"Originally, this was just a mission…"
"I never thought I'd be forced into releasing my blade too!"
"I only invaded Soul Society to test things…"
Under the gaze of hundreds of eyes—
Ulquiorra slowly raised his hand.
His emerald pupils fixed on Bai Chen standing atop the Wood Golem, and as he muttered in a low voice, the pressure unique to a Vasto Lorde began to surge explosively.
BOOOOM—!!
The atmosphere roared.
Spiritual power erupted.
The hem of his Las Noches uniform whipped back and forth in the violent reiatsu tide.
And at the most suffocating instant—
his voice dropped, flat and emotionless, colder than death itself.
"Lock the Heavens—Black-Winged Great Demon."
The moment those words fell—
the ruined battlefield's tension spiked to an unprecedented peak.
And the purification squad was swallowed by fear.
"Black-Winged Great Demon… what a terrifying name!"
"We've already seen 'Resurrección' once…"
"But compared to that Wrath-Beast Yammy who got dropped in one hit…"
"This Black-Winged Great Demon—who still has a human-shaped body…"
"is a real Vasto Lorde!"
"Just imagining how strong he'll be after release…"
"It's unbearable!"
Just hearing the release command—
their bodies began to shake uncontrollably.
Every pore on their skin seemed to explode open.
Their scalps went numb.
Fear sank straight into the soul.
"The battle just escalated again!"
"I'm starting to feel like my strength is a joke!"
In the chaotic crowd, Ikkaku clenched his teeth, drenched in sweat.
As a man who lived for blood and battle—
watching Bai Chen's twin Zanpakutō repeatedly unleash peak-level power made him realize something brutal:
his old fighting style—relying on willpower and brute force—
was laughable.
And the so-called "basic slashing" everyone worshipped…
was worthless in front of real abilities and real rules.
As someone witnessing a clash between gods—
Ikkaku had to admit it:
everything he'd fought through before now felt like kids playing in mud.
It was ridiculous.
"Thank heaven Bai Chen is the one holding the line…"
"Otherwise that Black-Winged Great Demon…"
"just his pressure alone…"
"would be enough to crush us until we suffocate and collapse!"
Yumichika's voice trembled.
Even though they were hundreds of meters away—
even though everyone had joined together to form a reiatsu barrier—
the moment Ulquiorra's release pressure surged outward,
Yumichika felt his breathing tighten, as if he were about to choke.
And that was only the prelude.
The true form hadn't even fully descended yet.
And the main target of that pressure—
was Bai Chen, the one "piloting the mech" up there.
Which meant—
without trying, Bai Chen had already become a savior in Yumichika's eyes.
Nearby, Sasakibe Chōjirō looked worse than the others.
Not just fear—
but irritation and anxiety twisted across his face.
"What's going on?!"
"Did the Research and Development Institute cut us off completely?!"
"Why has it been this long?! After the first contact…"
"the communicator hasn't responded even once!"
All gentlemanly composure vanished.
Sasakibe's restraint cracked into something savage.
He roared.
"Sasakibe Vice-Captain…"
"At times like this, we have to keep our minds steady…"
"I trust Captain Mayuri's character!"
"At a moment like this…"
"he wouldn't gamble with our lives!"
Even while barely holding herself together,
Isane tried to calm him with words.
What she didn't know—
was that the Mayuri she was "guaranteeing" was currently inside the Institute—
laughing so hard he was almost delirious.
"Exactly as I predicted!!! Everything is happening exactly as I said!!!"
"That Vasto Lorde Arrancar is removing his restraints too!"
"Akon—get every device running at full output!"
"I want every last scrap of data recorded—without missing a single frame!"
Mayuri's laughter was manic.
To him, this was glory:
a priceless combat record featuring a twin-element, dual-Zanpakutō user and a Vasto Lorde Arrancar—
a treasure the Gotei 13 had never possessed since its founding.
"If I record everything perfectly…"
"and pour time into analysis and experimentation…"
"I'll be able to push further…"
"to dissect the boundary between 'Shinigami' and 'Hollow' power…"
"and open a brand-new door to a higher dimension!"
Akon, trembling behind him, had only one thought:
We're finished.
Captain Mayuri has completely gone off the rails.
He'd ignored the fact that the Institute's instruments—
because they'd been deliberately blocking and suppressing reiatsu fluctuations—
were already sitting at the critical threshold.
And as the battle escalated,
even from a distance, it would soon shake all of Seireitei.
Akon's fear wasn't wrong.
What happened next truly drove things to the edge of total loss of control.
Back to Zaraki District
Reiatsu surged into the sky.
Across the shattered ground, shockwaves swept away every speck of rubble—
and before Ulquiorra's true form fully revealed itself,
a rain of dark emerald droplets began to fall like a sudden downpour—
even though the sun still blazed overhead.
It splashed against everyone's faces.
And the purification squad jumped in terror again.
"What… is this?!"
"Rain made from spiritual pressure?!"
"This is insane!"
They tried to wipe it away—
only to realize it wasn't real rain at all.
It was simply because, after releasing,
Ulquiorra's pressure had expanded to such an extreme level
that it created a supernatural phenomenon.
"This is too much…"
"They're both called 'Espada,' but why is the gap between them this huge?"
"Is the numbering wrong?"
Ikkaku frowned, his expression twisting.
He couldn't help wondering:
maybe Yammy had been running his mouth—
maybe his "strongest Espada" claim had been nothing but a power-high boast.
And that mysterious shift to "0"…
Ikkaku still couldn't make sense of it.
If anything—
he wanted to believe the real strongest was the one in front of them now.
Then someone screamed:
"Look!!!"
"After that reiatsu rain vanished…"
"the Vasto Lorde's appearance has completely changed!!!"
"That Black-Winged Great Demon…"
"is terrifying!!!"
As the dark green "rain" dispersed—
Ulquiorra emerged from the turbulent air.
After release—
his look changed completely.
The white Las Noches uniform was gone.
In its place: a seamless white garment, perfectly fitted, long and ceremonial—like a noble's robe.
Above his head—
the half-mask that had once been incomplete
was now restored into a white, twin-horned helm—
distantly resembling a crown,
as if the Black-Winged Great Demon had been formally "crowned."
BOOOOM—!!
With his true form revealed,
dark green pressure rippled around him.
He wasn't even doing anything.
Just standing there, one hand in his pocket, expression blank—
yet the gigantic black wings behind him unfurled in a single motion
and blocked the sun.
The battlefield dimmed instantly—
as if night had fallen.
Now Bai Chen, standing atop the Wood Golem, finally understood.
"No wonder…"
"In Hueco Mundo, Aizen explicitly stated…"
"the top four Espada are forbidden from releasing under the dome…"
Bai Chen had to admit it:
Ulquiorra was strong.
Even at first-stage release—
the pressure of Black-Winged Great Demon alone had pushed the skies of Rukongai into visible distortion.
A clear sign the air and space were nearing their limit.
But Bai Chen's surprise lasted only a moment.
His mind settled again.
"If this is only first release…"
"it still won't shake the might of my Wood Golem."
He murmured softly.
But it was as if Ulquiorra heard him through the air.
WHOOOM—!!
Those black wings snapped wide.
Ulquiorra lifted his gaze, meeting Bai Chen's.
His voice was cold, indifferent, merciless:
"Bai Chen…"
"I hope you don't waver."
"Hold your stance. Stay sharp."
"Don't loosen for even a moment."
As he spoke, he flicked his fingers—
and his terrifying spiritual pressure surged at full output.
His tone carried absolute confidence:
"You haven't seen it, have you…"
"a Vasto Lorde Arrancar's Black Cero after release."
"I'll use that power…"
"to shatter your so-called Wood Golem completely."
As his words ended—
a black vortex of pure death began to gather at his fingertips.
BOOOOM—!!
Blackness spread, dyeing the sky.
Zaraki District's heavens turned into night.
And during that gathering alone—
before the attack was even fired—
the deathly aura already made Shinigami, Rukongai residents, and nearby souls go pale with terror.
This was only the charging phase.
Yet unlike everyone else—
Bai Chen's face remained calm even under the lock-on of the Black Cero.
His black eyes even carried anticipation.
"You think Black Cero…"
"is enough to blow apart my Wood Golem technique?"
Bai Chen shook his head, unimpressed.
"First…"
"your Black Cero has to break through the absolute defense…"
"of the Fivefold Rashōmon."
The instant the words left his mouth—
Bai Chen brought his hands together.
No hand seals.
No chants.
Ulquiorra's Black Cero hadn't even finished forming.
And yet Bai Chen released the technique without a mark—
a great art drawn from the depths of hell itself,
the trump card he had signed in with under Confession Words:
The legendary Fivefold Rashōmon.
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