Ulquiorra Makes His Move!

"Yawn... why aren't they here yet?" Ye Yang yawned, feeling a little sleepy.

The Marines really were slow. He had been waiting here at the harbor for over half an hour, yet they still hadn't arrived.

"Don't tell me they're not coming?"

Just as he finished speaking, golden light suddenly flashed behind him. Kizaru appeared, standing behind him with both hands in his pockets, looking leisurely at Ye Yang. "Yo, young man, who are you waiting for?"

"You guys." Ye Yang turned and gave Kizaru a speechless look, complaining, "You Marines really are ridiculously inefficient. How long have I been waiting here? Any other pirate would've run off to the New World ages ago. Would there even be anyone left by the time you arrived?"

"..." Kizaru's mouth twitched at those words. He wondered if something was wrong with his ears and he had misheard.

When other pirates heard that an Admiral was coming, they would only pray for the warship to sail slower, or better yet, have an accident, giving them time to escape.

But this fellow was actually complaining that their warship was too slow and had kept him waiting too long...

In his decades as a Marine, this was the first time he had encountered such an oddball.

Kizaru shook his head speechlessly and put those thoughts aside. Looking at Ye Yang, he asked, "You're the criminal who killed a Celestial Dragon, aren't you?"

"That's right. It was me." Ye Yang nodded, making no attempt to deny it.

Hearing Ye Yang admit it, Kizaru's gaze sharpened. "Since it was you, come along to Impel Down with me."

The moment he finished speaking, Kizaru's body suddenly radiated golden light, then transformed into a mass of golden light particles. These particles moved at light speed, impossible for ordinary people to make out.

The next moment, Kizaru's voice rang out behind Ye Yang.

"Kid, have you ever been hit by a Light-Speed Kick?"

Light-Speed Kick!

The brilliant light particles condensed into a leg shimmering with golden light, which swung a Whip Kick straight at Ye Yang's head!

Ye Yang neither dodged nor ducked. Standing where he was, he answered with a chuckle, "Can't say I have."

Just as Kizaru's Light-Speed Kick was about to strike the back of Ye Yang's head, Ulquiorra suddenly appeared behind Ye Yang, drew the Zanpakuto at his waist, and blocked Kizaru's attack.

Boom!

The instant the Light-Speed Kick collided with the Zanpakuto, cracks split the ground, spreading like a spiderweb. A terrifying blast of wind sprang up out of nowhere, sending everything around them swaying.

Seeing his attack blocked, Kizaru instantly pulled back, flashing dozens of meters away before reforming his body. Looking at the expressionless Ulquiorra, he let out a surprised sound.

"Oh? So you have an accomplice. Is he why you dared to stay?"

"Heh." Ye Yang smiled faintly without offering any explanation. He turned his gaze to Ulquiorra and said calmly, "Ulquiorra, take care of him."

"Yes, Lord Ye Yang." Ulquiorra nodded impassively and began walking toward Kizaru.

Hearing Ye Yang's order to Ulquiorra, Kizaru looked surprised. "Oh? Take care of me? It seems I've been underestimated!"

With that, his body once again transformed into light particles and rushed toward Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra stopped walking. His emotionless eyes shifted, observing the flow of the light particles.

The next moment, he turned to the left and extended his right index finger. Terrifying Reishi gathered, and a dark green sphere of energy rapidly formed at his fingertip.

"Cero."

Rumble!

A dark green light flashed and vanished, followed immediately by an earth-shaking explosion that resounded throughout the Sabaody Archipelago.

Every resident on the islands heard the explosion, and they all turned terrified gazes toward the harbor.

"W-what level of battle is this? We can hear the explosion even from here?!"

"We'd better run! Hiding here might not be safe either. If we get caught up in the fighting, we're dead!"

"Ugh, it's all that criminal's fault. Why couldn't he just let the Celestial Dragon gouge out his eyes? He just had to go against the Celestial Dragons and bring a Marine Admiral here!"

"Exactly! He's the one making our lives miserable. We can't even do business!"

The dark green Cero exploded. Terrifying energy devoured the ground and continued spreading outward, while powerful shock waves swept through the area, churning the sea.

When the shock waves subsided, an enormous crater over a hundred meters wide and deep appeared at the site of the explosion.

Ulquiorra lowered his index finger, staring expressionlessly at the bottomless crater before him.

At the edge of the terrifying crater, light particles flickered and rapidly coalesced into Kizaru's form.

He looked at the crater behind him, then turned to Ulquiorra, still shaken. "You really are one formidable young man. I nearly lost my life there."

A casual attack had caused such terrifying damage over such a wide area. Strength like that was probably no less than his own.

Kizaru had put aside his dismissiveness and was now watching Ulquiorra with utter seriousness.

When had another newcomer with such terrifying strength appeared on the seas, without the Marines receiving even a scrap of information?

Someone possessing such terrifying strength had kept it hidden all this time. He vaguely felt that some great conspiracy might be brewing behind this.

As though he had not heard Kizaru's words, Ulquiorra continued watching him expressionlessly, slowly condensing a moonlight sword from Reishi in his hand.

Immediately afterward, he released his Spiritual Pressure. The terrifying, almost tangible Spiritual Pressure swept outward, making Kizaru's eyes widen in shock.

"Conqueror's Haki?!"