The gap in strength was too vast!
Although both Kyoya and Borsalino used light-based abilities in this battle, the intensity of Kyoya's Reiatsu and physical prowess was simply incomparable to Borsalino's.
This level of combat was the most intense for Borsalino.
For Kyoya, however, it was barely a 'warm-up'.
Their endurance in battle was not on the same level.
Once Borsalino's breathing had somewhat steadied, Kyoya extended his left hand towards Borsalino's direction-
Light is omnipresent.
Especially after Kyoya comprehended the essence of light, his control over 'light' had reached a new realm.
As long as Kyoya willed it, wherever there was light, he could control it.
However, ordinary light holds little lethal power against Shinigami who possess Reiatsu.
Even for abilities like Kyoya and Borsalino who can control 'light', it requires gathering vast amounts of 'light' to form powerful Laser.
This is similar to how Hitsugaya uses Hyorinmaru to condense moisture from the air into ice.
Using Reiatsu, however, significantly accelerates the speed of gathering light and expands the range, while also imbuing the gathered light with the user's own Reiatsu damage.
As Kyoya's splayed fingers suddenly clenched, dozens of spikes of varying lengths materialized around Borsalino like a prison, aiming to impale him.
This move had a strong element of surprise.
If Kyoya wished, he could even make the 'light' within Borsalino's body pierce out from inside.
Although the 'light' within a human body cannot compare to that outside, the defenses inside most bodies are also weaker than the surface. Internal damage is always harder to resist than external damage.
The Eighth Kenpachi, Azashiro Soya, utilized his Zanpakuto's power to control the Seventh Kenpachi, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's surface Reiatsu, then destroyed his internal organs from within to ultimately achieve victory.
However, Borsalino is, after all, the strongest Light-type Zanpakuto. Without using Bankai, Kyoya couldn't simply seize the 'light' from Borsalino's body.
Facing this move from Kyoya, Borsalino controlled his Elementalization to reduce the damage he received.
It's because Kyoya's attack was too fast-
Too fast for Borsalino to react further.
Boom!
When the dust settled, Borsalino's disheveled figure appeared before Kyoya.
"Still want to fight?"
Although Borsalino had used Elementalization just before being hit, Kyoya's attack wasn't simple physical damage… it was a light-based assault infused with Reiatsu.
The nature of Reiatsu is similar to Haki, but its properties are superior, capable of harming elemental beings.
Therefore, Elementalization could only reduce the damage Borsalino took from Reiatsu attacks, not grant complete immunity.
At this point, both Kyoya and Borsalino understood the strengths and weaknesses of their respective light abilities.
Because Kyoya initially focused on swordsmanship, his development and use of light abilities emphasized 'penetration' and 'speed'.
Borsalino, on the other hand, focused on 'explosion', 'wide area', and 'speed'.
Judging from the battle, neither could be said to be strictly stronger or weaker in developing and using light abilities, their focuses were simply different.
The main reason Borsalino was at a disadvantage was due to Kyoya's overwhelmingly solid foundation.
Otherwise, in a pure clash of light-based abilities, Borsalino might not necessarily be inferior to Kyoya.
For instance, take Borsalino's previous move, [Yata no Kagami: Hiraishin]. If Kyoya hadn't used his World's Greatest Swordsman-level swordsmanship, how could he have possibly withstood such an attack?
Even if Kyoya also used Elementalization, after enduring that round of attacks, he wouldn't have looked much better than Borsalino does now.
"Isn't that obvious?"
Borsalino removed his shattered glasses. With a swipe of his right index finger and thumb over the broken lenses, he restored them.
"If I lose to you just like this, I wouldn't be very satisfied..."
After putting his glasses back on, Borsalino said, "Next, is my final move."
"Fine."
"Then let's decide the outcome with this one move!"
Facing Borsalino's resolve, Kyoya wouldn't hold back.
Kyoya raised his left hand towards the sky. Countless golden rays of light converged from all directions, gathering above him.
The sphere of light formed by these golden rays had just begun to take shape when gale-force winds whipped up around it, causing it to rapidly absorb more golden light like the eye of a vortex and expand.
This move involved Kyoya absorbing all the 'light' within his perception range and condensing it into a super energy ball, similar in principle to the [Spirit Bomb] used by Goku in Dragon Ball Z.
If Kyoya were to condense all the light of the entire Soul Society into an energy ball, its power could likely destroy the Soul Society itself.
Of course, since this was a battle with Borsalino, Kyoya only gathered the 'light' from within approximately four kilometer around them. While still powerful, it was far from enough to destroy the Seireitei.
On the other side, upon seeing Kyoya's move, Borsalino was momentarily stunned, then a smile appeared on his face.
"Deprivation!"
With Borsalino's low shout, a massive dark space instantly appeared in the sky above the Seireitei.
If Kyoya's [Spirit Bomb] was the gathering of 'light', then Borsalino's [Deprivation] was the expulsion of 'light'.
Their manifestations were complete opposites.
Within this dark space, 'light' did not exist, it was a technique that sealed vision.
For other Shinigami, this might only be a minor nuisance.
But for Kyoya, who was in the midst of condensing his [Spirit Bomb], it was his greatest counter.
The light he had gathered was directly dispersed by Borsalino.
The energy ball, which had already condensed into a second sun, gradually dissipated under Borsalino's expulsion of light, eventually scattering into countless points of light.
Zssstt-
An instant?
Or a long time?
The darkness in the sky faded, and light from various places began to fill this lightless region, restoring brilliance to everything.
"An impressive technique."
Feeling his control over light return, Kyoya lowered his arm and praised Borsalino: "Using the power of light to drive darkness. Borsalino, your ingenuity surpasses my expectations."
Hearing this, Borsalino felt somewhat embarrassed inwardly.
To be honest, the final move he had mentioned earlier wasn't this technique of expelling surrounding light.
This was just something he had tinkered with out of boredom at some point.
He never expected that Kyoya's final move would be perfectly countered by this technique he had unintentionally created.
Under these circumstances, he naturally wouldn't stubbornly use a more costly move instead of the one with the highest cost-effectiveness.
"Yare yare, it's a coincidence, just a coincidence."
Borsalino waved his hand lightly, speaking with an air of nonchalance, "Kyoya-sama, this final move of yours, while powerful, has too slow a startup speed..."
As a Light-Human, Borsalino's techniques all prioritized 'speed'.
Startup speed, attack speed, evasion speed, escape speed...
In Borsalino's view, as long as one of his speeds surpassed the enemy's, he absolutely had a chance of winning the battle.
At the very least, he could escape, ensuring no threat to his life.
To some extent, Borsalino could be considered 'invincible'.
Even if Yamamoto used Bankai, if Borsalino wanted to flee, Yamamoto could do nothing to stop him.
"Losing is losing."
Kyoya shook his head: "I'm not a sore loser."
"So, what do you think now?"
Kyoya looked at Borsalino.
As a Zanpakuto materialized through the hypnosis of Muramasa's ability, Borsalino would only submit to Kyoya again and return to his Inner World, restoring Kyoya's Bankai, after achieving his own goal.
But with this battle ending in Kyoya's concession, whether Borsalino was willing to return and what choice he would make were no longer within Kyoya's considerations.
After all, he couldn't break his own promise just to make Borsalino return, fight Borsalino again, and defeat him.
For Kyoya, the ability to use Bankai didn't affect his strength as much as one might think.
The Pika Pika no Mi's abilities aren't particularly powerful in terms of offensive capability.
Like Hyorinmaru, the Bankai, compared to Shikai, only expands the range of light control by several dozen times.
If Kyoya wished, his current Reiatsu, even in just Shikai, could amplify its range to a level not inferior to Bankai's control range.
This was vividly demonstrated in his battle with Borsalino.
After all, when fighting with the same abilities, what they were competing over was control over that type of ability.
If Kyoya's range of light control was inferior to Borsalino's, he would have been extremely passive in their battle, and even his own 'light' might have been stripped away by Borsalino.
Of course, if Borsalino was willing to return, Kyoya would be gladly pleased.
Ultimately, before fully integrating the Zanpakuto's abilities into oneself, having the Zanpakuto's assistance still significantly impacts strength.
For example, the techniques Kyoya used in his battle with Borsalino, if coordinated with his Zanpakuto's Bankai ability, would have their power increased several times over.
And the consumption would be reduced several times accordingly.
"My thoughts?"
Borsalino adjusted his glasses and asked Kyoya, "Kyoya-sama, I want to know what I mean to you."
Although winning against Kyoya through a clever trick had calmed Borsalino's self-destructive mindset, with his abilities offering limited enhancement to Kyoya, Borsalino also wanted to know how Kyoya truly viewed him.
If Kyoya truly wanted to advance further, Borsalino felt he wasn't incapable of making a 'sacrifice'.
"Partner!"
"Borsalino, to me, you have always been my partner, sharing life and death!"
Facing Borsalino's question, Kyoya didn't hesitate for even a moment before the words spilled out.
"Borsalino, as the Zanpakuto nurtured by my soul, you and I are two sides of the same coin, both possessing part of my memories."
"Then you should also know what my ultimate goal truly is."
"No matter what choice you ultimately make, I will continue striving in that direction."
"One could say there are many things I can only confide in you. Only you are the one in this world who understands me best."
"Even if you are unwilling to return to my Inner World, I am willing to provide the Reiatsu consumption needed to keep you materialized."
"The Reiatsu required to maintain your existence means nothing to me."
Borsalino is, after all, a Zanpakuto.
Even if materialized in the outside world by Muramasa's ability, once that ability fades, remaining outside will continuously consume Borsalino's Reiatsu.
Once his own Reiatsu is exhausted, no matter how unwilling Borsalino is, his body will disperse, and his spirit will return to Kyoya's Inner World.
However, even for a Captain-level powerhouse, the consumption of maintaining a materialized Zanpakuto is immense.
It's roughly equivalent to the consumption of maintaining Bankai state.
It's only because Kyoya can absorb energy from 'light' that he says maintaining Borsalino's materialization isn't a big deal.
Of course, this still has a significant impact on Kyoya himself.
At the very least, his endurance is noticeably reduced.
"I see..."
Borsalino shook his head, "Forget it."
"I know that winning against you this time wasn't truly because my use and development of the Pika Pika no Mi's abilities are superior to yours."
"Rather than wasting time outside, I might as well go back and create a few more powerful techniques."
"Next time, I will definitely defeat you with even stronger moves!"
After saying this, Borsalino's body emitted a golden light, flowing towards Kyoya like smoke or mist, merging into his body.
As Borsalino returned, Kyoya could feel the connection between himself and Borsalino reestablishing within his heart.
Moreover, because of this incident, their connection had become even closer.
An increase in compatibility between Shinigami and Zanpakuto naturally leads to an increase in the Shinigami's strength.
The most obvious effect is the better fusion of their souls after Zanpakuto's release, allowing the Shinigami to use the Zanpakuto's Abilities more easily.
Simultaneously, the Shinigami's Reiatsu after achieving Bankai also receives a significant boost.
"Welcome back."
Placing his right hand over his heart, Kyoya silently thought.
"Borsalino."
"Mmm, I've caused you trouble during this time, Kyoya-sama."
"No, Borsalino."
"You have never been trouble to me!"
"On the contrary, I am very fortunate that my Zanpakuto is you!"