Byakuya Kuchiki looked at Ichigo Kurosaki, angered by what the other had said.
"You understand nothing."
"I really admire your courage!"
"But I pity your ignorance even more!"
Byakuya Kuchiki's voice was low and forceful, every word seeming to be squeezed through clenched teeth, carrying an authority that could not be ignored.
He knew full well that his conversation with Ichigo Kurosaki had long since strayed from the bounds of reason, yet the pride and convictions that had been touched made it impossible for him to simply let it go.
However, reason told him that continuing such an argument was meaningless. So he made the most direct decision, and the one most fitting to his character—he would prove everything through battle.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura."
As Byakuya Kuchiki murmured, an invisible force burst forth from within him. The Zanpakuto in his hand transformed into countless cherry blossom petals, only to condense into sharp blades in the blink of an eye. They danced gracefully around him, forming a picture both beautiful and deadly.
This was the released form of Byakuya Kuchiki's Zanpakuto—Senbonzakura. Every blade contained the power to pierce the soul.
Yet this time, Ichigo Kurosaki did not choose to wait or evade as he had before. His eyes shone with unprecedented determination and resolve.
He knew that he had not come here for a meaningless fight, but to save Rukia Kuchiki.
Therefore, before Byakuya Kuchiki's Senbonzakura could fully unleash its gorgeous yet deadly assault, Ichigo Kurosaki had already moved.
"Boom—!!"
With one punch, the air seemed to tear apart. A fist wind too fast for the naked eye to catch swept across the entire battlefield alongside a deafening roar.
Every punch Ichigo Kurosaki threw was incomparably precise, as though he could see through the path of every blade and predict its movements