"Heh, I wonder who's hunting whom," Ichigo sneered. Although his Bankai form hadn't changed, his spiritual pressure had surged by several dimensions. Even standing directly in front of Grimmjow, the latter couldn't sense a single shred of Ichigo's Reiatsu.
At this moment, Grimmjow didn't care about the lack of sensing. The poor "Kitty-cat" only had one thought in his head: to settle the score with Ichigo once and for all!
Zip!
Grimmjow turned into a blue blur, kicking up storms in his wake. In the blink of an eye, he was before Ichigo. His claws, saturated with spiritual energy, tore through the air, leaving pure white trails as they lunged for Ichigo's face!
Ichigo raised his arm, nonchalantly blocking Grimmjow's strike with his forearm.
BOOM!
Layers of white shockwaves rolled outward. Grimmjow's eyes widened, staring at the scene in disbelief. His full-power strike couldn't even tear a corner of Ichigo's clothes?!
Was this the same weakling from a week ago? Did someone pull a switcheroo?
"Impossible! It's only been a week! How could you become this strong?!" Grimmjow roared and hissed.
"Is it that hard to believe?" Ichigo smiled, his voice steady. "I just followed the plan and trained for a few days."
As he spoke, Ichigo's Reiatsu erupted, slamming precisely into Grimmjow's chest. If his previous shockwave had been an accidental burst, this time, Ichigo was doing it on purpose.
Under the force of this strike, Grimmjow's chest caved in instantly. He flew through the air in an elegant arc, as if he had been hit head-on by a freight train.
By the time he scrambled up from the ground, Grimmjow was coughing up blood. His body was covered in tiny cracks, like a porcelain doll on the verge of shattering. Looking at the calm Ichigo, Grimmjow's teeth nearly cracked from grinding.
"You brat! I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you!"
VROOOM!
Grimmjow's Reiatsu exploded. Ten sharp blue beams of light extended from his fingers, instantly growing over a dozen meters long.
"This is my ultimate strike! As a Great Hollow Arrancar, this move surpasses even the Gran Rey Cero! Oh, right, you probably don't even know what a Gran Rey Cero is. Whatever, you wouldn't understand anyway. If you've got the guts, try taking this head-on!"
"Desgarrón!"
Ten blue claw marks formed an airtight net, sealing off the world. They were so sharp that the space of Hueco Mundo began to fracture, revealing the pitch-black Garganta.
Faced with Desgarrón, Ichigo had nowhere to run. Of course, Ichigo didn't look like he wanted to run.
As the claws approached, under everyone's expectant gazes, Ichigo slowly raised his palm and blocked the blue strikes.
"Arrogant fool! You'll pay for your pride!" Grimmjow shouted in excitement.
But in the next second, his smile froze. His eyes bulged as he murmured despondently, "How... how is this possible?"
Ichigo had blocked Grimmjow's attack with a single hand. With a firm squeeze, the massive net of energy shattered into blue sparks. Not only was Ichigo not torn apart, but the move didn't even kick up a breeze.
Looking at the broken Grimmjow, Ichigo said boredly, "In the end, you're only the Sixth. You aren't even worth getting serious for."
As he spoke, the boy shook his head in disappointment, turned around, and pointed his sword at Aizen!
"Aizen! Let's settle this!"
Ichigo's wish wasn't fulfilled that day. Aizen simply turned and walked away, looking as if he had made a major decision. Ichigo wanted to give chase, but Ren pulled him back.
Under Ichigo's murderous glare, Ren said, "Don't bother Aizen. What he's doing won't actually harm the Soul Society."
"Who cares about the Soul Society?! I just want to cut him once!" Ichigo snapped. He forcibly broke free of Ren's grip, but by the time he looked again, Aizen was long gone.
This left Ichigo gnashing his teeth in frustration! Ren felt a bit embarrassed; he hadn't expected Ichigo to be so blunt. But thinking about it, that answer was very "Ichigo." His only tie to the Soul Society was Rukia, and since Aizen had almost killed her, wanting to slash the guy was perfectly reasonable.
That wish was finally granted the very next day!
"AIZEN!!"
An electronic-sounding roar echoed through the sky as Ichigo, wearing his Hollow Mask, suddenly leaped out. A black torrent of spiritual energy swept through the corridor. Before Aizen could even speak, he was swallowed by the black flood and vanished without a trace.
Ichigo dispelled his mask, staring at the purple Hogyoku floating in the air. Moments later, white matter formed around the gem, and within minutes, Aizen's figure reappeared.
Simultaneously, Aizen's spiritual pressure began to climb frantically. What delighted Aizen most was that he could finally sense Ichigo's Reiatsu! If he had been able to sense it before, he wouldn't have been blindsided.
Ichigo spoke: "Consider our business settled. From now on, stop plotting against me!"
"Heh, such arrogant words, Ichigo Kurosaki," Aizen laughed ambiguously.
Just as Ichigo tensed up, Ren's voice appeared between them. He smiled and asked, "Are you two finished?"
Seeing Ren, Aizen's spiritual pressure subsided. He said flatly, "Ichigo Kurosaki, we will have a proper fight next time. And next time, I won't let you catch me off guard." With that, Aizen walked away with his typical flair.
Ren and Ichigo exchanged a look, wondering what kind of fit Aizen was throwing now.
"Forget him. Come on, Szayelaporro developed a new game. Let's go kill some time!"
Ichigo's eyes lit up. "Let's go! I'm playing until dawn this time!"
The two went off shoulder-to-shoulder to play games. Aizen, however, wasn't having such a leisurely time. He immediately began meticulously studying his spiritual pressure, his Zanpakutō, and the Hollow power within him. Seeing that the Hogyoku had perfectly fused the two, he smiled.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, you truly are my most successful test subject! Hahahaha!"
Meanwhile, the two "gamers" arrived at Szayelaporro's domain. In an e-sports room custom-built for Ren, the two were gaming happily while Szayelaporro stood humbly behind Ren, playing the role of a helpful assistant.
Once Ren had played his fill, Szayelaporro spoke up timidly: "Um, Boss... my research has hit another bottleneck. Could you give me some inspiration?"
"Huh?" Ren looked at him in surprise. "Another bottleneck? Where are you stuck this time?"
Szayelaporro gave a bashful smile. "Well, remember how we talked about turning the souls of Soul Reapers into the Zanpakutō of Hollows? Using the Hogyoku, I've succeeded halfway, but now there's a new problem. A very serious one!"
"Let's hear it."
"Ahem..." Szayelaporro glanced at Ichigo, looking conflicted.
Sensing his awkwardness, Ren laughed. "Don't worry, speak freely!"
Ichigo also watched with curiosity. He had been here for a while, but this was his first time seeing the Eighth Espada, as the guy was always shut in his lab.
"Alright, I'll be blunt!" Szayelaporro said. "I've discovered that our previous hypothesis was wrong. The souls of Soul Reapers cannot be forged into Zanpakutō. Compared to Hollows, the souls of Soul Reapers are... a bit too fragile."