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Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh…
The sounds of air being torn apart merged into one as Himura's expression changed drastically, seeing Ishikawa Katori surrounded and with no escape.
Ishikawa Katori couldn't die. If he died, then it would be her and Nishijin Ori's turn next.
Thinking of this, Himura dropped Nishijin Ori from her shoulder to the ground and stumbled forward, about to rush in. However, just as she took a step, a sudden change occurred in the field!
Looking closely, Ishikawa Katori, who was in the center of the encirclement, suddenly transformed into a series of afterimages, weaving through the dense blades.
He looked like a leaf in a storm; no matter how strong the wind, it couldn't tear him apart. Instead, he used the wind to dance among the blades!
How is that possible!?
Both Himura and Toguro, who was observing from the outside, couldn't help but narrow their pupils as they watched the afterimages brush past the sharp blades.
This was no longer something that could be achieved by mere speed, but rather…
Familiarity?
Toguro also didn't know how to describe the situation in the field; it gave him the feeling that everyone was cooperating with Ishikawa Katori in a play.
That is, if one ignored the horror in the expressions of those 'actors'. Compared to the two bystanders, Toguro and Himura, those involved felt as if Ishikawa Katori could predict the future. Often, before a blade even struck, he had already taken a step back and assumed a dodging posture.
He dodged incoming attacks if he could, and if he couldn't, he took them head-on.
His fists were covered in a layer of repulsion barrier, easily withstanding unavoidable attacks. If there were any Shinigami here, they would recognize that repulsion barrier as 'Bakudo Number Eight: Repulsion'.
Ishikawa Katori, of course, couldn't predict the future.
The reason he could dodge in a way that seemed like he was predicting the future was entirely because, in that instant, he saw through the trajectories of all attacks.
Zanjutsu: Intermediate (0/10000)
In fact, in the previous battle, Ishikawa Katori had already realized that even without a Zanpakuto, Zanjutsu was still worth cultivating.
The reason was simple: first understand, then break!
Intermediate Zanjutsu gave Ishikawa Katori the insight to see the flaws in the attacks of those who were surrounding him. This was why it gave the impression that he could predict the future.
Of course, the main reason was also that these people's attacks were too monotonous and redundant, making it not difficult to choose the best dodging space.
Constant dodging alone could not end the battle, and he did not intend to waste too much spiritual pressure on these people. After dodging another giant cleaver, he no longer dodged as before. Instead, he extended his left hand and grabbed the blade of the cleaver.
Seeing this, the man holding the cleaver's face changed, and he instinctively tried to pull the sword back, but to his surprise… the sword was pulled back easily, without any resistance.
This discovery first stunned the swordsman, then his face changed drastically!!
Because…
As the giant cleaver was pulled back, Ishikawa Katori's half-smiling, eerie face also came into view in his pupils. A long, pale index finger had, at some point, touched his chest.
"Hadō No. 4: Byakurai."
Bang!
Lightning flashed at his fingertip, and the swordsman felt a sharp pain in his chest, and everything before his eyes immediately blurred.
After killing one person, Ishikawa Katori didn't stop for a moment. He slid backward, forming a black arc, and appeared like a ghost in front of the next person.
That was a bald man. He had not yet recovered from the shock of his companion's death when his vision went dark. Ishikawa Katori's ghostly figure suddenly appeared in front of him, his right hand glowing with a crimson light.
"Hadō #31: Shakkahō!"
The surrounding temperature rapidly soared at that instant, filling the bald man, who Ishikawa Katori had rushed in front of, with fear.
Fortunately, the people around him reacted immediately and surrounded him again. Ishikawa Katori changed from dodging to attacking, which gave them, who had been somewhat at a loss, another chance to attack.
Sharp blades struck, and the previous scene played out again.
However, they also understood that the outcome of the previous encirclement might also repeat itself.
But as long as they kept attacking and gave the opponent no chance to counterattack, then in this kind of multiple-on-one fight, the opponent would eventually run out of spiritual pressure. As long as there was a momentary flaw, he would be hacked to death by random blades!
But the next scene, however, exceeded everyone's expectations.
Just as the crowd rushed towards Ishikawa Katori, Ishikawa Katori suddenly flipped his right hand, redirecting the Shakkahō, which was originally aimed at the bald man, towards the ground beneath his feet.
Boom!
A huge, deafening explosion.
The ground was as fragile as tofu, and endless soil shot into the sky, instantly forming a huge crater with a diameter of more than ten meters in the center of the battlefield.
The crowd, who had been rushing towards Ishikawa Katori, suddenly felt the ground give way beneath their feet, and they all stumbled.
"Watch out, above!!"
Before the crowd could steady themselves, Toguro's urgent shout suddenly came.
"The bones of the beast scattered like stars, the pagoda, crimson crystal, and iron wheels. Movement is wind, stillness is void, the sound of clashing spears fills the empty castle!" And accompanying Toguro's anxious shout was an unknown incantation.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, and what met their eyes was a full moon dotted in the night sky, looking extremely beautiful.
But at this beautiful sight, the group of villains only felt a chill run down their spines.
Because that was not a full moon at all, but rather raging lightning forcibly compressed together.
And just then, Ishikawa Katori in the air slammed his right hand downwards.
"Hadō No. 63: Raikōhō!"
Roar—!!!
Where the lightning passed, the air itself groaned under the strain, like a roar. Dense beams of lightning directly enveloped everyone.
Rumble…
The ground vibrated violently at that instant, and the smoke from the explosion enveloped the entire area.
From the hurricane-like roar to the faint hum like a mosquito, when everything returned to calm.
Beneath the smoke and dust…
There was no one left, only a huge pit and charred marks that looked like brands.
Monster!!
Himura stared dumbfounded at Ishikawa Katori in mid-air, her heart completely filled with shock.
Using a Kido in the form of a fireball to destroy the enemy's footing, and while the enemies were busy stabilizing themselves, using the impact of the fireball's explosion to propel himself into the night sky.
Everything seemed so fluid and natural. Toguro's subordinates didn't even have time to react before they all turned into charred remains.
Although she had seen Ishikawa Katori fight before, the Ishikawa Katori from last time had never used such powerful Kido. Back then, Ishikawa Katori wasn't so much fighting as he was using her subordinates to familiarize himself with combat!
But now…
This was his true full power.
Ghostly speed, incredibly powerful Kido, eerily evasive maneuvers, plus a variety of close-combat techniques… All of these combined made Himura feel a sense of relief at having survived a great calamity.
Because if Ishikawa Katori had fought her with this current demeanor back then, she would have had no chance of escaping District 79.
Wait… where's Toguro!?
Himura's face changed.
"Careful!!"
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