Kurosaki Ichigo replied mindlessly, "And there is no reason why we must fight, right?"
"Is that so..."
Ulquiorra responded calmly.
"But if I say...I will ravage your other companions, does it matter?"
clang--
The Zanpakutō slashed hard at Ulquiorra's arm, which he raised to block.
"You guy, do you know what you are talking about?"
Kurosaki Ichigo's tone was full of anger.
"Of course I know, but unfortunately, this is the order I got."
Ulquiorra replied calmly, "I keep hunting you, or your companions. It seems... that you are more willing to bear it yourself than your companions."
"asshole!"
Kurosaki Ichigo roared angrily.
He had just experienced the taste of death.
You know that feeling of incomparable despair and pain, and now this guy actually says he wants to keep hunting?
Any normal person would go crazy after being tortured like that!
"Now...do you have a reason to fight me?"
Ulquiorra looked at the furious Kurosaki Ichigo and asked calmly.
boom--
What answered him was the impact of spiritual pressure that was almost at hand.
However, Kurosaki Ichigo did this not to attack, but to create smoke to obscure his vision.
He knew that he could not defeat the guy in front of him under normal conditions, so he chose to interfere with the opponent's line of sight and distance himself.
The smoke gradually dissipated, and Ulquiorra stood unscathed, looking as calm as ever.
Kurosaki Ichigo was already standing in the distance, lowering his posture and getting ready for battle.
"Sorry, I'm in a hurry to confirm their situation and don't have time to accompany you here. So... I will go all out to knock you down in one fell swoop!"
The dark spiritual pressure suddenly rose into the sky, and then the figure of Ichigo Kurosaki leaped high and came towards this side.
Ulquiorra watched Kurosaki Ichigo's movements calmly, and was a little unmoved at first.
"Swastika?"
But soon, when he saw clearly what Kurosaki Ichigo looked like at this moment, his eyes changed.
At this moment, Kurosaki Ichigo's face was covered with a mask whose aura made him feel familiar.
At the moment just now, the opponent not only performed swastika interpretation, but also performed virtualization!
"Are you going all out? That's it..."
He murmured and raised his hand to block.
The next moment, slashes filled with dark spiritual power suddenly fell from top to bottom.
clang--
The crisp sound of forging resounded throughout the space.
Even when facing Kurosaki Ichigo's all-out attack, Ulquiorra still blocked it with only one arm, expressionless.
Not only that……
boom--
Ulquiorra's arm suddenly exerted force, and Kurosaki Ichigo's figure was instantly bounced away, turning into a black shadow and flying backwards, breaking several pillars in the room before barely stopping.
"..."
Ulquiorra looked at his arm calmly.
Of course, he was not injured, he just felt that he could not hurt Kurosaki Ichigo on the other side.
Is this virtualization? It’s just like them.
Soon, he stepped lightly on the ground and disappeared.
Kurosaki Ichigo, who had stopped, seemed to be waiting for him to pursue him.
"It's time to end! Crescent Moon-Tian Chong!"
Facing the oncoming Ulquiorra, Kurosaki Ichigo unleashed his strongest blow.
The jet-black spiritual pressure slash struck towards Ulquiorra without mercy.
"..."
Ulquiorra, who was moving at high speed, did not dodge, but stretched out a hand to calmly catch the blow.
But when he felt the power of this blow, he realized that he had overstretched himself.
The terrifying power coming from his palm forced him to stretch out his other hand to resist.
But even with another hand, he seemed unable to tear this spiritual pressure attack into pieces.
"How can it be?"
boom--
The dark crescent moon mercilessly hugged Ulquiorra and hit the wall at the end of the room, causing smoke and dust to fill the air.
Click——
The mask on Kurosaki Ichigo's face shattered, which meant that his Hollow had reached its limit.
Looking at the smoke and dust in the distance, he exhaled a thick breath.
"This...should be settled, right?"
He could clearly see that the guy was too careless. He actually wanted to catch his special move with his bare hands. He was hit head-on with all his strength. Even if he didn't die...
"How can it be?"
Ichigo Kurosaki, who was just about to breathe a sigh of relief, saw the figure standing in the thick smoke and his pupils suddenly shrank.
Ulquiorra was still looking at him with an indifferent expression as usual. It seemed that apart from some damage to his clothes, he had not suffered any substantial damage.
"..."
Ulquiorra raised his hand calmly.
He looked at the wound on his palm with a calm expression, "You can't completely block it even with both hands... This does surprise me a little. But... is this your full strength?"
Right now, he hasn't even used a return blade yet.
The guy in front of him tried his best but could only leave such a small wound on his body. There was nothing to say about the outcome.
He never doubted Lord Aizen's orders.
But this mission actually left him with a doubt.
The strength of the invaders is not even close to the Arrancars like them. What is the significance of such a trial?
At least he personally feels... there is only one situation under such a power gap.
That is, this group of people will never be able to recover under their killings.
"Won't you answer my question?"
Seeing Kurosaki Ichigo's silence, Ulquiorra raised his hand and said calmly, "Then it seems that is indeed the case. What a pity."
As he spoke, a dark light flickered at his fingertips.
False flash.
"hateful!"
Kurosaki Ichigo roared unwillingly.
But having exhausted all his strength, he couldn't even dodge quickly, so he could only raise his Zanpakutō to resist.
Under the violent bombardment of Xu Ye Palace, his body penetrated the wall and came under the artificial sky in Xu Ye Palace.
Under the 'sunlight', his figure became even more invisible, and he was instantly overtaken by Ulquiorra, who was following closely behind.
boom--
Kurosaki Ichigo felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. A fierce side kick almost penetrated him, and he was kicked to the side of the building. In an instant, another building turned into ruins.
"Cough...cough..."
Looking at Kurosaki Ichigo who was coughing and struggling to get up, Ulquiorra came slowly and calmly.
"When you were defending against my false flash, you showed that mask in an instant. You reacted very quickly... but it was shattered in an instant. And in that kick just now, it seemed that the mask never appeared again.
, I think this is your limit, right? So... now do you want to continue struggling, or do you want to give up and be killed by me? Which one is easier, I don’t think I need to say more?"
"bass--"
The long black knife stabbed Ulquiorra violently, making a crisp sound.
"It seems...this is your answer?"
Ulquiorra calmly looked down at the blade against his chest.
"How to choose between defeat and surrender..."
Kurosaki Ichigo smiled bravely, "Do you still need to think about it?"
"Really? Humans are really stupid creatures."
Ulquiorra calmly held the blade that was pierced into his clothes and moved it away from his body.
Hiss——
His shirt was torn, and a shocking figure appeared in front of Kurosaki Ichigo.
‘4’.
"How can it be……"
Kurosaki Ichigo seemed unable to believe his eyes.
The 'Ten Blades' that he can't defeat even with virtualization is actually only the fourth one!? And this guy hasn't even changed his status now! So... how strong should the remaining top three be?
"Nothing is impossible."
Ulquiorra said calmly, "This is reality. To be honest...even I don't understand the meaning of our battle with you, because no matter how you look at it, you can't win. Even if you have the ability
Kill me. There are three more people above me, and... the positions of the first two Ten Blades have not changed since thousands of years ago. You should be able to understand this, right? You simply... can't succeed.
"
puff--
············
Breathing...is so difficult.
Where am I?
In a daze, Kuchiki Rukia's consciousness regained consciousness again.
The feeling of suffocation and the coldness all over her body made her realize that she seemed to be sinking in the water.
Soon, she remembered.
She is dead.
He was killed by Lord Haiyan, and now he should be in the 'ocean' created by the other party's swastika.
Kuchiki Rukia struggled to surface, only to realize that she was currently submerged in a 'water prison' suspended in mid-air.
Shiba Haiyan, on the other hand, stood calmly waiting for her in mid-air.
"Are you awake? Kuchiki."
When the other party saw her waking up, he asked with a smile.
"..."
So what to do next?
Rukia Kuchiki suppressed the urge to vomit due to drowning, and she was thinking crazily with cold sweat on her forehead.
Even if the opponent doesn't plan to use the power of the Arrancar, she also understands... Under normal circumstances, the gap between Hakkai and Swastika is absolutely insurmountable. Unless she is a pervert like Captain Zaraki, she can't win at all.
Bar?
Do she have to continue to experience the feeling of being crushed by the waves or drowning? Just thinking about it makes her feel extremely resistant in her heart.
Do you want to try...that trick?
As if she had made up her mind, Kuchiki Rukia escaped from the 'water prison' and prepared to start the 'trial' again.
"It seems that you have regained your energy? Then let's continue."
Shiba Haiyan smiled softly, "To be honest, Kuchiki, you should be considered the easiest one among all of you, right? Since you know that this is a 'trial', your opponent is still an acquaintance like me, but don't think that I am this close."
It's a great life! If you don't fight with the intention of killing me, I won't admit that you have passed my level."
"Of course I understand that."
Rukia Kuchiki established a foothold in mid-air and took up her stance again.
This time, she wants to block everything in the next 'four seconds'.
Wow——
The 'water prison' below began to change its shape.
Sure enough, as she expected, the water seemed to be the form of Shiba Kaien's Zanpakutō after its swastika version.
Under the control of Shiba Haiyan, this time waves came from all directions, seemingly intending to swallow Rukia Kuchiki again.
"bring it on!"
Looking at the waves coming from the sky, Kuchiki Rukia's eyes narrowed.
Suddenly the temperature around her began to drop at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Absolute zero!"
This is one of the most powerful moves of her Zanpakutō Sode Shirayuki.
There are three stages respectively.
In the first stage, the temperature is lowered to -18 degrees Celsius. At that temperature, the blood of the enemy she cuts will freeze quickly and will not flow out from any cuts on the body.
In the second stage, the temperature is dropped to -50 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, everything her feet touch will be frozen, and the water inside the ground will be frozen, causing an 'ice shock'.
The final stage... Absolute zero, which is -273.15 degrees Celsius. At this time, the body of the enemy hit by her will be frozen instantly, and will eventually freeze to death due to hypothermia.
In a state of absolute zero, even she would suffer backlash, so generally speaking, the limit of action is four seconds.
But now, with the huge gap in strength, she had no chance to slowly test it out, so she directly entered the third stage.
The surging wave froze the moment it approached her.
Click——
Under Shiba Haiyan's stunned eyes, the center of the wave covering Kuchiki Rukia instantly froze and then broke. Then the petite figure came in an instant. As the opponent approached, he felt the chill from the abyss.
It was ice deeper than his 'ocean'.
The air seemed to be frozen, leaving him unable to dodge.
Click——
The pure white blade pierced into Shiba Haiyan's frozen body like piercing through ice.
"What's this move called?"
Shiba Haiyan looked at the blade that had penetrated him and the girl in front of him who was gradually recovering her temperature, with a slightly relieved smile on her face and asked.
"Absolute...zero degree."
Kuchiki Rukia smiled and answered, "I...do you think I passed?"
"Well~ that's right?"
Zhiba Haiyan chuckled.
"However...even though you passed the test, my reputation as the vice-captain has been greatly damaged. Well, I'll let you see my true abilities, and let you know what would happen if it were someone else."
The trial is not so easy to pass..."
As he spoke, the sky seemed to darken.
Kuchiki Rukia raised her head in confusion.
It was the water curtain that covered the sky and the earth, enveloping the two of them.
Click——
The Zanpakutō she still had in Shiba Kaien's body was broken.
The whole person began to lose strength and fall.
thump--
She felt like she had fallen into the abyss, and her body was being grabbed by countless undead souls.
"I was originally a person who returned from the Sea of Death."
Shiba Haiyan's figure became transparent and he looked down at her condescendingly. At this moment, his face was covered by a pale mask. The smile engraved on the mask looked a bit shocking because of the dim light.
"If you are serious about it, it is impossible for you to kill me."