"How surprising, Hyorinmaru. You're actually volunteering to fight."
Toshiro couldn't help but be a little surprised.
Hyorinmaru's personality had always been extremely cold, not very interested in things other than Toshiro. Unless it involved Toshiro, Hyorinmaru rarely actively took action.
"It's nothing much. I just want to know who is stronger between me and Ryujin Jakka."
Although always appearing very cold, there was no doubt that Hyorinmaru's heart was also extremely proud. For Ryujin Jakka, who was as renowned as herself, Hyorinmaru was quite interested in their strength.
"Captain-Commander Yamamoto, do you dare let Ryujin Jakka fight me?"
Hyorinmaru's tone was a bit provocative.
"Heh, why wouldn't I dare? I am also very interested in who is stronger between you and my Ryujin Jakka."
Although he knew Hyorinmaru was deliberately provoking him, Yamamoto still agreed to the fight between Hyorinmaru and Ryujin Jakka.
As he himself said, he was indeed very interested in their battle.
Hearing Yamamoto's words, Hyorinmaru turned around directly, her expression extremely serious as she looked at the sea of flames surrounding them.
The Strongest Fire-type Zanpakuto versus the Strongest Ice-type Zanpakuto. Who is stronger, who is the strongest Zanpakuto?
"Ha!"
Hyorinmaru lightly shouted, stamped her foot on the ground, and her figure shot rapidly upwards, intending to leave the cave through the hole in the ceiling blasted by Ryujin Jakka's pillar of fire.
Although the cave Muramasa and his group used for hiding was very large, the internal space was still too narrow and unsuitable for someone of Hyorinmaru's caliber to unleash their full power.
So Hyorinmaru wanted to rush out of the cave and fight Ryujin Jakka without restraint in the vast sky outside.
Seeing Hyorinmaru about to exit through the top, fiery dragons surged from the surrounding sea of flames, converging from all directions to encircle the ascending Hyorinmaru.
Boom!
The fiery dragons intertwined, forming a huge spherical flame that sealed Hyorinmaru inside.
"Hmph!"
Hyorinmaru snorted disdainfully, and her powerful Reiatsu violently erupted.
Crack, crack...
Before the fiery dragons could get close, they were frozen into ice dragons by Hyorinmaru's power, then, with a bang, shattered into countless tiny ice crystals falling downwards.
But before Hyorinmaru could continue upwards and completely exit the cave, even more fiery dragons surged from the sea of flames towards her.
"Tch! What an annoying guy."
Hyorinmaru muttered in displeasure.
But despite her displeasure, facing an existence like Ryujin Jakka, even Hyorinmaru had to take it seriously.
"Bankai!"
Boom!
A Reiatsu infinitely more powerful than before erupted from Hyorinmaru's body. She used Bankai directly.
However, although she used Bankai, it was different from before. Hyorinmaru transformed from her humanoid form into a huge blue ice dragon, dozens of meters long, with wings growing from its ribs.
Facing an opponent like Ryujin Jakka who used flames for large-scale attacks this time, Hyorinmaru didn't maintain her humanoid form but transformed into her original, huge ice dragon form.
Actually, this blue ice dragon form was the true form of Hyorinmaru's Zanpakuto spirit. But due to Toshiro's influence, Hyorinmaru had always maintained her humanoid form.
Now, facing an opponent like Ryujin Jakka, Hyorinmaru, for the first time in a long time, transformed into the huge blue ice dragon form.
"Ah... it's been so long since I last appeared in this form. It's a bit uncomfortable."
Hyorinmaru moved her massive body in mid-air.
Then, seeing countless fiery dragons formed from Ryujin Jakka's flames surging towards her, Hyorinmaru began to counterattack.
"Roar!"
Hyorinmaru suddenly let out a huge dragon's roar, opened her draconic mouth, and spewed a massive beam of white freezing light.
Crack, crack, crack...
Under Hyorinmaru's freezing light, whether it was the fiery dragons attacking her or the sea of flames below, everything was instantly frozen. The scene that was just a fiery domain was now instantly transformed into a world of ice and snow.
Then, taking advantage of this, Hyorinmaru continued flying upwards, trying to completely escape the cave's confines and reach the vast sky outside.
Hyorinmaru didn't think this would be enough to defeat Ryujin Jakka. So, it was better to first fly out of the cave and then fight to her heart's content.
"Let's take this opportunity to get out too, Genryusai-sensei."
Seeing the sea of flames surrounding them frozen by Hyorinmaru, Toshiro said to Yamamoto.
"Mm, let's go out too."
Yamamoto understood even more clearly that although Hyorinmaru's attack just now was very powerful, it was unlikely to defeat Ryujin Jakka like this. So it was better to take the opportunity to get out now.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Toshiro, Yamamoto, Kyoraku, Ukitake, Unohana, and others flashed and instantly vanished from the cave, rushing out through the hole in the ceiling created by Ryujin Jakka.
Their figures reappeared at a distance from the cave, where the Shinigami of the Gotei 13 were gathered.
"Captain-Commander!"
"Genryusai-dono!"
Seeing Yamamoto Genryusai suddenly appear together with Toshiro, the Shinigami of the Gotei 13 crowded around him.
"Genryusai-dono, are you alright?"
Sajin, Yamamoto's loyal follower, quickly asked.
"Mm, don't worry. I am unharmed."
Yamamoto said calmly.
Toshiro scanned the crowd and didn't see Byakuya's figure.
"Byakuya went with Muramasa as expected?"
Toshiro remarked.
"Yes, Captain Hitsugaya. Earlier, a huge surge of flame power suddenly erupted, and we had to temporarily cease fire with the Zanpakuto. But afterwards, Muramasa suddenly appeared and left here with Byakuya and Senbonzakura."
Sajin replied.
"Toshiro, Kuchiki Koga was sealed in the Jureichi, [Karakura Town] in the Living World. Although releasing Kuchiki Koga gives us the opportunity to thoroughly kill him, if Muramasa and Kuchiki Koga merge, Karakura Town might be destroyed."
"Although Captain Kuchiki followed them, if he cannot defeat Muramasa and Kuchiki Koga, Karakura Town is in danger of being destroyed. So, just in case, you should go."
Yamamoto said to Toshiro.
"Huh? Me?"
Toshiro was stunned for a moment.
"Mm, that's right. If Muramasa and Kuchiki Koga merge, their strength will probably become even greater. Besides you and me, among the Captains, those strong enough to surely defeat them are probably only Shunsui, Jushiro, and Captain Unohana."
"But Shunsui and Jushiro's Zanpakuto were just burned by Ryujin Jakka. Captain Unohana is the head of the medical division and should not easily leave the Gotei 13. So you are the only one who can go."
Yamamoto said solemnly.
"My, my, how helpless. I was hoping to watch the fight between Hyorinmaru and Ryujin Jakka to see who wins. But it seems I can't now."
Toshiro sighed helplessly.
Although he wanted to stay and watch Hyorinmaru's fight, what Yamamoto said was also correct. In the anime [Zanpakuto Unknown Tales Arc], although Byakuya defeated Koga, there was also Muramasa who, in despair, underwent Hollowification.
Thinking of this, Toshiro hesitated no longer. He turned and glanced at Hyorinmaru, who was flying in the sky in her blue ice dragon form.
'Hyorinmaru, I believe you will win. In my heart, you are the strongest Zanpakuto!'
Shunpo!
Toshiro's figure flickered and instantly vanished from the crowd.
Hyorinmaru in the sky seemed to sense something, turned her massive head, and glanced at where Toshiro had been, but didn't see him.
'Don't worry, Toshiro. I won't let you down. The winner of this battle will definitely be Hyorinmaru, your Hyorinmaru.'
Then Hyorinmaru turned her head again and looked intently at the cave below, fully prepared. She could feel that the frozen Ryujin Jakka was about to revive.