Shiiing-
Byakuya slowly drew his Zanpakuto.
"Begin."
Before his voice had even faded, his figure instantly vanished from before Toshiro's eyes.
Clang!
Toshiro instantly drew his Zanpakuto, turning to block.
Clang!
Byakuya's Zanpakuto stabbed against the blade of Hyorinmaru.
Toshiro praised, "That's quite a move. Instantly rotating your body at high speed and combining it with Shunpo to circle behind your enemy, faster than sound even. What's the name of this technique?"
"Senka," Byakuya replied indifferently.
Seeing that Toshiro not only easily blocked his move but also leisurely commented on it, Byakuya couldn't help but feel somewhat troubled.
Clang!
Toshiro exerted force with his hand, pushing away Byakuya's Zanpakuto.
"Well then, it's my turn to make a move," Toshiro said seriously.
Toshiro calmed his mind, focusing, sensing the fluctuations in the entire space.
"Shunkuho!"
Whoosh!
Toshiro's figure flickered and vanished without a trace.
Byakuya was inwardly shocked, 'How is this possible! I couldn't even see his movement clearly!'
Byakuya showed an incredulous expression. After all, among the Captains of the Gotei 13, his speed was always highly regarded. Even Sui-Feng, the Captain of the 2nd Division, might not be able to definitively beat him in speed.
'The left side?'
Byakuya suddenly sensed a deadly feeling of crisis coming from his left.
'Too late!'
Byakuya wanted to swing his sword to block, but there was no time.
Schlick!
Toshiro's Zanpakuto pierced through Byakuya's body.
However, Toshiro didn't feel pleased. Instead, he frowned, looking at Byakuya's body, which had been pierced by his Zanpakuto.
The body of Byakuya that Toshiro's blade had struck suddenly transformed into an outer robe.
It was the very robe Byakuya had been wearing moments ago.
"Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shiho: Utsusemi!"
Byakuya's voice drifted over from not far beside Toshiro.
"If possible, I'd rather not use this move I learned from that woman."
'That woman... Shihoin Yoruichi?' Toshiro thought to himself.
Byakuya said with a serious expression, "I underestimated you earlier. I didn't expect your speed to surpass mine. However, I won't let you succeed again."
"Hmph, that remains to be seen," Toshiro said, tapping the ground with his foot. His figure vanished once more.
Byakuya hurriedly swung his sword to block to the right.
Clang!
Byakuya accurately blocked Toshiro's attack.
Although Byakuya's speed wasn't as fast as Toshiro's, it was still among the best.
His reaction ability was also exceptional. While he couldn't keep up with Toshiro's speed, he could react in time when Toshiro closed in for an attack.
"Oh, blocked it? But so what!"
Boom!
Toshiro instantly unleashed his full strength, pushing off from the ground.
Immediately, Byakuya was forced backward by Toshiro, his feet scraping a shallow groove in the ground.
Byakuya wanted to break free from this state, but he couldn't find leverage.
Thud!
Byakuya's body slammed into a tree.
Cough! Cough!
Byakuya felt his internal organs shaking violently. A trickle of blood couldn't help but escape from the corner of his mouth.
However, Byakuya also took this opportunity to break free from Toshiro's entanglement, quickly using Shunpo to put distance between them.
"What's wrong? Can't keep up? I haven't even used my full strength yet!" Toshiro didn't give Byakuya a chance to catch his breath, immediately closing in again.
His wrist flickered, unleashing a curtain of sword lights and shadows that enveloped Byakuya.
Byakuya also quickly swung his Zanpakuto to meet Toshiro's onslaught.
Clang! Cling! Clang! Ding!
The sound of clashing blades rang out continuously.
Schlick!
Schlick!
Schlick!
In the end, Byakuya couldn't completely block all of Toshiro's attacks. His clothes were torn, and several wounds appeared on his shoulder and chest.
Although the wounds weren't deep, he looked quite disheveled.
Toshiro stopped his attack, looking coldly at Byakuya. "Is this all you have? How disappointing. Or did I overestimate you, Kuchiki Byakuya?"
Byakuya didn't speak. Instead, he looked at Toshiro with a cold expression, then gathered Reiatsu and instantly slashed out a Kenatsu wave towards Toshiro.
Toshiro glanced at it disdainfully and casually slashed out his own sword pressure wave to meet Byakuya's attack.
Boom!
The Kenatsu collided and canceled each other out. Toshiro's Kenatsu, after destroying Byakuya's attack, continued towards Byakuya.
Schlick!
Blood blossomed once more on Byakuya's body.
"It's over, Kuchiki Byakuya!" Toshiro said softly.
"Bisection!"
Toshiro gripped his sword with both hands, gathering all his strength.
This move was precisely Zaraki's most powerful two-handed sword technique.
And Zaraki had learned this move from Yamamoto. When Yamamoto was instructing Toshiro, he had also passed this technique on to him.
"Haah!"
Toshiro shouted, slashing with the sword that concentrated all his power towards Byakuya.
Sensing the terrifying power of this move, Byakuya's stern face finally showed clear emotion.
He wanted to dodge, but he couldn't escape Toshiro's speed.
So, Byakuya could only gather all his strength to meet it head-on.
Clang!
Toshiro's concentrated full-power strike landed on Byakuya's blade.
Crack!
Suddenly, a crack appeared on Byakuya's Zanpakuto.
Then, with a clatter, Byakuya's Zanpakuto completely snapped. The severed half of the blade fell to the ground, emitting a crisp sound.
Byakuya wore an expression of utter disbelief. "How... is this possible? My Zanpakuto... was severed?"
"Young master!" The old Kuchiki Clan's steward called out worriedly from the distance.
Although the steward seemed quite arrogant, he was very loyal to Byakuya… otherwise, he wouldn't have been kept by his side.
"This is unbelievable... The Captain's... Captain's Zanpakuto was actually broken by someone!" The two Shinigami in black Shihakusho who had followed Byakuya like guards earlier were not Kuchiki Clan's members, but members of the 6th Division. It was the first time they had seen Byakuya's Zanpakuto break, and the first time they had seen him so decisively defeated.
"Broken, huh? It seems this is the end," Toshiro said, glancing at Byakuya's broken Zanpakuto.
Toshiro looked at Byakuya with some disappointment. "Head of the Kuchiki Clan, Captain of the 6th Division... in the end, is this all you amount to?"
Although he hadn't come to fight Byakuya, once they started, Toshiro had still hoped Byakuya could give him a satisfying match.
However, being able to so easily defeat Byakuya also showed how strong Toshiro's power had become.
Toshiro looked at Byakuya and said, "Let's end this matter of adopting Rukia. You can't give Rukia happiness."
Having said that, Toshiro turned to leave.
"Halt!"
Byakuya suddenly turned, looking at Toshiro's departing back and speaking loudly.
Toshiro paused, not turning his head. "What is it? Your Zanpakuto is broken. You can't continue fighting."
"Hmph! If it were anyone else, that might be true. But I am different," Byakuya snorted coldly.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura!"
Hearing Byakuya's words, Toshiro looked back.
He saw that as Byakuya uttered his soft chant, both the Zanpakuto in his hand and the broken half on the ground instantly transformed into countless pink cherry blossom petals.
Then, they suddenly flew rapidly towards Toshiro. Yet, Toshiro seemed completely entranced by the beautiful petals, showing no reaction, allowing the cherry blossom petals to assault him.
"The one who ends here... is you, Hitsugaya Toshiro!"