Fighting the Arrancar (4)

Yammy Rialgo roared, his massive body suddenly turning around, his fan-like hand slamming towards Kisuke Urahara with a whooshing sound. However, Kisuke Urahara had already gracefully retreated, his Zanpakuto drawing an elegant arc beside him, the bloodstains on the blade shimmering eerily in the sunlight.

"How is this possible?!" Yammy Rialgo clutched his wound, staring at Kisuke Urahara with a grim expression, his eyes filled with disbelief. "How could you dodge my Bala unscathed?!"

Besides anger, his voice also carried a hint of fear that he himself was unaware of. He remembered clearly that he had fired at least a dozen Bala, each one precisely aimed at Kisuke Urahara's vital points.

He knew all too well the power of those Bala —even Captain-level Soul Reaper wouldn't be unscathed from a direct hit. But this man in front of him stood there as if nothing had happened, not even a tear in his clothes.

Upon hearing this, Kisuke Urahara's lips curled into a meaningful smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out, waving it in front of Yammy Rialgo—it was a black sphere.

"A portable Gigai." Kisuke Urahara's tone carried a hint of smugness, as if he were showing off his newly invented toy. "I haven't been in the World of the Living for nothing these past years. This thing can instantly replace the original body, allowing it to move to a safe place. Your Bala was indeed powerful, but it only hit an empty shell."

He paused, carefully storing the portable Gigai, his smile widening even further, "How about it? Want to try a few more? I have plenty in stock."

Yammy Rialgo's face grew even darker. He stared intently at the Gigai in Kisuke Urahara, his eyes filled with apprehension. This seemingly carefree man was far more troublesome than he had imagined.

At the moment Yammy Rialgo was distracted, Luppi Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, and Rangiku Matsumoto, who were bound by Ruby Antenor's tentacles, simultaneously exerted their power. As Luppi Antenor was frozen, the Reiatsu on those tentacles had greatly weakened and could no longer hold them.

Ikkaku Madarame suddenly broke free, and the tentacles binding him snapped off. He stretched his arm, which had gone numb from being constricted, and spat out a curse, "Damn it, finally out! Being entangled by those disgusting things, just thinking about it makes me sick!"

Yumichika Ayasegawa, on the other hand, was much more elegant. With a light flick of his Zanpakuto, he brushed away the remaining tentacle fragments from his body, the movement as fluid as if he were merely brushing a fallen leaf off his shoulder.

But his eyes were sharper than usual—the moment he was grabbed by the tentacles, he truly felt the threat of death. If it weren't for Liu Ziyun and Kisuke Urahara's timely intervention, he and Rangiku Matsumoto would probably already be...

He didn't dwell on it, but simply gripped his Zanpakuto and turned his gaze to the man who had pulled him back from the brink of death— Kisuke Urahara.

Rangiku Matsumoto was the last to break free of her restraints. She staggered as she landed, clearly badly constricted by the tentacles. But she quickly regained her balance, took a deep breath, and raised her Zanpakuto again. Although her face was still somewhat pale, the fighting spirit in her eyes remained undiminished.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya shifted his gaze from the massive block of ice, sweeping over the three who had just escaped. After confirming they were all unharmed, he nodded slightly. Then, his gaze turned to another Arrancar on the battlefield— Wonderweiss Margera, who appeared to be only a child but exuded an eerie aura.

This taciturn, short Arrancar had stood on the edge of the battlefield since the start of the fight, neither attacking nor participating in any combat. He simply stood there quietly, observing the entire battlefield with his empty eyes, like an outsider. But Tōshirō Hitsugaya could sense that this seemingly harmless little man possessed a disturbing power hidden within him.

He held the Hyōrinmaru horizontally in front of him, preparing to attack Wonderweiss. However, just then—

"Looks like the Soul Reapers are quite capable after all."

Ulquiorra Cifer's voice came from the other side of the battlefield, still in that calm, even tone, as if he were simply stating a fact unrelated to himself. His gaze swept over the frozen Luppi Antenor, over the wounded Yammy Rialgo, and finally landed on Liu Ziyun.

Liu Ziyun shrugged, his tone somewhat dismissive. "Not bad. But at this level, it probably wouldn't kill one of the Espada."

What he said was indeed true. Although Luppi Antenor was frozen in ice and Yammy Rialgo was injured, as Espada, their strength was far greater than that.

While Tōshirō Hitsugaya's Thousand-Year Ice Prison is powerful, it's far from enough to completely kill an Espada. Luppi Antenor, trapped in the ice, is only temporarily sealed and could break free at any moment. As for Yammy Rialgo's injuries, though seemingly severe, they are merely superficial wounds in the face of Arrancar's High-Speed Regeneration.

Ulquiorra Cifer tilted his head slightly, looking at Liu Ziyun with his empty green eyes. "It seems you have a good understanding of the Espada's strength."

His tone was devoid of any emotional fluctuation, but his eyes held a more scrutinizing quality than before.

He was reassessing the danger level of the man before him—to be able to so casually evaluate the strength of the Espada was either a sign of ignorance or a genuine sense of security. Judging from that last strike, Liu Ziyun clearly belonged to the latter category.

"It's passable, I suppose." Liu Ziyun's reply remained in that nonchalant tone, as if he were merely discussing the weather. "Having spent so many years in Soul Society, I must know a few things. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory."

Ulquiorra Cifer was silent for a moment, then asked, "Really? Then how much do you know about my strength?"

The question made the air around them heavy. The Soul Reaper present involuntarily held their breath— Ulquiorra Cifer, the Espada, one of Aizen's strongest warriors.

No one knows exactly how strong he is. But judging from the High-Speed Regeneration he just displayed, this person is definitely an extremely formidable opponent.

Liu Ziyun's gaze lingered on Ulquiorra for a moment, then a meaningful smile slowly crept onto his lips, "I should... be able to kill you."

These words were spoken so casually, as if they were merely stating a perfectly ordinary fact. Yet, these few light words instantly heightened the tension on the entire battlefield to an extreme degree.