"So fast!"
Shihoin Yoruichi's golden pupils abruptly shrank to thin slits in extreme shock.
The very next instant, no more than a blink.
The bull-headed Hollow Ichigo, gripping Zangetsu and wrapped head to toe in violent spiritual pressure, completely vanished from where he stood.
When he appeared again, he was already hundreds of meters away, crashing down fiercely right in front of Rosse.
That ultimate speed was as if it tore through the restraints of space itself. Even Yoruichi, once known as the Flash Goddess, found it slightly difficult to keep track of.
Wherever the bull-headed Hollow Ichigo passed, powerful wind pressure spread outward in concentric rings. The air was compressed until it let out a low whine, and the ground was left with chaotic scars caused by his extreme-speed movement.
Yet in the face of Kurosaki Ichigo's attack, so fast it reached the absolute limit and carried a world-destroying momentum, Rosse merely drew the Zanpakuto at his waist with casual ease.
With an unhurried posture, he precisely blocked the path of Zangetsu as it came crashing down.
BOOM!
The deafening clash of steel rang out like the end of the world descending.
The terrifying aftershock of spiritual pressure, centered on the point where the two collided, spread outward like a solid shockwave gone mad.
Aside from the area perfectly shielded behind Rosse, the ground within several hundred meters all around let out teeth-grinding cracking sounds as it fractured inch by inch, throwing dirt and rubble high into the air.
If Rosse had not blocked Kurosaki Ichigo's strike so calmly, then every building within those several hundred meters would have been completely leveled in an instant.
And within that range, the completely unguarded Inoue Orihime, as well as Kurotsuchi Nemu who had not reacted at all in time, would have been ground into the finest fragments in that split second, leaving not even a trace behind.
There was no doubt.
Kurosaki Ichigo, now releasing all of his Hollow power, had absolutely reached the peak of captain-level strength, equivalent to Unohana after activating her Bankai.
With this level of power, he could already destroy the entire Seireitei in a short amount of time.
"Decent power behind that attack," Rosse let out a light chuckle. His voice sounded exceptionally clear within the raging storm of spiritual pressure, carrying a faint hint of mockery.
"But are you planning to destroy the people you want to protect along with it?"
He still held his sword with one hand, easily fending off Zangetsu's ferocious assault.
Kurosaki Ichigo's strength had undoubtedly reached the pinnacle of captain level, yet even so, this seemingly extreme power was still not enough in Rosse's eyes.
"ROAR!"
The ferocious bull horns on Kurosaki Ichigo's head now seemed to have become vents for his rampaging spiritual pressure.
His eyes, having completely lost all reason, glowed with a crimson light.
He lowered his head slightly, his body leaning forward.
This was not submission. In that instant, a destructive spiritual pressure far purer and far more condensed than the one surrounding his body began to gather wildly at his horns, forming a red-black sphere that looked almost tangible.
Cero!
Even with only his most primitive fighting instincts remaining, the bull-headed Hollow Ichigo could still unleash the Hollow's strongest and most fundamental killing move.
That crushing sense of destruction was so intense that even the air trembled in fear.
Facing this devastating Cero that was enough to flatten half of the Seireitei, Rosse's eyes showed no ripples at all. He merely glanced slightly toward the rear.
After confirming that there were no allies and no buildings he cared about anywhere along the several-thousand-meter-long Cero trajectory, he made a decisive yet extraordinarily calm decision.
Retreat!
Buzz!
The instant the bull-headed Hollow Ichigo fired the Cero, Rosse violently knocked Zangetsu aside with his Zanpakuto.
His figure appeared beside Inoue Orihime and Kurotsuchi Nemu like a ghost.
With one hand on each of their shoulders.
In the next instant, the three of them vanished at the same time.
Almost simultaneously, that red-black Cero packed with immense destructive spiritual pressure blasted through the entire Seireitei with unstoppable force.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The earth-shaking roar seemed to tear space and time apart.
Everything in the Cero's path was instantly annihilated.
If one looked down from the sky, they would see a heart-stopping sight.
A massive black-and-red beam of light, like the judgment sword of a god, stabbed straight in from the direction of the battlefield, nearly piercing through the entire Seireitei.
It smashed through the West Gate of the Seireitei, which was covered in layers of Kido barriers, without losing any momentum, and continued deep into the Rukongai.
Within the several-kilometer-long path covered by that beam, everything was reduced to absolute nothingness.
Whether it had been sturdy buildings, dense vegetation, or anything else in the way, at this moment all of it turned to ash and vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed at all.
Shihoin Yoruichi's hair was blown upward by the shockwave. She stared blankly at everything before her, her eyes filled with helpless confusion.
'This is bad. This time things have really blown up.'
She never imagined that the Kurosaki Ichigo she brought along would have the power, after Hollowfying, to blast straight through the Seireitei with a single attack.
'Come to think of it, Rosse isn't completely wiped out by that move, is he...'
Anyway, at close range, Yoruichi did not think she herself could withstand that Cero.
"Rosse..."
"Are you worried about me?", Just as Shihoin Yoruichi called out Rosse's name, his slightly teasing voice appeared beside her.
"You're okay?", Shihoin Yoruichi looked at Rosse in surprise and delight. Deep down, she still considered Rosse to be one of her own.
And although he had gone against her wishes a few hours earlier, the other party had still given her a unique experience that she had not been able to forget even now.
"Of course I'm fine. Though if I'd really taken it head-on, maybe I wouldn't be," Rosse said casually, conveniently giving himself a reason.
As for why he didn't block it, of course it was to let Kurosaki Ichigo cause damage.
If Kurosaki Ichigo's destruction didn't actually happen, then how would there be grounds to condemn him?
This single attack was enough to completely shatter the hope of cooperation between Kurosaki Ichigo and Soul Society.
As for whether a few captains might forgive Kurosaki Ichigo, that had nothing to do with him.
Once Kyoraku Shunsui and the others lost their captain positions, they could do whatever they wanted.
"Yoruichi, help me take care of her. The other captains are coming. It's best if your identity doesn't appear here. Put her with the Shiba family for now," Rosse tossed the Inoue Orihime in his hands over to Shihoin Yoruichi. He trusted that she would make the right choice and wouldn't run off with this person.
After all, things were different now. Shihoin Yoruichi no longer had any reason to take Inoue Orihime away.
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