Crushing Espada (IV) [BLEACH UNIVERSE]
“And who are you supposed to be?” Grimmjow asked as he jumped down from his makeshift platform, looking wary, but he was still willing to confront the intruder. He couldn’t sense much from the woman standing in front of him, but he could tell that she was dangerous. Before anything else, Grimmjow was a predator and he knew the difference between a prey and a predator.
The woman standing in front of him was most definitely a predator… Maybe, he could finally have some fun…
“Kaguya Otsutsuki” The Clone answered without much fanfare while wondering how to deal with the Sexta Espada’s Fraccion. It wasn’t like she couldn’t deal with them in an instant, but it was never clear in the anime if Grimmjow really cared about how much he cared about his Fraccion. Even his Wiki page lacked the details, but Kaguya was certain that Grimmjow hated weaklings.
“Grimmjow-sama-“ Shawlong began to say something as he tried to step in front of Grimmjow so that he could face the intruder in place of Grimmjow.
“Step aside. You are not her opponent” Grimmjow growled. His tone made all the members of his Fraccion shiver in fear. “All of you, fuck off. I don’t want to kill anyone of you by accident” Grimmjow mocked and his Fraccion members flinched at his tone. They looked at each other for a moment before Shawlong started to leave the room with the others soon following his example.
Shawlong was reluctant at first, but he knew what kind of man Grimmjow was. Grimmjow might have accepted them in his Fraccion, but he knew that the man didn’t care about them, not really. He simply accepted them because it would have left a bad taste in his mouth to kill them after they swore their allegiance to him. He gave Grimmjow one last look before he finally left the room.
“So, you do care about them” The Clone said out loud as she stared toward the door.
However, Grimmjow simply scoffed derisively. “Like hell I do!” Grimmjow snapped with a sneer. “They are just weaklings I decided to take in as pity after they swore that they wanted to swerve me as their ‘King’” Grimmjow finished with a hint of irritation in his voice.
However, the Clone knew that the man was lying… Yes, he wasn’t lying, at least not completely. He obviously believed that they were weaklings, but somewhere inside his cold heart, he did care about them. Who would have thought that Grimmjow was a Tsundere?
“They would have simply gotten in the way of our fight” Grimmjow declared derisively.
“A fight?” The Clone asked as she inclined her head in confusion. Grimmjow opened his mouth to retort or say something, but before anything could come out of his mouth, he found his face in her grip as he was moving through the air. His eyes grew wide in shock… After all, he didn’t even see her move.
‘What?!’ Grimmjow screamed inside his mind as the woman smashed him through a wall and then another one and then another one. After smashing him through several walls, she slammed him into the ground and started to drag him through the desert before finally tossing him toward one of the massive pillars supporting the roofs of Las Noches.
Grimmjow stumbled to his feet, feeling like he had been dropped from the roof of Las Noches. His body ached, but he was sporting a feral grin on his face. He believed that the woman must have caught him by surprise, but he wasn’t angry or anything. After all, it was his fault for getting caught. He was so shocked by the sudden attack that he couldn’t even fight back properly.
He was willing to admit that it was a mistake on his part. A mistake he wasn’t willing to repeat…
Grimmjow walked to the hole he had made when the woman had tossed him at the pillar and looked down to find the woman staring at him. He was right… The woman was a predator, just like him. Even though her Reiatsu was weak, the woman was otherwise strong, which meant that she was simply restraining herself. He was going to force her to stop holding back if that was the last thing he was going to do.
Grimmjow jumped down from the pillar and landed a few meters away from the woman. The woman slowly pulled out her Zanpaktou and Grimmjow did the same while looking at her with a savage grin on his face. The woman was still looking down at him. Her posture was full of openings or her posture was simply a trap to catch him off-guard?
Grimmjow decided that he wasn’t going to play her game… He was going to attack her on his own terms, With that thoughts in his mind, instead of charging at her like he usually did, he simply raised his hand and attacked her with Bala. However, much to his shock, the woman simply slashed through his Bala with her Zanpaktou and at the same time, a huge gash also appeared on his chest.
Grimmjow trembled as he slowly looked down at his chest… It wasn’t a deep wound, but he was bleeding. The woman hadn’t moved from her position, but he was cut by her Zanpaktou… Only two people could have cut him like this without moving from their position. One of them was Ichimaru Gin and the other was Sousuke Aizen. Gin could extend the length of his Zanpaktou to stab his opponents, while Aizen could cut his opponents with a simple swing of his Zanpaktou.
Grimmjow knew for certain that her Zanpaktou didn’t extend… Instead, she cut him with a simple swing or she was using her Shikai…
Grimmjow growled and swiped some blood off his chest with his hand. “Gran Rey Cero!” Grimmjow exclaimed and a blue beam shot out of his hand. The Clone simply raised her hand, looking bored and blocked the Cero variant with her bare hand, shocking Grimmjow once again. However, the show of power was finally enough for Grimmjow to realize that the woman in front of him was much stronger than him.
After all, not just anyone could simply block a Gran Rey Cero without taking any damage…
“Grind Pantera!” Grimmjow released his Zanpaktou without wasting any time. His pride was hurt, but he knew he couldn’t beat her in his sealed state. Maybe, he could have a chance if he released his Zanpaktou. However, as soon as he finished his transformation, blood spurted out everywhere around him as blood gushed out of a new cut on his chest like a fountain.
‘What the fuck?’ Grimmjow cursed inside his mind as he started to lose all power. The woman was still standing in her original spot, but the next moment she was right in front of him. Grimmjow tried to fight back, but he had no power… The injury was serious and his body was in overdrive trying to keep him alive. He released his Zanpaktou, but he still failed to react to her speed.
Grimmjow didn’t know how to feel about that… The woman was standing right in front of him to most likely land the finishing blow on him. He never thought that he was going to die like this, but he didn’t mind it… Not really. He knew that he was going to die eventually and he was prepared for that, but he always envisioned his death to come in the form of a glorious battle.
Not like this… This was not a fight, it was simply an execution…
However, Grimmjow still accepted what was coming to him and closed his eyes in acceptance, but before he could fall to the ground, the woman grabbed him by his hair and held him aloft. Grimmjow winced and his eyes snapped open. “You will not die. I was careful. From now on, you work for me” The woman said in an indifferent tone, earning a look of understanding from him.
So, that was what all of this was about?
The woman simply wanted to prove that she was stronger than him. A part of him felt annoyed, but the rest of him could only admire her in respect. In her place, he would have done the same. The weak worked for the strong or they were swept aside… It felt ironic to be on the other side of the fence, but he had been on the other side of the fence for quite some time.
Aizen had also recruited him in a somewhat similar manner, but Aizen was nothing like the woman who beat him. Aizen was strong, there was no denying that, but rather than using his brute force, Aizen was a sweet-talker. The woman finally released him and he slowly slumped down on the sand, feeling tired and heavy. The last thing he saw was her retreating back before he finally passed out…
~~7th Clone~~
Ulquiorra Cifer was slowly making his way toward the outer walls to see who Yammy was fighting. The Cero Espada was forbidden from releasing his Zanpaktou inside Las Noches, but he had done so, which meant he was facing a strong adversary whoever it was. Yammy was not smart, he was basically a brute, but he was still intelligent enough to know that he would be in trouble if he broke the rules.
In the absence of Aizen-sama, Gin-sama, and Tosen-sama, Ulquiorra was in charge of Las Noches. Baraggan would say otherwise, but everyone knew that truth. Baraggan wasn’t liked by anyone including Aizen-sama and his retinue. Baraggan still believed that he was in control even though his days of glory were nothing but history, but the man was smart enough to know when not to rock the boat.
Las Noches trembled and Ulquiorra frowned… The timing of the attack was not good. In fact, the timing was worse… The Espadas and the Arrancars were getting restless and without Aizen-sama or his retinue, it was getting harder to control them. For example, Baraggan was still following the rules laid down by Aizen-sama, but soon he was going to lose his patience and fly off the handle.
If that happened then Ulquiorra would be completely powerless to stop the revolt… Yes, it was true that Ulquiorra was strong and maybe stronger than every other Espada with his second release, but Baraggan’s power was impossible to deal with. After all, there was a reason why Baraggan was able to reign over Hueco Mundo for so long…
However, Ulquiorra soon stopped in his tracks when he saw a portal appear a few metres from him. Moments later, a woman with three eyes and black marks all over her body flew out of the portal. At first, Ulquiorra wondered if she was a Hollow just like them, but her Reaitsu felt completely different. It took a moment for him to realize but he couldn’t feel any sort of Reiatsu from the woman.
Maybe, she was keeping it suppressed, but to Ulquiorra, the woman felt like a puppet, nothing more…
“Ulquiorra Cifer” The woman greeted him and Ulquiorra simply stared at her. “Tell me, do you believe in emotions?” The woman asked.
“Who are you?” Instead of answering her question, Ulquiorra asked.
“Kaguya Otsutsuki. Now answer my question” The Clone said in a chilling tone.
“Why are you here?” Once again, instead of answering her question, Ulquiorra asked. However, the next moment, Ulquiorra found himself planted in the wall. His eyes grew wide in surprise, but the hand wrapped around his neck tightened, making him gasp. Ulquiorra tried to move, but a metal rod appeared in her hand and stabbed him in the shoulder, pinning him to the wall.
Ulquiorra felt his power disappearing… He could no longer access his Reiatsu and he started to feel physically tired…
“I do not have much patience, Ulquiorra” The woman released his throat and backed away. “You will be answering my questions or you will be dying here” The Clone spoke coldly, leaving no room for any arguments…