I Am a Heroic Spirit

Unohana Retsu did not stop moving, and launched more than ten consecutive strikes, attacking Sasaki Kojiro with great momentum, but was interrupted by Sasaki Kojiro's long sword every time, and left a few shallow blood marks on his face.

After a confrontation, Unohana Retsu seized the opportunity and collided with Sasaki Kojiro's long sword. Then he stepped on the ground and his body flew backwards dozens of meters before he stood still.

After standing still, Unohana Retsu did not continue to attack, but stood there, his face turning blue and red constantly. Sasaki Kojiro did not immediately launch a pursuit, but stood there calmly.

"how come……"

"impossible……"

"Unexpectedly..."

"That rascal……"

Madarame Ikkaku, Ichimaru Gin, Abarai Renji, and Zaraki Kenpachi all changed their expressions, and seemed to be hesitating to speak, looking as if they couldn't believe it.

"What's going on?" Soi Feng asked in confusion.

"...Captain Unohana, all her tricks have been seen through." Abarai Renji said with difficulty, words that he himself could not believe.

"What?!" Soi-Fong was horrified, her eyes falling on Sasaki Kojiro in astonishment. Although she was not good at kendo, she also understood what the concept of Eight Thousand Styles was. Even if Unohana Retsu had learned not eight hundred sword techniques, he had at least eighty of them, yet his opponent had seen through them all.

"How did you do it?" Unohana Retsu asked in a deep voice.

"Ah? What?" Sasaki Kojiro asked calmly.

"You've seen through my attack trajectory, including all my moves." Unohana Retsu's smile disappeared, and his face became more solemn than ever.

In the previous battle, he was the main attacker and Sasaki Kojiro was the main defender, but Sasaki Kojiro was always able to find the flaws in his tactics, strike back later, and take the dominant position, no matter how he changed his tactics.

"What you are talking about is nothing more than the ability to foresee danger based on natural talent. Normally, this ability is called the mind's eye." Sasaki Kojiro said lightly.

"Through this, you have seen through the flaws in my fighting style and various sword techniques in constant battles. You really have a keen eye." Unohana Retsu said with understanding.

"That's right. Then I'm going to attack." Sasaki Kojiro's figure flashed and appeared in front of Unohana Retsu, and he chopped him hard.

Facing Sasaki Kojiro's slash, Unohana Retsu drew his sword and fought back, and the clash of swords began again.

"Qiang Qiang Qiang Qiang——"

The silver-white sword lights kept colliding on the stage, making a heavy sound of steel clashing, and sparks splashed from time to time.

Now the situation has been reversed. Sasaki Kojiro's long sword is getting faster and faster. The light long sword is like a breeze blowing and drizzle falling, slashing towards Unohana Retsu's body from all directions. Unohana Retsu is using all his strength to block Sasaki Kojiro's seamless and ubiquitous sword light. However, the arc drawn by Sasaki Kojiro's long sword is always so weird. Unohana Retsu cannot block it one by one despite his best efforts. Sasaki Kojiro's long sword often passes through the defense line, leaving cracks on the white clothes, and blood flows out of them, dyeing the clothes red.

Gradually, Unohana Retsu fell into a disadvantage, while Sasaki Kojiro, who was originally suppressed, gained an absolute advantage.

Unohana Retsu's expression gradually turned ugly, and Yachiryu's confidence also began to fade away.

I could clearly see every blow, every slash, but why couldn't I block it? Why was the direction and trajectory of every attack wrong? What was going on? Even at this point in the fight, I still couldn't see through Sasaki Kojiro's swordsmanship, just like at the beginning. Yet, every attack was blocked, every defense was seen through. Why was this happening?

"Stone fire, spring thunder...one sword witnesses!"

Just when Unohana Retsu was a little dazed, Sasaki Kojiro saw the opportunity, took a big step forward, and slashed down Unohana Retsu's neck with the long sword in his hand with great momentum.

"Puch!"

The long sword fell through the air, and bright red blood flowers bloomed. The sound of the blade cutting through flesh and blood rang out, and Unohana Retsu groaned, and was hit by the sword.

】 -

Chapter 252 All the swastikas are gone

"Yes, you lost. You lost to me in kendo. It seems that you have looked down upon a mere mortal." Saki Kojiro said lightly, as if he was asking whether you had eaten or not. He was very calm, as if it was no big deal.

In fact, defeating Unohana Retsu in kendo is really nothing, because Sasaki Kojiro won very easily and by luck this time.

Among the countless Heroic Spirits, Sasaki Kojiro is definitely not the strongest Heroic Spirit, and is far from even a top-tier Heroic Spirit, because he does not have the powerful ability values ​​that the Saber class usually has, nor does he have a powerful Noble Phantasm that can destroy a country with a single blow or defeat an army with a single sword. However, if you only look at hand-to-hand combat, there are almost no Heroic Spirits who can defeat him.

A-level Mind's Eye allows him to see the enemy's flaws and attack trajectories, B+ Transparency allows him to maintain a perfect combat state, B++-level Souwa's Insight can prevent the enemy from seeing through his attacks, and the Demonic Sword Swallow Return, which does not require much magic power but can cause multiple dimensional twists and turns, allows Sasaki Kojiro to kill most enemies with one blow or multiple times.

These four abilities are enough to allow Sasaki Kojiro to occupy a place among the top heroic spirits.

The tactic that Sasaki Kojiro is best at is to use his mind to see through all of his opponent's fighting methods and attack trajectories through long battles, and use Sohe's experience to make the opponent unable to see through his attacks. After success, it is time to defeat the opponent.

Just like in this battle, the asymmetry of information made Unohana Retsu not only fail to release the Soul-Slaying Sword at the beginning, but also failed to use even half of his strength, so that he ended up in a tie with Sasaki Kojiro. In the second round, he still did not release the Soul-Slaying Sword, but used all the swordsmanship he had practiced, intending to defeat Sasaki Kojiro with pure swordsmanship. Unfortunately, he still did not succeed, and instead, Sasaki Kojiro used his mind's eye ability to see through all of Unohana Retsu's attack methods, thus obtaining the prerequisite for defeating Unohana Retsu.

"That's really impressive! I don't know what techniques you used, but there's no doubt that you surpassed my swordsmanship with pure swordsmanship."

Blue light was released from Unohana Retsu's hands, and he used Kaido to repair the exaggerated injuries on his body.

"I originally thought that my swordsmanship had reached its peak, because no one could fight me with swordsmanship alone. Even Captain Yamamoto and... they defeated me with their powerful spiritual pressure and fighting instincts. I didn't expect to lose to a junior here."

"As the saying goes, the waves behind push the waves ahead. If I, who have been practicing swordsmanship wholeheartedly from the beginning to the end, cannot defeat you, a god of death who has honed four types of skills, then what qualifications do I have to become a Heroic Spirit? You... after all, are not a pure swordsman." Sasaki Kojiro spoke, pointing out a point that Unohana Retsu had not noticed, or rather, had always ignored.

No matter how many sword techniques Unohana Retsu has learned or how powerful she is, without the pure heart of a swordsman, she will not be able to defeat any swordsman heroic spirit with just sword techniques, because no pure swordsman will spend time and energy on other skills such as Kidō, Kaidō, Shiratō, and Shunpo.

"...That's right, I'm not a pure swordsman. In the beginning, I practiced kendo just to survive. Later, it was for the pleasure of fighting, to enjoy fighting to the fullest, to enjoy the thrill of killing. But now, I seem to have forgotten this original intention." Unohana Retsu lowered his head, was silent for a moment, and spoke in a trance.

She remembered that she was not a Yachiryu at first, but an ordinary soul who had practiced some swordsmanship. Although her spiritual pressure was strong, she had not received any systematic education, did not know Kidō, Shunpo, and naturally did not know Kaido. She was not a noble and lived in the 80th district. However, she had a strong spiritual pressure. If she wanted to survive, she had to rob and fight to get the materials for survival from other souls.

Although the souls from more than a thousand years ago did not have soul-severing swords, and the various necessary skills of the Shinigami were not systematized, it was still the Age of Gods at that time, and Onmyojis, mages, magic monks, samurai, and all kinds of powerful souls could be found in Soul Society. If she wanted to snatch the supplies for survival from those souls, she had no choice but to practice swordsmanship hard, so as to defeat those powerful souls and survive.

Over the course of countless years, she mastered the swordsmanship of all the schools of Soul Society at the time, earning the reputation of being a master of the Eight Thousand Schools, earning her the right to live a leisurely and comfortable life. However, the endless battles brought out her true nature, and she began to seek pleasure in the act of slaughter. After her defeat by Captain-in-Chief Yamamoto, she joined the Gotei 13, a group of assassins known for their murderous tactics in the name of the Gotei. She learned Kaido from Kirinji Tenshiro and received the Soul-Zanto from Nimaiya Oyuetsu. Through the power of Kaido and Bankai, she enjoyed battles to her heart's content.

However, no matter how powerful the swordsmanship is, one who practices swordsmanship simply for the pleasure of fighting and killing can never be a match for a swordsman who pursues the way of the sword as his highest goal.

As Unohana Retsu murmured, the three views of Ukitake Jushiro, Kyoraku Shunsui, Kuchiki Byakuya, Soi Fong and others were shattered. No one could imagine that the captain of the medical team, Unohana Retsu, who was always known for his gentleness and kindness, was a battle maniac who loved fighting. Even Ichimaru Gin's smiling face collapsed at Unohana Retsu's voice.

All the audience also began to reshape their views. After all, Unohana Retsu's appearance and performance were completely opposite to what she said. If it weren't for Unohana Retsu's increasingly powerful aura and murderous intent, as well as her terrifying appearance covered in blood, no one would believe that Unohana Retsu was the person she said she was.

"Well, your expression looks really scary. Are you planning to use Bankai?" Sasaki Kojiro asked with a chuckle, the long sword in his hand hanging casually to the ground.

"..."

Unohana Retsu raised his head with a bloodthirsty smile on his face, which looked particularly hideous and terrifying against the backdrop of his blood-stained clothes.

"Yes, I'm excited. I want to have a fight. I don't care about swordsmanship anymore. I will fight you with all my strength! An opponent as suitable as you is hard to come by in a thousand years!" Unohana Retsu's face turned red because of his excitement. He stared at Sasaki Kojiro with fiery eyes. The soul-slaying sword in his hand trembled slightly, making a clear sound.

"I thought it was Saber, but it turned out to be Berserker. Come on then, Unohana-senpai."

Sasaki Kojiro sighed, raised the five-foot-long sword again, and pointed it at Unohana Retsu.

"Are you ready? Then, Bankai! All gone!"

Unohana Retsu knew that he could not defeat Sasaki Kojiro with his current abilities, so he performed Bankai with his Soul-Zanking Sword. A spiritual pressure ten times stronger than before burst out from Unohana Retsu, creating a violent spiritual power storm on the stage.

The Zanpakutō held in Unohana Retsu's hand turned blood-red, and a large amount of blood seeped out of it, dripping onto the ground like a downpour, surging in all directions. The ground around the stage also turned blood-red, and together with the blood flowing out of the Zanpakutō, it spread around. In the blink of an eye, the entire stage turned blood-red.

Sasaki Kojiro used a long sword to block in front of him, dissipating the spiritual power storm that erupted from Unohana Retsu, then slowly put down the soul-slaying sword. Looking at the stage around him that had changed color and the thick blood under his feet that had completely submerged his feet, his expression became rarely solemn.

"It's really a terrifying power."

As Sasaki Kojiro was sighing, he suddenly felt a mental shock. A picture appeared in his head. It seemed that a huge wave of blood was surging and throwing him into the sea of ​​blood. As his body was submerged in the sea of ​​blood, his flesh and blood melted, and his bones gradually sank into the abyss of the sea of ​​blood. A strong murderous intent filled his mind, intending to assimilate Sasaki Kojiro's soul.

In the blink of an eye, Sasaki Kojiro woke up. It must be said that transparency is a good skill, especially when facing an opponent whose ability comes with mental attacks.

"Huha! What is that thing?" Sasaki Kojiro asked.

"Your willpower is remarkable! Even the captain-general would be briefly enraged upon witnessing my Bankai for the first time. I didn't expect you to be all right in just a breath." Unohana Retsu raised the blood-red Soul-Zankai and spoke excitedly to Sasaki Kojiro. "My Soul-Zankai Bankai was created to allow me to fight more fully. It has two abilities. One is a mental attack, which can cause both the enemy and us to enter an extreme state of combat excitement. All factors that affect the battle will be ignored, including physical pain and fear. All physical and mental obstacles will be replaced by fighting spirit. The other is healing. As long as anyone is in this bloody pool, no matter who they are, no matter what kind of injury they suffer, they will be healed and restored to normal as quickly as possible."

"This Bankai is completely for you to enjoy fighting. It does not exist to defeat the enemy. In this case, how can you kill your opponent?" Sasaki Kojiro asked curiously. This kind of Bankai is simply beneficial to others but not to yourself.

"My Bankai is for healing, not resurrection. If I cut off the head directly, no matter how much I treat it, it will be useless. And although it is healing, if the soaking time is too long and there are no defensive measures, the body will rot and rupture due to excessive recovery."

Unohana Retsu spoke without hiding anything. Although it seemed that he revealed a lot, in fact, the information revealed was useless. After all, in a battle, if you want to kill the enemy, everyone will aim at the enemy's head, which is the vital point. Even if the opponent knows the second ability, as long as he still wants to defeat Unohana Retsu, the opponent can only fight with Unohana Retsu in blood.

Therefore, the disclosure of this kind of intelligence, which has the same advantages and disadvantages for both warring parties, can only be considered a blatant conspiracy, and it is useless even if it is known.

"I can't stand it anymore! Kill you!!!"

Unohana Retsu had no mental defense skills, and no matter how strong his will was, he could no longer endure it. He raised his soul-slaying sword, splashing a large pool of blood, and rushed towards Sasaki Kojiro like a speeding off-road vehicle.

A typhoon-like sound of wind was heard, and the typhoon was released from Unohana Retsu as the center. The stage made a creaking sound as if it was being pressed by Unohana Retsu. The sword pressure that was powerful enough to split a mountain slashed towards Sasaki Kojiro at a speed of five swords per second. Every time Sasaki Kojiro blocked a sword, he had to take a step back, and his body was also tilted backward by the weight of the sword pressure.

At this point, the situation changed again. Unohana Retsu, who was at least ten times stronger than before, made Sasaki Kojiro feel strong pressure.

This can't go on!

Kojiro Sasaki knew very well that if he continued to be suppressed, he would be defeated miserably in a few minutes.

That's all there is to it.

Kojiro Sasaki made a secret decision in his heart.

"Secret Sword!"

A lightning-like strike passed through Unohana Retsu's sight and slashed towards Unohana Retsu at a speed that surpassed Unohana Retsu's.

However, this attack did not attract Unohana Retsu's attention. If this level of attack had occurred before Bankai, it could have caused serious injuries to Unohana Retsu. But now after Bankai, it was impossible to block this attack.

Chapter 253 Secret Sword

Unohana Retsu asked in a deep voice, "That was...your Noble Phantasm?"

"No! It's not a Noble Phantasm! That move... is the secret sword Swallow Return that was not used during the duel between Sasaki Kojiro and me!"

In the audience, Miyamoto Musashi stood up suddenly. Although she had not witnessed Sasaki Kojiro's unique skill of "Swallow Return" with her own eyes, as the only swordsman who could be Sasaki Kojiro's opponent at that time, her eyesight was able to recognize the power of this sword.

"No, I don't have such a thing as a Noble Phantasm. Compared with those famous heroes, I am just a nobody. I don't have any powerful Noble Phantasm, only this sword in my hand. What I can show you is only the swordsmanship that I have practiced throughout my life." Sasaki Kojiro smiled carefreely and said calmly.

"You mean to say that the move just now was just a simple swordsmanship? Are you kidding?" Unohana Retsu asked in astonishment. It was clearly a technique involving space, but it was just a simple swordsmanship that did not use much spiritual power. How could this be possible?

"Don't you want to believe it? If so, then let me show you my complete secret sword."

After Sasaki Kojiro announced this, he took two steps slowly but quickly and appeared less than three meters away from Unohana Retsu.

Unohana Retsu wanted to ask something else, but the sudden sense of crisis made her shut her mouth. Her expression became much more serious. She held the Soul-Slaying Sword in front of her chest, and blood dripped from it from time to time.

"Be prepared, or you'll die, Unohana Retsu."

Sasaki Kojiro turned sideways, tilted his sword-holding arm backward, and held the five-foot-long sword straight up.

Facing Sasaki Kojiro showing his readiness for the first time, alarm bells rang in Unohana Retsu's mind - what he said was true, this time, he might really die.

Unohana Retsu raised the Soul-Slaying Blade high, his body tense, like a longbow at full string, ready to release an arrow. It would be fine. Just strike with my own sword before Sasaki Kojiro swung the long blade! Use this sword to break his secret sword.

"Secret Sword——"

The distance between the two sides was very short, less than three meters, which could be crossed in one step, and Unohana Retsu did take a step. At this point, the long sword had lost its meaning. Since he was close to the enemy, the length was actually an obstacle.

However, that kind of common sense does not exist in Sasaki Kojiro.

"——Yan Fan!"

When the name of the world-famous secret sword came out of Sasaki Kojiro's mouth, Unohana Retsu truly felt that death was approaching. No, it should be said that the scythe of the god of death was already on his neck, and with just a slight pull, his head would be cut off.

Three blade lights with a hint of purple broke through the space, drew different trajectories, and slashed towards Unohana Retsu, like the scythe of the god of death coming from hell, coming to reap Unohana Retsu's head.

Can't dodge! Can't block! Can't stop! Can only resist!

Unohana Retsu thought a lot at the moment the sword flew over, but her thoughts did not affect her movements. It was like the instinct of her body. Unohana Retsu burst out with an extremely powerful spiritual pressure at this moment. The space was shaking, and the air was squeezed into a solid state by Unohana Retsu's spiritual pressure. A dazzling blood-red light condensed on the blood-red soul-slaying sword. The heavy blood-red sword pressure slashed forward heavily with a deafening sonic boom.

"Bang!!!"

With a heavy muffled sound, the sword light and the sword pressure collided, as if a comet hit the earth, causing a violent shock wave. Gusts of air whistled wildly in all directions. Under the influence of the heavy pressure, the ground began to crack and sink like a spider web. Countless pieces of gravel were swept up by the rolling air waves, turning into a sandstorm that submerged Sasaki Kojiro and Unohana Retsu.

Kenpachi Zaraki, Ikkaku Madarame, Soi Fong, Byakuya Kuchiki, Jushiro Ukitake and the others all stood up, staring at the center of the sandstorm with their sharp eyes.

The live video on the Internet no longer had any comments at this time. Everyone was staring at the battlefield, wanting to be the first to know who would be the victor between the fatal blow of the Death God Captain Unohana Retsu, who had a thousand years of cultivation, and the famous swordsman Sasaki Kojiro.

The smoke gradually dissipated, and the figures of Unohana Retsu and Sasaki Kojiro reappeared in everyone's sight, causing an uproar.

Sasaki Kojiro and Unohana Retsu were seen facing each other in silence, but from the injuries on their bodies it could be seen that the winner had already been decided.

Although Sasaki Kojiro's sword was not broken, it was twisted beyond recognition, and the right arm holding the sword was also cut off at the root.

Only a section of the hilt of the blood-red soul-slaying sword was left in Unohana Retsu's hand. Blood was flowing outward from the hilt, looking very fast and strange. The left half of his face was cut by a sharp weapon with a hideous wound, and Unohana Retsu's appearance was almost unrecognizable. There was a deep sword mark on his right shoulder from the outside to the inside, which almost cut off all the parts above Unohana Retsu's chest, which made people look scared.

"How miserable!"

"I'm going to go vomit for a while."

"This should be considered 18+."

"Not eighteen or above, fifteen or above at most."

The bloody wounds on Unohana Retsu and Sasaki Kojiro scared away a group of spectators. In just a few minutes, tens of thousands of spectators who could not bear such a bloody scene had already left the show. This shows how tragic Unohana Retsu and Sasaki Kojiro's desperate attack was.

"You lost." Unohana Retsu spoke. As she spoke, the power of Bankai had already begun to repair her body. As soon as she finished speaking, her horrific injuries were reduced to shallow knife marks.

"Indeed, but this was expected." Sasaki Kojiro remained calm. It was obvious that his words were sincere, and he was relieved. "As expected of a god of death who has practiced for over a thousand years, you are on a different level from Swallow. My secret sword can't do anything to you."

Now Sasaki Kojiro's sword-holding arm has been broken. Although it recovered quickly in the blood of Bankai, even after recovery, he will not be able to exert his full strength in a short period of time, not to mention that the five-foot long sword has also been broken. With such a long sword, he can only use less than 50% of his swordsmanship.

"What was that move just now? At that moment, there seemed to be three knives? Did your speed deceive my eyes?" Unohana Retsu asked Sasaki Kojiro. She had never seen such swordsmanship and could not understand such a secret sword at all. She could only guess through speculation.