Ichigo vs. Ulquiorra

Rukia asked, "Teacher Ye Yang, what should we do next?"

Ye Yang replied softly, "Then you'll stay here and not go out."

"Why?" Rukia asked in surprise.

"The situation outside is too dangerous right now. Most of the grunts have been cleared out, and the rest are mostly at the level of the Espada. You should stay in this palace and remember not to go out. I will set up a Mirror Door here, and someone will come to pick you up later," Ye Yang said, beginning to set up the Mirror Door barrier.

Rukia wasn't the kind of person who didn't understand the bigger picture. She knew that even if she went out, she wouldn't be of any use and would only be a burden to others. So she nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Nel, who had been hiding nearby, also came out. She ran to Ye Yang's shoulder and said, "Nel, don't stay here! Take Nel, okay?"

Ye Yang put her down and said, "Nel, be a good girl, okay? It's dangerous outside. I'll come back for Nel when it's safe."

"No, Nel, no! Take Nel with you, Nel will be good!" Nel cried as she spoke, snot and tears streaming down her face. Ye Yang said helplessly, "Alright then, but you have to be good~ Hey, hey, snot..."

Nel took a deep sniff and sucked all the snot in, then flashed a bright smile, "I ate it." Ye Yang was speechless and put her on his shoulder to continue setting up the barrier.

The Mirror Door was quickly set up. It is a high-level barrier that can reflect all external attacks back. Few people can break the barrier set up by Ye Yang. Of course, it would be very easy to break the barrier from the inside.

Ye Yang turned and left, while Ichigo also left the area with three-digit Arrancar and arrived inside Las Noches.

Ichigo was running in search of Orihime's Spiritual Pressure when he suddenly stopped. There was a Spiritual Pressure him that Ichigo had seen before.

Sure enough, Ichigo turned around and saw Ulquiorra behind him. "Long time no see, Shinigami. I thought you were just a brat with some brute strength, but I didn't expect you to be able to get here."

Ichigo stared at Ulquiorra in surprise, "You are... Ulquiorra!" Ichigo remembered that Ulquiorra had visited him several times in the World of the Living, and once he had almost killed him.

"Don't remember my name. I don't recall ever introducing myself to you, but it doesn't matter. Since you're here, you can stay!" Ulquiorra stepped down from above.

Ichigo ignored him and continued walking forward. Ulquiorra asked, "Where are you going?"

"Of course I'm going to save Orihime," Ichigo continued walking. But Ulquiorra added, "Is it alright if you leave without killing me?"

Ichigo still didn't turn around. "I have no reason to fight you. Although you are an enemy, you haven't harmed my comrades, so I have no reason to fight."

"Is that so?" Ulquiorra said calmly, "Even if I told you it was me, would it be the same if Orihime Inoue was tied to Hueco Mundo?"

In an instant, Ichigo vanished from his spot. Ulquiorra stretched out his right hand to block Ichigo's attack. Ichigo roared, "As expected, Orihime didn't come to Hueco Mundo willingly!"

Ulquiorra's expression remained unchanged. "That's unexpected. Although you came to rescue your comrades, I still have a sliver of doubt in my heart."

"Damn it, do you even know that Orihime has become a traitor because of you!" Ichigo his Spiritual Pressure wildly, but Ulquiorra remained completely unaffected.

"Is that so? If it hadn't turned out this way, then our strategy would have been flawed. So now, have you found a reason to fight me?" Ulquiorra swung his right arm, throwing Ichigo.

Ichigo stepped back, then pointed Ichigo Zanpakuto at Ulquiorra and said, "Looks like I won't be able to get past you unless I reach your level. But I'm sorry, I'm busy too. I still have to rescue Orihime!"

As he spoke, a black vortex emanated from Ichigo's body. "Bankai - Tensa Zangetsu!" Ulquiorra looked at Ichigo leaping into the sky, but even he was moved the next moment. Because a Hollow mask appeared on Ichigo's face, and his violent Spiritual Pressure was almost the same as that of Menos Grande, giving people a suffocating feeling.

Ichigo forward, approaching Ulquiorra with his black crescent Getsuga, while Ulquiorra slowly extended his right hand, but this time it was not something that could be easily defended with just one hand.

The pressure beneath Ulquiorra's feet shattered the ground. Ichigo appeared above Ulquiorra, his black, raging Spiritual Pressure bearing down on Ulquiorra. With Ichigo powerful swing, Ichigo sent Ulquiorra flying, shattering several stone pillars in the process.

Ulquiorra stepped on the stone pillar behind him and then turned around to Ichigo. At the same time, he was also full of doubts. Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure and that mask were practically indistinguishable from nothingness!

Ichigo steadied himself, wielding the black Zangetsu and unleashing a powerful swing. "It's over, Ulquiorra, Getsuga Tenshō!" A black Getsuga erupted from the Zangetsu blade. Unlike the previous white Getsuga Tenshō, this black Getsuga Tenshō was Ichigo technique Ichigo used to Inner Hollow. Since Ichigo subdued his Inner Hollow and learned Hollowfication, the black Getsuga Tenshō had become his Ichigo move.

Ulquiorra once again parried with one hand, but he had struggled to catch it last time, so how could he possibly catch Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshō Ichigo Getsuga Ulquiorra's right hand, and his expression immediately changed. He couldn't even block the black Getsuga with one hand.

Ulquiorra finally stretched out his left hand and overlapped his right hand to block the black Getsuga, but it was still no use. The Getsuga exploded in front of Ulquiorra, followed by a huge explosion!

The ground was crisscrossed with ravines, a testament to the power of the black crescent Getsuga. Ichigo retreated to the back, panting heavily as he looked at the ruins. His Hollowfication mask fell off, eventually returning to its original state.

"Is it resolved?" Ichigo to himself. "I need to hurry and find Orihime; I can't waste any more time here."

"Really? Is that what you think?" Ulquiorra's voice echoed from the ruins. Ichigo turned around in disbelief, and as the dust settled, Ulquiorra's silhouette slowly emerged.

Ulquiorra looked somewhat disheveled at this moment, his clothes on his upper body were badly torn, but that was all. He didn't have a single wound on his body, and he wasn't even breathing heavily.

"How could this be..." Ichigo was incredulous. He had used his most powerful technique at its lowest level, yet it couldn't even cause Ulquiorra the slightest injury. Had all his hard training over the past month been for nothing?

"You even used both hands and still couldn't completely block it, that's quite surprising. But was that your full power just now?" Ulquiorra looked at Ichigo, and judging from Ichigo's expression, he said, "It seems so. Well then, you can stay here."

Then Ulquiorra stretched out his right index finger, and green Reishi gathered on his right hand, forming a Cero. Unlike the Cero of other Arrancar, Ulquiorra's Cero was green.

A green Cero shot out, about to reach Ichigo. In that instant, Ichigo took out his Hollowfication mask and used the Black Getsuga to block the Cero. However, the Cero was too powerful, and the emerald green Cero pierced through the palace and struck the desert outside.

Ichigo ran out immediately. Although he managed to block the Cero Ichigo, his power was far inferior to Ulquiorra's. He only managed to save his life by using the power of Hollowfication. However, he was in a terrible state. His clothes on his upper body were torn to shreds, and he had many wounds, large and small, all over his body.

Ichigo ran desperately, because he was no match for Ulquiorra yet. Suddenly, Ulquiorra appeared on his right and kicked Ichigo away. Ichigo flew up and crashed into a stone pillar behind him, creating a huge hole in it.

Ichigo lay sprawled in the rubble, covered in blood. He struggled to his feet, and Ulquiorra stood before him. "You used that mask when you blocked the Cero, right? That was quite a reaction time. But this time, the mask shattered in an instant. You probably can't use it anymore. Give up."

But at that very moment, Ichigo's Zanpakuto pressed against Ulquiorra's chest. Although Ichigo wasn't strong enough to break through Ulquiorra's Hierro, "Don't joke around. How can you give up so easily? You're the strongest Espada, right? If that's the case, wouldn't defeating you mean victory?"

Ulquiorra expressionlessly, "Is that so? That's a shame." He picked up Ichigo's Zanpakuto with his left Zanpakuto to cut open his clothes, revealing the number "4" that represented his status on his left chest.

Ichigo looked on in astonishment. "It's only number four..." Ichigo couldn't believe it. Ulquiorra was only number four Arrancar, even though he had completely suppressed his own prime. So there must be three Arrancar above him who were even stronger than him. Originally, defeating Ulquiorra would have been enough to win, but now it seemed that victory was still a long way off.

"Yes, the Fourth Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer, ranks fourth in strength among the Espada." Ulquiorra stretched out his right hand and plunged it directly into Ichigo's chest. "Ichigo Kurosaki, you can't possibly defeat me. Even if you do, you can't defeat the three Espada above me. Even if you can rise again and again, you have no hope of victory."

Ulquiorra drew his right hand. "It seems I overestimated you. Your growth hasn't met my expectations at all. This is the end. If you can still move, leave Las Noches immediately. If you fall here, then die here." He then ignored Ichigo and walked away.

Ichigo lay in a pool of blood, too weak to even speak, before passing out...(.)