"Ikkaku…"
"Looks like you were worrying for nothing."
Hearing Bai Chen's thunderous shout echoing from the battlefield, Yumichika Ayasegawa, who was supporting the unconscious Kenpachi from the other side, couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
"Honestly—he's not afraid of Arrancar at all."
Not only did Bai Chen charge in head-on—
He even took the initiative and fired first.
If anything, the ones who should be worried right now were the two Espada.
One careless move, and they might get wiped out the moment they stepped onto the battlefield.
After all, everyone had already seen just how terrifying Bai Chen's Zanpakutō—Great Fire Extinguishing Fan—really was.
Those blazing flames didn't just burn flesh.
They incinerated reishi itself.
"Heh…"
"I guess I really am still too young," Ikkaku muttered with a complicated expression.
"Someone who's even stronger than Captain Zaraki when it comes to raw combat…"
"There's no way a guy like that would back down so easily."
The only thing he truly regretted was Kenpachi being unconscious.
Otherwise—
They could've witnessed the ultimate scene:
The King of Raw Combat, hoisting Nozarashi, hacking Espada apart.
"Still…"
"You should follow us back to the safe zone first," Sasakibe urged gravely.
"A Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar isn't something you can overcome with courage alone."
Unlike Ikkaku and Yumichika, Chōjirō Sasakibe never relaxed his guard.
Even with Bai Chen's unprecedented dual Zanpakutō—
The moment Sasakibe's eyes met those emerald pupils streaked with green tear lines…
His courage nearly collapsed.
His instincts screamed a single truth:
The battle about to unfold would be the most violent in centuries.
Perhaps—
Even the entire Zaraki District and the surrounding wastelands…
Would be completely obliterated.
High above—
Flames erupted.
As Bai Chen swung the Great Fire Extinguishing Fan, the air twisted violently.
A massive vortex of reiatsu-condensed fire surged forward like a raging tempest.
"No matter what…"
"Sealing the Garganta first is the safest move."
Hovering in midair, stepping on condensed air, Bai Chen's gaze bypassed the two Espada—
And locked directly onto the Garganta behind them.
He had no intention of letting reinforcements arrive.
In a single motion, he unleashed the power of his Zanpakutō.
Storming flames howled outward, assaulting Ulquiorra and Yammy while simultaneously sealing the Garganta shut.
That decisive, aggressive move—
Instantly enraged both Espada.
"To think a hunted Shinigami would dare block our retreat…"
"This bastard Bai Chen is really pissing me off!!!"
Yammy snarled—
But his expression shifted rapidly as the firestorm closed in.
For the first time since becoming an Espada—
The fear of death surged up from the depths of his soul.
It was so strong he nearly retreated instinctively.
"Yammy. Shut up."
Ulquiorra's cold voice cut through the chaos.
"All that bluster only exposes how weak you really are."
"If you don't want to be reduced to ash…"
"Stay behind me."
Yammy clenched his teeth, furious—but silent.
After quickly judging that only Resurrección could stop the firestorm, he retreated behind Ulquiorra without further argument.
"Ulquiorra…"
"You're not about to get killed here, right?" Yammy muttered, trying to provoke him.
Ulquiorra didn't react.
Instead, he said calmly:
"The real question…"
"Is why Lord Aizen's intelligence was incomplete."
His emerald eyes narrowed.
Where was the so-called Wood-type Zanpakutō?
There were no forests.
No vines.
Only a catastrophic inferno crashing toward them.
"That giant flaming fan…"
"It's clearly a fire-type Zanpakutō."
Time ran out.
Ulquiorra raised a single hand, fingers extended.
In the next instant—
A Vasto Lorde's reiatsu erupted without restraint.
Compressed, spiraling, condensing at his fingertips—
Cero.
A green beam of annihilation fired forth, powerful enough to erase the entire region.
"Is this… Vasto Lorde-level power?"
From far beyond the battlefield, the Shinigami stared at the green light swallowing the sky.
One hit—
And every single one of them would be erased.
"Everyone—stay calm!"
"Trust Bai Chen!"
"He's already killed Arrancar back in Karakura Town!"
Isane Kotetsu shouted, desperately trying to stabilize morale.
But doubt lingered.
Killing a Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar—
That sounded impossible.
Then—
The sky detonated.
A deafening explosion ripped the clouds apart.
Red fire and emerald destruction collided head-on.
The flame storm slammed into the sealed Garganta, detonating violently.
"Sonído!"
Ulquiorra and Yammy vanished just in time—
But their white uniforms were scorched.
They had lost the exchange.
"…Damn it!"
Yammy stomped the air, furious.
"That fan—has it already reached Bankai?!"
"To overpower a Cero like that—this is insane!"
Ulquiorra remained silent.
His gaze shifted—
Locking onto Bai Chen's waist.
There—
Still sheathed.
The second Zanpakutō.
Wood Dragon.
"I see…"
"So the intelligence wasn't wrong."
"He does possess a wood-type Zanpakutō."
Yammy froze.
"…You're saying he has two?"
Ulquiorra nodded slightly.
"Which leads to the second conclusion."
He turned to Yammy, voice icy.
"Against Bai Chen—"
"Any probing attack is meaningless."
"The only way to defeat him…"
"Is Resurrección."
Ulquiorra had already confirmed it.
Neither of them could win in base form.
"Ulquiorra…"
"You're telling me to release right now?" Yammy growled unwillingly.
He'd planned to let Ulquiorra take the lead while he fed on souls.
But now—
He hadn't even touched Bai Chen.
And he was being forced into Resurrección.
"Tch… your Cero got blown apart, and I'm the one releasing?"
"How humiliating!"
Despite his complaints—
Yammy obeyed.
Before Bai Chen.
Before all the Shinigami—
Yammy drew his blade and roared:
"Rage! Devour! Resurrección — Ira!"
The next instant—
Every ounce of reiatsu Yammy had stockpiled through gluttony and slumber—
Exploded outward.
A colossal pillar of spiritual pressure erupted skyward.
The ground shattered.
The air screamed.
Bathed in surging reiatsu—
Yammy's body expanded grotesquely.
Growing.
Swelling.
Until he stood like a mountain upon the wasteland—
The full, terrifying might of an Espada unleashed.
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