Several minutes later, Toshiro leaned heavily on his Zanpakuto, gasping for breath.
Toshiro looked down at his body, covered in numerous wounds.
Then he glanced at Zaraki, who was drenched in blood, looking even worse off than Toshiro, yet still standing tall.
'Is this guy really a monster with an immortal body? Losing that much blood, wouldn't he die?' Toshiro couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
Zaraki had more wounds than Toshiro, not because Toshiro was stronger, but because Toshiro dodged whenever possible, while Zaraki didn't seem to care.
"Fighting is so much fun, but winning is even better," Zaraki suddenly said, gripping his sword with both hands.
Toshiro's heart tightened, 'Finally using both hands?'
"Hah!"
Zaraki roared, charging at Toshiro with his sword held in both hands.
Seeing this, Toshiro hastily raised his own sword to block.
Bang!
Toshiro was sent staggering backward, his feet scraping against the ground, leaving shallow grooves.
His hands trembled violently, nearly losing his grip on his Zanpakuto.
'What! His strength increased this much?!'
Although he knew Zaraki would become stronger using both hands, he didn't expect the increase to be so drastic.
Before Toshiro could steady himself, Zaraki attacked again.
Left with no choice, Toshiro raised his sword to block once more.
Bang!
Toshiro was forced back again.
From then on, Toshiro was completely suppressed, forced to rely on his speed to keep up with Zaraki.
"Hey, Hitsugaya Toshiro, shouldn't you be showing your true strength about now? Continuing like this isn't very interesting," Zaraki said, pointing his sword at Toshiro.
"You must have a Shikai or something, right? You won't be able to defeat me without it," Zaraki said.
"Hmph, if you want to see it, I'll show you," Toshiro snorted coldly.
"Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens, Hyorinmaru!"
Toshiro chanted solemnly.
Boom!
A pillar of ice-blue Reiatsu shot into the sky.
Instantly, dark clouds gathered overhead, rumbling with thunder.
The sky above the entire Seireitei suddenly darkened.
Every release of Hyorinmaru was such a spectacular, earth-shaking event.
"Not bad! Truly not bad! Being able to alter the weather. Seeing this for the first time."
Seeing this awe-inspiring scene, Zaraki felt no fear, only heightened excitement.
"Again... seeing Toshiro's Shikai again," Kira murmured.
"Toshiro will definitely win," Momo affirmed.
Even though the opponent was a Captain of the Gotei 13, witnessing such a breathtaking scene gave Momo and the others a strange sense of calm. They felt Toshiro would surely win.
"Even though Shiro-chan is strong, Ken-chan will definitely win in the end," Yachiru countered.
…
Gotei 13.
1st Division, Duty Room.
Yamamoto, who was handling official business, suddenly paused.
He looked at the dim surroundings and frowned.
"The sky darkened. Is it going to rain? No..."
Sensing something amiss, Yamamoto closed his eyes, carefully perceiving his surroundings.
Suddenly, Yamamoto's eyes snapped open, a sharp glint within them.
"This Reiatsu is... Hitsugaya Toshiro. The other is... Zaraki Kenpachi!"
While Shinigami could sense Reiatsu around them, they didn't usually actively extend their perception.
Moreover, the place where Toshiro and Zaraki were fighting wasn't particularly close to the Gotei 13's headquarters, so Yamamoto hadn't noticed earlier.
If not for Toshiro's Shikai darkening the sky and drawing Yamamoto's attention, he still wouldn't know.
Although he hadn't met Toshiro in person, given the high hopes he placed on him, he had thoroughly investigated all information about Toshiro.
He had even sensed Toshiro's Reiatsu through the ice left behind after Toshiro's battles with Hollows.
As for Zaraki, he was all too familiar with him.
"Hmph! I explicitly told you not to seek out Hitsugaya Toshiro! You paid no heed at all!"
Yamamoto was furious. He had just warned Zaraki during the morning meeting, yet by noon, he was already fighting Toshiro.
"Kenpachi, if anything happens to Hitsugaya Toshiro, I won't let you off lightly."
With that, Yamamoto immediately used Shunpo, heading at high speed towards the source of the Reiatsu he sensed. He had to stop Zaraki.
…
11th Division.
"Hey, Yumichika, do you sense it?" Madarame Ikkaku, the 3rd Seat of the 11th Division, stood in front of the division barracks and asked.
"Yeah. Captain is fighting someone," Ayasegawa Yumichika said with a serious expression.
"I can feel it. Captain is extremely excited. It's been a long time since he's encountered an opponent that made him this happy," Ikkaku said.
"Let's go see who's making Captain so excited."
Ikkaku rubbed his shiny bald head and swiftly headed out.
Simultaneously, Captain Sui-Feng of the 2nd Division, Captain Unohana of the 4th Division, Captain Ginrei of the 6th Division, Captain Komamura of the 7th Division, Captain Kyoraku of the 8th Division, Captain Isshin of the 10th Division... Anyone who wasn't tied up with urgent matters rushed towards the source of the Reiatsu.
Aside from Kyoraku, the others didn't know Toshiro was the one fighting Zaraki, nor were they going specifically to stop Zaraki.
It was just that even the Captain-Commander was personally rushing over, so something major must be happening.
…
"Take this, Zaraki Kenpachi!"
As Toshiro's voice fell, the frost dragon formed by his Reiatsu after Shikai release swiftly charged at Zaraki.
Seeing the frost dragon rushing towards him, Zaraki showed no fear, directly slashing at it.
Thud!
Zaraki didn't manage to shatter the frost dragon with one strike. Instead, he was sent staggering backward, his feet scraping grooves in the ground. Simultaneously, ice began to form on his body.
"Hah!"
Zaraki roared, erupting with his full Reiatsu. A golden Kenatsu also shimmered on his Zanpakuto.
Boom!
Crack!
With Zaraki's Reiatsu eruption, the frost dragon was finally shattered.