"Yare yare, Aizen, looks like we've been caught."
Inside the roaring ring of fire, Gin smiled his usual narrow-eyed smile as he stared at the blazing flames around them. He stretched out his hand and lightly brushed the fire.
When he pulled it back…
His arm was already charred black.
A faint smell of burnt flesh drifted in the air.
"The temperature of these flames is really something."
Gin looked at his severely burned arm as if he couldn't feel any pain at all, still smiling.
Seeing this, Aizen also extended his own arm into the flames. Three seconds later, he calmly withdrew it, the skin likewise scorched, and smiled.
"As expected of the Captain-Commander. These flames are what… around eighty million degrees, I'd say?"
Genryusai narrowed his eyes.
"Aizen, the one trapped in that fire… is your real body, isn't it?"
Just now, Aizen had run his blade through Momo and Toshiro, and immediately afterward Genryusai had imprisoned him in the flames.
Within that brief moment…
There had been no room to swap places or escape.
He was convinced this was Aizen's true body.
Aizen didn't answer that question. He only smiled lightly.
"Captain-Commander, you really are ruthless. To let Toshiro-taicho be gravely injured by me—can you still call yourself Captain-Commander after that?"
Genryusai answered in a low, steady voice.
"Everyone has already steeled their resolve—to pay with their lives in order to slay this villain. Only then can the spirit of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads be shown."
As he spoke, Genryusai leveled his blade straight at Aizen.
"Aizen, aren't you coming out?"
The flames were his domain.
The instant anyone stepped out of that inferno, he would sense it—
And what awaited then would be his strongest strike.
Faced with Genryusai's words, Aizen looked utterly unconcerned, smiling as he replied:
"In such a cold sky, it's not so bad to stand here and warm myself by the fire. Captain-Commander, why don't you let me see the Seireitei's resolve next?"
Genryusai narrowed his eyes and silently observed Aizen.
He knew.
Aizen absolutely had the strength to escape.
But he deliberately chose not to.
While the two of them were locked in a tense standoff, the many Arrancar on the other side had already lost their patience. They roared feverishly as they charged toward the Shinigami.
"Shinigami!!!"
"Kill them!!!"
"Hahahahaha! Taste fear!!!"
The Arrancar surged in all directions—and those directions just happened to be where the barrier pillars were located.
The Shinigami tensed and grew even more alert.
They all drew their zanpakuto and entered shikai in unison.
"Raise your head, Wabisuke (The Penitent One)!"
"Run, Dongyun (Frozen Cloud)!"
"Whisper, Haineko (Ash Cat)!"
"Reap, Kazeshini (Wind of Death)!"
"Rampage and bloom, Suzumebachi (Hornet)!"
Voices calling out zanpakuto releases rang one after another.
Most of the swords simply changed shape, but some became drifting ash, others turned into glassy vine-like whips—each embodying its own unique power.
Yumichika sighed helplessly.
"I really didn't want to use this shikai. It's way too mismatched with my aesthetic, don't you think?"
Not far away, Ikkaku snorted.
"Quit whining. I still have to use Bankai later. Compared to that, a little shikai of yours is nothing."
In all of Soul Society, those two might be the ones who least wanted to use their true zanpakuto.
But they had no choice.
Once a zanpakuto's ability had been exposed, there was no point hiding it any longer.
While the two bickered, Komamura's eyes were locked on Tosen.
He wanted more than anything to cross blades with that dear friend of his.
But since Tosen was currently within the Captain-Commander's sea of fire, he could only give up—for now—and turn his gaze toward the Arrancar charging their way.
"Roar, Tenken (Heavenly Retribution)!!!"
Komamura roared.
In the air above, a gigantic armored arm materialized out of nowhere, gripping a massive blade.
Just as he was about to swing it down, Shuhei rushed forward with Kazeshini in hand and spoke in a solemn voice.
"Captain Komamura, leave this side to me. I swear on my life—I won't let a single Hollow destroy this barrier."
Komamura looked at him for a heartbeat.
"Guarding the barrier comes after one thing—you must first protect your own life."
"Yes, sir!"
Shuhei answered.
He hurled Kazeshini, the two-bladed weapon linked by chains, and it spun toward the incoming Hollows like a howling windmill.
The Arrancar that were rushing in had already been stopped by several vice-captains.
The remaining captains had no choice but to set their sights on the four Arrancar hovering high in the sky, expressions growing more and more grave.
They understood.
Those lesser Arrancar were important, but the true deciders of victory were still these top-tier combatants.
And those four in the sky…
Each and every one of them was a Vasto Lorde-level Hollow.
Even the spiritual pressure leaking from them was enough to inspire fear.
Komamura had just been about to call out his Bankai when a shout rang out beside him.
"Bankai!!!"
"Hihiō Zabimaru (Baboon King Zabimaru)!!!"
In front of Renji, a huge serpent made entirely of pale-yellow bones appeared and wrapped him up as if it were alive.
Renji's outfit changed as well; he looked like some grim hunter as he glared coldly at the enemy before him.
"Let's take one down first…"
With a sweep of his right hand, he swung the tail of the bone serpent—that was the hilt of his weapon. The entire gigantic serpent roared as it lunged.
Its jaws opened to an almost grotesque angle.
Two enormous fangs gleamed.
With a single bite, it seemed ready to devour Ulquiorra whole.
The nearby captains' expressions tightened.
"The Cuarta Espada, huh?"
Thanks to the information Hirako had brought them, they already knew who Ulquiorra really was.
The fourth Espada.
His aspect of death—emptiness.
A terrifyingly cold and emotionless Hollow.
Here, he was the lowest-ranked of the four Arrancar in the sky.
And Renji… was the one regarded as the weakest among the captains and acting captains.
A fight between these two would give them a useful gauge of the Espada's combat strength.
Or so they thought.
Ulquiorra watched the onrushing bone serpent with an utterly calm gaze. He slowly raised a finger and spoke in a flat tone.
"Seal… Murciélago (Black-Winged Great Demon)."
In an instant, he entered his first-stage Resurrección. A surge of green light erupted from his hand.
Seeing this, Renji didn't back down. He swung Hihiō Zabimaru and roared:
"Hihiō Zabimaru, Hikotsu Taiho (Baboon Bone Cannon)!!!"
The terrifying bone serpent opened its jaws wide at Ulquiorra.
From the depths of its throat, dazzling red light gathered.
When the light reached its peak, Renji roared, and the crimson beam blasted out like a Cero.
Ulquiorra's Cero fired at the exact same moment.
Red.
Green.
Two different colors collided in the sky.
There was no such thing as "evenly matched."
Renji's Hikotsu Taiho was crushed almost instantly, overwhelmed in a completely one-sided fashion.
"Impossible!!!"
Renji stared at the incoming green Cero in disbelief.
That was his ultimate trump card.
And yet it couldn't even match a "mere" ordinary Cero.
Boom!!!
A deafening explosion tore through the air.
Renji and Hihiō Zabimaru were both swallowed up by the emerald blast.
Smoke and dust billowed upward.
No one could see what was happening inside.
But just from what they had seen a moment ago, the Shinigami present were shocked.
A mere Cuarta Espada had felled Renji in a single blow—and that was when Renji was in Bankai.
If even the Fourth was this strong…
Then how terrifying were the Tercera, Segunda, and Primera Espada above him?
Shunsui sighed.
"Ukitake… looks like we're in real trouble this time. I've never seen Hollows this strong before."
In all the countless years up to now, it had always been Shinigami hunting Hollows.
He'd never imagined that one day things would be reversed.
That this many powerful Arrancar would appear, turning the hunters into the hunted.
"Enough talking. Let's go."
Soi fong cut him off casually. Her eyes locked onto Barraggan, who sat on his bone throne radiating oppressive majesty.
"I'll take that one."
Shunsui looked over the four Arrancar in the sky, then finally fixed his gaze on the lazy-looking Starrk.
"Then I'll handle that guy."
Ukitake was just about to pick an opponent when a violent coughing fit wracked his body.
Shunsui sighed, grabbed Ukitake by the arm, and pulled him back.
"You'd better not join the scrum. With that body of yours, you'd probably die of illness before anyone even got the chance to kill you."
Jiro, after carefully observing the battlefield, ultimately set his sights on Harribel.
He had no concept of going easy on women.
Once he decided, he didn't hesitate. He drew his zanpakuto and shouted:
"Bankai, Kiwōō Shun'ō (Radiant Spirit Palace)!!!"
Blinding golden lightning cascaded down from the heavens like flowing water, crackling with violent thunder.
"That leaves just one, huh?"
Seeing this, Ikkaku had no choice but to turn toward Ulquiorra. He swung his spear-like Hozukimaru and bellowed:
"Bankai!!!"
"Ryūmon Hozukimaru (Dragon-Crested Hozukimaru)!!!"
As the raging spiritual pressure whipped the air into a storm, the wooden spear in Ikkaku's hands transformed, becoming three massive axe-like blades.
"Hey, Renji! You still alive?!"
Ikkaku hefted Ryūmon Hozukimaru and howled down toward the skyscraper below.
He had no desire to steal someone else's opponent.
If Renji insisted on fighting this one alone, he was more than happy to hand Ulquiorra back to him.
With a heavy crash, the bone serpent's head suddenly lunged out from the smoke, shattering the skyscraper's glass windows.
Then Renji's body shot out after it.
He glanced at Hihiō Zabimaru, where cracks had formed along the bone segments, and his expression hardened. He raced up into the sky and spoke in a low voice.
"Ikkaku, don't underestimate him. He's not as simple as you think. We should take him together."
In his released Resurrección form, Ulquiorra's single Cero had crushed Renji's Bankai technique.
His power was already close to that of Byakuya.
And as far as Renji knew, Ulquiorra possessed a segunda etapa—something Cole had evaluated as giving him power surpassing even Byakuya.
"Team up, huh?"
Ikkaku burst out laughing.
He swung the massive axe blades of Ryūmon Hozukimaru and charged straight at Ulquiorra.
"I don't team up with other people. If you're not coming, then I'm going in!"
Ulquiorra gazed at the onrushing Ikkaku, his expression as empty as ever. Suspended in the air, he spoke with a voice as cold as a void.
"Segunda Etapa (Second Stage Resurrección)."
In the next instant, a dark green light exploded outward.
It was as if the sky itself began to rain deep green spiritual energy.
The form of the Black-Winged Great Demon appeared.
The sudden, monstrous visage startled not only the Shinigami, but even the other Hollows.
"Segunda Etapa?!"
Barraggan stared at Ulquiorra in shock.
"A second-stage Resurrección?"
Harribel involuntarily turned her head to look.
"There's a second stage…?"
Even Starrk, usually so sleepy and indifferent, seemed surprised.
As a Vasto Lorde-level Hollow who had torn off his own mask to become an Arrancar, he was the current Primera Espada, the strongest of the ten.
Yet even he had never heard of a segunda etapa.
Once he grasped what it meant, a fiery light flared to life in Barraggan's eyes.
"Segunda Etapa… the second form of Resurrección, fully releasing one's power and gaining even greater strength…"
"If I could achieve a segunda etapa as well… with my skeleton emperor power of aging…"
"I could definitely kill that bastard Aizen!"
The thought alone almost made him leap to his feet. He wanted to demand an explanation right then—how Ulquiorra had attained segunda etapa.
He had ruled Hueco Mundo as its king for over a thousand years, pushing his power to the very limit.
Now, at last, a new path to growing stronger had appeared.
Harribel's eyes flickered as she carefully compared her spiritual pressure with Ulquiorra's.
It felt to her…
Like the Cuarta Espada before her was stronger than she, the Tercera Espada.
After a bit of comparison, she had to admit through gritted teeth that Ulquiorra, in segunda etapa, truly did possess more spiritual power than she did.
When they returned to Las Noches after this battle, their rankings would almost certainly have to be rearranged.
Having taken on the form of the Black-Winged Great Demon, Ulquiorra beat his vast wings and vanished with sonido.
"Ah!"
A streak of black light tore across the sky.
As expected, Ikkaku's strike cleaved nothing but air. His pupils shrank as he whipped his head around, frantically trying to locate Ulquiorra.
"Behind you!" Renji roared. "He's behind you!"
Ikkaku's face drained of color. Without even turning around, he swung the enormous axe blades of Ryūmon Hozukimaru straight behind him.
The clash of metal rang out.
Ulquiorra had blocked that ferocious blow with nothing but the fingers of one hand.
Steel and flesh.
In the end, flesh had won.
While Ikkaku was still reeling in shock, Ulquiorra extended a finger and pressed it against his chest.
"Shinigami."
"Your heart…"
"What color do you suppose it is?"
(End of Chapter)
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