Ice and Fire Clash

"Captain Isshin, it's time for you to shine. Go on!" Liu Chuan said lightly, with even a trace of encouragement in his tone.

Isshin Shiba nearly stumbled when he heard that.

Taking a moment to turn his head, he glared at Liu Chuan, who stood at the edge of the battlefield with his arms folded, watching the fight. His voice sounded especially aggrieved amid the howling cold wind:

"Ha?! Me? Then what about you?! Liu Chuan! Don't just stand there watching the show! This was your idea!"

Facing Isshin Shiba's "accusation," Liu Chuan's expression did not change. He replied in a matter-of-fact yet slightly perfunctory tone, "Don't worry. I'll assist you depending on the situation."

"Assist?" Isshin Shiba continued shouting.

"How are you going to assist? Cheer me on with your eyes?!"

"Tactical observation is also a very important form of assistance."

"I'm analyzing this golden power. Just attack without holding back and put pressure on it, forcing it to reveal more."

Isshin Shiba: "..."

He finally understood.

Liu Chuan was simply using observation and analysis as an excuse to shove him, a ready-made captain-class fighter, onto the front line.

With him holding the line up front, Liu Chuan was naturally happy to take it easy in the rear, safely gathering data and studying their opponent.

"You bastard... you win!" Isshin Shiba gritted his teeth and cleaved apart another sneak-attacking ice spike, cursing Liu Chuan countless times in his heart.

But complaints aside, he knew Liu Chuan had a point.

Hyōrinmaru was currently in a chaotic, berserk state and only knew how to attack madly. Close-quarters combat was highly risky. They really did need someone to restrain it head-on and create opportunities for observation and finding its weaknesses.

"Fine! I'll play the pack mule for once!" Isshin Shiba steeled himself and stopped expecting Liu Chuan to enter the fight immediately.

Having missed with one strike, Hyōrinmaru seemed enraged, as though it were forcibly drawing out even more power.

His feet, covered in icy dragon claws, sank slightly. The blizzard around him instantly intensified, and more sharp ice shards condensed in the air.

"Tch, looks like I have no choice but to fight!" Isshin Shiba spat, the usual cheerful grin vanishing from his face and replaced by boiling battle intent.

He stepped forward and firmly gripped the hilt of the Zanpakuto at his waist with his right hand.

Just as the next wave of ice shards was about to rain down like a storm, a sharp glint burst from Isshin Shiba's eyes.

"Burn—"

Boom!

Scorching Spiritual Pressure erupted from Isshin Shiba's body like a volcano that had been suppressed for far too long!

This Spiritual Pressure was tyrannical and blazing. It instantly dispersed the chill near his body and even melted the frozen ground beneath his feet, leaving a ring of charred marks.

It collided fiercely with Hyōrinmaru's ice-cold Spiritual Pressure, which seemed capable of freezing all things. The air crackled with the violent clashes of Spirit Particles.

"—Engetsu!"

With the completion of the release command, the Zanpakuto in Isshin Shiba's hand transformed drastically!

The blade was instantly enveloped and extended by a layer of intensely condensed crimson flames that flowed like liquid.

Rather than burning chaotically, the flames coiled and compressed with remarkable order, forming a longer, fiercer blade of fire!

Wherever the edge passed, the air warped and heat waves surged, creating a spectacular contrast of ice and fire against the surrounding frozen landscape.

The flame-type Zanpakuto, Engetsu! It was naturally opposed to Hyōrinmaru's ice element, as incompatible as fire and water!

"Haah!"

Faced with the dense barrage of ice shards shooting toward him like a swarm of locusts, Isshin Shiba advanced instead of retreating. Engetsu traced a blazing semicircle through the air as he slashed forward without hesitation!

Flame Slash!

A crimson flaming blade wave roared forth. It was not scattered fire, but a highly condensed slash carrying the scorching will to burn away everything, crashing head-on into the rain of ice shards.

Sizzle—! Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only the piercing sound of countless ice chunks instantly vaporizing under the intense heat.

Wherever the flaming blade wave passed, the sharp ice shards capable of piercing steel plates melted and evaporated like spring snow beneath the blazing sun.

They turned into billowing clouds of scalding white steam, instantly spreading across half the battlefield and obstructing visibility.

Yet the flaming blade wave did not lose momentum. It slashed straight toward Hyōrinmaru behind the ice shards!

Hyōrinmaru seemed to despise this scorching power greatly, letting out a deep roar.

Crack, crack, crack—!

Centered on Hyōrinmaru, countless enormous and gorgeous ice petals instantly condensed across the ground beneath his feet, the surrounding air, and even the drifting steam.

These petals were no decoration. Every one of them contained terrifying frost and sharpness. Layer upon layer, they formed an incomparably thick, crystal-clear wall of ice flowers before him in an instant.

Boom!!!

The crimson flaming blade wave struck the ice-flower wall viciously!

Blazing heat and absolute cold, flames and ice crystals—two utterly opposing, mutually restraining forces—clashed and annihilated each other madly!

The ice wall shook violently. Great swathes of ice flowers shattered and vaporized, but more ice flowers continuously grew to fill the gaps.

The glow of the flaming blade wave rapidly dimmed. After piercing nearly half the ice wall, it finally exhausted its power and scattered into sparks that filled the sky.

An even match! No—considering the elemental disadvantage, the fact that Isshin Shiba's flaming slash could break through Hyōrinmaru's defense was enough to demonstrate its might.

"Now that's more like it!" Isshin Shiba laughed loudly. Not only was he fearless, his battle intent grew even stronger.

His figure flashed, and Engetsu trailed a blazing tail of flame as he charged straight at Hyōrinmaru!

As the captain of the Tenth Division, Isshin Shiba's strength was unquestionably among the best of the Gotei 13 captains. His fighting style was broad and aggressive, fierce and relentless, while Engetsu's flames granted him unparalleled breakthrough power and explosive force.

Flame Fang: Thrust!

Midair, Isshin Shiba gripped Engetsu in both hands, its tip pointed forward. His body and Zanpakuto seemed to merge as one, transforming into a crimson meteor of flame that shot directly toward the incompletely repaired ice-flower wall!

This time, it was an ultimate concentrated breakthrough!

Flock of Birds: Ice Pillars!

The remaining ice-flower wall exploded apart, deliberately scattering into countless sharp ice pillars as nimble as a swarm of bees. They blanketed the sky as they descended upon Isshin Shiba, who had become a flaming meteor!

The tip of every ice pillar gleamed with frost cold enough to freeze Spirit Particles.

Attack against attack!

"Bring it on!" Isshin Shiba roared wildly. His charge did not slow in the slightest as the flames on Engetsu suddenly contracted inward, shifting from crimson to a nearly white-blue brilliance as their temperature rose again!

He swung Engetsu, turning it into a wheel of blazing white light.

The blazing white wheel was like a miniature sun as it crashed head-on into the dense swarm of ice pillars!

The sizzling never ceased as ice pillars were continuously evaporated and vaporized, but there were simply too many, surging forward one after another.

The white wheel's rotation began to slow, and its glow began to dim.

Finally, after vaporizing more than half the ice pillars, the wheel dispersed. Isshin Shiba emerged somewhat bedraggled from the steam filling the sky. After landing, he slid back several steps before steadying himself. Frost clung to his body, but his eyes remained as sharp as fire.

The ice pillars had also been nearly wiped out. In the first round of direct confrontation, neither side gained much of an advantage.

"Hah... this guy is still this troublesome even after losing his mind." Isshin Shiba shook his slightly numb arm, and the flames on Engetsu stabilized into crimson once more.

He could feel that Hyōrinmaru's power was on an extremely high level, and its control over ice was beyond perfection. If his own strength had not been sufficient, he would likely have suffered in that exchange.

Moreover, the other side seemed to have no idea how to conserve Spiritual Pressure or use tactics. It was simply attacking madly on instinct.