"Ha!"
Staring at the familiar face so close, Toshiro roared and pushed Hyorinmaru back.
'So much strength! Much stronger than usual!'
Hyorinmaru thought in surprise.
Whoosh!
Toshiro's figure flickered and appeared behind the retreating Hyorinmaru, then slashed down.
Hyorinmaru, as if she had eyes in the back of her head, didn't turn around. She raised her sword above her head and held it horizontally behind her.
Ding!
Toshiro's attack was easily blocked by Hyorinmaru. But Toshiro didn't give up easily.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Toshiro shouted continuously, his sword unleashing one technique after another, tracing mysterious trajectories through the air, attacking Hyorinmaru in an unending flurry.
Hyorinmaru's wrist flicked, creating blooming sword flowers, parrying Toshiro's attacks one by one.
Ding, ding, clang, clang...
The swords clashed incessantly, playing a passionate battle melody. Sparks flew, dancing an exciting dance.
However, after fighting for a considerable time, Toshiro still couldn't get the better of Hyorinmaru.
Seeing that a prolonged attack was getting him nowhere, Toshiro began to use the Kendo ultimate techniques he had mastered.
"Kendo: Two-Handed Slash!"
Toshiro gripped his sword with both hands, concentrating all the power in his body into it, and slashed towards Hyorinmaru's shoulder.
Seeing this, Hyorinmaru also gripped her sword with both hands to meet Toshiro's attack.
But although both used two hands, the power was vastly different.
Bang!
Hyorinmaru felt an immense force transmitted through her sword. It nearly flew out of her hand. Her purlicue instantly split, blood dyeing the sword's hilt red.
At the same time, Hyorinmaru's body was also sent flying back by Toshiro's blow, her feet carving a deep groove in the ground.
Gripping the sword with both hands does increase power. But even with two hands, Hyorinmaru's strength still couldn't match Toshiro's.
Because Toshiro's Two-Handed Slash was learned from Yamamoto and then fused with his own techniques and Kendo insights, greatly amplifying the power of his slash.
Hyorinmaru, on the other hand, was just simply gripping her sword with two hands. The power amplification was far less than Toshiro's.
Although, generally speaking, abilities mastered by a Shinigami can also be used by their Zanpakuto, this Two-Handed Slash move was obviously something Hyorinmaru did not know.
Because Kendo, unlike Shikai and Bankai which are inherent powers of the Zanpakuto themselves, requires long-term practice to master. Even a Zanpakuto, which is one heart and body with its Shinigami, needs to be taught to learn it.
Although Hyorinmaru had seen this move during practice with Toshiro, she didn't understand its secrets. She hadn't asked Toshiro about it in detail, because she wasn't very interested in Kendo and hadn't deliberately practiced it.
So, although Hyorinmaru's Kendo ability was decent, she was obviously no match for Toshiro, who stood at the pinnacle of Kendo.
Shunkuho!
Toshiro's figure flickered and instantly appeared above the retreating Hyorinmaru. Then, using his descending momentum, he slashed down.
Hyorinmaru had no time to dodge and could only raise her sword above her head to block Toshiro's attack.
Bang!
Hyorinmaru crashed through several stone pillars before finally stopping.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
As the dust cleared, Hyorinmaru walked out unharmed, just coughing a couple of times from the dust. She was otherwise fine.
"Yo, not bad, Toshiro. I didn't expect your strength to still be quite impressive even without me. But you're still far from beating me!"
"True Eye of the Dragon!"
A blue light flashed in Hyorinmaru's eyes. She directly activated the True Eye of the Dragon and proactively charged forward.
"True Eye of the Dragon!"
Toshiro also activated the True Eye of the Dragon.
With the enhanced dynamic vision and prediction of enemy moves provided by the True Eye of the Dragon, advantages in areas like Kendo and Hakuda are greatly diminished. So, with Hyorinmaru using the True Eye of the Dragon, Toshiro had to also use it to counter.
Ding, ding, clang, clang...
Although Hyorinmaru managed to recover some of her disadvantage thanks to the True Eye of the Dragon, Toshiro had it too.
Coupled with Toshiro's pinnacle Kendo level, Hyorinmaru once again gradually fell behind in the fight. She could only block Toshiro's attacks while continuously retreating, like a small boat in a storm, teetering on the edge of capsizing.
Ssshhkk!
As the saying goes, prolonged defense leads to a lapse. Amidst Toshiro's relentless, storm-like attacks, Hyorinmaru finally showed a slight opening. Toshiro seized the opportunity and left a wound on her.
Whoosh!
Hyorinmaru's figure flickered and quickly distanced herself from Toshiro.
'Although he's lost his Zanpakuto's abilities, Toshiro's Kendo is superior to mine. Plus, he's emotionally charged and in an explosive state, so his power is also very strong. This means close combat is disadvantageous for me.'
Hyorinmaru thought to herself.
"Bakudo #63, Sajo Sabaku!"
While Hyorinmaru was thinking, Toshiro took the opportunity to launch a long-range Kido attack.
A thick, snake-like chain of golden electricity bound Hyorinmaru.
"Hyorinmaru! Choose! Will you die here, or return to my side!!"
Toshiro charged at the bound Hyorinmaru in the distance, shouting loudly.
"Heh, you speak quite boldly. Do you think I'm already defeated, Toshiro?"
Hyorinmaru sneered coldly.
Crack!
Bone-chilling cold emanated from Hyorinmaru. The thick snake-like chain instantly froze into ice, then shattered with a crack into ice shards.
Whoosh!
Hyorinmaru lightly stepped and easily dodged Toshiro's attack as he reached her.
"Stronger than several Captains combined. Even I, if not careful, can be wounded by you. But..."
"It's over, Toshiro!!"
"Next, I'm going to take this battle seriously and go all out. You should know very well that from the moment I get serious, you are destined to lose!"
Hyorinmaru stated assertively.
Hearing her words, Toshiro's expression became unprecedentedly grave.
Toshiro knew very well that although he had seemed unstoppable just now, gaining the upper hand and pressing the attack, even making Hyorinmaru flustered, that was indeed because Hyorinmaru hadn't been fighting him seriously, hadn't brought out her true power.
Although Toshiro's Kendo, Kido, and Hakuda were all superior to Hyorinmaru's, and he had even used these to gain an advantage in the fight, Hyorinmaru possessed the power of the Strongest Ice-type Zanpakuto! If she got serious, under the power of that Strongest Ice-type Zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru, Toshiro's Kendo, Kido, and Hakuda would all be useless!
Things like Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, Kido are, after all, auxiliary abilities in a Shinigami's battle. What's most important for a Shinigami is the power of their Zanpakuto.
But now, Toshiro's Zanpakuto ability... the Zanpakuto herself was standing before him as his enemy. How could they even discuss Zanpakuto abilities?!
"Are you finally going to release it?"
Toshiro's expression was grave beyond compare.
"Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens..."
Boom!
An ice-blue pillar of Reiatsu shot into the sky. Instantly, dark clouds gathered, obscuring the bright moon. Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky, like a divine punishment heralding the end of the world. On the ground, a cold wind howled, a scene of withering and decay.
Moreover, due to the drastic drop in temperature, snowflakes began to fall from the sky. The cold wind mixed with snowflakes stung Toshiro's face.
"Roar!"
A lifelike frost dragon, dozens of units of length long, condensed from Hyorinmaru's Reiatsu, coiled around her, making her appear as majestic and invincible as a god.
"It's over, Toshiro. You are no match for me now!"
Hyorinmaru declared solemnly.