"So terrifying…"
"That's not White Ichigo…"
"It looks just like the form Hollow White took when he fought Isshin Kurosaki twenty years ago!"
"Bull-Head Ichigo… is way too terrifying…!"
"In front of him, the Black-Winged Great Demon's aura vanished in an instant! He suddenly looks as weak as an ordinary human!!!"
Shock.
Dread.
The moment everyone felt that overwhelming murderous pressure spilling out from the screen—
In that instant,
The entire Shinigami world was shaken to its core.
Almost every powerful being's eyes widened to their absolute limit.
All of them were stunned by this brand-new battle form of Bull-Head Ichigo!!!
Too terrifying…
He had literally only just stood up…
Yet in a single instant, by sheer innate pressure alone, he forcefully crushed the entire scene, making the transparent light-screen almost shatter!
Such a colossal reversal on screen
Not only flipped the situation of the fight,
It also completely overturned the viewers' understanding of reality.
No one expected…
That in the blink of an eye, Ichigo Kurosaki, a mere human,
Could—after dying and coming back to life once more—
Completely transform into
A brutal Hollow even more terrifying than the Black-Winged Great Demon in his second release!
It was simply shocking beyond imagination—
A level of impact that words could not describe!!!
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
"Captain Aizen… looks like we were all wrong…"
Down below the throne,
Gin Ichimaru's eyelids were fully open, revealing his bright blue eyes.
The usual sly curve left his face.
Instead, what appeared there was an expression that was both delighted and deeply afraid!
Obviously,
Even someone as strong as Gin Ichimaru
Had clearly been frightened by the savagery of Bull-Head Ichigo!
Even though, back then,
He himself had been one of the participants,
Personally witnessing the birth of Hollow White in the laboratory!
But—
This time around,
The visual impact brought by Bull-Head Ichigo's brand-new form
Still managed to completely shock Gin!!!
"That's right…"
"Gin… you're not wrong."
"Even I didn't expect Ichigo Kurosaki to turn into something like this…"
On the throne,
Aizen's expression was no longer calm and unruffled.
In the depths of his black eyes, a clear and familiar light stirred.
Yes—
Just as Aizen said,
The sudden emergence of Bull-Head Ichigo had genuinely amazed him!
Especially
That terrifying, supreme pressure that utterly crushed the Black-Winged Great Demon many times over.
Even…
Even Aizen himself, in his current Shinigami state,
Could not help but feel a massive sense of danger!
Despite being endlessly confident,
Never once doubting his own strength,
Aizen had no choice but to admit that the world-crumbling pressure of Bull-Head Ichigo
Was so overwhelming that even he
Would have to concede a step before it!!!
All around them,
The Espada and the Arrancar,
Each and every one of them was so terrified it was as if their spines were about to snap.
That strict, hierarchical terror—
A pressure radiating from the very highest level of life itself—
Swept through the entire Arrancar army, so that without exception,
Whether they were ordinary Hollows or Espada, even Stark and Baraggan, those
Top-tier Vasto Lorde, every last one of them
Had their deepest primal fear dragged to the surface!
All of them were shaking like leaves!!!
Among them…
As the one directly involved,
Ulquiorra's expression
Was no longer cold and emotionless; instead, he was visibly losing composure.
His mentality was being violently shaken
By Bull-Head Ichigo's crushing spiritual pressure.
He couldn't help being afraid—
And on top of that,
He was especially worried for his own future self!!!
——
At the same time.
Inside the video—
"Rumble——!!!"
The moment Bull-Head Ichigo fully straightened up,
The dense, solid red reiatsu flooding out from his body
Actually…
Dyed the eternal night sky of Hueco Mundo red in an instant,
Making it look like a hellish, blood-red firmament.
"Impossible…"
"There's no way you're still alive!"
"What is that form? Just who are you?!"
Ulquiorra's gaze was icy cold
As he questioned in a frosty voice.
All the arrogance and disdain he'd shown while dealing with Ichigo Kurosaki up until now,
As well as
His absolute confidence in his own Segunda Etapa in every possible aspect—
Despite all that,
Ulquiorra did not panic. He instead remained outwardly calm and composed!
"Tch…"
"This Black-Winged Great Demon really isn't afraid of dying!"
"If it were me, I'd definitely stay right where I was and have a proper brawl with Bull-Head Ichigo!"
"But… being a Hollow as well, does he seriously think he can compete with that thing?!"
Inside Squad One,
Zaraki Kenpachi let out a feral grin,
Shrugging the zanpakutō "Nozarashi" on his shoulder as his battle lust boiled over.
Just from the difference in spiritual pressure alone,
It was already guaranteed that the Black-Winged Great Demon was going to be slaughtered!
No one had any idea what the hell he was putting on airs for!!!
"Looks like…"
"Bull-Head Ichigo is different from Hollow White or White Ichigo. What's left in him is only the most primitive, Hollow instinct to kill."
"And he's not going to do something human like… take the initiative to answer with words."
Shunsui Kyōraku observed quietly.
Just from the sound of those heavy, beast-like breaths under the bull-shaped mask,
He had sharply deduced this point!
In other words…
There would be no chatter,
No pointless trash-talk.
Only battle, crushing domination—
A one-sided massacre!!!
Which meant that
Ulquiorra's earlier questioning
Was just him talking to himself; there would be no answer at all!!!
——
Sure enough.
Shunsui Kyōraku had been right.
Faced with Ulquiorra's questions, Bull-Head Ichigo responded with action.
"Whoosh!!!"
He merely lifted his arm,
And the black Tensa Zangetsu that had fallen and lay abandoned—because Ichigo Kurosaki had died—
Suddenly trembled,
Then shot back up into the air and returned to Ichigo's hand!
And then—
"Boom!!!"
Bull-Head Ichigo
Lightly swung the blade in a casual, almost lazy slash.
Yet the pitch-black edge still sheared the ground behind him cleanly in two!
Even the screen itself
Was split straight down the middle by the overflowing power!!!
And this single scene
Once again displayed the absolute might of Bull-Head Ichigo in perfect, vivid detail.
As a result,
It set off another uproar!
"So outrageous…"
"That one strike just now was practically a recreation of that time when the zanpakutō 'Ryūjin Jakka' was undone!"
"When the old man dispersed its flames and then used Zanka no Tachi, East, to rip open the earth in front of Yhwach with a single blow!!!"
Jūshirō Ukitake gulped hard.
The face that was already pale from illness turned even whiter
Under the shock-wave of those violent shockwaves spilling out of the screen.
His heart trembled as he spoke in awe.
Indeed—
In his eyes,
Bull-Head Ichigo's most ordinary sword swing,
Not even a proper attack, just a simple horizontal slash,
Was already on par with an unleashed "Ryūjin Jakka"!!!
And these words
Won the agreement of the other captains present,
And even
The personal acknowledgment of the Head Captain himself!!!
"Hrm…"
Gripping his wooden staff with both hands,
The Head Captain lowered his eyes, his tone heavy and solemn as he said, "I must admit… Bull-Head Ichigo is the strongest Hollow I have encountered in over two thousand years."
"None of the former kings of Hueco Mundo
Has ever exerted a pressure as overwhelming as his!!!"
As someone who had lived for a millennium,
The leader of the Gotei 13—
This was the first time in more than two thousand years that the Head Captain had ever publicly admitted
That he was inferior to a Hollow!!!
From that alone,
One could see how powerful Bull-Head Ichigo truly was,
Enough to overturn common sense and established values.
Even the oldest man in Soul Society
Was deeply shaken!!!
And yet—
Ulquiorra continued to court death.
Even though his expression had clearly shifted, and he already sensed that something was badly wrong,
He actually chose
To do something that the entire world's viewers saw as outright suicide!!!
"You refuse to answer?"
"Looks like you really don't understand a word I'm saying…"
He raised a finger,
Condensing black spiritual energy at the tip.
Right in front of the video feed,
Ulquiorra once again gathered a black Cero!!!
"Holy crap…"
"Ulquiorra… is your future self three idiots rolled into one or what?"
"At a time like this you still dare to challenge Bull-Head Ichigo?!"
"That's not fighting—that's straight-up trying to get yourself killed!!!"
This time,
Even his partner Yammy couldn't watch anymore.
He bluntly declared that Ulquiorra was the equivalent of three brainless morons!
If it were him, he'd have run without a moment's hesitation.
Even if he had to flee to the most remote and desolate corner of Hueco Mundo,
There was no way he would
Stay face-to-face with the terrifying Bull-Head Ichigo for one second longer than necessary!!!
"Yeah…"
"If you don't go looking for death, you generally won't die…"
"Ulquiorra, I didn't expect you to be even more thick-headed than we imagined."
Nnoitra was also stunned, utterly unable to understand this scene.
If you want to die, just say so directly!
Doing it in front of an audience just disgraces all of Hueco Mundo!!!
"Faced with that black Cero…"
"What kind of response will Bull-Head Ichigo give?"
Starrk folded his arms across his chest,
A clear light of curiosity showing in his eyes.
Everyone knew
That Infinite Cero was his strongest hidden technique after he released.
So,
As the Espada who specialized the most in Cero-type attacks,
Starrk could not help having a clear premonition—when that black Cero finished charging, would there be a chance…
For Bull-Head Ichigo to set off a shocking clash?
The answer
Was revealed very quickly—
He lowered his head,
Bull horns tilting upward,
And the camera zoomed in, centering on the very top of Bull-Head Ichigo's head.
They even gave him a crystal-clear close-up.
Then,
As the frame rate of the scene
Visibly slowed down, three shocking images unfolded!!!
"Rumble——!!!"
Scarlet radiance surged together.
A vortex of solid, blood-red reiatsu
Formed at incredible speed
Above his bull-shaped head, compressing tighter and tighter as the surrounding red glow went wild!
At the same time there came…
Another wave, several times more terrifying,
Of destructive pressure sweeping out in all directions!!!
"Holy crap!!!"
"I knew it!"
"He can use Cero too!!!"
"And judging from the looks of it, the power of that red Cero… is clearly way stronger than the black one!!!"
(…Flowers, please…?)
Shock.
Awe.
The whole world boiled over again.
At this moment, the entire Shinigami world was shaken once more.
Especially because—
Bull-Head Ichigo,
Even though he was using Ichigo Kurosaki's human body,
And gripping the zanpakutō "Zangetsu" in his hand, looked up and gathered a Cero—
This fusion of elements produced an incredibly strong visual impact and contrast!
It was something the global audience—
Whether Shinigami or Hollow—had never witnessed before:
A completely new, fused style of combat!!!
Once more their worldview was shattered,
Once more the viewers' eyes almost popped out of their heads!!!
After that,
Under the viewers' stunned gazes,
Two Cero beams with completely different colors and auras—one on the left, one on the right—
Crashed into each other head-on, clashing and grinding against one another!!!
The horrifying explosion
Spread outward rapidly, forming an enormous sphere of energy.
In a single instant, it whipped up clouds of sand,
Making the entire picture go berserk, trembling and tearing itself apart!
However…
After not even three seconds of stalemate,
The green-black glow was swallowed up entirely by the crimson light!
Which meant that—
In this Cero duel, Ulquiorra had lost utterly!!!
He was completely crushed!!!
"Ohohoho…"
"Even one of his proudest skills got thoroughly overwhelmed."
"Unless he still has some hidden trump card he hasn't used…"
"Otherwise, the chances left to the Black-Winged Great Demon are looking pretty slim…"
After being shaken again and again,
Gin Ichimaru finally calmed down enough to force his heart rate back toward normal, speaking with a narrow smile once more.
After all,
Aizen had personally said that Bull-Head Ichigo was his creation.
(…0?)
The battles in the world of Bleach are, at their core, collisions of reiatsu.
And what's more,
Techniques like Cero are skills formed entirely from one's spiritual pressure, heavily compressed.
That makes them a perfect measure
Of the gap in power between the Black-Winged Great Demon and Bull-Head Ichigo!!!
"Seems like…"
"No matter how many more times they trade blasts, the result won't change."
"Ulquiorra's situation is only going to get more dangerous!!!"
Even Kaname Tōsen saw it that way.
In his eyes,
What they had just witnessed
Was already a formal declaration—
The countdown to the Black-Winged Great Demon's death had begun!!!
——
Next,
Within the video,
Ulquiorra's disbelieving shout rang out:
"Impossible…"
"That Cero just now was definitely a Cero!"
"And yet it was strong enough to smash apart my black Cero."
"How can that be?!!"
High up in the air,
Red detonations of energy
Had already dyed the Black-Winged Great Demon's face and body a uniform crimson.
His eyes,
And his heart,
Were finally showing clear signs of shaking—he was starting to doubt his entire existence!!!
However…
"Rumble——!!!"
Before his words even finished,
Bull-Head Ichigo's figure suddenly flashed into view behind him again.
Without any extra nonsense,
He repeated the same motion as last time—lowering his head and chaining his movements together!
Once more a brutal Cero thundered forth!!!
"Damn it…"
The Black-Winged Great Demon grit his teeth,
And in a panic he thrust up a finger, firing off another black Cero in response.
"Rumble——!!!"
The third clash
Triggered an explosion like detonation of the largest possible nuclear warhead in the sky over Hueco Mundo!!!
As the light tore apart the darkness,
Wherever that destruction spread, every towering pillar of stone and every white building—
All of it,
In the blink of an eye,
Was violently obliterated and ground to dust!
And among all that ruin,
Well over ninety percent of the damage
Was caused by Bull-Head Ichigo's power!!!
"Impossible…"
"How can he so effortlessly blast away my black Cero?!!"
Within the drifting smoke,
The Black-Winged Great Demon's figure was nothing but panic now.
Then—
Before he could even react,
The camera swung sharply, swinging behind him,
Stopping barely a meter from the Black-Winged Great Demon's back!!!
"Ah—?!"
Bull-Head Ichigo had already closed in.
His massive forearm, encased in white bone-like armor,
Lifted, fingers clenching tight!
In that instant, he squeezed with all his might.
A terrifying, overwhelming strength exploded from his grip!!!
"Crack…"
The arm snapped.
Blood sprayed out in a crimson fountain.
Under the eyes of the entire world's viewers,
The Black-Winged Great Demon's body was subjected to a storm of electrical-like agony.
And then…
Before Bull-Head Ichigo even had to follow up with a flying kick,
Before he truly unleashed something like a "Fallen Heaven Slash," sweeping through like a raging storm—
Ulquiorra's figure
Had already vanished from the screen!!!
Like a dragon leaping or a tiger pouncing, shaking the very heavens!
The world reeled, the cosmos trembled!
Bull-Head Ichigo's absolute invincibility was completely revealed!!!
(End of Chapter)
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