Four years later,
"Roar! Zabimaru!"
"Clang!"
Renji Abarai, now much more grown-up, swung the chained blade in his hand. Zabimaru instantly stretched dozens of meters, hurtling forward at tremendous speed.
"Clang!"
Kira Izuru remained composed as he raised his blade to block the attack from Zabimaru.
But the tremendous force behind Zabimaru's sudden charge still sent Kira skidding several meters, his footing unsteady.
Kira's visible eye narrowed slightly. He redirected the force through his blade and pushed the enormous sword aside.
Seizing the opportunity, Kira used Shunpo to open up some distance.
"Flying..."
"Slash!"
Kira swept his blade upward from below. A visible white arc of Blade Qi burst from it and shot toward Renji from afar.
"Not a chance."
"Sorry, Kira."
Renji grinned smugly.
"As everyone knows, a Soul Reaper's Spiritual Pressure increases three to five times after Shikai."
"And their speed and strength increase along with their Spiritual Pressure..."
"Unless your swordsmanship is on Mr. Nara's level,"
"you can't beat my Zabimaru!"
Just as Renji had said, he gave the hilt in his hand a slight twist. Zabimaru's long blade rippled flexibly like a wave,
shattering the Blade Qi in the air like a whip.
"Tch."
Kira's expression didn't change. If anything, he looked a little disdainful.
Shikai wasn't everything. Mr. Nara didn't use Shikai either—or perhaps he'd never used it—but his strength was still unfathomable.
"It's just that my swordsmanship really can't measure up to Mr. Nara's..."
Though Kira trained hard, he wasn't a rare talent in Swordsmanship. He was more of an all-rounder,
and being able to consistently release Blade Qi with his Spiritual Pressure was already impressive.
But he was still far from a true Swordsman's Flying Slash.
"Boom!"
Renji launched another attack with Zabimaru without hesitation, but Kira, whose Shunpo was quite good, dodged