Ichigo leaves and takes up residence in Soul Society!

The sound of swords clashing was pleasant to hear.

The feeling of being filled with excitement remains unchanged.

The wounds on my body brought more stimulation.

but……

He was the only one who got hurt.

The other party was like a seasoned butcher, skillfully suppressing the prey, slowly dismembering it, and fully enjoying the pleasure of doing what they loved.

This kind of battle can't even be called a bloodbath.

Instead, it was... a one-sided massacre.

"I'm telling you, it's about time you used your full strength, wasn't it?"

Taking advantage of a lull in the sword fight, Xu Bai suddenly spoke.

"That's right. It's rare to encounter such a formidable opponent. I can't fall first."

Kenpachi grinned maliciously and used his free left hand to tear off his eyepatch.

The spiritual pressure that had been suppressed and devoured was now fully released.

The surging golden torrent was far more exaggerated than at the beginning, not just a few times more, but more like it was waking up from a slumber.

The surrounding buildings were crushed by the spiritual pressure torrent, which even affected the celestial phenomena.

But even so.

Xu Bai's expression didn't change much.

No, there have been changes.

He sighed, maintaining a bored expression.

"What an incomprehensible idiot! Even more hopelessly stupid than Ichigo... Uh, never mind, calm down, you moron, stop causing trouble at a time like this! I won't say anything more..."

It felt like someone had suddenly kicked my butt.

Xu Bai's face was stiff, and his eyes were filled with anger.

Unable to take revenge, he vented his anger on Kenpachi in front of him.

"Take this...!"

Kenpachi felt he had given it his all and was thoroughly enjoying himself. In this state of mind, he excitedly exerted his strength to force back Hollow White, and then swung his arm in a wide arc, wielding the broken blade like a scythe.

result……

It missed.

The long sword is missing half of its length.

But I don't know when it fell off.

The only clue is that the attack was an upward slash, which Xu Bai intercepted and severed in advance, based on his raised sword.

"?!"

This was the first time Kenpachi had encountered such a situation.

His trembling expression of excitement momentarily froze.

Stab it!

Accompanied by a sound like tearing silk.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Xu Bai slashed along Kenpachi's shoulder blade straight down to his abdomen.

Then he turned around and delivered a powerful spinning kick to the abdomen.

Blood blossomed in the air, and people flew dozens of meters like cannonballs before crashing into the wall.

Despite suffering such a blow, Kenpachi was still conscious.

He struggled to climb out of the wall, panting heavily, staring blankly at the broken knife in his hand.

All the bells had fallen off, and her hair, soaked with sweat and blood, draped over her shoulders.

In addition to his numerous wounds and the broken knife in his hand.

It seems the outcome is already decided.

But... why so fast?

The other party wasn't even injured.

Is the gap in strength really that large?

If that's really the case, then why don't I feel anything at all?

Am I not fighting against an opponent of equal strength?

"Since you've chosen to be a mount, don't expect to rely on yourself. Think like a king."

Xu Bai strolled over slowly.

"……What's the meaning?"

Kenpachi's voice was hoarse.

"Let me ask you, what is the difference between a human and a horse?"

Xu Bai stopped ten meters away from him and chuckled strangely.

"I'm not referring to physical differences, but rather... why can one side become a king and rule everything, while the other can only be ridden as a mount?"

"Where exactly does their difference lie?"

"Is it the ability to think? Is it rationality? Is it intelligence? Or is it... pure power?"

"No, it's instinct."

"!?"

Kenpachi's eyes widened slightly, and he remained speechless in astonishment.

Xu Bai stretched out his hand, pointing at him with contempt in his eyes.

"So-called instinct is the pursuit of power by any means necessary, the ruthless crushing of the enemy, the infinite desire for struggle, and the most primitive killing reflex imprinted in our bodies!"

Do you know why you can't hurt me?

"Because you are unconsciously suppressing your own power, relying on the first strike to judge the opponent's strength, and then adjusting to the appropriate level."

"I will deliberately suppress my power to make you make the wrong judgment, and then suddenly increase my power to catch you off guard."

"I'll improve after you've adapted, so you're always the one who gets hurt, not me."

"Being obsessed with fighting while ignoring the essence of fighting."

"He was clearly a king, yet he willingly degenerated."

"It can no longer be described as a sword being sheathed; it's as if the sword was deliberately discarded, for fear of killing the opponent, and then fighting bare-handed."

"You think you can fight me empty-handed? Aren't you just asking for death?"

“But I know you don’t want to die… If you die, you can’t continue fighting, so you will still use your fighting instincts within your understanding and do your best to defeat your opponent.”

"However... how could a self-degrading king like you, with half-baked instincts and nothing to his name, possibly win a real mount?"

"So... call it out."

"Summon your mount and your Zanpakuto."

"Only then will you be qualified to fight me."

Xu Bai's unrestrained words were like a steel knife ripping open Kenpachi's chest, tearing out his heart and forcibly placing it in front of him, forcing him to see it clearly.

—Including that…the bloody reality of the past that has been forgotten.

"Zanpakuto..."

Kenpachi couldn't understand what the other person was saying. He was a little dizzy from blood loss, but there was one thing he remembered.

Strength is needed to continue the fight.

Continue the battle with your opponent!

I want to keep fighting.

I want to see the full extent of this person's strength.

So, whatever you choose is fine.

Even if it's only half intact, please take it!

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh—!"

"Are you coming?"

Xu Bai squinted at Kenpachi, who was roaring with his head raised.

Despite being injured like this, these injuries ironically became an outlet for releasing terrifying spiritual pressure.

Kenpachi's broken sword melted and deformed due to the high-density spiritual pressure.

It became especially huge.

It was as if a wild beast had appeared out of thin air.

"Devour...Wild Sun!"

Kenpachi, squeezing out his remaining strength, leaped forward with great courage. His clothes were tattered, and he resembled a dying beast launching a counterattack. The giant blade in his hand was visually striking, reminiscent of the guillotine, a torture device.

When he descended from the sky and swung his arm to strike, the sheer scale of the spiritual pressure he carried caused the oppressive feeling to surge, as if a guillotine the size of a mountain had fallen!

Upon seeing this, Xu Bai's lips curled slightly.

There's a feeling of a plan succeeding.

The dark whites of his eyes suddenly faded, and his pupils returned to normal.

Her entire demeanor has also changed significantly.

Ichigo stared at the terrifying figure, his greatsword transforming into a black bow as he raised his hand and fired an arrow.

But this arrow didn't shoot anything.

Instead, it emitted an extremely intense flash of light.

Kenpachi's body was burning hot from the light, giving him the illusion of being immersed in magma, but what was even more deadly was that he couldn't see anything.

The powerful blow was largely neutralized.

Kenpachi was unwilling to give up and relied on his instincts to find the opponent's location.

Then I felt arrows being shot into my body repeatedly.

Do not……

It should be said that he was stabbed in the body by a blade.

That feeling was all too familiar to him.

"Oh oh oh oh oh!"

Kenpachi roared, risking injury to close the distance.

Then it hits the target.

"...Now everyone's evenly matched, let's continue the fight..."

The wild sunflower was taller than a person, and such a knife strike right into the main torso caused injuries that were indeed enough to compensate for all the injuries accumulated so far.

However, Ichigo's chest wound, which should have been severely injured, healed at an extremely fast pace.

In just a few seconds, only the gap in the Death Armor was left.

Not only that.

Ichigo remained remarkably calm, aiming his black bow at Kenpachi, who had revealed a weakness, even at this distance.

"Crescent Moon... Sky Rush."