After saying this, Alfred used Bala again.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-
Bala after Bala bombarded Toshiro.
"Icicle Birds!"
Toshiro softly shouted. Countless ice pellets surged towards the opponent's Bala.
Boom, boom, boom!
Their attacks collided, exploding continuously.
"Shunkuho!"
After releasing his Shikai, Toshiro's speed increased again. He instantly appeared before Alfred.
However, due to the frigid air and the effects of being frozen earlier, Alfred's speed had greatly decreased. He couldn't react in time at all.
"Ice Dragon Tail!"
Toshiro quickly seized the opportunity to use Ice Dragon Tail. A massive freezing slash struck Alfred.
With a 'shink' sound, Hyorinmaru cut into Alfred's body. Then, the ice power instantly erupted within Alfred.
Alfred, unable to react, was frozen again.
Toshiro withdrew.
"Six-Point Ice Formation!"
Toshiro said softly.
The ice fragments that had shattered upon colliding with Alfred's Bala had, at some unknown time, formed an array.
At Toshiro's words, it instantly emitted an ice-blue light, then froze the already frozen Alfred under another layer of ice.
Broken ice is still ice. As long as it's ice, Toshiro can control it. This is one of the reasons Hyorinmaru is called the Strongest Ice-type Zanpakuto.
Toshiro stared intently at Alfred, wondering if Alfred could emerge unscathed again after this double layer of insurance.
Suddenly, Toshiro's eyebrows twitched, sensing intense danger.
Without hesitation, Toshiro trusted his intuition. His figure flickered, moving from his original spot.
Bang!
The ice Toshiro had double-layered shattered once more. Simultaneously, a white beam of light blasted towards where Toshiro had just been.
Boom!
A powerful explosion sounded. Everything blocking the beam was obliterated.
Where Toshiro had just stood was now a bottomless crater.
Toshiro's expression turned grave. Had he been directly hit just now, even with his physical strength, he would have been injured.
"Was that... a Cero?" Toshiro asked.
Cero is the most powerful attack of Menos Grande.
"Cough, cough, pfft!"
Alfred coughed, then spat out a mouthful of ice shards mixed with frozen blood.
Toshiro looked closely. A massive wound ran from left to right across Alfred's chest, almost cleaving him in two. If not for being frozen, Toshiro would have suspected Alfred was truly split in half.
Toshiro couldn't help but sigh in relief. The Cero just now must have been Alfred's full power.
That wound was precisely from Toshiro's earlier slash.
To be honest, Toshiro was genuinely surprised Alfred could break free from the ice again this time.
With such a massive wound and frigid air invading his body through it, it was a miracle he wasn't dead on the spot.
"Thud!"
Alfred finally couldn't support himself and fell to his knees.
"Shinigami brat, I must commend you. You are the most talented Shinigami I've ever encountered."
"Merely Lieutenant-level, yet able to rival Captain-level. Given time, you will undoubtedly become a powerful Shinigami. Cough, cough!" Alfred said with difficulty.
"But unfortunately, you encountered me. If it were any other Captain-level Hollow, it might end here, forced to admit defeat by your hands. But meeting me is the greatest misfortune of your life. Cough, cough!" Alfred spat out another mouthful of blood frozen into ice shards.
Toshiro looked at the other, who seemed on the verge of death at any moment, and truly didn't know where his confidence came from.
"Finally, tell me your name, Shinigami. I will remember you." Alfred said solemnly.
"Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya Toshiro. You are the strongest opponent I've faced so far. You deserve to know my name." Toshiro said calmly.
Although this hollow sent by Aizen, this was his first true battle in a real sense, so Toshiro didn't mind telling the other his name.
As for the Gillian-class Menos and Utsunomiya Yoshiaki he had encountered before, they were too weak… those were just curb-stomp battles.
"But with injuries this severe, what gives you the confidence to defeat me?" No sooner had Toshiro finished speaking than Alfred spat out another mouthful of blood.
"Hahaha... Actually, I'm just a pitiful defective product." Alfred suddenly laughed sorrowfully.
Alfred suddenly reached up and removed his mask… no, not completely, only half of it.
Then, he revealed half of a human-like face with a cross-shaped scar under the eye.
"What?!" Toshiro couldn't help but exclaim.
"Arrancar! No, not completely." Toshiro was somewhat puzzled.
"That's right. I am only an incomplete Arrancar." Alfred said self-deprecatingly.
Alfred was a Hollow with a proud personality. Originally, he intended to remove his mask only when he could become a complete Arrancar. So, he continued wearing the broken half of his mask.
Arrancar refers to Hollows whose masks are broken, revealing a human-like face. In this state, the Hollow's power increases substantially.
Typically, Arrancar are divided into two types: those who break their masks through their own power, and those who rely on external forces. In the original work, Aizen created many Arrancar using the Hogyoku.
'But hasn't Aizen not obtained the Hogyoku yet?' Toshiro wondered.
'No, Aizen already possessed one Hogyoku. Later, he obtained Urahara Kisuke's. The two merged to form the final Hogyoku.' Toshiro suddenly remembered.
'So, Aizen has already begun experiments on creating Arrancar?' Toshiro thought to himself.
"But, even though it's an incomplete Arrancar, some Arrancar abilities can still be used. Therefore, you will definitely die here today." Alfred said, looking at Toshiro with confidence.