Ulquiorra and the others did not have to wait long. A new spiritual pressure approached, but it was not Orihime Inoue. It was Shinji Hirako, who arrived in a flash of urgent Shunpo.
Taking in the three formidable Arrancar reiatsu before him, Shinji felt a cold sweat break out on his brow. 'Hey, hey… the Soul Society guys are that useless? Wiped out already? Three here means two others are still engaged…'
His eyes flicked to the motionless form of Ichigo Kurosaki lying nearby. Wariness spiked within him. Facing three Espada simultaneously, victory was far from guaranteed.
Ulquiorra's gaze settled on Shinji, a faint frown creasing his brow. This Shinigami was not in any of their intelligence reports.
"Identify yourself," he stated flatly.
"Excuse me, Arrancar. Mind handing over the kid over there?" Shinji asked, his tone deceptively light. He had no intention of fighting all three. His goal was a quick grab-and-go. If Urahara's intel was correct, this black-haired Espada could transmit visual data. Being seen was inevitable, but as long as he didn't reveal his Zanpakuto's true ability—reserved for Aizen—the damage would be limited.
Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed slightly, assessing the unfamiliar Zanpakuto in Shinji's hand. "A Shinigami… yet you are not recorded in Soul Society's ranks."
"Oh? Seems Aizen kept you in the dark. Well then…" Shinji's hand snapped up to his face. With a tearing motion, a white, bone-like Hollow mask materialized over his features. His reiatsu warped, gaining a sharp, predatory edge. "Let's rock!"
Hollowfied, Shinji's speed became phenomenal. He vanished, his blade aiming a lethal slash at Ulquiorra's neck.
CLANG! Ulquiorra blocked with his forearm, the impact sending a shockwave through the air. Simultaneously, Luppi and Zommari moved to flank the intruder.
But Shinji was already gone. He kicked off the air, leaping high above them. Holding his still-sealed Zanpakuto horizontally, a sphere of violent red energy condensed at its tip.
Sensing the familiar, corrosive energy signature, all three Arrancar reacted.
"A Cero?!"
BOOM!
The red beam lanced down, impacting the ground where they stood in a fiery explosion. Using the blast as cover, Shinji flash-stepped to Ichigo's side, scooped up the unconscious teenager, and vanished again in a burst of Hohō.
"Damn it! Don't think you're getting away!" Luppi roared, his tentacles quivering with rage.
"Cease," Ulquiorra commanded, his voice cutting through the noise. He emerged from the smoke unscathed. "Do not pursue. This development is… acceptable. Kurosaki Ichigo and the Soul Society Shinigami are now critically wounded. If we can intercept any healing support from Soul Society, the human girl will be forced to reveal herself to save them. It is only a matter of time."
His analytical gaze turned to Zommari. "Zommari Rureaux. Track them. Do not engage. Simply ascertain their final destination and report back."
As the Espada with the fastest Sonído, stealthy pursuit was Zommari's specialty. He gave a silent nod and dissolved into a blur, following the faint trail of Shinji's retreating spiritual pressure.
…
On Amamiya's battlefield, the situation had turned grim.
Grimmjow, already crippled by the loss of an arm, was now further hobbled by the grievous hole in his thigh. His mobility and power had sharply declined.
"Hey, Grimmjow! You look pathetic! Did getting kicked out of the Espada make you this weak?" Yammy taunted, easily fending off a weary Rukia. She was covered in cuts and bruises, her movements sluggish, on the verge of collapse.
'Dammit… Sode no Shirayuki's ice can't even scratch him… His Hierro is too thick. How did I ever wound him before?' she thought, frustration mixing with her pain.
The mockery ignited Grimmjow's fury.
"Shut up! Garra de la Pantera!" He unleashed his signature technique, but with only one arm, the five trails of destructive blue light were less dense, their power noticeably diminished.
The arcs of energy shot toward Amamiya. Reacting instantly, Amamiya willed his Bankai, Shinya Zetsunen – Jōsō no Yumi, to fly to his side. He didn't grasp the bow.
Instead, he planted a foot against the massive frame, using his own spiritual power to form a temporary bowstring. Gripping it with a reverse handhold, he twisted his body, drawing the string back with immense strain. A colossal arrow of black-and-white energy condensed and fired, meeting the Garra de la Pantera head-on.
KABOOOM!
The attacks collided in a storm of conflicting energies. Initially, they seemed equal, locked in a violent stalemate. But then, with a roar of effort, Grimmjow poured more of his remaining power into his claws. The blue light intensified, slowly, inexorably, beginning to push Amamiya's arrow back.
Rukia saw Amamiya straining, starting to lose ground, and her heart clenched. 'Not again… This feeling of helplessness…'
The memory of standing powerless before Aizen flashed in her mind.
At that moment, Yammy received a psychic message from Ulquiorra. A bored smirk crossed his face. He opened his maw, a bright yellow sphere of energy rapidly coalescing.
"Enough playing. Cero."
The beam fired point-blank at the exhausted Rukia. With no energy left for a proper Kidō or dodge, she could only raise her Zanpakutō in a desperate, last-ditch block. "First Dance: White Moon!" A pillar of ice sprouted around her.
It provided only a moment's respite. The yellow beam shattered the ice and struck her full-on, blasting her across the shattered street. She landed in a crumpled heap, unmoving.
"Grimmjow. Time's up," Yammy grunted, unimpressed. Fighting a mere Vice-Captain to this standstill… losing an arm really had crippled him.
"I'm not finished yet!" Grimmjow roared, his pride refusing the insult.
As he yelled, Amamiya acted. His floating Bankai, Shinya Zetsunen, glowed. A second colossal arrow, identical to the first, materialized and fired. It didn't aim for Grimmjow. It streaked towards the arrow already locked in the stalemate with Garra de la Pantera.
The two arrows merged.
The combined projectile swelled with terrifying power, its black-and-white aura blazing. With a deafening CRACK, it obliterated the five trails of blue energy and shot toward Grimmjow with renewed, unstoppable velocity.
Grimmjow's eyes widened. He couldn't believe his ultimate technique had been shattered. As the annihilating arrow filled his vision, his mind went blank, accepting the end.
A blur of black and white intercepted it.
Ulquiorra Cifer appeared before him. The Cuatro Espada raised a single hand, intending to swat the arrow aside. The moment his palm made contact, his impassive expression shifted minutely. He sensed the arrow's unique property—an absolute severing force that ignored conventional durability.
BOOOOOOM!
The resulting explosion was far greater than the last, engulfing the area in a dense cloud of dust and debris.
Amamiya frowned, his senses piercing the smoke. Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure remained, steady and unbroken, but… altered. Not taking any chances, he willed his Bankai to begin condensing another arrow.
As the dust settled, the scene became clear. Grimmjow stared, slack-jawed, at Ulquiorra. The arm the Cuatro Espada had used to block the arrow was gone, completely vaporized from the shoulder down. Dark blood dripped from the cleanly severed stump.
"How… is that possible…?" Grimmjow whispered. He resented Ulquiorra's cold loyalty to Aizen, but he never doubted his strength. For him to lose an entire limb to a single attack… A cold dread washed over Grimmjow as he realized he would have been utterly erased.
Ulquiorra himself glanced dispassionately at his missing limb, then at the immense bow hovering beside Amamiya. "Bankai… I did not anticipate a Vice-Captain wielding one. Amamiya Miyako. Sosuke Aizen's assessment of you was, indeed, accurate."
As he spoke, a sickening, wet sound filled the air. Flesh, bone, and sinew rapidly regenerated from his shoulder, knitting together until a new, perfect arm was formed in moments.
'Tch. High-Speed Regeneration. Of course he'd have a troublesome ability like that,' Amamiya thought. His arrows could bypass spiritual defenses to inflict true damage, but they couldn't stop an Espada from simply regrowing a limb with his vast reserves of Hollow reiatsu.
"Our time here is concluded. Grimmjow, we are leaving." Ulquiorra raised his newly formed hand, and a black rip in reality—a Garganta—tore open beside him.
For once, Grimmjow offered no argument or complaint. This was a total, humiliating defeat, compounded by being saved by the very Espada he looked down upon. He cast one last, furious glare at Amamiya before limping toward the portal.
"Amamiya Miyako…" Ulquiorra's green eyes lingered on the lone standing Shinigami, the only effective combatant remaining in the Human World. The desire to crush him, to gather more data on this unexpected Bankai, was there. But seriously injuring him would require significant time and effort, and their primary objective took precedence. "We will meet again."
The three Arrancar vanished into the swirling darkness of the Garganta, which sealed shut behind them.
The moment they were gone, the immense Shinya Zetsunen dissolved into light. Amamiya flash-stepped to Rukia's side, his own injuries protesting. A quick diagnostic Kidō revealed her condition—severe spiritual depletion and physical trauma, but no missing limbs or immediately fatal wounds. She had managed to blunt the Cero's worst effects with her final technique.
"You did well, Rukia," he murmured, lifting her gently. "You held on."
…
In Soul Society, the Twelfth Division's Command Center was in an uproar.
"Report on Captain Hitsugaya's team, now!" Vice-Captain Akon barked.
"Their reiatsu signatures are critically faint! They are on the verge of fading! Only Vice-Captain Amamiya Miyako's signal remains stable!"
"Don't panic! Emergency teams from the Fourth Division are already mobilizing!
Reinforcements are being dispatched! What of the Arrancar signatures?"
"Gone! All five have vanished from the Human World!"
"Good… That's something…"
Byakuya Kuchiki, appointed leader of the emergency response force, stood before a active Senkaimon. Behind him, Fourth Division personnel led by Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu prepared to move. The Soul Society had not anticipated Aizen committing five Espada in a single raid. The defeat of their sole Captain-level presence, Hitsugaya, and the wildcard, Kurosaki Ichigo, was a severe blow.
The Arrancars' sudden withdrawal after achieving near-total victory was puzzling, but there was no time to analyze it. Reinforcement was paramount.
"We depart," Byakuya stated. The group stepped through the glowing gate.
They emerged not into the streets of Karakura Town, but into the Dangai, the precipice world. And waiting for them, a second Garganta swirled ominously.
From it stepped Ulquiorra Cifer, his arm fully restored, flanked by Yammy and a sullen, wounded Grimmjow.
"Shinigami. Passage is forbidden here," Ulquiorra intoned, his voice echoing in the corridor of stacked boxes.
"What?! An ambush here?! Was this a trap from the start?!" Renji Abarai snarled, his hand flying to Zabimaru's hilt.
"Abarai. Do not engage recklessly. Your priority is the protection of the Fourth Division personnel," Byakuya commanded, his voice icy calm as he stepped forward, his own hand resting on Senbonzakura.
"I will deal with this."