Seeing this, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra's pupils contracted sharply, their faces filled with utter shock.
"This... how is this possible?"
"Lanza del Relámpago!"
"Desgarrón!"
In a hurry, the two unleashed their respective ultimate techniques again to block Ichigo's Gran Rey Cero.
The sharp thrown spear and the unstoppable Leopard King's claws met Ichigo's Cero.
This time, the two-stage relay of ultimate moves managed to temporarily block Ichigo's Cero.
But only temporarily!
The overwhelming continued!
Without much effort, shattering Lanza del Relámpago and Desgarrón, Ichigo's Cero surged forward!
But neither Grimmjow nor Ulquiorra had any intention of blocking it now… the two scattered to dodge.
Seeing this, the observing Kisuke and Harribel's expressions changed drastically!
Exchanging a glance and understanding each other's thoughts, they quickly positioned themselves before Ichigo's Cero.
"Destroy, Tiburón! Cutting Waterfall!"
Instantly completing her Resurrección, Harribel forcefully swung her greatsword. Massive amounts of Reiryoku surged forth like a mighty river, instantly creating a torrent of superheated water before her sword tip.
As if moving the Sanzu River itself, the surging water flow charged toward the Gran Rey Cero!
Simultaneously, after Harribel acted, Kisuke didn't stop his own movements either.
"Awaken, Benihime! Chikasumi no Tate!"
"Bakudo #81, Danku!"
A deep crimson net wove into existence before the two, while a Danku barrier materialized in front.
After passing Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, Ichigo's Cero annihilated Harribel's superheated water flow, then violently crashed into Kisuke's defenses!
The supposedly absolute defense Danku shattered instantly. Benihime's net wrapped around the Cero, pulling it backwards into a spherical shape, like a soccer goal catching a ball.
But now, Ichigo's Cero was a ball determined to break the net!
Under the pulling force, Benihime's net structure stretched longer and longer, becoming more and more transparent!
Seeing this, Harribel could no longer remain passive.
"Move aside! I'll take over!"
Harribel gave a light shout. Golden Reiatsu manifested on her sword!
However, this wasn't a golden sword slash like Zaraki Kenpachi's… it was Harribel's own Cero!
A golden, sword-shaped Cero was fired as Harribel swung her blade!
The massive greatsword heavily smashed against Ichigo's Cero 'ball'!
Boom-
Benihime's net shattered.
But it had completed its mission!
Harribel's Cero relay finally neutralized Ichigo's Cero!
Watching the pitch-black Cero finally dissipate under the golden light, everyone was utterly shocked.
"Was that... really a Cero?" Grimmjow's expression was dazed.
He had been using Cero since his Gillian days, but he had never seen a Cero like that!
"It was stronger than a combined attack from a hundred Gillian!" Grimmjow struggled to describe the power of Ichigo's Cero.
"No! More than that!" Ulquiorra, who had seen more clearly than Grimmjow, shook his head. "I've seen a hundred Gillian fire Cero together."
"It's less like a hundred Gillian firing together, and more like a hundred Adjuchas firing together!"
"A Cero like that... I would call it the ultimate Cero!" Ulquiorra evaluated.
"Exactly!" Harribel's thoughts aligned with Ulquiorra's.
"Even a Cero fired by Stark would only be about this powerful! Calling it the 'ultimate' is no exaggeration!"
Hearing their evaluations, Kisuke was greatly shaken. 'Has Kurosaki-kun already grown to this level?'
'In that case...'
Kisuke looked at the three Arrancar ahead.
After some thought, Kisuke said, "Everyone, I believe today's battle can end here."
Hearing Kisuke's words, Harribel was taken aback, then revealed an expression of agreement. "I agree. Let's end it here. Our mission has undoubtedly failed."
"Damn it! Why? The strongest attack is meaningless if it doesn't hit! I haven't lost yet!" Grimmjow couldn't understand.
Seeing this, Ulquiorra looked at him helplessly. "Don't you understand yet
"Why did Urahara Kisuke and Harribel both intercept that Cero after we dodged it?"
Hearing Ulquiorra's question, Grimmjow was stunned.
He was hot-tempered, but not stupid. After thinking for a moment, Grimmjow understood. "Because of Karakura Town!"
"Correct!" Ulquiorra nodded. "With abilities like this, capturing Kurosaki Ichigo in a short time is already impossible. If we continue fighting, Karakura Town will also be destroyed in our battle."
"This is Aizen-sama's ascension site. Destroying it would ruin Aizen-sama's objective!"
"Therefore, we cannot continue!" Ulquiorra explained in detail.
Hearing this, the numerous Arrancar present fell silent.
"You won't try to stop us, will you?" Harribel looked at Kisuke.
"Of course not. Please, go ahead." Kisuke waved his hand.
Thus, Harribel, Ulquiorra, and the others, who had come in a rush, left in a rush as well.
Even Ichigo was somewhat caught off guard.
"They left just like that?"
"They gave up?" Ichigo asked, puzzled.
"Of course. If they continued fighting, Karakura Town would be destroyed!" Saying this, Kisuke looked at Ichigo curiously.
"That Cero... how did you do it?"
"How did I do it..."
Now that it was mentioned, Ichigo fell into thought.
That Cero wasn't him firing it… it was the world helping him fire it. This clearly wasn't his own achievement.
'So, it was my blood... the Soul King's bloodline!' Ichigo quickly found the 'culprit'!
The origin of the Bleach World is akin to Pangu separating heaven and earth.
In ancient times, the Soul King and the ancestors of the Five Great Noble Families arrived from outside, coming to this chaotic world.
Thus, the Soul King used great supernatural power to create the three worlds within the chaotic world, establishing the soul balance that runs through the entire Bleach series.
However, as the heavenly principle maintaining the three worlds, the Soul King didn't reign for long.
The Tsunayashiro Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Families, believed entrusting the world's stability to a single person was too dangerous.
So he led the others in ambushing the Soul King, severed the Soul King's limbs, and turned Him into a puppet seated upon a throne.