"Second stage of Resurrección..."
Ulquiorra said expressionlessly: "Resurrección, also known as Release, is a unique ability of us Arrancar, equivalent to a Shinigami's Bankai. But generally speaking, even the other Espada can only achieve the first stage of Resurrección. I am the only Espada capable of achieving the second stage of release..."
"Not even Aizen-sama has seen this form, Hitsugaya Toshiro... You are the first to see me in my Segunda Etapa state. Do I now have the qualification to witness your Bankai?"
Looking at the confident Ulquiorra, Toshiro's expression became serious for the first time.
Powerful!
Very powerful!!
Even with Toshiro's pride, he had to admit that Ulquiorra at this moment was immensely powerful.
Ulquiorra in his Segunda Etapa state had Reiatsu as heavy as the ocean. Even Toshiro felt considerable pressure, as if he were deep in the ocean, surrounded by endless water pressing in on him.
'Such powerful Reiatsu... Ulquiorra has indeed reached the peak of the Beyond-Captain class...'
In his previous life, there was much debate about Ulquiorra's exact power level. Some believed Ulquiorra in Segunda Etapa was stronger than the Primera Espada, Starrk, while others thought Ulquiorra was inferior to Starrk.
Toshiro had never fought Starrk, so he couldn't judge who was stronger. But he could be sure they were on the same level... even if one was stronger, the difference wouldn't be significant.
"Hitsugaya Toshiro! Fight me with your true strength! Or do you think that even in this state, I am not worthy to be your opponent!!"
Seeing Toshiro seemingly in a daze, even Ulquiorra couldn't help but feel a bit angry.
"Yes, it's time to get serious and end this battle..."
Toshiro said in a deep voice.
Toshiro didn't intend to drag things out with Ulquiorra any longer. Although Ulquiorra was indeed very powerful, he was ultimately not an opponent on the same level as Toshiro. If Toshiro got serious, Ulquiorra would have been dead long ago.
But because Toshiro's power was too great, whether in Soul Society or the Living World, he always carefully controlled his strength, afraid of accidentally damaging them during battle.
Thus, he developed the peculiar habit of suppressing his power as much as possible during fights.
Therefore, having too much power can sometimes become a constraint, like Yamamoto, who, aside from his spar with Toshiro in the Dangai, hadn't used his Bankai in over a thousand years.
Apart from the fact that no enemy in that millennium was worthy of his Bankai, the main reason was the devastating destructive power of his Bankai, which prevented him from freely displaying his strength.
But now, Toshiro was in the Dangai. No matter how much chaos he caused, it would hardly affect the Living World or Soul Society. So Toshiro didn't need to suppress himself as usual... instead, he could let loose and fight freely.
Thinking this, Toshiro no longer held back, deciding to get serious and kill Ulquiorra!
"Sigh, Ulquiorra... after all, we stand on different sides, so... you are destined to die here today!"
Toshiro sighed regretfully, then pointed his sword at the void and whispered: "Pseudo Bankai! Daiguren Hyorinmaru!!"
Boom!
A blue Reiatsu pillar shot into the chaotic, void sky of the Dangai.
Black clouds appeared from nowhere, covering the entire chaotic void of the Dangai.
Boom… Rumble!
Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the chaotic void, like a world-ending, vast thunder tribulation.
Simultaneously, Toshiro's appearance changed dramatically.
His right arm holding the sword was covered in ice crystals, resembling a dragon's limb. A pair of giant ice wings behind him almost covered his entire body.
Then, three sets of four ice-crystal red lotus petals, twelve in total, appeared behind him, making him look full of sacred dignity.
Boom!
Powerful Reiatsu erupted from Toshiro's body, shaking the surroundings. Ulquiorra, not far away, even felt some difficulty breathing.
He could sense that the Reiatsu Toshiro was releasing wasn't much greater than his own. However, the resulting pressure far exceeded his, because the quality and density of Toshiro's Reiatsu were incomparable.
An unprecedented sense of extreme crisis rose in Ulquiorra's heart. So... Ulquiorra decided to strike first!
"Lanza del Relámpago!"
Ulquiorra pressed his hands together, then suddenly pulled them apart to the sides. A spear of high-density green Reishi appeared in his hands.
"Actually, if possible... I wouldn't want to use this technique at close range..." Ulquiorra said, then hurled the high-density Reishi Spear at Toshiro.
But Toshiro, having used Pseudo Bankai, stood motionless, seemingly not regarding Ulquiorra's attack at all.
Whoosh—
Ulquiorra's high-density Reishi Spear kicked up a gust of wind, whistling past Toshiro's body, completely missing him.
Boom!!!
The errant spear flew tens of kilometers before crashing to the ground, then erupted with a deafening roar, exploding violently.
A mushroom cloud rose from the explosion site, and the resulting shockwave flattened the area for several kilometers around. It was like a small nuclear bomb had detonated.
"So, it missed after all? It seems it is very difficult to control..." Ulquiorra frowned.
The power of Ulquiorra's Lanza del Relámpago was indeed immense, but precisely because it was so powerful, even Ulquiorra himself had difficulty controlling it.
That's why he said he didn't want to use it at close range. If it exploded nearby, even he would be caught in the blast.
"This technique... its power is passable, I suppose." Toshiro said calmly, as if he hadn't just narrowly escaped a 'small nuclear bomb' blast.
"Oh? Just passable, is it..." Ulquiorra again extended his hands to condense another Lanza del Relámpago, intending to attack Toshiro again.
"To be able to use a technique of this level consecutively in a short time, it seems I did underestimate you. However... it's no big deal."
Toshiro's giant ice wings behind him flapped hard, seemingly causing the very space to ripple.
Swish!
Toshiro's figure instantly vanished from Ulquiorra's sight.
"What?!"
Ulquiorra found that his Pesquisa couldn't track even the slightest movement of Toshiro.
Swish!
Toshiro's figure suddenly appeared before Ulquiorra, and he swung his Zanpakuto towards Ulquiorra's head.
Under the life-or-death crisis, Ulquiorra jerked his head to the side.
Scrape—
The twin horns on Ulquiorra's helmet were severed by Toshiro's single slash.
"Hmph! Don't underestimate me!! Hitsugaya Toshiro!!!"
As Toshiro swung his sword, severing Ulquiorra's horns before he could withdraw his blade, Ulquiorra suddenly roared and thrust the Lanza del Relámpago in his hand at Toshiro.
Smack—
Toshiro directly grabbed Ulquiorra's Lanza del Relámpago with his left hand!
"What?! He caught my Lanza del Relámpago barehanded!!!" Ulquiorra was shocked.
Crack, crack, crack...
Bone-chilling cold emanated from Toshiro's hand, instantly freezing Ulquiorra's Lanza del Relámpago into an 'ice spear'.
Bang!
Toshiro squeezed hard, and Ulquiorra's Lanza del Relámpago shattered into countless tiny ice crystals.
"Ice Dragon Tail!"
By then, Toshiro had withdrawn his right-hand Zanpakuto and was compressing his immensely powerful Reiatsu into it. Then, the blue Ice Dragon Tailslashed towards Ulquiorra.
Schlick—!!
Ulquiorra's body was diagonally cleaved in two from right to left by Toshiro's [Ice Dragon Tail].
Even Ulquiorra's overpowered High-Speed Regeneration couldn't recover from this.
"Hitsugaya... Toshiro... Since I have lost... I no longer have the strength to exist... Do it... give me a quick death..."
Ulquiorra's vitality was astonishing. Even after being cleaved in two, he didn't die immediately. He painfully asked Toshiro for a quick death.
"Give you a quick death? Alright..." Seeing Ulquiorra's tragic state, Toshiro sighed and agreed.
Toshiro whispered: "Hyoten Hyakkaso!"
Boom!
The ice-blue Reiatsu pillar shot into the void sky above.
Then, within the clouds covering the sky due to Toshiro's Weather Subjugationability, a blue void appeared, continuously expanding, covering an area tens of kilometers wide.
Countless snowflakes then fell from the void in the sky like an avalanche.
In the Dangai, which had remained unchanged and chaotic for countless years, the strange phenomenon of snow appeared.
"..."
Toshiro sighed and turned away.
Behind him, snowflakes fell upon Ulquiorra, blooming into ice-crystal petals, until hundreds of flowers had bloomed, completely covering his figure.