Fate In Bleach (490)

Chapter 490 - Little Cat

"Damn it, what is this thing?"

Ichigo Kurosaki's expression was grave as he stared at the blue prison binding Ulquiorra before him.

The Quincy who had cast this prison, Quilge Opie, had just been killed by Ichigo Kurosaki.

However, although Quilge Opie was dead, the prison he had cast before his death still persisted.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Swinging the Zanpakutō in his hands, he struck the blue sphere again and again.

Yet, no matter how fiercely Ichigo attacked, his Zanpakutō only managed to scrape sparks off the blue sphere; he couldn't actually break the prison.

"It's useless, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Hearing the commotion outside the blue sphere, Ulquiorra, having reverted to his normal state, spoke, "That fellow you killed earlier already explained this thing. Unless one is a Quincy or possesses Quincy blood, it's impossible to break this prison."

After being trapped by this prison, Ulquiorra had performed his Segunda Etapa. However, even in that state, Ulquiorra had been unable to break the prison.

Instead, unleashing powerful energy within the confined space had caused severe damage to himself.

If not for Ulquiorra's own highest-level High-Speed Regeneration ability, he likely would have been killed by the backlash of his own attacks.

"That doesn't sound like the Ulquiorra I know..."

Ichigo Kurosaki drew the twin blades from his waist, his expression darkening slightly. "Saying only Quincy and those with Quincy blood can break it? That's just admitting you're not strong enough."

"Ulquiorra, be careful in a moment. Don't get yourself killed by my attack!"

Finished speaking, without waiting for Ulquiorra's reply, Ichigo Kurosaki swung his twin blades in a dance, striking sparks off the blue sphere.

Clang clang clang clang clang...

"It's hard!"

Ichigo was inwardly astonished.

Having drawn his second Zanpakutō, he was at the peak of his normal combat strength.

But even under such ferocious attacks, this blue prison showed no signs of change.

Of course, what surprised Ichigo even more was that every time he attacked the prison, he could feel something flowing from it, through the Zanpakutō formed from his Quincy Zangetsu, into his own body.

"What is this?"

Ichigo was startled, but due to his trust in Old Man Zangetsu, he didn't stop attacking. Instead, he accelerated the speed of his assault on the blue prison.

Soon, Ichigo felt his own spiritual pressure, during his attacks, actually merging into his blood, tracing blue patterns within his body along his veins.

As more spiritual pressure fused into his blood, the attack power of the Zanpakutō Ichigo wielded grew stronger.

"What is this?"

Although Ichigo didn't understand the current situation, he knew this outcome was undoubtedly related to Old Man Zangetsu.

Ichigo Kurosaki's guess was correct.

All the current anomalies in his body were the work of his Quincy Zangetsu.

As the Quincy power passed down from Masaki Kurosaki to Ichigo Kurosaki, Old Man Zangetsu naturally inherited Masaki Kurosaki's love for Ichigo.

Protecting Ichigo Kurosaki was the reason for Quincy Zangetsu's existence.

Before Ailin forged Ichigo's Quincy power into a Zanpakutō, Quincy Zangetsu's protection involved suppressing Ichigo's power to prevent Ichigo from being killed by "himself" in the future.

However, after Quincy Zangetsu was forged into a Zanpakutō by Ailin, his "protection" became enhancing Ichigo's strength, giving Ichigo the ability to survive an encounter with "himself."

Now, Ichigo attacking Quilge Opie's Schrift ability, "The Jail," provided the perfect opportunity for Quincy Zangetsu to act.

With every clash between Zangetsu and the Reishi of the prison, Quincy Zangetsu read data about Quincy abilities from Quilge Opie's Reishi and manifested it onto Ichigo's body.

In just over three short minutes, Quincy Zangetsu had already transmitted both "Blut Vene Anhaben" and "Blut Vene Arterie" abilities to Ichigo Kurosaki.

As for the Quincy: Vollständig, because it was incompatible with Shinigami mode, Quincy Zangetsu did not replicate this ability onto Ichigo.

"Hah!"

Ichigo Kurosaki let out a fierce roar. His entire spiritual pressure was injected into his own blood, condensing into blue patterns on the surface of his body.

Then, raising the Zanpakutō in his hands high, he slashed down violently at the blue prison.

Boom!

...

"Don't even think about escaping!"

Outside Las Noches, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, having completed his Resurrección, swung his Desgarrón claws, dozens of meters long, attacking Meninas McAllon ahead.

However, Grimmjow's attack ultimately failed to hit Meninas McAllon.

Black shadows spread, covering Meninas McAllon before dispersing, allowing her to neatly evade Grimmjow's attack.

"Damn it!"

Grimmjow, covered in wounds, roared furiously at the sky.

In this Quincy assault, Grimmjow himself had been battered by Meninas McAllon, and more than half of the Hollows under his command had been slaughtered by the Quincy legion led by Meninas.

If Meninas McAllon's time limit in Hueco Mundo hadn't expired, causing her to be pulled back into the Reishi space by the Seireitei's shadows, Grimmjow likely would have been defeated by Meninas and become a captive of the Quincy.

"Not bad, little cat. Even Harribel was nearly captured, yet you're fine?"

Just as Grimmjow roared in anger, a voice suddenly sounded behind him, startling him.

However, Grimmjow was Grimmjow. Though startled, his combat instincts kicked in, causing him to swing his Desgarrón claws behind him.

Crack crack...

Bang—

All five Desgarrón claws struck Ailin's chest.

But unfortunately, not only did the Desgarrón fail to harm Ailin, they were shattered by Ailin's body.

"How is this possible?"

Grimmjow's pupils contracted sharply.

Desgarrón was a technique Grimmjow formed after Resurrección, condensing Cero Oscuras into ten sharp blades on his fingers. Although its attack range was shorter than Cero Oscuras, its power surpassed it.

Even against Meninas McAllon using "Blut Vene Anhaben," Grimmjow's Desgarrón could still contend.

And now, merely striking the opponent's body with Desgarrón had caused his own claws to shatter. The opponent's strength was unimaginable.

How could this not terrify Grimmjow?

Swish!

Not daring to hesitate, Grimmjow instantly used Sonído, appearing over ten meters away. Droplets of blood fell from Grimmjow's hand, blooming like flowers in the desert sand.

Desgarrón was closely connected to Grimmjow's fingers; their shattering naturally caused considerable trauma to his hands.

Raising his head, Grimmjow wanted to see who this terrifying entity was.

"It's you?"

When Grimmjow saw Ailin's appearance, he nearly turned and fled immediately.

The one appearing before Grimmjow was, naturally, Ailin.

After saving Harribel, Ailin had flown towards Las Noches at full speed.

On Ulquiorra's side, Ichigo Kurosaki had already killed Quilge Opie and was currently hacking at the "Jail" Quilge had set up, trying to rescue Ulquiorra.

Only Grimmjow's situation seemed relatively dangerous, so naturally, Ailin prioritized protecting him.

However, Grimmjow had proven resilient.

Under Meninas McAllon's attacks, although at a disadvantage, he hadn't been severely injured and nearly captured like Harribel.

The two Quincy attacking Harribel and Grimmjow were both members of the Sternritter female knight order. In terms of strength, Candice Catnipp and Meninas McAllon were quite close.

Although Harribel's defeat was largely due to her abilities being countered by Candice, it also showed Grimmjow's progress in strength over the past two years.

Two years ago, Harribel was the Tres Espada, and Grimmjow was the Sexta Espada.

Now, Grimmjow's strength had already surpassed the Quinta Espada Nnoitra Gilga and was approaching that of the Tres Espada Tier Harribel.

Although Ulquiorra was the Cuatro Espada, his strength was considerably greater than Harribel's, second only to the Primera Espada Coyote Starrk.

Although Grimmjow hadn't seen Ailin during the battle between Hueco Mundo and the Seireitei two years ago, it didn't prevent him from knowing who had defeated Sōsuke Aizen.

After all, the commotion caused by Ailin and Aizen's battle in Hueco Mundo back then had been simply too immense.

Grimmjow had only been injured by Ichigo Kurosaki, not killed. How could he possibly not have noticed such a terrifying clash of spiritual pressures?

"Ah, it's me."

"What, surprised?"

Ailin glanced at Grimmjow's bleeding left hand and looked up, asking him.

"Hmph, this is Hueco Mundo's business. It's not for you Shinigami to interfere in."

Seemingly sensing Ailin's gaze, Grimmjow quietly moved his injured hand behind his back, responding stiffly.

"Under normal circumstances, Hueco Mundo's affairs are indeed not for Shinigami to interfere in."

Seeing Grimmjow's action, Ailin smiled faintly.

He had to admit, Grimmjow, this proud little panther, could be quite endearing with his actions sometimes.

"However, Grimmjow, do you think the enemies attacking Hueco Mundo this time are really just Hueco Mundo's business?"

"Let me tell you, while Hueco Mundo was under attack, the Seireitei was simultaneously assaulted by Quincy."

"Furthermore, before attacking Hueco Mundo and the Seireitei, the Quincy first went to the World of the Living and exterminated a large number of Hollows, causing an imbalance in the three realms: the World of the Living, Hueco Mundo, and the Soul Society."

"If Squad Twelve of the Seireitei hadn't detected the imbalance in the souls of the three realms and immediately killed over thirty-two thousand souls in the Soul Society's Rukongai to restore the balance, Hueco Mundo, the Soul Society, and the World of the Living might have already started colliding and collapsing by now."

"Now, do you still think this is merely Hueco Mundo's business?"

Hearing Ailin's explanation, Grimmjow's expression changed.

Indeed, if it were only Hueco Mundo involved, even if they killed all the invading Quincy and successfully resisted the invasion, they couldn't save this world.

Because they lacked the technology of the Gotei Thirteen's Squad Twelve to monitor the three realms.

If the Seireitei hadn't resolved the imbalance of souls, the three realms might already be collapsing.

"What exactly is going on?"

"Who are these guys?"

"What do they want?"

After calming himself slightly, Grimmjow asked Ailin.

As someone aspiring to become the new king of Hueco Mundo, re-evaluating the three realms was necessary.

"Not bad, calming down so quickly and grasping the most important questions."

"As a reward for you, little cat, I'll tell you a few things."

"Together?"

Before speaking, Ailin tilted his head towards Las Noches, gesturing to Grimmjow.

"Mm."

Grimmjow deactivated his Resurrección state, fell a few steps behind Ailin, and walked towards Las Noches.

"These people who attacked Hueco Mundo and the Seireitei earlier are called Quincy."

"A thousand years ago, the leader of the Quincy was defeated by Captain-Commander Yamamoto of the Gotei Thirteen and fell into a deep slumber for nine hundred years."

"Now, the Quincy leader Yhwach, having recovered from his injuries and grown even stronger, has returned. He has perfected the Quincy's ultimate secret technique from a thousand years ago and newly developed 'Blut Vene' to drastically enhance the Quincy's attack and defense."

"Their primary purpose in attacking Hueco Mundo and the Seireitei is to plunge the three realms into chaos, allowing the Quincy leader Yhwach to create a new world."

"What?"

Ailin's calm words struck Grimmjow like a thunderbolt.

Plunging the three realms into chaos, creating a new world—this meant not just Hueco Mundo, but the World of the Living and the Soul Society would all be involved.

No wonder the Seireitei actually dispatched this guy to Hueco Mundo this time.

Grimmjow shoved his hands into his pockets, saying no more.

The current situation was already beyond his capabilities.

All he could do now was likely follow orders, just like under Aizen before.

Whether in knowledge, perspective, or strength, he was vastly inferior to Ailin and the Seireitei side.

If his reckless actions disrupted some grand plan of these powerful figures, he might become the sinner responsible for the destruction of the three realms.

Boom!

As Ailin led Grimmjow towards Las Noches, he happened to see Ichigo Kurosaki, faint blue patterns visible on his neck and hands, shatter the "Jail" trapping Ulquiorra with a single strike...