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Ichigo's eyes widened, confusion flashing as he stared at Moyu. His words struck like a riddle, but Ichigo's battle-rattled mind gripped only one truth—his blade.
Reiatsu surged as Ichigo called forth Zangetsu once more, spiritual power condensing into a storm that howled across the Palace ruins. His voice cut through the roar.
"Your words don't matter, Captain Moyu. My purpose here is clear. I won't abandon my friend. I will not leave Renji behind."
"Bankai!"
Reiatsu shifted, burning black-and-red as it wrapped itself around his body like a living creature, crawling across his torn Shihakushō.
"If words cannot end this, then I'll fight you with everything I have!"
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
The crescent roared forth, tearing through the sky. Its crimson-black arc split the very air and reached Moyu in a single breath.
At this point Ichigo's Bankai—Zangetsu's edge sharpened by instinct and resolve—had already surpassed captains such as Komamura Sajin. Even Moyu, assessing in silence, acknowledged that Ichigo's raw force rivaled seated captains at their peak.
Yet as the blade of energy swept toward him, Moyu's thumb eased the guard of his Zanpakutō with a whisper of steel.
The clear chime of a blade unsheathing sang through the sky.
His bluish-white sword met the crescent and erased it in a single stroke.
The difference in strength was absolute.
Renji, watching helplessly, felt his chest tighten. He feared neither death nor defeat, but he could not bear the thought of losing a friend before his eyes.
Ichigo understood that as well. If he failed here, Renji might vanish forever.
"I'll give everything I have," Ichigo murmured, his eyes burning. Reiatsu boiled off him in molten waves, churning the ground into craters as it spilled outward. "Until I bring you back."
Shunpo split the air—Ichigo's form blurred and reappeared at Moyu's heart, Zangetsu striking from an angle unseen.
"Good movement," Moyu said quietly, his voice unshaken. "But even Urahara could not reach me. How could his student surpass that wall?"
Zangetsu's edge met only afterimage. Ichigo's eyes widened.
Moyu's voice came from his right. His figure was whole, expression unchanged.
"Experience. Instinct. Awareness. You've surpassed the rank and file." His gaze sharpened. "But the essential gap between us leaves no second path."
He flicked a finger. Black Reiatsu gathered like ink and exploded into Ichigo's chest.
The impact hurled him into the earth, stone and dust erupting into a deep crater. Pain seized him, willpower faltered, and something darker stirred.
A roar split the silence. Black-and-red Reiatsu erupted skyward, twisting into a pillar that scarred the sky. The pressure felt heavier, more violent, steeped in tyranny.
"…Pathetic…"
The voice was hoarse, alien.
Ichigo rose from the ruins, his body battered and bloody, but his aura had shifted. His grin was savage.
"I already told you… if you die, I'll be the one in trouble!"
Moyu's eyes narrowed in interest. The Reiatsu was wrong—feral, hollow, something separate within Ichigo awakening.
"So… the Hollow stirs." His tone was almost amused. "Borrowing another's strength when you fail on your own. How fitting."
"Masked Ichigo."
Ichigo's pupils burned red, his stare sharp with murderous intent. Fragments of a Hollow mask crept across his face as his Reiatsu doubled, his voice filled with manic glee.
"This is what excites me! A battle where victory is impossible!"
He vanished, speed doubled, the flickering trail of black light proving his movement. His laughter echoed as his mask hardened into place.
The clash came instantly—Zangetsu against Moyu's blade. Power rippled outwards, tearing stone and sky alike.
But Hollow Ichigo's laughter cracked as his mask twisted in surprise. The pressure from Moyu's strike eclipsed everything he had expected. Even pouring all his overflowing power into the clash, it meant nothing.
The ground swallowed him again, dust erupting higher than before.
Moyu's voice rang calm above the ruin.
"You haven't grasped it yet, have you? Fighting on instinct alone… you lack the pure intuition of a beast."
Another roar. From the crater a Getsuga Tenshō tore upward, its arc shredding the air itself.
"This uneven battle—this is the true thrill!" Hollow Ichigo howled. "Ichigo! Watch closely! I'll show you what separates a king from a mount!"
The blast surged. Moyu's Zanpakutō swept once, and the crescent shattered into fragments of scattered Reiatsu.
"Instinct?" Moyu replied evenly. "No. The difference lies in control. A king is king because he commands the mount."
For a fleeting moment, Hollow Ichigo faltered, stunned that Moyu answered—and worse, that his words cut sharper than instinct. He recognized then that this man was unlike any other captain.
But recognition would not change the outcome.
Moyu's sword lifted lightly, bluish wind curling around its edge. His voice was soft, final.
"Daran."
The world howled. Invisible gusts tore downward, transforming into countless blades of air that consumed Hollow Ichigo in an instant. His hollowed Reiatsu strained to resist, but the overwhelming storm shredded the remnants.
At last, consciousness slipped. The mask cracked and dissolved. The abyss of power collapsed, leaving only Ichigo's battered body at the crater's heart.
A figure rushed from the shadows, landing beside him in silence. Her hood fell back, long violet hair and golden eyes revealed.
Yoruichi Shihōin.
She knelt, eyes narrowing at the sight of Ichigo bloodied and broken.
Moyu approached at his pace, unshaken. "Most of the damage is superficial. He isn't dead."
But Yoruichi raised a hand, halting him. "That's not my concern. I'm wondering… just how strong have you become?"
Her golden gaze sharpened as she leaned in close, her feline instincts catching a trace of lingering scents on his robes. Her pupils contracted sharply.
"You reek of other women."
Moyu coughed into his hand, a rare crack in composure. Nilu. Rangiku. Traces he could not deny.
"Enough. Let's get him treated, or he'll bleed out."
Yoruichi's eyes lingered on him, conflicted, but at last she lifted Ichigo in one arm. Blood pooled beneath him, spreading fast.
She muttered under her breath, "Isshin… you'd better be alive to see this." Then, with a final look at Moyu, she vanished into the Seireitei night.
Moyu turned back toward the ruins of the Palace, his gaze settling on Renji.
"Renji. Are you disappointed?"
Renji flinched, lowering his head, his voice hoarse.
"This… is my fate."
The wind carried his words away, thin and resigned.
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