"I was planning to go help you," Renji Abarai said, putting away his Zanpakutō. "Didn't expect you'd already handled it too."
"Yeah..." Ichigo Kurosaki looked at the silver cross pendant with the ring around his wrist. His mother's amulet was still warming his chest. "It took a little effort."
"Hm?" Renji Abarai noticed something off about Ichigo Kurosaki. "You okay?"
How to put it... Looking at Ichigo Kurosaki now, Renji Abarai had the faint illusion that he was seeing Muten Natsu.
Back when Muten Natsu had just left the 4th Division, enrolled at the Shin'ō Academy, and been forced to live in the student dormitory, he often wore that same expression.
"It's nothing..." Ichigo Kurosaki looked up. "Is that the sky? It was night outside just now."
What a stiff change of subject.
Renji Abarai played along and explained, "According to that Arrancar, Aizen made it."
"A Shinigami can actually do something like that... Ah, the underground area at Urahara's shop had the same kind of feel." Ichigo Kurosaki shook his head and did not dwell on it for long. "Let's hurry up and meet with the others. Can you sense where they are?"
"The Reishi in Hueco Mundo is too active. It's hard to locate them with Spirit Ribbons," Renji Abarai said with a troubled look. "I can only vaguely sense their Reiatsu..." His voice cut off, and he suddenly drew his katana and slashed toward Ichigo Kurosaki.
Because he trusted Renji Abarai, Ichigo Kurosaki did not move.
Having mastered Bankai, Renji Abarai no longer needed to call out his Zanpakutō's name to release Shikai. As he swung, the Zanpakutō transformed, becoming Zabimaru as it split and extended, slashing toward the wall behind Ichigo Kurosaki.
"Who's there?!"
"Waaaaah!" Dondochakka and Pesche scrambled out of the way. "Misunderstanding! It's a misunderstanding!"
Ichigo Kurosaki turned to look at the two strange-looking Arrancar. "Enemies?"
"No!" Pesche hurriedly explained. "We sensed Shinigami Reiatsu and thought you were Muten Natsu and the others..."
"You've seen Muten Natsu?" Renji Abarai made Zabimaru retract. "Where is he?"
Dondochakka answered, "He's with my sister Nell."
"Picking up girls again..." Renji Abarai sighed. "That guy..."
"Huh?" Ichigo Kurosaki found Renji Abarai's wording strange. "Again? So Muten Natsu is that kind of guy?"
"Back in school, a lot of girls liked him. They said he made them feel safe and was easy to deal with." Renji Abarai looked displeased. "I don't get it."
Ichigo Kurosaki somehow felt he could understand what those girls were thinking.
Muten Natsu really was easy to deal with.
Leave him somewhere, and he would obediently sleep there all day.
"So," Renji Abarai asked, "where's your sister?"
Pesche thought for a moment. "Unless something unexpected happened, she should be beside Muten Natsu."
Renji Abarai nodded. "Then, if I'm not wrong, Muten Natsu should be beside your sister, right?"
Pesche and Dondochakka nodded together. "Ah, right, right, right..."
"Are you messing with me?!" Renji Abarai roared. "That doesn't answer anything!"
Ichigo Kurosaki held Renji Abarai back. "How is Muten Natsu doing right now?"
Renji Abarai's eyes shifted, and he instantly understood.
Ichigo Kurosaki was testing whether they had really seen Muten Natsu.
They were Arrancar, after all. They could not be completely trusted.
If these two Arrancar could not answer, then there was definitely something wrong with them.
"He was with two girls and a little bird plush. He said he came to Las Noches to catch up with a friend," Pesche said quickly, afraid Renji Abarai would attack again. "He broke through the wall and entered Las Noches. He was really fast. Nell chased after him, and we chased after Nell, but we got separated."
"We sensed Shinigami Reiatsu over here and thought it was them, but it turned out to be you..." Dondochakka added. "We'll leave now."
It seemed like there was nothing wrong with that... Renji Abarai did not spot any obvious problems or mistakes in their answers.
But that did not mean they could be fully trusted.
They still needed further confirmation.
So... what would the cautious Ichigo Kurosaki do?
"I see..." Ichigo Kurosaki nodded. "Then let's look for them together."
Oh! Renji Abarai's eyes lit up.
That really was a good idea.
If these two Arrancar truly meant no harm, then traveling together would not be a problem.
If they did have bad intentions, then of course they could not simply let them go.
Dondochakka and Pesche exchanged a look. After seeing Renji Abarai and Ichigo Kurosaki's strength, they also felt it would be safer to go together.
They sensed the surrounding Reiatsu and determined the direction where the Reiatsu fluctuations were strongest.
A strange group made up of one Shinigami, one Quincy, and two Arrancar set off.
Renji Abarai leaned closer to Ichigo Kurosaki and praised him in a low voice, "Not bad."
Ichigo Kurosaki said, "Huh?"
"Good thing you were cautious enough. If I were alone, I might not have thought that far."
"What caution?" Ichigo Kurosaki was completely lost. "Cautious about what?"
Renji Abarai said nothing.
What pointless things had he just been thinking?
"Forget it," Renji Abarai said, swinging his Zanpakutō. "The result's good, anyway."
Ichigo Kurosaki did not dodge, just like before.
The Zanpakutō in Renji Abarai's hand sliced open his chest.
"Renji...?" Ichigo Kurosaki's eyes widened. "You..."
"I..." Renji Abarai stared in disbelief at the blood spraying from Ichigo Kurosaki's wound. "What did I just do?"
Even as he asked that, Renji Abarai raised his katana again.
Tree-like light patterns appeared on Ichigo Kurosaki's skin, and he grabbed the blade. "What are you doing?!"
"I... I don't know..." Renji Abarai grabbed his disobedient right wrist with his left hand. "My body won't listen to me..."
He yanked his Zanpakutō free and slashed at Pesche and Dondochakka nearby.
"Run!" Unable to figure out what was wrong with Renji Abarai, Ichigo Kurosaki blocked the attack for Dondochakka and Pesche. "Go find Muten!"
If it was Muten, he would definitely be able to figure it out.
Seeing Renji Abarai about to attack them again, Pesche and Dondochakka no longer hesitated. They turned and ran toward the Reiatsu they had sensed.
"Damn it..." Veins bulged on Renji Abarai's arm as if he were fighting against something. "What the hell is going on?!"
...
"Come out," Uryū Ishida said, stopping in his tracks. "How long are you planning to hide there?"
The massive white torii-like structures formed the shape of a corridor. Uryū Ishida warily watched the crossbeam above.
A huge stone pillar shattered, and a dark figure rushed forward.
Armor appeared on Yasutora Sado's right arm. "Trying to run?"
"Run?" The dark figure moved across the white torii. "You're the ones who should be running. Ah!"
His voice cut off. He seemed to trip over something underfoot and dropped straight down from above.
Bang!
He smashed a huge crater into the ground.
Yasutora Sado, who had been about to attack, froze for a moment.
"Hmph!" From within the dust, a middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache flipped to his feet. His boots tapped against the ground with a crisp, rhythmic sound as he flamboyantly danced and clapped his hands. "Perfect!"
Yasutora Sado said, "...?"
"Not perfect," Uryū Ishida said, pushing up his glasses. "If you hadn't kicked up dust when you landed, your pathetic state would have been easier to see, and the comedic effect would have been even better."
"Do you think this is a comedy show?!" the mustached man protested. "Stop focusing on tiny mistakes and pay attention to my magnificent entrance! Then prepare yourselves to be defeated by Arrancar No. 103, Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio-sama!"
"Ah..." Yasutora Sado looked around. "Where is Dordoni?"
"Me!" Dordoni pointed at himself with both hands. "Look here! I'm Dordoni! Why would you think Dordoni hasn't appeared yet?"
Uryū Ishida answered calmly, "Probably because your entrance just now was too magnificent."
"That was sarcasm, wasn't it? I heard it. That was definitely sarcasm!" Dordoni pointed at Uryū Ishida. "Don't think I wouldn't notice! If you still have the time to be sarcastic, then that means you're already prepared... to die in battle!"
Dordoni's figure suddenly vanished. Sensing danger, Yasutora Sado swung his fist hard.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed from the wound on his shoulder as Dordoni appeared behind Yasutora Sado. "Good reaction."
Dordoni lightly tapped the toe of his shoe against the ground, shaking off the drops of blood. "But not flashy enough."
Deep-blue light flashed as Uryū Ishida's Reishi arrow aimed straight for Dordoni's throat.
"A flashy attack... but not perfect enough."
Dordoni tilted his head to avoid the arrow, closed the distance in an instant, and swept his leg out.
Too fast!
Uryū Ishida had no time to dodge. All he could do was raise Ginrei Kojaku in front of him.
He managed to block the attack, but he could not cancel out that terrifying force. His slender body was sent flying backward out of control.
"Oh?" Dordoni looked a little surprised. "A bow can be used as a shield too?"
His figure flickered as he avoided Yasutora Sado's fist, planted one foot on the shield wrapped around Yasutora Sado's forearm, and drove his other foot squarely into Yasutora Sado's head.
Bang!
Yasutora Sado spun through the air and slammed hard into the ground.
"Slow reflexes, flimsy defense, no experience..." Dordoni spread his hands. "How am I supposed to fight like this? This is no different from playing house with children!"
Pointing at the two of them, Dordoni urged, "Come on, use it already. Your Bankai."
"I'm a Quincy..." Uryū Ishida steadied himself. "I don't have a Bankai."
"I..." Yasutora Sado paused. "Can't."
Dordoni: "∑（￣□￣*|||）?"
A look of acceptance spread across Dordoni's face. He shook his head and gripped the hilt of the Zanpakutō at his waist.
"Since this is already your strongest state, there's no reason for me to keep holding back. Whirl, Giralda."
A gale roared, forming a tornado that wrapped around Dordoni's body.
Within the tornado, Dordoni gradually changed. Bull-horn-like armor appeared on his shoulders, and spiral armor covered both his legs.
Nozzles extending from his ankles connected with the wild winds around him. The raging tornado split in two, writhing like a pair of restless giant snakes. At the far end of each tornado was a huge bone plate shaped like a bird's beak.
Dordoni stomped both feet, and the tornadoes extending from the nozzles at his ankles twisted with the motion, driving the beak-shaped bone plates at their tips toward Uryū Ishida and Yasutora Sado.
Uryū Ishida used Hirenkyaku to dodge, while Yasutora Sado blocked head-on with the shield on his forearm.
"Hahahahahahaha!!!"
Dordoni laughed wildly as he kicked out. One tornado sent Yasutora Sado flying, while the other chased after Uryū Ishida.
"Is that really all you've got? Show me more of that strength you invaders are supposed to have!"
A piercing sound suddenly rang out. The beak-shaped bone plate chasing Uryū Ishida split apart midway, the cut perfectly smooth.
"Since you asked so sincerely, I suppose I'll have to oblige."
Uryū Ishida hooked a finger through the hole at the end of an object that resembled a sword hilt. With a slight motion of his finger, he spun the hilt, then caught it firmly in his palm.
The next instant, a deep-blue glow surged out and condensed into the shape of a long sword.
The moment the beak-shaped bone plate was destroyed, the tornado connected behind it scattered as well.
Dordoni stared at the faintly glowing blade-shaped weapon in Uryū Ishida's hand. "What is that thing?"
"When Urahara-san took me away from the hospital, I had a feeling it might come in useful. So I used Urahara-san's ability and borrowed it from the secret warehouse inside the facility." Uryū Ishida held the blade of light level. "A thing that cuts through souls. This is the Quincy's only blade-shaped weapon."
"When did Quincy start fighting for Shinigami?" Dordoni twirled his handlebar mustache. "You came to Hueco Mundo to stop those helping Aizen-sama, didn't you?"
"It seems you've misunderstood. I'm not here to stop anyone, and I'm not here to help the Shinigami," Uryū Ishida replied indifferently. "I came here only to defeat a heretic. He possesses Quincy power, yet he can't learn Quincy combat methods and spends every day fighting with a sword... I don't want him causing people to get the wrong idea about Quincy."
Crack. Bang!
On the other side, the beak-shaped bone plate that had knocked Yasutora Sado away shattered, and the other tornado vanished.
"I've finally mastered it..." Yasutora Sado emerged from the gradually settling dust. "The power I could never control before. Now I can finally use it freely."
Bone-white armor covered his entire left arm. Spikes extending from his shoulder jutted proudly upward like sharp horns. Crimson patterns stained the armor like blood, and a Reiatsu strikingly similar to Dordoni's surged up around him!