Chapter 83: Awakening
Chapter 83: Awakening
*Author Note*
There are three advanced chapter for my One Piece fic on my Pat reon (You can also read them if you boost my Discord) I'll save up to ten advanded chapter and then I'll start posting them publically again.
*End of Author Note*
Ulquiorra frantically dodged to the side as a screeching sphere of death sailed past him, resulting in it detonating in the distance, grinding a giant hole in the desert of Hueco Mundo.
Seeing the devastating aftereffects of Naruto's attack, a serious expression appeared on Ulquiorra's face as he prepared himself for a dangerous battle.
'What incredible attack power. I definitely can't allow myself to be hit with that. Although his power is beyond what I can produce, I'm more geared toward defense and regeneration anyway, so I think I should be able to win.'
Finishing his thoughts, Ulquiorra took a combat stance as a spear of light formed in his hands. He shot toward Naruto, slamming down the light spear at him, but Naruto only punched upward, blocking the spear with his gauntlet-covered hands, causing a shockwave.
"Hee~ Good power. In that case, let's see how fast you are."
After finishing with his taunt, the ten tails made out of Spiritual Power on his back started moving, stabbing toward Ulquiorra from different directions, causing him to frown.
He swiftly flapped his wings to get some distance from Naruto and started dodging left and right, trying to evade Naruto's attack while simultaneously blocking a few as well.
Also, so far, he wasn't hit; the longer he dodged Naruto's barrage of attacks, the more pronounced the frown on his face became. Although he could more or less dodge Naruto's attacks, he couldn't counterattack at all.
He briefly glanced at Naruto, and when he saw how Naruto simply stood still with his hands crossed, he couldn't help but become a little annoyed.
While dodging another tail, Ulquiorra slammed the palms of his hands together, and moments later, a green spear of light appeared.
"[Lanza del Relampago]"
Ignoring the two tails that left two gashes on his body due to him not being able to use his hands to block them, Ulquiorra reeled back his hand and threw the spear at Naruto, who instantly formed another Bijuudama and tossed it towards the spear, causing the two attack to collide in midair.
The moment the two attacks met, a colossal explosion took place between Naruto and Ulquiorra, blasing the two away in different directions and crashing Naruto into the walls of Las Noches and Ulquiorra against one of its pillars.
"Owowow, that hurt."
Moments later, Naruto climbed out of the hole he just created while wiping away some blood coming from the corner of his smiling mouth. He briefly scanned his surroundings and immediately located Ulquiorra, who was also climbing out of the hole he had created, while the wounds Naruto had previously inflicted on him had already healed.
"Well, aren't you a tough bastard? Hehe, this will be fun~"
Meanwhile, Tatsuki looked at the downed body of Yammy in satisfaction. Frankly, he was slow and dumb but had overwhelming strength, so he honestly wasn't as much of a threat as long Tatsuki stayed vigilant.
"Well, that was pretty fun~ As expected, fighting someone that could potentially one-shot you is a totally different kind of thrill."
"*Cough* Damn bitch, I'll definitely kill you."
Hearing the words of Yammy, who was incapable of moving by now, Tatsuki only scoffed in disdain as her gaze landed on the hole in the ceiling.
"Mhh, I wonder what is going on up there. However, I'm not sure how I am even supposed to get up there."
As if he wanted to answer that question, Ishida appeared in the distance, standing on some kind of platform that flew through the air. Seeing the platform, Tatsuki's eyebrows rose while wondering what exactly Ishida was doing.
'I can see that it is made out of Spiritual Power, but how does that even work?'
"Oi, Ishida! Give me a ride up!"
Noticing that Ishida clearly intended to move upwards toward the hole in the ceiling, Tatsuki quickly called out to him, drawing his attention.
Seeing that Tatsuki was calling him, Ishida quickly approached her, and after seeing the downed Yammy, he couldn't help but be surprised. After all, the ten was clearly visible on Yummy's body, marking him as one of the ten Espada.
'To think Tatsuki could defeat an Espada. Damn, the only worthwhile thing I did was to defeat a former Espada, which clearly was weaker than the current ones.'
Thinking about that, Ishida could only sigh and sigh again before dropping this matter. Although he was unhappy that a human that hadn't even trained how to use Spiritual Power for a year could become this powerful without going the Shinigami route, in the end, it didn't really matter.
"Sure, I'll take you with me."
Moments later, Tatsuki and Ishida could be seen standing on a platform made out of Spiritual Power that was steadily rising, and after another minute passed, they finally flew into the hole Ulquiorra had previously opened.
What the duo saw when they passed through the ceiling was rather... unexpected.
"HAHAHA, COME ON ULQIUORRA!!! THAT CAN'T BE ALL YOU HAVE TO OFFER, RIGHT!?"
Currently, Naruto was laughing like a maniac, with a battle-thirsty grin on his face and small wounds all over his body. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, was covered in blood from already healed wounds while holding the stump on his left shoulder where his arms had previously been.
"That's so hot~."
Hearing Tatsuki's words, Ishida's head instantly snapped toward her, and after seeing her looking at Naruto with an infatuated expression, he subconsciously took a step away from her.
'What's with this deranged smile? Since when has she been like this? What is even going on right now?'
However, Ishida quickly forgot about Tatsuki's current condition when he felt Naruto and Ulquiorra's Spiritual Power washing over him, causing him to pale.
'What incredible power. I've never felt someone give off such an oppressive feeling before, and now there are actually two people that make me feel this much pressure in front of me. This is outragous.'
Ishida was someone who had a lot of confidence in himself. Although he was aware that Ichigo was likely stronger than him, he had at least some degree of confidence to contest against him simply because Ichigo was rather simple-minded.
However, the current situation was completely different, as Ishida felt like if he were to face the current Naruto, or his opponent, his chance of victory would be zero, simply based on the copious amount of Spiritual Pressure those two were radiating.
'Two monsters, and they are fighting tight in front of me. I have no other choice but to spectate what is happening in front of me.'
Not being aware of Ishida's internal dialogue, Ulquiorra looked at his missing arm in indifference before putting some Spiritual Power into the small stump that was remaining, causing his arm to regrow instantly.
"My most amazing ability isn't my offensive power, but my power of regeneration. While most Arrancar sacrifice most of their regeneration powers for offensive power, I'm different. As long as my brain isn't destroyed, I will not die."
Finishing his explanation, Ulquiorra took a combat-ready stance yet again, but before he could prepare for the next clash, loud laughter echoed over the battlefield yet again.
"HAHAHA, so you have decided to become my immortal punching bag, huh!? Very well, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I HAD ONE OF THOSE!!!"
However, before Naruto could continue his assault, a screeching Hollow scream rang over the battlefield, drawing everyone's attention.
Looking at the source of the scream, Naruto noticed Ichigo was back on his feet, but he now wore a Hollow mask with two long horns and had a hole in his chest.
'Well, it seems like Ichigo is back.'
[Are you sure you want to call that thing Ichigo?]
'Mhh, Holigo? How about Ichilow? Mhh, Ichistop... Nigo? Nah, I'll stick with Ichigo.'
[Well, shouting Nigo out loud in public may bring us some trouble, so I agree.]
While the duo was chatting, Ichigo had already appeared in front of Ulquiorra, sword raised to the sky. He slashed at Ulquiorra, who widened his eyes in shock due to the insane speed displayed by Ichigo.
Despite his initial surprise, Ulquiorra still managed to create another weapon in time to block Ichigo's attack. However, due to the force of the strike, Ulquiorra was sent flying again and crashed into another building.
"Inconceivable. How do you suddenly have so much power?"
Despite the confusion in his voice, Ulquiorra didn't give up so easily and pointed his finger at Ichigo, forming another [Ceero].
However, while Ulquiorra's [Cero] was forming, Ichigo lowered his head and pointed his horns at Ulquiorra, forming a [Cero] himself.
"Impossible! A [Cero]!?"
Despite his shock due to Ichigo's action, Ulquiorra shot his attack at Ichigo, who mimicked his movement, resulting in the two powerful Spiritual Power balls colliding, causing another massive explosion.
Amidst the aftermath of the explosion, Ichigo appeared behind Ulquiorra and cut his arm off at the shoulder, causing Ulquiorra's eyes to widen in shock.
"[Sonido]!?"
Although Ulquiorra was shocked by Ichigo using yet another Hollow technique, he still tried to regenerate his arm as soon as possible. Unfortunately, he had already done so once before, causing the second time to be slower due to the loss of Spiritual Power.
Whether Ichigo realized the bad situation Ulquiorra was in or if he just acted on pure instinct wasn't clear to make out, but as Ulquiorra tried to regenerate his arm, Ichigo appeared next to him and used his hand to slam Ulquiorra's head onto the ground.
Following that, Ichigo slammed his foot on Ulquiorra's body to make sure he couldn't get up and then pointed his horns at Ulquiorra's head, charging yet another [Cero].
"Finishing the job ruthlessly, huh? How Hollow-like."
Another massive explosion rippled through Hueco Mundo as Ichigo finished off Ulquiorra, killing him for good.
"Geez, how rude. I just found someone thing interesting to play with, and then you come in and just break my toy. I thought you were better than that, Ichigo."
The moment Naruto had confirmed that Ulquiorra was gone, he approached the still hollowfied Ichigo to draw his attention towards him. After all, Naruto had no idea how much of this creature was still the original Ichigo, making it very possible that he would attack everything he could see.
And, as if to confirm Naruto's assumption, Ichigo's only answer to Naruto's words was another loud roar before attacking Naruto widely. Blocking Ichigo's first attack with his gauntlets, Naruto frowned as he was blasted away from the force of Ichigo's strike.
"Well, this is a little dangerous~"
Although Naruto still spoke playfully, he now wore a serious expression due to the power he felt radiating from Ichigo. Moments later, Ichigo vanished from his position, causing Naruto's eyes to widen.
He spread his senses and immediately found Ichigo flying toward him from above, with his sword already raised high. Seeing his attack, determination gleamed in Naruto's eyes as he punched upward, meeting Ichigo's attack head-on.
Unfortunately, the moment Ichigo's blade collided with Naruto's gauntlets, black Spiritual Power erupted from Ichigo's blade, causing Naruto's eyes to widen.
'Shit, he can still use his Getsuga!'
However, while Naruto was blasted away, he wasn't idle either, as one of his tails had secretly gathered enough Spiritual Power for another [Bijuudama], which was smashed into Ichigo's side while he sent Naruto flying.
Naruto got up from the crater he had just created with his landing and clicked his tongue while looking at the gash Ichigo's attack had left behind on his chest. Although it was already slowly healing, he no longer had the insane regeneration power he had in his first life, so this wound would bother him a little.
After confirming that the damage he received was bothersome but not too bad, he looked at Ichigo, which caused him to frown, because the burn wounds he got from tanking the Bijuudama were already fully regenerated.
'Well, this won't be easy, but I guess I'll manage somehow.'
He floated up again, a small battle-thirsty smile on his face as he reached the same height as Ichigo. Suddenly, Naruto's grin widened, turning from battle-thirsty to ferocious, while he lowered his body to take a stance on his two feet and hands.
'Hehe, it's been a while since I fought like this.'
[Why did you even bother to use a more sophisticated style if you are clearly more adept at something wild and unrestrained?]
'Because I thought using material arts would be cooler.'
[Right, it's you, after all. Why did I even bother to expect a proper answer.]
Chuckling in amusement, Naruto's ten tails moved, pointing their tips menacingly at Ichigo, and moments later, Naruto shot toward Ichigo as the Spiritual power surrounding his hands turned into claws, while his ten tails started rampaging around, forcing Ichigo to swing his blade so fast it left behind dozen of afterimages.
While Naruto was fighting Ichigo at an even higher speed than before, there was quite a bit of unrest surrounding those spectating the fight as well.
Watching the battle between two people of power beyond their comprehension, Orihime was utterly shocked due to Ichigo's current state, and Ishida didn't say anything and was only spectating the fight with a deep frown on his face. Nel, on the other hand, was close to a panic attack, which Tatsuki tried to prevent.
"I-It's too much! T-That guy is too strong! Naruto will die! I don't want Naruto to die!"
Nel has been shaking in terror since Ichigo hollowfied, and the more he fought and overpowered Naruto, the more afraid she became. She might be currently a child, but she could still easily tell how much Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure amounted to compared to Naruto's. She could tell that Naruto was outclassed.
"Nel, calm down. There is nothing to worry about. Naruto will easily win like he always does. Look, he is still smiling."
Although Tatsuki was almost as worried as Nel, she didn't show any of that for two reasons. One, she trusted in Naruto, and two, she didn't want Nel to get even more worried. Although Naruto was clearly struggling, she convinced herself that there was no way he wouldn't win.
Hearing Tatsuki's words, Nel raised her head to look at Naruto, hoping to see him smile just as Tatsuki said. Although he was indeed smiling, the moment Nel saw him, one of Ichigo's attacks managed to break through his defense, sending Naruto crashing to the ground not too far away from the rest of the spectators.
"NARUTO!!!"
Nel screamed in despair while remembering all the fun she had with Naruto and how invincible he seemed to be up until now. Realizing that Naruto might die and that he could no longer play with her, her emotions became even more unstable as decently powerful Spiritual Pressure suddenly started leaking out of her body.
Feeling the pressure, Tatsuki couldn't help but be bewildered, as it was easily above Yammy, who she had previously defeated, meaning that Nel might actually be stronger than her.
"What is even going..."
Before Tatsuki could finish her sentence, a white dust cloud exploded with Nel at its center, and the moment the dust settled, Tatsuki could only look dumbfounded at the person emerging from the cloud.
Although the hair and eye color were still the same as Nel's, however, the little girl was somehow replaced by a busty beauty with an amazing body.
'What the f*ck. How did this happen? Wait a moment! Did Naruto know about this!?'
Tatsuki's suspicion-filled gaze landed on Naruto, making him uncomfortable; Nel realized that she was back to her original form and immediately made a decision.
"Naruto! I'll help you!"
However, before Nel could leave, Tatsuki grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving.
"Are you insane!? There is no way you can participate in that kind of fight!"
"It doesn't matter! I need to help Naruto!"
"YOU WILL JUST BE A BURDEN!!!"
While Tatsuki and Nel were arguing, Naruto briefly glanced at them, and seeing Nel's current form, he couldn't help but click his tongue.
'Noice!'
[The police will be here soon.]
'Hey! We still don't know which form is her true one! If this one is her true one, then everything is safe! Safe, I tell you!'
[You call that save!? She clearly has no control over her transformation, so what would you do if she transformed back while you are doing this and that with her!?]
Hearing Kurama's argument, Naruto couldn't help but pale at the implication of that happening.
'That probably would make me an even greater degenerate than Nee-san.'
[Well, not sure if I would go that far, but at least she always asks for consent before laws are being broken.]
Naruto quickly shook his head to prevent any unhealthy images from popping up before focusing back on Ichigo.
'Well, let's put that stuff aside and concentrate instead. I can clearly see how worried Tatsuki and Nel are, so I guess it's time to go all out.'
"Tatsuki, Nel, sorry for worrying you like this."
Hearing Naruto's words, the quarreling duo stopped fighting and looked at Naruto in surprise. Suddenly, incredibly dense Spiritual Pressure flowed out of Naruto, covering all of Las Noches, while he slowly raised his hand towards his face, covering it.
"Well, let's finish this, ICHIGO!"
The moment Naruto yelled Ichigo's name, he pulled his hand down, resulting in a Hollow-like fox mask appearing on the upper half of his face, causing everyone's eyes to widen in surprise.
"DON'T DIE ON ME, ICHIGO!!!"
Just like that, with an excitement-filled warcry, the fight between two hollowfied Shinigami started.