Chapter 40: Ichigo vs Kenpachi

A few days later, the wounds Ichigo had received during his battle with Renji had healed, and he was currently haphazardly running through the streets with Ganju and a meek-looking Shinigami by his side.

By now, he knew where Rukia was being held prisoner, and he was currently running toward that place.

However, as he was running, he suddenly felt like someone had just pierced a sword through his neck, immediately making him stop with cold sweat flowing down his back, while his two companions simply fell on their knees due to the pressure.

"W-What is this sensation."

"Oh? You can endure my Spiritual Pressure without falling down? You might do for a decent warm-up after."

Hearing someone speak, Ichigo looked at the source of the voice and saw a huge man with spiky hair and an eyepatch leisurely standing not too far away from him.

Ichigo started sweating even more when he realized who this huge man was. After all, Ikkaku had specifically warned Ichigo about him: Zaraki Kenpachi, Captain of the 11th Division.

Seeing Ichigo's whole body shake in fear, Kenpachi couldn't help but frown deeply while shaking his head.

"Or maybe you won't. Oh well, I guess I'll capture you or whatever and get this over with."

As soon as Kenpachi stopped speaking, Ichigo got some of his bearings back as he realized the situation he was in.

'No! I can't get captured! I still have to save Rukia.'

"You two, get out of here! I'll deal with this guy!"

Ganju looked at Ichigo in disbelief, but after briefly glancing at the now-fainted Shinigami they brought with them, he realized the situation.

'Shit, we would just get in the way! However, there is no way Ichigo could win against this monster either. SHIT!'

After thinking the situation through, Ganju bit his lip before using all his willpower to somehow get up despite the pressure Kenpachi was oozing.

"Shit! Fine! But don't you dare die on me, Ichigo!"

"Look! Look! Hahaha, Ken-chan, that guy is drooling!"

Before anyone from Ichigo's group could react, a little girl appeared next to the downed Shinigami and started poking him with her finger.

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock due to an unknown person suddenly appearing next to him and immediately swinging his sword at her. However, the little girl easily dodged the attack by vanishing from her position and reappearing on Kenpachi's shoulder.

"Ken-chan, he attacked me!"

Seeing the pout on Yachiru's face, Kenpachi could only shake his head.

"Isn't that your fault for startling him?"

"Ken-chan! So mean!"

While Yachiru was pushing her hands against Kenpachi's head, causing him to tilt it to the side, Ganju decided to use the moment when Kenpachi was "distracted" by Yachiru to pick up the downed Shinigami and run away.

Seeing that Kenpachi didn't make a move to chase after the fleeing two, Ichigo raised his blade and pointed it at Kenpachi.

"You are not going to chase after them?"

"Meh, I don't care about weaklings. Besides that, you appear to be the leader of your little group, so there is no need to capture anyone else. That's too much of a hassle."

"Is that so? Then I at least don't have to worry about holding you here."

"That's right. The only thing you have to do is concentrate on this fight. It seems you have stopped shaking under my pressure. Good. Don't let go of that determination and come at me!"

Ichigo simply nodded his head as he lowered his upper body before shooting straight toward Kenpachi, confidence slowly filling his eyes. Just like that, Ichigo appeared in front of him and slashed down his sword, but to his surprise, Kenpachi didn't move at all.

'Why isn't he moving? Is it a trick? No, it doesn't matter! I'll cut him!'

As these thoughts passed through Ichigo's mind, his blade collided with Kenpachi's chest, causing blood to splatter.

Unfortunately, the blood that splattered was Ichigo's and not Kenpachi's. There was not even a scratch on Kenpachi's chest while blood started dripping down Ichigo's damaged hands.

"I see; I guess you can't do it. How disappointing."

"W-What happened? W-What kind of trick is this?"

"Trick?"

Hearing Ichigo calling what just happened a trick, Kenpachi couldn't help but scowl. He lazily pulled out his sword, and while doing so, he pushed his arm against the sharp end of Ichigo's Zanpakuto, easily pushing it away without leaving a scratch on his skin.

"There is no trick; it's just common knowledge. When two entities of Spiritual Power clash, it's only logical for the stronger one to win. In conclusion, the Spiritual Power I emit subconsciously is greater than the highly concentrated Spiritual Power of your Zanpakuto."

Ichigo's face turned white in horror after Kenpachi finished his explanation, causing Kenpachi to yet again shake his head with a scowl on his face.

"How boring. I had high hopes for you since the first intruder I met could even hurt me with her bare hands."

Kenpachi admitting that he had already fought an intruder, immediately caught Ichigo's attention as he managed to stop his hands from shaking and ask a question.

"Y-You already fought one of us? Was it Yuna?"

"That's right. It was her."

Ichigo couldn't help but grit his teeth after Kenpachi admitted that he had met Yuna. Things were getting worse and worse, and he felt like everything was slowly slipping out of his hands.

"D-Did she die?"

That was Ichigo's greatest fear. If she was just captured, something could still be done, but if she actually died, everything was over."

"Haa? What kind of weird question is that? Aren't you misunderstanding something? I'm the one that almost died."

"Huh? S-She won!?"

Instead of feeling dejected due to his loss against Yuna, a ferocious smile appeared on Kenpachi's face that felt eerily similar to something Yuna would occasionally show.

"Yes, I lost. Haa~ That was the best battle I ever had in my life."

'Shit, they are both crazy.'

Naturally, that is the conclusion Ichigo reached after seeing Kenpachi's crazed expression that easily matched Yuna's. However, there were currently more important things than thinking about his crazed schoolmate.

So, Ichigo turned around and determinedly started running as fast as his legs could carry him, leaving a bored-looking Kenpachi behind.

"He ran, huh? Oh well, I'll guess I'll go back and train some more."

"Ken-chan, the old man will scold you."

Hearing Yachiru's claim, Kenpachi could only click his tongue as he started slowly walking after Ichigo.

"Fine, fine, I'm going."

Meanwhile, in another part of Seireitei, Sado was currently in trouble. In front of him stood a middle-aged man with a flowery Kimono and a still-sealed Zanpakuto. This man was Shunsui Kyoraku, Captain of the 8th Division, and he was currently toying with Sado.

Although Sado's attacks were very powerful, he was simply too slow to land a hit on Shunsui, and he was slowly but surely getting exhausted. So, Sado decided to put everything he had in a last blow, but unfortunately, Shunsui dodged that one just as easily while slashing his sword at Sado, resulting in a deep wound and robbing him of his consciousness.

Seeing the downed invader, Shunsui couldn't help but be in a good mood. As far as he knew, this was the first invader who was caught, so he surely will be praised for this.

'Hehe, my reward will be the allowance to slack off even harder~'

Back to Ichigo, who was still running away, but suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

'Sado got wounded! His Spiritual Power is almost gone. Shit! Things are falling apart!'

Although he was somewhat relieved that Sado was still alive, considering how small his Spiritual Power currently was, he would be easily captured.

'It seems like they prioritize information gathering. That is good. Like that, no one has to die.'

While Ichigo was deep in thought, leisurely footsteps echoed through the alley he was in, and as soon as Ichigo looked at their source, he saw Kenpachi walking towards him, clearly not as motivated as he initially was.

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'Damn, what am I doing? I'm not here to run away; I'm here to fight! How am I supposed to save Rukia if all I do is run away?'

Ichigo's determination and will to win spiked as his eyes started lightly glowing blue.

'I can do this!'

He shot towards Kenpachi far faster than before and yet again slashed down his sword. Obviously, Kenpachi noticed that Ichigo was suddenly faster, which caught his curiosity. So, he decided to give Ichigo another chance and patiently waited for his attack.

Unlike during their first clash, Ichigo's hands weren't wounded, while a minuscule gash appeared on Kenpachi's chest.

"Yes, I can cut you!"

Instead of being surprised by Ichigo cutting him, a wide grin appeared on Kenpachi's face.

"Not bad. I'll consider this as a nice warm-up before I continue my training."

Hearing that Kenpachi only considered him to be a warm-up, a scowl appeared on Ichigo's face as he readied himself to continue the fight, the small gash he left behind on Kenpachi's chest boosting his confidence even further.

"Are you sure you want to take me lightly like this? Come, you should release your sword! Show me your Shikai."

"My Shikai?"

Kenpachi could only shake his head when he heard Ichigo's words.

'Is he seriously getting arrogant because I allowed him to leave a scratch on my body? Oh well, at least he has confidence back, and his will is no longer faltering.'

"I won't use my Shikai as that would make this fight too boring. I have no desire to kill you in a single hit."

Ichigo nodded in understanding as his eyes gleamed with determination. The moment Kenpachi claimed that he wouldn't use his Shikai, he had already cooked up a plan.

'He's underestimating me. Good, I can make use of that. While he is overconfident, I need to look for a chance to give him a serious wound. If I manage to do that, he will be heavily handicapped even if he activates his Shikai, which should allow me to win this.'

However, Kenpachi didn't like the way Ichigo looked in the slightest. Being confident is fine, but Kenpachi could feel some of the tension leaving Ichigo's body.

"What are you relaxing for, Ichigo? Now that you see a chance to win, you suddenly start relaxing? Are you looking down on me? Do you really think you have a chance to win against me while not giving it your 100%?"

As soon as Kenpachi finished speaking, he appeared in front of Ichigo and stabbed his sword forward, forcing Ichigo to block the attack with the flat side of his blade.

"Do you want to know why I don't want to release my sword? Because there is no fun to be had if I just cut you down with a single swing. Do you believe I'm giving it my all here? Do you seriously think that that little fragment of strength I have shown you is all I have? Don't make me laugh."

As soon as Kenpachi stopped speaking, he increased the amount of Spiritual Power he put into his sword, resulting in it easily piercing through Ichigo's like it was made out of paper and consequently piercing into his chest.

"W-Wha..."

Obviously, Ichigo was utterly confused by what had just happened. One second, he believed that there was a chance to win, and in the next, he was stabbed, resulting in a possible deadly wound.

"What a boring ending to a potentially decent fight."

Although Ichigo heard Kenpachi's words, they barely registered in his mind. However, just as he was about to faint, time seemed to hold to a stop as his Zanpakuto Spirit appeared in front of him.

Following that, Ichigo had to fight what was unknown to him, his inner Hollow, while holding an unsealed Zanpakuto in his inner world. So, after realizing that just knowing his Zanpakuto's name isn't enough to use it to its full potential, Ichigo passed the test while making it possible for him to properly fight side by side with his Zanpakuto.

Meanwhile, Kenpachi was just about to pick the downed Ichigo up when Spiritual Pressure suddenly erupted out of him, causing Kenpachi's eyebrows to rise while taking some distance from Ichigo.

'Oh? What's this all about? How interesting.'

Moments later, Ichigo stood up while his Zanpakuto, which previously had a hole in it, was fixed, and the bloody hole he had in his chest stopped bleeding.

Before Kenpachi could understand what was going on, Ichigo vanished from his position and appeared in front of Kenpachi, slashing his sword down.

Although Kenpachi was surprised by the sudden burst of speed, he managed to raise the blade in time and block the blow. However, despite blocking the blow, Ichigo was actually pushing him back, resulting in another gash appearing on his body.

The duo clashed a few more times, and Kenpachi couldn't help but be curious about what was going on. After all, he was initially just playing around with Ichigo, but now he was actually stronger than him. Well, stronger than the current him, as he still had three seals on his body while fighting with a sealed Zanapakuto.

Seeing more and more wounds appear on Kenpachi's body, Ichigo's confidence grew, especially since he could now push back Kenpachi's blade despite the difference in body size.

"Sorry, I don't have time to waste, so I'll finish this in one blow."

"One blow? Hahaha, why would you do that!? ISN'T IT JUST ABOUT TO GET FUN!!! It's so fascinating! How did you do it!? How did you suddenly get so strong!? How did you revive yourself!? Hahaha! Don't tell me! I don't care! As long as I can enjoy this some more, I don't mind at all. SUCH A NICE WARM-UP!!!"

Naturally, Ichigo couldn't help but reel back due to Kenpachi's madness-filled behavior.

"What the hell!? You are crazy! How can you love fighting so much!?"

"HAHAHA!!! You are the one that's crazy! How can you reach your level of strength and not love fighting!? ENJOY IT!!! ENJOY THE CARNAGE AND THE PAIN!!! THEY ARE THE PRICE YOU HAVE TO PAY TO ENJOY TRUE BATTLE!!!"

Just like that, the duo continued clashing endlessly, and after another five minutes passed, the clashing of blades briefly stopped. While Ichigo was breathing heavily, Kenpachi still seemed to be in his top condition despite the multiple gashes covering his body.

"Oh well, it seems like this is about to be over soon, so how about we finish this with a bang, Ichigo?"

As he said those words, Kenpachi reached for one of the two armbands he was wearing and removed it. Suddenly, his Spiritual Power spiked while the Spiritual Pressure he was emitting increased significantly, causing Ichigo to frown.

"What kind of dirty trick did you use?"

"Again, with that accusation. There are no tricks involved. That armband simply sealed my power, so I could enjoy fights against weaker opponents as well. I wonder, can you still keep up despite me removing it?"

Ichigo clicked his tongue in annoyance when he heard Kenpachi's words as he realized that Kenpachi had been holding back this whole time without even noticing that Kenpachi's sword was still in its sealed state.

"Very well, I won't fall behind."

As these words left his mouth, he had a brief conversation with his Zanpakuto, Zangetsu, affirming that he trusted his Zanpakuto, resulting in Ichigo's power rising in tandem with Kenpachi's.

"Hahaha! Good! It seems like you can still keep up! Not bad! Not bad at all!"

Kenpachi's smile widened as he prepared himself for the last clash. He could easily tell that Ichigo was on the verge of collapse, so he was looking forward to his last attack.

Ichigo, unaware of Kenpachi's thoughts, shot forward while Kenpachi did the same. While Ichigo's face was filled with deep confidence, Kenpachi wore a crazed smile, and a moment later, their blades clashed, resulting in a huge explosion that obliterated the nearby building while rattling the windows of every building further away.

Seeing those two clash, Yachiru, who was seated on a nearby building, smiled lightly while nodding her head in approval.

"Not bad! It was not the same as with Yuna, but Ken-chan definitely had some fun with this."

Moments later, the dust settled, revealing Kenpachi's sword being pierced into Ichigo's stomach while Ichigo's cut into Kenpachi's shoulder. Seeing the outcome of the final clash, Ichigo growled in anger.

"Shit, I'm sorry, everyone, I lost."

Hearing Ichigo's apology, Kenpachi shook his head while removing his blade from Ichigo's stomach.

"Yeah, but it was a pretty decent fight. Not bad."

As soon as Kenpachi finished speaking, Ichigo fell to the ground while letting go of his Zanpakuto, which broke in half the moment it touched the ground.

Simultaneously, a little girl appeared next to Kenpachi and started talking to him with sparkling eyes.

"How was it, Ken-chan? Did you like this fight."

"Yeah, it was not bad."

As he said that, he removed the bracelet on his other hand, allowing more Spiritual Power to flood his body, resulting in the severity of his wounds reducing.

He briefly wondered whether he should remove his eyepatch as well but decided against it in the end. He had quite a bit of fun in this fight, even if he was heavily restricted through various means, but he still didn't want the marks of this fight to disappear too quickly.

"Oh well, guess I'll bring this guy to the 4th Division for now. He doesn't look like he will make it much longer without any medical aid."

"Excuse me, but could you hand him over to me?"

Suddenly hearing a deep male voice speaking to them, Kenpachi and Yachiru turned to the source of the voice, and while Kenpachi only raised his eyebrow in curiosity, Yachiru had a somewhat different reaction.

"IT'S A KITTY!!!"

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