Fighting Ulquiorra

Loud explosions echoed through Las Noches as Ichigo and Ulquiorra's blades met again and again, every collision causing a shockwave to ripple through the air.

Although Ichigo was struggling to keep up with Ulquiorra's speed, so far, he could still handle himself, which was a vast improvement from his previous encounter with Ulquiorra, where he didn't even have a chance while wearing his Hollow mask.

As the duo was continuously clashing, Orihime stood far away from the fight, spectating it while not really knowing what she should do.

However, while Orihime was contemplating her next step, a pair of hands appeared behind her, holding her mouth close and dragging her away.

"You damn bitch, it's over for you now. Aizen-sama said that he is no longer interested in you, so I can do what I want with you now."

"Orihime!?"

Naturally, Ichigo noticed Orihime getting dragged away, but his path was blocked by Ulquiorra, who couldn't care less whatever happened to her.

"Yo, you really are good at getting kidnapped, Orihime."

Before anyone else could react, a fist descended on the black-haired Hollow that tried to drag Orihime away, knocking her out instantly.

"N-Naruto!?"

"Yup, the one and only."

"Sup, Orihime, I'm here as well."

"Hehe, Nel is here as well!"

Looking at the trio in front of her, Orihime wore a somewhat weird expression due to the weird family on a trip feeling they were exuding, but in the end, she shook that feeling away and smiled at the trio.

"It's good to see you are well. By the well, what's with the unusual clothes, Tatsuki?"

Tatsuki, who still wore her lava clothes, went into a body-builder pose, flexing her lean muscles.

"Hehe, I got a better understanding of my power, and it became stronger. Frankly, I expected to be stronger than Ichigo now, but that idiot got like half a dozen power-ups in the span of the last two days, so I'm still behind him."

"Don't worry; you'll soon surpass him."

"Yes, yes, Tatsuki will be suuuper strong!"

While Orihime widened her eyes in surprise due to Tatsuki's words, Naruto and Nel simply cheered her on, causing Tatsuki to smile at the duo.

'They really look like a family. What happened while I was away, and who is that little Arrancar?'

Before Orihime could ponder the situation any further, a nearby wall broke, revealing a massive Arrancar.

"Yo, you need help, Ulquiorra."

"No, this is none of your business, Yammy. If you want to fight, deal with those other humans, or fight the Captains downstairs."

While the duo was chatting, Yammy persistently tried to get another shot against Ichigo; Naruto and Tatsuki were talking as well.

"Ohh, that's one of the guys who briefly came to our town a while ago."

"Right, there was someone like that, wasn't there?"

"I'll take him on Naruto. I haven't had a decent fight yet."

"Wait, Tatsuki! That's one of the Espa..."

While Naruto simply nodded his head, Orihime tried to stop Tatsuki, but before she could even get the full sentence out, Tatsuki had already vanished, smashing her fist into Yammy's face.

Obviously, Orihime knew that those two had fought before, but that happened after Ichigo had fought Yammy and even cut one of his arms off. Additionally, this was Hueco Mundo and not the world of the living, giving Hollow an advantage against humans.

"Naruto, shouldn't you help her?"

"Nah, Tatsuki is strong. I trust her to win that fight."

Orihime was shocked by Naruto's words and was even more shocked when she saw a gaze of unwavering confidence on his face.

Realizing that, unlike Naruto, her confidence and support for Ichigo were constantly wavering, she couldn't help but clench her teeth.

'Why can't I be this confident in Kurosaki-kun?'

Seeing Orihime's mood, Naruto's gaze lingered on her briefly before wandering back to the still-fighting Ichigo.

"You are not going to ask me to help Ichigo?"

Orihime's body briefly shook as her eyes landed on Naruto yet again. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out, causing her to close it again. She did so multiple times before she steeled herself, determination repairing in her eyes.

"No, I think Kurosaki-kun can w... No! I know he WILL win."

Naruto gave her another glance, and seeing how the look in her eyes had changed, Naruto nodded in approval while laughing loudly.

"Hahaha, that's right! That's the look you need to support Ichigo. If a woman in love watches them, men can become invincible, HAHAHA!!!"

"W-W-What a-a-a... I-I-I... l-l-LOVE!?"

While Orihime was overheating, Naruto continued laughing loudly as he continued spectating the fights happening around him. He noticed from the corner of his eyes how Yammy drew his Zanpakuto and released it, turning him into a colossal Hollow.

( A.N. I Yuna snapped Kubo's retarded plot twist about Yammy out of existence~)

Feeling the Hollow's Spiritual Pressure, Naruto nodded in approval.

'This should be a good match-up for Tatsuki~ Look at her cute smile; she seems happy~.'

[Note sure if I would call that "cute", but I'm already aware of your freaky tastes, so I won't comment on that any further.]

Suddenly, a powerful wave of Spiritual Pressure washed over Naruto, drawing his attention, and after looking at the source, he noticed that Ichigo had decided to Hollowfy.

Suddenly, the fight turned around as Ulquiorra was now the one getting pushed back by Ichigo, but after a few more minutes of back and forth, Ulquiorra briefly stopped fighting and flew upwards, closely followed by Ichigo.

"Well, it seems like they are continuing outside of Las Noches. You're coming as well, Orihime?"

Orihime briefly hesitated before a look of determination appeared on her face as she nodded her head in agreement.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew, picking up Naruto and Orihime and blowing them skyward. Orihime couldn't help but feel weird due to how the wind felt like it was actually picking her up rather than blowing her away, but she quickly decided not to worry about that.

Moments later, Ichigo and Ulquiorra had broken through the ceiling of Las Noches, closely followed by Naruto and Orihime a few seconds later.

"Imprison. Murcielago."

The moment Naruto and Orihime passed through the hole made by Ulquiorra, incredibly dense Spiritual Pressure covered them, causing Orihime to shiver and fear, while an excited smile appeared on Naruto's face.

'Now, that's what I'm talking about!'

[That's quite the thick Spiritual Pressure. It seems like Ichigo is done for.]

Naruto only hummed in agreement as he saw Ulquiorra attacking Ichigo with some kind of glowing spear he made out of Spiritual Power, sending Ichigo flying dozens of meters away while slicing off a part of his mask.

Following that, Ichigo fired a black [Getsuga Tenshou] at Ulquiorra, but he easily tanked it, receiving basically no damage before shooting back a [Cero Oscuras] while claiming that it was somewhat similar to Ichigo's Getsuga.

Although Ichigo tanked the blow, his mask was shattered, while his body took heavy damage, barely allowing him to keep standing. Despite that, he still got up, determination radiating out of his body.

Seeing Ichigo's current state, Orihime almost started crying as her gaze quickly landed on Naruto, who hadn't moved a single centimeter since coming here.

"Naruto, please save Kurosaki-kun!"

"No."

"Please! I'll do anything!"

Naruto briefly pondered whether she should tease Orihime for saying that but decided against it for now. He pondered how to answer her for a brief moment before he shrugged his shoulders.

"Ichigo hasn't lost yet. Well, at least he hasn't, in his own opinion. If I were to intervene in his fight right now, he would hold a grudge for a long time. He is aware that he is outmatched, and he is aware that the chance for him to win is slim, but that won't stop him from trying.

However, there is no need to worry, Orihime. I swear on my name that I won't allow Ulquiorra to kill Ichigo."

For some reason, a shiver went through Orihime's spine after Naruo swore on his name, but she decided to ignore that feeling for now. Frankly, she didn't want to see Ichigo getting hurt in the first place, but if his life was guaranteed, it was at least something.

The fight continued, and Ichigo continued to be utterly outmatched, taking more and more damage, making it basically impossible to still move.

Despite that, Ichigo got up again and again, confidence still firmly shining out of his eyes. So, Ulquiorra approached him rather casually, grabbing his neck and lifting him up.

"Why do you not drop your sword? By now, the difference in power should be clear to you, so why do you continue fighting?"

Hearing Ulquiorra's question, Ichigo scoffed in disdain as his blood-covered face looked down on Ulquiorra.

"So what? Do you think I would give up because you are stronger than me? I already knew that you were strong when this fight started, but so what? Me knowing how strong you are doesn't matter. I WILL beat you!"

Ulquiorra took in Ichigo's words for a brief moment before tossing him to the ground, apparently having understood the situation.

"I see, what nonsense. Those are the words of someone who doesn't know what true despair is. Very well, I will teach you true despair."

As soon as Ulquiorra finished speaking, incredibly dense black Spiritual Power exploded out of his body, making everyone who felt it feel like they had just jumped into an ocean filled with black water.

While Orihime shivered in fear as she most collapsed, Naruto casually moved between her and Ulquiorra to block the pressure, while a battle-thirsty grin appeared on Naruto's face.

'Oh yeah, this will be a lot of fun~'

"Orihime, you should take some more distance. This is a little too much for you."

Although Orihime wanted to deny Naruto's words, she also realized that without Naruto blocking the pressure, she would barely be able to stand, causing her to move away from the fight a little further.

"[Resurreccion Segunda Etapa]"

Ulquiorra opened his mouth and started speaking, telling Ichigo what kind of state he was currently in while also telling him that he was the only Espada that unlocked a second stage of the Resurreccion, shocking him greatly.

Following Ulquiorra's second transformation, Ichigo was so outmatched that it couldn't even be considered a fight anymore, and not even a full minute later, Ulquiorra raised the barely conscious Ichigo up by his neck with Ulquiorra's tail.

Having Ichigo basically defeated, Ulquiorra allowed his sense to spread and noticed Orihime, watching what was happening in horror.

"So you are here, woman. Very good. Just in time for you to see the man you put your hopes in to die."

As soon as Ulquiorra stopped speaking, he raised his arm and pointed his finger at Ichigo's chest while gathering black Spiritual Power at his fingertip.

Just when he was about to blast a hole into Ichigo's chest with a Cero, someone else appeared, pushing Ulquiorra's hand away, causing him to barely miss Ichigo.

"Well, sorry to interrupt your fight; I have a promise to keep."

"I-I c-can st..."

Naruto scoffed in disdain as the almost unconscious Ichigo somehow wanted to claim that he could still keep going.

"Shut up, Ichigo. You are still too weak to protect everyone, so I'll be taking over."

"W-Weak?"

That was the last word he could utter before his consciousness faded away, and he fainted.

"Well, be a dear and let him go, would you, Ulquiorra?"

In response to Naruto's question, Ulquiorra pointed his finger at Naruto, causing him to smile wryly as Spiritual Power for another Cero quickly gathered at its tip.

"Well, that's a no~."

Naruto dodged the attack by using Ulquiorra's arm he was grabbing to pull himself away, flipping over his arm and, while doing so, delivering a kick into Ulquiorra's face, sending him sliding away a few meters and forcing him to release Ichigo.

Catching the falling Ichigo with one hand, Naruto tossed him towards Orihime, whose eyes widened in shock when she noticed Ichigo's current condition, resulting in her instantly starting to heal him.

"Well, that wasn't very nice, Ulquiorra. Guess I'll have to get a little serious. [Ban KAI.]"

Dense Spiritual Pressure erupted out of Naruto, almost contesting the pressure Ulquiorra was oozing, coloring the black ocean of Spiritual Power with a slight tint of yellow, surprising Ulquiorra quite a bit.

"Impressive. I've read about you, Bankai, in Tosen's report, but he didn't describe it as this formidable."

"[Ten-Tailed Wind Demon Fox.]"

Ignoring Ulquiorra's words, Naruto now had a dense layer of Spiritual Power covering his body. Said layer clearly outlined the form of a fox with ten tails energetically swinging from its tailbone.

"Indeed, aside from the pressure, it's exactly as the reports said. As far as I remember, it grants you great control over wind."

Hearing Ulquiorra's words, Naruto chuckled in amusement as the tip of one of his Spiritual Power tails pointed at Ulquiorra.

"Hee~ Is that what you thought my Bankai did? Sorry to disappoint you, but it's not just that. That being said, let's have some fun, shall we?

[Bijuudama]"

Suddenly, a black ball of concentrated Spiritual Power condensed at the tip of the tail, pointing at Ulquiorra, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. So far, he had never heard anything about Naruto's Bankai being able to do something like this.

The ball was shot at Ulquiorra, but he managed to react in time to barely dodge it. It sailed past Ulquiorra, barely missing him by a few centimeters, before vanishing in the distance. Seconds later, a colossal explosion erupted in the distance where the ball of concentrated Spiritual Power was previously shot, causing the earth to shake as powerful wind generated from the explosion blew over everyone present.

The moment the wind stopped blowing, total silence reigned on the battlefield. While Orihime could only stare at the massive explosion in the distance, utterly dumbfounded, Ulquiorra's gaze was locked on Naruto.

Frankly, he had an attack with similar destructive power, but he did not expect to meet a Shinigami who could match that kind of destructive force. Especially not a Shinigami that had been a human for most of his life.

"You are strong, human. I admit that much. However, in the end, there is no way for a human or a Shinigami to ever become as strong as a Hollow. You are simply inferior."

"He said, while clearly having adopted some of the racial traits of a Shinigami. Don't sell yourself as an idiot, Ulquiorra. Fight me seriously, or I will make you regret ever looking down on me."

The moment Naruto finished speaking, the tips of all ten of his tales pointed at Ulquiorra, making him take a step back as massive amounts of Spiritual Power gathered, finally forming a black sphere that had four blade-like appendages spinning around it.

"It's been a while since I used this, so you better don't drop your guard, Ulquiorra. If you do, you will undoubtedly die. Wind Style: Bijuudama Rasenshuriken."

Meanwhile, within Ichigo's mind, another battle was going on, as Ichigo was furiously clashing with a color-inverted version of himself.

"Is this all you have to show, ICHIGO!? Weak, SO WEAK!!! YOU CAN'T PROTECT ANYTHING DEAR TO YOU!!!"

"SHUT UP!!! I'LL DEAL WITH THIS MYSELF!!! I'LL SAVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY FRIENDS!!!"

"NO!!! I DON'T ACCEPT IT!!! I CAN'T ACCEPT IT!!! YOU ARE NOT MY KING!!! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY TO BE MY KING!!! AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN YOU NEED TO BE SAVED AND REMINDED OF YOUR POSITION!!! YOU ARE NOT MY KING!!!"

While that intern conflict was happening inside of Ichigo, within Hueco Mundo, changes started to slowly but surely appear on his body. Indicating that he clearly wasn't winning against his inner Hollow right now.