"Take this!"
Madarame Ikkaku let out a strange laugh, drew his sword, and chopped down. Ito Makoto, in turn, retreated to dodge the fierce strike.
Then, he leaped high, holding his sword with both hands, aiming a slash at Madarame Ikkaku's bald head.
Madarame Ikkaku, however, raised his right hand, blocking the blow with his sword sheath, and then, holding his sword in his left hand, slashed towards Ito Makoto's waist.
"Whoosh!"
Ito Makoto quickly created distance with Shunpo.
"What's wrong, kid? Do you only know how to dodge? Come and face me head-on!"
Madarame Ikkaku held his sword in his left hand and his sword sheath in his right, striking simultaneously with both hands, aiming straight for Ito Makoto's face.
"As you wish!"
Ito Makoto continuously shifted his form with Shunpo, then appeared behind Madarame Ikkaku, delivering a horizontal slash with both hands on his sword.
Unexpectedly, Madarame Ikkaku seemed to have anticipated this, quickly turning his head and throwing the sword sheath in his right hand. It struck Ito Makoto's abdomen, and then a sword slash cut across his chest.
Ito Makoto also took the opportunity to slash, striking Madarame Ikkaku's shoulder.
Afterward, both of them retreated using Shunpo to create distance.
Ito Makoto looked at the gruesome wound on his chest, while Madarame Ikkaku, with his sword-wielding left hand, covered his right shoulder, which was still bleeding.
"Hahaha, enjoyable!"
At the same time, Ito Makoto and Madarame Ikkaku both burst out laughing, clearly enjoying this kind of battle where blood was drawn from the very first exchange.
Since participating in that Zanjutsu exam, he had become acquainted with Madarame Ikkaku, and through him, he also met Ayasegawa Yumichika. As both he and Madarame Ikkaku were very passionate about fighting, they quickly became close friends.
In the nearly half a year since joining the Spiritual Arts Academy, he and Ikkaku had privately sparred over ten times. Now, he had completely absorbed the Zanjutsu he learned from Ito Kai's memories and had developed his own understanding of Zanjutsu.
From the beginning, Ito Makoto's Zanjutsu was still somewhat raw and often suppressed by Madarame Ikkaku. But now, he could fight Madarame Ikkaku to a standstill, a truly remarkable improvement over the past six months.
Mid-fight, Madarame Ikkaku suddenly wiped some grayish-brown paste from his sword sheath onto his right shoulder, instantly stopping the profuse bleeding.
"Ikkaku-senpai, you're cheating again."
Seeing this, Ito Makoto's mouth twitched slightly, but he had long since grown accustomed to it.
Then, he reached into his sleeve with his left hand, pulled out some grayish-brown ointment, and applied it to his chest. The wound on his chest also stopped oozing blood.
"Damn it, you brought medicine too, kid!"
Madarame Ikkaku exclaimed boisterously.
"Didn't I learn this from you, Senpai...?"
Ito Makoto seemed quite speechless about this, only able to complain inwardly:
"If my main body were fighting you, I'd let you know what Speed Regeneration is. That's real cheating!"
But then he thought, if his main body fought Ikkaku, Speed Regeneration might not even be necessary, unless Ikkaku had already mastered Bankai at this stage.
After a brief rest, the two resumed their battle. Ito Makoto got more and more into the zone. He adjusted his breathing, held his sword with both hands, and delivered several consecutive slashes that forced Madarame Ikkaku to retreat repeatedly.
That wasn't all. Ito Makoto gathered his spiritual pressure, and wisps of White Lightning arcs condensed on the blade of his Asauchi, then he swung it fiercely.
"Boom!"
The explosive sound was like a spring thunderclap—it was Thunderclap Slash!
A White Lightning arc carrying unparalleled sword energy struck towards Madarame Ikkaku.
Madarame Ikkaku rolled, quickly putting distance between himself and Ito Makoto, narrowly dodging the strike. The slash left a deep crack, several meters deep, in the barren ground beside Ikkaku!
This move was Ronan's main body's signature technique, Thunderclap Slash. Since the clone did not inherit the main body's Flash Lightning ability, Ito Makoto had the sudden idea to replace Flash Lightning with Shinigami Kido. What was previously attached to the blade was Hado #4 - White Lightning, which Ito Makoto had trained to its extreme.
Although the Thunderclap Slash mimicked in this way was far inferior to the original, it was still passable.
Madarame Ikkaku, having dodged the strike, was secretly astonished:
"What a freak of a kid. Each exchange is stronger than the last. In just half a year, both his Zanjutsu and spiritual pressure have advanced this much!"
Thinking this, he no longer held back. He immediately aligned the sword sheath with the sword hilt in his hand, held it forward, and loudly declared:
"Extend, Hozukimaru!"
A flash of white light appeared, and the Asauchi and sword sheath in Madarame Ikkaku's hand instantly transformed into a wooden long spear with a short blade for a spearhead and a red tassel at the end.
Ikkaku, holding the long spear, instantly rushed in front of Ito Makoto with a Shunpo, thrusting directly at Ito Makoto's face.
After his Shikai, both his spiritual pressure and speed received a certain boost.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
Ito Makoto parried with his sword, the clash of the two weapons sending out sparks.
Hozukimaru's spearhead was like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, each thrust aimed directly at a vital point.
"Now!"
Ito Makoto seized the interval between Madarame Ikkaku's thrusts, delivering a horizontal slash that forced Ikkaku to retract Hozukimaru and hold it horizontally to block Ito Makoto's powerful slash.
"Split, Hozukimaru!"
Just as Hozukimaru's shaft blocked the strike, Hozukimaru split into a three-section staff, the chains linking the sections tightly binding the Asauchi in Ito Makoto's hand. At the same time, the spearhead swiftly curved, aiming for the back of his head, just as he was about to be decapitated.
"Whoosh!"
Ito Makoto instantly turned into an afterimage, vanishing from his original spot.
"Oh, Ikkaku-senpai, didn't I tell you that the same move doesn't work on me twice!"
In their previous duel, Madarame Ikkaku had used this move to cut Ito Makoto's neck, so this time he had been on guard against it.
"Hado #31 - Akahō (Red Flame Cannon)!"
Ito Makoto, having created distance with Shunpo, appeared behind Madarame Ikkaku. He raised his right hand, and a crimson fireball aimed at his bald head.
Ikkaku hurriedly transformed Hozukimaru back into its long spear form, twirled it, and barely managed to block Ito Makoto's unchanted Shakkahō.
Hozukimaru collided with the fireball, raising a cloud of smoke. Soon, Madarame Ikkaku emerged from the smoke, looking disheveled, but unharmed.
"Cough, cough, Ito, kid, why are you cheating with Kido! A real man's fight is only fun with close combat!"
"Didn't you cheat first, Senpai?"
Ayasegawa Yumichika, standing nearby, saw that the two were bickering, their martial arts turning into a war of words.
He immediately said with a dark expression:
"Are you two children? Bickering like this? If you're going to fight, fight!"
At this moment, Madarame Ikkaku looked at Ito Makoto with a smile:
"Ito, kid, you've already mastered that, haven't you? Hurry up and show me."
Ito Makoto, of course, knew what Ikkaku was referring to and let out a long sigh:
"Sigh, I originally wanted to wait until Seireitei officially granted me an Asauchi before using it. But now, to use someone else's Asauchi to display it, it feels a bit too much like a cuckold! But since Senpai wants to see it, I'll satisfy you!"
"Chi..."
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