Battle of Sōkyoku Hill (Six)

At the entrance to the steps of Sōkyoku Hill, two Reiatsu are colliding fiercely.

The silver Shinsō and the amber Jiku'a clashed together, their blades clashing with a piercing metallic clang.

Their faces were only inches apart, separated by the blades. Silver's narrowed eyes reflected the eerie blue light emanating from the Jiku'a Amber's silver pupils reflected the cold gleam of the Shinsō.

"Brother Yin, where's the bracelet Sister Rangiku gave you?" Hu's gaze swept over Yin's empty left wrist.

"Fighting you with a bracelet on isn't a good idea, so I hid it." Silver's smile remained unchanged. With a flick of his wrist, the Shinsō retracted, taking him out of the collision range.

The moment his feet touched the stone steps, he had already regained his fighting stance.

"We can hide the bracelet, Rangiku- nee? She's not someone you can easily fool."

"I even had her contact me last night—" Hu took a step forward, Jiku'a's knife tip leaving a trail of tiny sparks on the stone slab, "Do you really still have any intention of hiding anything?"

Yin didn't answer, but simply tilted her head, her smile unchanged.

"Yes, there are so many ways to inform Amber, why did I specifically choose to have Rangiku do it?"

Gin himself wasn't sure; perhaps it was because he had gotten too close to Rangiku that a certain part of him began to hope she would notice.

"Who knows..." The moment the words left his mouth, the silver Shinsō had already thrust out.

"Today too, it seems she and Captain Hitsugaya went to investigate Central 46."

Amber blocked the Shinsō's thrust, and the Summoned Swords swiftly shot towards Silver: "After Aizen faked his death, he hid in one of those facilities that only the Central 46 can use, right? Have you run into him?"

"Perhaps they split up. We only saw that Hitsugaya kid on our way here; Aizen took care of him."

Yin knocked all the Summoned Swords away. "Xiao Hu, we're in the middle of a life-or-death battle right now, why are you talking about this nonsense?"

Then, changing angles, the Shinsō extended again, this time aiming straight for Amber's throat.

"Is this what you call a death match?" Amber grinned, the blue light in her silver eyes intensifying slightly. "For me, it's just a warm-up. Besides—if Rangiku knew that the agreement you made was about killing each other, she'd be furious."

With a slight sideways movement, Hu let the blade graz his neck, leaving a hole in the stone wall behind him.

At the same instant, Amber's left hand loosely clenched at his side, and Beowulf's gauntlet was already forming in his palm—white light patterns pulsated on the knuckles. He lunged forward using the momentum of his sidestep, his left fist aimed straight for Silver's waist.

Silver's pupils contracted slightly; he did not choose to block—to take Beowulf's heavy punch head-on would be tantamount to self-destruction!

He quickly sheathed his sword, pointed the tip of the Shinsō at the ground, and the Shinsō extended again, the blade pressing against the stone slab, lifting Yin into the air.

The immense force traveled back along the blade, and the entire sword acted like a pole, lifting Yin into the air.

Hu's heavy punch grazed past his clothes, and the force of the punch created a shallow, cracked crater in the stone steps.

Silver, now airborne, shortened the blade of his Shinsō and aimed it at Amber: "By the time she goes berserk, I reckon Aizen and I will have already retreated to Hueco Mundo. Then it won't be me facing her wrath."

The blade extended again, aiming straight for Amber's throat. "Besides, the phrase 'fighting among ourselves' is inappropriate. My goals are different from yours!"

"Heh, you think you can still escape to Hueco Mundo with Aizen now?" Kou said, slashing out with his Jiku'a in his right hand.

A dark blue blade of light tore a rift in the air, sparks exploded between the two, and the impact traveled along the blade, knocking Yin back.

My hand feels a little numb...

Yin silently calculated in his mind. "It seems that even with only his Shikai form, he's already struggling against Koko. Really, he's grown to this level without me even realizing it."

Meanwhile, the Reiatsu emanating from Sōkyoku Hill, belonging to the Cilian, gradually increased, encouraging Amber: "Today, we will defeat Aizen!"

"If it really turns out like that, I'll be in real trouble, since I haven't achieved my goal yet!" Silver's fingers tightened slightly on the hilt of the sword, and the Shinsō extended again.

This time it was a sweeping attack—the blade lashed out at Amber's waist like a silver whip. While the sweeping attack increased the attack range, it also gave her time to react.

The longer the blade, the greater the arc of the swing, and the easier it is to predict when it will reach the target. Hu had already leaped up before the blade touched him.

Amber's toes touched the blade of the Shinsō, and she ran along its extended length. Beowulf's limbs gleamed coldly in the twilight. Almost instantly, Amber had already run alongside the Shinsō and was right in front of Silver.

Yin's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't try to retract the Shinsō —it was too late; the speed at which he could retract his sword wouldn't be faster than the speed at which Hu drew it. He simply drew the Shinsō spear from its sheath with his left hand.

Clang!

The scabbard struck Jiku'a's blade from the side, deflecting it and revealing Gin's still-smiling face reflected in Jiku'a's blade.

The impact of the collision propelled Yin backward, and he used the momentum to leap back, readjusting his posture in mid-air.

Amber fell to the ground, Jiku'a hung by her side. "Is that thing that Aizen took really that important? Important enough that you should Rangiku -nee?"

"Of course." Silver's voice suddenly rose, his narrowed eyes opening wide, and for the first time, the smile was gone. "That thing is more important than my soul! I'd give up my life for it!"

His Reiatsu began to surge, the atmosphere became viscous and heavy, and the silvery-white Reiatsu covered the silver surface and enveloped the Shinsō. Then, a gentle breeze swept by, and everything quickly subsided.

Bankai! Kamishini no Yari.

Silver's Bankai extremely quiet; the blade did not elongate, deform, or even undergo any visible changes in appearance.

Only a very thin, almost invisible layer of blade light flowed slowly along the edge of the blade, as if the blade itself were breathing.

He stood there, holding the sword that looked exactly the same as when it was in its Shikai. It was like the so-called Bankai, except that Gin had opened his always narrowed eyes and put away his ever-present smile.

But Koko's Concentration told him that this person was completely different; his aura had become sharp, but it was different from the sharpness he possessed when he Bankai.

If we were to use a metaphor, Amber is like a wild and unrestrained demon sword that has just been born, constantly displaying its extraordinary nature. Every time it is drawn, it seeks to attract the attention of others, to prove its strength, to astonish the world, and to make its name resound throughout the land.

Silver, on the other hand, is a renowned sword with a long history of fame and numerous battle achievements. It has long since lost the gold and silver jewels that others had adorned it when it was first created.

Genius? Fastest? Strongest among his peers? These are all part of his journey. The world already knows he is strong, strong as a matter of course. His drawing of his sword is merely to overcome the difficulties before him.

Yin's right hand twitched slightly, and the Kamishini no Yari thrust out at a speed far exceeding its previous speed.

This time it wasn't a long-distance thrust; the blade only extended a few inches—just enough to pierce Amber, as if deliberately letting Amber adapt to this change.

Amber dodged in time, the blade still grazing his shoulder, leaving a very thin cut on his Shihakusho. Amber looked at the thin cut on his Shihakusho:

"So fast, much faster than before. I clearly saw the signs of Silver's attack and tried to dodge, but he still managed to hit me."

"Little Amber, the Kamishini no Yari's teleportation speed is 500 times the speed of sound. If you can't keep up, you'll die." Silver charged directly at Amber, who met him with the Jiku'a.

The blade of the Kamishini no Yari instantly shortened to the length of a dagger, its edge like the fangs of Viper, grazing Jiku'a's blade before instantly extending again.

With a loud bang

Amber burst through the air and was slammed against the wall. The blade of the Kamishini no Yari was pressed against Beowulf's gauntlet. If Amber hadn't reacted in time, the blow would have at least pierced his collarbone.

Just then, Amber vanished in a flash, while Silver merely slightly turned his blade. The next moment, Amber reappeared beside a Summoned Swords, and at the same time, the Kamishini no Yari grazed Amber's cheek.

"What? How is this possible?"

"What are you surprised about, Xiao Hu?" Yin asked, seeing Hu's surprised expression.

Even if you master Bankai, the number of Summoned Swords that exist simultaneously increases to 12, which is still within the range of the number I can remember.

Don't underestimate Soul Reaper who can become a captain just because their Reiatsu has reached the Captain-level.

Yin kept the Kamishini no Yari at the length of his short sword and lunged forward. The short sword's attack speed was extremely fast. Hu was in full Concentration mode, constantly blocking Yin's slashes.

"Xiao Hu, did you know? Weapons of different lengths have different centers of gravity, and therefore require different methods of applying force," Yin suddenly said.

Hu was still puzzled. "Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Isn't this perfectly reasonable?"

"What if it's a short sword when you swing it, but it becomes a long sword after you swing it? Like... this!"

The Kamishini no Yari, in its short-sword form, extends as it is swung, the blade drawing an extremely long arc in the air.

"Oh no!"

Hu misjudged the situation when parrying. He used the stance for parrying a short sword to parry a long sword. If he had tried to parry a long sword, the upper part of the long sword would have already cut into his body when the blades collided.

Hu subconsciously activated the coordinates of the Summoned Swords and teleported away.

"No, this is a terrible move."

Silver turned the Kamishini no Yari around. The Kamishini no Yari was like a frame-by-frame animation; in one frame, the blade was clean, and in the next frame, blood was dripping from it.

"Little Amber..." Gin tilted his head, looking at Amber, who was kneeling beside a Summoned Swords, rubbing her abdomen. "I've already seen through your movements. If you rely Shikai, you'll die in the next hit."

He took a step towards Hu, and a killing intent pressed down on Hu as if it were a tangible force.

"Come on, Xiao Hu. It's time to show some real skills."

"Brother Yin..."

Hu took a deep breath, Jiku'a stood in front of him, and all his Reiatsu converged in an instant. "Then you'd better grit your teeth, or it will be over soon!"

Bankai! Heaven's Punishment Jiku'a!

A colossal half-body Demon Shadow slowly rose from behind him. It was entirely dark blue and semi-transparent, with four wings of light spread out, and its narrow, blade-like eye sockets burned with crimson light.

"Enough with the boasting, Little Amber. Aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew?" Silver's fingers tightened slightly on the hilt of the knife.

"That's it! That's what I want to know, Xiao Hu. Let me see just how much you've grown!"

Amber vanished from her spot and reappeared in front of Silver in the next instant. Jiku'a slashed horizontally, and the right arm of the Demon Shadow was completely synchronized with Amber. The giant blade, carrying destructive power, slashed towards Silver's waist.

Silver raised his sword to parry, but the Demon Shadow's slash and Amber's slash landed on the blade at the same time—the combined force sent Silver flying.

He adjusted his posture in mid-air, extending his Kamishini no Yari to press against the rock wall behind him, abruptly halting his retreat. Before he could regain his footing, Amber had already charged at him from the front. Jiku'a slashed vertically, and Yin dodged to the side, but Demon Shadow's left fist actually followed.

In Yin's contracting pupils, the Demon Shadow's left fist slammed into Yin's face, sending Yin flying backward and tumbling several times before regaining his footing.

Gin touched his slowly swelling left cheek. "I see... Unlike Komamura's Tenken, Koko's Demon Shadow can act independently?"

"What's wrong, Brother Yin? Are you starting to get surprised now?"

Yin spat out the blood from his mouth, raised his Kamishini no Yari, and shouted, "Again!"

Hu granted Yin's wish and charged forward again, with six Summoned Swords appearing on each side of his body, ready to strike.

As Jiku'a slashed out, the Demon Shadow made a punching motion. Yin hurriedly raised his left arm to block, but unexpectedly, the Demon Shadow turned his fist into a claw and grabbed Yin.

"What!?"

The Demon Shadow slammed Silver to the ground several times before throwing him away. As he did so, all twelve Summoned Swords shot towards Silver. Amber unleashed two sword energies imbued with different levels of high-level Kidō energy from her Phantom Blade. Then, Jiku'a sheathed his sword, saying, "Brother Silver, I've never underestimated any captain!"

Then three dimensional rifts opened around Yin, and countless void sword energies spewed out from the rifts.

Seeing several attacks coming at him almost simultaneously, Yin had no choice but to grit his teeth, place the Kamishini no Yari at his waist, and spin rapidly. The Kamishini no Yari, like a long fan blade, dispersed Hu's attacks.

After Gin dealt with all the attacks, his Shihakusho, along with his captain's haori, was tattered and torn, covered in knife wounds, burns, and bruises.

Yin had barely landed and hadn't even caught his breath when Hu already delivered a punch.

Yin was slammed into the wall, and cracks spread outwards from him in all directions.

As Amber approached Gin, who had fallen from the wall, Gin was still trying to stand up, supporting himself with the Kamishini no Yari, but his legs were shaking violently and he could barely lift his arms.

"Brother Yin," his voice was very soft, almost too soft to be carried away by the wind, "Shall we continue?"

Yin knelt on one knee in the pile of rubble, head bowed, the Kamishini no Yari stuck in the ground beside him, its blade still flashing coldly. Hu stood in front of him, Jiku'a dangling at his side, and the Demon Shadow shrank slightly and hovered behind him, its four wings slowly folding.

Just as Amber was about to say something, she suddenly turned around and looked towards the middle platform. She felt the almost precipitous drop in Reiatsu from Cilian and shouted, "Instructor Cilian!"

Immediately, the Demon Shadow unfolded its folded wings, and Amber flew directly towards the mid-section platform.

Yin stood there, panting, silent for a long time, before letting out a soft laugh that gradually grew louder.

"Ha, ha, ha ha... There's hope! There's hope! Rangiku is saved! Ha ha ha..."

He paused to calm himself, then, supporting himself with the Kamishini no Yari, slowly stood up.

"... Really."

Those eyes narrowed again, watching Hu's figure fly towards the mid-section platform. "I never imagined you could really grow to this level, Little Hu..."