The Battle Within (2)

White gave him no time to think. His figure vanished from his spot and appeared in front of Ichigo Kurosaki in the next instant. He pressed his blade against Ichigo Kurosaki's Tensa Zangetsu, the two swords pressed tightly together, emitting a piercing friction sound.

White leaned close to Ichigo Kurosaki's face, so close they could feel each other's breath. His smile deepened, and he whispered, "Getsuga Tenshō."

A white light burst forth from the blade, like the first rays of dawn, yet carrying the power to destroy everything. The light traveled from the White blade to Ichigo Kurosaki's blade, and then erupted from Ichigo Kurosaki's blade, like a blooming white lotus flower.

Ichigo Kurosaki was struck head-on by the force, and his entire body flew out like a kite with a broken string. His clothes were blown to shreds, and a shocking wound was left on his chest, from which blood gushed out. He crashed heavily to the ground, rolled several times, and left a trail of blood in his wake.

White strolled over leisurely, looking down at him with disdain. "Look, I only took it a little seriously, and this is what you've done. You talk about controlling my power, but look at yourself now... you don't look like you've controlled any power at all!"

He gave Ichigo Kurosaki no chance to catch his breath. Before he finished speaking, he moved again, and the white Tensa Zangetsu in his hand transformed into a streak of light, aiming straight for Ichigo Kurosaki's vitals. Ichigo Kurosaki gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain, rolled over, and raised his sword to block.

The two figures darted and intertwined through the ruins, the sounds of clashing blades as dense as a torrential downpour. Ichigo Kurosaki fought with all his might, yet he still couldn't gain the upper hand. Each of White's strikes was a fraction faster, each move a fraction more precise, and each attack left a new wound on Kurosaki's body at just the right moment.

Blood gushed from Ichigo Kurosaki's body, staining the ground beneath his feet a dark red. His breathing grew increasingly rapid, his movements increasingly sluggish, but he still refused to give up. He gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with an indomitable flame.

While fighting him, White slowly said, "You always try to control your power with reason, but you haven't even mastered the power itself, so how can you control it? You use reason to suppress your instincts, suppressing the power you haven't developed, so how can you master it?"

He cleaved through Ichigo Kurosaki strike, leaving a bloody gash on his arm with another, and continued, "You've always suppressed your instincts, preventing your power from being unleashed. We've followed you around getting slashed everywhere, why not defeat you and make you our strength?"

"Us?" Ichigo Kurosaki's heart skipped a beat. "You mean you and Zangetsu?"

White didn't answer, but the smile on his lips deepened.

While struggling to parry White's attacks, Ichigo Kurosaki asked, "What should I do?"

White curled his lip, his tone full of impatience. "You really are stupid."

He stopped speaking, but his attacks grew even more ferocious. One strike after another rained down like a storm, giving Ichigo Kurosaki no chance to catch his breath. Ichigo Kurosaki fought back with all his might, but he still couldn't stop the wounds on his body from multiplying. Blood blurred his vision, and pain eroded his will, but he still refused to fall.

Finally, when Ichigo Kurosaki collapsed, severely injured and unable to resist any longer, White stopped his attack. He walked up to Ichigo Kurosaki, looking down at him with a complex glint in his eyes—disappointment, mockery, and a barely perceptible hint of expectation.

He bent down and reached out to grasp the Tensa Zangetsu in Ichigo Kurosaki's hand. As his hand touched the black blade, something strange happened—centered on his hand, the black blade began to rapidly turn white, as if bleached, the white spreading to both sides and covering the entire blade. Then, the white Tensa Zangetsu slowly began to dissipate like melting snowflakes, vanishing into the air.

Ichigo Kurosaki stared blankly at the scene, watching his Zanpakuto vanish into nothingness. He looked up, incredulously at White: "Zangetsu..."

White didn't answer, but instead reached out and pressed his hand against Ichigo Kurosaki's face. His palm was as cold as iron, and his strength was astonishing. He exerted his strength and flung Ichigo Kurosaki towards a tall building in the distance. Ichigo Kurosaki's body crashed into the building like a cannonball, and with a deafening roar, the entire building was smashed into pieces.

White strolled slowly towards the ruins, saying as he went, "This is really troublesome. How many times do I have to tell you before you understand? That's not Zangetsu, that's me..."

He stopped and looked at Ichigo Kurosaki, who was struggling to get up from the ruins, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

Ichigo Kurosaki was covered in wounds, blood streaming down his forehead, blurring his vision. But he didn't fall, his gaze fixed intently on White. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he blurted out, "So, if I defeat you, will I be able to stop you from becoming Hollowfication?!"

Upon hearing this, a flicker of surprise crossed White's eyes, quickly replaced by a more complex expression. He looked at Ichigo Kurosaki with a meaningful gaze, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly said, "Who knows? But you can't do it either, because you simply can't defeat me."

He walked towards Ichigo Kurosaki, each step cracking the ground. "You suppress your instincts, controlling every swing with reason, like a sword sheathed. How can you possibly cut someone? Mine, and Zangetsu before, we swung our blades following our instincts, which is why we're stronger than you. Otherwise, with the same power, how could we be so much stronger than you?"

He stopped in front of Ichigo Kurosaki, looking down at him with an undeniable air of authority. "Alright, Ichigo, I've said enough. Now that you've lost to me, let me take control of our future."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly swung out the white Tensa Zangetsu in his hand, like a white lightning bolt, directly piercing through Ichigo Kurosaki's abdomen!

The excruciating pain caused Ichigo Kurosaki to let out a muffled groan and collapse to his knees. The white blade pierced through his abdomen, and blood dripped down the blade, staining the ground beneath his feet crimson.

White Shun stepped forward, reached out and grasped the white blade piercing through Ichigo Kurosaki's abdomen, then slowly, bit by bit, pulled it out. The sound of the blade scraping against flesh was particularly jarring in the silent Inner World. With each inch pulled out, Ichigo Kurosaki's wound widened, and more blood gushed out.

The intense pain blurred Ichigo Kurosaki's vision and caused his consciousness to fade. In this life-or-death moment, images flashed through his mind—every battle he had experienced, every near-death experience, every moment he had pushed his limits.

The scene finally freezes on a battle—his duel with Kenpachi Zaraki. Every word that bloodthirsty battle maniac, that madman who saw battle as everything, had spoken to him during that fight now exploded in his mind like thunder.

"They are all powerful people, why are they running away? That's just the behavior of the weak."

"You're afraid of your own strength, afraid of the emptiness within you, so you keep running away. But running away solves nothing."

Only by facing it and accepting it can you truly control it.

Ichigo Kurosaki's pupils suddenly contracted. Those words were like a key, unlocking a door in his heart that had always been tightly locked.

Yes, he had been running away. He was afraid of the emptiness within him, afraid of that uncontrollable force, so he had been suppressing it with reason and resisting it with willpower. But the more he did this, the more violent and uncontrollable it became.