The figure that appeared behind Ulquiorra Cifer drove a long blade straight through his back.
However, despite the clean strike, it caused no damage at all.
Ulquiorra turned instantly, his clawed hand lashing out. Yet the moment his fingers reached the opponent's chest, his movements froze.
"…Tsukishima."
Ulquiorra stared at the man before him, his normally hollow gaze twisting with visible distortion.
"Why are you here?"
Standing behind him was Shūkurō Tsukishima. Around them, three other figures had already taken position. Kūgo Ginjō, Giriko Kutsuzawa, and Tsukishima's subordinate, Tsukishima's follower Tristan.
Tsukishima lowered his sword and spoke softly.
"Come back with me, Ulquiorra."
Ulquiorra frowned.
"But… Aizen-sama"
Tsukishima interrupted calmly, his voice firm yet intimate.
"Aizen never saw you as anything more than a tool. I am the only one who truly understands you. Your only partner."
"…Partner?"
Ulquiorra embodied the Aspect of Death: Nothingness. He had no heart, no emotional resonance, no understanding of bonds.
In the original fate of the world, it was only through his battle with Kurosaki Ichigo and his encounter with Inoue Orihime that he briefly grasped what he sought right before his death.
But now, Tsukishima's power Book of the End, the ability to insert himself into the past had rewritten Ulquiorra's perception of reality itself.
For the first time, Ulquiorra remembered companionship.
Tsukishima turned slightly.
"Open a Garganta. We're returning to Hueco Mundo."
"…Very well."
Ulquiorra raised his hand, tearing open a black Garganta in the air. Tsukishima stepped through first, followed by Ulquiorra without hesitation.
Kūgo Ginjō glanced toward Soi Fon.
"The four of us are allies of Kurotsuki Renya. This was part of his larger plan."
Soi Fon exhaled sharply.
"So that's it… He never mentioned your existence."
Ginjō laughed.
"He said if we moved too early, you'd be furious."
Soi Fon clicked her tongue.
"…Then go."
Ginjō, Giriko, and Tristan stepped into the Garganta, vanishing without a trace.
Soi Fon turned away, flying off toward the rear lines. She needed treatment and then she would rejoin the battlefield.
BOOM.
Komamura Sajin crashed heavily into the ground, the black bindings around him slowly disintegrating.
"That's it?"
Yammy Llargo, fully released, looked down at him with open disdain.
Before Yammy's release, Komamura had posed a serious threat.
But after Resurrección, the battle had become one-sided.
"I'll crush you."
Yammy raised his massive fist
BOOM.
The punch was stopped midair.
"Oh?" Yammy blinked. "Another big one?"
In the next instant, blood exploded from Yammy's arm as it was nearly severed. Standing beside him was a man holding a massive Zanpakutō with jagged edges.
"Who are you?" Yammy snarled.
"Kuchiki Byakuya," came the calm reply.
A towering figure stepped forward.
"This was my opponent. Why interfere?" Zaraki Kenpachi demanded.
"I completed my assignment," Byakuya replied coolly. "Now I'm assisting Captain Komamura. But you—why are you here, Captain Zaraki?"
Kenpachi grinned wildly.
"Kurotsuki Renya told me to come. Said I should arrive after killing my prey."
"…Renya said the same to me," Byakuya muttered.
A voice echoed from a nearby peak.
"Hurry and kill him. I want to dissect the corpse."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi stood watching eagerly.
Yammy roared and swung again.
"Annoying."
Kenpachi and Byakuya slashed simultaneously.
Yammy's arm was severed.
Elsewhere
Hitsugaya Tōshirō staggered backward, panting. He slashed, freezing the black mist behind him but it shattered instantly.
"It's useless," Baraggan Louisenbairn said calmly. "Everything ages. Even your ice."
Hitsugaya continued retreating, the last ice flower forming behind him.
Baraggan sneered.
"Isn't it time? When your Bankai fades, you'll die like a rat."
The ice flower withered completely.
"If your Bankai ends," Baraggan continued, "you die."
Black smoke surged forward
and froze solid.
Hitsugaya stood tall, his body grown and encased in white ice.
"I never said my Bankai ends when the flower disappears."
Baraggan's expression darkened.
"Impossible. under Respira, all things"
Before he finished, his body froze completely.
"The Four Directions are frozen," Hitsugaya said calmly.
"Within four steps, all things including abilities cease."
Baraggan shattered into countless shards of ice.
Blood splattered across the ground.
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was driven down once more.
"You're powerful," Hirako Shinji said, striking again, "but you're too reckless."
Grimmjow glared, furious yet helpless.
Nearby, the Fracción lay defeated.
"Tch," Hiyori complained. "Too weak."
"As long as it's over," Hachigen replied calmly.
Their gazes shifted toward the battlefield's center.
Kurosaki Ichigo clashed with Wonderweiss Margela.
Ichigo unleashed Tensa Zangetsu
The black crescent cleaved Wonderweiss in half.
Yet the body regenerated.
"So strong…" Ichigo muttered.
"Bankai," Kensei Muguruma roared.
"Tekken Tachikaze!"
"Suppress him!" Kensei shouted.
Ichigo struck again
Kensei appeared between the divided halves.
A violent wind tore Wonderweiss apart from the inside.
The body exploded this time, permanently.
Elsewhere, Rojuro Otoribashi finished his opponent.
Only one battle remained unresolved.
Yoruichi Shihōin and Ichimaru Gin stood facing each other.
"…Not attacking?" Yoruichi asked.
Gin smiled thinly.
"My side lost. And I can't beat you."
"Then surrender."
Gin shook his head.
"Because Aizen hasn't lost."
Silence fell.
Yes.
As long as Sōsuke Aizen still stood
Nothing was over.
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