Chapter 81: Fighting Ulquiorra
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Chapter 81: Fighting Ulquiorra
Loud explosions echoed through Las Noches as Ichigo and Ulquiorra's blades met again and again, every collision causing a shockwave to ripple through the air.
Although Ichigo was struggling to keep up with Ulquiorra's speed, so far, he could still handle himself, which was a vast improvement from his previous encounter with Ulquiorra, where he didn't even have a chance while wearing his Hollow mask.
As the duo was continuously clashing, Orihime stood far away from the fight, spectating it while not really knowing what she should do.
However, while Orihime was contemplating her next step, a pair of hands appeared behind her, holding her mouth close and dragging her away.
"You damn bitch, it's over for you now. Aizen-sama said that he is no longer interested in you, so I can do what I want with you now."
"Orihime!?"
Naturally, Ichigo noticed Orihime getting dragged away, but his path was blocked by Ulquiorra, who couldn't care less whatever happened to her.
"Yo, you really are good at getting kidnapped, Orihime."
Before anyone else could react, a fist descended on the black-haired Hollow that tried to drag Orihime away, knocking her out instantly.
"N-Naruto!?"
"Yup, the one and only."
"Sup, Orihime, I'm here as well."
"Hehe, Nel is here as well!"
Looking at the trio in front of her, Orihime wore a somewhat weird expression due to the weird family on a trip feeling they were exuding, but in the end, she shook that feeling away and smiled at the trio.
"It's good to see you are well. By the well, what's with the unusual clothes, Tatsuki?"
Tatsuki, who still wore her lava clothes, went into a body-builder pose, flexing her lean muscles.
"Hehe, I got a better understanding of my power, and it became stronger. Frankly, I expected to be stronger than Ichigo now, but that idiot got like half a dozen power-ups in the span of the last two days, so I'm still behind him."
"Don't worry; you'll soon surpass him."
"Yes, yes, Tatsuki will be suuuper strong!"
While Orihime widened her eyes in surprise due to Tatsuki's words, Naruto and Nel simply cheered her on, causing Tatsuki to smile at the duo.
'They really look like a family. What happened while I was away, and who is that little Arrancar?'
Before Orihime could ponder the situation any further, a nearby wall broke, revealing a massive Arrancar.
"Yo, you need help, Ulquiorra."
"No, this is none of your business, Yammy. If you want to fight, deal with those other humans, or fight the Captains downstairs."
While the duo was chatting, Yammy persistently tried to get another shot against Ichigo; Naruto and Tatsuki were talking as well.
"Ohh, that's one of the guys who briefly came to our town a while ago."
"Right, there was someone like that, wasn't there?"
"I'll take him on Naruto. I haven't had a decent fight yet."
"Wait, Tatsuki! That's one of the Espa..."
While Naruto simply nodded his head, Orihime tried to stop Tatsuki, but before she could even get the full sentence out, Tatsuki had already vanished, smashing her fist into Yammy's face.
Obviously, Orihime knew that those two had fought before, but that happened after Ichigo had fought Yammy and even cut one of his arms off. Additionally, this was Hueco Mundo and not the world of the living, giving Hollow an advantage against humans.
"Naruto, shouldn't you help her?"
"Nah, Tatsuki is strong. I trust her to win that fight."
Orihime was shocked by Naruto's words and was even more shocked when she saw a gaze of unwavering confidence on his face.
Realizing that, unlike Naruto, her confidence and support for Ichigo were constantly wavering, she couldn't help but clench her teeth.
'Why can't I be this confident in Kurosaki-kun?'
Seeing Orihime's mood, Naruto's gaze lingered on her briefly before wandering back to the still-fighting Ichigo.
"You are not going to ask me to help Ichigo?"
Orihime's body briefly shook as her eyes landed on Naruto yet again. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out, causing her to close it again. She did so multiple times before she steeled herself, determination repairing in her eyes.
"No, I think Kurosaki-kun can w... No! I know he WILL win."
"[Resurreccion Segunda Etapa]"
Ulquiorra opened his mouth and started speaking, telling Ichigo what kind of state he was currently in while also telling him that he was the only Espada that unlocked a second stage of the Resurreccion, shocking him greatly.
Following Ulquiorra's second transformation, Ichigo was so outmatched that it couldn't even be considered a fight anymore, and not even a full minute later, Ulquiorra raised the barely conscious Ichigo up by his neck with Ulquiorra's tail.
Having Ichigo basically defeated, Ulquiorra allowed his sense to spread and noticed Orihime, watching what was happening in horror.
"So you are here, woman. Very good. Just in time for you to see the man you put your hopes in to die."
As soon as Ulquiorra stopped speaking, he raised his arm and pointed his finger at Ichigo's chest while gathering black Spiritual Power at his fingertip.
Just when he was about to blast a hole into Ichigo's chest with a Cero, someone else appeared, pushing Ulquiorra's hand away, causing him to barely miss Ichigo.
"Well, sorry to interrupt your fight; I have a promise to keep."
"I-I c-can st..."
Naruto scoffed in disdain as the almost unconscious Ichigo somehow wanted to claim that he could still keep going.
"Shut up, Ichigo. You are still too weak to protect everyone, so I'll be taking over."
"W-Weak?"
That was the last word he could utter before his consciousness faded away, and he fainted.
"Well, be a dear and let him go, would you, Ulquiorra?"
In response to Naruto's question, Ulquiorra pointed his finger at Naruto, causing him to smile wryly as Spiritual Power for another Cero quickly gathered at its tip.
"Well, that's a no~."
Naruto dodged the attack by using Ulquiorra's arm he was grabbing to pull himself away, flipping over his arm and, while doing so, delivering a kick into Ulquiorra's face, sending him sliding away a few meters and forcing him to release Ichigo.
Catching the falling Ichigo with one hand, Naruto tossed him towards Orihime, whose eyes widened in shock when she noticed Ichigo's current condition, resulting in her instantly starting to heal him.
"Well, that wasn't very nice, Ulquiorra. Guess I'll have to get a little serious. [Ban KAI.]"
Dense Spiritual Pressure erupted out of Naruto, almost contesting the pressure Ulquiorra was oozing, coloring the black ocean of Spiritual Power with a slight tint of yellow, surprising Ulquiorra quite a bit.
"Impressive. I've read about you, Bankai, in Tosen's report, but he didn't describe it as this formidable."
"[Ten-Tailed Wind Demon Fox.]"
Ignoring Ulquiorra's words, Naruto now had a dense layer of Spiritual Power covering his body. Said layer clearly outlined the form of a fox with ten tails energetically swinging from its tailbone.
"Indeed, aside from the pressure, it's exactly as the reports said. As far as I remember, it grants you great control over wind."
Hearing Ulquiorra's words, Naruto chuckled in amusement as the tip of one of his Spiritual Power tails pointed at Ulquiorra.
"Hee~ Is that what you thought my Bankai did? Sorry to disappoint you, but it's not just that. That being said, let's have some fun, shall we?
[Bijuudama]"
Suddenly, a black ball of concentrated Spiritual Power condensed at the tip of the tail, pointing at Ulquiorra, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. So far, he had never heard anything about Naruto's Bankai being able to do something like this.
The ball was shot at Ulquiorra, but he managed to react in time to barely dodge it. It sailed past Ulquiorra, barely missing him by a few centimeters, before vanishing in the distance. Seconds later, a colossal explosion erupted in the distance where the ball of concentrated Spiritual Power was previously shot, causing the earth to shake as powerful wind generated from the explosion blew over everyone present.
The moment the wind stopped blowing, total silence reigned on the battlefield. While Orihime could only stare at the massive explosion in the distance, utterly dumbfounded, Ulquiorra's gaze was locked on Naruto.
Frankly, he had an attack with similar destructive power, but he did not expect to meet a Shinigami who could match that kind of destructive force. Especially not a Shinigami that had been a human for most of his life.
"You are strong, human. I admit that much. However, in the end, there is no way for a human or a Shinigami to ever become as strong as a Hollow. You are simply inferior."
"He said, while clearly having adopted some of the racial traits of a Shinigami. Don't sell yourself as an idiot, Ulquiorra. Fight me seriously, or I will make you regret ever looking down on me."
The moment Naruto finished speaking, the tips of all ten of his tales pointed at Ulquiorra, making him take a step back as massive amounts of Spiritual Power gathered, finally forming a black sphere that had four blade-like appendages spinning around it.
"It's been a while since I used this, so you better don't drop your guard, Ulquiorra. If you do, you will undoubtedly die. Wind Style: Bijuudama Rasenshuriken."
Meanwhile, within Ichigo's mind, another battle was going on, as Ichigo was furiously clashing with a color-inverted version of himself.
"Is this all you have to show, ICHIGO!? Weak, SO WEAK!!! YOU CAN'T PROTECT ANYTHING DEAR TO YOU!!!"
"SHUT UP!!! I'LL DEAL WITH THIS MYSELF!!! I'LL SAVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY FRIENDS!!!"
"NO!!! I DON'T ACCEPT IT!!! I CAN'T ACCEPT IT!!! YOU ARE NOT MY KING!!! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY TO BE MY KING!!! AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN YOU NEED TO BE SAVED AND REMINDED OF YOUR POSITION!!! YOU ARE NOT MY KING!!!"
While that intern conflict was happening inside of Ichigo, within Hueco Mundo, changes started to slowly but surely appear on his body. Indicating that he clearly wasn't winning against his inner Hollow right now.
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Chapter 81: Fighting Ulquiorra
Loud explosions echoed through Las Noches as Ichigo and Ulquiorra's blades met again and again, every collision causing a shockwave to ripple through the air.
Although Ichigo was struggling to keep up with Ulquiorra's speed, so far, he could still handle himself, which was a vast improvement from his previous encounter with Ulquiorra, where he didn't even have a chance while wearing his Hollow mask.
As the duo was continuously clashing, Orihime stood far away from the fight, spectating it while not really knowing what she should do.
However, while Orihime was contemplating her next step, a pair of hands appeared behind her, holding her mouth close and dragging her away.
"You damn bitch, it's over for you now. Aizen-sama said that he is no longer interested in you, so I can do what I want with you now."
"Orihime!?"
Naturally, Ichigo noticed Orihime getting dragged away, but his path was blocked by Ulquiorra, who couldn't care less whatever happened to her.
"Yo, you really are good at getting kidnapped, Orihime."
Before anyone else could react, a fist descended on the black-haired Hollow that tried to drag Orihime away, knocking her out instantly.
"N-Naruto!?"
"Yup, the one and only."
"Sup, Orihime, I'm here as well."
"Hehe, Nel is here as well!"
Looking at the trio in front of her, Orihime wore a somewhat weird expression due to the weird family on a trip feeling they were exuding, but in the end, she shook that feeling away and smiled at the trio.
"It's good to see you are well. By the well, what's with the unusual clothes, Tatsuki?"
Tatsuki, who still wore her lava clothes, went into a body-builder pose, flexing her lean muscles.
"Hehe, I got a better understanding of my power, and it became stronger. Frankly, I expected to be stronger than Ichigo now, but that idiot got like half a dozen power-ups in the span of the last two days, so I'm still behind him."
"Don't worry; you'll soon surpass him."
"Yes, yes, Tatsuki will be suuuper strong!"
While Orihime widened her eyes in surprise due to Tatsuki's words, Naruto and Nel simply cheered her on, causing Tatsuki to smile at the duo.
'They really look like a family. What happened while I was away, and who is that little Arrancar?'
Before Orihime could ponder the situation any further, a nearby wall broke, revealing a massive Arrancar.
"Yo, you need help, Ulquiorra."
"No, this is none of your business, Yammy. If you want to fight, deal with those other humans, or fight the Captains downstairs."
While the duo was chatting, Yammy persistently tried to get another shot against Ichigo; Naruto and Tatsuki were talking as well.
"Ohh, that's one of the guys who briefly came to our town a while ago."
"Right, there was someone like that, wasn't there?"
"I'll take him on Naruto. I haven't had a decent fight yet."
"Wait, Tatsuki! That's one of the Espa..."
While Naruto simply nodded his head, Orihime tried to stop Tatsuki, but before she could even get the full sentence out, Tatsuki had already vanished, smashing her fist into Yammy's face.
Obviously, Orihime knew that those two had fought before, but that happened after Ichigo had fought Yammy and even cut one of his arms off. Additionally, this was Hueco Mundo and not the world of the living, giving Hollow an advantage against humans.
"Naruto, shouldn't you help her?"
"Nah, Tatsuki is strong. I trust her to win that fight."
Orihime was shocked by Naruto's words and was even more shocked when she saw a gaze of unwavering confidence on his face.
Realizing that, unlike Naruto, her confidence and support for Ichigo were constantly wavering, she couldn't help but clench her teeth.
'Why can't I be this confident in Kurosaki-kun?'
Seeing Orihime's mood, Naruto's gaze lingered on her briefly before wandering back to the still-fighting Ichigo.
"You are not going to ask me to help Ichigo?"
Orihime's body briefly shook as her eyes landed on Naruto yet again. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out, causing her to close it again. She did so multiple times before she steeled herself, determination repairing in her eyes.
"No, I think Kurosaki-kun can w... No! I know he WILL win."
"[Resurreccion Segunda Etapa]"
Ulquiorra opened his mouth and started speaking, telling Ichigo what kind of state he was currently in while also telling him that he was the only Espada that unlocked a second stage of the Resurreccion, shocking him greatly.
Following Ulquiorra's second transformation, Ichigo was so outmatched that it couldn't even be considered a fight anymore, and not even a full minute later, Ulquiorra raised the barely conscious Ichigo up by his neck with Ulquiorra's tail.
Having Ichigo basically defeated, Ulquiorra allowed his sense to spread and noticed Orihime, watching what was happening in horror.
"So you are here, woman. Very good. Just in time for you to see the man you put your hopes in to die."
As soon as Ulquiorra stopped speaking, he raised his arm and pointed his finger at Ichigo's chest while gathering black Spiritual Power at his fingertip.
Just when he was about to blast a hole into Ichigo's chest with a Cero, someone else appeared, pushing Ulquiorra's hand away, causing him to barely miss Ichigo.
"Well, sorry to interrupt your fight; I have a promise to keep."
"I-I c-can st..."
Naruto scoffed in disdain as the almost unconscious Ichigo somehow wanted to claim that he could still keep going.
"Shut up, Ichigo. You are still too weak to protect everyone, so I'll be taking over."
"W-Weak?"
That was the last word he could utter before his consciousness faded away, and he fainted.
"Well, be a dear and let him go, would you, Ulquiorra?"
In response to Naruto's question, Ulquiorra pointed his finger at Naruto, causing him to smile wryly as Spiritual Power for another Cero quickly gathered at its tip.
"Well, that's a no~."
Naruto dodged the attack by using Ulquiorra's arm he was grabbing to pull himself away, flipping over his arm and, while doing so, delivering a kick into Ulquiorra's face, sending him sliding away a few meters and forcing him to release Ichigo.
Catching the falling Ichigo with one hand, Naruto tossed him towards Orihime, whose eyes widened in shock when she noticed Ichigo's current condition, resulting in her instantly starting to heal him.
"Well, that wasn't very nice, Ulquiorra. Guess I'll have to get a little serious. [Ban KAI.]"
Dense Spiritual Pressure erupted out of Naruto, almost contesting the pressure Ulquiorra was oozing, coloring the black ocean of Spiritual Power with a slight tint of yellow, surprising Ulquiorra quite a bit.
"Impressive. I've read about you, Bankai, in Tosen's report, but he didn't describe it as this formidable."
"[Ten-Tailed Wind Demon Fox.]"
Ignoring Ulquiorra's words, Naruto now had a dense layer of Spiritual Power covering his body. Said layer clearly outlined the form of a fox with ten tails energetically swinging from its tailbone.
"Indeed, aside from the pressure, it's exactly as the reports said. As far as I remember, it grants you great control over wind."
Hearing Ulquiorra's words, Naruto chuckled in amusement as the tip of one of his Spiritual Power tails pointed at Ulquiorra.
"Hee~ Is that what you thought my Bankai did? Sorry to disappoint you, but it's not just that. That being said, let's have some fun, shall we?
[Bijuudama]"
Suddenly, a black ball of concentrated Spiritual Power condensed at the tip of the tail, pointing at Ulquiorra, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. So far, he had never heard anything about Naruto's Bankai being able to do something like this.
The ball was shot at Ulquiorra, but he managed to react in time to barely dodge it. It sailed past Ulquiorra, barely missing him by a few centimeters, before vanishing in the distance. Seconds later, a colossal explosion erupted in the distance where the ball of concentrated Spiritual Power was previously shot, causing the earth to shake as powerful wind generated from the explosion blew over everyone present.
The moment the wind stopped blowing, total silence reigned on the battlefield. While Orihime could only stare at the massive explosion in the distance, utterly dumbfounded, Ulquiorra's gaze was locked on Naruto.
Frankly, he had an attack with similar destructive power, but he did not expect to meet a Shinigami who could match that kind of destructive force. Especially not a Shinigami that had been a human for most of his life.
"You are strong, human. I admit that much. However, in the end, there is no way for a human or a Shinigami to ever become as strong as a Hollow. You are simply inferior."
"He said, while clearly having adopted some of the racial traits of a Shinigami. Don't sell yourself as an idiot, Ulquiorra. Fight me seriously, or I will make you regret ever looking down on me."
The moment Naruto finished speaking, the tips of all ten of his tales pointed at Ulquiorra, making him take a step back as massive amounts of Spiritual Power gathered, finally forming a black sphere that had four blade-like appendages spinning around it.
"It's been a while since I used this, so you better don't drop your guard, Ulquiorra. If you do, you will undoubtedly die. Wind Style: Bijuudama Rasenshuriken."
Meanwhile, within Ichigo's mind, another battle was going on, as Ichigo was furiously clashing with a color-inverted version of himself.
"Is this all you have to show, ICHIGO!? Weak, SO WEAK!!! YOU CAN'T PROTECT ANYTHING DEAR TO YOU!!!"
"SHUT UP!!! I'LL DEAL WITH THIS MYSELF!!! I'LL SAVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY FRIENDS!!!"
"NO!!! I DON'T ACCEPT IT!!! I CAN'T ACCEPT IT!!! YOU ARE NOT MY KING!!! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY TO BE MY KING!!! AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN YOU NEED TO BE SAVED AND REMINDED OF YOUR POSITION!!! YOU ARE NOT MY KING!!!"
While that intern conflict was happening inside of Ichigo, within Hueco Mundo, changes started to slowly but surely appear on his body. Indicating that he clearly wasn't winning against his inner Hollow right now.
Chapter 81: Fighting UlquiorraLoud explosions echoed through Las Noches as Ichigo and Ulquiorra's blades met again and again, every collision causing a shockwave to ripple through the air. Although Ichigo was struggling to keep up with Ulquiorra's speed, so far, he could still handle himself, which was a vast improvement from his previous encounter with Ulquiorra, where he didn't even have a chance while wearing his Hollow mask. As the duo was continuously clashing, Orihime stood far away from the fight, spectating it while not really knowing what she should do. However, while Orihime was contemplating her next step, a pair of hands appeared behind her, holding her mouth close and dragging her away. "You damn bitch, it's over for you now. Aizen-sama said that he is no longer interested in you, so I can do what I want with you now." "Orihime!?" Naturally, Ichigo noticed Orihime getting dragged away, but his path was blocked by Ulquiorra, who couldn't care less whatever happened to her. "Yo, you really are good at getting kidnapped, Orihime." Before anyone else could react, a fist descended on the black-haired Hollow that tried to drag Orihime away, knocking her out instantly. "N-Naruto!?" "Yup, the one and only." "Sup, Orihime, I'm here as well." "Hehe, Nel is here as well!" Looking at the trio in front of her, Orihime wore a somewhat weird expression due to the weird family on a trip feeling they were exuding, but in the end, she shook that feeling away and smiled at the trio. "It's good to see you are well. By the well, what's with the unusual clothes, Tatsuki?" Tatsuki, who still wore her lava clothes, went into a body-builder pose, flexing her lean muscles. "Hehe, I got a better understanding of my power, and it became stronger. Frankly, I expected to be stronger than Ichigo now, but that idiot got like half a dozen power-ups in the span of the last two days, so I'm still behind him." "Don't worry; you'll soon surpass him." "Yes, yes, Tatsuki will be suuuper strong!" While Orihime widened her eyes in surprise due to Tatsuki's words, Naruto and Nel simply cheered her on, causing Tatsuki to smile at the duo. 'They really look like a family. What happened while I was away, and who is that little Arrancar?' Before Orihime could ponder the situation any further, a nearby wall broke, revealing a massive Arrancar. "Yo, you need help, Ulquiorra." "No, this is none of your business, Yammy. If you want to fight, deal with those other humans, or fight the Captains downstairs." While the duo was chatting, Yammy persistently tried to get another shot against Ichigo; Naruto and Tatsuki were talking as well. "Ohh, that's one of the guys who briefly came to our town a while ago." "Right, there was someone like that, wasn't there?" "I'll take him on Naruto. I haven't had a decent fight yet." "Wait, Tatsuki! That's one of the Espa..." While Naruto simply nodded his head, Orihime tried to stop Tatsuki, but before she could even get the full sentence out, Tatsuki had already vanished, smashing her fist into Yammy's face. Obviously, Orihime knew that those two had fought before, but that happened after Ichigo had fought Yammy and even cut one of his arms off. Additionally, this was Hueco Mundo and not the world of the living, giving Hollow an advantage against humans. "Naruto, shouldn't you help her?" "Nah, Tatsuki is strong. I trust her to win that fight." Orihime was shocked by Naruto's words and was even more shocked when she saw a gaze of unwavering confidence on his face. Realizing that, unlike Naruto, her confidence and support for Ichigo were constantly wavering, she couldn't help but clench her teeth. 'Why can't I be this confident in Kurosaki-kun?' Seeing Orihime's mood, Naruto's gaze lingered on her briefly before wandering back to the still-fighting Ichigo. "You are not going to ask me to help Ichigo?" Orihime's body briefly shook as her eyes landed on Naruto yet again. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out, causing her to close it again. She did so multiple times before she steeled herself, determination repairing in her eyes. "No, I think Kurosaki-kun can w... No! I know he WILL win." "Resurreccion Segunda Etapa" Ulquiorra opened his mouth and started speaking, telling Ichigo what kind of state he was currently in while also telling him that he was the only Espada that unlocked a second stage of the Resurreccion, shocking him greatly. Following Ulquiorra's second transformation, Ichigo was so outmatched that it couldn't even be considered a fight anymore, and not even a full minute later, Ulquiorra raised the barely conscious Ichigo up by his neck with Ulquiorra's tail. Having Ichigo basically defeated, Ulquiorra allowed his sense to spread and noticed Orihime, watching what was happening in horror. "So you are here, woman. Very good. Just in time for you to see the man you put your hopes in to die." As soon as Ulquiorra stopped speaking, he raised his arm and pointed his finger at Ichigo's chest while gathering black Spiritual Power at his fingertip. Just when he was about to blast a hole into Ichigo's chest with a Cero, someone else appeared, pushing Ulquiorra's hand away, causing him to barely miss Ichigo. "Well, sorry to interrupt your fight; I have a promise to keep." "I-I c-can st..." Naruto scoffed in disdain as the almost unconscious Ichigo somehow wanted to claim that he could still keep going. "Shut up, Ichigo. You are still too weak to protect everyone, so I'll be taking over." "W-Weak?" That was the last word he could utter before his consciousness faded away, and he fainted. "Well, be a dear and let him go, would you, Ulquiorra?" In response to Naruto's question, Ulquiorra pointed his finger at Naruto, causing him to smile wryly as Spiritual Power for another Cero quickly gathered at its tip. "Well, that's a no~." Naruto dodged the attack by using Ulquiorra's arm he was grabbing to pull himself away, flipping over his arm and, while doing so, delivering a kick into Ulquiorra's face, sending him sliding away a few meters and forcing him to release Ichigo. Catching the falling Ichigo with one hand, Naruto tossed him towards Orihime, whose eyes widened in shock when she noticed Ichigo's current condition, resulting in her instantly starting to heal him. "Well, that wasn't very nice, Ulquiorra. Guess I'll have to get a little serious. Ban KAI." Dense Spiritual Pressure erupted out of Naruto, almost contesting the pressure Ulquiorra was oozing, coloring the black ocean of Spiritual Power with a slight tint of yellow, surprising Ulquiorra quite a bit. "Impressive. I've read about you, Bankai, in Tosen's report, but he didn't describe it as this formidable." "Ten-Tailed Wind Demon Fox." Ignoring Ulquiorra's words, Naruto now had a dense layer of Spiritual Power covering his body. Said layer clearly outlined the form of a fox with ten tails energetically swinging from its tailbone. "Indeed, aside from the pressure, it's exactly as the reports said. As far as I remember, it grants you great control over wind." Hearing Ulquiorra's words, Naruto chuckled in amusement as the tip of one of his Spiritual Power tails pointed at Ulquiorra. "Hee~ Is that what you thought my Bankai did? Sorry to disappoint you, but it's not just that. That being said, let's have some fun, shall we? Bijuudama" Suddenly, a black ball of concentrated Spiritual Power condensed at the tip of the tail, pointing at Ulquiorra, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. So far, he had never heard anything about Naruto's Bankai being able to do something like this. The ball was shot at Ulquiorra, but he managed to react in time to barely dodge it. It sailed past Ulquiorra, barely missing him by a few centimeters, before vanishing in the distance. Seconds later, a colossal explosion erupted in the distance where the ball of concentrated Spiritual Power was previously shot, causing the earth to shake as powerful wind generated from the explosion blew over everyone present. The moment the wind stopped blowing, total silence reigned on the battlefield. While Orihime could only stare at the massive explosion in the distance, utterly dumbfounded, Ulquiorra's gaze was locked on Naruto. Frankly, he had an attack with similar destructive power, but he did not expect to meet a Shinigami who could match that kind of destructive force. Especially not a Shinigami that had been a human for most of his life. "You are strong, human. I admit that much. However, in the end, there is no way for a human or a Shinigami to ever become as strong as a Hollow. You are simply inferior." "He said, while clearly having adopted some of the racial traits of a Shinigami. Don't sell yourself as an idiot, Ulquiorra. Fight me seriously, or I will make you regret ever looking down on me." The moment Naruto finished speaking, the tips of all ten of his tales pointed at Ulquiorra, making him take a step back as massive amounts of Spiritual Power gathered, finally forming a black sphere that had four blade-like appendages spinning around it. "It's been a while since I used this, so you better don't drop your guard, Ulquiorra. If you do, you will undoubtedly die. Wind Style: Bijuudama Rasenshuriken." Meanwhile, within Ichigo's mind, another battle was going on, as Ichigo was furiously clashing with a color-inverted version of himself. "Is this all you have to show, ICHIGO!? Weak, SO WEAK!!! YOU CAN'T PROTECT ANYTHING DEAR TO YOU!!!" "SHUT UP!!! I'LL DEAL WITH THIS MYSELF!!! I'LL SAVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY FRIENDS!!!" "NO!!! I DON'T ACCEPT IT!!! I CAN'T ACCEPT IT!!! YOU ARE NOT MY KING!!! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY TO BE MY KING!!! AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN YOU NEED TO BE SAVED AND REMINDED OF YOUR POSITION!!! YOU ARE NOT MY KING!!!" While that intern conflict was happening inside of Ichigo, within Hueco Mundo, changes started to slowly but surely appear on his body. Indicating that he clearly wasn't winning against his inner Hollow right now.
