Clang!
Alfred suddenly drew a blade from his waist, though perhaps it couldn't truly be called a blade.
The blade was only half its length, the hilt made of bone. It had been tucked into the bone-like armor at his waist, and Toshiro had initially mistaken it for part of Alfred's body.
"Because the transformation into an Arrancar is incomplete, the Zanpakuto is only half-formed and not really suitable for combat, which is why I hadn't drawn it earlier," Alfred explained.
"Resurrección!"
Alfred shouted.
Boom!
A storm of Reiatsu swept out in all directions, causing Toshiro's tattered clothes to flutter noisily. His frown deepened.
As the dust stirred up by the storm settled, it revealed Alfred in a completely new form.
He now had the head of a tiger and a humanoid body. His hands and claws had transformed into genuine tiger paws, and a bony tail had grown from his back, making him resemble a true tiger.
Not only had all the injuries he sustained earlier completely vanished, restoring him to his peak condition, but his Reiatsu had also surged from the initial of early level of an ordinary Captain-class to the peak of the early level, approaching the mid-stage.
"Yare yare, this is a real headache. I went through so much trouble to inflict those severe injuries on you earlier, and now all that hard work has been undone… Back to square one," Toshiro said, vigorously rubbing his temples.
Some Arrancar, upon releasing their Resurrección, not only see a great increase in power but also have all their previous wounds completely healed.
"No need to worry. Since I am not a complete Arrancar, the previous injuries haven't actually disappeared, they are just temporarily suppressed," Alfred explained.
"Moreover, forcibly using the power of an Arrancar, the side effects combined with the previous injuries mean that after I kill you, I will likely die as well. You should feel honored to have me as your companion in death," Alfred stated calmly, as if speaking of someone else's demise.
"That won't do. I'm a man who aims to become a Captain. How can I die here like this!"
With that, Toshiro's figure flickered. Using Shunkuho, he instantly appeared in front of Alfred and swung his sword.
Clang!
Alfred directly extended his left arm to block Toshiro's slash.
"What!" Toshiro exclaimed in shock.
Alfred had blocked Toshiro's Zanpakuto with his arm, and the arm wasn't severed, only sustaining a shallow cut.
"Though it was just a normal attack, to block it with just an arm... Could this be...?" Toshiro wondered.
"Correct. This is [Hierro]. If I were a complete Arrancar, an attack like yours just now wouldn't even leave a scratch," Alfred declared proudly.
Then, his right claw shot towards Toshiro at extreme speed.
Whoosh!
Toshiro's figure rapidly retreated.
Schlick!
Another wound was added to Toshiro's body.
'It seems not just his defense, but his attack speed has greatly increased as well,' Toshiro thought to himself.
"If that earlier attack can't hurt you, then how about this move?"
Toshiro said, gripping Hyorinmaru with both hands and compressing and gathering his Reiatsu into the Zanpakuto.
Hyorinmaru shone with a blue light. This move was none other than Ice Dragon Flash.
However, Toshiro didn't release it immediately, as this technique consumed a significant amount of energy. Instead, he condensed the power without releasing it and directly slashed at Alfred.
Seeing Toshiro attack, Alfred once again raised his left claw to block.
Squelch!
Hyorinmaru cleanly severed Alfred's left claw and then cleaved into his chest.
"Argh!"
Alfred screamed in pain and rapidly retreated.
"Damn it! I really can't afford to underestimate you," Alfred gasped.
"But I won't give you another chance."
"Bala!"
Alfred chanted.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Alfred's rapid-fire Bala barrage appeared once again.
"Icicle Birds!"
Toshiro responded with his own barrage of ice projectiles.
Boom boom boom!
Intense explosions rang out once more.
Unfortunately, after Alfred's Resurrección, his power had increased substantially, and even the potency of his Bala had risen considerably. Toshiro's ice pellets couldn't completely neutralize them, and some Bala still shot towards Toshiro.
Swish swish swish!
Toshiro's figure continuously flickered, pushing his Shunkuho to the limit as he evaded the incoming Bala.
But ultimately, he was hit by several.
"Cough, pah!" Toshiro couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
'This is bad. If this continues, I won't be able to hold on. It seems I must end this battle quickly,' Toshiro thought to himself.
"Oh, still standing after that? You really are a monster," Alfred remarked.
"But this is the end. Die, Hitsugaya Toshiro!" Alfred shouted.
"Cero!"
Alfred clearly didn't intend to give Toshiro another chance. As soon as the Bala barrage stopped, he unleashed the far more powerful Cero.
"Don't look down on me, Alfred!" Toshiro shouted.
"Ice Dragon Flash!"
The white pillar of the Cero and the ice-blue slashing attack of Ice Dragon Flash collided.
For a moment, it seemed as if the entire world had fallen silent.
Boom!
As if a long time had passed, an ear-splitting explosion finally erupted.
Thud! Thud!
Two sounds echoed as both Toshiro and Alfred were sent flying by the shockwave, crashing to the ground.
"Cough!"
Toshiro coughed and then shakily stood up again.
He suddenly felt some liquid flow into his eyes, and the surrounding scenery turned red.
Toshiro reached up and wiped his face, looking at the red liquid covering his hand.
'Is this blood?' Toshiro wondered.
Now, everything Toshiro saw was tinted red.
"Not dead yet?" Alfred's voice rang out.
Toshiro looked up to see that Alfred had also managed to stand, though he was staggering, appearing even worse off than Toshiro.
Crack!
Suddenly, a fissure appeared in the bony armor covering Alfred's body.
"Already at my limit, huh?" Alfred said, glancing at it.
"After all, I'm not a complete Arrancar. It couldn't hold for long. It seems I must use that move," Alfred muttered to himself.
"If possible, I didn't want to use that technique because I haven't fully mastered it yet. Using it recklessly might mean I die first," Alfred said.
"Oh? Going all out? It seems I can't hold back any longer either."
Not knowing if Aizen had other contingencies in place, Toshiro had also been holding back somewhat.