"Before I came to Hueco Mundo, Captain Urahara gave me something that can open a Garganta here. He said it would allow me to create a pathway back to the World of the Living. However, unlike the Dangai, the Garganta lacks a supporting structure. To travel through it, one must create a path of spiritual particles."
Ichigo explained to Orihime and the others, as Unohana opened a Garganta. "Orihime, Uryū, Chad, Captain Unohana and I will go ahead. You follow Lieutenant Isane back to Soul Society and return to the World of the Living after the battle."
"Be careful, Ichigo."
…
Unohana led the way, Ichigo followed closely behind. Beneath Unohana's feet, a smooth, flat plane of spiritual particles shimmered, a beacon in the endless darkness of the Garganta. The precision of her control was evident in the flawless surface.
"Ichigo, you might encounter intense fighting when we arrive in Karakura Town. How much spiritual pressure do you have left?"
Unohana asked as she created the path. She had sensed the intensity of Ichigo's battle from below Las Noches and was unsure of his current reserves.
"I'm fine, Captain Unohana. My spiritual pressure regenerates quickly. I'll be fully recovered within ten minutes."
Unohana was surprised. She had met powerful Shinigami, herself among them, but Ichigo's recovery rate was exceptional.
"Then you create the path. According to Captain Urahara, the distance within a Garganta is relative to the one creating the path. Someone with high spiritual pressure can traverse it quickly, while a weaker Hollow might take days to travel from Hueco Mundo to the World of the Living."
"Understood." Ichigo nodded. This was no time for modesty. His spiritual pressure did surpass Unohana's.
He moved ahead, creating his own path of spiritual particles. Unlike Unohana's smooth, even surface, however, Ichigo's was uneven, varying in thickness, its edges ragged and incomplete.
He glanced back at his handiwork, then at Unohana's, feeling a pang of embarrassment. The difference was stark, like a child's scribbles compared to a master's painting.
"Captain Unohana, I…"
"It's alright, Ichigo. It's quite impressive, considering your level of spiritual pressure. I've been a Shinigami for a thousand years. You've only been one for six months. Given time, your control will surely rival mine."
"Is that so?" Ichigo laughed nervously. He felt he had reached his limit. Even decades of training wouldn't improve his control significantly.
After Ailin had forged his Quincy and Hollow Zangetsu, his spiritual pressure had skyrocketed. His initial Bankai had been unstable. Even after mastering it, he found his spiritual pressure more volatile, no longer restrained by Old Man Zangetsu. He couldn't imagine the effort required to achieve Unohana's level of control.
"Ichigo, before we arrive, I must tell you something. After Karakura Town was chosen as the battleground, we constructed a replica in the Zaraki district of Rukongai. The Kidō Corps will swap the two locations using a spacetime Kidō. The battlefield we're heading to is a fake. Any damage caused will be contained within Soul Society. The real Karakura Town has been moved to Soul Society. So fight without restraint. Unleash your full power."
"I see." Ichigo relaxed. He had been worried about civilian casualties, but the Soul Society had taken precautions. The real Karakura Town was safe.
…
"Roar, Tiburón!"
Tier Harribel, the Tercera Espada, had released her Resurrección shortly after Barragan. Toshiro Hitsugaya's ice-type Zanpakutō was her natural counter. She had been pushed onto the defensive, a humiliating experience for a Tres Espada, to be suppressed by a child.
Before becoming an Arrancar, Harribel had been a Vasto Lorde, possessing power comparable to a captain. After Nelliel's supposed death, Aizen, having tasked Nnoitra Gilga and Szayelaporro Granz with finding a replacement, had threatened to erase their numbers if they failed. Harribel had joined Las Noches then, becoming the new Tercera Espada.
However, Hitsugaya, despite his youth, was no weakling. Trained by Ailin, he possessed power rivaling even the strongest captains. His Zanpakutō, Hyōrinmaru, the strongest ice-type Zanpakutō, could control the moisture in the air, freezing it into ice. Harribel, too, could control water. Their fight became a battle for control over the surrounding moisture. Harribel's water could be frozen by Hyōrinmaru, and she could only regain control by shattering and evaporating Hitsugaya's ice.
Now, having released her Resurrección, her spiritual pressure and abilities had increased, turning the tide of the battle.
"Burning Tide!"
She swung her shark-fin Zanpakutō, unleashing a torrent of water that shattered Hitsugaya's ice and surged towards him.
"It seems I can't defeat you in my current state." Hitsugaya raised his Zanpakutō as the waterfall approached.
"Bankai…"
"Daiguren Hyōrinmaru!"
His spiritual pressure exploded, and the clear sky above the replica Karakura Town darkened, storm clouds gathering rapidly. Weather manipulation. The strongest elemental Zanpakutō possessed this ability, their Bankai granting them control over the elements and creating weather patterns that enhanced their power.
The sheer cold emanating from Hitsugaya's released Zanpakutō began freezing the approaching torrent. However, this wasn't enough to stop Harribel's Burning Tide. The leading edge froze, then shattered, only to freeze and shatter again. Propelled by the water behind it, the torrent continued its advance.
Hitsugaya, with icy wings sprouting from his back, charged towards the wave.
"Thousand-Bird Ice Spikes!"
He swung his Zanpakutō, and the water before him instantly froze, forming countless ice spikes that shot towards Harribel.
"Cascada!"
Harribel retreated and unleashed pressurized streams of water from her Zanpakutō that shattered the incoming spikes. Having cleared a path, a golden aura enveloped her blade.
"Cero!"
She unleashed a powerful Cero that tore through the remaining ice spikes towards Hitsugaya.
"Multi-Layered Ice Wall!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several layers of ice formed before Hitsugaya, absorbing the Cero's impact. The attack dissipated before it could reach him.
Hitsugaya glanced at the ice flowers above his head. One petal had shattered.
"Arrancar, I would enjoy continuing this, but time is of the essence." He raised his Zanpakutō. "I will now get serious."
"Oh? Is your youthful body unable to sustain such power?"
Harribel had noticed the four ice flowers above Hitsugaya's head. She hadn't understood their significance until she saw one petal shatter after his large-scale attacks. They were a limiter, a sign of his inability to control his Bankai's power.
"Out of respect, I will fight you at full power. I won't exploit your weakness."
A golden aura enveloped Harribel.
Hitsugaya smield. Most mistook the ice flowers for a limiter. They didn't realize that, thanks to Ailin's training, the flowers were a sign of his growing mastery over Hyōrinmaru. His opponents had a limited window of opportunity, before the flowers completely shattered. Anyone who tried to exploit his perceived weakness would face his full, unrestrained power.
Harribel, however, seeking a fair fight, was an ideal opponent.
He would end this quickly.
"Crashing Waterfall!" Harribel unleashed her strongest attack. A swirling vortex of water, like a colossal serpent, tore through Hitsugaya's ice walls towards him.
"Millennium Ice Prison!"
Hitsugaya raised his Zanpakutō.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dozens of ice pillars erupted from the ground around Harribel.
She swung her Zanpakutō and water spouts struck the pillars. However, upon contact, the water instantly froze, the resulting ice shattered under its own momentum.