Chapter 19: Don't Stop! Hoist the Counterattack Signal!
"You can't scare me, you little maggot." Yammy said, walking towards Sanji and Uryu. Uryu fired his weapon and it pierced Yammy's chest. Yammy smirked and looked at the Quincy. "You must think this joke." Smoke started to come out of the Seele Schneider as lights, causing to burn Yammy as he yells in pain.
"This attack was aimed at your reishi bonds." Uryu said. "It loosens them and helps take them away. It lets me penetrate even an arrancar's hiero." Uryu and Sanji's eyes widen as Yammy grabbed Uryu's weapon and pulled it out of his chest.
"You've miscalculated, you moron!" A cero form in Yammy's mouth and was fired at Sanji and Uryu.
Outside the tower, Rukia was breathing heavily as Rudobon's exequias continue to surround her.
"Well, very impressive." Rudobon said. "You continue to fight even against a large number of my soldiers. I must say, Soul Reaper, you appear to have a limitless supply of energy. However, this battle is also limitless. You'll be fighting me until you drop dead from exhaustion."
Rukia glared at the arrancars and then looked at the army exequias she is fighting. 'I'm being pushed back by the army he keeps creating.' She thought. 'I can't close enough to get a direct attack. He's right. At this rate, I'll just keep using my energy until I collapse.' She turned around and saw one of the soldiers charging towards her. She tried to cut the soldier down but he knocked her down, pinning her to the floor. She looked up and saw more exequias in air with their blade ready to stab her. Then a huge snake made of bamboo appeared and destroyed every soldier in its path.
Rukia got to her knees, free from the exequia's weight, and looked to her right. "Renji!" She looked to her left. "Chad!"
Back in the tower, Sanji and Uryu were trying to recover after being hit Yammy's cero.
"What's the matter?" Yammy taunted. "You two were so cool and confident earlier. Now you're looking nervous and desperate."
"You're about to find out what desperation feels like." Uryu shouted.
"For a small guy, you got a big mouth." Yammy smirked. "I don't what you meant about taking my reishi. But all of that nonsense won't save you in the end." Yammy threw the Seele Schneider on the ground, piercing the floor. "You two are nothing but talk. That other Soul Reaper and the Straw Hat kid would've been a much bigger challenge. It's too bad for that crazy scientist you've mentioned, he wasted his time saving you."
Sanji stood up and blew a puff of smoke. "I won't bad mouth that crazy scientist if I were you." He said. "You might regret it."
"To hell with you!" Yammy fired a bala at Sanji and Uryu, who quickly the attack. Uryu jumped out of the smoke from the bala and fired some arrow at Yammy but missing. "Ha, you're going to need to improve your aim!" Then Yammy looked up and saw Sanji in the air.
"Concasser!" Sanji spun down trying to kick the espada in the head. But Yammy caught Sanji by the foot, surprising him.
"You're wasting your time!" Sanji tossed back in the air only to get knocked back down to the ground. Then Yammy turned towards Uryu and punched to the ground as well. "Out of options, I see. Let's put an end to this game now!"
"When it comes to being a slow learner, you're right up there with Luffy." Sanji said as he and Uryu were trying to get back to their feet.
"Did you think I was randomly firing my arrows at you?" Uryu asked, taking out his last Seele Schneider. "I wasn't aiming for you at all. I've created a field to surround you." Uryu pierced the weapon to the ground and made a pentagon-shaped seal, trapping Yammy. "You've wondered right into my trap."
"Hold on a minute, what the hell is this?!" Yammy shouted, looking at the seal. Uryu took out a silver tube and poured the liquid in it onto the Seele Schneider, activating Sprenger.
"We've warned you not to get too cocky." Sanji said as Yammy yells in pain.
Outside the tower, Rukia looked at Chad and Renji with a smile on her face. "Renji, Chad, thank you." She said.
"What's the problem?" Renji asked. "I thought you would've had this wrapped up by now."
"I'm working on it. What happened to the guys you two were fighting?"
"What did you think? We've took care of them of course. Now the both of us have an invincible team."
"I'm started to think that Chad is getting annoyed on having you as his big mouth partner." Rukia said, irritating Renji.
"What is it with this louisy attitude?!" Renji shouted. "We came here to help you out, you know!
"I guess you didn't notice but nobody asked for your help!"
"Nobody had to!" Chad looked at Renji and Rukia and sighed.
"Ah, reinforcements." Rudobon said, getting everyone's attention. "Nice try but more Soul Reaper isn't going to change a thing." Then more exequias began to grow from Rudobon's branches. "It doesn't how many soldiers you send. I'll just keep manufacturing additional soldiers to hold you off."
"Is that the deal?" Renji said, looking at Rudobon's ability. "He can just keep growing soldiers. They're growing as if they're some kind of fruit."
"I don't think a plant can produce fruit indefinitely." Chad said.
"What do you mean?" Renji asked Chad. "Of course it can, if you water it enough."
"Plants are a lot more complicated than that, believe me."
"They're more complicated than you, that's for sure!"
Rukia looked at the two argue with a sweat drop. "It's nice to see that they're getting so much better now." She said to herself. Then an idea popped into her head. "…just like a plant?"
The exequias jumped off Rudobon's branches and surrounded Chad, Renji, and Rukia. "How are we going to fight him Rukia?" Renji asked. "He can keep sending these troops forever."
"You two take care of his soldiers and keep his attention fixed on you." Rukia said to Renji. "I'll go after him."
"We hear you." Renji said as he and Chad start attacking the exequias. Rukia then charged towards Rudobon.
Back in the tower, Yammy was on his knees as blood was coming out of his body.
"Normally, I can't use Sprenger as an offensive tactic because it takes too much a one-on-one battle." Uryu said. "Luckily for me, Sanji was here to help, giving me time to set it up. Plus, you dropped your defenses. That gave me more of an opening and made the plan much easier."
"Damn you!" Yammy cursed, trying to get back up. "You two think you're so smart but you haven't defeated me yet."
"Wow, I'm surprised you're getting up after taking a blast like that." Sanji said.
"Shut your mouth!" Yammy charged towards Sanji and Uryu.
"Watch it!" Uryu said. "You should be careful over you step." As Yammy got closer the two, he engulfed in a huge explosion.
"I should've mentioned that crazy scientist gave those to me. I've surrounded you with mines, especially designed for arrancars." The smoke of the explosion reached the level where Luffy and Ichigo, catching of all those who were there.
"What the…what's going on down here?" Nami asked.
"I hope that they're ok." Orihime said worried about Sanji and Uryu.
On the floor below, Yammy was holding on the edge of a hole that was created from the mine he detonated. Uryu and Sanji walked over to where Yammy was hung.
"Maybe I need to specific with you." Uryu said. "I told you I wasn't aiming for you before. I was creating a field to surround you. Apparently, you weren't listening to me. That field wasn't laid there by accident. I knew the pin-point position where to set the mines. After gauging the distance between us and I build a field right there. I just needed Sanji to lure you into it. I wouldn't for your sake."
"Damn it!" Yammy cursed. "You bastards!"
"You're Yammy, the one Syzael Aporro talked about."
"That's right! Why is so important to you?!"
"Nothing, but it is a shame really." Sanji said, getting closer to the espada. "This is payback for what you did in Sabaody." Sanji kicked the espada in the face, causing to fell down the deep hole.
"Mala Suerte, our condolences." Uryu said as Yammy crashed through the floors and the lower levels of the tower.
"On the way here, Uryu and I snapped some pillar which fell through the floor much easier." Sanji said, blowing out a puff of smoke. "I imagine that you'll fell all the way to the bottom.
Uryu and Sanji jumped back to where Ichigo, Luffy, and Ulquiorra are, surprising them.
"Sanji!" Chopper shouted, happy to see that the cook is still ok. Orihime was smiling as well seeing that the both of them are ok.
"Uryu, are you guys ok?" Ichigo asked.
"Sure, do we look ill?" Uryu replied.
"No, but we heard all of that commotion and I…"
"Oh, you mean all of those explosions? Those were because of mines that Mayuri had us bring along. Sanji and I planted them earlier. They go off whenever they sense spiritual pressure nearby."
"Uryu carved out the floor and I planted the mines." Sanji finished. "That Yammy guy fell for it hook, line, and sinker. He didn't that he was fighting on a mine field. Everything went as planned."
"Did you doubt us?" Uryu asked Ichigo.
"I don't know much about the blonde hair guy but I never had my doubts about you, Uryu." Ichigo said. "The problem is that you talk too much. You ramble on and there's no way to block you out." Ichigo lowered his head so his eyes won't be visible. "You guys take care of Orihime and Chopper. If Orihime can't block my spiritual pressure with her Shun-Shun Rikka, I need the both of you to protect them with your life."
"What makes the boss all of the sudden?" Sanji said, biting down on his cigarette. "I was going to do that without you telling me."
"Don't worry guys, Ichigo and I are going beat this guy." Luffy said, cracking his knuckles.
"Luffy, I need you to stay out of the fight this time."
"Wha…why?!" Luffy asked, confused.
"I don't need to you to get caught up in the crossfire." Ichigo explained, looking at Luffy, dead in the eye. "Don't worry I handle this guy on my own." Luffy look at Ichigo and saw that he's serious about fighting Ulquiorra by himself and nodded.
"Take him down." Luffy said. Ichigo smirked and returned his attention to Ulquiorra.
"Sorry to keep you waiting… Ulquiorra." Ichigo said, bringing his hand over his face. "I believe is what you wanted to see, right? My Hollowification!" Black spiritual pressure came towards Ichigo's face, revealing his hollow mask. Then in a blink an eye, Ichigo crossed swords Ulquiorra. The spiritual pressure from Ichigo's sword made a crack on Ulquiorra's, causing the espada to jump back.
"Whoa, that's so COOL!" Luffy shouted with the stars in his eyes.
The black spiritual from the attack created a hole leading to the outside. Ulquiorra jumped out the spiritual pressure with Ichigo following him. Ulquiorra charged up a cero and fired it at Ichigo. He widens his cero when the cero receded and Ichigo was unharmed by the attack. Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes and flew past Ichigo, heading all the way to the top.
"Come back here!" Ichigo shouted as he follows Ulquiorra. 'Damn it! How far is he going to go?' As the two got closer to the sky, Ulquiorra created a hole and passed through it.
Outside of the palace, an explosion erupted on the canopy of Las Noches. Ichigo popped out of the smoke and looked around, seeing nothing the dark desert of Hueco Mundo. "Wait a minute, are we above the canopy of Las Noches?" Ichigo asked.
"That's right." Ulquiorra said. Ichigo looked up and saw Ulquiorra looking down on him.
A large amount spiritual pressure erupted through Las Noches causing all action to stop.
"What's happening?" Renji asked as he, Chad, Rukia, and the exequias looked at the sky.
"That spiritual pressure…" Rukia said.
"Oh, I can feel it." Rudobon said, looking at the sky. "It's Master Ulquiorra. He's broken through the canopy of Las Noches."
Elsewhere, Zoro and the rest of the Straw hats were rushing to where Chad and Renji went until they felt the spiritual pressure.
"Do you guys feel that?" Usopp asked scared.
"Yeah." Franky said. "Whatever that was, something tell it's not good."
"I felt suddenly chill down my spine." Brook said scared.
Zoro and Robin looked up at the sky with narrowed eyes, knowing what they felt just can't be good.
Back at the tower, Luffy and the other ran towards the hole that Ichigo and Ulquiorra made. They looked up and saw the hole in the sky.
"Guys, why is there a hole in the sky?" Luffy asked.
"Oh no…Ichigo." Orihime said, worried about Ichigo.
On the canopy, Ulquiorra looked down upon Ichigo with the crescent moon shining behind the espada.
"Under Aizen's orders, two things are forbidden below the canopy of Las Noches." Ulquiorra said. "The first is the Gran Rey Cero which exists for only an espada. And the second is…the sword release of espadas who are ranked 4 and higher. They are both so powerful if released; they would threaten to destroy Las Noches itself." Ulquiorra pointed his sword at Ichigo. "Imprision…Murcielago!"
Next Chapter: Ulquiorra Surfaces! Murcielago is Activated!