"Way too insane…"
"Ulquiorra's head got stomped flat—completely…"
"We Espada… have we ever been humiliated like this?"
Inside Las Noches.
Tier Halibel's expression changed.
Her composure completely shattered—replaced by an overwhelming fear.
Because she knew—
Ever since Ulquiorra's Segunda Etapa was revealed…
And after witnessing the power of that Black-Winged Demon with her own eyes…
In Halibel's heart,
she had already openly admitted it:
Ulquiorra was stronger than her.
Her ranking among the Espada… might have to swap with his.
Of course—
bust size excluded.
In that regard, Halibel was still firmly number one!!!
Precisely because she'd already accepted that…
the moment she saw that even the powerful Black-Winged Demon
was being ground into the floor under Bull-Head Ichigo's foot—
Halibel instantly felt terrified!
Clearly a Vasto Lorde-class Hollow,
yet right now she looked like a human—
panic written all over her face!
She even…
lost the courage
to look at that invincible back—
Bull-Head Ichigo's silhouette taking up half the screen.
It was as if…
that stomp
wasn't just on the Black-Winged Demon's head—
but was crushing reality itself,
crushing Halibel,
crushing every Hollow and Arrancar present.
As fellow creatures of the same kind,
they could only bow their heads—
and be brutally executed under Bull-Head Ichigo's heel!!!
"I really want to plead for Ulquiorra…"
"I hope the author can hurry up and shut off the video!"
"Every second this keeps airing is double the torture for him…"
Beside Starrk,
his Fracción, Lilynette, couldn't bear to watch anymore.
Even though normally,
because of their difference in status,
she and Ulquiorra basically never spoke—
they were still comrades!
And more importantly, this ranking video was a worldwide public broadcast!
Anyone
being publicly "executed" like this—
violently stomped in the head—
this scene was no different from being forced to humiliate yourself in the street.
Unbearable disgrace. Utter loss of face.
Forget Ulquiorra—Lilynette couldn't take it either!
Starrk shook his head, sympathy in his eyes.
"If it were Ichigo Kurosaki himself, maybe he'd hold back… but if it's Bull-Head Ichigo…"
He paused for a moment,
then turned his gaze toward Ulquiorra's figure not far away.
Starrk spoke frankly:
"Unless he's beaten to death… or blown into scraps by a Cero… Bull-Head Ichigo probably won't stop."
"After all… this thing's appearance is part of 'Zangetsu's' power. It's truly taking revenge for the protagonist!!!"
As cruel as it sounded,
it was basically declaring the Black-Winged Demon's fate.
But that was reality.
And the next images proved Starrk wasn't wrong.
——
At this moment,
inside the video.
With the camera focused tight—
and under Orihime Inoue and Uryu Ishida's terrified stares—
Bull-Head Ichigo
kept stomping the Black-Winged Demon's head flatter and flatter.
At the same time, it lowered its head—
driving the pressure down, crushing toward his skull and brain.
"BOOM!!!"
A crimson flash rapidly condensed—
and fired point-blank, instantly blasting out.
"It's over…"
"Ulquiorra's dead for sure this time!"
"At that distance, no matter how strong his regeneration is, he can't withstand his body and organs being annihilated!"
"It's finished… there's no suspense left in this battle!!!"
In that instant,
staring at the explosion that nearly filled their entire vision—
the gigantic sphere of light after detonation,
the destructive shockwave energy—
Hollows and Arrancar everywhere
fell into utter despair.
Trembling,
they couldn't help but feel genuine pity for Ulquiorra.
Even though in the previous "instance,"
Byakuya Kuchiki—an enemy—had also been one of the victims…
that time,
Ichigo's consciousness was still present.
And because White was only playing around and hadn't gotten serious,
Ichigo regained control in time
and drove him off.
So in the end,
Byakuya was "only" brutally cut up—
even if he was drenched in blood,
his outcome was still far better than this!
But this time…
the Black-Winged Demon's situation
could only be described as a living nightmare.
Since the ranking video began,
there had almost never been a result more horrific than this!
In the end—
the massive explosion tore through the desert.
It even punched through the "canopy" above,
ripping it open and blasting down into Hueco Mundo's ground.
And of course,
with the damage spreading outward,
the video image and the transparent light screen
were blown apart as well.
The signal cut out.
Viewers were forcibly interrupted—
and everyone fell back into shock once again!!!
"This is way too terrifying…"
"From the sky to the ground, he pierced all of Hueco Mundo!"
"Bull-Head Ichigo's Cero is stronger than anyone's Zanpakutō by countless times!!!"
Inside Squad One.
Toshiro Hitsugaya's eyes widened.
His expression under white hair was pure disbelief—
the scene from just now had shaken him to the core.
If it happened a few more times,
the corridors and underground structures around Las Noches—
and the Las Noches palace Aizen built—
wouldn't it all revert to nothing overnight?
Bull-Head Ichigo really had the power to destroy Hueco Mundo single-handedly!
Absolutely horrifying!!!
"Captain…"
"Good thing the one who fought you back then wasn't this bull-horn form… otherwise Seireitei might not even exist anymore."
Renji Abarai spoke with lingering fear.
Back then, if the one "subbing in" had been Bull-Head Ichigo—
that uncommunicative monster—
Renji honestly felt that even if the Head-Captain stepped in…
even with Zanka no Tachi (Longsword of the Remnant Flame)…
it still might not be able to stop it.
At the very least, it could absolutely drag the entire Soul Society into destruction!!!
Therefore,
in theory…
whether in Hueco Mundo or in Soul Society,
Bull-Head Ichigo was invincible!
In this world, the number of strong people who could stop that monster
could be counted on one hand!
Even Aizen…
was no exception!!!
"Heh heh…"
Watching the light screen still black—
currently repairing itself—
Mayuri Kurotsuchi let out a cold laugh and kicked them while they were down.
"In a moment, if nothing unexpected happens, that Black-Winged Demon should be gone, right?"
"Even if he's still alive, he won't be complete. He'll be crippled."
"The brightest moment of the Arrancar… just got trampled under Bull-Head Ichigo's feet!!!"
His words had barely fallen.
Not long after,
with a whoosh—the screen finished repairing,
and the video returned.
Sure enough!
When the smoke and shockwaves finally dispersed—
the audience immediately saw,
beneath Bull-Head Ichigo's foot—
a body that was no more than a third of its original size.
Only a head and shoulders remained,
along with half of a broken black wing—
Ulquiorra.
In this state,
he was practically no different from a sheet of black paper.
And what's more—
in this shot,
Bull-Head Ichigo was crudely gripping him one-handed by the wing,
like a black trash bag—
casually dangling him in midair!!!
When this image spread to the real world,
it predictably triggered another massive uproar!!!
"Yare yare…"
"Other than the head, all the internal organs are gone, huh?"
"Bull-Head Ichigo is really nasty. He might as well have blasted him cleanly and given Ulquiorra a quick end."
Gin Ichimaru froze for a moment.
After a brief shock, he immediately smiled with narrowed eyes and teased.
With his personality,
he naturally didn't feel a shred of sympathy.
He just thought Ulquiorra looking like this was worse than dying.
It was humiliation times two.
Even more shameful than being stomped in the head earlier!!!
On the throne above,
Sosuke Aizen said expressionlessly:
"As expected—before absolute power, the Hollow's prized High-Speed Regeneration…"
"…has been proven to be nothing more than a useless gimmick."
"After Segunda Etapa, the Black-Winged Demon's last trace of dignity has been completely trampled by this scene."
Aizen was very satisfied with Bull-Head Ichigo's displayed combat power.
From beginning to end,
it was a comprehensive, merciless domination of the Black-Winged Demon.
Up to now—dismembering him, about to end the battle—
the entire sequence
made Aizen feel, more than ever,
the tremendous latent energy inside the Zanpakutō named "Zangetsu."
White… Old Man Zangetsu…
and now yet another invincible form: Bull-Head Ichigo.
As expected…
this round of rankings—
Ichigo Kurosaki's growth, and the unveiling of "Zangetsu"—
never lacked surprises.
At least,
at this moment,
after watching this battle,
Aizen became even more certain:
his plan, started twenty years ago—raising and cultivating this "pawn"—
was undeniably correct.
Ichigo Kurosaki…
truly was the chosen one.
And his "Zangetsu"…
was enough to make even Aizen widen his horizons.
In the Thousand-Year Blood War,
it really was the only divine weapon
capable of breaking Yhwach's defenses—
and killing him!!
——
And now,
inside the video, the battle indeed entered its final phase.
"BOOM!!!"
Facing the camera,
Bull-Head Ichigo casually tossed—
flinging the Black-Winged Demon's mangled body to the ground.
Even though afterward,
Uryu Ishida blocked it for a moment—
and in that brief gap, the Black-Winged Demon used his ability again,
restoring the parts of his body and limbs that had vanished…
it was still—
because his internal organs were gone—
only an empty shell.
It didn't even have spiritual pressure anymore!
"Tch…"
"Still trying to struggle? Don't flatter yourself!"
Kenpachi Zaraki sneered.
"This Black-Winged Demon's only ending is that he'll stop holding on sooner or later—then vanish into dust!!!"
Anyone—
even the strongest of the strong—
once their spiritual form collapses,
is destined to die.
That was an iron law.
Even the Soul King couldn't reverse it.
Let alone some mere Arrancar!
Sure enough…
in the footage, Ulquiorra himself admitted it:
"Kill me… Ichigo Kurosaki."
"I've reached my limit. I don't even have the strength to walk anymore…"
But right after he said that,
the camera shifted behind him.
The viewers could clearly see it—
the massive black wings began turning into nothingness.
Like gray smoke,
bit by bit, they drifted away and disappeared—
disintegrating before the naked eye.
The whole process
didn't last long.
After suffering the most extreme slaughter,
he became nothing but a pitiful backdrop
meant to highlight Bull-Head Ichigo's overwhelming power.
Even in the end,
his death returned to nothingness—
the original fate of the Black-Winged Demon's kind from the very start!!!
However…
the shock didn't end there.
"BOOM—!!!"
After the battle ended—
Bull-Head Ichigo was released,
and Ichigo Kurosaki collapsed again—
the Hollow hole in his chest
tore open as well,
and through High-Speed Regeneration he restored himself directly!
Full health. Eyes open.
As if nothing had happened—
like he'd simply slept beautifully,
then, while sleepwalking, killed the strongest Arrancar.
When that image appeared,
the viewers once again shook so hard they practically lost it!!!
"Heh heh…"
"Isshin-san, you can relax now, right?"
"Just now, Ichigo's cheat clearly got renewed again…"
Inside the Urahara Shop,
Kisuke Urahara waved his folding fan and joked.
Honestly—
even he couldn't help feeling jealous.
Ichigo Kurosaki's protagonist aura—
especially that blade "Zangetsu"—
was absurdly overpowered.
Because Bull-Head Ichigo's power
was, in truth, the genuine core of Zangetsu's power.
It basically came from the boundless abyss of emptiness itself.
Which meant…
that other power—Old Man Zangetsu—
didn't even appear the whole time,
to the point that people almost forgot he existed.
Urahara didn't believe for a second that if Old Man Zangetsu took over…
that pure-blood Quincy-style Blut power
wouldn't also be able to flip the situation
and defeat the Black-Winged Demon.
"Yeah…"
Yoruichi picked up the thread, curiosity rising.
"After seeing that clip just now, I'm even more interested—exactly when will it be?"
"When will White and Old Man Zangetsu… combine their powers as one, and show up together as a shared 'cheat'?"
"Could it be that during the Karakura Town fight with Aizen… that was the reason?"
Yoruichi suddenly proposed.
Just one power inside "Zangetsu" was already invincible.
So then—
with no suppression,
with no restraints—
wouldn't becoming a transcendent be effortless?
That idea
also reminded everyone else.
People suddenly realized—
"Oh, right…"
Isane Kotetsu remembered the previous round.
At the end of the Karakura Town decisive battle,
when Ichigo Kurosaki appeared like a hero after Gin Ichimaru's failed assassination—
she suddenly understood.
"I'm guessing after this battle ends, what we'll see next…"
"…is the exact scene of Ichigo training Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō (Final Getsuga Tensho), right?"
"And maybe… inside his soul world!"
"White and Old Man Zangetsu… might even fuse together!!!"
Because last time,
Ichigo Kurosaki's performance had been far too sudden.
The specific process was never shown—
and to this day it remained a mystery.
Even Aizen—empowered by the Hōgyoku—
had once thought Ichigo was some kind of heretic cultivator,
gaining transcendent power by sacrificing spiritual pressure.
But now…
it seemed that inside the training for Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō,
a massive secret was hidden.
It was also a crucial step
in further unveiling "Zangetsu"!!!
——
Then,
under Urahara and the others' eager stares,
not long after—
the black screen lit up again.
The story didn't cut off.
It continued directly after the end of the battle with the Black-Winged Demon.
Ichigo Kurosaki left the canopy above,
returned to Hueco Mundo below—
and the scene shifted to his fight with Yammy.
"?!"
"This is… a nemesis?"
"What do you mean… could it be… he fought Ichigo Kurosaki too?"
"As Ulquiorra's partner, after Ulquiorra gets slaughtered, Yammy will get smashed by the bull too!!!"
At this moment,
amid the Arrancar army's wails,
the video showed Hueco Mundo's vast desert—
Yammy, after releasing—
with the bull-horn pressure bearing down.
But—
right then,
as the audience argued heatedly, Yammy immediately shouted:
"Rukia… she's one of the wives too!"
"Next, don't tell me the Hollow power evolved!"
"Is Ichigo Kurosaki going to put on a bull-horn mask and beat Yammy?!"
(End of Chapter)
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