The Viper's Swan Song (continued)

Is there anything hidden? Ulquiorra never doubts what his eyes see.

He had witnessed Gin Ichimaru and Lord Aizen's interactions several times; this shouldn't be happening.

He clenched his right hand in the air, and a green spear appeared in his hand. He extended his left index finger and flicked it away with Cero of speed.

Faced with the vast range of King's Cero, Gin Ichimaru swiftly thrust his Kamishini no Yari straight at him.

When the tip of the cleaving blade touched the King's Cero, it caused the King to pause for a moment. The next instant, the Kamishini no Yari retracted, transformed into a cleaving blade, and thrust out again.

He stood there, relentlessly thrusting at the King's Cero, shattering it inch by inch.

Suddenly, a green light appeared from his side.

While Gin Ichimaru was dealing with King's Cero, Ulquiorra simultaneously used Sonído to get to his side, thrusting out his green spear with precision and striking his arm.

Upon seeing Gin Ichimaru point his short sword at his head, Ulquiorra immediately flapped his wings and used Sonído again to escape in one strike.

Blood was gushing from Gin Ichimaru's left arm. He gasped for breath and said, "Captain Hitsugaya, I can't hold on much longer."

"Ah, it's alright, it's enough."

A deep, steady voice rang out, which puzzled Gin Ichimaru, who turned to look at it.

What came into view was a young man with silver-white hair.

This is?

"I'm too young to unleash the full power of the Daiguren Hyōrinmaru. I can only unleash its full power after a period of time and by forcibly growing my body."

Young Tōshirō looked at his enlarged body and said with some disdain.

"To be honest, I don't really like this look."

"Captain Hitsugaya, you look really cool right now." Gin Ichimaru breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew, of course Tōshirō Hitsugaya was an even more talented person than himself, whose talent, displayed even in his childhood, was terrifying.

Even geniuses this powerful experience extremely slow physical growth.

It would take him at least two or three hundred years to grow into the young man he is today.

This means he's now in the form of someone two or three hundred years in the future, and might even be able to compete with Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto in terms of raw strength.

The appearance of the young Tōshirō drew Ulquiorra's attention entirely.

Judging solely from his perception, Tōshirō's current strength is terrifying, and he has no choice but to take him seriously.

He raised the green Moonlight Sword in his right hand and hurled it.

When fighting Senbonzakura, he had always wielded the Moonlight Sword, but now that he was throwing it, its speed was even faster than the Sonído.

The moment he finished his action, the green Moonlight Sword was already in front of Tōshirō, less than ten centimeters from his nose.

With a series of cracking sounds, the emerald light of the Moonlight Sword was covered by sharp ice, turning into an ice pop that hovered in front of Tōshirō.

Tōshirō flicked his finger, and the ice spear turned around and shot back along the same path. It was just as fast, and it actually pierced through Ulquiorra's abdomen, creating a wound.

Tōshirō took a step, which appeared to be just a simple step, but his body was already fifty meters in front of Ulquiorra, his palms outstretched, but there was no ice condensing in the surrounding air.

Ulquiorra suddenly lowered his head.

He found that his feet were about to lose feeling, and a bone-chilling cold was spreading upwards from his calves.

"I've frozen your body directly," Tōshirō said softly. "I'm sorry, I can't maintain this state for much longer, and I can't stall you any longer."

"Is that so? Indeed, you are incredibly powerful now that you're an adult." Ulquiorra stared at the chilling sensation that had already reached his thighs.

At this point, he had almost lost control of his legs and could not even sense their existence.

The most terrifying aspect of this freeze is that even if the legs were severed now and High-Speed Regeneration was used, it might not be possible to restore them immediately.

It seems that this freezing is not simply freezing blood and muscles, but rather freezing the concept of the legs.

Ulquiorra realized this, so he didn't cut off his legs and do something pointless.

He raised his head again and looked at Tōshirō: "Indeed, my time is running out."

As soon as he finished speaking, a dark green Reiatsu suddenly erupted from his body, instantly breaking through the freeze on his legs.

That Reiatsu shot straight into the sky, turning the heavens black.

At this moment, Ulquiorra's body also changed, this was his Segunda Etapa form.

Ulquiorra suddenly flicked his long, thin tail into the air with a loud snap, deflecting the incoming Kamishini no Yari.

He turned his head and looked over with his emerald green eyes. In his current state, even if the Kamishini no Yari really hit him, it wouldn't matter.

At most, it could pierce the Hierro and leave only a shallow wound, but he still believed that Gin Ichimaru was holding back, so he didn't give his opponent a chance to hit him.

"Strange, I thought you would use the Hōgyoku like them and change your form again, but it seems that's not the case," Gin Ichimaru said with some doubt.

After all, whether it was Zommari or Yammy before, they all ultimately showed a form that broke through and evolved again using the Hōgyoku.

At that time, they all used the Hogyoku after Resurrección their Hōgyoku to achieve a second evolution.

Ulquiorra calmly replied, "I am the only Espada who can complete Segunda Etapa without relying on the Hōgyoku."

"I see. I knew it. I should have chatted with you properly before, and things wouldn't be in such a mess now." Gin Ichimaru sighed.

It seems he genuinely regrets his indifference towards these Arrancar back in Hueco Mundo.

At this moment, Ulquiorra lowered his gaze again, looking at his dark right foot.

At this moment, a thin layer of ice appeared on the top of his foot.

Then, a dark green Reiatsu, as black as night, erupted from his body, and with a sudden tremor, the thin piece of ice shattered.

He turned his head and spoke calmly to Tōshirō: "Lord Aizen said that whether it is Soul Reaper, a Hollow, or Quincy, the final battle depends on Reiatsu."

So-called power of rules or abilities are meaningless in the face of an absolute difference in Reiatsu.

Your freezing technique is indeed powerful, but my Reiatsu is even stronger right now.

As he spoke, he clasped his hands together and pulled them outwards, and a long spear shaped like lightning materialized.

He gripped it with his right hand, aimed it at Tōshirō, and casually tossed it out. His movements were relaxed and effortless, as if he hadn't exerted much effort at all, completely different from when he threw the Moonlight Sword in his Resurrección 1 form.

However, the speed of this Lanza del Relámpago surpassed that of the Moonlight Sword.

Even though it was just a seemingly casual throw, it caught Tōshirō completely off guard, and his shoulder was instantly pierced through.

Feeling the expanding power of the Lanza del Relámpago on his shoulder, Tōshirō immediately roared, "Freeze!"

With a deafening roar, the Lanza del Relámpago exploded, forming a massive mushroom cloud of spiritual energy, its power far surpassing that of the King's Cero.

Tōshirō appeared a hundred meters behind Ulquiorra. His clothes on his shoulder were torn, and a scar remained, indicating that the Lanza del Relámpago had indeed injured him.

"They've actually developed it to this extent? Freezing space to create an escape opportunity." Ulquiorra turned his head and faced Tōshirō again.

"To be able to analyze my abilities after only seeing them once, you're truly terrifying." Tōshirō slowly exhaled a puff of white air.

"I'm merely stating what I've seen." Ulquiorra's voice remained calm, and his green eyes showed no trace of pride despite being praised by a powerful enemy.

This cold and ruthless demeanor made Tōshirō abandon his tactic of trying to confuse the other person with words.

It was obvious that the guy in front of them was not someone who could be provoked.

Ulquiorra raised his right hand again, dark aura gathering at his fingertips, looking like he was preparing Cero, except the color was completely different.

Moreover, when they gathered, the surrounding space emitted crackling sounds.

"Cero is one of the unique attack methods of Hollows. Even when used by an ordinary Menos Grande, it can deal a devastating blow to Soul Reaper."

"And you Soul Reaper all Shunpo, so why were you still hit by Cero that was secretly charged up?"

Ulquiorra, still gathering his strength, said coldly.

"Because it, like Sonído and the opening of the Garganta, contains the spatial characteristics inherent in Hollows. Even if you use the power to freeze space again after I use Black Cero after my Segunda Etapa, you still won't be able to dodge it."

"Indeed, I can feel the pressure of the surrounding space, and I'm also locked onto by that thing of yours." A bead of sweat appeared on Tōshirō's forehead.

He straightened up and took a step to the side.

However, Ulquiorra on the other side did not shift his body; he continued to condense Black Cero in front of him.

Tōshirō knew that no matter where he fled, as soon as that Cero, it would appear in front of him in an instant.

This is spatial locking.

Therefore, the frozen space he created earlier is no longer usable.

"Fortunately, I've already taken four steps," Tōshirō said coldly.

The next instant, Ulquiorra, who was gathering Black Cero, was frozen in place along with the gathered Cero.

Tōshirō, holding a long sword, slowly walked towards Ulquiorra.

"The Shikai Hyōketsu."

"Within four steps I take, all elements will be frozen, even Cero will be no exception."

He raised Hyōrinmaru high and slashed down with his sword.

Just then, Ulquiorra's previously frozen eyes suddenly twitched and he looked over.

The Black Cero that was still gathering suddenly exploded.

A dark Reiatsu enveloped Tōshirō and himself.

A massive vortex of spiritual energy appeared in the air, transforming into a black killing field connecting heaven and earth.

Not long after, the vortex of spiritual energy suddenly dissipated, and Tōshirō's body plummeted downwards.

Ulquiorra was also covered in wounds at this time. His hands and feet were only connected by a layer of skin, and there was no flesh left on his chest, with all the bones exposed. He had no lips and had lost all his teeth. He was seriously injured.

Dark green Reiatsu erupted from his body once more, and his wounds were rapidly healing.

This is his High-Speed Regeneration; as long as he doesn't die, no matter how serious the injury, it doesn't matter.

This battle was his victory.

With a soft thud, a blade tip pierced his left temple and emerged from his right.

It was the Kamishini no Yari.

Ulquiorra was skewered onto the blade like a candied hawthorn.

However, he was still not dead; his body was rapidly High-Speed Regeneration and healing itself.

He glanced sideways at Gin Ichimaru and said, "Unfortunately, your attack power isn't enough."

"Is that so? Since we've come this far, I'll tell you something," Gin Ichimaru said with a smile. "Actually, my Zanpakuto's greatest strength isn't its speed."

With a flick of his right hand, he retracted the Kamishini no Yari into its short sword form, no longer leaving it on Ulquiorra's head.

But at that moment, Ulquiorra felt a sharp pain inside his brain, as if something was gnawing at him.

"Toxins?"

"That's right, this was originally poison I prepared for Aizen. Now that Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Captain Misao are already there, it's not a loss to use this poison on you." Gin Ichimaru said, pointing to the blade of the short sword. "This is a poison I've been researching for hundreds of years."

"Is that so?" Ulquiorra's High-Speed Regeneration came to a standstill, and blood was flowing continuously from all seven orifices.

But the blood was black and had a foul, fishy smell.

He could sense that he would die soon.

Gin Ichimaru wasn't exaggerating; this toxin is indeed very peculiar, and even High-Speed Regeneration can't overcome it.

"This Reiatsu is very strong; you've been pretending to be weak the whole time," Ulquiorra said calmly.

As he said earlier, if the difference in Reiatsu between the two is too great, it doesn't matter if there is poison; at worst, the poison can be destroyed by suppressing it with Reiatsu.

Unfortunately, he had already concentrated his Reiatsu on his brain, but he was unable to eliminate the toxin.

That only proves one thing: Gin Ichimaru isn't as weak as he seems.

Gin Ichimaru shrugged and replied with a smile:

"Didn't Captain Misao have a theory that if you concentrate all your Reiatsu into one point, you can generate an incredibly powerful attack? That poison used up almost all of my Reiatsu."

At this moment, Ulquiorra's body had begun to dissipate.

He turned to look in Aizen's direction, then back at Gin Ichimaru, and said, "But unfortunately, you will still fail."

The next moment, Reiatsu burst forth from the Hollow Hole in the center of his chest, causing the entire Soul Society to tremble.

His appearance changed; his hair turned white instantly and continued to grow to his waist, and a pair of green fire horns appeared on his forehead.