The Mutation of the Right Arm

Bang—

Amidst a thunderous explosion, the trees surrounding the graveyard toppled one after another. The fur of Grand Fisher transformed into countless sharp needles, relentlessly pursuing Kurosaki Ichigo and leaving him with no room to counterattack, forcing him to dodge passively from side to side.

Kurosaki Ichigo had only recently become a Soul Reaper, so his combat techniques were negligible. Even regarding his spiritual pressure, the majority of it within his body had been bestowed by Rukia, making it impossible for him to control it effectively.

Often, just as he managed to break through the barrage of fur needles and charge toward Grand Fisher, he couldn't even touch the creature's fur; both in speed and power, he was being completely overwhelmed.

In other words, this battle had essentially no suspense; if no one intervened, Kurosaki Ichigo would undoubtedly be defeated.

Drip—

Accompanied by a series of raindrops, a heavy downpour began to fall.

Wu Biao sat in front of a tombstone with his head lowered, staring intently at the cigarette between his two fingers, watching that wisp of blue smoke gradually dissipate.

"With just these meager tricks, you still dared to tell your companions not to intervene?" Grand Fisher used its fur needles to repel the attacking Kurosaki Ichigo, but instead of pressing the advantage, it said unhurriedly, "You really don't know your own limits!"

"Shut up!" The same words came from both Wu Biao and Kurosaki Ichigo, causing everyone present to freeze, and Kurosaki Ichigo cast a puzzled glance toward Wu Biao, who was sitting in a puddle in the distance.

Wu Biao slowly raised his head, a flash of red light seemingly crossing his pupils, before he lowered his head once more: "Furry piece of trash, if you keep yapping, I'll tear you to shreds!"

These words caused a look of resentment to flash in Grand Fisher's eyes, but it instinctively clamped its mouth shut.

Seeing this, Kurosaki Ichigo's right hand, which was gripping his Zanpakuto, trembled slightly. This was not out of fear, but a sense of shame, because Brother Biao trusted him completely, believing that he could win this battle of vengeance.

It was precisely because of this that he had yielded the prey that was already at his lips to him; for Brother Biao, who always considered fighting the most important thing in life, this could be called an incredibly sincere form of trust.

Yet... he was like a mouse being toyed with by a cat, completely played into the palm of this Grand Fisher, which filled him with shame and fury.

The moment the trembling in his hand ceased, Kurosaki Ichigo's eyes changed, becoming incredibly resolute.

When his mother passed away, Yuzu Kurosaki's sorrow, Shyarly's loneliness, and his old man secretly hiding away to sob.

And me...

Everything, every single thing, must be shouldered by me alone; I must kill this Hollow right here!

"I am going to defeat you, you bastard!!!"

After Kurosaki Ichigo let out a roar, the chaotic spiritual pressure on his body suddenly became violent, and he charged directly toward Grand Fisher.

"His eyes have gotten better!"

Watching the battle from afar, Xitang touched the brim of his hat and chuckled.

Seeing this, Grand Fisher snorted coldly, and countless fur needles surged toward Kurosaki Ichigo like a torrential downpour.

A blue light flickered in Kurosaki Ichigo's eyes, and his forward speed surged once more in the next second. His Zanpakuto transformed into streaks of afterimages, and while charging forward, he actually slashed the incoming fur needles into fragments one by one.

"He got stronger?"

Grand Fisher looked at the charging Kurosaki Ichigo in surprise, but its expression remained unchanged, the mockery on its mask still present. Just as Kurosaki Ichigo's Zanpakuto was about to strike its mask, Grand Fisher vanished from where it stood.

"But still too weak!"

Kurosaki Ichigo swung his blade at empty air, and before he could even find where Grand Fisher had gone, a sneer came from behind him.

Kurosaki Ichigo instinctively turned, preparing to slash again, but three-fingered claws clamped directly onto his Zanpakuto. Even though his spiritual pressure surged due to his rage, he was still no match for Grand Fisher.

It wasn't an overwhelming difference in spiritual pressure, but an overwhelming difference in combat technique.

Having fought Soul Reapers continuously for fifty years, Grand Fisher knew all kinds of combat techniques. For a Soul Reaper like Kurosaki Ichigo, who had no technique and relied solely on charging with raw spiritual pressure, even the strongest spiritual pressure was useless.

"Charging at an enemy with no strategy, how many times has this been now?" Grand Fisher looked at Kurosaki Ichigo, who was struggling under its three-fingered claws, its voice filled with mockery: "This is what you call recklessness, brat."

Squelch—

The three-fingered claws holding the Zanpakuto instantly extended, piercing through Kurosaki Ichigo's chest, and blood bloomed in the rainy night.

"Cough..."

Suffering this heavy blow, blood gushed from Kurosaki Ichigo's mouth, and his face turned pale in an instant!

Grand Fisher withdrew its claws at this moment, not taking the opportunity to kill Kurosaki Ichigo. Part of the reason was disdain, but the majority of the reason was the terrifying pressure emanating from the tombstone at the back of the battlefield.

That pressure came from Wu Biao's gaze, which was why it had withdrawn its claws after a moment of hesitation!

"Ichigo!" Rukia screamed, about to rush forward.

"Don't go over there!"

Wu Biao's voice rang out once again, halting Rukia's steps.

"Don't come over, Rukia!" Kurosaki Ichigo, with his back to her, also gritted his teeth against the intense pain, stood up using his Zanpakuto as a support, and roared with a hoarse voice: "I am going to defeat it, even if my arm is twisted off, even if my legs are cut off, I will still..."

"That's why I said you're a dead man!" The mockery in Grand Fisher's eyes deepened. This was exactly what it wanted; as long as this Soul Reaper didn't die, the others would definitely not step forward, especially the person sitting in front of the tombstone.

This couldn't help but make Grand Fisher sigh; human thinking was truly naively terrifying!

Rukia glared at Wu Biao in anger. She didn't understand, she didn't understand why, at a point like this, this powerful human still refused to help Ichigo: "If this goes on, Ichigo will die!"

"Then let him die!"

Wu Biao didn't even look at Rukia, reaching into his lab coat to fish out a cigarette and lighting it with a lighter, but it was extinguished by the rain just after he took a puff.

Wu Biao persisted, clicking the lighter repeatedly, lighting it over and over again, not stopping his hand even as the rain extinguished the flame every time.

Rukia looked at Wu Biao in disbelief, unable to fathom that the words she had just heard came from the man Kurosaki Ichigo called his older brother.

"This is Ichigo's fight!"

Wu Biao continued to click his lighter incessantly; even while speaking, his hand never stopped, as if he were using the motion to vent the emotions churning within him.

Rukia watched Wu Biao's hand, listening to the constant clicking of the lighter, and couldn't help but recall what someone had once told her.

[Rukia, there are two types of battles.

The first is a battle to protect life!

The second... is a battle of dignity. This is a fight where a person wagers their own pride. If we step in to help, we might save their life, but we would destroy their dignity.

Therefore, we must distinguish what kind of battle our comrade is fighting, and whether it is a battle we are permitted to participate in.]

Did he see that from the very beginning?

Rukia thought, staring blankly at Wu Biao, though a bitter smile couldn't help but surface in her heart. Perhaps she would never understand this so-called dignity in her entire life!

Wu Biao was very simple; he always said exactly what he thought. He didn't understand schemes, nor did he understand grand principles. You could say he didn't understand anything at all.

Call him a fool, or call him reckless.

But he often managed to see the essence of certain things!

He knew which battles he could intervene in and which battles... he absolutely could not touch. Ichigo's gaze and tone had already made it clear to him that he could not interfere in this fight.

So, even though he was angry, anxious, worried, and even... afraid, he could only choose to keep smoking and keep clicking his lighter to suppress the urge to rush in.

Meanwhile, a new development occurred on the battlefield. To make Ichigo even more furious and impulsive, Grandfissur changed its mimicked form into that of Ichigo's mother, Kurosaki Masaki.

"That is..." Rukia gasped in shock.

Bang—

Wu Biao's palm slammed shut, and the lighter inside exploded with a loud pop. Looking at Wu Biao now, his face had turned somewhat ferocious, his teeth grinding together with a grating sound. He looked like a lone wolf that had just spotted its prey, ready to pounce at any moment.

But in the end, he held back, staring silently at Ichigo, who stood frozen on the distant battlefield.

"No matter how cold-blooded or ruthless a Soul Reaper is, there is always someone they cannot bring themselves to strike. There are never any exceptions. This person is your weakness, isn't she!" Grandfissur sneered.

Ichigo's teeth chattered as he ground them together, his hand slowly lowering his Zanpakuto as he stared unblinkingly at the figure he had longed for day and night.

"This is bad. That brat's weakness has been discovered by Grandfissur," Xitang said in a low voice. Then, suddenly recalling the ripple he felt before the mimicry disappeared, he muttered to himself, "This might not necessarily be a bad thing, provided that the thought-form can be triggered."

"Thought-form?" Rukia asked, startled. "Are you saying... a thought-form of Ichigo's mother still remains?"

"Yes. I saw it inadvertently earlier. The yellow-haired brat in the memory must be this kid!"

Wu Biao, standing to the side, looked up, his bloodshot eyes locking onto Xitang. "What is a thought-form?"

Xitang was taken aback, then remembered that this guy was just a human and it was normal for him not to understand. He explained, "A thought-form can be described as a soul fragment—the final lingering thoughts of the deceased before they pass. However..."

Xitang paused, his tone filled with doubt and surprise. "However, for it to persist for six years... was his mother really just a human?"

"Soul fragment?" Wu Biao turned his gaze directly toward the mimicry of Ichigo's mother. "If it's separated, can it be restored?"

Rukia and Xitang shook their heads simultaneously. Xitang glanced at the battlefield and said softly, "That is impossible. Although I don't know why this sliver of soul fragment hasn't been completely devoured and assimilated, once it has been consumed, it cannot be separated. Even if it were separated, a tiny soul fragment cannot be repaired!"

"Separated, huh?"

After muttering to himself, Wu Biao slowly stood up.

At the same time, the rain falling from the sky gradually ceased, and the full moon emerged from the clouds, as if even the rain had retreated because Wu Biao had risen.

His movement caused the distant battlefield to stall. Grandfissur, who had been preparing to strike Ichigo down and immediately escape into the rift, couldn't help but stop its actions.

After standing up, Wu Biao reached into his lab coat to pull out a cigarette. Only when he went to reach for his lighter did he remember he had just crushed it. He turned his head toward Rukia and said, "Hey, sister, lend me a light!"

Sister?

What kind of address was that? Rukia's face darkened, but she didn't refuse. She condensed a wisp of flame at her fingertip with her spiritual pressure and held it out to him.

Wu Biao leaned in to light his cigarette and took a deep drag, sighing, "This ability is really damn convenient!"

"Are you planning to..." Rukia ignored his comment, looking at him in astonishment.

Wu Biao ignored her and began walking toward the battlefield, step by step.

Xitang frowned at the sight. "Is he planning to intervene?"

Rukia had the same thought, and a sense of dissatisfaction welled up in her heart. Earlier, when she wanted to intervene, this man had acted as if he were content to let Ichigo die. Now that she understood the meaning of this battle and knew she couldn't interfere, this man was actually stepping out. What on earth was this jerk thinking?

Wu Biao didn't walk fast; he strolled as if he were in a park, arriving at Kurosaki Ichigo's side with unhurried steps.

Seeing this, Kurosaki Ichigo's face grew annoyed. He didn't understand why Brother Biao, who had seen through his intentions from the start, would step out at a time like this!

"Brother Biao, you..."

Wu Biao ignored him, took a hard drag of his cigarette, and then flicked the remaining half away.

Next...

He lifted his foot and swung his leg in one fluid motion.

BANG--

His leg transformed into a blur, the speed so immense that it triggered a series of sonic booms in the air.

Grandfissur's expression tightened the moment Wu Biao lifted his leg, but the scene that followed left it completely stunned in place.

Because this kick from Wu Biao... did not strike it, but instead slammed heavily into the side of Kurosaki Ichigo's neck, who had been caught completely off guard.

Kurosaki Ichigo had never expected Wu Biao to attack him; he didn't even have time to react. He only felt a sharp, searing pain in his neck before his body was sent flying backward at high speed, shattering over a dozen tombstones before crashing heavily into the ground dozens of meters away from the battlefield!

"Ichigo!"

Rukia let out a sharp cry and rushed over immediately. When she dragged Kurosaki Ichigo out from under the debris of the tombstones, she discovered that he had already lost consciousness.

"What on earth are you doing!" A voice filled with immense fury erupted from Rukia. If she didn't know she was no match for Wu Biao, she might have already charged at him.

"You noisy brat, you're in the way!"

Wu Biao said this without even looking back. He ignored Rukia behind him and looked at Grandfissur, saying, "Time for a switch. They say that flesh-on-flesh combat is the romance of a man, so let me see if you're romantic enough!"

Grandfissur stared at Wu Biao with icy eyes. Though it remained calm on the surface, its body was already taut. It couldn't afford to take this human lightly; its chest was still throbbing with pain from that previous kick.

"Is this really okay? That brat is going to hate you to death when he wakes up!"

"I don't care!"

As the words fell, Wu Biao swung his bandaged right arm with force. The bandages were instantly shredded by his surging muscles, falling away in tattered strips.

On his bare right arm, a series of pitch-black markings coiled around the skin, exuding an ominous aura. Wu Biao tried moving his wrist and found that, aside from a lingering stinging sensation, it didn't hinder the movement of his arm at all.

He stopped worrying about the scars that looked like a coiled black dragon, which hadn't faded even though his injuries had fully healed.

With a shift of his body, he threw a punch toward Grandfissur.

A flash of gravity crossed Grandfissur's eyes. It pushed its speed to the limit, its figure vanishing from the spot in an instant, only to reappear on the other side.

"Is this the speed you used to toy with Ichigo just now? It's truly slow!"

Grandfissur's expression changed instantly, as this voice had come from behind it. However, its reaction was not slow; the fur on its back condensed into sharp spikes, protruding outward like a defensive hedgehog!

Wu Biao, standing behind it, felt a blood-red hue emerge in his eyes. He stomped his foot hard against the ground. With a muffled, explosive sound, a crater appeared on the hard stone surface where his foot had been.

As the explosion echoed, Wu Biao's body appeared behind Grandfissur's head almost instantly. This speed caused both Rukia and the others to let out gasps of shock.

Grandfissur had no time to react before its head was struck by Wu Biao's right fist. The pitch-black markings on his arm seemed to flare with light.

The terrifying force felt as if a falling meteorite had slammed into Grandfissur, plunging its mind into chaos. With a thunderous boom, its massive body was slammed directly into the ground.

Wu Biao glanced at his right arm with some confusion. He didn't know why, but the power in his right hand was clearly much stronger than his left. However, Brother Biao cast this doubt aside in the blink of an eye.

Anyway... he couldn't figure it out!

On the ground, Grandfissur shook its dizzy head. Just as it prepared to crawl up, a sharp pain struck the back of its head once more.

BANG--

Descending from the sky, Wu Biao used the momentum of his fall to stomp directly onto Grandfissur's head, driving half of its face into the stone surface. The ground around its skull shattered, with cracks spreading out from the center of its head.

"So strong!"

Watching Wu Biao standing on top of Grandfissur's head with one foot, Xitang and Rukia were filled with shock. That terrifying Grandfissur was completely unable to fight back against this human!

With a gulp, Xitang swallowed his saliva, feeling his mouth go dry. "Who exactly is he? There isn't even a trace of spiritual power fluctuation, but in terms of pure strength, isn't this just too terrifying?"

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(End of chapter)