Battle at Its Fiercest

"Unseen Divine Wind Style—Flood Dragon!"

Light and shadow intertwined. Dozens of meters apart, Duke and Kenpachi Zaraki stood back-to-back with blades in hand, time seeming to freeze for a moment. Only for a moment. A fierce wind suddenly rose, scattering the dust, and then several bursts of blood sprayed from Kenpachi's chest, splashing into the air.

"Did you hear it? That sound, like a divine wind!" Duke brushed the bloodstains from New Moon and Full Moon's blade and asked softly.

The Unseen Divine Wind Style was the swordsmanship Duke had learned in the Samurai Deeper Kyo World. Its strikes were incomparably swift and exceptionally fierce, a killing sword that had reached the supreme realm. Let the heart become nothingness like darkness, let the techniques become clear like light, let the body merge with nature like a shadow... Listen to every sound and cut through everything with the divine gale. That was the Unseen Divine Wind Style!

And Flood Dragon was the signature sword technique of the Unseen Divine Wind Style. It elevated the fundamental elements of swordsmanship—heart, skill, and body—to their utmost limits. Only when all three became one could this strike be unleashed. In the instant of death, one would be wrapped in a warm divine wind, only for cold pain and terror to follow. It could neither be evaded nor blocked.

"This warm and gentle wind... I couldn't avoid it at all. Is this your Zanpakuto's ability?" Kenpachi panted heavily, coughing up a mouthful of blood. His face was filled with both shock and delight, his expression utterly crazed.

"No, this isn't my Zanpakuto's ability. The Unseen Divine Wind Style is a school of swordsmanship; that divine wind is a sword technique." Duke looked at his Zanpakuto, New Moon and Full Moon, with a strange expression. New Moon and Full Moon differed greatly from other Zanpakuto—not in its abilities, but in its Bankai. Normally, a Bleach's Zanpakuto first underwent Shikai, then required time to harmonize with its wielder before it could finally achieve Bankai. Yet New Moon and Full Moon had broken that rule. Duke had learned of its Bankai during Shikai, but he was unable to use Bankai. The conditions for New Moon and Full Moon's Bankai were incredibly harsh—so harsh that Duke even felt he might never meet them in his lifetime.

"Unseen Divine Wind Style? It's not a Zanpakuto ability, but a school? I don't understand that at all! Still, there's one thing I'm curious about... How many schools of swordsmanship do you know?" Kenpachi scratched his head as he recalled something, revealing a bloodthirsty smile. "Because you remind me of someone... She was like you too, knowing sword techniques from many different schools!"

Duke froze at the question, unsure whom Kenpachi meant. But he did not dwell on it and simply responded, "If we have to call them schools, then probably four. Four swordsmen taught me their swordsmanship."

"Adding that Flying Heaven Style from before, you've already used sword techniques from two schools. Can I assume... the remaining two schools are even more powerful?" Kenpachi's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints. His blood was boiling, his pores were opening, and even the hand gripping his sword trembled faintly. He could barely contain his excitement and agitation.

"In terms of destructive power, their sword techniques are quite ordinary... One represents strength in the realm of swordsmanship, while the other represents strength of the heart." Duke pointed at the beating heart in his chest and said proudly, "Thanks to them, I never lost myself in slaughter. It is an incomparable honor to inherit their swordsmanship!"

"Then use them! Let me experience this so-called strength of yours!" Kenpachi Zaraki's eyes blazed with battle intent. He let out a wild roar, his face taking on an almost deranged expression as he suddenly raised his Zanpakuto, whose blade resembled a jagged saw. At the same time, golden Reiatsu erupted violently from his body, shredding the clothing draped over him. Carrying his unyielding fighting spirit, the Reiatsu swept in every direction. Even the ground, strewn with shattered dirt and stone, was crushed to dust by that berserk Reiatsu.

"That won't do. If I really use them, you might not have any room to fight back at all." Duke raised his sword and slashed down, cleaving apart the suffocating Reiatsu Kenpachi had spread around him.

"You really dare to say that! Then I insist on seeing what it means to... have no room to fight back."

Kenpachi charged forward with his sword raised and brought it down viciously. The world-destroying golden sword light swept down, unstoppable. This was undoubtedly the most dazzling slash Duke had ever seen. It seemed capable of splitting space in half, enough to make heaven and earth change color.

I can't meet this head-on! The thought flashed through Duke's mind. His feet shifted as he turned slightly aside, avoiding the strike. The blade grazed his body as it fell, cutting off several strands of hair. Duke could even feel the stinging pain of the rampant Reiatsu slicing at his skin.

Boom—

Kenpachi's strike landed on the ground, and his violent Reiatsu spread out like spilled mercury. Wherever the scorching golden Reiatsu passed, everything seemed to be scorched. The already battered ground cracked apart and melted away beneath Kenpachi Zaraki's Reiatsu. The spreading Reiatsu formed an encirclement around Duke, and unwilling to be restrained, Duke immediately unleashed white Reiatsu to contend against it. Their Reiatsu collided at close range, instantly producing violent friction. The erupted energy scattered outward, sinking the surrounding ground several meters deep.

The ground within dozens of meters was completely reduced to nothingness in the clash of Reiatsu. Within the swirling dust, the ringing of clashing blades echoed continuously. Obscured vision could not stop their deadly battle. Even if they could not see, it did not matter—their opponent's distinctively colored Reiatsu was like a bright lamp in the night.

A golden slash tore through the smoke and dust toward Duke's back. Without moving his feet, he turned his arm slightly in an odd motion. Yet the Zanpakuto in his hand traced an arc, moving behind his back in a reverse grip and blocking Kenpachi Zaraki's strike at precisely the right moment.

Duke staggered slightly after receiving the blow and took a step forward, a dangerous warning rising in his heart once more. Kenpachi's techniques were as wide and unrestrained as ever, without any fixed pattern, but Duke sensed an enormous threat from Kenpachi's Zanpakuto. It had not undergone Shikai, and its appearance remained the same battered blade as always, but the one wielding it had grown stronger again. Speed, power—in just a few exchanges, Duke could easily detect Kenpachi's astonishing improvement.

Like a Saiyan, Kenpachi was constantly improving himself in battle. The gap created by Duke's Shikai was being rapidly closed by Kenpachi, and before long, it would be erased entirely. Yet what frightened Duke most was that he could not sense Kenpachi's upper limit at all. Kenpachi's strength seemed endless; that battered, jagged longsword was like the sharpest blade in the world in his hands.

The Zanpakuto in Kenpachi's hand came down from above, and the two blades collided fiercely. Duke's shoulder trembled, pain shooting through the web between his thumb and forefinger as he nearly lost his grip on his Zanpakuto. Sure enough, the force coming from Kenpachi's Zanpakuto had increased again. Compared to before, it was like heaven and earth apart.

Is this guy a monster? His strength has gained the upper hand again...

Even as Duke marveled at the force of Kenpachi's slash, he heard a roaring gust beside his ear. In the instant Duke was distracted, Kenpachi's blocked sword came down once more.

His speed has increased too... Though not as outrageously as his strength, if this keeps up, I won't have any chance of winning at all.

Duke ducked low, allowing Kenpachi's blade to whistle over his head. A faint stinging sensation came from his scalp. Though the edge had not yet touched him, the sword pressure created by the swing had already tightened every pore on Duke's body, sending cold sweat streaming down his back.

Before Duke could think further, he sensed the aura of death rushing toward him. He immediately used Shunpo to leap far away. The next moment, Kenpachi's Zanpakuto swept past Duke's cheek. The uneven sawtooth marks were reflected in his eyes, every pattern clearly visible. The next second, Duke felt a searing pain in his eye, and his vision was covered in red.

Slash!

Blood splattered across the ground. Duke covered his right eye, blood constantly spilling through the gaps between his fingers. Pain surged into his mind, but he had no time to think. He hurriedly twisted his arm, planted his Zanpakuto against the ground, twisted at the waist, and fiercely kicked at Kenpachi, who had not yet had time to withdraw his sword.

At the sight of blood, Kenpachi let out a strange cry. Before he could pull back his blade, he heard the sound of a kick tearing through the air. Without blocking, Kenpachi simply allowed Duke's powerful kick to strike his chest, his body sent flying uncontrollably.

After rolling several times across the ground, Kenpachi dropped to one knee in a crouch. That kick had struck right on the wound in his chest, nearly knocking the breath out of him. He raised a hand, wiped some blood from his sword wounds, and put it into his mouth, revealing a savage grin. "My apologies. I accidentally cut out one of your eyes. So now, will you let me witness this so-called having no room to fight back?"

"You're the blind one. Have you forgotten my Zanpakuto's ability?" Duke lowered his right hand. The right eye that Kenpachi should have cut out was completely unharmed, with only a trace of blood still not dried.

"Hehe! Hahaha! This is truly beyond words..." Kenpachi's face lit up with wild delight. "Such a dream ability—you're amazing."

"A dream ability... I never thought a Beast like you would want an ability like this?" Duke raised New Moon and Full Moon curiously. In his impression, Kenpachi did not seem like that kind of person.

"Who would want this kind of ability? If I never bled and there was no death, then how could I enjoy the pleasure of battle? That would be the most boring thing to me. Only battles that involve blood and pain, wandering between life and death, can be called true slaughter. What I mean by dream come true is meeting an opponent like you, because then we can keep fighting forever." Kenpachi's voice was slightly hoarse, and a fierce aura radiated from him as he spoke. An ordinary person would have already lost the will to fight merely from being touched by that aura.

"That's more like it. It suits the tastes of a Beast like you. A Bleach's Zanpakuto is forged in the image of their own soul. Clearly, I'm someone who fears death. It seems our interests don't align!" Duke gripped New Moon and Full Moon and looked toward Kenpachi's Zanpakuto. He seemed to hear that blade saying something. But it was only an illusion. A Zanpakuto was the manifestation of a soul; no matter what, it would speak only to its owner. Outsiders could never hear its voice.

If you're interested in New Moon and Full Moon, you can look it up online. It is the wisdom of ancient people! And while I'm at it, please bookmark and recommend!