Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 87 - Power Further Awakened

As the words left his mouth, a black Cero erupted, darkness heavier than darkness itself, carrying the weight of something that wanted to swallow the world whole, surging straight at Nnoitra Gilga.

BOOM.

The black Cero swallowed Nnoitra whole. The explosion that followed shook the heavens, cracking the false sky overhead in a hundred places, grinding white sand into nothing.

Grimmjow, who had just barely dragged himself back to standing, was driven down to one knee by the shockwave. Fury filled that face, fury aimed squarely at helplessness.

Las Noches shook. Every Arrancar below the Espada rank huddled trembling in their rooms. Even the Espada themselves froze where they stood. That spiritual pressure far surpassed any one of them.

A beat passed. Then the Espada moved again, all at once. They acknowledged it, the opponent trading blows with Grimmjow and Nnoitra was extraordinarily dangerous. But not quite the kind of helpless, hopeless despair the legends described.

"Is it dead?"

Half the white sand arena had been swallowed by that Cero. The nearby wall was on the verge of collapse. Ichigo had underestimated his own destructive power.

"Lost control of the force there for a second..." He let out a breath. "Aizen's definitely going to know it's me."

"Might as well go find him directly. Going by the timeline, the Hogyoku probably isn't ready yet."

With that thought, Ichigo turned toward the rear right. Not far at all, probably just one wall away. Aizen's spiritual pressure had flickered there a moment ago and vanished.

"Where do you think you're going... Ichigo Kurosaki?"

Grimmjow's voice.

"We're not finished yet!"

"Yeah... cough..."

Only two arms left. Blood soaking every inch of the body. Nnoitra Gilga crawled out from beneath the white sand.

The moment that Cero had begun to condense, Nnoitra had known there was no tanking it. No hesitation, dive under the sand, push every last scrap of spiritual pressure to the skin's surface, Hierro at its absolute limit.

Even so. Still this badly injured. Combat ability barely clinging on.

"I'm not dead yet!" Nnoitra swung both remaining arms. "You think you're going somewhere?!"

"...You looking to die, or what." The corner of Ichigo's mouth twitched. "If that's the case, you should've just stood there and taken it instead of dodging. Honestly."

Without a word, Nnoitra gathered spiritual pressure underfoot. Space warped. The next instant, Nnoitra stood directly in front of Ichigo, silent, just staring.

"I get it." Ichigo nodded. "You want to die in a straight-up fight."

"I don't know why you're into that, but I'll hold to the principle of not understanding but respecting it—and beat you to death."

Spiritual pressure surged. That Cero earlier had been a moment of impulse, and it had definitely already been detected, no point suppressing it now. Ichigo clenched his right fist. This one punch carried sixteen years... no, seven years of power. Hard to say whether the Arrancar in front of him could withstand it.

"Don't go ignoring me!"

The voice hit his ear, and the space to the left warped, Grimmjow arrived at Ichigo's left side.

White claws blazing with blue light. Grimmjow had compressed that massive blue claw from before, condensing it all into one hand.

"Knock it off."

Ichigo dropped low, left arm tucked tight against his torso, gathering force in an instant. Right as the white claws were about to connect, Ichigo's fist got there first.

"Cough!"

Grimmjow's body curled up like a shrimp. Blood and spit sprayed out together. The body stumbled back, stiff as a puppet with its strings cut, and dropped straight down onto the sand.

"Hgh... hgh..."

Like lungs with a hole punched through them. Grimmjow groaned in agony, every internal organ feeling as though it had shifted out of place. The slightest movement sent unbearable pain crashing through.

THUD,

As though the space had been asked to bear weight it was never meant to carry, Ichigo appeared in an instant before Grimmjow. Grimmjow stared up with wide eyes despite the pain.

"You even... learned Sonído..." Trembling. Staring at Ichigo like he was something that shouldn't exist. "Just what are you..."

"Just a human." Ichigo glanced down at his own feet and nodded. "A movement technique built around space—pretty good stuff."

"Does an Arrancar have any other special abilities? Go ahead and show me."

Ichigo carried within him the powers of Hollow, Soul Reaper, and Quincy. In day-to-day combat, Soul Reaper was his foundation, with Quincy Blut as the supplement.

The power of shadows saw use too, but rarely, not from any lack of proficiency, but simply because Ichigo preferred pure, clean domination. Something technique-dependent like shadows, unless the situation shoved itself in his face the way Shunsui Kyoraku's had, he wouldn't reach for it.

As for Hollow power, outside of entering Trinity State to draw out deeper reserves and use Gran Rey Cero, Ichigo had no idea how to use any other Hollow abilities. Hollow was just one of the several forces balanced inside him. It wasn't something he could command the way a pureblooded Hollow or Arrancar naturally would. He'd tried learning Cero during training sessions with the Visored, but it never worked, no matter what he did.

That should have remained true.

But ever since he'd woken up in Hueco Mundo, something had shifted.

Now, after direct contact with two Espada, the Hollow power inside Ichigo had been further awakened. Gradually, it was claiming every ability a Hollow should rightfully have, Hierro, Sonído, all of it.

"Bastard!"

The voice came from behind. Nnoitra staggered forward, steps unsteady, but with every stride the spiritual pressure grew more stable.

"High-Speed Regeneration." Ichigo watched Nnoitra approach, the corner of his mouth curling up on its own. "Hollow abilities really are something. But they're all mine now."

Limited in number, but remarkably complete. No direct boost to raw spiritual pressure, sure, but movement, defense, recovery, Cero. All of it made Ichigo more well-rounded than before.

"UAAAAAAH!"

Faster and faster. Nnoitra charged, scythe swinging, but the swing looked somehow diminished. Lacking in force.

"Really... that's enough."

Spiritual pressure detonated underfoot. Blut Arterie running at its absolute limit. Ichigo shot forward like an arrow off a bow, extended his right hand, and pressed it directly onto Nnoitra's face.

Pupils snapped to pinpoints. One large hand consumed Nnoitra's entire field of vision, and then an irresistible force erupted against that face. The whole body launched backward with nothing to stop it.

"I'll bring you along to find Aizen while I'm at it."

Soul Reapers don't fly. They step on the spirit particles suspended in the air, kick off, and surge forward, the effect looks like flight, but it isn't. That single kick sent Ichigo rocketing forward in exactly that fashion, palm still pressed to Nnoitra's face, the two of them driving straight toward the wall not far away.

➤ Next: The So-Called Hogyoku