Words of Tigers and Wolves

"In that case, this matter will be handled jointly by the Twelfth Division, the Second Division, and the 11th Division. Meeting adjourned!"

With the Captain-Commander's approval, the operation to capture Menos Grande was launched in full swing throughout Soul Society.

The 11th Division and Second Divisions went completely out of control.

Especially those battle maniacs from the 11th Division, under Xuanxin's leadership, practically turned the wilderness outside Rukongai into a hunting playground.

Faced with those massive but clumsy Hollows, the 11th Division members coordinated exceptionally well, achieving a capture efficiency that even left Kisuke Urahara speechless.

However, as he watched his subordinates excitedly send Hollows, bound hand and foot with Reishi chains, to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Xuanxin, the highest-ranking officer of the 11th Division, gradually felt a strange, indescribable sense of unease.

Xuanxin stood on a cliff, his brows furrowed.

He noticed that recently, whether it was swordsmanship or the accumulation of his own Reiatsu, he felt as if he had bumped into a thick, high wall.

This feeling is like a bottle that's already full of water; no matter how hard you try to pour more water in, it will only overflow from the edge and won't undergo any qualitative transformation.

Is this what they call a "bottleneck"? How can I break through it?

Just as Xuanxin was gazing at the sky, lost in thought due to this feeling of being stuck in a bottleneck,

A clear, ethereal voice, tinged with a touch of untamed spirit, echoed unexpectedly deep within his mind!

"It seems you still haven't fully grasped the hint I gave you last time. Oh well, in the way of the sword, haste makes waste. Take it slow, you have plenty of time anyway."

"This is... Musashi?!"

Upon hearing that familiar voice that had been absent for so long, a hint of surprise flashed in Xuanxin's eyes.

After being reminded last time, this arrogant sword spirit disappeared again, but unexpectedly, it showed up on its own today.

"You've finally decided to speak! Hurry, hurry! I feel like I've reached a bottleneck, and I don't have any way to break through it. So, do you have any suggestions?"

Upon hearing this, the Musashi in his mind let out a clear and hearty laugh.

Immediately afterwards!

Xuanxin suddenly felt that the Reiatsu that had been accumulating in his body for a long time was being frantically drawn out at an unbelievable speed!

Xuanxin was no stranger to this feeling; he had experienced a similar Reiatsu resonance when he was on the verge of mastering Bankai. But this time, the degree of withdrawal was clearly much more intense.

Within seconds, the air around Xuanxin began to visibly distort. A "domain" completely independent of the rules of Soul Society rapidly expanded outwards from Xuanxin as its center!

However, this domain was not large, only covering a distance of a few steps around Xuanxin. But these few steps seemed to form a world of their own, where even the flow of time and space became extremely sluggish.

"Whoosh!"

A tall, slender figure slowly materialized before Xuanxin's eyes within this few-step area.

Musashi's figure reappeared clearly in the real world once again.

She remained as carefree and unpretentious as ever. Her high ponytail fluttered in the wind, and she was still wearing that slightly worn samurai outfit, with one long and one short sword at her waist, exactly the same as the one in Xuanxin's hand.

Musashi his arms, his sharp, eagle-like eyes scanning Xuanxin up and down, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.

"Not bad, the refinement of your Reiatsu has made a qualitative leap compared to last time. It seems you have indeed reached the bottleneck of this stage."

Musashi then casually placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, a fierce fighting spirit igniting in his eyes:

"Alright, meditation alone won't break through this shell. Let's go find a place where we won't be disturbed. Let's have a proper spar and see for myself how much you've improved! We'll talk about everything else after we've fought."

Upon hearing this, Xuanxin's previously frustrated heart, which had been burdened by a bottleneck, was instantly ignited by this fighting spirit.

Without uttering any unnecessary words, he simply nodded, gave a few instructions to his adjutant, then left the 11th Division behind and turned to walk towards the Shihoin Clan in Seireitei.

This unusual behavior naturally did not escape Yoruichi Shihōin's notice.

As the Commander-in-Chief of the Stealth Forces, and also the person who knows Xuanxin best, Yoruichi knows that Xuanxin has always been a person with an overwhelming sense of responsibility, who usually tries to make the most of every minute in the 11th Division.

It's highly unusual that he would run home without a word right after finishing a meeting that morning and after the troops had just completed a mission!

Is this piece of wood sick? Or has it encountered some kind of trouble?

Unable to rest easy, Yoruichi immediately skipped work and quietly returned to the Shihoin Clan. Following Xuanxin's Reiatsu, she tracked him all the way to the entrance of the underground secret training ground.

This training ground is located within the main residence of the Shihoin and is surrounded by high-level barriers that can isolate Reiatsu. It is a forbidden area used by successive Shihoin Clan to train in the top-secret Shunpo of Shunpo and Hakuda.

Xuanxin stood alone in the center of the empty training ground, his eyes closed, seemingly muttering something to himself.

"Xuanxin? What are you doing hiding in the basement all by yourself in broad daylight?"

Yoruichi muttered to herself in confusion as she pushed open the training ground door without warning and stepped inside.

The moment Yoruichi's footsteps landed on the training ground!

"Buzz--!"

Yoruichi's honed intuition screamed the highest level of warning! The hairs on her body stood on end instantly!

A familiar yet incredibly sharp and terrifying Reiatsu swept over us like a tsunami! Even the space in front of us was severely distorted for a moment because of this Reiatsu!

Yoruichi subconsciously rubbed her eyes, trying to see the whole picture behind the distorted space.

However, when she opened her eyes again, a strikingly handsome, sharply defined face with a wild beauty appeared before her without warning!

At this moment, their faces were almost touching! The other person's sharp eyes were scrutinizing Yoruichi closely with a mixture of curiosity and examination.

Wow!

This sudden "face-to-face kill" startled Yoruichi so much that her Isshin skipped a beat.

She flew backward like a purple lightning bolt, flying more than ten meters away before landing steadily beside Xuanxin, where she assumed a wary fighting stance.

"Who are you?! How did you end up in our family's secret underground room?!" Yoruichi wide-eyed at the woman who had appeared out of nowhere in the center of the room.

Before Xuanxin could even explain, Musashi, standing opposite him, suddenly burst out laughing. She stroked her chin and said to Xuanxin in a teasing tone:

"Oh, this girl carries your Reiatsu. Xuanxin, is this the girlfriend you found outside? She's quite attractive."

Upon hearing the word "girlfriend," Xuanxin shook his head helplessly and immediately corrected him, "This is my fiancée, the head of the Shihoin Clan, Yoruichi Shihōin."

"Oh~ so it's your fiancée. Not bad, not bad, kid." Musashi whistled, his eyes full of mockery.

During these seemingly casual exchanges, Yoruichi finally calmed down from her earlier shock and began to carefully examine the unfamiliar woman in front of her.

His dashing ronin attire, his free-spirited and unrestrained demeanor, and the terrifying sword intent that seemed to merge with heaven and earth...

Yoruichi's gaze fell upon the two swords at Musashi's waist, one long and one short, with even the hilts wrapped with ropes exactly the same as Xuanxin's!

Yoruichi's pupils suddenly contracted, and an incredibly crazy idea exploded in her mind!

"You... the sword at your waist, and the scent of Reiatsu... you wouldn't be...?"

Yoruichi pointed at Musashi, her voice trembling slightly with shock.

Upon hearing this, Musashi nodded quite readily and generously admitted:

"Such keen observation skills, little girl. Nice to meet you."

Musashi gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand, his posture as upright as a pine tree, and in a deep voice filled with ancient rhythm, formally announced his name:

"I am the sword spirit of your man— Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami, Fujiwara Genshin."

Hearing those last four familiar words, Yoruichi's eyes widened like saucers, her face contorted with disbelief as she stared at Xuanxin, then at the sword spirit:

"Fujiwara Genshin?! You... you're also called Xuanxin?!"

Although Zanpakuto are reflections of the souls of Shinigami, it is not surprising that the sword spirit and its master have some kind of deep soul resonance. But to even have the same name is enough to show that Xuanxin's compatibility with this sword has reached a level that ordinary people simply cannot understand!

Seeing Yoruichi's shocked and uncontrollable expression, Musashi laughed heartily, then his joking expression vanished, and his gaze locked onto Xuanxin with lightning speed.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. If you have any questions, let's talk about them after I finish my fight with your man. Now..."

Musashi slowly drew his long sword from his waist, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, assuming a starting stance that Xuanxin frequently used in battle:

"Now, I want to personally verify just how well your man has done his homework lately!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the air in the entire underground training ground froze instantly!

Xuanxin took a deep breath, turned his head and nodded slightly to Yoruichi, signaling her to retreat to the safe area at the edge of the barrier.

Then, he drew his Zanpakuto from his waist, slowly walked forward, faced his own soul half, and assumed a starting stance exactly like Musashi's.

"Boom--!"

At the very same instant that the two struck their poses!

Two terrifying Reiatsu, originating from the same source but completely different, suddenly erupted in the underground chamber of the Shihoin Clan!

The Reiatsu did not tear apart the surrounding matter like a normal Reiatsu burst. Instead, it was compressed inward to an extreme degree, condensing into a pure sword intent powerful enough to sever cause and effect!

Even with layers of high-level barriers blocking it out, this terrifying sword intent, compressed to its extreme, still inevitably leaked out a very faint fluctuation, merging into the seemingly calm breeze of Seireitei.

At the same time.

The Fourth Division is located quite a distance from the Shihoin Clan.

Fourth Division Captain Retsu Unohana was sitting upright at the table, holding a team document in her hand, preparing to write a reply.

Suddenly, the slender hand holding the calligraphy brush abruptly stopped in mid-air. A drop of thick ink fell from the tip of the brush, spreading across the pristine white paper.

Retsu Unohana slowly raised her head, and her eyes, which were usually squinted, suddenly opened wide at that moment!

In those deep, dark pupils, a frenzied fighting spirit, like a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, was instantly reflected.

"This Reiatsu..."

Retsu Unohana slowly stood up, her gaze piercing through the office wall and locking onto the direction of the Shihoin Clan's main residence.

"Such refined sword intent... It's even purer and sharper than when we dueled in the underground dojo."

A smile, brimming with deadly allure and danger, slowly bloomed on Retsu Unohana's lips.

She casually tossed the document onto the table and pushed open the office door without hesitation.

"Xuanxin, you really always manage to bring me unexpected surprises."

After speaking, Retsu Unohana forward with her long, straight legs, following the direction from which the Reiatsu emanated, and walked over at a leisurely pace.

Chapter 65 Words of Tigers and Wolves

Inside the underground secret training ground, the air was filled with an intense, suffocating sword intent.

Two figures clashed at high speed in the center of the open field. There were no fancy Kidō, nor the earth- Zanpakuto Shikai and Bankai of Zanpakuto. All that was there was the most primitive hand-to-hand combat!

Clang--!

The ear-piercing clang of metal echoed through the hall, sparks flying everywhere.

Musashi two Zanpakuto, one long and one short, in each hand, his movements as agile as a swallow darting through a raging storm.

What she was using was her signature style, "Niten Ichi-ryū." Her long sword moved with wide, sweeping motions, sealing off space; her short sword was unpredictable and cunning, targeting weaknesses.

In her hands, this dual-wielding style of fighting has evolved into an impenetrable storm of blades.

However, Xuanxin, who was at the center of the storm, was not suppressed as he had in the past.