Chapter 320: Heart
"Is it only by tearing apart this chest that I can see the secrets within?" Ulquiorra's pale hand pointed at the opponent's chest.
"What, what do you want to do?!" The pirate in front of Ulquiorra, under his control, turned pale and kept retreating. His weak legs scraped against the ground, but he couldn't move an inch away from Ulquiorra.
Kakuzu stood by Ulquiorra's side, his arms crossed, watching the scene. His black mask obscured his expression, but his green eyes betrayed a hint of desire for money — this was a bounty criminal!
"Is it only by crushing this skull that I can see the mysteries inside?" Ulquiorra raised his arm, moving his hand upwards as he aimed at the opponent's head.
"What, what exactly do you want to do?!" Surrounding pirates gathered, but they dared not act hastily.
"Tear open the chest, and you will only see bloody organs. Crush the skull, and you will only get soft, white brain tissue. The answer you want is not found in them," Ulquiorra said coldly.
"..." Ulquiorra responded in silence.
"Maybe it will be found," Kakuzu glanced around and said, "They know they are no match for us, but they haven't scattered and fled. This is also a kind of heart — the heart to die."
"Let go of Pink!"
"That's right!"
"Otherwise, we won't be polite!"
The surrounding pirates shouted, their noisy cries making Ulquiorra frown.
"I need to see it with my own eyes." Ulquiorra finished Speaking, his arm suddenly reaching forward, his palm, wrapped in armor-like tough skin, easily pierced through Pink's body.
"Thud."
As the pale fingers, covered in blood, withdrew from the pirate's body, Ulquiorra sighed, "There's nothing here..."
"You! You dare to kill Pink!"
"Kill you!"
The surrounding pirates instantly erupted in anger, drawing their weapons and charging at the two of them.
"Ah, ahhh!"
In the dying light of the setting sun, horrifying screams echoed from the ruined buildings.
◇
"Conqueror's Haki is a latent power that everyone possesses. It is an innate ability."
"To awaken it, one must turn the invisible willpower into a tangible weapon. This is not related to the strength of power, but only to your own heart."
Eric explained to Ulquiorra, who had come to ask about Conqueror's Haki, "Do you have a wish that you must fulfill no matter what?"
"...To help Captain Eric achieve his dreams, would that count?" Ulquiorra thought for a while and answered.
Eric : "..."
"No, no, no." Eric shook his head vigorously. "You fought and lost to Esdeath earlier. What about the regret and reluctance you felt? Don't you want to defeat her next time? Can you still hold on to that thought in your heart?"
"Yes." Ulquiorra's face, marked by tear streaks, seemed unchanged from the moment of his birth. His voice was like a deep lake, silent and cold.
"That is where the heart lies."
"..."
Eric looked up at the sky, and Ulquiorra turned his green eyes toward the same direction. All that was there was the blue sky and white clouds — nothing else.
Eric asked, "What do you see?"
"I see everything reflected in my eyes," Ulquiorra replied. "There is nothing I cannot capture, so anything I cannot see with my own eyes is nothing but an illusion."
"—This is the basis I have fought until now." Ulquiorra revealed the belief that had supported him all along to Eric .
"But you lost the battle," Eric 's voice cut through like the first ray of sunlight Breaking the darkness. The clear beam of light pierced deep into Ulquiorra, Breaking through the dark sphere wrapped around his heart, just like a sapling struggling to stretch its branches toward the light, absorbing the sunlight.
"Actually, you can see a lot of things about the heart," Eric helped Ulquiorra sort out his thoughts. "Those pirates, even knowing they couldn't win, did not run away, but instead attacked you."
"..."
"Crack, crack." The hard black curtain enclosing his heart cracked further, with light eagerly pouring through the fissures.
"Clearly, you had the advantage in power, speed, and physique, so why did you lose to Esdeath?"
"Crack." The hard barrier of his heart continued to split.
Gentle moisture was seeping into Ulquiorra's dry riverbed, and his heart, which had seemed like a withered tree for so long, began to sprout branches once again.
[Ulquiorra's affection increases slightly, bond level unchanged.]
"This is the power of the heart." Eric continued. "Though it can't be seen with the naked eye, the heart can indirectly affect external things. Can you see it now?"
[Ulquiorra's affection increases slightly, bond level unchanged.]
"The heart is not within the body. When you are thinking about something or missing someone, the heart is born there. If there is only yourself left in this world, then the so-called heart would no longer exist."
"The journey of life is never a lonely one. When individuals are connected, the bond of the heart is formed. It is through joy, anger, sorrow, and experience that one finds their value in life."
"And all this time, you, who have nothing, have never had the chance to understand these things."
Ulquiorra closed his eyes and reflected on everything he had experienced on his journey. For the first time in a long while, he felt his heart beating faintly, once, again, stronger with each beat.
"The heart does not depend on the body. Even after death, it can be entrusted to comrades. As for the result of your battle with Esdeath: Why did Esdeath win? It was because I believed she would win, and she responded to my expectation! That is the bond between her and me."
"Boom, boom." The sound of Ulquiorra's heart beating echoed, like the drums of war.
The final scene of the battle flashed in his mind, where Esdeath, who had reached her limits, suddenly surpassed her physical limits and struck him down from the sky.
"Does having it mean I can do what I could not do before?" Ulquiorra's voice held a hint of color.
"Of course." Eric said seriously, "The human heart is the greatest."
"And you already have it." Eric pointed at Ulquiorra.
"Me? I already have the heart?" Ulquiorra widened his eyes, responding with an even more confused question.
"Because you have now connected with us, we share an invisible bond."
[Ulquiorra's affection increases, bond level rises from 2 (close friends) to 3 (trusted friends). Gained 2 bond points.]
(END CHAPTER)
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