Ble@ch: Chapter 70

The sky bloomed into a deadly pink storm as Senbonzakura Kageyoshi surged forward, the thousand glimmering blades converging toward Ichigo like a cyclone of razors. Each petal carried killing intent—silent, beautiful, and merciless.

But Ichigo didn’t stop.

With Zangetsu resting across his shoulders and a crooked smile on his lips, he vanished—shunpō cutting through the air like a whisper.

CLANG!

He reappeared just inches from Byakuya, his blade crashing down in a flash of black steel. Byakuya barely blocked it in time, their swords locking in a burst of sparks. The ground beneath them cracked from the pressure.

“Not bad,” Ichigo said through clenched teeth. “But I hope that wasn’t your fastest reaction.”

Byakuya narrowed his eyes. With a flick of his wrist, he pushed Ichigo back and raised his hand—instantly, the petals swarmed like a school of piranhas. Ichigo flipped backward, landing in a low crouch, Zangetsu extended defensively.

The petals descended in waves. Ichigo blurred, shunpōing between each barrage, moving like a streak of black light through the storm. Steel petals sliced the air behind him, too slow to catch him.

Byakuya tracked him, arm raised, directing the flow with precision. He wasn’t angry—yet there was a growing tension in his stance. Ichigo was adapting too quickly. Moving too fluidly. Dodging everything.

Ichigo reappeared just outside the orbit of the storm. His clothes were scratched, a few shallow cuts bleeding on his arms and face—but his grip on Zangetsu never wavered.

“You call that a Bankai?” he said, his voice louder now, cutting across the battlefield. “I thought this was supposed to be your final form.”

Byakuya didn’t reply. With a graceful wave, he activated a new pattern—the petals compressed, forming dozens of thin ribbons of concentrated blades, now moving with near-instant speed.

Ichigo’s eyes sharpened. He stepped forward.

A flash of black.

BOOM!

He sliced straight through the first wave, the resulting shockwave blasting the petals backward. Several ribbons of blades surged in from the side, but Ichigo spun, deflecting two with clean, arcing strikes, his blade ringing like thunder in the air.

He moved through the Bankai—not around it.

Byakuya blinked as Ichigo reappeared in front of him again. Too fast.

Ichigo struck low, aiming for his legs. Byakuya countered with a sidestep, raising Senbonzakura to deflect—but Ichigo twisted his grip mid-strike and brought Zangetsu up in a brutal uppercut.

CLANG!

Byakuya blocked—barely—but the force lifted him off his feet. He landed hard, skidding back, his left knee briefly dipping.

A hairline crack formed on the hilt of Senbonzakura.

Ichigo exhaled, resting Zangetsu on his shoulder again.

“Still think I need Bankai to beat you?”

Byakuya stood slowly. Silent. Unshaken on the surface—but his fingers tightened on his sword.

‘His Shikai… is this powerful? Is he holding back even now?’

Ichigo rolled his shoulders, his smirk fading into something calmer. Focused.

“Let’s keep going, Captain,” he said. “You said this was the true power of a captain, right?”

He pointed Zangetsu forward.

“Then show me.”

Shhhiiiiiiing—CRASH!

Petals screamed through the air like a swarm of knives, slicing through stone and steel as they raced toward Ichigo. The sound was deafening—like a thousand blades grinding together in a hurricane of death.

But Ichigo didn’t flinch.

He charged headfirst into the storm.

“HRAAAHH!!”

BOOM!

Zangetsu roared as it collided with the first wave, cleaving through the petals in a massive arc of black steel. Shattered fragments flew in all directions like sparks from a forge. The sheer force of his swing cracked the earth beneath him and blasted open a clear path in the storm.

Byakuya narrowed his eyes. Ichigo was using more than just speed now—he was bulldozing through Bankai-level attacks with raw, brute strength.

The petals regrouped, forming thin ribbons and launching in from all sides—like whipcords made of razors.

Whsssshhh—CLANG!—CRACK!

Ichigo spun Zangetsu behind his back, parrying one, then twisting his hips into a counterstrike that shattered another. He ducked, the edge of a blade-ribbon barely nicking his shoulder.

Shhhk.

Blood sprayed—but Ichigo didn’t stop.

The wound stitched up before the blood hit the ground, skin regenerating with supernatural speed. His inner Hollow’s influence, still buried deep inside, lent him a monstrous resilience—one he hadn’t fully noticed, but relied on all the same.

‘Tch… he’s healing too?’ Byakuya thought as he raised his hand again. His lips tightened.

Ichigo lunged forward, dragging Zangetsu low across the ground.

SWOOSH—THOOM!

He appeared in front of Byakuya with explosive speed and swung upward—a rising slash that tore a gash across the air. Byakuya met the blow with Senbonzakura, and the clash exploded in a storm of wind and spirit energy.

CRRRKKKAAAKK!
CLANG—CLANG—CLANG!

Their blades rang out like cannon fire as they traded rapid blows. Ichigo wasn’t just fast—his sword strikes had weight. Each swing forced Byakuya to move, to dodge, to parry. His fighting style wasn’t refined, but it was dangerous—wild yet deliberate, like a brawler who mastered the blade through pure survival instinct.

Ichigo shifted stances mid-swing, suddenly ducking low and slamming his shoulder into Byakuya’s chest.

THUD!

The captain staggered, breath knocked out of him. Ichigo followed up with a heavy, overhead strike—

WHAM!

Byakuya caught it—but the impact drove him to one knee, the stone cracking beneath his foot. Senbonzakura trembled in his grip.

Ichigo grinned, blood running down his temple from a petal that had clipped his forehead earlier. But even as it dripped, the wound was already closing.

"You’re fast, I’ll give you that," he said, panting slightly. "But you're not used to fighting someone who doesn't break."

Byakuya rose back to his feet, his voice quiet. Cold.

“…Then I’ll stop holding back.”

The petals all stopped midair. Every single one returned to Byakuya, circling him in a perfect sphere of steel.

“Ichigo Kurosaki… allow me to show you the final form.”

The air around him thickened. His spiritual pressure changed—condensed, sharpened.

“Senkei.”

The petals collapsed into rows upon rows of swords—dozens, hundreds—surrounding the two of them in a glowing, circular arena made entirely of Zanpakutō.

The battlefield went silent.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. Then slowly grinned again.

“Oh? This looks fun.”

He shifted his grip on Zangetsu and stepped forward—unafraid, blood still drying on his skin, eyes burning with the fire of battle.

“Let’s see who breaks first.”

TO BE CONTINUED

[ A/N: So yes, Ichigo is fighting maniac. Don't worry though, there is development later. Hope you're ready for a clean sword fight. Oh I haven't made him use Getsuga yet?? Well I know now how to end the fight. Peace ✌️]