Clang!
Metal clashed relentlessly in Karakura Town's skies. Figures darted and weaved, Zanpakutō sparking with each strike.
"Is that all?"
Yammy's massive fist unleashed a torrent of Cero, shattering the pink cherry blossoms flying toward him. He sneered mockingly:
"Kuchiki Byakuya… you think these toy petals can hurt anyone? Your ranking's full of hot air!"
His taunting words carried venom. After a brief exchange, Yammy shed his fear of the ranked captains, his confidence swelling.
Ulquiorra was right—these captains weren't their future selves. They were weak, no match for the Espada!
Byakuya's face darkened, his silence belying his urge to retort. But their clear disadvantage left him without the confidence to respond.
"Damn it… the Espada are stronger than we thought. The rankings can't fast-forward time!" Hitsugaya gritted his teeth, his words laced with frustration and wariness.
His opponent was Ulquiorra, the melancholic Arrancar with one hand in his pocket, expressionless.
Shockingly, no matter how many times Hitsugaya swung Hyōrinmaru, sending ice dragons roaring, Ulquiorra crushed them with one hand, never moving an inch.
"Hey, Arrancar, what's your Espada rank?" Renji, hovering above, demanded gravely.
He and Rangiku had joined the fray, but three against one couldn't even touch Ulquiorra's arm, leaving them hopeless.
"Fourth Espada… Ulquiorra Cifer, the Black-Winged Demon," Ulquiorra replied, his gaze dripping with innate disdain, as if Renji were talking trash.
"Fourth Espada?! No wonder he's a Vasto Lorde!" Renji's heart sank, his grip on his Zanpakutō trembling.
What a disaster!
This was supposed to be a sightseeing trip to the human world, trailing Byakuya's coattails. Instead, they'd run into a Vasto Lorde right after landing.
Talk about rotten luck!
Renji nearly spat blood.
But he underestimated Ulquiorra's cold ruthlessness.
Sonido!
Ulquiorra's voice lingered as his figure appeared before Renji, his steel-hard arm blade piercing Renji's chest in a flash.
"Argh… you…"
Renji's pupils dilated, pain searing as his expression shifted from wariness to terror, his face draining of color.
"Nameless Shinigami… trash like you isn't worthy of being my opponent," Ulquiorra said, twisting his arm to shred the wound before pulling out his blade.
With a flick, Renji's body plummeted like a broken kite, crashing into a skyscraper.
"Renji!"
Seeing his lieutenant felled, Byakuya broke his cool, shouting in panic.
His distraction created an opening.
"Kuchiki Byakuya, you should worry about your own life before your subordinate's!" Yammy's sneer came as a red flash gathered in his palm.
"Cero?!"
Even as Byakuya reacted, the crimson light blasted from Yammy's hand, a torrent of savage power engulfing him before he could fully summon his cherry blossoms.
In minutes, the battle flipped.
No longer four against two, it was now two against two, with the Shinigami at a clear disadvantage.
---
At Karakura First High's entrance, Ichigo's defiant voice rang out:
"Dad, until you explain everything, we're not going anywhere!"
Ichigo, Orihime, and Chad stood united, confronting Isshin outside the gate.
Isshin was sweating, torn between frustration and amusement at his son's stubbornness.
"Ichigo, there's no time to explain!"
"The Arrancars and Shinigami are already fighting. We need to leave now!" Isshin sighed, glancing southeast, where the Espada and Shinigami clashed.
"Arrancars? Shinigami captains?"
"You do know everything! Why've you hidden it from me all these years?! And what did the Quincy King mean?!"
Unaware of the gravity, Ichigo was more focused on unraveling his mysterious heritage and the pile of questions from the rankings.
"Ugh, my filial son, why won't you listen to your dad?!" Isshin's lips twitched, exhausted by Ichigo's defiance.
But worse was coming.
"Ha… looks like my luck's holding! As Szayelaporro guessed, you're a human high schooler!"
Grimmjow's roaring laugh descended from the sky.
For some reason—perhaps due to Isshin or the rankings—Ichigo, Orihime, and Chad, who shouldn't have seen spiritual beings, looked up and spotted Grimmjow's savage figure.
"You're… Grimmjow?!"
Ichigo's shocked voice rang out. They instantly recognized the Espada from the rankings.
"Tch… you know me, so you've seen the rankings. You should know why I'm here, right?" Grimmjow's sky-blue hair framed a increasingly feral expression, his sharp fangs bared.
His ruthless gaze locked onto Ichigo, declaring:
"Human, give up struggling…"
"The moment I showed up, your fate was sealed—you're coming to Hueco Mundo!"
His chilling tone pronounced Ichigo's impending doom.
---
As chaos erupted in the human world, the transparent screen flickered, the snowy static clearing to reveal a new scene.
New subtitles appeared, and upon reading them, everyone across the Bleach world gasped in unison:
"What?!"
"No way! The fifth-place ranker is him?!"
------------------------------------------
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