Now this—this is what a proper showdown should be like!
"Yachiru!"
Moments ago, it was still a tone of persuasion.
Now, it was almost a scolding.
But the moment she heard his voice, the 11th Division Vice-Captain knew—there was no talking him down.
So she said nothing more, leaping lightly down and bounding off the surrounding rubble, jumping her way to higher ground.
Crouched on the elevated terrain, the pink-haired girl wore an unusually serious expression.
"Ken-chan, that guy's spiritual pressure is really off."
"I know!"
No, he didn't know at all.
Kenpachi Zaraki excitedly swung his Zanpakutō, a wild grin spreading across his face.
"Guh guh guh..."
A faint growl echoed in the air.
At the same moment, Ichigo Kurosaki stood fully upright.
His chest—
What had once been a fatal wound was now coated in a gushing, milky-white substance.
It clung like skin—fast-drying, durable.
Soon, Ichigo's upper body was completely covered in that blinding snowy hue.
His face—
Gone.
In its place was a red-and-white, diagonally striped, eerie mask.
One glance, and the "inhuman" feeling was overwhelming.
Its design alone screamed danger.
But to Kenpachi Zaraki, this meant absolutely nothing.
He laughed and charged, needing no stance or prep—
Just a quick estimate of distance, and down came his blade with all his might.
"You freakish little punk!"
His devilish assault came in a blink, but Ichigo simply raised his right hand calmly—
And swept Zangetsu upward.
CLANG!!!
Steel met steel, a burst of sparks exploding like stars—and just as quickly—
It was over.
Kenpachi, a man never known to lose in brute force—
Was launched.
"...?!"
Even he couldn't quite comprehend it, his face frozen in disbelief.
No time to react.
Ichigo, silent, lunged forward and yanked Kenpachi's left leg.
"RAAAAHHHH!!!"
With a furious roar, Ichigo slammed Kenpachi down like a ragdoll.
BOOM!!!
The ground roared as if the heavens flipped. Ichigo released his grip and turned sideways.
Black spiritual pressure surged and condensed around his right hand—then snapped into crackling red lightning.
CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE...
Air twisted, drawn inward.
Reiryoku compressed. Fused.
And then—
With a single slash:
Getsuga Tenshō!
Compared to the more controlled Quincy Reiryoku, this version was raw, violent, terrifying.
The explosive Reiryoku didn't dissipate—it sank, like venom under the skin, into the earth of the Seireitei.
Hollow venom.
Like a virus, it corroded and twisted the already fractured land into even greater ruin.
But the attack didn't stop there.
Getsuga Tenshō had no real limit—just a refined use of spirit energy.
And so—
Ichigo silently swung Zangetsu again and again.
Each dark crescent wave streaked through the air, tearing, rending—threatening to destroy everything around!
The ruined ground howled in pain. Buildings began to collapse.
Signs of Reiryoku corrosion spread in all directions.
The pressure was overwhelming. A monstrous aura seeped outward—
And across the entire Seireitei, captain-class fighters realized something was very wrong.
This wasn't just some Ryoka.
No.
This was the aura of a Hollow.
From afar, Yachiru, though still watching silently, couldn't hide her worried expression.
"Ken-chan..."
Elsewhere, Ganju Shiba, urged by Ichigo to retreat, had run far from the scene.
Now, he glanced back—
Stunned.
He couldn't sense Reiryoku with precision, but some things didn't need explaining.
The destruction behind him was total—buildings, walls, streets—gone.
All returned to purple-red particles of Reiryoku, dancing like fireflies in the air.
"Did Ichigo... do this?"
A murmur to himself.
Yet it felt more like confirmation.
After all, what else could explain it?
"That guy..."
So much he wanted to say.
But no time for reflection now. They'd already come this far—
Turning back would be shameful.
Rescuing Rukia was the only priority now.
"You all better stay alive!!"
With a shout to himself, Ganju sprinted toward the central tower.
Back to the battlefield—
Just when it seemed the fight was over, that Ichigo had overwhelmed everything—
A massive hand burst from the smoke.
SMACK!
A charred-black arm, clothes in tatters, gripped Ichigo's head—
And then came Kenpachi's scorched, mangled face—
Eyes alight with joy.
"Not bad!!!"
What started as a boring extermination—
Had just gotten fun.
"Why didn't you say you could fight like this sooner?! This is what I live for!"
His eyepatch dropped off, revealing the swarm of spiritual-pressure-devouring microbes.
Kenpachi's limiter—gone.
Left hand locked around Ichigo's head, right hand raised—
Zanpakutō descending like an executioner's blade—
He cleaved into Ichigo's chest!
Blood sprayed like a fountain.
Splattered on Kenpachi's twisted grin, it only made him look more terrifying.
But the scream he expected never came.
The torn flesh writhed—squirming like maggots.
And within a breath—it healed.
"...?!"
High-speed regeneration?!
Kenpachi snarled.
Switching his grip, golden Reiryoku burst from his right hand, blade slashing upward—
Trying to cleave Ichigo's head in two.
But Ichigo dodged, the blade slicing through half his torso instead.
Deep enough to expose bone, yet Ichigo—
Didn't even flinch.
He reached out—
And clamped his hand around Kenpachi's neck.
Both let out inhuman howls—
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Like beasts locked in a deathmatch.
No defense, no tactics—just pure carnage.
Each blade left fresh wounds, black and gold energy clashing in midair.
Their figures tumbled, crashed, smashed through ruins.
Golden and black-red Reiryoku collided, neither overwhelming the other, only tearing each other apart—
Like they meant to destroy the entire Seireitei in one go.
"GAHAHAHAHA!! Now this is what I call fun! Hey! Your name's Ichigo Kurosaki, right?!"
A foe that could fight him like this—
Deserved to be remembered.
Their collision didn't subside—it only intensified.
Ichigo's smaller frame meant nothing.
He closed the distance, tanking a gut-splitting slash—
And came face-to-face.
Kenpachi grinned cruelly, knowing what came next.
"You're gonna try that blast again, huh?"
That concentrated Reiryoku slash from before—
Painful, sure, but not enough.
He was adapting.
Kenpachi, always suppressing his power for the thrill of a challenge, was awakening.
Rusty from lack of battle, his instincts now sharpened under pressure—
His fangs ready to rip.
"If you stall any longer..."
Far off, Yachiru crouched low, watching intently.
"...Ken-chan's gonna win."
But just then—
Ichigo opened his mouth.
CRACK.
The Reiryoku in the air was ripped into him.
Black-red lightning crackled, slashing wildly—
Until it condensed into a dark sphere in front of his lips.
This was it.
The other half of his soul's essence.
Seiya's strategy was simple—
Let Hollow abilities heal fatal wounds, use crude Getsuga Tenshōs to distract—
Because Reiryoku control?
That was the Quincy's strength.
But this—
This was the ace.
Gran Rey Cero.
An overwhelming danger surged into Kenpachi's gut—
His expression finally changed.
He didn't know what it was, but his instincts screamed—
He couldn't stop this.
He had to dodge—but Ichigo's left hand gripped his shoulder tight.
Like a vice.
Kenpachi understood then.
"You bastard..."
And before he could finish—
A screeching hum ripped the air open.
Black-red energy pierced his chest.
Like a comet scorching the sky.
His blood evaporated before it could spray—
The searing wound cauterized instantly.
His body failing, even Kenpachi's vision began to fade.
"..."
Not a word escaped him.
Ichigo released his grip—
And the 11th Division Captain crashed lifelessly to the ground.
Floating above, nearly fully Hollowfied—
Ichigo didn't pursue.
He silently raised his right hand—
And Zangetsu came flying from the dust, back into his grasp.
He could have finished it.
But instead, he turned and left.
His silhouette streaked across the Seireitei sky in black-red light—
A once-in-a-millennium sight.
Among the ruins—
Yachiru appeared beside Kenpachi.
She poked around and finally found him, scorched to a crisp, barely alive.
She crouched beside him, not even sad—
Just smiling wide.
"You lost, Ken-chan."
"..."
"Think you'll learn something from this one?"
"..."
"Guess we'll be visiting Squad Four after all!"
"..."
No strength to speak.
But his right hand—
Still lifted his blade.
Failure stings, but it's not a reason to quit.
In fact—
It made his blood boil.
He couldn't wait...
for the next time they clashed.
The battle seemed to be over.
But Ichigo hadn't gone far.
Just two blocks away—
The milky shell crumbled like snow.
Exhausted, Ichigo collapsed to the ground—
Unconscious.
A few breaths later, a small black figure landed beside him.
In cat form—Yoruichi Shihōin.
"Sigh..."
"Even Kenpachi Zaraki... you beat him too."
"I don't even know what to say anymore."
She had told him to run from captains, but clearly...
Plans change.
More pressing now—
That power just now.
Hollowfication.
Even after all these decades, the effects of that "accident" still lingered.
But more puzzling—
Why did she sense Seiya's presence in Ichigo?
She was there, a witness all those years ago.
But unlike Urahara, she wasn't a scientist—
She couldn't piece it all together.
Still no answers.
But right now—
Getting Ichigo out and recovering was top priority.
'If he's this strong just in Shikai...'
'If he learns Bankai...'
Maybe—
Just maybe—
This boy could take on a captain head-on and win.
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Powerstones?
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