"Excuse me... who might you be?"
Sensing the powerful Reiatsu emanating from Kisuke, Starrk became serious for the first time.
"Ah, sorry, sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet..." Kisuke adjusted his hat and then said with a serious expression: "My name is Urahara Kisuke... I'm the owner of the Urahara Shop, a humble little general store. If you don't mind, please patronize my business in the future."
"Ah well, can an owner of a humble little general store really have such formidable power? When did the Living World become so scary?" Starrk didn't believe for a moment that Kisuke was truly just an ordinary shop owner.
"Scary? Surely you jest, sir. Compared to your power, my meager strength probably amounts to nothing." Kisuke said gravely.
This wasn't mere politeness. Kisuke knew that although he was once one of the foremost geniuses in Soul Society, possessing power that was extremely formidable even among all Shinigami, even so, he wasn't confident he could defeat the Arrancar before him.
"Um... Urahara Kisuke, was it? Where is Hitsugaya Toshiro? Isn't he the leader of this Shinigami reinforcement unit in the Living World? Why has every Shinigami reinforcement from Soul Society joined the battle except him?" Starrk suddenly asked Kisuke.
Although he had been slacking off and watching earlier, Starrk hadn't forgotten that his main purpose for coming with Yammy and the others was to keep Toshiro occupied, allowing Ulquiorra and the others to complete Aizen's mission.
Yet, for some reason, Starrk had never seen Toshiro appear, leaving him with a very bad feeling.
"You're asking about Captain Hitsugaya?" A strange smile tugged at the corner of Kisuke's mouth: "Well, who knows? Maybe he suddenly got a stomach ache and couldn't make it."
The stomach ache was, of course, something Kisuke made up on the spot. In fact, he knew exactly where Toshiro was, because Toshiro had come to see him earlier.
Kisuke originally hadn't planned to participate in this Arrancar attack, because he knew Toshiro was in the Living World.
Unless Aizen himself came, no matter how many Arrancar attacked, they wouldn't be able to accomplish much.
However, Toshiro had suddenly come to him earlier, saying he had urgent business to attend to in Soul Society. So he asked Kisuke to help hold off the strongest Arrancar here in the Living World.
When Kisuke asked what the matter was, Toshiro explained that the Arrancar's large-scale attack wasn't actually meant to assault the Living World. Their real target was likely Orihime, who had gone to Soul Society.
So, the two split up. Kisuke came to deal with Starrk, and Toshiro prepared to return to Soul Society.
Seireitei, 13th Division's barracks.
"Inoue-san! Inoue-san! The fixation of the Dangai's boundary walls is complete! Please come over!" A member of the Kido Corps shouted to Orihime not far away.
"Thank you! I'm off!" Orihime thanked the Kido Corps member and turned to enter the Dangai.
Swish! Swish!
Two members of the 13th Division suddenly appeared beside Orihime.
"Inoue-san, let us escort you." said the burly Shinigami named Mashimo Koichi.
"What? I couldn't possibly trouble you..."
"Don't be polite, Inoue-san. You are no longer a Ryoka, but a guest of Soul Society! It's customary for two Shinigami who have removed their Hell Butterflies to escort guests on their way. So please don't refuse!" said the other, leaner Shinigami named Arie Yuki.
"Alright then, I'm sorry to trouble you both." Orihime reluctantly agreed, and under the escort of the two Shinigami, she entered the Dangai, whose walls had been reinforced.
'Kurosaki-kun... and everyone, wait for me. I'm coming right away...'
Inside the Dangai.
Orihime and her two Shinigami escorts were rushing along.
"What... two escorts as well?"
A voice suddenly echoed in the silent Dangai, startling Orihime, Koichi, and Yuki. They quickly stopped and looked around.
Then Orihime saw a dark crack appear in the space behind them, and the voice seemed to come from within it.
"I didn't expect Soul Society to be so incompetent, not even noticing their surroundings while moving. If I hadn't spoken up voluntarily and chose to ambush you instead... you would already be dead!" Ulquiorra stepped out of the Garganta, hands in his pockets, looking at Orihime with an indifferent expression.
Seeing Ulquiorra appear, cold sweat ran down Orihime's face, and a strong sense of crisis welled up inside her.
Tap, tap, tap...
Ulquiorra walked towards Orihime, each footstep like a drumbeat on her heart.
"Although having only two escorts is disappointing... at least you've conveniently fixed the troublesome Koryu." Ulquiorra stopped a few steps away from Orihime, choosing not to attack immediately.
"Although I have things to say, rushing isn't my style. Since there's no one to disturb us here, let's talk slowly." Ulquiorra said.
'It's that person from back then...'
Orihime immediately recognized Ulquiorra as the Arrancar who had attacked the Living World with Yammy before.
"Hey! Wh... who are you? Are you an Arrancar?"
Although they sensed the overwhelmingly powerful Reiatsu emanating from Ulquiorra and knew they were no match, the two 13th Division's Shinigami escorting Orihime, Koichi and Yuki, still stepped forward to stand in front of her.
Even though their bodies trembled under Ulquiorra's pressure and their voices faltered, their sense of duty as Shinigami compelled Koichi and Yuki to stand bravely.
"Hmph! Mere ants. How annoying!"
Seeing Koichi and Yuki block his path, Ulquiorra's expression grew even colder. He snorted and prepared to eliminate them first.
"Wait! Didn't you say you had things to talk about?!" Orihime saw the two Shinigami escorting her step forward to protect her, even questioning Ulquiorra, and knew things were about to go very wrong. She quickly tried to speak, hoping to quell Ulquiorra's killing intent.
But Ulquiorra had no intention of stopping. Instead, he raised his hand like a blade and swung it towards Koichi. He was so fast that Orihime couldn't even see clearly, let alone stop him!
Swish—!
A flash of cold light appeared.
Schlick—!
Blood sprayed, and an arm fell to the ground.
"Ah... ah?" Koichi looked at his own arm with a trembling body, only to find... his arm was perfectly fine.
"Not... not mine... then..." Koichi suddenly noticed that Ulquiorra's arm, the one that had been about to attack him, was gone. Blood was still gushing from the stump.
"Ulquiorra... do you want to die..." Just then, a cold voice echoed eerily through the empty Dangai.
"Captain Hitsugaya?!"
Orihime looked towards the voice and saw Toshiro had appeared behind her at some point, holding his sword in his right hand, looking coldly at Ulquiorra.
Clearly, Toshiro had just sent a slash that severed Ulquiorra's arm, saving Koichi.