A few minutes ago in Las Noches, Sosuke Aizen had just finished implanting the Hokegou into Ichgio's chest.

'As you are aware, Kurosaki, the Hogyoku will manifest your innermost desires into reality so long as you have the potential to bring them forth; however, unlike a fully completed Hokegou, This one's effects are only temporary, and if you push yourself too much, such as unleashing the full might of your power...' Aizen then remained silent as they stared up at Ichigo. 'It could very result in your death, even if you defeat Barragan'

Ichigo then remained silent for a moment and then snorted in annoyance. 'Yeah, well...I didn't expect this would be a quick and easy solution to my problem anyway' He then took a short breath. 'And if it means I get a second chance to take down Barragan and save everyone. I am more than willing to make that sacrifice'

Gremmy then looked at Ichigo in guilt and let out a deep breath. 'And it was our duty as the Imperial guard to prevent you from dying...not the other way around'

Ichigo then frowns at the young man's comment. 'Look, none of you have any reason to blame yourselves. I didn't pull my weight, especially since you all want me to be at my full power to defeat Barragan.

Lille gave Ichigo a look of concern. 'But you realize that if you take this risk...you may never see your friends or family again...even if you reincarnate'

The shingmai then smiled sadly. 'And as I said before, I signed up for this' He then got up from the rubble and looked out in the distance. 'Just be sure...you tell them what happens if it comes down to that, alright?

Lille then looked over to Gremmy and Aizen. Then to Ichigo, who all nodded in approval.

'Well, let's get this over with'

Back in the present

(Soundtrack of Choice: Bleach: Fade to Black - Fade to Black B13a)

When the explosion finally settled. Kurosaki revealed that his two zanpakuto had fused into one single blade, with the shorter black blade encased in a larger white one. It now had a guard-like extension and a long flowing chain attached to it that connected right before the blade's edge. At the same time, black-and-white Spiritual pressure swirled around it.

'Tensa Zangestsu' Ichigo said the name of his Bankai, and yet, despite sensing its overwhelming power, Barragan was still unimpressed.

'Hmph...while I will admit your power has far exceeded the average, it is still not enough for you-'

Before Barragan could finish his sentence, the Hollow King's dragons were instantly cut down by hundreds of unspoken Getsuga Tenshō. At a speed that far transcended that of light and thus beyond the laws of mortal boundaries, with each of the attacks so potent and concentrated in spiritual power, they disintegrated the Dragons at the subatomic level, annihilating the spiritual energy within the reishi of their bodies.

Then, just as the Hollow King could register all of that, he heard a voice speak behind him.

'And I also said not to be underestimated,' Ichigo corrected tautly at the King and then less than a fraction of a second later. Ichigo swung his blade down at Barragan.

'Getsuga Tenshou'! Ichigo shouted, engulfing the Hollow King in a vast, almost country-size, black-and-white energy blast that stretched across the sky. At the same time, everyone below could both bear witness to it and feel its might. Meanwhile, shockwaves passed over the three worlds. Nearly tearing their very foundations apart.

Yet, as the smoke of the explosion settled, Ichigo looked on in disappointment when he saw that Barragan was still alive.

While his body had been blown apart, his golden miter crown shattered, and the axe that used to defend him nearly broken half in withstanding blow along with the destruction of his thrown...he was still very much intact from countering the attack, before using his power to reverse time and heal himself.

Ichigo bared his teeth as he felt his body begin to rapidly age and lose stamina while the Hogyoku embedded into his chest began to crack.

(Soundtrack of Choice: Black Bullet OST Outtakes - Crisis Point: Ascension & Descension)

'I underestimated you, Kurosaki...' Barragan admitted while looking up at Ichigo. 'For all this time, I have believed that as long as I used my power to reverse time to heal myself and spawn minions to wear you down, victory would be inevitable for me.' His skull eyes then alighted with a flash of burning crimson. 'But now I realize this can only end in one way'

The Hollow King then faded into a dark mist, while the entire sky darkened with the Hollow's Misama and from above Ichigo. Barragan revealed himself not only sitting on another black skeletal throne but surrounded by a whole army in front of him, which consisted of armored foot-soldiers, archers, knights, mages, and berserkers, and while there were all only numbered a couple of dozen. Each was also dozens of times more potent than the undead dragons he had previously spawned. Above them all was a gigantic crimson-silted eye that shone even brighter than the full red moon within Huco Mundo. Then when Ichigo looked at it closely, he realized, to his dread, that Barragan's black tar-like Respaira was being fed into it.

'My two final and greatest techniques, Kurosaki, ' Barragan said ominously. 'Legiones de La Corte De Los No Muertos (Legions of the Undead Court) and Ojo Del Rey Eterno (Eye of the Undying King)' In which I consecrated most of my power into this orb of burning plasmic Respira. Which will eventually have enough energy to reduce the entire realm of the soul society into nothing. While the rest of it goes into my court of the dead that I have forged from all the souls I have devoured'

He then glared down at Ichigo. 'To think that I would use both of them against you of all people'

Kurosaki then smirked. 'So you are telling me you are so spiteful that you would destroy the thing you want to conquer most just to defeat me!'

Barragan then stared at Ichigo and then chucked. But instead of being boastful or arrogant, It sounded sad and almost...fearful, much to the latter's confusion.

'Oh, I'm afraid it has less to do with spite, but more of...desperation...but enough, come and face me, Kurosaki, if you can!' He declared loudly, and immediately, the Hollow King's body dispersed into the haze that surrounded him and stretched over the horizon, along with the entire undead court that preceded to attack him all at once.

Now knowing that this was the final stretch of the battle, Ichigo proceeded to use the chain on his Bankai's blade to spin it around into a disk-like scythe, which then flowed with black Spiritual power with a white outline, magnifying its already overwhelming power many times fold as he slashed at the black tar abominations and vaporizing their bodies entirely in a single shot.

However, due to the Respira merging into the air, their bodies reformed just as quickly by feeding off of it. All the while, The legions attacked Ichigo with arrows from the Archers that also moved beyond the speed of light, swords from knights that were sharp and powerful enough to sever the limbs of his body, and spears capable of piercing through his chest and heart, While the Berserkers rushed at him with great axes and clubs that could smash his skull to bits, who were back up by the Mages that cast dark crimson balls and gust of Respira that could age him to dust within seconds even with his enormous spiritual power protecting him.

However, despite their numbers, abilities, and ferocity, Ichigo's unmatched speed and power enabled him to evade their attacks and overwhelm the undead court, as he zapped through their ranks like a black lightning bolt dancing across the sky, and when he landed a blow on them, the entire atmosphere ignited and shook with the force of a million thunderbolts.

Eventually, when Ichigo cut down the last of the undead legion for a final time and the Respira in the air completely drained, The Shingmai's orange hair had turned back to gray, his muscles worn down with age, while he gasped for air in exhaustion.

But by then, he was too late.

For Barragan managed to fuse all of his Respira into the orb, which grew more significant than the Silbern itself, and from its blacked silt, the Hollow King reformed his body, now transformed into a gigantic black titan in his bones have mutated into spike like while horns grew from his skull like a jagged crown while the rest of his body was engulfed, with dark red burning energy that made his entire skeleton glow like molten metal.

All the while being potent enough to destroy the entire dimension several times over.

'You have failed Kurosaki Ichigo,' Barragan roared out in his gigantic form. 'For regardless if you strike me down or not, I will take you will die by my hand regardless' He then raised his battle axe, transforming from a pitched black tar into a bright, shining plasmic energy. 'And when I recover, I will end both Yhwach and his Holy Kingdom once and for all!' He roared out in a deep, echoing, terrifying voice that echoed across the Heavens and Earth.

But despite Ichigo's weakened state, his resolve remains firm, and in the back of his mind, he hears the voice of Yhwach, who now sounds nigh indistinguishable from the one that resides in his soul.

(Soundtrack of Choice: Bleach OST STAND UP BE STRONG Part One Epic Metal cover)

'Do you see your moment of opportunity, Ichigo Kurosaki...from the vision I showed you?'

'Yes...I do'

'And you know that if you take this opportunity to end Barragan...you may very well not survive in your condition?'

Ichigo then remained silent for a moment and then smiled.

'All my life, I strive to protect people, whether it be my family, my friends, and others...and even longer, I know what it is like to live without having the power to protect anyone.' He then stared at Barragan, who was now ready to strike with his burning axe of Respira. 'And if I have to sacrifice myself so everyone else in this world can live, I will do so without hesitation.'

Yhwach then stared at Ichigo and, in reluctance, nodded. 'Then go...son born in darkness, and may your blade shatter the wheel of fate that grins against us'

The Quincy monarch then disappeared from Ichigo's mind, and then he stared down at the empowered hollow King and bared his teeth in a grin.

'You know Barragan...' Ichigo said as he readied his blade. 'You shouldn't have constrained yourself to one spot. Otherwise...' he then raised his sword while the Hollow King swung down his axe, and when he did, the entire sky across the whole realm turned a bleed color of crimson.

'I would never gotten in range for my final attack!'

Ichigo then swings his sword.

'Kuroi Mikadzuki No Sutoraiku' (Black Crescent Strike), He uttered in a whisper, and then, within a flash, the entire area transformed into a pure white void. At the same time, both Ichigo and Barragan became black silhouettes that contrast against it.

Then, within less than a microsecond, Ichigo launched innumerable strikes on his enemy, who didn't have time to move, react, or even think, with each blow having incomprehensible precision and strength, with the strikes looking like pitch-black slashes that cut through the white void. In contrast, the blows that landed on Barragan's looked like blank white slites across his shadowed body.

When the Shinigami finished his onslaught, and the world regained its color, Barragan saw that Ichigo was now nearly aged, back to his elder self.

At first, he thought that the Shinigami's attack had failed and was about to boast that all his efforts and boasting were in vain.

Only to then notice that he could no longer feel a single speck of his spiritual power within his body, and as he raised his hand, he saw, to his astonishment, that not only had it started to crumble away but had done so as if every part had been slashed apart...

By a blade...

Now realizing what is happening and that his time is drawing near, Barragan raises his head to Ichigo. 'Your power and resolve are admirable, child...enough to vanquish even me...' He said as half of his skull crumbled apart. 'I can only hope...that resolve and power will continue to aid you... throughout the currents of time'

With that, the ancient King of Hueco Mundo, who plagued all the worlds into over a fifty-year-long war, finally faded into dust upon defeat.

While the Hokegou that was emended into Ichigo's chest finally shattered into pieces.

Now seeing his enemy had finally been vanquished, the aged teen allowed himself to collapse from the sky while his Bankai reverted to its Shikai state, and the two swords fell from his hands.

And so with that, The Invasion and Infiltration, or the Arrancar War Arc that has gone on for nearly two years, has finally come to a close with the defeat of Barragan.

The next Chapter is the epilogue and the start of the next Story Arc, called the Shadow Rebellion, Which will act as a bridge to the story's final act.

The Jigoku Arc.