"On your blade, I saw [fear]—[fear of being blocked] when you swung it, [fear of being counterattacked] when you attacked."
Ichigo Kurosaki spoke slowly.
White Ichigo could not accept it. What Ichigo Kurosaki was saying felt strangely familiar.
"What are you talking about, Ichigo?!"
White Ichigo demanded.
"My power! When attacking, you should [slash with all your strength]! Two people with exactly the same appearance, abilities, and strength... one becomes king and rules the battle, while the other serves as a mount. What is the difference between them?"
Ichigo Kurosaki lowered his folded arms and clenched his fists.
"There is only one answer—"
"Instinct!!!"
"It is what people with identical abilities need in order to display greater power. It is what one must possess to become king. Constantly fighting, pursuing power, crushing enemies without mercy, cutting them into a thousand pieces... that is the absolute thirst for battle!"
"It is the Slaughter Reaction carved into the most primitive layers of us—stripping away our skin, carving off our flesh, shattering our bones until it reaches the depths of our nerves!"
"But I cannot see that naked instinct in you at all! You use rational thought to guide your battles, use reason to defeat your enemies! Who can a blade that has never left its sheath kill? That is why you are so weak, my power!"
Ichigo Kurosaki spoke as though he could not bear to see his power fail to live up to expectations.
"Don't overthink it. If you use a blade, then swing it with everything you have. If you use fists, then throw every punch with all your strength!"
Ichigo Kurosaki threw a punch, shattering Kenpachi Zaraki's fist. Even Kenpachi Zaraki's flesh regeneration seemed to have been affected.
"Interfering with spirit particles?"
White Ichigo saw through the nature of