A white light flickered at the corner of Alfred's mouth, and a white orb instantly appeared before Toshiro.
Toshiro's pupils contracted as he used Shunpo with all his might to try to evade.
Boom!
A powerful explosion sounded, and a shockwave spread in all directions. Dust enveloped the area.
Toshiro ultimately failed to evade completely and was struck by the blast's shockwave.
What Alfred had just used was one of a Hollow's primary attacks: a Bala.
Although its power is inferior to a Cero, its speed is twenty times faster.
Earlier, when Alfred attacked the Senkaimon, Toshiro not only reacted in time but also managed to take the barrier team leader and evade, mainly because the other hadn't fully emerged from the Garganta yet, and the distance was relatively far.
Now that they were fighting closely, the distance was extremely short, and even Toshiro couldn't evade completely.
As the explosion's smoke cleared, Toshiro's figure reappeared.
"Cough, cough!"
Toshiro choked on the smoke, but aside from that, there were no obvious injuries, only somewhat disheveled clothes.
The Reishi density in Toshiro's body was extremely high… his physical strength was comparable to mid-stage Captain-level or above. Unless directly hit, Alfred's Bala couldn't cause much harm to Toshiro.
"Still unharmed after that?!" Alfred exclaimed in shock.
"Then how about this?" Alfred shouted.
Bala after Bala appeared, firing at Toshiro like machine gun fire.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Explosions sounded continuously. Deep craters were blasted around Toshiro.
"Cough!"
A trace of blood flowed from the corner of Toshiro's mouth.
Despite evading as much as possible, he was unavoidably hit by one.
"Whoosh!"
Alfred instantly appeared before Toshiro, slashing with his claw.
With a 'rip' sound, this time Toshiro, having been hit by the Bala, didn't react in time, and a shallow wound was carved on his body by Alfred.
Toshiro quickly used Shunkuho to create distance.
"Hmph! Alfred, you've thoroughly angered me! I originally thought to stall for time, waiting for the Soul Society's reinforcements to arrive, so I wouldn't have to fight desperately myself. Seems that won't work." Toshiro said expressionlessly.
Being hit repeatedly, although it wasn't serious, Toshiro couldn't help but feel irritated.
Just taking hits without fighting back wasn't his style. It seemed he had to release Hyorinmaru.
Toshiro held Hyorinmaru diagonally towards the sky. A fierce Reiatsu erupted, the airflow from it causing his tattered clothes to flutter loudly.
Toshiro softly chanted, "Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens, Hyorinmaru!"
Boom!
A blue pillar of Reiatsu shot into the sky. Countless dark clouds gathered overhead, covering the bright full moon, plunging everything into sudden darkness.
A frigid blue air current spread out, enveloping the surroundings. Everything around began to freeze.
Although Alfred wasn't directly frozen, he felt his movements becoming sluggish, his entire body's blood seemingly freezing.
Roar!
An ear-splitting dragon's roar sounded.
A frost dragon, dozens of meters long, coalesced, coiling around Toshiro.
Not only was its size and power greater than in the original work, but compared to the original, which was merely a simple dragon formed of cold air, this frost dragon now possessed a trace of its own consciousness. It was more agile and attacked faster.
In front of the forest behind Toshiro.
"A dragon of water and ice, coalesced from his own Reiatsu, even controlling the weather... I've never seen anything like it. This is Hitsugaya's Zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru, hailed as the Strongest Ice-type!"
Kira, standing behind Toshiro, muttered to himself, gazing at the awe-inspiring scene.
Although he had heard Toshiro mention his Zanpakuto privately, how could a few words compare to seeing it firsthand?
"Toshiro..."
Seeing this familiar scene, Momo couldn't help but recall when Toshiro first released his Zanpakuto to save her.
"That guy Toshiro... he's actually this powerful! Is this his true strength?"
Renji often boasted about surpassing Toshiro. Although he knew Toshiro was strong, he never had a clear, direct impression of how strong.
Looking at this scene, Renji decided never to say things about surpassing Toshiro again from now on.
"Perish, Alfred!"
Toshiro shouted, leaping into the air to slash down at Alfred. The frost dragon coiled around Toshiro also charged at the opponent.
Alfred hastily dodged aside.
Boom!
The frost dragon crashed into the spot where Alfred had just stood, instantly freezing the ground.
Alfred narrowly avoided Toshiro's attack.
Seeing the frost dragon miss its target, Toshiro wasn't disappointed. Instead, a strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Toshiro lightly swung Hyorinmaru. The frost dragon that had crashed into the ground suddenly turned and charged towards Alfred, who had just dodged the attack.
Its speed was so fast that Alfred had no time to react.
Boom!
Alfred was directly struck by the frost dragon and frozen into an ice sculpture.
The frost dragon's first attack was based on its own consciousness. The second attack, under Toshiro's control, greatly increased its speed.
Not only had Alfred's speed decreased considerably due to the frigid air permeating the area, but even if his speed were doubled, he wouldn't have been able to dodge.
"Did it work?" Toshiro stared intently at Alfred.
"Great..." The words from Momo and the others behind him suddenly cut off.
Crack!
The ice encasing Alfred developed several fissures.
Boom!
The ice trapping Alfred completely shattered into countless ice fragments.
But unlike before, Alfred didn't shatter along with it.
"Huff!"
Emerging from the ice, Alfred exhaled a puff of cold air, then involuntarily shivered, his entire body trembling from the cold.
"Damn brat! I'll make you pay!" Alfred said, his eyes blazing red.