The Fierce Battle Against Ulquiorra (Part One)

"Is that so?" Yammy's massive body slowly slid down the wall. He raised his hand, wiping away a trace of red blood from the corner of his mouth. The ferocity on his face didn't diminish after that kick; instead, it intensified. He grinned, revealing gleaming white fangs, his voice like grit squeezed from between his teeth, "You think you can defeat me just because you caught one of my punches and kicked me once?!"

He slammed his hand on the wall behind him, causing the entire tower to tremble and rubble to fall. His already imposing body seemed to swell even more at that moment, and the Reiatsu around him began to surge like boiling magma.

Liu Hao didn't even glance at him, merely brushing off a speck of dust that had settled on his trouser leg when he kicked the man, his tone as indifferent as if discussing the weather. "What do you think?"

The moment he finished speaking, he vanished from the spot.

It's not Shunpo, it's not Sonído, it's pure, extreme speed that surpasses the limits of visual perception!

Yammy's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively wanted to throw a punch in defense.

But it was too late.

Liu Hao appeared before him like a ghost, his hand that had just caught his full-force punch now closed, fingers together—no fancy techniques, just a simple, direct movement.

Kick him out.

Bang--!

A deep, thunderous roar!

This kick landed squarely on Yammy's abdomen, which was covered in thick Hierro! The tough Hierro, which was strong enough to withstand the cuts of an ordinary Zanpakuto, was now as hard as paper, instantly leaving a clear footprint!

Yammy's massive body was sent flying backward like a ball being blasted with all its might by this kick, his feet leaving the ground and his entire body transforming into a human cannonball!

Boom--!

His back slammed violently against the solid tower wall behind him! The immense impact caused the entire wall to crack instantly, with countless cracks spreading outwards like a spider web, sending countless fragments of stone flying! Yammy was embedded in the wall, spitting out a mouthful of red blood!

Liu Hao landed lightly, without even turning back to look at his spoils. He simply brushed off non-existent dust from his hands and said slowly in a calm tone, as if stating common sense, "Yammy, don't think that just because you're a beast that only knows how to be angry and keep expanding your size with anger, you can become my opponent."

He turned around, finally looking directly at Yammy, who was embedded in the wall and struggling to climb out, his eyes calm and unwavering. "A contest of Reiatsu is never determined by the size of an individual. You've lived this long, don't you understand that yet?"

Before he could finish speaking, he vanished again!

Yammy's body, embedded in the wall, had just struggled to lift half of itself, and before it could even break free from the recess in the wall, Liu Hao had already reappeared in front of him!

This time, Liu Hao didn't even use any Reiatsu or employ any Kidō. He simply extended his right hand, fingers spread, and then—

A slap landed on Yammy's face, which was contorted with anger and shock!

Snap!

The crisp, loud sound was as if it had struck not the face of the Espada, but the back of the head of a disobedient child.

But this seemingly light palm strike contained enough power to shatter the mountain rocks!

Yammy felt an overwhelming and terrifying force coming from his face. The hand pressing on his face felt not like flesh and blood, but like the irresistible hand of a god descending from the sky! He didn't even have time to scream before his head was pressed down by that hand, and he was slammed into the wall behind him along with his massive body!

Boom--!

The power of this strike far exceeded that of the previous kick!

The already cracked wall could no longer withstand such a terrifying impact and shattered instantly! Debris flew everywhere, dust filled the air, Yammy's massive body was blasted out of the tower through the gap in the broken wall, like a boulder thrown by a catapult!

He arced through the air in a pathetic parabola, flailing his arms and legs in vain, unable to change his downward momentum, plummeting from the top of the Fifth Tower, hundreds of meters high, towards the pale Desert below!

"Asshole--!"

Through the gap in the broken wall, amidst the billowing smoke and dust, Yammy grew smaller and smaller as it receded into the distance, and a faint roar filled with resentment and rage could be heard, but it quickly vanished into the howling wind and the ever-widening distance.

Finally, silence fell at the top of the tower.

Liu Hao stood at the edge of the broken wall, glanced down at Yammie, who was rapidly falling and about to crash into the Yammy below, kicking up a cloud of dust, then looked away, patted the dust off his hands, his face expressionless, as if he had just casually tossed away a bag of trash.

"It'll be good to jump down and fall; it'll calm me down," he muttered to himself.

Then, he turned around and looked at Ulquiorra, who had stood like a statue before the throne the whole time, showing no emotion whatsoever at Yammy's miserable state.

Ulquiorra's emerald green eyes, devoid of any human emotion, silently gazed at Liu Hao. He showed no surprise, anger, or fear at the ease with which Yammy was crushed; he didn't even blink. He simply spoke in his perpetually flat, mechanically synthesized voice, "You are indeed very strong."

Three simple words, devoid of emotional fluctuations or rising fighting spirit, as if merely stating an objective fact unrelated to oneself.

Upon hearing this, Liu Hao's slightly contemptuous smile, which had been present throughout his fight with Yammy, faded somewhat, replaced by a more serious, polite smile with a hint of mutual flattery. He nodded slightly, his tone becoming gentler and more courteous. "It's alright. After all, my target from the very beginning has been Aizen."

He shrugged, as if stating something perfectly natural. "If you can't defeat your Espada members relatively easily, how can you have the face to stand in front of Aizen and challenge him?"

He spoke these words casually, but the amount of information they conveyed was enough to shock any Arrancar —defeating the Espada was merely a "relatively easy" "warm-up" for him; Aizen was his true target.

However, Ulquiorra's face remained expressionless. He didn't even Reiatsu at Liu Hao's almost arrogant declaration; his emerald green eyes, however, seemed to be even more intently fixed on Liu Hao.

Liu Hao did not continue to confront him. He turned his head, his gaze passing over the gap in the broken wall, and looked at Ichigo Kurosaki, who was standing inside the tower, looking somewhat at a loss.

"Ichigo," he called out, his voice returning to its usual casual tone.

Ichigo Kurosaki, still reeling from the shock of Liu Hao's easy victory over Yammy, quickly replied, "Liu Shu?"

Liu Hao nodded his chin toward Ulquiorra, a relaxed smile on his face saying, "This guy... the 4th Espada... Ulquiorra Cifer... is yours."

He patted Ichigo Kurosaki on the shoulder, his tone encouraging yet tinged with a hint of "don't embarrass me": "Defeat him, prove yourself, and then... we can take Inoue and leave this hellhole."

Upon hearing Ichigo Kurosaki's body trembled slightly. He looked at Ulquiorra, the terrifying being who had instilled immense pressure in him from their first meeting, who remained expressionless and seemingly devoid of any emotion. His heart involuntarily quickened, and his hand gripping the hilt of Zangetsu turned slightly white at the knuckles.

But soon, he remembered Orihime Inoue's helpless eyes, everyone in Karakura Town, the absolute strength that Liu Hao had displayed when he crushed Yammy, and every life-or-death battle he had experienced along the way.

He took a deep breath, and the hesitation and tension in his eyes were gradually replaced by determination.

"I understand, Liu Shu," he said in a deep voice, his voice no longer trembling.

He raised his hand, reached behind him, and grasped the massive hilt of the bandaged sword. At the same time, his other hand rested on the relatively shorter Zanpakuto at his waist.

Whoosh--!

Whoosh--!

Two sharp, clear sounds of blades being drawn rang out almost simultaneously.

Ichigo Kurosaki. Without the slightest hesitation, he pushed off with his feet the instant he drew the swords!

He transformed into a streak of black light, carrying an unstoppable momentum, and shot towards Ulquiorra, who stood before the high seat!

He raised his long sword high and then brought it down fiercely towards Ulquiorra's head with the force of splitting mountains and shattering rocks!

Ulquiorra remained motionless. Only when the black blade was about to touch his forehead did his right hand move as if by reflex.

Clang--!

A crisp, metallic clang resounded throughout the entire top of the tower!

Ulquiorra's green-hilted Zanpakuto had been drawn at some point and steadily blocked Ichigo Kurosaki's powerful downward slash!

Two knives, blades clashing, sparks flying!

Ichigo Kurosaki gritted his teeth, putting all his strength into this one strike, attempting to overwhelm his opponent with pure power.

Ulquiorra, holding the sword in one hand, remained completely still, his arm not even bending slightly. His emerald green eyes met Ichigo Kurosaki's gaze at close range, still devoid of any emotion, as if what was being held against him was not a deadly blade, but an insignificant feather.

However, Ichigo Kurosaki is not just a brute force brute.

While his right hand clashed with his opponent's long sword, his left hand had already subtly gathered momentum for his short sword. Just as their blades met and their strength was locked in a stalemate—

His left arm jerked violently!

"Getsuga Tenshō--!"

A perfectly condensed crescent-shaped slash, its edges shimmering with brilliant golden light, shot out from the blade of the short sword in his left hand! It wasn't aimed directly at Ulquiorra, but rather at a tricky angle, slashing diagonally upwards towards Ulquiorra's ribs!

The timing of this attack was absolutely perfect! It came at the very moment when the two were locked in combat, and Ulquiorra's attention seemed to be drawn to his right-hand sword. Moreover, the angle of the attack was tricky, avoiding the parry range of the Zanpakuto!

Against an ordinary opponent, this surprise attack, Getsuga Tenshō, would be enough to severely injure or even kill them!

However, Ulquiorra is no ordinary opponent.

Just as the golden crescent moon was about to touch his waist, a barely perceptible ripple finally flickered in his emerald green eyes.

He did not choose to continue the struggle.

His Zanpakuto, which was clashing with Ichigo Kurosaki's longsword, suddenly swerved to the side, dissipating the opponent's pressure. At the same time, his body twisted and shifted diagonally backward in a bizarre posture that defied human biomechanics!

The golden crescent-shaped slash almost grazed the white robe around his waist as it hurtled past!

Sizzle--!

Although it missed its target, the aftershock of the incredibly sharp slash still tore the wall behind him apart! The solid stone wall, as if slashed by the claws of a giant beast, instantly developed a huge, mirror-smooth crack! Beyond the crack Hueco Mundo the pale, empty sky of Hueco Mundo, and the endless Desert below.

The Getsuga Tenshō, its momentum undiminished, continued flying into the distance after tearing through the wall, eventually disappearing at the horizon, leaving only a brief, golden streak of light.

Ulquiorra sidestepped the sneak attack. He slowly turned his head, glanced at the huge rift behind him, then turned back, fixing his emotionless eyes on Ichigo Kurosaki once more.

He didn't speak, but his indifferent gaze seemed to say, "That's all?"

Ichigo Kurosaki's attack missed, but he was not discouraged at all. The moment his feet touched the ground, he immediately adjusted his posture, crossed his two swords, and assumed an offensive stance.

Ulquiorra swayed slightly as he landed.

It didn't disappear; rather, like a green lightning bolt, it flashed out from the crack in the wall torn open by the Getsuga Tenshō and instantly rushed out of the tower!

Ichigo Kurosaki's pupils contracted slightly, but he didn't hesitate at all. He pushed off the ground and shot out of the rift, closely following the green figure, rushing into the vast, pale Hueco Mundo.

Inside the tower, finally, all was quiet.

Liu Hao walked to the edge of the broken wall, crossed his arms, looked up at Ulquiorra rapidly ascending in the sky, and Ichigo Kurosaki, who was hot on his heels, though slightly slower, still relentlessly pursuing him. A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"This kid's finally starting to show some promise," he muttered to himself.

"Mr. Liu Hao..." From behind came Orihime Inoue's trembling and worried voice.

Liu Hao turned around and saw Orihime Inoue standing not far away, her hands clasped nervously in front of her chest, her azure eyes filled with worry, her eyes slightly red as she looked at the two figures growing smaller and smaller in the sky.

He walked over and gently patted her shoulder, his voice soft yet reassuring. "Don't worry, Inoue -kun. Ichigo may be a bit impulsive, but he never disappoints when it counts."

He pointed to the two figures in the sky that were almost tiny black dots. "Come on, let's go up and see. Let you watch with your own eyes how that kid won this fight."

Orihime Inoue nodded vigorously, her eyes still showing worry, but now with a hint of expectation and trust.

She raised her hand, Shun Shun Rikka in her palm—Shun Ying, Xiao Chang, Tsubaki, Hinagiku, Lily, Baigon —instantly flew out, intertwining and swirling before her, condensing into a transparent, triangular pyramid-shaped barrier radiating a soft orange light—"Santen Kesshun."

"Everyone, please come up," she said softly.

Liu Hao stepped onto the platform, and Nel, who was leaning on his shoulder, instinctively hugged his neck tightly.

Pesche and Dondochakka also carefully stepped onto the barrier. The four creatures, of different sizes and races, squeezed onto a transparent barrier that looked fragile yet was incredibly sturdy. Under Orihime Inoue's control, they slowly rose up.