The spiritual pressure that once flowed like a trickle now surged without limit, ready to transform into a tidal wave at his command.
If he wished, he could even concentrate all his remaining power to augment his own physical attributes.
Slashing, Shunpo, Hakuda, Kido.
However, he could also consciously regulate the output efficiency to improve his stamina.
A moment later, system prompts flickered before his eyes.
[SYSTEM: ANALYZING ZANPAKUTO: KYOGA]
[SYSTEM: ANALYSIS PROGRESS 20%... 25%...]
[SYSTEM: ANALYZING ZANPAKUTO: DOKUSHI]
[SYSTEM: ANALYSIS PROGRESS 20%... 25%...]
The two notifications chimed almost in unison, their progress bars climbing slowly but steadily.
This was the ability Garenge had mentioned—the power to analyze Zanpakuto.
Ren looked up, no longer in a rush.
The two men before him had now become his testing stones.
Across from him, the pair exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock and doubt in the other's eyes.
"What now? Do we keep going?"
The tall, thin man clearly showed signs of wanting to retreat.
But the burly man glared at him, instilling a fresh wave of fear.
"One last gamble. We've fought this long; I don't believe he can suddenly turn it all around."
Then the burly man lowered his voice.
"I'll go all out to create an opening. As long as you can land a hit, your Zanpakuto's ability will give us a chance..."
The thin man gritted his teeth and accepted the plan.
In the next instant, both moved simultaneously.
The burly man charged again, pushing his spiritual pressure to the limit as the serrated teeth on his Zanpakuto seemed to come alive.
With every swing, he unleashed ripples of tearing spiritual pressure, overwhelming Ren with a storm of blade light.
The thin man followed right behind.
His rapier became a ghostly green thread that nearly vanished into the night, striking at Ren from a treacherous angle once more.
Against this lethal pincer attack, Ren made his move.
The lotus patterns on Garenge's guard glowed faintly, and the starlight on the chains around his wrist pulsed.
Handling their assault was far easier now that he had released his Shikai, though his spiritual pressure was being consumed at a much faster rate.
Ren deflected the serrated spiritual pressure from the burly man's Zanpakuto, causing it to shatter like waves against a cliff.
And the dangerous Dokushi found no opening amidst Ren's impenetrable defense.
As the two poured their power into their abilities, Ren noticed the system's analysis progress surge forward.
[SYSTEM: ANALYSIS PROGRESS: 90%... 100%]
[SYSTEM: ZANPAKUTO: KYOGA, ANALYSIS SUCCESSFUL!]
[SYSTEM: ZANPAKUTO: DOKUSHI, ANALYSIS SUCCESSFUL!]
With the analysis complete, understanding flooded Ren's mind as the details of their Zanpakuto were revealed.
[SYSTEM: KYOGA: GENERATES SERRATED SPIRITUAL PRESSURE FROM THE BACK OF THE BLADE TO HARASS ENEMIES.]
[SYSTEM: DOKUSHI: PRODUCES A NEUROTOXIN AT THE TIP OF THE BLADE CAPABLE OF PARALYSIS.]
The abilities of these two Zanpakuto were now useless against him.
If Kyoraku Shunsui weren't watching nearby, Ren would have loved to test his ability to completely nullify his opponents' blades.
Regardless, there was no longer any need to hold back.
Seeing Ren's effortless composure, the burly man gritted his teeth.
If they didn't risk everything now, they wouldn't have another chance.
With that thought, he ignored several shallow wounds to finally force Ren into a momentary lapse.
The thin man saw his chance and lunged at Ren's left shoulder, a flash of joy in his eyes.
In the next second, that joy froze on his face.
Ren suddenly surged his spiritual pressure into a Shunpo, his figure vanishing in a blur.
Before his enemies could react, he reappeared behind them at a speed far greater than before.
"Hey, behind you!"
Only when the burly man shouted did the thin man realize what had happened.
But in that moment, Ren seized the opening, spinning his body and striking with his left hand flat like a blade.
Spiritual pressure erupted as Ren delivered a precise, brutal Hakuda strike to the side of the man's neck!
Under the heavy blow, the man's eyes bulged, and he collapsed onto the ground. His rapier clattered as it reverted to an Asauchi.
"Bastard!"
The burly man was both shocked and furious to see his partner taken down so instantly.
He roared, pouring every drop of his spiritual pressure into Kyoga. The blade shone with blinding light as he unleashed a massive tearing slash at Ren's back!
Ren didn't attempt to block it, instead using Shunpo to reposition.
Boom!
The violent slash struck the ground with a thunderous roar.
Unfortunately, his target was nowhere to be found.
And because he had committed everything to that single blow, he was left wide open, exposing a fatal gap in his guard.
Ren drew his sword back, his eyes flashing like lightning. His Shunpo accelerated to the extreme as he closed the distance instantly.
Before the burly man's terrified eyes, Ren's blade traced a cold, silver arc.
The light flashed. The bald man froze mid-swing, a thin line of blood slowly appearing across his chest.
The madness and rage in his eyes were quickly replaced by hollow disbelief. Then, the light faded, and his massive body crashed to the earth.
He simply couldn't fathom how Ren's speed and power had increased so drastically that they were defeated in the blink of an eye.
'It was just a Shikai...'
But the outcome was settled. Ren stood tall, his breathing slightly ragged.
The shallow cuts on his body were nothing, but his spiritual pressure was significantly drained.
Only then did Ren have the spare focus to review the rewards from the battle.
[SYSTEM: OBTAINED REIRYOKU FRAGMENTS X45, SPIRITUAL POWER EXP +450]
[SYSTEM: SPIRITUAL POWER: GRADE 8 (EXP: 4100/8000)]
[SYSTEM: OBTAINED SHUNPO INSIGHTS X20, SHUNPO EXP +200]
[SYSTEM: SHUNPO: LV4 (EXP: 550/5000)]
[SYSTEM: OBTAINED KENDO INSIGHTS X35, KENDO EXP +350]
[SYSTEM: KENDO: LV4 (EXP: 690/5000)]
The system notifications offered some relief, but they couldn't wash away his physical fatigue or the lingering tension.
It was only then that Kyoraku Shunsui, as if he had just finished watching a brilliant performance, lightly clapped his hands and strolled over.
The two attackers who had been bothering him had already been incapacitated and bound by Kido at some point.
Kyoraku's gaze swept over the messy battlefield, pausing for a second on Ren's Zanpakuto.
"My, what a surprising performance."
Kyoraku's voice was as lazy as ever, but the praise in it felt more sincere.
"Hasumi-kun, you can already use Shikai? That's quite impressive."
"And here I thought you'd need my help. It seems I underestimated you."
Ren looked at Kyoraku, regulating his breath.
"Captain Kyoraku, was that a test just now?"
"Indeed. I was curious to see how far you could go, and the result was quite unexpected."
"It looks like Captain Shihoin really did pick up a diamond in the rough... isn't that right, you lot in the shadows?"
Kyoraku's tone shifted as he addressed the surrounding area.
Ren blinked, following the captain's gaze.
As Kyoraku finished speaking, several figures blurred into the scene from different directions, instantly sealing off the perimeter.
Dressed in uniform masked bodysuits with a cold, sharp presence—they were members of the Onmitsukido.