Onefold Kannon Fist (5,400-Character Special, Please Vote!)

Onefold Kannon Fist (5,400-Character Special, Please Vote!)

"No need. When it comes to fighting to the death... one sword is all I need!" Kenpachi snorted, his tone filled with contempt.

"What?"

Wu Biao tilted his head and looked at Kenpachi, displeasure appearing on his face. "You idiot! Martial arts are about the thrill of constantly challenging others and yourself. All kinds of fighting techniques came about so people could enjoy that process even more!"

What did that mean?

Kenpachi blinked, his eyes full of confusion. Brother Biao's whole speech about martial arts was clearly falling on deaf ears.

"Like they say, there's nothing more romantic for a man than trading punches! That's the appeal of martial arts. It's nothing like the senseless slaughter you're talking about!" Wu Biao had turned into a chatterbox, looking at Kenpachi with disdain as he went on and on.

"Boring!" Kenpachi rested his Zanpakuto on his shoulder and glared at Wu Biao, his face twisted into a vicious grin. "A real fight to the death means every swing draws blood! The feeling of a blade slicing through flesh is the ultimate pleasure in battle!"

"Bullshit! Trading punches is what's romantic for a man!"

"Bullshit! The truth of a fight to the death is that every swing draws blood!"

At that, the two stopped fighting and glared at each other, both of them looking thoroughly annoyed. They were each convinced that they were right!

Birds of a feather might flock together, but when their fundamental beliefs differed, the opposite often happened... like repelling poles of the same magnet!

Take these two, for example. In Brother Biao's world, he craved the thrill of trading punches, defeating his opponents, and growing stronger. In Kenpachi's world, what he craved was the thrill of a fight on the brink of death, where every swing drew blood and you either killed your opponent or were killed.

To put it simply...

Brother Biao was a sadist, enjoying the rush of punching someone.

Kenpachi was a masochist, enjoying the pleasure of cutting down his opponents or getting cut by them.

Both of them sought out battles against the strong, and both were battle-mad. But at their core, they were very different!

"I had you all wrong!" A vein bulged on Wu Biao's bald head. His gaze was full of disdain. "You're not one of us. You're just a reckless idiot! Every swing drawing blood is the way beasts fight. It's barbaric!"

He was insulting me?

Kenpachi was so dumbfounded by Wu Biao's insults that he could hardly believe it. Even while they were fighting for their lives, this bastard had just opened his mouth and started insulting him. Kenpachi could only say that in all his years, he had never seen anything like it.

His Spiritual Pressure surged again in an instant. Kenpachi Zaraki glared at Wu Biao, his expression dark. "You dumbass! That sissy Hakuda of yours doesn't even hurt when it hits. What the hell is the point?"

"You're insulting me!"

"So what?"

The only spectator, Yachiru Kusajishi, couldn't help twitching her lips at the pair's insults. Neither of them had any right to criticize the other!

"I'll show you what it means to trade punches!" Wu Biao roared and charged recklessly at Kenpachi.

Kenpachi snorted and thrust out his Zanpakuto, charging straight at him. But this time, Wu Biao didn't keep up his earlier style of standing his ground and meeting every attack head-on. Instead, he unleashed a series of practical fighting techniques that weren't flashy in the slightest.

Wu Biao used the boxing shuffle to perfection, though his version was different. When he moved, it was so fast that it looked like teleportation.

As he leaped, the foot that touched the ground stamped down more than a dozen times in the blink of an eye, allowing him to move at incredible speed over short distances. He darted left and right, leaving behind a series of afterimages.

Kenpachi's sword was fast, but it was still a long weapon. The longer the weapon, the greater its reach, but the shorter the weapon, the more dangerous it was at close range. With Wu Biao moving so quickly and keeping so close, and Kenpachi unfamiliar with his fighting style and footwork, he couldn't land a single slash.

And so, an extremely strange scene unfolded.

Wu Biao clung to Kenpachi like a piece of sticky plaster. When Kenpachi retreated, Wu Biao followed; when Kenpachi charged, Wu Biao fell back, always keeping within arm's reach.

When the blade came at him, he dodged. If he couldn't dodge, he punched it aside. At such close range, Kenpachi couldn't unleash the full power of his slashes.

And while dodging, Wu Biao kept throwing Kenpachi, locking him up, and putting him in holds. Kenpachi roared in fury, clearly driven to the brink by Wu Biao's fighting style!

Even Yachiru, watching from the sidelines, was shocked by such a reckless, death-defying style. Kenpachi's Zanpakuto swept past Wu Biao's gleaming scalp by a hair's breadth. Yachiru couldn't help thinking that this guy... actually wanted to die.

One mistake in the middle of an attack could mean more than a serious injury. At best, he'd lose an arm or a leg; at worst, his head would be split open. No one in their right mind would choose such a lunatic's fighting style.

But Wu Biao was different. Relying on his nearly superhuman fighting instincts, he had almost a seventy percent chance of dodging each slash, even though it looked incredibly dangerous.

Maybe other people would see that thirty percent chance of dying and think it was too risky. But to Wu Biao... it was enough!

Just as Rukia had described him, he was a reckless man, one who didn't care about himself when he went crazy.

Kenpachi's Spiritual Pressure was too strong. Even though every strike passed just beyond Wu Biao's body, the pressure carried by the blade still tore countless cuts across his skin. In the blink of an eye, he was covered in blood.

But Wu Biao acted as if nothing had happened, still clinging tightly to Kenpachi.

Kenpachi wasn't doing much better. Wu Biao's fists, feet, palms, and grapples all landed with heavy thuds, shaking his internal organs. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth!

The two figures flickered in and out of sight, constantly shifting sideways. Even when Kenpachi threw everything into retreating, Wu Biao's footwork let him stick close and keep attacking. Whenever Kenpachi charged forward, Wu Biao could fall back at just the right moment.

Wu Biao had mastered the pace of the fight to an incredible degree!

The ground where they fought looked as if it had been plowed, a complete wreck with not a single patch left intact.

If they kept this up, the fight would come down to whose stamina and Spiritual Pressure ran out first.

Whoever was drained first would lose. That was exactly what Wu Biao was counting on. After all, he wasn't a masochist like Kenpachi, who could enjoy having a Zanpakuto cut into him!

But battles rarely went as planned. The drawn-out fight didn't last long. It ended with one of Wu Biao's punches—not because Kenpachi had gotten away from him, but because the punch landed on Kenpachi's right eye.

His eyepatch came loose!

Boom—

The moment the eyepatch came off, a silent roar rang out. Golden Spiritual Pressure surged into the sky like a tangible force, sweeping the clouds above the battlefield away. The terrifying shockwave blasted Wu Biao backward, though he was right beside Kenpachi!

"Hmm?"

A grave look appeared in Wu Biao's eyes. He stared at the figure across from him, Spiritual Pressure soaring skyward, and couldn't hide his shock. Under that overwhelming pressure, he felt as if he were deep beneath the sea, bearing the weight of an endless ocean!

He'd gotten stronger again?

"Tch!" Kenpachi casually waved his Zanpakuto toward a nearby wall. A crack appeared down the middle of the entire three-story building, and then it collapsed with a roar.

"I was planning to play around with you a bit longer!"

Kenpachi's gaze slowly settled on Wu Biao. A hint of disappointment showed in his eyes. "You've got plenty of strange fighting techniques, but that's about it!"

As he spoke, the Spiritual Pressure around him surged once more. Under the terrifying pressure, cracks spread across the walls of the surrounding buildings.

Wu Biao's eyes narrowed. A sense of danger rose in him once again, bringing back the instinctive fear Byakuya Kuchiki had once inspired in him.

"But never mind. You're still worthy of a full-power fight!" Kenpachi slowly held his Zanpakuto out in front of him. Under the crushing Spiritual Pressure, the space around the blade seemed to split, warping the air before their eyes!

"Here I come! Now this is what you call a fight to the death!!!"

The moment the final word left his mouth, Kenpachi vanished from where he stood—vanished completely, because...

He had moved too fast for Wu Biao's eyes to follow!

Splurt!

The sound of a blade cutting through flesh rang out in the silence. Wu Biao's pupils contracted, and the next second his entire body was hurled backward. He flew dozens of meters before crashing into a building with a roar.

The building shattered under the tremendous impact, burying Wu Biao beneath the rubble.

Bang!

With a muffled thud, a massive piece of rubble was shoved aside, and Wu Biao came back into Kenpachi's view.

But he didn't get up. After moving the boulder, Wu Biao had already dropped to one knee.

"Urgh..."

Blood gushed from Wu Biao's mouth and sprayed across the ground in front of him. A vicious gash stretched across his chest, blood spurting from it without pause. Before long, a pool of blood had gathered beneath him!

Wu Biao was no Ichigo. Without the help of a Zanpakuto, he had lost the ability to fight after a single blow from Kenpachi, now free of his restraints!

That didn't mean he was weaker than Ichigo. In the original story, Ichigo had only managed to defeat Kenpachi because Zangetsu had helped him without holding anything back.

Ichigo, who had access to all of Zangetsu's power—in other words, Ichigo, empowered by Zangetsu's full power and Blut Arterie—was no weaker than he was in Bankai. He might even have been stronger. If Ichigo in Bankai fought Kenpachi now, with all his restraints removed, the outcome would be anyone's guess!

"Giving up already?"

Kenpachi walked up to the rubble at an unhurried pace and stopped. Looking at Wu Biao, kneeling in a pool of blood, he sounded thoroughly disappointed. "What a boring ending. I guess I overestimated you. But since you gave me a reasonably interesting fight, I'll give you a... death!"

As he spoke, Kenpachi took his sword and approached Wu Biao, who lay motionless in the rubble as if he were already dead. But after taking only two steps, he stopped. Disdain gradually appeared in his eyes.

"Are you trembling because you're afraid to die?"

It was true. Wu Biao's hands began to tremble in the pool of blood. The tremors gradually grew stronger until his whole body was shaking. Blood dripped from his trembling body, each drop making a crisp sound as it hit the ground.

"You're disappointing me more and more!"

Kenpachi slowly rested his Zanpakuto on his shoulder. The disdain in his eyes had faded, because the man before him no longer deserved any emotion from him.

He didn't deserve it!

"Utterly boring!" Kenpachi slowly turned and began walking away. "You don't deserve to have me finish you off. Keep trembling pitifully in fear!"

With that, he walked off into the distance, just as he'd said he would.

Wu Biao wasn't worthy. He no longer even deserved to be killed by Kenpachi's own hand!

"Fear?"

At that moment, Wu Biao finally spoke. Kenpachi's steps faltered. He turned his head slightly and stood still, wanting to hear what else the man had to say.

Wu Biao knelt on one knee, his head lowered as he stared at his trembling hands. His expression was impossible to make out, but a strange atmosphere gradually began to spread. Yachiru, who had been coming closer, stopped in her tracks.

"I can't suppress it. I can't do it..." The quiet murmur was soft, but in the stillness it rang out with perfect clarity.

Can't suppress it?

Was he afraid?

Couldn't do it?

Did he mean he couldn't defeat him?

Kenpachi's eyes grew cold, no longer showing even a hint of disdain. But a closer look would have revealed that there was no focus in his eyes at all. It was as if... he couldn't even see Wu Biao.

His gaze had reduced the man before him to nothing.

But all of that ended when Wu Biao lifted his head. The moment Kenpachi saw his face, even his heart gave a slight tremble.

His eyes were stretched wide, his mouth pulled into a grin so broad it seemed as if the corners might tear. His teeth, stained with blood, gleamed with a chilling light. He looked like a beast ready to devour its prey!

His eyes... were covered in bloodshot veins, sending a chill through anyone who looked into them!

"I can't suppress this excitement!" Wu Biao's split lips gave voice to a hoarse, feverishly excited rasp.

Excitement!!!

Kenpachi's pupils contracted. His beastlike instincts made him turn around without thinking, his body instantly tensing. Even his Spiritual Pressure seemed to draw inward!

"I'm so excited that I can't even stop myself from trembling! This world... is just too damn wonderful!"

As he spoke in a hoarse voice, Wu Biao staggered to his feet from the pool of blood. His bloodshot eyes never left Kenpachi, and Kenpachi felt a chill creep through him!

What was going on?

There was no change in his appearance. Where was this sense of danger coming from?

Kenpachi didn't understand, but he had a vague feeling that the fight might not be over yet!

"This world has people like that sissy, and people like you. There are at least eleven more just like you out there, too. Just thinking about that... I can't hold back my excitement!"

He looked incredibly weak, but Kenpachi still felt a terrifying sense of danger from him!

"I was saving this move for that sissy..." As Wu Biao spoke, the Reishi in the air around them suddenly began to churn and rapidly gathered toward him.

The blood spraying from his wounds slowly began to fade, until at last it stopped flowing.

"I'm still too weak!" Wu Biao's mouth, which had been stretched into a wide grin, gradually returned to normal. The excitement in his eyes began to fade, replaced by a calm that was utterly foreign to him.

"After losing to that sissy, I realized I was too weak. Even after more than half a month of training, I'm still too weak. I can't go on like this... I don't even have the strength to protect the people I care about. I can't bear to helplessly watch my family lie in a pool of blood again. So I have to get stronger—stronger than anyone!"

Jingle, jingle, jingle...

The bells on Kenpachi's hair, which sensed spiritual energy, suddenly began to tremble violently.

Even without the bells, Kenpachi could feel that something was wrong. He could clearly sense the Reishi churning violently in the air around him.

It was being forcibly drawn in, and even the Reishi seemed to be uneasy!

"I've tried this move once before, but I couldn't control it very well. Teacher Kanonji also told me not to use it lightly after seeing it. But... I don't want to lose here!"

Amid the churning mass of Reishi, Wu Biao slowly raised his hand to his mouth. Then, to Kenpachi's astonishment, he bit down hard on his wrist. His blood vessels burst, spraying blood into his mouth before it ran down the corner of his lips!

"I can't control it, so... don't die!"

At Wu Biao's words, the violent Reishi instantly surged toward his injured wrist. It forced its way in through the blood vessels he had bitten open, Wu Biao using the force of his blood to drive it into his veins.

In the next moment, Wu Biao's body turned as red as an overcooked lobster. His veins moved beneath his skin like writhing snakes!

Thump, thump, thump—

His heart pounded rapidly and forcefully, making his chest rise and fall with a rumbling sound. A mist of red vapor began to drift from his body.

This was blood energy!

It was produced as the violent Reishi relentlessly compressed the blood within his veins.

It seemed to take a long time, but aside from the time spent talking, it had all happened in an instant. As the violent Reishi dispersed, everything fell still again—a strange, oppressive stillness!

"Onefold Kannon Fist!"

As the five words left his mouth, a terrifying shockwave burst forth from Wu Biao, clearing the rubble away. The veins on his face squirmed incessantly, and a vicious, violent smile slowly curved his lips. "My body really is too weak..."

"Hahahaha!" Kenpachi suddenly burst into laughter. His Spiritual Pressure, which had just settled, surged into the sky once again. Then he shot forward, reaching Wu Biao in an instant and bringing his blade down!

"Interesting! This is getting more and more interesting! Hahahahaha..."

A thunderous boom rang out, causing the ground to collapse over a vast area. The whole region caved in under the sheer scale of the destruction. Rubble flew, cracks spread dozens of meters, and then the ground burst apart and heaved upward, as if the world were coming to an end!

"Where... did you hit?"

But the voice came from behind Kenpachi, not from where he had struck!

What?

The thought had only just formed in Kenpachi's mind when he instinctively turned to look behind him. But what filled his vision was an ever-expanding palm. A searing pain flashed across his face and through his entire body. The unimaginable force sent him hurtling away.

Wu Biao stood where Kenpachi had been, grinning savagely, his eyes blazing with demonic excitement!

"You're so slow!!!"

His words had barely faded when he disappeared from where he stood, leaving behind only wisps of blood-scented mist!

When he reappeared, he was already above Kenpachi, who was hurtling away at top speed.

Kenpachi's pupils contracted. He wanted to move, but... even after flying nearly ten meters and smashing through several buildings, the force of that slap still hadn't faded!

All he could do was watch as Wu Biao's fist slammed into his stomach!

Bang—

He crashed into the ground like a meteor. A thunderous boom rang out, shaking the earth. For an instant, the entire ground seemed to pause, then it exploded. A massive crater appeared, and countless cracks spread nearly a hundred meters!

When everything finally settled, the area had become a wasteland. For a hundred meters in every direction, there was nothing left. Every building had been reduced to rubble by the terrifying impact of that punch!

Only a crater, dozens of meters across, remained at the very center!