'That was fun,' Ichigo thought as he stood there among the broken stone and scattered debris. His blade rested lazily at his side, still humming with leftover spiritual pressure. 'Held back my power to make the fight actually entertaining, otherwise he'd have lost the second he approached me.'
The dust began to settle, revealing the second Soul Reaper who had accompanied Ikkaku. The man flinched, barely raising his blade—only for Ichigo to vanish in a blur of speed.
SHUNK!
With a clean, effortless slash, Ichigo reappeared behind him. The Soul Reaper's eyes widened—too late—as his blade shattered and he crumpled to the ground unconscious.
Ikkaku, still kneeling and clutching his chest wound, looked up through heavy breaths. He'd witnessed it. The sheer difference in speed. In power. A single attack, over before the other guy even realized the fight had started.
He didn't feel bitter—he felt exhilarated.
'He was holding back,' Ikkaku thought, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. Instead of feeling humiliated, he laughed under his breath. The sound echoed faintly against the broken walls around them.
Ichigo turned his head at the noise, his gaze sharp.
Ikkaku met his eyes, then grinned wider, blood dripping from his chin. "I'll become stronger, Ichigo! And then I'll face you again. And that time... be ready to die!"
Ichigo gave a small, amused smile.
"Looking forward to it," he said, before he turned and bolted, his speed cracking the air behind him as he vanished into the distance, a black blur against the glowing Seireitei sky.
He didn't stop. Not once.
His feet pounded along the tiled streets, body low, cutting through alleys and broken gates with absolute precision.
'I'll move through the underground just like in the manga,' he thought, leaping off a shattered railing and vanishing underground. The shadows welcomed him, the tunnels beneath the Seireitei stretching out like veins.
As he raced through the dim corridors, his senses stayed sharp—tracking, anticipating, calculating.
'There, that pressure… Kenpachi's. That monster's not far. I'll have to be ready.'
A flicker of another sensation passed through him—subtle, observing, cold.
'Aizen… wonder if he's watching. Tch. When i fight him, it'll make sure I traumatize that fucker ' he thought.
Renji gripped his Zanpakutō tightly, eyes burning with determination as his spiritual pressure surged. The air around him thickened, pulsing with raw intent as he stepped forward. His grip tightened, and with a flash of motion, he swung his sword.
"ROAR Zabimaru!" Renji shouted, slashing the air in a wide arc.
In a flash, the blade elongated, its jagged, segmented form twisting like a serpent in the air. The powerful Zabimaru hissed, creating a gust of wind that ruffled Ichigo's hair. The spiritual pressure from the release cracked the surrounding air, and the ground beneath Renji's feet seemed to tremble.
Renji dashed forward, swinging his massive weapon with strength and speed, aiming for Ichigo's midsection.
WHOOSH!
The blade whistled through the air, cutting with lethal precision—but Ichigo was faster.
In a blink, Ichigo sidestepped with ease, not even bothering to put his sword up. The tip of Renji's weapon sliced through the space where Ichigo had been, missing by inches. The sound of Zabimaru's blade slicing through the air was deafening, but Ichigo didn't flinch.
Renji growled, spinning around to follow up with a counterattack, his sword snapping back toward Ichigo's side. The ground beneath his feet cracked with the sheer force of his swing.
But Ichigo simply dodged again, taking a single step back. He barely moved—his body simply shifted, and Renji's strike missed entirely.
CLANG!
The sound of the blade striking the ground was sharp as Renji's eyes widened in disbelief. The sheer ease with which Ichigo avoided his attacks began to wear on his confidence.
"You're a little slow, Lenji," Ichigo said, his voice casual as he wiped a bit of dust off his sleeve. "I thought you'd be better than this."
Renji's chest heaved, a mix of frustration and rage rising in him. "Shut up!" he shouted, swinging Zabimaru at him again, the sword snapping like a whip through the air. "I'm going to end this!"
Ichigo's response was simple: he raised his sword, and with a single, effortless motion, blocked Renji's strike. The impact reverberated through the air like thunder, but Ichigo didn't even budge. Renji, on the other hand, stumbled back slightly from the force of the block, his hands shaking from the impact. His eyes darted in confusion.
'What the hell...?!'
Before Renji could recover, Ichigo was already on him. He moved with blinding speed, slashing horizontally across Renji's chest with a single motion. The blade cut through the air with a sharp whoosh, but Renji could barely react in time.
CRACK!
The sound of Ichigo's blade meeting Renji's body echoed through the area. The force of the strike sent Renji flying back, crashing into the wall. The dust exploded around him, and he slid to the ground, groaning in pain.
"You're way out of your league," Ichigo said, his voice almost bored as he calmly wiped the blade on his sleeve. His expression was cool, detached, as though he wasn't even breaking a sweat.
Renji, struggling to push himself up, his hands shaking, glared at Ichigo. "You... You can't keep doing this!" he shouted, his pride burning. His spirit flared again, desperation creeping into his movements. He charged forward once more, his sword a blur of motion as he swung it around with reckless abandon, using all his strength.
Ichigo didn't even flinch. He was already behind him in an instant.
SHUNK!
With a single motion, Ichigo had his sword at Renji's throat, the blade resting against his skin with the lightest pressure. The intensity of Ichigo's presence suffocated the air, and Renji froze, realizing just how completely outclassed he was.
Ichigo smirked. "You should've stayed back" he taunted.
Renji's breathing was shallow, his eyes full of pain and disbelief. He tried to raise his hand to stop the blade, but his muscles refused to cooperate. Every attack he made, every strike, had been easily avoided or deflected.
"I warned you," Ichigo said, pulling his sword back and stepping away. "You couldn't keep up."
Renji fell to his knees, gasping for air, humiliation crawling over him like a physical weight. His pride had been shattered in mere moments.
Ichigo didn't give him the time to recover. He walked past him, moving toward the entrance of the cell where Rukia was being held.
"Stay down, Lenji," Ichigo called over his shoulder, his voice filled with casual amusement. "I'm sure you'll have more chances to prove yourself—just not today."
Renji's eyes followed Ichigo, his pride bruised, his spirit broken. There was nothing left to do but watch as Ichigo continued on, his figure slowly disappearing into the distance.
In a fight that was supposed to be about strength, about survival—Renji had learned that it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.
' Wait, I'll stay back for now. That way I can meet Zaraki ' he thought. Ichigo went back to the underground and hid there as he meditated.
TO BE CONTINUED