A Fateful Battle

When Ichigo used Tensa Zangetsu to push Ulquiorra away, he felt for some reason that this scene seemed familiar. Tsuna right to send him to fight this Arrancar; the opponent should have been defeated by him.

Ulquiorra, however, showed no change in expression. Since Ichigo was preventing him from rescuing Ichigo, he would just execute Ichigo first. He condensed Cero the size of a finger at his fingertip and shot it toward Ichigo's face.

Ichigo's expression changed, and he immediately Flash Step dodge. He hadn't expected this expressionless guy to be so ruthless, firing Cero directly at Ichigo's head.

Without Ichigo's interference, Ulquiorra continued his rescue operation. Ichigo quickly threw Tensa Zangetsu away, yelling, "You stop right there!"

Ulquiorra intended to ignore Ichigo and directly withstand Ichigo's Ichigo Steel Skin, but he didn't expect that the Tensa Zangetsu that Ichigo threw would carry spiritual pressure; it was Getsuga Tensho with the blade itself inside.

Boom!

Ulquiorra was struck to the ground by Tensa Zangetsu attached to it, while Ichigo also pulled back Tensa Zangetsu and continued his attack on him.

Feeling the tiny wound on his back, Ulquiorra had no choice but to draw his sword and clash with Ichigo. Ichigo, however, was relentless, gathering the spiritual pressure of Getsuga Tensho in his Tensa Zangetsu and slashing at Ulquiorra, suppressing him all the way to the edge of Sōkyoku Ulquiorra.

Despite having a slight advantage, Ichigo's brows were still furrowed. For some reason, he couldn't sense any emotional fluctuations from this Arrancar; it was as if he were fighting a rock.

A close-range Getsuga Tensho forced Ulquiorra out of the range of Sōkyoku. Ichigo his sword and asked, "You... don't you have a heart?"

Heart? What is that? Ulquiorra didn't answer, he just stared blankly at Ichigo, pondering the meaning of heart.

Oh no! Ichigo felt like he was fighting an idiot. Just as Ichigo his head, wondering what to do, he heard Ulquiorra's question.

What is the heart?

Ulquiorra's question left Ichigo speechless, frantically trying to answer with Ulquiorra, offering academic explanations and subjective interpretations.

Ulquiorra couldn't understand Ichigo was saying. He glanced in Aizen's direction and remembered that his mission was to save his so-called comrades.

"Bleach, I need to save people, don't stop me," Ulquiorra said. He had no ulterior motives; he did what he thought and said what he felt directly.

Ulquiorra's goal was to save people, not to Ichigo. If possible, it would be best Ichigo didn't stop him.

Ichigo's excited expression suddenly faltered as he realized they were on a battlefield. "I'm so sorry, you can't take another step. And my name is Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ulquiorra carefully examined Ichigo. Judging from their previous encounters, it wouldn't be easy for him to break through Ichigo's defenses now. This wasn't Hueco Mundo; there were no restrictions on his release here...

"I am Ulquiorra Cifer." Upon hearing Ichigo's name, Ulquiorra felt he should introduce himself, then pointed his Zanpakuto at Ichigo and said, "Seal it off, Resurrection: Black-Winged Demon!"

Green spiritual pressure covered Ulquiorra's body, and the excess spiritual pressure shot into the sky, dispersing as Reishi in the low air. Due to the high density of the Reishi, Reishi then gathered into liquid and dripped down.

The green rain of Reishi heralded Ulquiorra's battle. After the spiritual pressure dissipated, Ulquiorra appeared, clad in a white robe and wearing a white Hollow Helmet. A pair of black bat wings sprouted from his back—this was his Resurrección, Resurrection: Black-Winged Demon.

Ichigo's expression immediately became serious. After his experience in Soul Society, his perspective was gradually broadening. After his Resurrección, Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure was on a completely different level than before.

With another wave of his hand, Ulquiorra unleashed a green Cero at Ichigo. This Cero was far more powerful and faster than the previous one, Ichigo didn't dare to be careless. His face was covered with crimson spiritual pressure as he swung Tensa Zangetsu Cero at the Cero.

The Cero was forcefully split in two by Tensa Zangetsu. Ichigo couldn't help but sigh. Fortunately, he had already accepted White Ichigo, otherwise, with his half-baked Visored, he would never have been able to block this Cero.

At this moment, Ichigo finally understood why Tsuna had sent him to deal with Ulquiorra. If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn't Shin'uchi. Thinking of this, Ichigo couldn't help but hope that Inoue's Brother would go easy on him, otherwise even with Uryū and the Visored, they would have a hard time.

While Ichigo was lost in thought, a flash of green light had already reached Ichigo. Fortunately, with White Ichigo's warning in his Visored form, Ichigo was able to hastily block Ulquiorra's attack.

Looking at Ichigo Kurosaki wearing the bull-head Visored in front of him, Ulquiorra felt something was off. It seemed like he was fighting not just one person, but two?

"Idiot Ichigo, cut him down!"

Urged on by White Ichigo, Ichigo and Ulquiorra clashed head-on. Ulquiorra wielded the Moonlight Sword, a spear-like weapon formed from green spiritual pressure, capable of both close combat and throwing attacks.

Because Ulquiorra's weapon had lethal points at both ends, Ichigo was caught off guard and, even while wearing Visored, was still overpowered by Ulquiorra.

"Are you sure you can do it? If not, then let me do it!" White Ichigo kept shouting in Ichigo's mind.

"Alright, I got it. Remember not to hurt your comrades!" Ichigo knew that his mastery of Hollowfication was definitely not as good as White Ichigo's. After giving him a serious reminder, he agreed to White Ichigo's suggestion to switch pilots. He also wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about White Ichigo's fighting style.

Because Ichigo was wearing Visored, Ulquiorra had no idea that the opponent had changed. He was taking advantage of his position and was about to unleash a Cero at Ichigo.

White Ichigo, in his new form, showed no mercy to Ulquiorra. His Tensa Zangetsu's trajectory suddenly changed, deflecting Ulquiorra's Moonlight Sword. He then focused his attention on the bull's horns, creating a Cero that shot towards Ulquiorra. (This wasn't Bull- Ichigo; it was just Ichigo's Visored evolved into a bull-head form.)

Red and green instantly became the main theme on Sogyoku Hill, and the collision of the two Cero destroyed another half of Sogyoku Hill.

Ichigo and Ulquiorra disappeared from Sogyoku Hill, leaving behind a huge crater where they had fought.

With Ichigo, Ichigo dispersed all the smoke with his spiritual pressure, revealing himself in a new space, seemingly beneath Sogyoku Hill.

"Where am I?" Ichigo asked himself.

"Do I even need to ask? Aren't you familiar with this kind of environment?" White Ichigo continued to be sarcastic.

Ichigo found the surroundings very familiar, and he quickly connected it to the underground space of Urahara Shop. The method was exactly the same. "Could this have been dug out by the store manager?"

"Ah, if he likes digging so much, why isn't his Zanpakuto mole?" White Ichigo retorted.

Just then, a green spear shot towards Ichigo, and not only Ichigo, but Ulquiorra also fell into this space.

Ichigo smirked. How could such a sneak attack possibly hit him? He immediately gripped Tensa Zangetsu and casually swung it, and a twisted black and red crescent moon flew out from Ichigo.

Watching White Ichigo's actions, Ichigo silently took notes. He had to admit that White Ichigo's mastery of Getsuga Tensho had reached an unparalleled level. He didn't need to charge up at all; he could use Getsuga Tensho with just a casual strike.

The two intense spiritual pressures collided once more. Both were powerful attack techniques. Under the pressure of this powerful impact, the explosion of spiritual pressure could only be released into the sky. A huge green and red beam of light shot into the sky, blasting a hole through the Sogyoku Hill once again.

Light streamed down from the newly opened hole, further confirming that Ichigo were indeed underground at Sogyoku Hill.

"Hey, weren't you supposed to be saving someone? That person won't die from your attack, will they?" Ichigo taunted Ulquiorra while spinning Tensa Zangetsu.

Ichigo's words made Ulquiorra feel constrained. He finally realized the rule Aizen had set up in Hueco Mundo: Arrancar above the Fourth Espada were not allowed to release their Resurrección under the canopy of Las Noches, for fear that they would destroy Las Noches if they fought.

For Ulquiorra, saving lives was Aizen's primary mission. Ichigo was merely an obstacle in his way. If Ichigo was willing to stop fighting him, he could immediately abandon the battle to save lives.

Ulquiorra dared not attack rashly, but Ichigo would not tolerate it. He frantically swung Tensa Zangetsu left and right, sending black and red crescent moons flying towards Ulquiorra.

The person lying on the Sōkyoku wasn't Ichigo's companion, so he didn't care what happened to the person on top. On the contrary, Ulquiorra had to take all of Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho.

Ulquiorra did the same, using his condensed Moon Sword and Steel Skin to continuously Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho. He dared not use Cero lightly, fearing that Ichigo would strike him with another Cero.

With his spear unusable and his Cero unable to fire, Ulquiorra was left with only one option: to force Ichigo into close combat.

Ulquiorra cleared Ichigo path with his spear, taking two of Ichigo's Crescent Moon attacks head-on, paying the price with two wounds on his shoulders, before finally getting close to Ichigo.

Ichigo laughed. For White Ichigo, he would much rather fight Ulquiorra in close combat. For White Ichigo, close combat would allow Ichigo to better showcase his fighting style.

A well-coordinated White Blade ensued in the underground space of Sogyoku Hill. Ulquiorra, in order to prevent Ichigo from using those powerful ranged spiritual pressure attacks, also sought an opportunity to kill Ichigo, who was standing in his way, with a single blow. Meanwhile, White Ichigo controlled Ichigo's body to carry out the combat training that had not been completed earlier.