Las Noches.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
Rumble—!!
The black spiritual pressure slash was terrifying, carrying an unstoppable force as it tore toward the ground. Down below, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez wore a look of pure disdain.
Per Ren's command, the Arrancars in Las Noches remained in their Resurrección states, meaning Grimmjow was currently at the absolute peak of his combat power. Although Ichigo had been slightly strengthened by the dense reishi of Hueco Mundo, without mastering his Hollowfication, he simply wasn't in the same league. Even if Grimmjow stood still and let Ichigo attack, Ichigo would struggle to even break his defense.
Grimmjow raised a single hand, catching the Getsuga Tenshō with his bare palm. Once the fire of the spiritual explosion dissipated, Grimmjow stood unscathed. A faint white vapor drifted from his palm, which, upon closer inspection, didn't have a single scratch on it.
Hovering in the air, Ichigo gritted his teeth, unable to believe he was this pathetic. In his mind, the voice of White Ichigo echoed:
"Oh King, stop resisting my power! Besides, this was originally your own strength anyway!"
"No! I won't let a bastard like you come out and run wild!" Ichigo's internal resistance intensified. He couldn't forget the battle with Byakuya—how White Ichigo suddenly hijacked his body to slaughter his opponent. At that moment, Ichigo's heart had been filled with nothing but terror.
Because of this, Ichigo had barely communicated with his inner Hollow recently. He was stumbling through his training blindly, which was the primary reason his progress had hit a wall.
On the ground, Grimmjow sighed. He thought the boss had brought back a powerhouse; instead, it was a "vegetable chicken."
"Boring."
With a light spit, Grimmjow turned and walked away. He had zero interest in someone as weak as Ichigo. He'd rather spend the time training in his own quarters.
Ichigo felt a surge of humiliation. He vowed that once he got stronger, he'd have a proper rematch.
By 10:00 AM, while Orihime was already preparing lunch, Ren's family finally rolled out of bed. Entering the hall, they found a fuming Ichigo.
"Morning, Ichigo," Ren greeted lazily.
"You bastard! Do you know what time it is?" Ichigo barked. "You said training starts at 5:00 AM! You slept until now?!"
Ren glanced at the clock. It was indeed 10:00. Ichigo glared, waiting for an explanation.
"Emmm..."
After a brief pause, Ren extended a finger and twirled it counter-clockwise in the air. The hands of the clock spun backward until they hit 5:00.
"Five o'clock. See? No problem!"
"You... you absolute piece of work!!" The veins on Ichigo's forehead throbbed. If he weren't so clearly outmatched, he'd have swung at Ren right then and there.
Ren picked at his ear nonchalantly. "So, how's the talk with your Zanpakutō going? Ready to accept your power yet?"
He didn't need an answer; one look at Ichigo's face told him everything. "I don't want him taking over my body," Ichigo said honestly.
Ren scratched his head. As a transmigrator, he knew White Ichigo's actions were all for Ichigo's survival, but to Ichigo, it was a terrifying loss of control.
Soon, Orihime brought out lunch. "Tada~! It's a bread feast today!" The table was piled high with bread that smelled cloyingly sweet. Ren took a bite—it was sweet enough to rot teeth, but the sugar rush was undeniably satisfying.
After the meal, despite a brief bout of post-lunch drowsiness, Ren was dragged out by Ichigo to train. To avoid wrecking the palace, they headed into the desert. Orihime followed, acting as a field medic.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk to your blade again?" Ren advised.
"No!" Ichigo replied firmly.
"Fine. I'll show you why he keeps trying to take over." Ren dropped into a combat stance. "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Ren exhaled a searing dragon of flame toward Ichigo. "What is this? Kido?" Ichigo shouted. The heat was intense. "BANKAI!"
The black Reiatsu sliced through the sky, clashing with the dragon fire and creating a storm of tornadoes that swept into the distance. Ichigo blurred into a shadow, appearing before Ren instantly and swinging Tensa Zangetsu downward. "Getsuga Tenshō!"
Ren simply raised his arm and took the hit. His expression didn't change, while Ichigo was jolted by the recoil of his own attack.
"Not enough," Ren grinned. "At this rate, you wouldn't even beat the 8th Espada."
Since Aizen had recently buffed the Espada with the Hogyoku, the power scaling had shifted. Grimmjow and the others were now a tier or two higher than their original incarnations.
Ichigo retreated, catching his breath. "That blue-haired guy... what rank was he?"
"Blue hair? Grimmjow? Oh, he's the Lao Liu (Old Six)!"
Ren paused, realizing the double meaning. In gaming slang, a "Lao Liu" is a "sneaky camper" or "backstabber"—which was exactly how Grimmjow would eventually treat Aizen. The rank was fitting.
"What! Only the Sixth?" Ichigo was horrified. "The Espada are this strong? This is way beyond the Gotei 13!"
"Focus on your own goal!" Ren shouted, vanishing and reappearing above Ichigo. He pressed a hand onto Ichigo's head, slamming his face into the sand.
Ichigo flipped back, spitting out grit, looking around wildly. "Looking for me?" Ren's voice came from the right. Ichigo spun, but saw nothing. A heavy force hit the back of his head, throwing him across the dunes.
Ichigo lay in the crater, his head ringing. The pain was excruciating. Suddenly, white bone-like matter began to manifest on his body.
"KING! LET ME IN! I'll kill this bastard for you!" White Ichigo's voice roared in his head. Ichigo felt his grip on his consciousness slipping.
"Get... back... in!" Ichigo roared. The white mask shattered into pieces as he forcibly suppressed the Hollow.
Ren watched from above. As expected, the dense reishi in Hueco Mundo makes his Hollowfication much more aggressive. It won't be long now.
One relevant follow-up question: Should Ren continue to physically beat Ichigo to the point of exhaustion to force the Hollow out, or should he invite Nel or Ulquiorra to join the "sparring" to show Ichigo the true gap in power?