"Yes, Lord Aizen. I engaged Kurosaki Ichigo briefly, and I found that his spiritual pressure is far beyond what a normal Arrancar could imagine."
"Just releasing his Zanpakutō put me under immense pressure. Not only that—he easily severed Yammy's arm. He's undeniably powerful."
Ulquiorra reported without holding anything back.
Aizen nodded. It was clear that Ichigo had grown significantly stronger recently.
However, a nearby Arrancar squatting beside them looked very dissatisfied.
"Oi, Ulquiorra, are you serious? Is this Kurosaki Ichigo really that strong? If he's such a threat, why didn't you just kill him?"
"Without Lord Aizen's command, I cannot act. That's all," Ulquiorra replied coldly.
"Huh?"
Grimmjow hadn't expected such a dog-like answer and was briefly stunned into silence.
...
In the World of the Living—
Aside from Rukia and Senna, the other Shinigami had all left Ichigo's home to find their own places to stay.
Hitsugaya actually wanted to stay, but upon sensing Kurosaki Isshin not coming out to greet him and Matsumoto, he figured Isshin didn't want to see him. So he left with Rangiku.
"Pfft! Ulquiorra's just exaggerating! I'm going to see for myself just how strong this Kurosaki Ichigo really is!"
With that in mind, Grimmjow led five of his Fracción into the World of the Living.
As they emerged from the Garganta, Grimmjow sneered,
"Forget about Ulquiorra and Aizen Sōsuke. We're gonna kill every spiritually aware human in this city!"
"Yes, sir!"
The five Fracción began spreading out:
No. 11: Shawlong Koufang
No. 13: Edorad Leones
No. 14: Nakeem
No. 15: Ilforte Grantz
No. 16: D-Roy
These five weren't weak by any means.
But with such massive evil spiritual pressure flooding Karakura Town, Ichigo and the others naturally sensed it.
Eventually, the pairings were as follows:
Hitsugaya vs. Shawlong
Rangiku vs. Nakeem
Ikkaku and Yumichika vs. Edorad
Renji vs. Ilforte
The last Fracción, D-Roy, didn't encounter any Shinigami. His target… was Sado Yasutora.
Ichigo, Rukia, and Senna rushed to Chad's location.
At that moment, Chad was running down the street—fully aware that with his current strength, he stood no chance.
He was trying to escape while looking for an opening to counterattack.
Suddenly, D-Roy's voice echoed beside him.
"Hehehe… Big guy, you don't really think you can outrun me, do you?"
D-Roy appeared in front of Chad and thrust his hand toward Chad's chest before he could react!
But just because Chad couldn't react, didn't mean others couldn't.
"Ugh?!"
D-Roy's hand suddenly felt like it was caught in iron.
He looked up—and Ichigo was standing in front of Chad, gripping his wrist.
"Oi… what do you think you're doing to my friend?"
Ichigo's voice turned ice cold.
"Kurosaki Ichigo? I'm… lucky, I guess…"
Despite his words, D-Roy's sweating forehead betrayed his shock.
"Ichigo, let me—!" Chad tried to intervene.
But Ichigo shook his head.
"Chad, check your chest."
Chad froze, then hesitantly touched his chest. The cold blood soaking his fingers made him go quiet.
He turned and ran toward safety.
"…I was just acting tough, wasn't I? Ichigo, I'm no longer strong enough to fight by your side."
"I need to become stronger!"
Determined, Chad retreated.
Rukia called after him.
"Chad! Chad! That's not what Ichigo meant!"
But Chad didn't answer and disappeared into the night.
Senna gently grabbed Rukia's hand.
"Don't chase him. He knows what Ichigo meant. He's just angry at his own weakness. He'll definitely come back stronger."
Rukia nodded, but her fury wouldn't fade.
After all, Chad was one of the few friends they had in the World of the Living.
"Ichigo, leave this Arrancar to me."
Rukia drew her Zanpakutō, barely containing her anger.
Ichigo blinked in surprise—it was the first time he'd seen Rukia this furious.
He released his grip on D-Roy.
D-Roy immediately tried to flee—
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"
"First Dance, White Moon!"
Rukia flashed behind him—an icy pillar erupted beneath D-Roy, freezing him instantly.
Crack!
The pillar shattered.
Rukia didn't even glance at it as she returned to Ichigo's side.
D-Roy never even had the chance to release his Zanpakutō—he was killed instantly.
Ichigo wasn't surprised.
He could feel it—after their Soul Society training, Rukia and Senna were solid third-rank spiritual beings.
If they'd mastered Bankai, they'd already be captain-class.
Before Ichigo could say anything—
BOOM!
A powerful spiritual pressure descended from the sky.
"So… D-Roy was killed, huh?"
A voice neither angry nor cheerful came from above.
The three looked up and saw a cocky Arrancar looking down at them from midair.
Meanwhile—
Ikkaku used his Bankai Ryūmon Hōzukimaru to defeat Edorad.
But the others weren't doing so well.
Hitsugaya was struggling against Shawlong.
Rangiku was lying on the ground playing dead.
Renji had activated Bankai—but was still being overwhelmed.
"Huff… huff…"
Hitsugaya panted heavily as he stared at his opponent.
Shawlong grinned,
"Even against a captain, I hold the advantage! I didn't expect to be so strong!"
Hitsugaya gritted his teeth.
"Bankai! Daiguren Hyōrinmaru!"
The massive ice dragon coiled around him.
Shawlong looked even more excited.
"You've Bankai'd? Even so, the gap between us hasn't narrowed!"
"Split, Tijeras del Quinto Pétalo!"
Shawlong's fingers elongated into razor-sharp claws, a white helmet forming on his head as his spiritual pressure surged.
At that moment, Rangiku finally stood up.
"Captain! The spiritual pressure limit is lifted! Go all out!"
That startled both Nakeem and Shawlong.
"Limit… lifted?"
Hitsugaya looked at his enemy coldly.
"That means I've been fighting you with only 20% of my power… pathetic Arrancar. You thought you were that strong?"
His spiritual pressure exploded.
Sensing the change, Shawlong tried to flee—but it was too late.
"Ryūsenka!"
With one strike—Shawlong was obliterated.
Rangiku and Renji also instantly defeated their opponents after the limiters were removed.
Back at Ichigo's side, he glared at Grimmjow in the sky.
"Sorry, but I don't like talking with people above me. So—get down here!"
BOOM!
His Reiatsu exploded—crushing Grimmjow downward like a furnace.
Even Grimmjow couldn't resist Ichigo's spiritual pressure.
He hit the ground roughly and looked up at Ichigo in shock.
"What an incredible spiritual pressure! Ulquiorra wasn't lying—you really are strong, Kurosaki Ichigo!"
Ichigo snorted and lowered his Reiatsu.
"Your underlings are all dead. Be smart—go back. I won't kill you."
Grimmjow burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Kill me? You clearly don't understand the meaning behind Arrancar numbers!"
"The guy Rukia killed—No. 16—his number doesn't mean he was the 16th strongest."
"It simply means he was born after the top ten Espada."
"I am Arrancar No. 6—Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez!"
With that, Grimmjow attacked!
He lunged at Rukia, aiming to stab her in the gut.
Had this been the old Rukia, she might've been killed instantly.
But now, she was no weakling.
Even with Grimmjow's incredible speed, Rukia blocked with Sode no Shirayuki.
"?!"
Grimmjow was stunned.
But he didn't stop—he went after Senna next!
To his surprise, Senna blocked his strike with just her saya.
Ichigo didn't worry at all.
To be blunt, if Rukia and Senna both had Bankai, then Soi Fon might be the weakest of his "girls"...
(Not counting Tatsuki and Orihime—Ichigo hadn't "had" them yet.)
Failing twice, Grimmjow grew irritated.
"Dammit, Ichigo!"
Ichigo just sighed and caught Grimmjow's next punch.
"Oi, Grimmjow. Are you planning to fight all three of us at once? Then come with me."
With that, Ichigo threw him into the air.
Finally, Ichigo drew his Zanpakutō and flashed behind Grimmjow with a slash.
Grimmjow managed to turn and block with his own blade just in time.
"Impressive, Kurosaki Ichigo. You really are strong!"
Rukia and Senna watched the battle from the ground.
As speed-type fighters, Ichigo and Grimmjow engaged in a fierce close-combat duel.
CLANG!
They clashed again and again.
Ichigo was slightly surprised—though he hadn't even used Shikai, Grimmjow was keeping up.
Ever since Muramasa entered his inner world, few had managed to fight Ichigo evenly in base form.
Grimmjow was no joke—Aizen's Espada really were a different level.
But Grimmjow wasn't satisfied.
He knew Ichigo had a second Zanpakutō release!
If Ichigo could keep up without even releasing his blade…
Then that meant—Grimmjow didn't stand a chance once Ichigo got serious.
Panicked, Grimmjow shouted—
"Kurosaki Ichigo! Take this next attack!"
But before he could finish—
Someone arrived.
(End of Chapter)
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