A Substitute in Its Place

P. S.: To read the exclusive behind-the-scenes story of "Bleach: Fallen Leaves" and hear your suggestions for the novel, follow our official WeChat account (add friends - add official account - enter dd) and let me know!

Ye Yang slapped Ichigo on the Ichigo and said, "Do you think Old Man Yamamoto couldn't have thought of this? They already used the four World Transposition Pillars to relocate Karakura Town."

"Transfer? What do you mean?" Ichigo didn't understand what this so-called transfer meant.

"It was Kisuke who placed four World Transposition Pillars at each corner of Karakura. By connecting the four points, he treated the entire Karakura Town as Senkaimon. Then, the Research and Development Institute created a replica in Rukongai, connecting four World Transposition Pillars there as well. This allowed them to swap the positions of the pillars, meaning the real Karakura Town is now inside Soul Society."

Ichigo asked in surprise, "What about the residents of Karakura City?"

"Of course, it went to Soul Society along with the town. The current Karakura is just a copy of the empty city, so there's no need to worry about Karakura City being destroyed." In fact, Kisuke Urahara had already told Ye Yang this before Ye Yang came, and it was indeed a very good method. So now Aizen's only chance is to defeat all the captains.

Ichigo finally felt relieved, then looked towards the depths of Las Noches. "Then our next mission is to rescue Inoue. Let's go!"

Meanwhile, in the World of the Living Karakura Town, Aizen, along with Gin and Tōsen, emerged from the Garganta. Opposite them, Yamamoto and all the remaining captains stood ready. Yamamoto, seeing Aizen, remarked, "Looks like we've made it in time."

Aizen remained calm. "You caught up? What makes you say that? I know this isn't the real Karakura Town. But it's not an obstacle for me at all."

Aizen stepped to the opposite side of Yamamoto. "Starrk, Baraggan, Tier Harribel. Come forth."

Three Garganta appeared beneath Aizen's feet, housing the top three Espada. Starrk was the uncle who had kidnapped Orihime earlier, and next to him was Arrancar resembling a little girl.

After Baraggan's Arrancar, he became an old man with a scar on his face, his arrogant demeanor unchanged. Beside him were four attendants. The Third Espada, Tier Harribel, was the only female among the current Espada, and she replaced Nel after Nel's Arrancar. There were three other female Arrancars beside her.

Aizen continued, "Since Karakura Town is in Soul Society, then I will first eliminate you before creating the King's Key in Soul Society. It's that simple. Before that, I'll leave Las Noches to you, Ulquiorra." A great battle was about to unfold.

Meanwhile, inside Hueco Mundo, Ichigo is rushing to the Fifth Tower. His injuries from the battle with Ye Yang have already been healed by Orihime Ichigo, so there's no need to worry about him being unable to fight due to his injuries.

But then many Menos Grande appeared around them. These weren't high-level Adjuchas; they were just giant Hollows modified by Aizen. However, there were a few Adjuchas among them acting as their leaders. But none of them had become Arrancars.

Although their combat abilities weren't great, their numbers were numerous, and it would take some time to deal with them. Ye Yang asked, "Ichigo, we'll hold off these Hollows for you. You go and Orihime."

Ichigo nodded. "Thank you, I'm off now." With that, he brandished his Zanpakuto, cutting a path through the crowd and heading towards the depths of Las Noches.

In the Fifth Tower of Las Noches, Orihime was alone. Footsteps approached, and Ulquiorra slowly walked towards her. "Are you afraid? Lord Aizen no longer needs you. It's over. You will remain here, unable to reach anyone, and die alone. I ask you, are you afraid?"

However, Orihime showed no fear on her face, only composure. She spoke softly, "I am not afraid, because everyone has come to save me. My heart is with everyone; our souls are united, so I have nothing to fear."

Ulquiorra remembered what Ye Yang had once told him. He had never understood what Ye Yang meant by "heart," so he asked Orihime, "What is the heart?"

Orihime remained silent, for the heart is something that cannot be expressed in words. Ulquiorra stretched out his arm toward her chest. "If I tear your chest apart, will I be able to see the secret within?"

Suddenly, a surge of Spiritual Pressure appeared behind him; it was Ichigo, who had rushed over at full speed. Seeing that Orihime was unharmed, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Stay away from Inoue!"

Ulquiorra said softly, "That's exactly what I wanted to do. Come on, Ichigo Kurosaki, I'm going to destroy you with my sword." As he spoke, he slowly drew his Zanpakuto and pointed it at Ichigo.

Ichigo was somewhat surprised. "This is really unexpected. I didn't expect you to draw your sword right away. I was thinking about how to force you to draw your sword. Can I take this as you acknowledging me as an equal opponent?" You should know that when Ulquiorra fought Ichigo before, he defeated Ichigo without even drawing his sword.

"At least we've come to acknowledge you as someone worth eliminating."

"That's enough." Ichigo and Ulquiorra charged at each other simultaneously, their Zanpakuto clashing together, instantly creating two large craters behind them.

Ulquiorra jumped up, Ichigo seized the opportunity to unleash a black Getsuga attack. However, since Ichigo hadn't even taken out his mask, the Getsuga attack wasn't very powerful. Ulquiorra cleaved it in two with a single strike, and Ichigo Zanpakuto to block.

The two Zanpakuto clashed, but Ulquiorra extended his left hand, forming a green Cero. The Cero out and struck Ichigo head-on, and Ichigo desperately tried to block it.

After a puff of smoke cleared, Ichigo's clothes were only slightly torn, and he had no injuries whatsoever, just some superficial wounds.

Ulquiorra looked at Ichigo strangely and said, "You blocked my Cero without using the same mask as before? Your strength has increased. Is it because you defeated Grimmjow? Or because of your comrades still fighting under the tower? Or because of her?" Ulquiorra pointed at Orihime.

"That woman is already one of us, there's no point in you saving her." With that, he lunged forward again, engaging Ichigo in battle.

This time, Ichigo fought Ulquiorra again. This time, it wasn't the same as before. In the previous battle, Ichigo couldn't even see Ulquiorra's movements clearly; it could be said that they were not even on the same level.

This time is different. Ichigo can see his movements and his body can keep up. So now Ichigo is not at a complete disadvantage in his fight against Ulquiorra. As long as he tries to see Ul's movements clearly, he has a chance to win!

Ulquiorra's movements became increasingly slower in Ichigo's eyes. Finally, Ichigo seized an opportunity and grabbed Ulquiorra's arm with his left hand. Of course, Ichigo wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by; his Zanpakuto upwards across Ulquiorra's chest!

Ulquiorra stepped back, his shirt ripped open by Ichigo, leaving a wound on his chest. It wasn't very deep, only drawing a little blood. If it were any other Menos Grande, they would have been killed instantly. However, the Arrancar's Hierro effectively protected them, leaving Ulquiorra with only a superficial wound.

Ichigo looked at his wound and said, "It's so shallow. Is it because of the Hierro? But at least now I can see your movements clearly. Does this mean I'm getting closer to you, or you're getting closer to me?"

Ulquiorra suddenly unleashed an even more powerful Spiritual Pressure. "So you're saying I'm getting closer and closer to you humans? I see. It seems that merely being able to keep up with that level of movement is quite pleasing to you."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ulquiorra appeared in front of Ichigo, now even faster than before. Ichigo raised his sword to block, but Ulquiorra appeared behind him again. Ichigo's reaction was quick, and he returned to help with lightning speed, but as he turned around, Ulquiorra appeared behind him once more and slashed down with his sword.

At this point, Ichigo was no longer able to resist, but Ulquiorra did not kill Ichigo because his sword landed on a yellow shield. Upon closer inspection, it was Orihime's Santen Kesshun. However, the Santen Kesshun's defense was limited, and Ulquiorra shattered it with a single blow, thus saving Ichigo from certain death.

Ulquiorra turned to Orihime and asked, "What are you doing? Why didn't you help him from the start? What were you hesitating about?"

However, Ul interrupted Ichigo's question, "Enough with the nonsense. What's with all the hesitation? It doesn't matter. Thank you, Inoue, but it's too dangerous. You should step back."

Orihime obediently retreated to a safe distance. Ichigo held Zangetsu in both hands, and black crescent Getsuga appeared on his blades. Ulquiorra said softly, "Getsuga? That's useless against me."

However, instead of unleashing the Getsuga as expected, Ichigo charged forward wielding Zangetsu, which was imbued with the Getsuga Zangetsu. He attached the Getsuga to the blade so that each strike would possess the power of Getsuga Tenshō. Only by continuously attacking with Getsuga Tenshou could Ichigo have a chance of winning, because Getsuga was currently his most powerful technique.

The reason Ichigo didn't take out his mask was to wait until Ulquiorra unleashed his Zanpakuto; otherwise, wouldn't Ichigo have absolutely no chance of winning?

The combined pressure of the Ichigo Getsuga and Ichigo forced Ulquiorra to retreat. Ichigo pressed forward relentlessly, but to no avail. Accustomed to the Getsuga, Ulquiorra blocked Ichigo's pursuit with his Zanpakuto. "Trying to be clever? Have you forgotten? Even your Getsuga when you took out your mask couldn't defeat me. This Getsuga is the same no matter how many times you use it."

Ichigo still didn't release the Getsuga attached to Zangetsu, simply because he had no better option at the moment; at least this way, he could remain undefeated. At the same time, Ichigo was secretly alarmed; Ulquiorra's strength at this moment was even greater than when he killed him before. This meant that Ulquiorra hadn't used his full power before, and this wasn't his full power either! (A fantastic event with freebies! Cool phones are waiting for you! Follow Qidian/Official Account (Add Friends on WeChat - Add Official Account - Enter dd) to participate now! Everyone wins a prize, follow the dd WeChat Official Account now!)