"What did you understand?"
The sudden question made Ulquiorra freeze for a moment, and he instinctively replied, "The meaning of survival, of course."
"Your Excellency the Soul Reaper has resolved my long-standing doubts. Just as living itself has no meaning, as long as one continues to live, they will encounter meaningful things."
"For example, Your Excellency encountered me, and I found the answer to my question."
Naraku Sora was speechless. *'?'*
Just as he was mentally typing out a question mark, Ulquiorra began to recount his life.
In his eyes, since Naraku Sora could answer the question that had always troubled him, he must be a person of great wisdom. Such an existence would surely be able to understand the emptiness deep within his heart.
Ulquiorra was born deep within a cave in Hueco Mundo. As a pure white humanoid Hollow with only the sense of sight, he was ostracized by his kin due to his appearance and habits differing from theirs.
While the rest of his kind reveled in the pleasure of devouring other Menos Grande, he began to try and think.
What was the meaning of being alive, and what exactly was a heart?
His kin could not answer his doubts; their only response was unbridled mockery.
Ulquiorra did not care about this. Instead, he chose to leave the cave and embark on a journey to find the answers.
During his wanderings, he came across a peculiar patch of white shrubs.
"For the first time, I stared without blinking."
Ulquiorra fell into his memories, his voice fluctuating slightly, as if being able to share his past experiences was a rare joy in itself.
Yammy, who had argued with him earlier, would never be able to understand any of this.
A brute with nothing but muscle for brains.
"It was the closest thing to nothingness I have ever seen."
"Immersing myself within it, I felt a long-lost sense of peace, so I fell asleep. When I woke up again, the thorns were gone."
"In their place, countless cracks appeared right here."
Ulquiorra pointed to his cheek. His bone mask, which was supposed to only reveal a pair of eyes, was now full of cracks, exposing his mouth and chin.
"Your Excellency the Soul Reaper, after hearing my experience, do you have any idea what it means?"
Naraku Sora stroked his chin, deep in thought.
The things Ulquiorra described reminded him of the scenes he had seen during Aizen's experiments.
A translucent substance, faintly glowing, devoid of any discernible properties, yet possessing a fatal attraction.
Thinking of this, his eyes widened, and a look of sudden realization appeared on his face.
So it was you, a Spirit King fragment!
No wonder Ulquiorra managed to successfully achieve the state of a partial Arrancar without the help of any technology.
It turned out he just had explosive luck and stumbled upon a Spirit King fragment scattered in Hueco Mundo.
Ulquiorra watched Naraku Sora's ever-changing expressions, a hint of curiosity revealing itself in his eyes. "Your Excellency the Soul Reaper, do you know the answer?"
Naraku Sora nodded, then shook his head. "I can't say, I can't say. I'll need to verify it before I know if my guess is correct."
"If you want to try the verification process, you'll have to come back to Las Noches with me. Speaking of which, the beds in the laboratory over there are quite large..."
Ulquiorra hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"But before that, I must fulfill a promise."
"Harribel helped mediate my conflict with Yammy. In return, I promised her I would go to Las Noches and fight the Soul Reaper we saw."
Hearing this, Naraku Sora wore a strange expression. "Harribel has already been beaten to her knees by me, and you're only just now thinking of making a move?"
Ulquiorra fell silent for a moment before stating a heart-piercing fact. "Because in my perception, no matter how hard we try, we could never be your match."
"Rather than fighting a desperate battle to the death, it was better to try and seek the answer to my question before dying."
"However, Your Excellency the Soul Reaper, after learning the meaning of survival, I found that a different change has occurred within my heart."
"Therefore, please be careful in the upcoming battle."
As his voice fell, a dark green Reiatsu shot into the sky. Heavy clouds gathered, a heavy atmosphere suddenly spread, and Reishi continuously converged.
With the fall of the first drop of rain, a damp scent filled the air.
As if it were some kind of signal, the rain intensified, instantly turning into a torrential downpour that shrouded the desert for dozens of kilometers.
Ulquiorra reached out his right hand and pressed it against his cracked bone mask. With a slight push, countless fragments scattered, revealing a handsome face.
"Enclose, Murciélago!"
A howling Reishi storm whipped up under the dark night sky, obscuring the heavens as muffled thunder rumbled endlessly.
His originally pure white wings were covered in pitch black, and his shattered mask regrew, forming a flamboyant two-horned helmet that exuded a tyrannical aura.
Countless visible streams of Reiatsu light wrapped around his slender body, emitting a heavy coercion that made the very air feel viscous.
At this moment, Ulquiorra's aura had drastically changed, radiating a heart-palpitating sense of oppression.
"Your Excellency the Soul Reaper, be careful."
He spread his hands, and a lightsaber composed of Reishi appeared in his right hand. With a slashing motion, a fierce gale suddenly swept across the battlefield.
In the next instant, the demonic figure vanished from his spot.
When he reappeared, he had already rushed right in front of Naraku Sora. However, the sudden ambush did not cause even a second of panic; the expression on Sora's face remained utterly calm from beginning to end.
*'Did he anticipate this, or am I still no match for His Excellency the Soul Reaper even after growing stronger?'*
*'Collapse.'*
The doubt flashed through his mind, and Ulquiorra swung his Reishi lightsaber with an indifferent expression.
In an instant, dozens of dark green slashes wove into a net, making the entire night sky appear even more profound.
"Now this looks a bit more like it."
Naraku Sora finally mustered a bit of interest. He rested his hand back on the hilt of his sword at his waist. The moment Ulquiorra's slashes were about to close in...
A brilliant silver light suddenly erupted.
[Secret Technique・Dragon Flash]!
An unadorned slash streaked across the night sky, its dazzling sword pressure tearing through the darkness.
At the moment of contact, a terrifying, heart-stopping destruction erupted. A sound like tearing silk echoed across the battlefield as the offensive formed by the dark green slashes was simultaneously obliterated. Ulquiorra's pupils shrank. With no time to dodge, he collided head-on with the undiminished slash.
Squelch—
The sound of tearing flesh was exceptionally clear. Countless drops of blood splattered, dyeing the sand beneath their feet red.
Even though Ulquiorra pushed his Hierro to the limit, his defenses were still cleaved open by this burst of sword pressure, leaving a deep wound where bone could be seen.
"Very strong. Even stronger than before."
"So this is your true strength."
"I understand now!"
Looking at the suddenly excited Ulquiorra, Naraku Sora was speechless.
*'No seriously, what did you understand this time?'*
The torn flesh healed at a visible rate. Ulquiorra discarded the averagely powerful Reishi lightsaber and instead pulled his hands apart once more.
Brewing his Reiatsu, a massive amount of Reishi gathered, forming a Reishi spear that emitted a radiant glow.
With a gentle flap of the black wings behind him, Ulquiorra instantly crossed the spatial distance and arrived right in front of Naraku Sora. Gripping the Reishi spear tightly, he poured his entire body's strength into it as he thrust forward.
Swish—
The sound of tearing air rang in their ears. A burst of explosive light obscured their vision, and then it solidly crashed against the horizontally placed blade.
The crisp sound of clashing metal plunged everything around them into dead silence.
Ulquiorra looked up in astonishment, only to be met with a harmless-looking face. As the corners of that mouth curled up, an indescribable, terrifying oppression followed suit.
[Dragon Flash・Rhino Strike]!
Before he could react, the spear composed of Reishi instantly disintegrated, turning into countless fragments that scattered nearby.
Immediately after, a golden-red sword pressure that spanned heaven and earth suddenly erupted, instantly cleaving the massive desert battlefield in two.
Wherever it passed, space distorted and clouds shattered, as if it were going to split the very world in half!
An unprecedented sandstorm suddenly kicked up in the boundless desert, with endless white sand howling as it fell from the sky.
When the impact dissipated, a massive trench with no end in sight had been plowed into the silver sea of sand, dividing the entire battlefield in two like a divine punishment. The silver sand on both sides was pushed away by an invisible force, unable to close up for a long time.
As for Ulquiorra, who had been caught directly in the blast, one of his arms was completely erased, and he was missing one of the demonic wings on his back, making him look as if he had been sliced in half.
He panted heavily, experiencing the scent of death for the very first time.
In the instant that sword pressure struck, many scenes flashed through Ulquiorra's mind. Many things he couldn't figure out before suddenly made perfect sense in this moment of enlightenment.
"Your Excellency the Soul Reaper, I concede. Please allow me to accompany you to Las Noches to verify the answer to my question."
"No matter the price, I am willing..."
Looking at the respectful Ulquiorra, Naraku Sora grinned and said, "Easy now. Once we get back, you'll do a little time in the lockup, and then we'll all be on the same side."
Ulquiorra was baffled. *'?'*
*'His Excellency the Soul Reaper is saying things that Hollows can't understand again.'*
The news of His Majesty's triumphant return quickly spread throughout Las Noches.
To build momentum for Naraku Sora, Aizen had the Adjuchas take their positions in advance, lining the streets to welcome him while also witnessing a certain someone's glorious battle record.
When they saw the mountain-like Yammy, cheers echoed to the heavens.
In addition, there was an old acquaintance of the Hollows of Las Noches: Tier Harribel.
Back during Baraggan's reign, the Bone King had wanted to recruit Harribel under his command, but despite several attempts, it yielded no results.
As a Vasto Lorde, if Harribel wanted to escape, no Menos Grande could possibly stop her.
However, the moment the new King made his move, he directly packed her up and brought her back.
From this, the difference in their levels was immediately clear!
The Adjuchas, who originally harbored some disloyal thoughts, immediately reined themselves in and joined the cheering ranks, praising His Majesty's greatness.
After the welcome banquet ended, Naraku Sora dragged a bewildered Ulquiorra along and pushed open the doors to the laboratory, his excited voice ringing out:
"Sōsuke, look what I brought back for you!"
Aizen stopped the experiment at hand and looked at the pale, frail-looking man, his expression suddenly turning a bit strange.