Muten Natsu had made it sound easy, but it wasn't something just anyone could do.
The greatest difficulty was that while focusing entirely on controlling one's own state and squeezing out every last bit of power, it became extremely difficult to respond properly to an enemy's attacks.
If the enemy attacked from the front while you swung your katana behind you, no amount of power would matter.
That was why only Muten Natsu, who had honed his Zanjutsu until it was almost instinctive, could truly bring out the power of the draw-and-strike technique.
Rukia Kuchiki had realized this as well. Without improving her basic Zanjutsu, there was little chance of improving the draw-and-strike technique itself, so she had never devoted much time to practicing it.
That didn't mean she couldn't use it. It was simply difficult to employ in actual combat.
Against the overwhelming Hakuren, however, things were much simpler.
She didn't need to judge the enemy's reaction the instant she drew her katana. All she had to do was swing at the wind and snow rushing straight toward her.
And so, with a single slash, she split the blizzard apart. The Hakuren that should have formed a wall of ice instead froze into crystal-clear curtains on either side of her body.
Standing between them, Rukia Kuchiki's breathing was unsteady. The moment her strike ended, an indescribable emptiness swept through her. Her Reiatsu had been completely drained, leaving her body weak.
Several blades of ice hovered above her head.
Sode no Shirayuki swung her Zanpakutō.
"It's over. Final Dance, White Dew!"
"Shiten Kōshun!" A golden rectangular barrier appeared in front of Rukia Kuchiki as Orihime Inoue's voice rang out. "I reject!"
The ice blades and Zanpakutō struck the barrier at the same time. Light rippled across its surface, seeming to fall still for a brief instant before erupting violently.
Boom!
The powerful impact slammed into Sode no Shirayuki and sent her flying backward.
Rukia Kuchiki had sped up slightly in her rush to stop Sode no Shirayuki, allowing her to reach the scene first.
That was why Orihime Inoue only arrived after Rukia Kuchiki and Sode no Shirayuki had already been fighting for some time, just in time to block Sode no Shirayuki's attack.
"Orihime!" Rukia Kuchiki warned anxiously. "Don't come any closer!"
No one understood Sode no Shirayuki's power better than Rukia Kuchiki.
Judging from what she had just seen, the materialized Sode no Shirayuki was far stronger than when Rukia Kuchiki herself wielded that same power.
At a dangerous time like this, Orihime Inoue's healing abilities were far too important. Nothing could be allowed to happen to her here.
"I hate this side of you..." Sode no Shirayuki's gaze turned cold. "You only survived because she helped you, and now you're telling her to leave? Once she's gone, do you really think you can defeat me?"
Dense cold burst outward like radiance, and the ground around Sode no Shirayuki instantly cracked apart.
"Oh no!" Rukia Kuchiki's expression changed sharply. "This is..."
Sode no Shirayuki appeared behind Rukia Kuchiki.
"Eighteen degrees below zero."
Crack.
Fissures spread across Rukia Kuchiki's shoulder as though it were carved from ice.
"Your blood freezes." Sode no Shirayuki merely breathed, and frost spread over the ground around her. "No blood will flow from your wounds."
"Orihime!" Rukia Kuchiki shouted. "Run!"
Orihime Inoue didn't hesitate. She turned to leave the battlefield, but the moment she took a single step, a wave of dizziness struck her.
"Fifty degrees below zero," Sode no Shirayuki murmured. "Wherever my feet touch the ground, the water freezes, causing an icequake."
Sode no Shirayuki didn't need to do anything at all.
Simply by standing there, she unleashed a terrifying shockwave.
Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue stiffened. Even breathing became difficult.
"Minus..." Sode no Shirayuki suddenly stopped speaking and flashed aside.
Boom!
A fist wrapped in black flames smashed into the ground, shattering the frozen surface.
Muten Natsu had arrived just in time, placing himself between Sode no Shirayuki and the two girls.
"Muten..." Sode no Shirayuki's eyes shifted toward him. "Even after losing your Zanpakutō, you're still willing to hurt yourself to save them?"
Rukia Kuchiki looked at Muten Natsu's right arm, engulfed in the Hell Flames.
His forearm had already been burned away completely. Even the skin on his upper arm was gone, while the cold black flames continued devouring his flesh.
Again...
It was always like this.
Rukia Kuchiki bit down hard on her lower lip and tightened her grip on her Zanpakutō.
"If I can't protect them..." Muten Natsu raised his burning right arm. "Then even if my body remains whole, it won't mend what's broken in my heart."
"What a simple reason." Sode no Shirayuki tilted her head slightly. "It's such an obvious truth, so why are there people who still can't understand it?"
"Muten..." Rukia Kuchiki called softly. "Put out the Hell Flames."
Muten Natsu frowned slightly. "But..."
"You deliberately missed with that last attack, didn't you?" Although she phrased it as a question, Rukia Kuchiki already knew the answer. "You don't know what would happen to me if Sode no Shirayuki were injured, so you're holding back."
Muten Natsu remained silent.
Rukia Kuchiki was right. He had no way to deny it.
"I already know how to win." Rukia Kuchiki stepped forward. "Please... just watch me."
Muten Natsu stared at Rukia Kuchiki's small back. After a moment of hesitation, he silently extinguished the Hell Flames.
"Sōten Kisshun!" Orihime Inoue immediately began healing him. "I reject!"
"A way to win?" Sode no Shirayuki raised her Zanpakutō. "You were completely helpless just moments ago. What could you possibly have come up with now?"
"This is the first time we've ever spoken face-to-face like this, isn't it?" Rukia Kuchiki slowly walked forward. "It's ironic. Back when our hearts were connected, I could barely even see you. And now that you've left our inner world, I can finally stand here and talk to you for this long."
"Our hearts were connected..." Sode no Shirayuki shook her head. "Simply existing in the same inner world doesn't mean our hearts were connected. All this time, you've been..."
"Running away." Rukia Kuchiki gave a faint smile. "It wasn't that you hid yourself. I was the one who covered you with wind and snow. It wasn't that you kept appearing near and far away. I was the one who approached you again and again, only to push you away each time. It wasn't that you refused to face me. I was the one who refused to face you, refused to face the version of you that was more honest than I was. You never hated me. I hated myself."
"Enough." The cold around Sode no Shirayuki intensified, lifting her white hair into the air. "I've already broken free from your restraints. You and I no longer share the relationship we once did. I..."
"I'm not who I used to be either," Rukia Kuchiki interrupted. "If this had happened before, maybe I wouldn't have known what to do. But now, I've found my direction. The direction of my katana... and the direction of my heart."
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