Fierce Battle Against Ulquiorra (Six)
Ichigo Kurosaki raised his right hand, holding the pure white Zangetsu up to his eyes, gazing at it silently. A faint smile, tinged with relief and confidence, slowly curved onto his lips.
Ulquiorra watched all this silently. A barely perceptible ripple finally appeared in his usually calm eyes. He tilted his head slightly and, in his perpetually monotone voice, posed his question:
"Oh... something's changed again."
He paused, as if carefully examining the human before him whose aura had completely changed.
"Is this form... a phantom?"
On the distant sand, Orihime Inoue gripped her clothes tightly, her deep blue eyes fixed on the figure below who had undergone a startling transformation. Her voice trembled with obvious worry:
"Mr. Liu Hao! Ichigo... what happened to him?! Why is that thing growing on his head?! His sword... why has it turned white?! Will he be alright?!"
Liu Hao stood quietly on the sand, arms crossed. Moonlight shone on him, outlining a steady and resolute silhouette.
He looked down at the pure white figure below, and a smile of relief, even tinged with emotion, slowly appeared on his face.
"Finally awakened," he said softly, a hint of relief in his voice. "This kid has finally taken this step."
He turned his head to look at Orihime Inoue's anxious face and explained gently:
"This is the Hollow that has been dormant within Ichigo's body, finally truly awakened." He paused, his gaze returning to the ground. "Or rather, this is the true form of his complete power. His Shikai has only been a facade; the true 'Zangetsu' should be the product of the perfect fusion of Soul Reaper Powers and Hollow power—which is the pure white sword he is currently wielding."
He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if examining a work of art nearing completion. "I just don't know how much of his strength he can unleash in this state, and... how far he can go."
Orihime Inoue seemed to understand, but her biggest concern remained the same. "Ichigo... he won't be alright, will he? He won't... be controlled by that Hollow, will he?!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Hao gently shook his head, his smile growing even more confident, "Don't worry, Inoue- kun. The awakening of this form itself proves one thing—he has completely adjusted his mindset."
He raised his hand, pointing towards the pure white figure below. "Look at his eyes. That's not the blankness and emptiness of someone controlled, but a clear, focused, and fighting spirit. He's no longer that brat led by the nose by the power within him. Now, he truly controls the power, instead of being controlled by it."
Below, on top of the stone pillar.
Ichigo Kurosaki withdrew his gaze from Zangetsu, raised his head, and looked at Ulquiorra on the distant stone pillar with his heterochromatic eyes—the left eye a brilliant golden yellow, the right eye a deep amber. His smile remained, but it now carried a hint of seriousness and sincerity.
He raised his left hand and held up the short sword Zangetsu, which was still jet black, in front of him.
"Well..." His voice was calm and clear, devoid of the previous anxiety and unease, replaced by a composed calm. "This form signifies—the one that has been dormant within me has finally awakened."
He lightly tapped his temple with the short knife in his left hand, as if indicating something. "Liu Shu once told me that there are actually multiple powers within me."
He brandished the short sword in his left hand. "This one represents my Quincy power. Although I've always been reluctant to admit it, it is indeed a part of my power."
Then, he raised the pure white longsword Zangetsu in his right hand. "And this one is the true Zanpakuto that belongs to me as Soul Reaper —or rather, it is the true form that the Soul Reaper Powers and the power of the Hollow have finally manifested after countless collisions and fusions."
He paused, his gaze becoming distant, as if recalling past confusion. "I always thought that the stance of wielding two swords simultaneously was the 'Shikai' form I should have. Liu Shu repeatedly said my mindset was wrong, repeatedly reminded me, but I never understood what he was talking about."
He withdrew his gaze and turned it back to Ulquiorra, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips, yet tinged with a sense of relief. "Only just now have I truly come to terms with it."
He gripped the pure white Zangetsu tightly in his right hand, the blade reflecting a warm yet sharp light in the moonlight. "The Zangetsu truly represents the fusion of my Soul Reaper Powers and Hollow power. But this power is not always in an 'awakened' state. It's like a sleeping beast, only revealing a little of its claws, making me think I have already mastered it."
"Until just now, when you pushed me to the brink, when I truly cast aside all distractions and focused solely on the battle—it finally truly awakened."
He raised his head, his heterochromatic eyes gleaming with unprecedented fighting spirit and confidence. "Ulquiorra, you'd better watch out from here on out."
His voice became low and serious, even tinged with apology. "I'm not in a position to control myself well right now. So, I can't show any mercy."
This statement was made calmly, without deliberate provocation or arrogant boasting; it simply stated a basic fact—the upcoming battle would be a true, all-out, no-holds-barred fight to the death.
Ulquiorra listened quietly to Ichigo Kurosaki's account. His emerald green eyes never left Ichigo Kurosaki's eyes—those heterochromatic eyes, the left eye a dazzling golden yellow, the right eye a deep amber.
Finally, he spoke. His voice was still flat, but it held an indescribable... or rather, a subtle fluctuation that only arises when facing a truly worthy opponent. "Is that so?"
He paused, and the pair of enormous, jet-black demonic wings behind him slowly unfurled to their fullest extent, casting a shadow that blotted out the sky in the moonlight.
"Isn't your tone... a bit too arrogant?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Ulquiorra raised his right hand, his five fingers loosely clenched, and within his palm, dark green Reiatsu surged and compressed wildly like boiling magma. The color of that Reiatsu was so deep that it was almost pitch black, and the destructive energy it contained was enough to make one's soul tremble just by looking at it.
Without the slightest hesitation, he aimed his Ichigo Kurosaki on the stone pillar and thrust it out—
"Black Cero!"
A Menos Grande pillar of light, over a meter in diameter and crackling with black lightning, shot towards Ichigo Kurosaki like a river of death gushing from the depths of Hell, tearing through the air with an all-consuming force!
Wherever Cero, the air was completely ionized, producing crackling sounds; the sand and gravel in the Desert below were instantly vaporized by the aftershocks of Cero, leaving behind a scorched trench!
The power of this attack is more than ten times that of a normal Cero!
However, faced with this terrifying attack that could level a small mountain, Ichigo Kurosaki simply stood still.
He didn't even move a step.
He simply raised his right hand, holding the pure white longsword Zangetsu in front of him.
Then, with a gentle flick of the wrist.
His movements were as casual as if he were shooing away mosquitoes, without any gathering of power or burst of Reiatsu; he simply swung his sword.
A golden Getsuga Tenshō shot out from the pure white blade!
The crescent moon wasn't huge; compared to Ichigo Kurosaki's Getsuga Tenshō earlier, it even appeared somewhat slender. But its color was breathtakingly pure—not ordinary golden yellow, but a dazzling, fiery gold that seemed to be condensed from pure, highly concentrated sunlight.
The slender golden crescent and the thick, dark green Cero collided violently in mid-air!
Boom--!
A deafening explosion resounded Above the Canopy!
The violent shockwave spread wildly in all directions from the point of impact, whipping up sand Desert several meters high and shaking the surrounding giant stone pillars until they were about to collapse!
However, as the smoke and light slowly dissipated, and the aftershocks of the explosion gradually subsided—
Ichigo Kurosaki remained standing quietly in place.
The stone pillar beneath his feet remained intact, he bore no new wounds, and his expression remained calm and serene.
He didn't even change his posture, still holding the knife in one hand, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, his heterochromatic eyes—the left eye a bright golden yellow, the right eye a deep amber—quietly watching Ulquiorra in the distance.
There were no unnecessary movements.
There was no boasting or showing off.
Simply, standing there.
Ulquiorra's emerald green eyes narrowed slightly as he watched his fully unleashed Black Cero being so easily shattered.
It's an instinctive physiological response to unexpected forces.
He didn't speak, but the fleeting glint in the depths of his eyes said it all.
The silence lasted less than two seconds.
Ulquiorra it.
He suddenly clasped his hands together in front of him, fingers interlocked, palms facing each other. At this moment, his enormous, jet-black demonic wings spread to their fullest extent, the two sharp bone spikes at the tips gleaming with a cold light in the moonlight.
A tremendous Reiatsu surged forth from his body, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, all converging between his clasped hands!
The dark green aura grew brighter and more intense, gradually transforming into an almost blinding emerald green. Within that light, countless tiny lightning snakes could be vaguely seen darting about wildly, crackling and popping.
Then, he slowly pulled his hands apart to the sides.
With his movements, a long spear, entirely emerald green and crackling with countless black lightning bolts, formed purely from highly compressed Reiatsu, gradually took shape between his palms!
The spear had an ancient yet ferocious design, with a long, straight shaft, an extremely sharp tip, and a barbed blade at the end. Just holding it in one's hand caused the space around it to distort and crack, as if it could not withstand the terrifying energy it contained.
Lanza del Relámpago – Ulquiorra's strongest attack after his Segunda Etapa, a destructive spear capable of leveling the entire Las Noches.
Ulquiorra gripped the emerald green spear with both hands, raising it to his sides. His bright green eyes, peering through the black lightning crackling around the spear, were fixed on Ichigo Kurosaki in the distance.
His voice, still lacking inflection, now carried a hint of solemnity that only appeared when facing a truly formidable opponent. "Lanza del Relámpago."
He paused, as if reminding, or perhaps warning. "This move... I can't control it very well either. So—"
He slightly pulled his arm back, assuming a throwing stance. "Watch out."
The moment he finished speaking, he swung his arm forward with a sudden movement!
The emerald green Lanza del Relámpago flew out of his hand!
There was no whooshing sound as it cut through the air—because its speed surpassed that of sound.
There is no blinding trail—because wherever it passes, even light is distorted and swallowed up.
There was only a blurry, emerald-green afterimage, and visible black cracks in the space it passed through, like shattered glass!
Like a bolt of lightning striking down from the heavens, carrying the power to destroy everything, it shot straight toward Ichigo Kurosaki's heart!
Faced with this ultimate attack that could instantly kill most opponents, Ichigo Kurosaki finally made his move.
He neither swung his sword to block nor unleashed Getsuga Tenshō to intercept.
He merely swayed slightly.
The Lanza del Relámpago whistled past him!
It was faster than the limits of visual perception, yet so precise it seemed to have been meticulously calculated—the distance he moved was exactly right, allowing the spear, powerful enough to pierce mountains, to graz the hem of his clothes.
Boom--!
The Lanza del Relámpago pierced the Desert behind him, instantly triggering a massive explosion!
A turquoise light shot into the sky, illuminating half the night sky as if it were daytime! A massive mushroom cloud rose into the air, and the violent shockwave leveled everything within a radius of hundreds of meters! In the Desert, a huge crater with a diameter of over a hundred meters and an unfathomable depth appeared!
However, amidst the devastating aftershocks of the explosion, Ichigo Kurosaki appeared like a ghost behind Ulquiorra.
The short sword Zangetsu, which he held in his left hand, had been raised at some point.
A flash of light!
Ulquiorra's reaction was lightning fast. The instant he sensed the killing intent behind him, he didn't even turn around; instead, he conjured a brand new Lanza del Relámpago in his hand and parried it behind him!
Clang--!
Swords and spears clashed, sparks flew!
The short sword Zangetsu, striking the shaft of the Lanza del Relámpago squarely!
Using the force of the block, Urola spun to the side, trying to create distance.
However, Ichigo Kurosaki's right hand had already raised the pure white longsword Zangetsu.
From top to bottom, without any fancy moves, a powerful and heavy slash!