Above Karakura Town.
Ichigo stood on a Reishi foothold in midair, Tensa Zangetsu hanging at his side.
Across from him, Ebern clutched his still-aching nose, his gaze so dark it almost seemed to drip.
He had been kicked straight out of a window.
This was nothing like the entrance he had envisioned.
He was supposed to have declared war from a position of superiority, then watched fear appear on Ichigo Kurosaki's face.
Instead, he had seen no fear.
The window, however, had nearly slashed his face.
"You bastard."
Ebern slowly raised his right hand, Reishi rapidly gathering in his palm.
A pale Reishi Bow took shape.
"I'll make you pay for that insolence!"
Dozens of Reishi arrows shot out in an instant.
The arrows cut off every escape route around Ichigo, closing in simultaneously from different directions.
Ichigo raised Zangetsu and turned his wrist.
A black flash of steel traced a complete circle in midair.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every Reishi arrow was shattered head-on.
The scattered Reishi turned into specks of light that drifted past Ichigo.
"That's it?"
Ichigo asked with a frown.
Ebern's expression grew even uglier.
This guy.
Was he mocking me, or did he genuinely think that was all my attacks amounted to?
Either way, it was infuriating.
"Don't get cocky!"
Reishi burst beneath Ebern's feet, and he vanished in an instant.
When he reappeared, he was already behind Ichigo.
A short Reishi blade sprang from his sleeve, stabbing straight toward the back of Ichigo's neck.
As though he had expected it, Ichigo tilted his head and avoided the blade.
He reached back, grabbed Ebern's wrist, and threw him straight over his shoulder.
Ebern twisted in midair, but the moment his feet found purchase, Ichigo was already in front of him.
Zangetsu came cleaving down at him.