"I actually won! Unbelievable!" Ichigo, on his way to Las Noches, was still savoring his victory. It was so exhilarating, that feeling of completely overwhelming his opponent.
After only a short while, Ichigo began to reflect on himself, something he had learned after training with Jun for so long.
"Has my Spiritual Power already exceeded 30%? Cero really consumes a lot of energy. No wonder I was so weak after using Cero to save my life during the initial fusion. Combat-grade Cero is indeed Kongbu."
"Nnoitra isn't highly regarded by Shimizu-san among the Arrancar. This guy's special skill is Hierro, and his talents lie in his reflexes and physical strength. If you can penetrate his armor, there's a chance to kill him."
"Because he lacks any special talents that can counter his defenses or anyone who tries to defeat him with skill, his four-armed and six-armed forms, combined with his innate reflexes, are a natural counter to technical playstyles. To beat this guy, you can only be more reckless than him, hehe~ I'm a natural counter to him."
"Hehe~ How lucky! According to what Shimizu-san said about the characteristics, if I encountered the Fiftieth Espada, Felix, I would definitely be torn to pieces. It's really amazing~ I can beat the fourth one, Nnoitra, and Nnoitra completely Nnoitra Felix, but Felix can defeat me. How interesting!"
"So, with my remaining Spiritual Power, I can only fight one more Espada- level opponent at most. Who will be guarding the base? Please, please don't let Baraggan! That guy's ability is the most disgusting, it completely counters me! Please, please don't let it be him! I'd rather fight Ulquiorra."
Ichigo strategically overpowered Nnoitra, which was all thanks to Chun's excellent teaching. After helping Ichigo complete the Fusion Hollowfication Mask, Ichigo had many more options in his fighting style.
Why did Ichigo always charge headlong into battle against everyone in the past? It was because the Shinigami's Soul Pool wasn't enough. When facing many powerful opponents, if Ichigo didn't just charge in directly but instead exhausted himself, he would inevitably lose.
Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu incredibly fast. His strategy of attrition involves constantly shifting positions and using Getsuga Tenshō. Does that mean his movement is free? Yes, it is, but doesn't it require Spiritual Power? Shunpo doesn't consume much, but what about after ten thousand uses? That's the point. Ichigo's method of attrition results in extremely high chakra consumption.
So if he engages in attrition warfare too much, he'll find himself short of mana if he tries to rush in, and end up making a fool of himself. But now it's different; with a 35,000 Spiritual Pool, he can waste it however he wants.
However, even at such a level where he could afford to waste energy, he still expended 40% of his strength fighting Nnoitra, and his 14,000 Spiritual Pool was ten times his total mana before fusing with the Hollowfication Mask.
What does this mean? It means that even with Ichigo's current strength, he couldn't overpower Nnoitra if he still had the same amount of chakra as before—he wouldn't have enough.
Jun's low evaluation of Nnoitra is based on his own assessment, Aizen's, and the Arrancar's levels. Nnoitra's characteristics are indeed not very advantageous at the same level.
However, this character is fundamentally different from others of the same level when it comes to easily defeating weaker opponents. He can be easily beaten without breaking their defenses, posing no danger whatsoever. Characters like Jun and Aizen, for example, could potentially be killed by very low-level opponents if they weren't careful, although the probability is extremely low.
So the focus shifted to Nnoitra.
"Oh dear~ This is terrible~"
Nnoitra glared at him, then his face darkened. A beautiful woman waved at him, while a younger woman, who had just said what she had said, was now hiding behind the more beautiful woman.
"Are you here to laugh at me?! Humph!"
Natasha, Dolfen, followed by Ge Ze Li, with Starrk leisurely bringing up the rear.
"Hehe~", Dolfen stuck his tongue out at Nnoitra from behind Natasha. Nnoitra glared back fiercely, startling Dolfen.
"Haha~", Natasha chuckled, "You and Dolfen are still so playful, and you still dislike women so much. It seems there aren't any women among the Espada."
"Hmph!" Nnoitra turned her head away, refusing to look at Natasha and the others.
Starrk finally approached, looking exasperated. "Nnoitra, you're hundreds of years old! Can't you control your instincts? Stop acting like a child!"
"Who's a child?!"
"Then don't act like that," Starrk smiled slightly. "Don't hate women just because your symbol is a praying mantis. Although male praying mantises are eaten after mating, they still reproduce one after another."
Several women present couldn't help but laugh, and Ge Ze Li was also taken aback for a moment, then laughed as well.
Nnoitra blushed, a rare occurrence for him. "Shut up! You bunch of gossips! How awful!! My hatred for women isn't instinctive!"
"You're not convincing at all!" Natasha laughed the loudest.
"Hehe~", Dolfen was still sticking out his tongue.
This time, it wasn't just Dolfen; Lilynette also stuck out her tongue, and after thinking for a moment, Ge Ze Li joined the two girls in sticking out her tongue.
This infuriated Nnoitra. "You bunch of bastards are so annoying! Hey, new guy! Show some respect to your seniors!"
Six Spiritual Power wolves brought Nnoitra's severed arm back. Starrk picked up one of the arms. "Can it repair itself?"
"Tch~", Nnoitra scoffed.
Starrk and the others were already used to Nnoitra's awkward personality. "That's it. Come with us. The girl who needs to be rescued today can help you. If you don't want to end up without arms, like a mantis without arms, you're useless."
Nnoitra shuddered, but ultimately yielded. It wasn't that Nnoitra lacked regenerative abilities; he only lost them in his Resurrección state. He could repair his severed arm by Resurrección it and then Resurrección, an ability derived from a praying mantis's molting process. Molting can repair severed limbs, but this is a one-time opportunity.
The group had barely taken a step when an even more intense clash of Spiritual Power occurred ahead. Starrk covered his eyes as if looking into the distance, but in reality, he couldn't see anything.
"Ulquiorra and Ichigo Kurosaki are fighting! Haha, who will win?"
Meanwhile, the three were still advancing, and Las Noches was already within sight. But as the saying goes, "looking at a mountain makes one's horse run itself to death," there were still more than ten kilometers to go.
At that moment, Nnoitra's Reiatsu disappeared, which shocked the trio. "Ichigo defeated that monster!?"
"Probably," Rukia was also startled.
"It's definitely true! Let's speed up too, no one should be paying attention to us now!" Sado sped up first.
But the two people beside him, one skilled in Shunpo and the other in Hirenkyaku, nodded and said, "You're right, then we'll be going now."
Sado
However, shortly after the three started moving, just as Ulquiorra and Ichigo collided, they were surrounded by Arrancar.
"Lord Aizen orders! Protect Las Noches! The three of you are not to advance any further!" It was Yammy, that good-for-nothing, who ran out shouting this. Of the remaining five Espada, four were already here.
Uryū and his group had met these four Espada before. During their first invasion of the World of the Living, it was the four of them who led the vanguard, with Nnoitra holding the main force and Felix going out to fight special attacks.
Although they had been thoroughly trained in combat skills and should be able to take on an Espada, the problem was that they also had Fracción. The situation became critical. Just then, a little girl with translucent blue hair descended from the sky.
The little girl spoke in a sweet, childlike voice, so adorable, "Oh my gosh~ Which of you is Yammy?"
"Ah! What do you want with me?!" Yammy walked out, counting on his fingers.
The little girl looked at Yammy curiously, "Are you really Yammy? A caterpillar? Ugh~ How disgusting~"
"You bastard!!" Yammy roared, but no one saw him collapse to the ground, convulsing as if having an epileptic seizure.
At the point closest to the little girl, Uryū saw the fragments of the Hollowfication Mask on her hair. "The Arrancar?"
"Um~ I'm Dolfen, the fifth sister of the Arrancar family~ I'm the fifth sister!" Dolfen emphasized her status.
Hi~ Hi~ Hello, Fifth Sister
"Hehehe, you're so sensible~, then I'll help you guys out, although my only task is to catch this caterpillar. Okay, you three cover your ears."
Uryū immediately covered his ears, Sado Arrancar suit, as did Rukia. The Arrancars heard it too, but didn't react, and then they all collapsed.
"What a bunch of weaklings! How did you manage to survive with Second Brother's personality? Did he change his personality after all these years away?"
Rukia and the other two were completely bewildered. Uryū asked, "Who are that Fifth Sister and Second Brother?"
"Ah~ Ulquiorra, that's my second brother, hee hee, bye-bye~", Dolfen was about to leave when he suddenly turned back and said, "You three, whatever you do, don't destroy Las Noches! They said Aizen ordered us to protect Las Noches. My second brother is stubborn, if you destroy Las Noches, I can't save you either~ Bye-bye~"
In an instant, just as no one noticed Dolfen's appearance, her departure was equally unnoticed and undetectable. She vanished, dragging along Yammy's enormous body, leaving Yammy without even a trace.
"What should we do? Kill them all?" Sado looked at the Arrancars around him, completely at their mercy, with no chance of fighting back.
This scene was truly rare. Uryū and Rukia were also dumbfounded. The three of them exchanged glances, and after a moment's hesitation, Uryū said, "Let's forget about it."
"Yeah, I can't bring myself to do it either," Rukia and Uryū looked at Sado together. Sado shrugged, and the three of them decisively jumped out of the circle and continued towards Las Noches.
The three had just left when a Space Passage opened, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi descended from the sky with Nemu Kurotsuchi. He rubbed his hands together, looking at the Arrancar on the ground.
"Great! Great!! So many test subjects. It's a pity that those powerful Original Arrancar couldn't be captured. What a shame. As expected, Rukia Kuchiki is a good girl. Placing the Surveillance Bacteria on her was definitely the right choice. Hehehe~"