood still, holding his Zanpakutō, without any signs of being affected by such constraints!

After all, Muramasa's Hollowfication came from White Ichigo and Ichigo himself—it was his own power. He didn't need training to extend the time limit!

For Muramasa, as long as his power didn't run out, his Hollowfication could last forever!

This was his power.

But Ulquiorra had never seen a Zanpakutō that could Hollowfy!

This was something only the liar dad's sword could do.

Only Ichigo's Zanpakutō possessed such an ability!

Even the rest of the Visoreds couldn't make their Zanpakutō Hollowfy!

After all, the Hollow inside them was nothing more than a byproduct of Aizen Sōsuke's experiments—unlike Ichigo, who was born with a Hollow inside him!

Although, technically, the Hollow inside Ichigo came from an experiment by Aizen...

But that was the Hollow inside Kurosaki Masaki. What's in Ichigo now is something completely innate to him!

Still, seeing Muramasa now, Ulquiorra couldn't help but think—this wasn't just a manifested Zanpakutō anymore, this was an Arrancar.

And not just any Arrancar, but one at Espada-level!

"Careful now, Ulquiorra. I'm not very good at controlling this power," Muramasa warned sincerely.

But Ulquiorra had no idea how terrifying Muramasa's current state really was.

In an instant, Muramasa used Sonído to appear behind Ulquiorra, and with a single swipe, sliced off a lock of his hair!

Clang!

Ulquiorra raised his Zanpakutō to block the strike!

But Muramasa's strength was overwhelming!

It was like watching a baseball bat slam a ball—Ulquiorra's Zanpakutō was knocked flying!

He crashed through who-knows-how-many pillars, finally stopping only by stabbing his blade into the ground to stabilize himself!

His arm trembled violently—Muramasa's last strike had nearly disabled it!

Ulquiorra stared at Muramasa, who slowly approached him, and narrowed his eyes before firing a Cero!

The green-black Cero was caught in Muramasa's hand and—like popping a balloon—was crushed effortlessly!

The explosion didn't even leave a scratch on Muramasa.

Ulquiorra saw this and understood clearly: in his current state, Muramasa was far beyond him.

Before he could react, Muramasa raised his own slender finger and pointed at him!

A violet Cero began to form at his fingertip!

Its energy was even more terrifying than Ulquiorra's so-called Lanza del Relámpago!

Ulquiorra crossed his Zanpakutō in front of him to block it—

Boom!

The sheer power of the purple Cero cracked Ulquiorra's blade!

Muramasa's strength was simply crushing him!

The explosion pierced straight through the wall behind Ulquiorra!

Seeing this, Ulquiorra stopped trying to stall and immediately flew out through the hole!

Muramasa quickly gave chase.

Ichigo turned to Uryū and Orihime and said, "Wait here. We'll be right back."

With that, he used Shunpo and took off after them!

Orihime watched Ichigo go, worry clear in her eyes. Even though both Ichigo and Muramasa had displayed overwhelming strength, she still couldn't help but worry.

Uryū saw through her concern and smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry. Just Muramasa alone is more than a match for Ulquiorra—let alone with Ichigo. They'll win for sure."

She nodded, but her heart was still uneasy.

Ichigo, after chasing them out of the fortress, found that Ulquiorra wasn't planning to fight anymore. He was flying straight to the dome of Las Noches!

Ichigo didn't know why, but seeing Muramasa give chase, he followed as well.

One Shinigami.

One Zanpakutō.

One Arrancar.

The three of them broke through the dome of Las Noches and emerged into the open skies of Hueco Mundo!

Above them was the eternal, unchanging moon.

Below them, an endless desert of white sand.

Ulquiorra stood atop a high tower under the moonlight, overlooking Hueco Mundo as he said to Muramasa, "For a Zanpakutō, you're indeed powerful."

"But you may not know—under the dome of Las Noches, two things are forbidden. One is the use of Lanza del Relámpago."

"The second is—Espada ranked Fourth and above are forbidden from using Resurrección."

"These rules exist because both of these abilities can destroy Las Noches itself!"

Muramasa looked amused by Ulquiorra's dramatic speech and didn't care at all about how powerful this "Resurrección" was supposed to be.

But Ulquiorra raised his blade and spoke calmly, "Enclose... Murciélago!"

The green-black spiritual pressure exploded around him!

It rained down like a thunderstorm made of spiritual energy!

Even Nelliel's second Resurrección hadn't seemed this terrifying—though that was only because she hadn't fully recovered her energy. At full strength, she'd surpass even this.

Still, watching the downpour of green-black energy, Muramasa finally stopped underestimating him.

As expected of a Vasto Lorde-level Arrancar—Ulquiorra's pressure in this state was leagues above the other Espada.

Under the moonlight, Ulquiorra slowly spread his wings.

The helmet that only half-covered his head before now formed a full mask.

The massive, bat-like wings stretched wide—he looked no different than a demon from hell!

Facing Muramasa, who showed no fear at all, Ulquiorra formed a green spear of energy in his hand.

In a blink—

He used Sonído and appeared right in front of Muramasa, jabbing the spear forward!

An ordinary foe would have been obliterated on the spot.

But Muramasa wasn't ordinary!

Screeeeech!

The sound of metal grinding—

Muramasa had grabbed the spear with his bare hand!

Ulquiorra's eyes widened again!

Even in Resurrección, his Lanza del Relámpago was caught so easily?!

But it was still a spiritual weapon—

BOOM!

Ulquiorra detonated the spear on the spot!

The explosion engulfed the white desert!

Ichigo watched calmly—he knew Muramasa's strength.

That level of attack would never defeat him.

Sure enough, as the smoke cleared, Muramasa was completely unharmed—not even in the blast zone!

Instead, he was behind Ulquiorra!

Slash!

Muramasa landed a heavy blow on Ulquiorra's undefended back!

Only after the attack landed did Ulquiorra realize it and immediately Sonído'd away to regain distance.

How had Muramasa gotten behind him?!

From Ulquiorra's perspective, Muramasa was clearly standing in front of him just a moment ago!

"…Was that part of your ability?" Ulquiorra asked.

"Correct. It's one of my abilities—manipulating the five senses," Muramasa replied calmly.

"During our fight, my spiritual pressure has gradually seeped into yours. Now I can alter your perception at will."

"Sight, taste, touch, hearing, smell—all of them are under my control. Just like what happened earlier—you can no longer accurately detect where I am."

From Ulquiorra's view, Muramasa now appeared like multiple afterimages, constantly flickering and shifting before his eyes.

But Ulquiorra knew—Muramasa hadn't moved at all.

"Such a strange… but practical ability," Ulquiorra admitted.

It was like a budget version of Kyōka Suigetsu.

Muramasa, hearing the praise, also explained his ability's weaknesses.

"Of course, this power has flaws. First, it doesn't work on inanimate objects—so if you had a device to track my location, I'd be exposed. But clearly, you don't."

"Second, if your spiritual pressure surpasses mine, my ability will fail completely."

This was actually one of the known counters to Kyōka Suigetsu as well—along with touching the blade before activation.

Ulquiorra, upon hearing this, decided to test it himself.

"Cero Oscuras!"

A massive black Cero began forming at his fingertip!

This was a special move exclusive to the Espada!

Clearly, Ulquiorra wanted to see if a wide-range attack could hit Muramasa regardless of the illusions.

BOOOOM!

The explosion was like a nuclear blast!

Its shockwave even reached all the way down into Las Noches!

Feeling that violent quake, Orihime could no longer suppress her fear.

"Uryū-kun, I'm really worried about Ichigo-kun. Can you take me up there?" she pleaded.

Even Uryū, confident in Ichigo's power, was beginning to feel uneasy after that explosion.

After a long pause, he nodded and said, "Alright. I'll take you."

He summoned a circular Reishi platform and rose into the air with Orihime, flying toward the shattered dome!

And they weren't the only ones worried—Rukia, Senna, Renji, Chad, and Tatsuki all felt the shockwave too.

"Who's fighting up there? That spiritual pressure… it's unfamiliar!" Tatsuki looked up, trying to sense the ongoing battle.

Since Ichigo wasn't fighting, she didn't know Muramasa's spiritual signature yet.

But the two girls living with Ichigo did.

"That's Muramasa! Who's he fighting? And where's Ichigo?! Why hasn't he stepped in?" Senna asked anxiously, turning to Rukia.

Rukia also looked grim. Could there really be someone in Hueco Mundo who forced Ichigo to let Muramasa take the lead?

(End of Chapter)

[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]

[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]

[Thank You For Your Support!]

More Chapters