This Time, I'll Protect You!

"Clear!"

The resounding clang echoed in all directions, and Xu, facing the combination of these two swordsmen, was forced to retreat repeatedly.

"It seems things won't end so easily!"

A powerful spiritual pressure suddenly erupted from the void, and he held a black sword in one hand and condensed a ball of light that looked like a black hole in the other.

"Not good!"

—Wang King's Flash!

Its power surpasses that of the Stark!

The Cero that devoured all light pierced through everything in a straight line. Iori and the other person were also swept up by the Reiatsu fluctuation, and their bodies seemed to be pushed by something, almost being pulled into the Cero.

Buzz!

Cero across the sky, landing at the edge of the horizon, where a towering red and black pillar of light rose into the sky from an unknown distance. The powerful Reiatsu fluctuation could be clearly sensed even here.

"Taking that hit head-on is no joke!"

Saito gritted his teeth.

"Immortal and immortal, step aside— Splitting Void!"

With a casual gesture, Iori created an invisible spatial barrier behind the immortal, deflecting the small Light Bullet that appeared like a torrential rain, sending them crashing into flames in all directions.

"What?!"

Saito then realized that Utsugi had moved to the other side, surrounded by numerous Light Bullet like the ones from before, exuding an aura of majesty as if he were surrounded by Stellaris.

"Baptize, Ruinous Rain!"

The next moment, an immeasurable Light Rain completely engulfed the two of them!

Unlike a regular Cero, it doesn't win by a single act of destruction, but by a continuous barrage of attacks!

Each of these projectiles possessed the power to pierce through city walls, and their sheer number was terrifyingly overwhelming—"countless." Wave after wave crashed against the [Splitting Void] maintained by Iori, surging forth like a flood breaching a dam...

After an unknown amount of time, Xu temporarily stopped attacking and then pointed his left hand into the distance.

Buzz!

Without any medium or preparation, a large number of Reishi were gathered directly from the void, condensing into a flash of light at his fingertips—

The moment it was seen, [Splitting Void] was shattered. Iori swung her sword in front of Saito, slightly deflecting the trajectory of the flash.

In that instant, Saito, neither old nor anxious, felt a burning pain as if his left side had been swept by high-temperature flames.

--boom!!!

The scope and power of this explosion were unmatched even by high-level Hadō above number ninety. The entire floor was distorted by the enormous Reiatsu fluctuation, and the ice surface instantly shattered into countless tiny crystals before melting.

Xu was clearly confident in his moves. He drew his sword and sighed softly, "It's over..."

However, just as he was about to finish them off, a previously unstable spiritual pressure suddenly intensified, transforming into a whirlwind that swept across everything!

"Um?"

Xu stopped in his tracks, a look of surprise on his face, and looked at the figure emerging from the smoke-filled center of the explosion.

"I never expected it to be your Bankai."

"Call..."

The spiritual pressure covering her entire body was as oppressive and dangerous as a volcano about to erupt. Saito held her Zanpakuto, which had already Bankai, upside down. An invisible wind surrounded her and Iori, and further inside was a semi-transparent spiritual pressure that rippled slightly like water.

Saito and Iori's collaboration perfectly avoided the aftermath of the explosion.

Saito, in particular, is even more imposing than before!

"Strange, your spiritual pressure was just at the Adjuchas level before, and it even fluctuated... but now it is extremely high, even above that of an ordinary Vastolorde."

Xu's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm afraid this power won't last long, will it?"

"Don't get distracted, I'm your opponent."

Before Saito could answer, Iori had already stepped forward and stood in front of Saito, turning her head slightly to nod at her.

"You don't need to work this hard... Don't you trust me?"

Saito and Iori exchanged glances, slightly dazed.

This was certainly not the way to do things on a battlefield where one cannot afford to be distracted, but she still couldn't control herself, and the spiritual pressure that had been forcibly activated gradually subsided.

"... Trust a kid who's almost a thousand years younger than you? Only a fool would make that choice."

Saito smiled slightly, "Coincidentally, I've never been smart enough! Trust you? Of course!"

If you say that, then you will definitely be able to do it—

"Win against me, Iori!"

Chapter 431 This time, it's my turn to protect you!

"I don't know what connection you have with Shitan, but since you dare to stand in my way, you'd better be prepared."

"Come and try! I'm right here, waiting for you to kill me!"

Xu laughed, and with a flick of his black blade, arcs of light shot out, flying towards Iori like crescent moons.

"Rest assured."

Iori held the longsword in front of her, letting the arc of light strike her, before disintegrating into countless Reishi and scattering before the blade covered by high-density spiritual pressure.

"It won't waste too much of your time!"

Bang!

The ground suddenly cracked open, Iori's body instantly broke the sound barrier and appeared in front of the illusory body. It was not by using Shunpo to move, but by using pure explosive power to accelerate to such Bleach.

Xu was startled, his eyes narrowed, and golden light spread out beneath his feet. Then, a thin golden protective barrier rose in front of him, its appearance quite similar to the "Negación".

"Break!"

Iori the swords with both hands and brought them down heavily. The indestructible blades made contact with the shield, and intense sparks flew between them.

Boom!

The surging water ripples enveloped the space, powerful forces poured into the inside of the shield, and the immense pressure caused the illusory figure to sink, slamming it into the ground.

"So heavy!"

A Cero shot out from the ground, slamming into Iori and sending him flying.

"What exactly is the power of your Zanpakuto?!"

He tore through the water curtain with his bare hands and escaped. He flew high into the air and used his spiritual power to summon a ring of Reishi particles containing several small black orbs, which he then released towards Iori's location.

"Six-Star!"

"Good!"

Iori remained fearless, gripping her longsword tightly with both hands. A ghostly light flickered on the blade, and she swung it towards the demonic bullet, the edge rippling with turbulent water patterns.

Boom!!!

Even among Hollow's many skills, this move was extremely powerful. Upon its use, it completely leveled the spot where Iori stood, and the aftershocks destroyed everything within a hundred meters radius. Then, a massive, visible crack began to spread from the top of the Tower of Babel towards the entire structure!

And this is just the beginning!

The barrage of projectiles relentlessly ravaged the battlefield, and the sturdy tower, constructed from special materials, was completely reduced to the most basic Reishi under the relentless bombardment...

"First Style: Uke Tachi!"

Before the Reiatsu fluctuation had subsided, a sharp sword pressure pierced through the flames and gray curtain, and a figure flew out from the radiance, rushing towards the void like a missile.

Clang!

The straight, sword-like Mirror Water unleashed a seemingly ordinary slash, tearing through Hollow's coat and ribs in the Flash Step it brushed past him!

"How is that possible!"

Xu was utterly astonished. "My Hierro is actually...!"

"The strength of two hands is naturally greater than that of one hand. Is there anything incomprehensible about that?"

But before he could calm down, Iori had already leaped into the air like a fish, flipping over and Zanpakuto—

"Second Style: Sakafune!"

Boom!!!

It was clearly just a physical slash, but the space shook for Flash Step, as if several high-level Kido were superimposed and then erupted in this small space. Xu, who was holding the black sword tightly, was forcibly knocked down along with the sword and slammed heavily to the ground.

"Hmm!"

Hollow did not suffer any substantial damage. As a true "King Hollow," his level of evolution is a level higher than that of the Arrancar, far surpassing that of Tier Harribel and others. Even if his internal organs were shaken, he could recover in an instant.

This is the most advanced ultra-high-speed regeneration (Third Magic)!

—Even when the clone is in contact with the main body of Iori, it can still receive energy replenishment.

"I underestimated you, young Grim Reaper... But that's far from enough! Mudada!"

"Flowing Water!"

As Iori swooped down, he dodged the black sword's strike and slammed the hilt of his blade heavily into the hollow chest—

Laugh!

The slender waterline pierced through the Hierro, penetrated the outer walls and floors of the Tower of Babel, and disappeared into the distant horizon.

"Hmm!"

"Kasaya!"

Pressing her advantage, Iori slashed down, the blade slicing across the enemy's left shoulder, instantly tearing the enemy apart. The burst of blood turned the air crimson.

"That's... the Origin Style?!"

Saito, who was watching the game, looked surprised.

She was familiar with the techniques Iori used. Whether it was Flash Step: Cicada Shell or Zanjutsu Origin Style, they were all techniques that originally existed in the Shinigami system. In fact, she had even taught the former to Iori.

However... the speed and power are simply incomparable!

This is just like Yamamoto!

That Strongest Shinigami of the Millennium fused the Zanjutsu with the power of the sword, thereby developing many incredibly powerful techniques.

Iori is similar, except that "fire" is replaced with "water".

Those ubiquitous, seemingly thin but massive water ripples are incredibly effective for defense, trapping enemies, or attacking!

"Drink!"

A sharp light flashed in his eyes, and an invisible force pushed Iori away. Just as he was about to create distance, a flash of light and shadow appeared, and Iori had already caught up with him in Shunpo. Gathering all his strength, he even stirred the blood energy in the air and swung down a crimson Water Blade!

"How naive!"

At the same time, a powerful beam of light suddenly erupted from the void, instantly engulfing the ground and air it touched, even piercing through the floors, directly destroying the top of the Tower of Babel, and then forcefully deflecting Iori's slash!

Clang!

The two did not come into physical contact, but rather seemed to be separated by an invisible barrier, with countless arcs of electricity leaping within it, bursting out like Lightning attribute Hadō, indiscriminately destroying everything around them.

The Void protected by the pillar of light laughed for some reason. From the outside, only his voice could be heard, but his figure could not be seen.

"This power is ridiculously exaggerated... Well then, I'll have to show you my true abilities."

He is no longer confident of maintaining the advantage in the battle. If he continues to hide his trump cards and does not use them, he will easily be suppressed to death by Iori.

"The final victory will still belong to me!"

The pillar of light suddenly expanded, rapidly growing from a diameter of three meters to five or six meters. The ground it swallowed seemed to vanish, leaving behind a huge crater. The entire Tower of Babel was as if a massive pillar had been removed, with each floor being pierced through.

The Shinigami Captain, who were fighting on various floors, observed this astonishing phenomenon at the same time and were deeply shaken.

Fortunately, after this brief burst, Xu was unable to maintain the pillar of light. Two or three seconds later, the barrier shattered into countless Reishi dissipation into the air... However, when he reappeared, he had changed his appearance.

"Arrancar can regain their original power through 'Resurrección,' but I've taken another step beyond that... Shinigami, do you know what the Final Form of a Hollow looks like?"

Call--!

A strong wind blew, and both Iori and Saito raised their hands to shield their heads and faces, but when they looked again, their pupils shrank.