An ending and a disappearance

The ice dragon swooped down from midair.

Shawlong Koufang raised his arm, about to block Hitsugaya's slash, when a streak of red sword light swept in from the side and severed his right arm in an instant.

"What?"

Hitsugaya did not let the opportunity slip away.

"Roaring ice dragons!"

Cold erupted with a thunderous blast as several ice dragons charged straight at Shawlong Koufang, freezing his entire body in the blink of an eye.

The next moment, the ice split apart from within.

The Arrancar's body shattered into countless fragments that scattered across the frozen street.

Hitsugaya landed on the ground, the ice wings behind him slowly dissipating. He glanced at Yoriichi, who had just arrived, his expression still serious.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Yoriichi put away Hekyō, his gaze settling on Hitsugaya's left arm.

There was a deep wound there, and blood had already stained half his Shihakushō red.

"Your wound needs treatment."

"This much won't get in my way."

Yoriichi sensed a distant Reiatsu rapidly falling silent. It was Ichigo's.

"I'll go find Ichigo."

"All right."

Hitsugaya nodded and said earnestly, "I'll leave Kurosaki to you. I'll check on the others."

Red light flashed beneath Yoriichi's feet, and he vanished on the spot.

Elsewhere.

Retsu Unohana stood before a stretch of rubble. Minazuki hovered in midair, swallowing several gravely wounded Soul Reapers to treat them.

Isane Kotetsu knelt on the ground, casting Kaido with both hands, fine beads of sweat already forming on her forehead.

"Captain, Mr. Ikkaku's injuries are severe."

Ikkaku Madarame lay before her, covered in blood, his chest and abdomen riddled with wounds. His right hand still gripped the broken half of Hōzukimaru tightly.

Not far away, an Arrancar's corpse was disintegrating.

Unohana walked over to Ikkaku and looked at him gently.

"To defeat an enemy like that, you must have been hiding quite a few things, Mr. Ikkaku."

Ikkaku's eyelid twitched.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Is that so?"

The smile on Unohana's face remained unchanged.

Although that Reiatsu had appeared for only a moment, it was certainly not power an ordinary Shikai could possess.

Ikkaku closed his eyes and simply played dead.

Isane looked at him, then at Unohana, unsure for a moment whether she should keep asking.

"Let's treat him first."

Unohana said softly, "Everyone has secrets they don't want to share."

At those words, Ikkaku's grip on his sword relaxed a little.

Meanwhile, on the northern side of Karakura Town.

Ichigo Kurosaki was kicked into the rubble, crashing through several walls before finally slamming into the ground.

"Cough..."

Blood poured from his mouth.

The Hollowfication mask on his face had long since shattered, leaving only a small piece of white bone hanging from his forehead.

Grimmjow rolled his neck, his face full of disappointment.

"That's your Hollowfication?"

"It only lasts that long, and you still dare stand in front of me?"

Bracing Zangetsu against the ground, Ichigo struggled to his feet.

"Shut up... This fight isn't over."

"Of course it isn't."

Grimmjow appeared before him in an instant and drove a fist into his face.

Bam!

Ichigo went flying again.

Before he could land, Grimmjow caught up, grabbed his collar, and slammed him into the ground.

"Don't you know that red-haired Soul Reaper?"

Grimmjow grinned. "That guy's a lot stronger than you."

"Compared to him, your pathetic power isn't even a joke."

Ichigo's pupils contracted slightly.

He wanted to argue, but found he could not say a word.

Yoriichi could defeat captains with ease and slay Espada head-on, while he could not even maintain his Hollowfication.

All this time, he had been chasing strength.

Yet no matter how hard he tried, Yoriichi always seemed to stand somewhere beyond his reach.

Grimmjow noticed his wavering, and the smile on his face grew even crueler.

"You've got the nerve to let your mind wander in a fight?"

He raised his fist and brought it down again and again.

Blood kept spattering onto the broken stones, and Ichigo's consciousness began to blur.

Just as Grimmjow was about to throw the final punch, a red slash hurtled toward him from afar.

He spun around and raised his arm in front of himself.

Boom!

Grimmjow was driven back by force, his feet gouging two cracks through the ground.

Yoriichi landed in front of Ichigo, Hekyō burning with golden-orange Reiatsu in his hand.

"That's enough."

Grimmjow stared at Yoriichi, rapidly extending his senses into the surroundings.

Gone.

The Fracción he had brought were all gone.

Even Nnoitra's Reiatsu had vanished completely.

Of the Arrancar who had come to the World of the Living this time, every last one except him had been wiped out.

Grimmjow fell silent for a moment, then suddenly grinned.

"Now this is more like it."

He raised his hand, and blue Reiatsu began gathering wildly.

But just then, a small Garganta suddenly opened behind him.

A pale hand reached out from within and grabbed his shoulder.

Ulquiorra stood inside the Garganta and spoke without expression.

"The mission is complete. It's time to retreat."

"Let go of me!"

Grimmjow snapped, "Who said I was running away? I was just about to slaughter this guy!"

"As you are now, you're no match for him."

"Mind your own damn business!"

Grimmjow tried to break free, but Ulquiorra forcibly pulled him toward the Garganta.

Yoriichi stepped forward and swung Hekyō horizontally.

"Sun Breathing, First Form."

"Dance, sun-splitting line."

A red slash swept across the street, a blazing fireball forming ahead of the sword light and striking Grimmjow in an instant.

Boom!

Flames engulfed the left half of his body.

The number marking him as the Sixth Espada was burned away outright, and his shoulder and half his waist and abdomen were charred black along with it.

"Aaargh!"

Grimmjow roared, still staring fixedly at Yoriichi.

"Yoriichi Tsugikuni!"

"Next time, I'll tear you apart with my own hands!"

The Garganta rapidly closed, and both their presences vanished completely.

Yoriichi did not pursue them.

He put away Hekyō, turned, and walked over to Ichigo, helping him up from the rubble.

Ichigo lowered his head, his voice a little hoarse.

"I'm too weak."

Ichigo froze.

He had thought Yoriichi would comfort him, never expecting him to agree outright.

Yoriichi looked at him calmly.

"Don't belittle yourself. You're only a high school student. It's been less than two months since you first picked up a sword to fight."

"But aren't you the same?"

Ichigo was puzzled.

"My circumstances are very unusual. My Zanpakuto taught me to fight. These combat abilities, ingrained in my instincts, are the main reason I'm strong now."

Ichigo was silent for a long time, then tightened his grip on Zangetsu.

"Next time, I won't lose to him again."

"Mm."

Before long, the two returned to Yoriichi's home.

Unohana and Isane had already temporarily turned the place into an aid station. Hitsugaya, Ikkaku, and the others were all receiving treatment.

Just as Isane was about to examine Ichigo's injuries, Yoriichi's phone suddenly rang.

The caller was Tatsuki Arisawa.

Yoriichi answered the phone.

"Yoriichi, do you know where Orihime went?"

Tatsuki's voice was extremely urgent.

"She hasn't come back since last night."

"Orihime is missing."