Undercover

Ul lowered his head, panting. His eyes were fixed on his left arm, where a new arm was rapidly regenerating from the severed area. This High-Speed Regeneration was Ulquiorra's most powerful ability!

Before becoming Menos Grande, many Hollows possessed the ability of High-Speed Regeneration. However, during their long evolutionary process, most Menos Grande chose to give up this ability in exchange for powerful offensive capabilities, because their High-Speed Regeneration was not very strong. At most, they could only regenerate their limbs, and other parts of their bodies could not regenerate.

It could be described as a useless ability that's neither useful nor worth discarding, but Ulquiorra preserved it completely. Not only did he preserve it, he also developed it to a deeper level!

"My most outstanding ability is not attack, but regeneration. Compared to most Arrancar who have lost their regeneration ability, only I can regenerate all parts of my body except for my brain and organs!" Ul clenched his newly grown arm.

He continued, "Although I don't know why you've become like this, even if your aggression increases, you can only tear off one of my arms. You can't possibly defeat me with that kind of power."

As he spoke, Ul brought his hands together, and a green spear appeared in his palms. "Lanza del Relámpago!" he chanted. "Stand still. If I could, I wouldn't want to use this at this distance." As soon as he finished speaking, he threw the Lanza del Relámpago at Ichigo, but Ichigo showed no sign of moving, and the Lanza del Relámpago grazed past him.

The Lanza del Relámpago struck the ground in the distance, followed by a massive explosion! The aftershocks of the explosion swept over a vast area, and the Spiritual Pressure storm generated by the explosion demonstrated just how terrifying the Lanza del Relámpago was!

Ul suddenly produced another Lanza del Relámpago. This meant that as long as his Spiritual Pressure was sufficient, he could use this technique indefinitely. But at that moment, Ichigo suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Ul.

That wasn't the Shinigami's Shunpo, but a Hollow's Sonído! Ichigo casually swung his hand, while Ul blocked it with his gun. The two then began a fierce battle, both moving at incredible speeds, faster than Ishida and Orihime could keep up with.

Incredibly, Ichigo, who couldn't even catch Ichigo glimpse of Ul just moments before, is now dominating Ul, surpassing Ichigo in both strength and speed.

Ichigo used the rubble to blur Ul's vision, then Sonído in front of him. He knocked Ul back with a single strike, and before Ul could regain his footing, Ichigo pressed forward again.

Ul thrust the Lanza del Relámpago forward, but an unexpected scene unfolded: Ichigo caught the Lanza del Relámpago with one hand, seemingly effortlessly. Ul was immediately shocked. He knew the power of the Lanza del Relámpago all too well, and he never imagined that Ichigo could actually block Lanza del Relámpago hands!

Ichigo then crushed the Lanza del Relámpago and slashed upwards into Ul's chest. With a spurt of blood, Ul collapsed to the ground, powerless. The battle was over!

Ishida Orihime stared in disbelief at the scene before her. Ichigo, who had been on the verge of death, had stood up and defeated Ul effortlessly. It all happened so fast that they were completely unprepared.

Ul fell to the ground, and said unwillingly, "Damn it! I never thought that someone as skilled as me would lose to a Hollowfication human. How utterly ridiculous!" As soon as he finished speaking, Ichigo placed Ichigo Ikkaku on Ul's head, pointed his head at Ul, and condensed Cero. "Tch, ruthless, huh? Typical Hollow style. But whatever, I have no value left. Let's do it." He muttered something as he finished speaking.

Although Ulquiorra possesses High-Speed Regeneration abilities, this attack was aimed at his chest. If he were to take this hit, his internal organs would be completely shattered, and even High-Speed Regeneration would not be able to save his life.

Just then, a figure flashed by, and then Cero through the canopy of Las Noches as if it were penetrating heaven and earth. However, this Cero did not hit Ul, Ye Yang intervened at the critical moment to save him.

After all, Ulquiorra was Ye Yang's mole, and in fact, he did quite well. He knew the information on all the Espada except for Aizen. With this information Soul Society's chances of winning increased by at least 20%!

Furthermore, if Aizen fails, Hueco Mundo will need a leader to restrain the Hueco Mundo Menos Grande, and Ulquiorra would be the best candidate.

Ye Yang asked softly, "Are you alright, Ul?" Ye Yang looked at Ul beside him, who was panting heavily and kneeling on the ground in a disheveled state. Just a moment ago, he had truly felt the taste of death.

"Lord Ye Yang, thank you!" Ulquiorra nodded to Ye Yang.

Ishida and Orihime watched in shock, but Ye Yang simply waved his hand at them, "I'll explain later. Right now, we need to deal with Ichigo's problem first."

Orihime nodded and asked, "Captain Ye Yang, what's wrong with Kurosaki-kun?"

"It must be Hollowfication, and this time it's almost complete Hollowfication." Just as he finished speaking, Ichigo roared to the sky, an even more violent Spiritual Pressure emanating from his body. Ye Yang said softly, "Hmph, have you lost your mind? Then I'll force you to awaken!"

Ichigo seemed to regard Ye Yang, who had just left Ul, as an enemy as well. He brandished his Zanpakuto and charged at Ye Yang. Ichigo's speed was undeniably fast, but Ye Yang's speed was by no means slow either. Moreover, Ichigo had lost his mind and was fighting purely on instinct!

"Enough, Ichigo, wake up!" Ye Yang shouted, but Ichigo didn't respond at all.

Ye Yang instantly appeared above Ichigo. Ichigo unleashed a slash that forced Ye Yang back, then began to condense Cero. Ye Yang had no choice but to draw his Zanpakuto and chant, "Break free— Silver Rend!"

A flash of silver light pierced through Ichigo's Cero, severing his Hollowfication. Following the path of the Silver Rend, the blade sliced across Ichigo's mask, which then began to shatter step by step, forcibly dispelling Ichigo from Hollowfication.

Then Ichigo collapsed to the ground, powerless. Orihime couldn't help but run over and kneel in front of Ichigo, "Kurosaki-kun..."

As the mask disappeared, the white substance on Ichigo's body also began to vanish. It gathered above Ichigo and then entered the hole in Ichigo chest, directly repairing the original wound as if it were High-Speed Regeneration.

A short Ichigo woke up. He slowly sat up, clutching his chest with his right hand, and said, "My chest... wasn't there a hole in it? What happened?"

Ichigo saw Ul standing next to Ye Yang, "Ulquiorra, Captain Ye Yang, you..."

"You really don't remember anything?" Ye Yang walked towards Ichigo's side, while Ul stood still, knowing that the battle was over.

Ichigo looked at his chest, shook his head blankly, and Ye Yang sighed softly. Then he told Ichigo about what happened after he became Hollowfication. Ichigo was more and more shocked as he listened. He never expected that he would be so cruel after Hollowfication, and that he would show no mercy to his comrades.

"Captain Ye Yang, thank you for saving me. Please step aside now, I want to continue fighting!" With that, Ichigo gripped his Zanpakuto and faced Ulquiorra.

Ye Yang stepped forward and pressed down on Ichigo's Zanpakuto. "Ichigo, Ul! This battle is over. Ur is no longer an enemy."

Ichigo looked surprised. "W-why?"

"Because Ul is my subordinate."

"What!"

Ye Yang said softly, "Didn't you understand? He's my spy planted by Aizen's side, so you're not enemies."

"Then why did he kidnap Inoue?" Ichigo questioned. "Do you know that Inoue is accused of being a traitor? And why is that!" Ichigo's expression was somewhat agitated.

"Because I didn't know Orihime was their target before, and Ul couldn't possibly not carry out the mission. Inoue's crimes could be easily explained back home, Aizen still needs to use her, so he would never kill her. Besides, Hueco Mundo is currently sealed off, and we still need Ul to open the Garganta to get out," Ye Yang explained calmly.

Ichigo Ye Yang continued, "Back then, I spent decades in Hueco Mundo. I saved Ul when his life was hanging by a thread and helped him infiltrate Aizen's side. I know you hate him and Ul for Orihime to Hueco Mundo, but I had to do it for the safety of Soul Society. After all, I am the captain of Soul Society, so please understand."

"Ulquiorra, is what Captain Ye Yang said true?" Ichigo asked. Ul nodded silently, then walked up to Orihime and said, "I've finally developed a little interest in you, woman. I ask you, have you ever been afraid of me?"

Orihime gently shook her head. "No, I wasn't scared at all."

Ul lowered his head and remained silent for a long time, finally murmuring, "Is this what they call 'heart'... Lord Ye Yang, I think I understand what you said back then. Is my defeat today because I have no heart?"

This is also the result Ye Yang hoped to see. Ulquiorra in the past was just a subordinate who knew how to obey orders. He didn't know what a heart was. Perhaps it was Ichigo's persistence and Orihime's insistence that made him realize this. Ulquiorra will become even stronger in the future!

At this moment, an astonishing Spiritual Pressure suddenly appeared within Las Noches. This Spiritual Pressure was in no way inferior to the Spiritual Pressure that Ul had just Second Release, and this Spiritual Pressure also had a hint of familiarity.

"This is Yammy," Ul explained.

"What! Isn't he the lowest-ranked Espada? How could his Spiritual Pressure be so strong?" Ichigo exclaimed in disbelief.

"Who told you that the Espada are ranked from one to ten? Yammy is the most special one among the Espada. He is both the Tenth Espada and the Zeroth Espada!" Ulquiorra said slowly.

"What!"