"What? That's Uchiha Ryūjin?"
Both Ulquiorra and the Fifth Espada could not hide their shock.
Although Aizen had repeatedly warned them about Ryūjin's overwhelming strength, hearing about it was nothing compared to witnessing it firsthand.
Just how many Espada could withstand that kind of power?
And that had only been a casual punch.
"You bastard!"
Yammy climbed back to his feet, his face twisted with disbelief as he spat the words through gritted teeth.
His already distorted expression became even more frenzied.
An immense surge of spiritual pressure erupted from his body. Judging from his stance, he was about to unleash every ounce of power he had stored.
"Yammy, stick to the plan. Don't act recklessly!"
Ulquiorra shouted in a deep voice.
"It doesn't matter. The plan... has already begun."
The Fifth Espada spoke with quiet confidence.
Buzz!
The instant those words fell, Ryūjin's vision blurred for a split second.
At the same time, a strange flow of energy spread beneath his feet.
A brilliant light erupted from the ground, forming an intricate and mysterious pattern filled with complex spiritual formulas.
It was clearly a technique similar to Kidō.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
Columns of light shot into the sky, joining together to create a sealed barrier that enclosed dozens of yards around Ryūjin.
The moment the barrier formed, Ryūjin immediately felt his spiritual pressure being steadily drained away.
Even more strangely, as his spiritual pressure disappeared, the barrier itself became increasingly powerful.
Ryūjin raised an eyebrow.
This was essentially the same principle as the Spirit-Eating Flower developed by Hachigen Ushōda.
The only difference was that this barrier covered a vastly larger area.
"So you've noticed, Uchiha Ryūjin?"
Yammy sneered, his voice dripping with cruelty as his usual arrogance returned.
"This was prepared specifically for you by Lord Aizen. You should feel honored."
"This barrier constantly devours your spiritual pressure. The more power you use, the faster it consumes it."
"But for us, it's the complete opposite."
"It continuously replenishes our spiritual pressure."
"As long as we remain inside this barrier, our spiritual pressure will never run dry. In fact, we can unleash several times our normal strength."
"Uchiha Ryūjin, despair. Tremble. Inside this barrier, even you are nothing more than prey."
The more Yammy spoke, the more excited he became.
At the same time, he released every ounce of the hidden power within his body.
"Let's kill them, Ira!"
Yammy activated his Resurrección.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
His bones shifted violently.
His spiritual pressure surged upward as his massive body expanded.
The arm Ryūjin had destroyed regenerated almost instantly through Yammy's High-Speed Regeneration.
Within moments, the muscular giant transformed into an enormous monster several meters tall with multiple legs.
This was Yammy's Resurrección, Ira.
In this form, his strength increased exponentially.
Although his gigantic body greatly reduced his mobility, that weakness was completely overshadowed by his overwhelming physical power.
Combined with the barrier's enhancement, his strength reached an absurd level.
Whoosh!
Yammy looked down and slammed his enormous fist toward Ryūjin.
His eyes radiated absolute killing intent.
Ryūjin's spiritual pressure techniques would simply be absorbed by the barrier, drastically weakening them.
With that advantage, what was there to fear?
"You really think you've already won?"
Ryūjin shook his head with a mocking smile.
He made no attempt to dodge.
His hands remained clasped behind his back as he stood exactly where he was.
He did not even prepare to counterattack.
It was as though Yammy's attack did not exist.
"Scared stiff? Hahahaha!"
The simple-minded Yammy burst into maniacal laughter.
"Something's wrong."
Ulquiorra frowned.
Ryūjin's reaction was far too unusual.
A moment later, Ryūjin slowly raised his head and looked directly at Yammy.
His eyes suddenly changed.
His pupils turned blood red.
"Yammy! Be careful! Don't let your guard down!"
A powerful sense of danger surged through Ulquiorra as he shouted.
Aizen had specifically warned them about Ryūjin's eyes.
Although even Aizen had yet to understand how they worked, every change in those eyes corresponded to one of Ryūjin's techniques.
In other words, despite standing perfectly still, Ryūjin had already attacked.
Sure enough, Yammy suddenly felt an overwhelming force slash directly toward his head.
"What?!"
His eyes widened in disbelief.
Ryūjin had not moved an inch.
So where had that invisible slash come from?
Unfortunately, this was the greatest weakness of Ira.
Its massive body was simply too slow.
Against someone like Ulquiorra, Ryūjin's Kamui Slash would likely be avoided.
Against Yammy...
It was unavoidable.
Slash!
Blood sprayed through the air.
Yammy's gigantic head separated cleanly from his neck before crashing onto the ground.
It rolled several times before finally stopping.
Boom!
His mountain-like body collapsed moments later, shaking the earth upon impact.
"What just happened?"
Ulquiorra and the Fifth Espada stared in complete disbelief.
Yammy...
Had just been beheaded.
Ryūjin had not moved.
Only his eyes had changed.
Could merely changing his eyes really unleash such a terrifying attack?
A deep fear of Ryūjin began taking root in both Espada.
They had believed victory was guaranteed once Ryūjin was trapped inside the barrier.
Now they realized how wrong they had been.
Ryūjin's strength far exceeded anything they had imagined.
...
Las Noches.
Inside the main hall.
Aizen sat alone upon his throne.
His posture appeared relaxed, yet his eyes were filled with unprecedented seriousness.
Floating before him was a mirror-like screen displaying every detail of Ryūjin's battle.
"So all that preparation amounted to almost nothing."
"A failure."
"A complete failure."
Aizen showed no concern over Yammy's death.
Instead, he coldly criticized him.
"But those eyes..."
"They possess such an incomprehensible ability."
"The more I study you, Uchiha Ryūjin, the less I understand you."
"The Arrancar created specifically to counter the Captain Commander has long since been completed."
"But the Arrancar meant to defeat you..."
"I still have no direction."
As he spoke, Aizen slowly rose and walked toward an octagonal pillar in the center of the hall.
Countless sealing formulas had already been carved into its surface.
He casually flicked one of them.
Buzz!
The formula lit up.
A rectangular array activated.
Within it, countless streams of energy surged and flowed.
That energy was none other than Ryūjin's spiritual pressure.
"I've been trying to obtain your spiritual pressure ever since Soul Society."
"Every attempt ended in failure."
"But this time..."
"I finally succeeded."
The spiritual pressure stored inside the array had been absorbed directly from the barrier surrounding Ryūjin in Karakura Town.
That had been Aizen's true objective all along.
His real goal was never defeating Ryūjin.
It was collecting Ryūjin's spiritual pressure and using the Hōgyoku to create an Arrancar designed specifically to counter him.
Just as Wonderweiss had been created to suppress the Captain Commander.
No matter how this battle ended...
Aizen had already won.
The moment Ryūjin accepted battle against the three Espada...
His objective had been fulfilled.
"The plan has succeeded."
"Now it's time to enjoy the rewards."
After confirming everything was functioning perfectly, Aizen returned to his throne.
He calmly resumed watching the battle unfolding in Karakura Town.
"Show me..."
"How many more abilities are you hiding, Uchiha Ryūjin?"
A trace of anticipation flashed across his eyes.
"Encase, Murciélago!"
Under Aizen's gaze, Ulquiorra immediately activated his Resurrección.
His spiritual pressure exploded to its peak.
Immense power flooded the battlefield, creating an almost suffocating atmosphere.
Behind him, a pair of enormous black bat wings spread wide.
"Dissolve, Tierra!"
The Fifth Espada released his Resurrección almost simultaneously.
His body melted into a liquid-like form before merging directly into the barrier itself.
He disappeared completely.
Using his Observation Haki, Ryūjin carefully examined the surroundings.
The Fifth Espada was not hiding within the barrier.
He had genuinely fused with it.
"A perfect fusion with the barrier..."
"I've never seen an ability like this."
Ryūjin found it mildly interesting.
This Espada only existed because Barragan had died at his hands.
Naturally, Ryūjin was curious about the abilities of this replacement.
Buzz!
Spiritual energy rapidly gathered at Ulquiorra's fingertip.
Within moments, a brilliant green sphere of destructive energy formed.
A Cero.
More accurately, a Resurrección Cero from the Fourth Espada.
Its destructive force surpassed even a Nine Tails Tailed Beast Bomb.
Without hesitation, Ulquiorra fired.
Ryūjin smiled faintly.
His Sharingan shifted into the Rinnegan.
He activated the Preta Path, intending to absorb the incoming Cero.
Then something unexpected happened.
Another Ulquiorra appeared behind him from within the barrier.
This duplicate fired an identical Cero.
Its power was completely indistinguishable from the original.
"It isn't an illusion."
"They're both real."
"Interesting..."
Using Observation Haki, Ryūjin instantly understood.
"So that's the Fifth Espada's ability."
"A purely support-oriented power."
To Ryūjin, however, it made little difference.
The gap between him and Ulquiorra was simply too great.
Whether there was one Ulquiorra...
Or two...
Changed nothing.
Buzz!
The Preta Path expanded in every direction, forming a protective energy barrier around Ryūjin.
Both Ceros struck simultaneously.
Neither explosion occurred.
Instead, every bit of their energy was completely absorbed.
"So it can absorb them as well..."
Aizen's eyes narrowed.
"I expected as much."
"Uchiha Ryūjin can absorb not only the Captain Commander's flames..."
"But also Cero."
"It seems he can absorb every form of energy attack."
"What an utterly unreasonable ability."
"Even I find it troublesome."