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Blood burst in a sharp spray, Ruby's eyes wide with horror as pain robbed her of breath. She had known from Ulquiorra's reports that this boy's power was monstrous, capable of smashing Yammy's hierro with a single blow. But she had never imagined his swordsmanship could be just as fearsome. A single cut had severed the hardest part of her body. Where Rukia's strike had only scratched shallowly, his blade had cleaved her tentacle clean through as if it were paper.
"The essence of swordsmanship is always forward," Su Li's voice came quiet, steady. "It isn't about doubting yourself, or questioning whether the cut will land. It's the mindset of cutting through everything, without hesitation. Forget the result. Stop thinking. Simply swing the blade down."
Rukia felt his words pierce her chest like a second sword, something awakening in her heart.
"Stop spewing nonsense!" Ruby roared, pain snapping her mind into fury. Three fresh tentacles lashed from her back, whistling as they whipped toward the pair.
"Now try," Su Li said, releasing Rukia's hand.
The writhing appendages snapped forward with murderous speed. Yet Rukia, instead of panicking, steadied her eyes. She drew a breath and slashed down. Steel met flesh with a violent crack, the white Zanpakutō carving into the tentacle and leaving a deeper wound than before. Blood seeped.
It wasn't victory, but it was progress.
Ruby howled, pressing harder, her tentacles driving against the blade. Rukia's hands trembled, her body shuddering as she was forced back, her strength buckling against the weight of power far beyond her.
Then, a single finger pressed gently to the back of her blade. The pressure halted at once. The tentacles thrashed, but could push no further.
"Better," Su Li murmured. "Now… just a little stronger."
Rukia swallowed and nodded, her expression sharpening. Su Li was guiding her—truly guiding her. In the Seireitei, countless would give anything for a moment of his instruction. Renji had even resigned his position as vice-captain, begging transfer to the Second just for the chance to train under him. Yet here, in battle, Su Li was offering his hand to her. She would not waste it.
Meanwhile, in the shadows of the battlefield, two figures crouched low.
"That guy… actually teaching in the middle of a fight?" Hirako Shinji muttered, eyes narrowing.
"Then why are we even hiding?" Hiyori snapped. "Shouldn't we jump in and help?"
"Tch, does someone like him need our help?" Shinji clicked his tongue. "We'll sit back and enjoy the show." His gaze flicked back upward, curiosity gleaming.
"Then at least pick another spot!" Hiyori hissed. "Aren't you worried about stepping in crap?"
"There's no—" Shinji began, only to freeze as Hiyori's stare dropped to his feet.
Rustling erupted in the grass. Shinji stiffened. "The hell—?!"
Grimmjow's ear twitched at the sound, his eyes flicking briefly downward before he dismissed it with a snort and looked back skyward. The real spectacle was above.
Ruby's tentacles writhed, only to be seized all at once. Su Li's hand clenched them effortlessly, Ruby's pupils constricting in disbelief. She hadn't even seen his motion.
"Again," Su Li said gently, loosening his grip like a teacher returning a wooden sword to a pupil.
Rukia nodded, inhaled, and raised her blade overhead with focused intent.
"Die! Die! Die! I'll tear you both apart!" Ruby shrieked, sending the rest of her tentacles lunging forward in a storm of strikes.
Rukia ignored them. She saw only the three before her—her task, her trial.
The other blows never reached her. Su Li's hand swept casually, scattering the attacks as if brushing away leaves. His other palm moved in harmony, intercepting each thrust with flawless calm. Rukia, blind to everything else, centered only on her strike.
She gripped the hilt tight. Her chest filled with breath. Her spirit sharpened.
Ruby's scream tore the night. "Yammy! Grimmjow! Stop standing there and help me!"
Yammy jolted, face darkening as he flared forward with a hulking swing of his fist. Grimmjow cursed, displeased but unwilling to miss the fight, leaping high with claws ignited in blue light. Wanda Wise stirred on the ground, dazed but slowly rising.
Rukia's sword glimmered, raised to its peak. Her eyes narrowed to a single point.
She brought it down.
The flash of white steel was pure, unbroken.
At that same instant Yammy's massive fist roared toward her chest, while Grimmjow's luminous claws slashed down at Su Li's back.
Su Li's expression didn't change. His body moved with fluid indifference, arm and knee lifting in the same breath.
The collision split the night. Rukia's blade carved clean through three tentacles, severing them in a spray of blood. At her side, Su Li's fist met Yammy's knuckles with a thunderclap, while his leg shattered Grimmjow's claw mid-strike.
The explosion of air blasted outward in a shockwave, rattling the ground, crushing branches and soil. In the distance, Hirako and Hiyori rose to their feet, eyes wide.
Ichigo struggled upright, watching in stunned disbelief.
"She… she did it," he whispered.
"Good," Su Li said quietly.
Then came two sharp cracks—Yammy's bones giving way, Grimmjow's claw splintering apart.
Before Rukia could comprehend it, Su Li's hand closed gently over hers again, guiding the blade. His voice brushed her ear, calm and steady.
"Now… cut them all."
The sword flashed white.
Blood erupted. Yammy, Grimmjow, and Ruby staggered as red mist burst from their chests, wounds carved in unison.
Rukia froze, stunned by the sight. Her heart pounded, her breath caught.
This… this is what it means to go forward.
Where she had only severed three tentacles, Su Li's cut had pierced three Arrancar.
One blade. One strike. Wearing three.
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