After Sombra dealt with Rey, and made sure that Shokyo would help the other spirit settle into his inner world, he returned to the group that he had brought with him and activated the second part of the spell that he had used to get them all here in the first place, transporting them all back to their bodies and allowing them to move again. He expected that many of them had questions for him, in regards to the Crystal Empire, the ponies that had appeared when they entered his inner world, and the fact that his old self was a pony, but since he was still coming to terms with what he had been shown, when Rey tried to take over, Sombra told them that some of the answers he didn't know and would have to get the information out of the spirit in his Arrancar Zanpakuto in the future. Certain members of the group, such as Captain Hitsuguya, were just happy for him winning his inner battle, even if Rey had started out the battle in a winning manner until Sombra turned the tables and finished the battle, and they said nothing as both the Shinigami and Visored went back to what they had been doing before Sombra invited them to watch his inner battle, and that was training for the next arrival of Aizen's Arrancar.
Yoruichi, on the other hand, remained behind with him and Ichigo, as she was curious as to why Sombra hadn't said anything about what he had seen, since she was sure that Rey had shown him everything that he could remember, and while she was correct, as that had happened, Sombra told her that he needed time to come to terms with what he had seen, as there were some events in his past that he needed to think about before he told anyone about them. He also wasn't all that surprised that Yoruichi had figured out that he wasn't telling the others the truth, as his memories had been locked and he said that he'd need to get them from Rey, but at the same time Yoruichi was willing to accept what he had said, as she knew that he needed time to do what he wanted to do. Despite the fact that his legs ended in hooves, he had a pony tail and pony ears, and he had a curved horn, Yoruichi also told him that she wasn't too surprised to find that he had once been a stallion, before coming to this world and becoming what he was now, but while Sombra knew that the others were thinking the same thing he decided to tell no one about being from another world, not until they were done with the war that they were currently in with Aizen's forces.
That night Sombra, for the first time since he walked out of the Garganta and appeared in front of Urahara's shop, actually dreamed when he fell asleep, going back to a time before his change into the tyrant that his world likely knew him as, if they bothered to record him, and when the sun rose in his dream he woke to find it happening in this world as well, telling him that he had slept till the morning like usual.
Once Sombra had defeated Rey, and Ichigo had subdued Zangetsu, the real training began, as Hiyori, with the other Visored watching them, insisted that she be the one to smack Ichigo around while he practiced his Hollowfication, or rather him gathering his reiatsu together and forming his mask on his face, just like the Visored could do. It was an interesting process to watch, as while Sombra could tell that Ichigo was slower when he put on his mask, since he wasn't used to the process yet, he could also tell that his power was greater when he was in this state, making him wonder just how strong Ichigo would be if he went into his Bankai state. From what he could tell Hiyori was trying to force Ichigo to extend the amount of time he could use his Hollow mask, telling him that these things had a time limit until they shattered and were reduced to nothing, but at the same time he noticed something that was wrong with the scenario, keeping Ichigo in his Shikai state, when he preferred to use his Bankai all the time against his opponents, wasn't the way to go, as it seemed to be a slow process.
When he decided that he had watched Ichigo's training enough, to know exactly what was going on at the moment, Sombra got up from where he was sitting and removed Hiyori from where she was standing, before turning towards Ichigo and told him to use his Bankai, and then follow it up with his mask. Of course Ichigo questioned him, as he wasn't entirely sure that he should be pissing off the Visored once more, especially Hiyori, though Sombra informed him that doing this would allow them to truly test his power and push the amount of time he could use his mask. The rest of the Visored raised their eyebrows as Ichigo did as Sombra said, first activating his Bankai and then pulling on his mask, but that was when Sombra surprised him and not only drew Shokyo from her scabbard, but also drew Rey with his left hand, with nothing happening to him in the process. The first thing Sombra did was release his reiatsu, keeping it at the low end of what he was capable of while showing that he was a Vasto Lorde, before he flashed forward and started attacking Ichigo as the two of them flashed around the training area, this time with the intent to harm their opponent.
The reason Sombra was doing it this way was because he knew that Ichigo's skills really expanded when he was in a life or death situation, and battling someone that had the amount of reiatsu that Sombra had would be just the thing that Ichigo needed to raise his own skills at the speed that Shinji and Hiyori had been talking about.
A few hours later, when they reached a point where they could break, Yoruichi approached them and told Sombra that Captain Hitsuguya, along with Lieutenant Matsumoto, Ikkaku, and Yumichika were going to one of the parks that the town had, where they were going to do their own Jinzen, sword meditation as Sombra recalled, along with other types of training to improve their skills. Renji, on the other hand, was staying at Urahara's shop for the duration of their stay in the World of the Living and was currently training Chad, using his own Bankai against their friend in an attempt to rapidly increase his own power to the point where he could be of assistance to them when Aizen's Arrancar arrived. As it turned out Rukia, Orihime, and Sora had gotten permission to go back to Soul Society, where the three of them intended to train and prepare themselves for the battles to come, especially since Orihime wanted to get the power to assist the group in protecting their town and Sora wanted the power to protect both his sister and the other people that happened to call Karakura Town home.
Sombra was happy to hear that everyone was preparing for the battle ahead of them, especially since there was no telling when Aizen's forces might arrive to do battle with them, and when Ichigo took a longer break than normal he held a hand out and caused an annoyed Rey to materialize, more because of his defeat and not because he had been called to do some training with Sombra, while Shokyo joined them moments later. He informed the Visored that he was doing this, as in training with both spirits of his Zanpakutos, because he wanted to master the art of using Rey in battle, if he wanted to go with just that one blade, and even begin to tap into the art of using both of them at the same time, being the only Arrancar to be able to dual wield, in the history of Soul Society. Despite his sour mood Rey was more than willing to try and beat him again, and working along side Shokyo seemed to be hard for him, considering that she seemed to actually represent the very artifact that had been his downfall, but at the very least he acknowledged that Sombra was the one in charge and listened to him, which was why they were training whenever Ichigo needed to take a long break from the training that Sombra was putting him through.
He knew that all of them were going to need all the power they could muster when it came time for their next battle with Aizen's Arrancar, something that they all knew was coming, and despite the fact that Captain Hitsuguya claimed that the battle would be taking place in winter, a few months from now, Sombra had the feeling that the reality of the situation was going to be completely different.
Ulquiorra walked down one of the many hallways of Las Noches, heading to a very special room that only certain Arrancar gathered in when their Lord was busy using the Hogyoku, as it was unofficially known as the Room of Rebirth, or Sala de Renacimiento as some of the Arrancar called it. The reason only some of the Arrancar gathered in that room was because they liked to watch Lord Aizen transform another willing Hollow, usually a Gillian or an Adjuchas, into an Arrancar that would be joining their army, though oddly enough Ulquiorra noted that their Lord had not bothered to replace the five Arrancar that Grimmjow had lost, meaning that his focus was on something else at the moment. Walking beside him was none other than Yammy, who sometimes acted like he was his enforcer or something, but Ulquiorra only let him follow him around because there were rare times where Yammy actually produced decent results in his missions, though it was only bad luck that he had to fight both Sombra and Ichigo the last time they were in the World of the Living, which was on the third of September... meaning that since today was the morning of the twenty-ninth, as Lord Aizen had asked him to keep track of the days in the World of the Living, it had been twenty-six days since that event.
He paused his thoughts for a moment, just as he was about to remember what else Lord Aizen had asked him to do when he received the order to keep track of what day it was, as both he and Yammy came to the largest door in the hallway, as it was much taller than the other ones, and he knew where they were.
"It is Ulquiorra, along with Yammy." Ulquiorra stated, as there was a reiatsu signature attached to the door, one that was always there when their Lord was busy preparing the ritual for a new Arrancar to be born, before the seal broke apart to allow them passage, "We're coming in."
Ulquiorra opened the door and found a darkened room, that happened to be lit up around the center while keeping the edges shrouded in the darkness, before spotting Lord Aizen standing in the middle of the room, where he happened to be standing in front of a bound Arrancar that was cover in the same white cloth that was used on all of them. He then discovered that five more of the Espada were present, as standing near the back part of the room was Coyote Starrk, or just Starrk since he didn't like to be called by his first name, known among the Arrancar as the Primera Espada, the strongest of their group, and he looked as tired as ever. Standing off on Lord Aizen's right, wearing his strange elongated mask and a frilly noble's jacket in place of the normal Arrancar clothing, was the Noveno Espada, Aaroniero Arruruerie, who seemed to be focused on waiting for what their Lord was going to do. Off on Lord Aizen's left was a tall and lanky Arrancar that wore an eyepatch over his left eye and wore a modified hood that resembled a spoon, Nnoitra Gilga, though Ulquiorra recognized him as the Quinto Espada, the one that had been between him and Grimmjow, before the blue haired Arrancar lost both his left arm and his rank. Directly behind Nnoitra, sitting on the edge of the cube that allowed her to be above him, was none other than Teir Harribel, the Tres Espada, though it was easy for Ulquiorra to recognize her because of her golden colored hair and her jacket, which happened to have a high collar that covered the lower part of her face while only covering the upper half of her breasts... though why she was like that Ulquiorra had no idea, nor did he care enough to find out the reason behind her odd dressing habits.
Directly in front of him, and sitting between him and Lord Aizen, was Luppi Antenor, the new Sexta Espada, though by looking at his effeminate features one would assume that he was a young girl or something, though Luppi smiled at him and Yammy as they entered... though as the door closed he glanced off to the left and noticed that Grimmjow was present as well, though he had separated himself from those that had been his equals, since his rank had been taken from him.
"Good of you to come, Ulquiorra, Yammy." Aizen said, knowing that they would have come to this area to see what he was doing, though at the same time he also knew that Ulquiorra was taking note of who was present, before he turned his attention back to what he had been preparing to do, which was when he placed the Hogyoku, just the sphere since the seal case was gone at this point, into the waiting receptacle that was in front of him, "We're just finishing up here."
"How far along is the Hogyoku's awakening?" Ulquiorra inquired, as while he had no desire to steal or use the artifact that had created him, his brothers, and his sisters, he did want to know more about it, just for the sake of not being caught off guard when it did something, and he had a general idea of the length of time it should take the artifact to wake up.
"Around fifty percent. Right on schedule... at least according to Soul Society." Aizen replied, as Ulquiorra was one of the few Arrancar that he would willingly answer when a question about the Hogyoku was presented, as he was the only one that seemed remotely interested in it with no motives attached to his questions, "It makes sense, of course, that those who have never held the Hogyoku in their own hands wouldn't realize the truth of the situation... and it's likely that Urahara Kisuke doesn't know either, since he immediately sealed the Hogyoku away after it's creation. After being released from it's seal, and entering the 'sleep' state, and temporarily merging with someone with twice the reiatsu of a normal Captain, the Hogyoku will fully awaken and it's full power can be used, if only for a moment."
As Aizen talked he placed his right hand close to the Hogyoku and allowed a connection to form, the same one that he described to Ulquiorra, and the sealing case that all Arrancar were born in, something that reformed when the room was no longer in use, glowed for a few seconds before shattering into a thousand pieces. The Hollow that had been in the sealing case dropped his arms and remained there for a moment, allowing Ulquiorra to see that the newest Arrancar was thin and appeared to have a more childish appearance, though the remains of his mask formed a three pointed tiara on top of his head. While all this happened, however, Aizen also managed to reclaim the Hogyoku before it could touch the floor, before he and the others focused on their newest ally, even though he had special plans for the Arrancar that was now sitting in front of him.
"May we have your name, new brother of ours?" Aizen asked, as it was customary for him, being the sole person that could channel the power of the Hogyoku and cause it to create more Arrancar, to ask every Arrancar that he created their name, that way the others knew who the newcomer was as well.
"Wonderweiss..." the new Arrancar replied, his voice revealing that he was likely just as childish as his form suggested, though none of the Arrancar brought that up to their Lord, not when this had to have been done on purpose and for a very specific reason, "Wonderweiss... Margela..."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Wonderweiss." Aizen said, though at the same time Harribel jumped off the cube she was sitting on and draped a robe over the new Arrancar, his new clothing as it were, before collecting the large longsword that was resting nearby, his Arrancar Zanpakuto, before turning his gaze back towards the door, "Do you remember the order I gave you, Ulquiorra?"
"I do." Ulquiorra replied, though as he said that he suspected that he knew what was coming, as he had been given a full briefing when he had been assigned this particular mission, and if he was right he already had an idea of what he was going to do before leaving Las Noches.
"It's time to carry it out." Aizen stated, to which he pocketed the Hogyoku and gestured to the Arrancar that were in the room with them, though the gesture really referred to all the Arrancar that had been created so far, including the newly born Wonderweiss, who would be difficult to kill if he was picked, "I'll let you make the decision. Take whoever you want for your mission."
"Even Grimmjow?" Ulquiorra asked, though it was more because of the fact that the last time Grimmjow went to the World of the Living he had nearly died, but that was because he had foolishly tried to kill the most powerful Arrancar he had ever faced, bringing him to the position that he was currently in.
"Especially Grimmjow." Aizen replied, as he had been thinking of sending Grimmjow along to see if he could test just how strong Ichigo Kurosaki had gotten since the former Sexta Espada and his Fraccion went to the World of the Living, and he was slightly happy to see that, without even being told what to do, Grimmjow sighed and jumped down to where Ulquiorra was standing, as he knew what was going on just by what they had said.
As Ulquiorra moved to gather the rest of his strike force, and prepare for his mission, Aizen walked out of the room and headed back to the throne room, as it was only a matter of time until Ulquiorra brought him what he wanted, and then he could put his plan into action.
It was a peaceful day in the park that Hitsuguya had chosen, as there weren't too many people around that would bother them, allowing him, Matsumoto, Ikkaku, and Yumichika some time to relax and open themselves to their Zanpakuto, as today was another one of their Jinzen days. Unfortunately those days usually turned sour when someone, generally Yumichika, started complaining about their Zanpakuto not wanting to materialize so they could learn their Bankai, though at the same time his own Lieutenant was having problems of her own. The bad part about that was that both Matsumoto and Yumichika always had bad things to say about their Zanpakuto, as Yumichika kept calling Fuji Kujaku vain for thinking that it was the most beautiful thing in the world, while at the same time Matsumoto said that Haineko was selfish, lazy, moody, and even stupid. The problem with all of that was that their connections to their Zanpakuto suffered because of how they viewed their weapon, because the personality of their Zanpakuto spirits were similar to their own, and yet they should have known that and right now they were just wasting time arguing with each other over what was wrong with their Zanpakuto, just like they did every time this day came around.
Despite all of that Hitsuguya was able to commune with Hyorinmaru for a time, just like Ikkaku was able to commune with Hozukimaru at the same time, though his thoughts, as well as the thoughts of Hyorinmaru, weren't focused on what they were supposed to be doing, rather they were focused on their ally and his power. Hitsuguya had never heard of an Arrancar being able to not only command the power of their own Zanpakuto, but also gain the power to wield another Zanpakuto that was identical to a Shinigami's, one that, according to Yoruichi the last time he saw her, he was trying to learn to wield with the first one. A dual wielding Arrancar was unheard of, as there hadn't been one since they started recording them down in their history books, and yet Sombra was one that could do just that, along with the fact that his reiatsu seemed to dwarf the reiatsu that the last Vasto Lorde ranked Arrancar had, putting him on a level of power that was higher than anything he had felt before. Yet despite all of that, and what they had seen in the Arrancar's inner world, he knew that his truly terrible power hadn't been used yet, as if there was something else he was hiding, and he had the feeling that it would only be revealed to him and the rest of Soul Society in time.
"The clouds are moving so fast today..." Ikkaku commented, his voice cutting through Hitsuguya's meditation and caused him to come back to the surface, where he spared a glance at the Shinigami that had spoken and also noticed that both Matsumoto and Yumichika had stopped arguing as well.
Before Hitsuguya had time to say anything, and see what Ikkaku was talking about, all four of them paused as they felt the shudder in the air and glanced towards the sky, where a Garganta opened before their eyes and four Arrancar, three of which possessing the power to match Grimmjow in his sealed state, along with Grimmjow standing near them, glanced out of the void that they had appeared in, giving the four of them time to use their Soul Candy to turn into Shinigami while the new souls hid their gigai somewhere safe.
"We ended up in a good spot!" Yammy said, staring down at the area that was in front of them, while at the same time Grimmjow moved his eyes around for a few seconds, giving both Luppi and Wonderweiss, the other two that Ulquiorra had picked for this operation, to stare at the area in front of them as well, "There's a bunch of guys out there with some pretty decent reiatsu. I guess they'll do for starters, eh?"
"What are you talking about? Those are Shinigami." Luppi stated, staring at the four individuals that they had opened their Garganta near, though at the same time he guessed that such a thing was part of Ulquiorra's plan, before his eyes moved towards the Arrancar he had replaced, "The 'reinforcements' from Soul Society... right, Sexta Espada. Oops, I mean former Sexta Espada."
"Whatever." Grimmjow replied, showing that he didn't much care for Luppi, as he had hated him when he was just a normal Arrancar and hated him even more for being the one that had taken his position as the Sexta Espada, before he noticed who wasn't present and frowned, "The guy I'm looking to kill isn't among them anyway."
It was in the following moment that Grimmjow jumped into the air and flew off towards the rest of Karakura Town, as he intended to find Ichigo Kurosaki and make him pay for leaving a scar on his chest, even if he had to kill him in the process, while at the same time staying away from Sombra, as he didn't want to cross paths with that Arrancar again, if he could help it anyway. Yammy, seeing that happen, growled in annoyance as he jumped out of the void they were in and descended towards the Shinigami that were below them, where Hitsuguya drew his Zanpakuto and rushed at him while Matsumoto went after the childish Arrancar and both Ikkaku and Yumichika went after Luppi.
"I'm the Captain of the Tenth Division, Hitsuguya Toshiro," Hitsuguya said, though at the same time he swung his Zanpakuto and found that his opponent blocked his attack by partly drawing his own Zanpakuto, but he focused on what was going to happen next while the others readied themselves for battle.
"That's interesting! I'm a Ten as well!" Yammy replied, though as he said that he noticed a look of realization flash through his opponent's eyes, telling him that someone had told his foe about the Espada, even if it was Sombra, after he gleamed that information from Grimmjow, "I'm the Diez Espada, Yammy Llargo! The effeminate one over there is Luppi, the new Sexta Espada that's replacing that loser, Grimmjow, and that's the new guy, Wonderweiss."
"Two Espada, one Arrancar with the power to match them, and a former Espada," Hitsuguya commented, as there was some good news and some bad news to what he and the rest of his group had learned, before glancing at the one Arrancar that had fled the area, "I don't know about you guys, but your friend over there has some bad luck. Unless there's someone who can aid him, he's going to die this time... because he's heading in Sombra's direction."
"Let him suffer his fate." Luppi stated, as he honestly didn't care about Grimmjow all that much, not like some of the other Espada did since he was incredibly powerful when he was using his Resurreccion and his full power, before he focused on his own enemies,
Sombra felt them long before any of the Shinigami, even those that were directly below the area the Garganta opened in, and the Visored felt them, as he had to tell Ichigo and Hiyori, who were practicing at the moment, to stop as he felt out the signatures that had shown up. Two of them he recognized immediately, as he felt both Grimmjow and Yammy the instant they stepped out of the Garganta, though that was before he realized that the other two were unknown to him, which made sense seeing as he had only met three members of the Espada, and the newcomers definitely felt like Espada. Once he determined the exact nature of their enemies, which was when the others finally realized what he was feeling and sensed them as well, he noticed that Grimmjow had separated himself from the rest of the invading Arrancar, meaning that he hadn't learned his lesson from the first time he invaded Karakura Town. The Visored were quick to claim that Ichigo wasn't ready to take to the field, that this was why the Shinigami had come here in the first place, and Sombra had them stop in their tracks, as a true life and death situation was just what Ichigo needed to further his own powers and increase his duration for how long he could hold his mask on.
In the end Shinji, once more showing that he appeared to be the leader of the Visored, waved a hand in a shooing motion and the duo exited the warehouse, as Yoruichi went off to make sure that Urahara and the others were ready to take part in this battle as well... though as they reached a decent area above the town, however, Sombra had Ichigo stop as Grimmjow appeared nearby, but the Arrancar gulped the moment he spotted Sombra.
"Grimmjow, you've got some nerve coming back here," Ichigo stated, though at the same time, as Sombra stood off to the side and stared at Grimmjow, he grabbed onto Zangetsu's handle and immediately withdrew his Zanpakuto, letting the cloth loosen like it did when he did this, "Why did you come back to Karakura Town?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Grimmjow asked, though even as he said that he glanced at the one person that he happened to be worried about, as there was no telling what Sombra was going to do, especially when his true power was only starting to awaken, if the air shuddering in Hueco Mundo was anything to go by, before glancing at Ichigo, "I've been looking for you, Ichigo Kurosaki. I've got some things that I want to work out with you."
"That's interesting, because I was thinking the same thing." Ichigo said, to which he raised his right arm and pointed Zangetsu at the Arrancar that had come to kill him and his friends the first time he invaded the town, which was likely what he was doing this time, before his reiatsu flared, "Bankai!"
Sombra watched as the black and red reiatsu gathered around Ichigo as he activated his Bankai, because despite how Rey had broken Grimmjow down he knew that the Arrancar in front of them was definitely powerful and that Ichigo would need to use his Bankai to fight him, and before long Ichigo swung his arm and the reiatsu broke apart, showing that his attire and blade had changed accordingly.
"Bankai again?" Grimmjow asked, as while he hadn't fought Ichigo in this form, because he had been in the process of being smashed by Sombra after he returned his Arrancar Zanpakuto, he knew that this form wasn't enough to actually do anything to him, despite the lingering scar on his chest, "So what? Did you forget that you could barely do anything to me when you used that during my fight with Sombra?"
"You seem to be forgetting something as well," Ichigo stated, pointing at the scar that was on Grimmjow's chest, the same one that Sombra was staring at, since they were interested in the fact that it hadn't healed during the time between now and when he first invaded this world, "Did you forget how my Bankai's attack gave you that scar? Besides, are you sure that you want to fight me with one arm?"
"I don't need both arms to kick your ass." Grimmjow replied, to which his original grin reappeared, as this had been the reason that he had gone out in search of Ichigo, even if Sombra was standing nearby, observing them like he did before he took to the field, "Don't be afraid. Show me your full power, so I can break both it and you!"
"Very well then." Ichigo said, though as he said that he shifted his stance as his reiatsu flared for a moment, which was when he brought his left hand up to the area in front of his face, where Sombra knew exactly what he was doing and was eager to see the results of their training.
In the following few seconds Ichigo's reiatsu surged out from where he was standing and completely covered him once more, causing Grimmjow to glare at the area he was standing in, but as the reiatsu broke apart Sombra noticed that Ichigo, in the middle of all that reiatsu, was now sporting his Hollow mask, something that seemed to freak Grimmjow out the moment he noticed it.
"Wh... What did you do?" Grimmjow asked, as this was something that he hadn't noticed the last time he was in this world, which made sense considering that he had been busy fighting Sombra and his immense power, but he kept his guard up in case something else happened.
"Sorry, I don't have time to explain what I did to you." Ichigo replied, though at the same time he flashed through the air and raced towards Grimmjow, to which he swung Zangetsu through the air and wasn't that surprised to find that his opponent had drawn his Zanpakuto to protect himself, even if he was pressing down on Grimmjow, before his reiatsu gathered for his attack, "Getsuga Tensho."
Grimmjow's eyes widened as Ichigo loosed a point blank Getsuga Tensho at him, where he was covered in the smoke of the attack striking him immediately, and Ichigo jumped back to survey the damage of his attack, just like Sombra was doing, though when the smoke cleared they found that Grimmjow was huffing as they noticed that there was another cut on top of his scar, and that there was blood on his chest, his arms, the left side of his head, and was even dripping down part of his pants as well.
"That... power... It's not a Shinigami's..." Grimmjow commented, though at the same time, as he thought about what happened the last time he was in this world, he realized that the chances of him actually dying this time around were very real, and it was unlikely that Commander Tosen or even Ulquiorra would come to his aid if the foe he was worried about decided to join the fight, "You little bastard... what the hell did you do to yourself?"
Instead of saying anything Ichigo moved his right arm and swung another Getsuga Tensho, a lesser powered one in comparison to what he just used, and that slammed into Grimmjow's Zanpakuto as he guarded against the attack, only for him to slip into the air behind the Arrancar.
"I told you, I don't have time to explain." Ichigo stated, where Sombra noticed that Grimmjow's eyes widened in shock as he realized that Ichigo was behind him now, though at the same time he smiled for a moment as he knew that Ichigo was readying himself once more, before he loosed a second Gegsuga Tensho right into Grimmjow's back, causing him to be caught between the two attacks as they detonated on top of him.
This time around Grimmjow fell out of the air and fell towards the ground that was below them, causing Ichigo to burst out of the smoke so he could finish the job and removed Grimmjow from the playing field, though at the same time the Arrancar growled and sheathed his Zanpakuto, before charging and firing a Cero at his opponent. Ichigo, seeing the blast coming his way, swung Zangetsu at the attack and parried it for a few seconds, before growling as he sliced the Cero in half, destroying the attack entirely, and then focused on Grimmjow once more, which was where Grimmjow appeared behind him and swung his Zanpakuto once more, where Ichigo parried the incoming attack. The two of them then separated from each other and stared at their opponent for a moment, before flashing forward and let their blades make contact once more, though that was when Grimmjow went on the offensive and Ichigo simply blocked the attacks that were coming his way. Even as all that happened Ichigo sensed that he might actually win, which was why he pushed Grimmjow's blade back and opened his opponent's defenses, before readying himself for another point blank Getsuga Tensho, but just before he could gather the necessary power he paused as his mask shattered, causing his eyes to go wide as he realized what had just happened.
In the following few seconds Grimmjow's grin returned as he swung his Zanpakuto at Ichigo's opening and cut a gash across his chest, causing a stunned Ichigo to fall backwards as he contemplated why his mask shattered at the moment that it had, effectively leaving his defenses open for Grimmjow to take advantage of... and while Grimmjow started to turn the battle towards his side, and focused solely on Ichigo, Sombra sighed and moved forward, slightly wondering how the others were doing in their own battles.
Yammy was bored out of his mind, as not even a few minutes into his battle with the Shinigami Captain, an opponent that he had been lucky to discover, Luppi had changed his mind in regards to the two enemies that he was facing and declared that he was taking all four of the Shinigami for himself. What Luppi meant was that he was going to use his Resurreccion and kill them all, to which Yammy's opponent charged forward while activating his Bankai, while at the same time Luppi released his full power and changed into his Resurreccion, striking the Captain down with all eight of the white tentacle limbs that grew out of the spinning section of his back. After that Yammy found that there was nothing for him to do, save for watching Luppi fight all three of the remaining Shinigami that were present, while at the same time Wonderweiss, who had done absolutely nothing since arriving in this world, was trying to catch one of the dragonflies that was hanging out near him, and he couldn't converse with him since it appeared that most of Wonderweiss' speech had been ruined before he became an Arrancar, something that Lord Aizen seemed to be okay with. It wasn't long before Luppi had captured the three remaining enemies and was getting ready to kill all of them, though as that happened a red wave of energy carved it's way through the ground and sliced off the tentacle that was wrapped around the female Shinigami, and the head of the second one that was going to drill her full of holes thanks to the spikes that it grew.
Yammy growled as he glanced around for the culprit, thinking that it was Sombra again, but then he smiled as he noticed one of Sombra's friends, the poorly dressed one that Ulquiorra had called Urahara Kisuke, walked out and smiled at him, Luppi, and Wonderweiss.
"Looks like I made it just in time," Urahara commented, though at the same time he stepped out of the area that he had been traveling through, in order to get here so quickly while both Renji and Chad rested from their training, and held Benihime at the ready, since two of these enemies were definitely Espada, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Urahara Kisuke, the humble owner of a small neighboorhood candy shop in Karakura Town, and I just so happen to be friends with the Arrancar that calls this town home."
As he said that the childish Arrancar from earlier, who he deemed to be not a threat for now since he hadn't felt him do anything at all since his arrival, attacked him from behind and tried to grab his hat, though Urahara was faster and dodged the attack, before loosing a red wave that knocked his target backwards. He made a quick observation about the Arrancar being weirder than those that he had seen so far, and that was true considering that Sombra was the strangest of them all, before his current target gathered some energy around his left hand and fired it at him. Of course Yammy was nearby and fired the same attack at his back, allowing him to fake being hit in that area before dropping into the forest below him, giving him the opportunity to prepare his next stage of his plan while Yammy continued to fire more of the same attack at where he had landed, unaware of what he was going.
While all this happened, and he was aware of Hitsuguya preparing his own attack against an unsuspecting Luppi, Urahara briefly wondered how the others were doing, but he was entirely sure that Sombra was standing his ground against whoever had gone after him and Ichigo.
Orihime and Sora had been shocked when they heard that multiple Arrancar, all Espada level, were attacking Karakura Town, though they were slightly disappointed when they learned that they would have to let Rukia go on without them and wait for the Shinigami to arrange for them to leave as well. Despite that fact, however, Captain Utikake was able to quickly arrange for them to be deployed back to the World of the Living so they could join the battle, allowing them to use the Dangai to get to their destination right outside Urahara's shop, the same place that Rukia was heading to. Once the path was opened the two of them thanked the Captain for granting their request to train in the training grounds that Rukia had asked him to reopen, even if it was for the three of them, and soon the two of them were heading back through the passage between the World of the Living and Soul Society. Along the way they discovered two Shinigami that were going to be accompanying them as escorts, without the special butterflies that all Shinigami used when traversing this passage, and the duo thanked them, as it was good to know that Soul Society no longer thought of them as invaders and considered them guests, especially since they might not want to piss off Sombra.
Sora liked to imagine that if Soul Society did anything to really piss off or earn Sombra's anger, which seemed to be hard to do considering what he knew about the elder Arrancar, Sombra would likely level the entirety of Soul Society without a second thought... but, even as he considered that, he came to a stop as he felt the air shudder, something that Orihime felt as well and turned back toward the direction they had come from as their escorts looked around the area for signs of someone who shouldn't be there.
"What? Only two guards? This is unexpected." a voice said, one that both Orihime and Sora recognized, as they had heard the speaker talk with Sombra back when the first two Arrancar invaded the World of the Living, though that was when a Garganta opened behind them and Ulquiorra stepped out to face them, "Soul Society must be completely incompetent. They clearly don't understand that one is most vulnerable when they're changing locations... though only two guards is very disappointing. Although restricting your combined abilities makes things easier for me. I prefer not to rush things when talking with others... especially you, woman."
Before either Orihime or Sora could do anything Ulquiorra raised his left hand out of his coat pocket and fired an attack at the Shinigami that was off on their right, obliterating his entire left arm in the process, and when Orihime went to heal him, as Sora turned to convince the other one to leave, Ulquiorra blasted the other one in a similar manner, forcing Orihime to extend her healing technique to cover both of them.
"You can still heal them, despite their injuries being so grave?" Ulquiorra commented, as it was interesting to watch Orihime's abilities in action, confirming why Lord Aizen wanted him to grab her before she could become a thorn in their sides, especially if she pushed her abilities to the point where she instantly regenerated any wounds, "Impressive. I have only one thing to say to you; come with me. There will be no back talk from you, only silence. The next word that will come out of your mouth will be 'Yes'. Saying anything else will result in a swift death, but not for you..."
In the following moments Orihime and Sora watched as three screen like images appeared behind Ulquiorra, one that showed Captain Hitsuguya being beaten out of the air and forced to crash into the forest around him, Matsumoto and the remaining two Shinigami being tormented by another Arrancar that neither of them knew anything about, and Ichigo being beaten up by Grimmjow, as that Arrancar's appearance had been described to them after he was taken back to Hueco Mundo some time ago.
"...rather, it's for your friends." Ulquiorra continued, taking note of how Orihime was trying to figure out a way to get out of the situation that they were in, while at the same time Sora wanted to draw his Zanpakuto and attack him, but he was smart enough to know that his power meant nothing compared to what he was currently using, "Don't ask questions. Don't say a word. You have no rights and no opinions. In your hands you hold the rope keeping the guillotine safely suspended above the necks of your friends. I hope you understand, woman. We are not negotiating. I'm giving you an order. Lord Aizen desires your power and has ordered me to bring you to him unharmed... and he's also extending the same order to include your brother."
Orihime and Sora looked at each other for a moment, knowing that since Sombra couldn't be everywhere in Karakura Town, not without allowing both of the spirits inside of his Zanpakuto out to tackle the other Arrancar, they had no choice in the matter and knew what they had to do... but, at the same time, it might actually play out to their advantage, since they might be able to find the Hogyoku before Aizen's war started, something that Soul Society would be grateful to have if one of them could locate it. At the same time they hoped that the images were just lies and that Ichigo and the others were actually winning their battles, but without being there, in the field, there was no way for them to tell... so they had to believe what they were being shown and hoped that Sombra was aware of their situation.
Sombra sighed as he observed the ending part of Ichigo's battle with Grimmjow, as the moment the mask shattered, and the power seemed to leave Ichigo's body, Grimmjow gladly went to town on him, swinging low powered attacks that fakes Ichigo out, only to hit him in return, and knocked him through the air in the process. It appeared that the training that he had put Ichigo through had been of some benefit, as Ichigo's ability to hold onto the mask had lasted for more than a few seconds, as it was closer to a minute, but at the same time that wasn't good enough, as the mask shattered at a terrible moment and now Ichigo was paying the price. Sombra suspected that the best way for him to learn was to battle enemies that were trying to kill him, like an Espada or something, and that battling his friend, who could use his Bankai to heal him if it came to that, wasn't going to work out in the long run, which meant that this battle would actually help Ichigo get stronger and keep his mask on for longer periods of time. His thoughts were interrupted as Grimmjow kicked Ichigo in the side and sent him down a street, as he hit the ground a few times before coming to a stop in a decent sized crater, but it was in that moment that Ichigo tried to reform the mask and failed... causing Grimmjow to grin as he raced forward, spun around, and kicked Ichigo so hard that he went flying down the street.
"It seems that when your mask breaks, you can't put it back on." Grimmjow commented, though at the same time both he and Sombra followed after Ichigo, but he was doing his best to ignore the dangerous creature that was watching him and observing his movements, "Sure, your taking the stance you need to use to form the mask, but you've either taken too much damage or used up your reiatsu to put it on earlier. Either way, I think I should remove your hands before you get the chance to put it back on."
"That's enough, Grimmjow." Sombra stated, though this time around his voice stopped Grimmjow in his tracks, which was interesting considering what happened the last time they were in the same area, before the Arrancar glanced at him with a look of annoyance in his eyes, while clearly not feeling that someone else was nearby, "You've proven your point, Ichigo needs more training before he has a hope of defeating you in battle. Might I suggest taking someone else on?"
"You mean fight someone like you?" Grimmjow asked, to which he turned his attention to the Arrancar that was standing off to the left of where Ichigo was currently resting and didn't turn his blade around, as he needed to focus on Sombra in case something happened, "Please, the last time we fought you cut off my left arm and almost killed me... I'm not going to do something and provoke a response from you, not after what happened last time."
"Then how about someone like me?" a voice asked, to which Rukia, with her Zanpakuto already out in it's Shikai state, appeared a little bit behind Grimmjow, though that was when she stabbed the ground four times in a semi circle, causing ice particles to pour out of the four openings, before she pointed the blade of Sode no Shirayuki at Grimmjow, "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"
What followed Rukia saying that was a torrent of cold air, an avalanche Sombra noted as he grabbed Ichigo before he was hit, rushing forward as Grimmjow turned towards it, though since he didn't get out of the way he took the full force of the attack head on, and when the dust cleared they found that he seemed to be frozen in a large block of ice. From there Rukia rushed over to them and tended to Ichigo, as she commented about the reckless power that Ichigo had used in his battle with Grimmjow and that he was all rickety, but Ichigo told her to shut up as he thought about his failure to stop the Arrancar that he had been fighting. At the same time Sombra thought about the attack that Rukia had used, the name being translated a 'Second Dance, White Ripple', and considered the power of the first move she showed them, Tsukishiro, or 'First Dance, White Moon', and realized that Rukia had grown strong since the execution Aizen had planned out. Once he thought about all that he drew Rey from his sheath as the ice cracked and Grimmjow freed part of his body, though as both Ichigo and Rukia noticed that Sombra swung his arm and the black wave crashed into the ice, knocking the Arrancar into the air for a moment.
When Grimmjow stopped moving, however, he turned to stare at them and his eyes widened in fear as he noticed that it was Sombra that was advancing towards him, more so because he had chosen to draw the ebony tinted Zanpakuto instead of his Shinigami Zanpakuto, as it was the one that had been used when he was dominated so easily... to which he gulped as his new foe approached him.
"So, do you want to try your luck against me?" Sombra asked, though at the same time his eyes were focused on the Arrancar that was standing in front of him, noticing that Grimmjow was actually weighing his options at the moment, as it was either he fought and suffered another defeat or he withdrew before something happened, "Don't worry, I won't hold it against you if you suddenly decide that you want to flee from the battlefield."
"That won't be necessary." a new voice said, to which Sombra turned his head for a moment and stared at Ulquiorra, who had opened a Garganta nearby and likely came to stop Grimmjow before he did anything foolish, before he turned his attention to Grimmjow, "Our mission is complete. We're leaving."
The moment those words left Ulquiorra's mouth the sky above him and Grimmjow opened before a yellow beam shot down and covered the two of them, forming the same pillar, Negacion as Sombra recalled the name, that Aizen, Tosen, and Gin had used when they fled from Soul Society, once Aizen claimed the Hogyoku, and Sombra felt three more touch down as well, confirming that none of the other invading Arrancar had been killed. A few seconds ticked by before Grimmjow, who breathed out a sigh of relief when he discovered that he wouldn't have to fight Sombra at all, sheathed his Zanpakuto and let the beam pull him back to Hueco Mundo, as he needed to see if the mission had been as successful as Ulquiorra seemed to think it was. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, stared down at both Ichigo and Sombra, finding that Ichigo had unlocked a new power that had stabilized his own body, meaning that he might become more dangerous in the future, but what really worried him was the sheer power that he could feel coming from Sombra. It was confirmation for what he and the others had felt nearly a month ago, that the power of the Dios Hueco was starting to awaken inside Sombra, and it was only a matter of time before his power reached a point where not even the powerful Primera Espada could lay a finger on him.
Sombra sighed as he sheathed Rey and finished watching as both Grimmjow and Ulquiorra disappeared into the void that had opened when the Negacion was used, as he had the feeling that whatever mission their foe had mentioned was going to be bad for them, meaning that all they had to do was wait and see what Aizen was planning this time around... and, more importantly, what they were going to do to stop his plans from becoming reality.