After that,
under the gaze of all the viewers,
the countdown video continued to play—
it wasn't long
before Ichigo's wound was fully repaired and his spiritual pressure returned.
The hole Ulquiorra had blasted through Ichigo's chest
vanished in an instant.
Bathed in the faint glow of Sōten Kisshun,
it completely closed up.
Not even the tiniest scar was left behind.
It was as if nothing had ever happened.
The fight where he'd been intercepted by the Black-Winged Demon
felt like some imaginary interlude that had never existed at all.
Right after,
when Ichigo Kurosaki opened his eyes again,
and his gaze regained its light—
seeing that scene,
the audience could no longer hold it in.
They cried out in shock once more!!!
"This is insane…"
"That woman's ability can really bring someone back from the dead!"
"Something like that should only be possible
for the Soul King in his prime,
wielding the full power of the Soul King, right?"
"Doesn't this mean
that Ichigo Kurosaki's cheat skills
just got upgraded to a brand-new version?"
"As expected… this entire world
really was tailor-made just for him!!!"
From the beginning,
Ichigo Kurosaki, as the protagonist,
had already been widely recognized
as a "mini Soul King"!!!
And now…
even his future wife,
with the Fullbring-type power she possessed,
was standing on the same level as the Soul King's power!
How was anyone else supposed to keep playing this game?
From here on,
whenever Ichigo Kurosaki went off to level up and fight bosses,
all he had to do was take Zangetsu in his hand
and bring Inoue Orihime along.
Two trump cards at once.
Even if he spotted the enemy a whole extra life,
it was hard to imagine how he could possibly lose!!!
"Damn it…"
"Ichigo Kurosaki… what a monster."
"Just how many mysteries are still hidden
either on his body or around the people at his side?"
"At this rate, by the time we reach the Thousand-Year Blood War,
when we're up against one ridiculous hack after another…"
"His Majesty's power of 'Almighty' might not even be enough to withstand it!!!"
Inside Silbern, the fortress of the Invisible Empire,
the pureblood Quincies were losing their composure.
Moments ago,
when they saw Ichigo Kurosaki get killed—
and the footage repeatedly confirmed
that even his spiritual pressure had completely vanished—
the Quincies had already been ready to pop champagne,
ready to celebrate that the one enemy
who posed the greatest future threat to the Wandenreich
had finally been taken off the board—
cut down before he could fully develop,
killed early by an Espada!!!
But unexpectedly…
the smiles on their faces
didn't even last a few minutes.
Because—
Ichigo Kurosaki revived in the blink of an eye!
And from the look of it,
his current condition was no different from before.
Full health, full spiritual power,
his body without a single trace of injury.
It was like he'd just burned a resurrection coin
and now had three extra lives compared to everyone else!!!
"Tch…"
Gerard Valkyrie snorted angrily, cursing,
"It's all because of that brain-dead Grimmjow!
If he hadn't meddled…"
"From this very moment on,
everyone in the Invisible Empire
could have just waited for His Majesty to wake up
with their minds fully at ease!"
"Exactly…" Lille Barro nodded.
"Healing the enemy is meaningless—
only a weakling would do something that stupid."
"Later, I want to see Grimmjow pay the price
for his own foolishness!!!"
Their eyes turned gloomy,
cold killing intent flickering inside them.
Even though they had always looked down
on the Espada and Arrancar,
still,
the sight of Ichigo Kurosaki returning from the dead
made the Quincy leaders feel a heavy pressure.
And so they channeled all of that anger—
directly at Grimmjow alone.
In their minds, it was that idiot
who had indirectly altered the very world line.
Originally,
if not for this part of the story,
the future of the Bleach world,
and the victory of the Thousand-Year Blood War,
would have practically been guaranteed.
What a waste!!!
———
In the footage that followed,
the video continued to play,
and the audience finally understood
Grimmjow's real motive for saving Ichigo.
So—
his goal
was simply to have
an undisturbed, fair, one-on-one fight with Ichigo Kurosaki!
Even though that kind of action
did have a certain strong-warrior flair to it…
the reaction inside Las Noches
was still full-scale outrage.
"Grimmjow, you idiot!"
"Kenpachi Zaraki can afford to shout,
'Let Ichigo cut me first!'"
"That's because he's a complete spiritual pressure monster!
And back then, Ichigo was still just a rookie Shinigami!"
"But you… Grimmjow, where do you get off acting this cool?"
"When you get cut down by Zangetsu later,
you'll have no one to blame but yourself!!!"
A tidal wave of criticism and mockery
was practically blasting Grimmjow's eardrums apart.
And yet,
as irritated as Grimmjow was,
he could only pretend not to hear,
shoving his hands in his pockets in silence.
There was nothing he could do about it…
When you try to talk "fairness"
with a guy who has protagonist aura
and cheats installed head-to-toe—
that idea is foolish from the very start!
It's incredibly foolish!
No matter how much the others mocked him,
all Grimmjow could do was grit his teeth and accept it.
The future version of himself
really was an idiot!!!
———
Later,
the video once again fast-forwarded.
Once the healing was finished
and Ichigo Kurosaki had fully recovered,
nobody expected
Ulquiorra's figure to reappear.
"Grimmjow…"
His cold voice
spat out the words like ice.
Expressionless,
Ulquiorra stared him down and demanded in a frosty tone:
"You deliberately healed the enemy I defeated.
Exactly what are you plotting?"
He stepped forward,
drawing closer.
Ulquiorra's figure grew larger and larger in the entryway,
bringing with it a chilling sense of pressure.
The air on screen
instantly became taut as a drawn bowstring.
"Tut tut…"
"Captain Aizen… who would've thought,
for the sake of Ichigo Kurosaki,
two Espada would start infighting?"
"They might even be about to throw down…"
At the foot of the throne,
Gin Ichimaru narrowed his eyes to slits,
smiling gleefully at the chaos.
He was clearly fascinated by this particular development.
In response,
Aizen didn't say a word.
His handsome face remained impassive,
as if he didn't take it seriously at all.
After all,
infighting among the Arrancar
was nothing new in Las Noches—
they'd long since become used to it.
The only difference was,
Grimmjow and Ulquiorra—
both of them were Espada.
And the only thing Aizen cared about
was that once the dust settled,
which of those two Espada
would become Ichigo Kurosaki's next opponent.
Only that
could highlight the further jump in Ichigo's power
after coming back from the dead.
That was the sole point that interested Aizen!
Soon,
the answer was revealed—
after a tense standoff,
a clash of Ceros,
and a sudden explosion of smoke and shockwaves—
Grimmjow seized his chance.
He flashed in behind Ulquiorra,
close enough to reach his back.
Then he used the special device
Aizen had given the Espada—
the Caja Negación—
and rammed it
straight into the hole in Ulquiorra's chest.
And just like that,
under everyone's watchful eyes,
Ulquiorra was forcibly dragged away
by a spatial vortex
and temporarily imprisoned inside it.
Grimmjow emerged as the winner.
While expelling his comrade,
he once again
indirectly helped Ichigo Kurosaki
by removing a deadly problem for him—
preventing a second hunt
by the Black-Winged Demon.
Of course,
this clip,
showing just how hard Grimmjow was working,
made him look exactly like a loyal bodyguard
assigned to the protagonist.
As a result,
another fierce debate broke out.
This time, it was the Shinigami captains
who finally couldn't sit still!!!
"Huh?"
"Old man, are you sure you didn't mix something up?"
Under the brim of his straw hat,
Shunsui Kyōraku gaped at the screen,
then let out a half-speechless chuckle.
"That Grimmjow…
are we absolutely certain he isn't our undercover agent?"
"How come it feels like he's working twice as hard
to protect Ichigo Kurosaki
than we captains are!!!"
Watching this,
Shunsui truly began to suspect
that Grimmjow was an Arrancar on the outside,
but a Shinigami at heart.
This was too much.
If he hadn't kept stepping in,
Ichigo Kurosaki might already have been killed a second time.
Who would believe him if he claimed not to be a mole?
"Hehe…"
Mayuri Kurotsuchi couldn't hold back either.
"So that's it…
helping the protagonist is the reason
he later evolves into a Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar?"
"In that case,
his actions are actually the mark of a wise man,
not a fool…"
Help the main character.
Receive benefits in return.
That's a massive profit.
Clearly Grimmjow was playing on a higher floor entirely.
His insight and long-term vision
were far above those of the other Arrancar.
"Tch…"
"So what you're saying is,
anyone who sticks close to Ichigo Kurosaki,
fights alongside him as a partner—"
"will end up with even bigger payoffs than this, huh?"
Kenpachi Zaraki finally figured it out.
Ichigo Kurosaki, as the protagonist,
wasn't just hacking the game for himself—
he also turned everyone around him
into co-cheaters.
In the future,
anyone who had forged a positive bond with Ichigo
and earned his recognition—
would, come the Thousand-Year Blood War,
suddenly find their own "patch notes" massively buffed,
getting forced power-ups and padded résumés.
Clearly…
Grimmjow was one such example.
And the scenes they'd just watched
were the best proof!!!
———
After that,
amid everyone's astonishment,
the video jumped once again.
This time,
it finally cut to the battle footage itself.
"Clang—!!!"
The crash of blade against claw
echoed again and again in the white desert sky.
Each clash
set the sands rumbling
and sent shockwaves rolling out in waves.
"So he's released his Resurrección…"
"No surprise there.
After being resurrected, Ichigo Kurosaki's power
has accidentally leveled up again!"
"And judging by this,
the two of them are evenly matched.
Even in Resurrección…"
"Grimmjow in his panther form
still can't completely overpower him!!!"
Inside Las Noches,
after only a few seconds of observation,
the Espada and Arrancar
all wore increasingly grave expressions.
Jokes were one thing…
but at this point,
even putting his cheat abilities aside,
the strength Ichigo Kurosaki was displaying
was already on par with any Espada.
Across all of Hueco Mundo,
he was second only
to those few Vasto Lorde-class monsters.
No one dared look down on him anymore.
And as fellow Hollows,
none of them really believed
that Grimmjow could win.
Sure enough,
as the footage continued to fast-forward,
the drawn-out fight showed both sides taking injuries.
Overall,
neither Ichigo Kurosaki nor Grimmjow
managed to secure an overwhelming advantage.
Then, as both of them recovered their breath
and pushed themselves to their limits—
Grimmjow finally snapped
and decided to go all in.
"Boom—!!!"
A monstrous surge of spiritual pressure
erupted from Grimmjow's body.
At the same time,
he spread his arms wide.
His panther claws gleamed
with deep green light.
He was pouring out spiritual pressure
to its absolute limit,
abandoning all other weapons or tricks,
fighting on raw instinct and will alone.
The next blow
would decide everything.
Their third battle
was about to reach its end.
"Ichigo Kurosaki… take this!!!"
A blue slash ripped through the air,
shaking everything.
A sea of blue light
filled the entire screen,
so bright it made the viewers' eyes sting.
"So powerful!!!"
"Even Hueco Mundo's artificial sky is shaking!"
"With this…
Grimmjow finally clawed back some dignity for himself!!!"
Inside Las Noches,
aside from Starrk, Baraggan, and Harribel,
the other Arrancar and Hollows
all wore looks of fear.
They were genuinely intimidated
by the power of the Panther King's claws.
Instinctively,
they admitted
that Grimmjow was strong enough.
As an opponent for the protagonist,
he hadn't brought shame to Hueco Mundo.
Unfortunately,
Ichigo Kurosaki
was no ordinary Shinigami.
"Grimmjow…"
"I have to win!!!"
"I have to protect everyone
and bring them all back safely!"
"So… I have no choice but to defeat you!!!"
His will exploded.
His fighting spirit burned.
Backed into a corner,
Ichigo Kurosaki refused to retreat.
Instead, he shone even brighter,
charging straight at Grimmjow with his blade swinging!
Until finally…
Ichigo's Crescent Moon slash,
delivered at close range,
came down in a single decisive stroke.
Three massive, blood-red gashes
opened up across Grimmjow's body.
The battle
ended there.
In the end, and without any flukes,
Ichigo Kurosaki won.
Before the eyes of the entire audience,
in a fair fight,
he defeated the powerful Grimmjow.
"Mr. Shinigami…"
"Congratulations.
After this battle, I'm sure Ichigo's strength
has truly earned the viewers' recognition."
"This time he didn't lean on anyone else—
Hollow Ichigo and old man Zangetsu never showed up at all."
"Ichigo Kurosaki really did
beat his opponent with his own power alone!!!"
Inside the Urahara Shop,
Kisuke Urahara smiled
and sighed in admiration.
In this new Hueco Mundo "dungeon,"
Ichigo Kurosaki's growth was astonishing.
His level of strength had surpassed
that of ordinary captains.
That alone was enough!
Isshin Kurosaki nodded.
"Then next,
we should be heading for Las Noches itself
to bring Inoue Orihime home, right?"
When it came to his future sister-in-law,
Isshin was more than satisfied.
He was practically itching
to rush over as soon as the countdown video ended,
drag Ichigo along,
and propose on the spot.
He couldn't take his eyes off Orihime.
She was a sweet girl,
gorgeous to look at,
and very easy on the eyes.
More importantly,
her Sōten Kisshun ability—
even Isshin, up to this day,
couldn't help but praise it.
He would eventually come to a firm conclusion:
once she truly cut loose,
she'd be on the Soul King's level herself.
And right then,
under everyone's watchful gaze,
the video screen switched once more.
As expected—
the scene shifted to inside Las Noches.
"Boom—!!!"
The palace roof shattered,
stone and dust bursting outward.
From within the swirling smoke and blast waves,
Ichigo Kurosaki's figure,
clad in his black tailcoat,
dropped to the ground.
Both hands gripped Zangetsu,
the blade pointing forward.
In that moment,
the camera shifted again.
The viewers were stunned to see
that standing opposite Ichigo Kurosaki—
was Ulquiorra.
Which could only mean one thing…
the second bout against the Black-Winged Demon
was about to be revealed!!!
(End of Chapter)
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