"Not chasing after me?" Byakuya Kuchiki gripped a new blade. "It seems you've finally realized the difference in speed between us."
"In your eyes, it probably looks like my speed keeps increasing." Byakuya Kuchiki appeared behind Muten Natsu, then flashed to his side in the next instant. "But in reality, it's your speed that's getting slower."
Byakuya Kuchiki thrust his sword at Muten Natsu, and just as expected, the strike was met with an explosive counterattack of hellfire.
He skillfully avoided the flames, closed the distance again, and drove his blade into the opening between the scales.
By the time Muten Natsu swung his sword to retaliate, Byakuya Kuchiki had already stepped back.
At Muten Natsu's current speed, it should have been impossible for him to land a hit.
Pfft!
Muten Natsu's blade came down hard on Byakuya Kuchiki's shoulder. The inward-curving Myōki tore the wound open without mercy.
Byakuya Kuchiki's eyes widened.
"How did you..."
"At first, I thought these blades were just a cage trapping me," Muten Natsu said. "But it didn't take long for me to realize something was off."
He lightly tapped the ground with his foot. The spirit ink beneath him shifted sluggishly.
"This isn't just my cage. It's also a cage for your Reiatsu."
The countless blades weaving through the air formed a confined space, limiting Byakuya Kuchiki's Reiatsu within a fixed range.
As the battle dragged on, Byakuya Kuchiki released more and more Reiatsu, and the spiritual pressure inside Senkei continued to rise along with it.
The effect on Byakuya Kuchiki himself was minimal.
But Muten Natsu's body was being crushed by the constantly intensifying pressure, his movements growing slower and slower.
The reason Muten Natsu noticed it was partly because of the abnormal behavior of the spirit ink beneath him. The other reason was that the principle behind this technique was strikingly similar to that of the Sword Drawing Art.
"As for why I managed to hit you..." Muten Natsu let out a small laugh. "That's something you can blame on your education."
Byakuya Kuchiki repeated the same tactic, launching another attack.
Pfft!
Another wound opened along his waist.
"I should have dodged that... that's what you were thinking," Muten Natsu said, flicking the blood from his blade. "People like you, raised with elite training, are actually easier to deal with. You always choose the most efficient response."
"For example... observing your opponent's fighting style. Once you understand it, you evade with the smallest possible movement to conserve stamina."
The scales on Muten Natsu's left arm opened, revealing a translucent arm formed from condensed hellfire.
"So all I have to do is extend my arm a little after you dodge. That's enough to hit you."
The more experienced a fighter becomes, the more they develop the habit of dancing along the edge of a blade.
If one step is enough to dodge, they will never take two.
If an attack can't reach them, they often won't bother moving at all.
It is a method of conserving stamina and maintaining precise control over both one's own strength and the opponent's fighting style. A near instinctive habit formed through elite training and extensive combat experience.
It is also a kind of confidence.
And pride.
What Muten Natsu was cutting down was exactly that pride.
Extending the arm to increase the range of an attack would be useless against someone like Kenpachi Zaraki, who fights with wild instincts.
But against a refined noble like Byakuya Kuchiki, every strike lands cleanly.
"Resorting to tricks like that," Byakuya Kuchiki said as he sealed the bleeding wound with Reiatsu, "it seems you've realized it as well."
"The flame tails behind you... only five remain. When those are exhausted, the power of the Sōkyoku will also run dry."
Once the power of the Sōkyoku was gone, if Muten Natsu wanted to keep fighting and win, he would have to start burning his own body.
And the moment he did that, this rescue operation would turn into a repeat of the massacre of Central 46.
Muten Natsu would not lose or be killed.
But he would lose his ability to threaten Seireitei.
When that happened, this entire operation would be a complete failure.
"Your judgment isn't wrong," Muten Natsu said openly, making no attempt to hide it. "But are you sure you can hold on until that moment?"
"You speak as if you could catch up to my speed."
"I don't need to catch up to you." Muten Natsu reversed his grip on Bokukō. "I only need to grab you. Bankai... Rin'en Bokukō!"
Spirit ink spread across the ground.
During the battle just now, the hellfire had burned through the stable structure of the surrounding Reishi, leaving countless particles in their most basic state.
Normally, these Reishi would scatter outward and disperse into the surrounding spiritual atmosphere.
But now they were confined by Senkei, trapped within a limited space.
Black bubbles rose from the spirit ink beneath Muten Natsu's feet. The dense Reishi was drawn into them, allowing the Rin'en Bokukō hidden within to grow instantly. In the blink of an eye it matured, burst out from the ground with its jaws wide open, and swallowed everything within Senkei.
The floating blades shattered one after another.
At first, Byakuya Kuchiki attempted to use the pressure of Senkei to suppress the rising Rin'en Bokukō, but doing so only accelerated the spirit ink's absorption of Reishi.
At the critical moment, Byakuya Kuchiki made a decisive choice. He dispersed Senkei, allowing countless blades to gather around his body and form a flowing defensive barrier.
The abyss-like jaws of Rin'en Bokukō snapped shut, blasting out a torrent of black mist that scattered the drifting clouds.
With a sharp cry, the massive head of Rin'en Bokukō dissolved into thick spirit ink and poured downward, then turned into drifting black mist under the burning hellfire.
Byakuya Kuchiki appeared within the swirl of petals, his body staggering slightly. Even though he had not been devoured by the shark, he had still suffered serious injuries.
Within the rolling black mist ahead, an ominous red light lit up.
It was the Hell's Eye on Muten Natsu's forehead, staring straight at Byakuya Kuchiki.
"This is the end... Byakuya Kuchiki."
"I can still fight..." Byakuya Kuchiki straightened his body. Without the restraint of the Kenseikan, his long black hair hung loose and disheveled around him. "As long as I can fight, this battle isn't over."
Floating cherry blossom petals gathered in his hand, forming the shape of a long blade. More petals connected to it, flowing like clouds around his body, spreading outward before returning again.
The pink color gradually faded, turning into a cold, pure white.
They formed shapes like wings, extending into jade-like rings that floated behind him.
"Shūkei... Hakuteiken!"
The power that had once been divided among countless blades gathered into a single sword. Not a trace of that power was wasted, and it locked completely onto Muten Natsu before him.
The spirit ink of Bokukō flowed across Muten Natsu's skin.
He turned slightly to the side, resting his hand on Myōki.
Black mist gathered around him, converging toward his body and being absorbed.
The moment his power finished gathering, Muten Natsu raised his eyes and glanced toward Byakuya Kuchiki.
Both figures moved at the same instant.
Violent Reiatsu erupted with a thunderous roar, tearing through the clouds. The cliff trembled as rocks and earth shattered one after another.
Amid the swirling dust, the two completely opposite figures had already passed each other.
Byakuya Kuchiki moved slightly.
The sword in his hand could no longer maintain its form, It shattered into countless petals and scattered into the sky.
..
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