"What is this Spiritual Pressure?"
As Uryū Ishida felt the powerful Spiritual Pressure falling like fine rain in the air, enveloping the entire Second Division, his expression changed drastically.
This chilling and ominous Spiritual Pressure, which made one feel as if their heart would stop, tormented Uryū Ishida, while also giving him a bad premonition.
"This Spiritual Pressure is almost ethereal, sending chills down one's spine..."
Uryū Ishida opened his mouth slightly and spoke his thoughts.
"Is that the direction Ichigo is in?"
"With that explosion and that overwhelming Spiritual Pressure, it's hard to imagine what kind of enemy Ichigo and the others are facing."
Yasutora Sado opened his eyes wide with all his might, looking into the endless distance. The earth-shattering explosions and the powerful Spiritual Pressure falling like rain all proved just how powerful the enemy Ichigo and the others were facing.
"Let's hurry and help Kurosaki-kun!"
" Kurosaki-kun... Kurosaki-kun and the others are in danger!"
Orihime Inoue gently touched her pounding chest. For some reason, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. A tearing sensation, seemingly from nowhere, throbbed within Orihime Inoue. She had a premonition that Kurosaki-kun, Ichigo Kurosaki-kun... was in mortal danger, and that Ichigo Kurosaki-kun needed her very much right now.
"Alright! Let's not delay, let's head over there now."
Yasutora Sado nodded slightly. He was not afraid of the intense explosion, nor was he intimidated by the earth-shattering, suffocating Spiritual Pressure rain. His eyes were clear and full of courage.
"Hmph, that idiot, all he does is make others worry about him."
Uryū Ishida subconsciously pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose, softly scolding Ichigo Kurosaki for his reckless behavior. For some reason, Uryū Ishida 'Uryū Ishida scolding did not convey any anger; instead, it was filled with a hint of doting, making one feel a strange tightness in their anus.
"..."
"Aren't these people afraid of dying?"
Ganju Shiba watched as these humans, who had struggled to even deal with the most ordinary Stealth Force, were now shouting that they wanted to help their comrades fight those monsters who could crush them like trash with just their overflowing Spiritual Pressure. He felt a mix of emotions. He didn't know whether to feel sorry for their foolishness or to feel happy that his brother, who had grown up in the World of the Living, had made such comrades who would risk their lives for each other... He couldn't quite define his feelings.
"Tsk tsk tsk~"
"Are you the spies of the mastermind behind this?"
Just as the group was discussing their plan, a chilling voice rang in their ears...
A man with long, dark green hair, who looked somewhat neurotic, appeared silently in front of the group and quietly observed them.
When did this person appear?
Seeing that the man with dark green hair and a pale face had approached them silently without disturbing anyone, Uryū Ishida felt a chill run down his spine.
This man could appear before them without them noticing, smile and greet them, and just as silently take their lives with his Zanpakuto. He was truly a terrifying person.
"As expected! My guess was right. Once Lord Sōgo runs into trouble, you'll jump out, you who's always been hiding behind the scenes."
The green-haired man, facing Uryū Ishida and his group, was laughing maniacally, a laugh that sent chills down everyone's spine.
Are you out of your mind?
Yasutora Sado's eyes narrowed, and he quickly moved in front of the green-haired man, using his muscular body to block the man's frenzied gaze.
"Lost sheep!"
"Are you still so stubborn and unrepentant even now?"
"Don't you know... you've been used by the people behind the scenes, and have become pawns on the chessboard?"
"Leaving the Second Division now will still give you a chance to survive."
The green-haired man looked at Yasutora Sado with pity, as if he were looking at some pitiful person.
"If you continue to obstruct our progress, then I'll have to take action."
Yasutora Sado warned the green-haired man before him, saying that he really didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble and get into a completely unnecessary battle with the people of Soul Society.
"I'm so disappointed! I'm really disappointed! You bunch of people who are being used without even realizing it are incredibly stupid!"
"I originally thought that after listening to my words, you would choose a correct and upward path. Now it seems that I had too high expectations for you. Those who grovel on the ground will only sink further down. Since that's the case, then kneel down here properly, face the glory of Lord Sōgo, and reflect on your mistakes!"
The green-haired man frowned, his already gloomy face growing even darker, like a storm cloud gathering, giving off an ominous and oppressive feeling.
"That guy!"
As everyone felt the chilling, rain-like Spiritual Pressure emanating from the green-haired man, they immediately sensed something was wrong. They never expected that this sinister-looking man would possess such terrifying strength.
"Kneel down before me!"
With the man's hysterical roar, Yasutora Sado, who was as tall as a brown bear, collapsed to the ground, his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.
" Sado-kun!"
Orihime Inoue watched as Yasutora Sado, who had only taken one blow from the green-haired man, rolled his eyes back, lost all his luster, and fell into a coma, and called out anxiously.
Why are you in such a hurry?
"Do you also want to take a hit from me?"
The green-haired man asked Orihime Inoue a question, but instead of making a move, he sensed something and observed the square where Ichigo Kurosaki and Lilynette were located.
"Speaking of which, your companions are already dead, aren't they?"
The green-haired man spoke to himself.
"Just now, I sensed a Spiritual Pressure fall. That Spiritual Pressure was much stronger than yours, but it felt very unfamiliar to me. It must have been one of your companions, right?"
The green-haired man rubbed his chin, his eyes filled with a probing look as he observed Orihime Inoue and the others.
"Shut up!"
Kurosaki-kun!
" Ichigo Kurosaki-kun will definitely not die. He will rescue Rukia and then return to the World of the Living with us."
After hearing the green-haired man's words, Orihime Inoue's body trembled uncontrollably. She couldn't believe that Ichigo Kurosaki was dead, even though she hadn't been able to sense any of Ichigo Kurosaki Spiritual Pressure since then.
"Hmm? Can't you feel it? That kid's Spiritual Pressure has disappeared, or are you clearly feeling it but unwilling to believe it?"
The green-haired man looked at Orihime Inoue, whose body was trembling, and asked in confusion.
" Kurosaki-kun... he's not dead."
Orihime Inoue knelt on the ground, repeatedly saying that Kurosaki-kun was not dead. Her eyes gradually dimmed. In her heart, she knew... just as he said, Ichigo Kurosaki, who could no longer sense Spiritual Pressure, was practically dead in the Soul Society, which relied on Reishi particles for survival.
" Inoue-san, don't listen to this guy's nonsense."
Just as Orihime Inoue knelt on the ground, sobbing softly.
Several azure Reishi arrows pierced the air, carrying a whistling sound, and flew towards the green-haired monster.
" Quincy?!"
"I've lost count of how many years it's been since I last encountered Quincy!"
"So that's how it is. You're a descendant of those people?"
Green Hair dodged Uryū Ishida's arrows with a few quick movements. His eyes flickered as he looked at Uryū Ishida, recalling many things, such as... a hundred years ago, when he and Sōgo Shihoin and others went on a mission to the Dangai, they encountered a group of Quincy who were being manipulated.
He originally thought that all the Quincy had either died or retired, but now it seems that he was too naive. Sure enough, he shouldn't have let Lord Sōgo go and recklessly let that small group of Quincy go. Everyone who threw a punch at Sōgo should disappear from this world.
Thinking this, the man with green hair and a cold face narrowed his eyes slightly, and a terrifying killing intent instantly fell on Uryū Ishida, who was about to draw his bow.
"This? This level of killing intent?"
Uryū Ishida felt the bursts of killing intent emanating from the green-haired man, beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. Only then did he realize that this green-haired man had been toying with them from the very beginning, and his true strength was unfathomable, far more terrifying than they had imagined!
For a moment, Uryū Ishida seemed to foresee his own death; he knew that in the next second, he would die completely here.
Uryū Ishida watched the Zanpakuto getting closer and closer to his chest, his pupils dilated. He could clearly see the trajectory of the blade, but he just couldn't dodge it. This feeling of fear, of being closer and closer to death, was something that couldn't be explained to outsiders. It was a kind of terror that could only be understood when you actually faced it. It was the most primal fear that humanity experienced when faced with death.
"Roar!!!"
Just when Uryū Ishida had given up resistance and was powerless to face death.
A furious roar came from the heart of the Second Division barracks, violently assaulting everyone's delicate eardrums.
" Aura! Help me!"
"I knew the mastermind was planning to kill me!"
Upon hearing the furious roar, the green-haired man's expression changed drastically. He shouted loudly, a rare hint of panic in his eyes.
"Well..."
A helpless sigh came from the green-haired man's ear. The next second, the arrogant green-haired man disappeared from the sight of Orihime Inoue and the others. If it weren't for the fact that everyone remembered the green-haired man's actions, it would have been as if he had never appeared at all.
"That Spiritual Pressure?!"
Is that Ichigo Kurosaki?
As Uryū Ishida felt the terrifying Spiritual Pressure that chilled his skin, his expression changed drastically. This Spiritual Pressure Spiritual Pressure clearly not human. Both the ominous aura and the bone-chilling cold indicated that the owner of this Spiritual Pressure was a genuine Menos Grande, and Menos Grande among Menos Grande. However, the familiarity within the Spiritual Pressure told Uryū Ishida that the owner of that Spiritual Pressure was none other than their dear classmate, Ichigo Kurosaki.
What exactly happened?
Uryū Ishida stood there, bewildered. After facing death, he was immediately confronted with the fact that his classmate had turned into a Hollow. The successive blows left Uryū Ishida speechless. He barely managed to support his body so that he wouldn't collapse, gazing into the distance at the source of the ominous Spiritual Pressure.
"Roar!!"
The previously deceased Ichigo Kurosaki transformed into a humanoid Menos Grande resembling a lizardman, wielding the Bankai Zangetsu, which resembled a kitchen knife, and roared madly at Lilynette. (This is the Bankai, fully Hollowfication, not the Minotaur mode; see Ichigo Kurosaki's form in the Zanpakuto arc for details.)
"Look at your pathetic state! You've even fallen into evil ways to gain power?! Have you gone mad?!"
Lilynette did not Resurrección. After killing Ichigo Kurosaki, she had already Resurrección. Even now, facing the berserk Hollowfication Ichigo Kurosaki, she still had no intention of Resurrección, because the Ichigo Kurosaki had greatly disappointed Lilynette...
No one knows exactly Menos Grande long it took for these Vasto Lorde Lordes to shed their beast-like forms, to transform from monsters that no one could approach, who spent countless years in solitary sorrow, into humanoid beings capable of communicating with friends...
However, Lilynette found it hard to accept that someone was now using that forbidden power right in front of her, turning herself from a rational human into a mad monster!
Therefore, Lilynette must defeat Ichigo Kurosaki, who appears as a monster, by using her human form. She must use the human form she has worked so hard to achieve to defeat Ichigo Kurosaki, who has abandoned his human form for power.
"Roar!!"
Unfortunately, Ichigo Kurosaki couldn't hear Lilynette's voice at all. He roared and went berserk, a crimson light flashing from his mouth—it was Cero!
"Snort!"
Lilynette saw Ichigo Kurosaki preparing to unleash Cero on her and gave him a cold smile. A deep blue light instantly gathered from her bulging chest.
"Buzz!"
"Null!"
Two flashes of light, one red and one blue, collided in mid-air in an instant, and then the red one was swallowed up by the blue one.
The azure light bombarded Ichigo Kurosaki, who had transformed into a monster, causing Ichigo Kurosaki to roar in pain. The intense heat continuously burned his body, but Ichigo Kurosaki's vitality was truly tenacious. His incredibly powerful regenerative ability allowed Ichigo Kurosaki to be torn apart and then constantly regenerated within the azure light.
"You bastard... you wouldn't be in so much pain if you just died like this."
Lilynette looked at the tenacious Ichigo Kurosaki, raised an eyebrow, and said with some reluctance.
"Alright! Now I'll give you something big to do, something that will finally end your suffering."
Lilynette decided that in order to completely liberate Ichigo Kurosaki, she had to work harder and unleash a Menos Grande Flash.
(End of this chapter)