Bang! Clack! Bang!
Two people kept clashing in the air because both could fly. However, their flying ability was more like standing in the air or floating.
Ichigo's sword kept blocking Sanji's attack, but Sanji's attack kept getting fiercer.
'What's going on? Before, his attack wouldn't have injured me that much, but now I am bleeding.'
'If I let him hit me, my internal organs will get ruptured. How can he grow stronger in the middle of a battle?'
'Could it be that he is like Kenpachi? No, no, that shouldn't be the case. He is improving.'
Bang!
Suddenly, Sanji's kick came from the right side. In the air, Sanji's leg rose as his entire body spun like a wheel until his calf struck Ichigo on the shoulder.
Bang! Cough!
Ichigo felt an immense force penetrating his body and destroying his bones and muscles from the inside.
'Damn! This is quite a powerful force. Now, I am being injured while my attacks can't even reach him.'
Ichigo thought to himself. He had already begun to use Bankai, which meant he couldn't get stronger without using the power of the Hollow.
But he wasn't willing to use Hollow's power here.
'Then, I can only do what I can do. Fight till the end!'
He thought to himself and started concentrating on the battle. Because Sanji was moving too fast, Ichigo had to feel his soul.
Yes, soul!
He realized that he couldn't feel his movements, which was quite bad for him, but as long as he could feel his soul, he could find his position.
It didn't take him long to figure out Sanji's soul, but as he tried to understand it, he felt an impressive force emerging from his soul.
'This must be Haki. While our mind controls our body, our thoughts are controlled by our souls.'
'Being able to squeeze out the stamina with nothing but willpower is the work of the soul. But Haki doesn't seem like stamina.'
'I believe there is a certain kind of relationship between them, but they are not the same.'
Just when he thought of that, he noticed Sanji's soul moving in a different position while approaching him.
Unlike before, he could see where his body was trying to go.
After all, Sanji's soul was connected to his body, and the body wouldn't stay in one position for long.
And that was all he needed. The moment Sanji attacked and changed his position, Ichigo swung his sword.
Bang!
A sword and a leg collided in the middle, causing an immense release of shockwave that shattered the ground beneath them.
"You are strong, but I have enough of your tricks."
Ichigo pushed Sanji away and then sent out a powerful slash. But Sanji used his lightning to disappear from his initial place and appear in another place.
Only for him to realize that Ichigo had launched the slash towards the direction he reappeared.
[Diable Jambe- Sun God's Shield]
Sanji spun in mid-air several times before creating a powerful wheel of flame and lightning around him.
Bang!
The wheel collided with the slash, creating a powerful explosion capable of throwing Sanji several hundred meters away.
Even his skin was damaged due to the explosion. But for a Cyborg like him, this mattered to nothing.
He was instantly able to recover.
'What's going on? Did he learn Observation Haki? Even if he did, I should've seen his action in the future sight, but I didn't.'
'What's going on?'
Observation Haki was a perception based on the sixth sense. It was one's mental strength projected outward to use different senses.
By doing so, one could hear the movement of their enemy and create a mental image in their mind.
Future Sight allowed them to go deeper into the sensory abilities of the mind, allowing them to create a mental image based on the possibility of their enemy's movements.
In other words, Future Sight was basically a prediction-type ability that would normally work best.
But it was also possible to deceive this ability by creating a different move in their mind while using a different one.
This would be impossible. Once a human brain thinks of something, it does exactly that. One can not change the movement in the middle.
But Ichigo was a soul reaper. He had better control over his soul, allowing him to think according to his strategy.
He created a deceptive move in his mind while letting his soul control his body. Sanji could only perceive what the opponent's mind could think of.
Since he could let his soul control his body, he could easily do something else while thinking about something else.
This was proven to work, so Ichigo didn't hesitate for a second before launching several attacks on Sanji.
While the first few attacks worked, Sanji was still able to react on time and block Ichigo's attack using his Black Leg Martial Art.
But of course, Sanji had the body of a cyborg, which allowed him to tank as much as he could while also injuring Ichigo.
The only problem was that Ichigo could launch long-distance attacks while Sanji was a close-combat fighter.
This wasn't just one problem. There was another thing that was bugging him.
While his attacks were working, they weren't super effective.
Ichigo's durability proved as strong as Zoro's, making it almost impossible to finish the battle using just Advanced Armament Haki.
Ichigo sensed the disturbance in Sanji's soul as if he were trying to do something beyond his capacity.
Seeing this, he couldn't help but feel speechless.
"Couldn't you come here after training your moves? Why does it feel like you are using me as a training dummy?"
Sanji paused for a moment, not breaking his concentration as he replied.
"Of course, I am using you as a training dummy. All swordsmen are the best training dummy."
Ichigo's eyebrows twitched as he raised his finger towards Sanji and shouted.
"You bastard, you are discriminating against swordsmen!"
Sanji nodded his head as if he was absolutely right about his attitude towards the swordsman.
Ichigo gritted his teeth and asked.
"What kind of problem do you have with swordsmen?"
Sanji suddenly calmed his mind and took out a cigarette before lighting it up. Then, as he puffed out some smoke, he replied.
"Because they always try to act cool. It would be one thing if they were trying to get a woman's attention by acting cool."
"But they are just doing it because they can. And, that's exactly why I hate swordsmen."
Hearing that, Ichigo couldn't help but slap his forehead.
"Shit! You are just jealous."
Sanji proudly nodded his head.
"Of course, I am jealous. Why do you need to learn swordsmanship to impress a woman? And if you learn swordsmanship, can you not act cool?"
Ichigo roared.
"Not everyone likes to act cool. I understand. You are just a simp."
Sanji shook his head and replied.
"I am not a simp. I am just a knight for ladies."
"That's just a fancy way of calling yourself a simp."
"If you believe knights are simp, then I am a simp."
Sanji proudly stated.
Ichigo fell to his knees. His palm landed on the ground as he looked devastated.
"Why am I fighting this battle? Against a simp! No, I can't fight this battle. I don't care if this guy is fighting for his friends."
"I just want to leave this battle."
As he said those words, he instantly gave up control over his body.
Ichigo, who was actively resisting his Hollow part, wanted nothing more than to leave this battle to his Hollow.
He felt like his Hollow would do a better job fighting a simp like Sanji.
"Hehehehe! Are you so shy, Ichigo? Can't you admit your lustful nature?"
An eerie laughter rang, which stunned not just Sanji but everyone else on the battlefield.
After his Hollow was unleashed, Ichigo's aura completely changed.
Sanji was the one to feel the pressure from Ichigo.
If not for his Conqueror Haki, his body would've collapsed under such an extreme release of Spiritual Pressure.
"Hey, blondie! You have already lost this battle."
Hollow Ichigo spoke.
Sanji raised his eyebrow in surprise and asked.
"What do you mean?"
'I thought he was losing control, but it seems like he is replacing his soul with someone else.'
"There are three women in my world who have fallen for me. Compared to a simp like you, I am the winner in life. Bwahahahaha!"
Hollow Ichigo proudly stated and burst into laughter. He could feel it. No, he could hear it. The sound was there.
Crack!
It was Sanji's heart breaking into pieces.
Hollow Ichigo defeated Sanji with a single sentence. But he also triggered Sanji's jealousy.
It exploded. The flames of jealousy rose above the sky. Black and red lightning scattered everywhere.
Suddenly, Sanji turned into a streak of blue light as he instantly crossed the distance and appeared in front of Ichigo.
"You bastard!"
Tears rained down his cheeks as he kicked Ichigo on the chest.
"I am so jealous of you."