The blade cut through the air with such speed that the sound of the chain lagged far behind.
The tip and edge of the weapon gleamed pitch black, the entire blade swallowed in darkness, with a "卍" pattern carved into the hilt.
Yet despite the sharpness of Tensa Zangetsu, Grimmjow did not even bother to draw his Zanpakutō. He simply caught the blade barehanded, then hurled it forward, sending Kurosaki Ichigo flying hundreds of meters away.
Before Ichigo could recover, Grimmjow appeared before him in an instant and drove a punch into his abdomen. Ichigo vanished in that same moment, reappearing behind Grimmjow and swinging down with his blade. Grimmjow twisted quickly, raising his elbow to intercept the attack, then pivoted with a precise kick to Ichigo's face. Blood scattered from the impact. Grimmjow immediately followed through, stepping down from above with crushing force.
Boom.
Ichigo's body smashed into the ground, the earth fracturing outward in a web of cracks.
"Is that all? Is your Bankai only good for speed, Shinigami?" Grimmjow called down.
"Getsuga…" Ichigo's voice rang out from the pit. He gripped his blade with both hands, dark reiatsu flaring and rolling off his body like fire. His eyes locked on Grimmjow above him with sharp focus.
"Tenshō!"
The compressed spiritual pressure surged forward, forming into a massive arc of black energy that roared toward Grimmjow like a crescent moon. The speed left no room to evade; Grimmjow raised his crossed arms to block.
The explosion of spiritual pressure lit up the sky, filling it with smoke and rippling shockwaves. Ichigo remained below, breathing heavily as the effort of his Getsuga Tenshō drained a significant amount of his reiatsu.
When the smoke cleared, a deep wound stretched across Grimmjow's body, starting from his left eye and running down diagonally to his right abdomen. The cut looked capable of splitting him entirely with any added force.
"This attack wasn't in Ulquiorra's report, Shinigami," Grimmjow muttered.
"You won't be disappointed, Arrancar," Ichigo answered through clenched teeth.
At that moment, black markings began spreading outward from Ichigo's left eye, threatening to consume it completely.
"Just… give me more time," Ichigo whispered to himself.
With a heavy hum, a garganta opened, the black void tearing into space. From within stepped Tōsen Kaname, clad in Hueco Mundo attire instead of the former captain's haori. He carried his Zanpakutō in one hand, his goggles fixed in place, his posture steady as he emerged beside Grimmjow.
Grimmjow laughed sharply, his voice echoing across the battlefield. "Hahaha! That was decent, Shinigami. But in the end… you're still far too weak."
Ichigo clutched at his left eye as though something inside threatened to break free, his right eye alone holding Grimmjow in focus. The wound was shallow. Even his strongest Getsuga Tenshō had only managed a partial injury.
This man's durability was overwhelming. Ichigo realized he could maybe use the attack two more times at most… and doubt gnawed at him as he weighed the outcome.
Grimmjow's expression shifted. The interest that flared when he was wounded faded just as quickly-now replaced by boredom. He had not even resorted to Resurrección yet. If he had, Ichigo's Getsuga would have been meaningless, no matter how often he unleashed it.
As his attention drifted upward, Grimmjow noticed another presence. A figure stood in the sky above them, clothed not in shihakushō but in a modern shirt and black pants. A shadow fell over the battlefield from where he hovered.
"Who the hell are you?" Grimmjow demanded. "You're not dressed like a Shinigami. What are you supposed to be?"
The young man gave no answer.
Grimmjow's lip curled as he narrowed his eyes. "Then let me ask this instead. How strong are you?"
His voice grew sharp with irritation. "Oi! I'm talking to you! Don't just ignore me."
Without warning, he lunged and kicked out, foot aimed toward Yuta's face. But the instant his attack should have landed, Yuta slipped back across the air dozens of meters in a single motion, avoiding the strike entirely.
Grimmjow's eyes widened. "What? Was that… Shunpo?"
Though he had never fought a Shinigami this way before, Grimmjow had studied enough to recognize the technique. He had already seen Kurosaki's Shunpo earlier. Compared to sonido, Shinigami flash step lacked the same sharpness, and neither compared well to the Arrancar's sonido at its peak. Yet this man's footwork was so fast it seemed to surpass even his own ability to sense it.
Only sonido at its highest mastery could evade the probing of an Arrancar's pesquisa. Grimmjow clenched his jaw at the thought. Could this human have replicated that?
Impossible. Even among the Espada, mastery of sonido del hibiki was rare. For a human to grasp it was absurd-like a fable with no basis in reality.
Determined to prove it an illusion, Grimmjow drove forward again, his movements precise and sharp, committing fully to reading his opponent's speed. Yet even after more than a dozen exchanges, he could not track Yuta's steps.
"What kind of movement is this? That's not just Shunpo!" Grimmjow shouted in disbelief.
Yuta kept his hands behind his back, his answer calm and measured. "Have you heard of the event horizon of light? What you perceive is only what exists within your range of sense. I simply move outside that range."
Grimmjow's expression hardened as the words sank in. "Outside my perception…? You're saying your speed surpasses the limits of my sensitivity, like even sonido can't catch you? That's impossible!"
Even as he denied it, Grimmjow's instincts screamed otherwise. He released pesquisa in full, flooding the area with sensory waves to lock onto his opponent.
[You watched Grimmjow use Pesquisa. Analyzing… Analyzing successful. Comprehension achieved…]
[T/n: tbh, i wanted to upload 10 chqpters today.. but i sadly can't cause i am still a tiny bit sick and don't want to overwork myself.. sorry.. an hour a chapter (5 chapter)]
And by the way, feel free to shower me with powerstones or join my patreon, it really helps motivate me by alot.
PS GOALS: 150 PS= 5-10 extra chapter on an update.
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