Above the sky, two figures split and merged, every dull crash resounding like a collapsing world. Each collision birthed violent air waves that churned wildly, the terrifying force shaking even the distant stars. The duel was brutal, unrelenting. The two combatants turned into streaks of light, flying backward across the heavens before halting far apart, silhouettes finally clear to those watching below.
Kurosaki Ichigo, transformed into a bull-headed beast, bore dents and wounds across his body. One arm dangled uselessly, broken and folded inwards, while the horn atop his head had been snapped. Yet in his frenzied eyes burned only madness and tyranny, ignorant of his injuries. Across from him stood Su Li, his plain white robe shredded, exposing reddened skin beneath. Though unscathed in flesh, his ragged state shocked the onlookers. In every battle before, the boy had been composed and spotless, carrying a calm dignity that was itself a symbol of strength. Now, disheveled and marred by the fight, his appearance betrayed the weight of his opponent's power.
"Kurosaki-kun's current state… it's far beyond what he was before," murmured Unohana Retsu, her calm gaze narrowing with a trace of unease. A monster stripped of reason and pain, moving only to kill—even she found such an existence troublesome.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri gave a sharp laugh. "Oh? Even a pervert like Su Li struggles? How rare. Hmph." Yet the smugness faded as his eyes sharpened. "That brat… his wounds are knitting back together."
All eyes turned to Ichigo. The deep dents in his flesh sealed, his broken arm straightened, and the shattered horn regrew in full.
"High-Speed Regeneration…" Mayuri muttered, chin resting in thought, his tone grim.
Unohana's serene expression tightened as well. "All the more difficult to handle. Su Li cannot kill him, only subdue him. Against a beast that regenerates and cannot be reasoned with, the task borders on impossible."
Even without words, the boy's taut expression betrayed the weight of that burden.
"...Ichigo," Orihime whispered, guilt flooding her face. She had already guessed the truth—his monstrous form was tied to her—and yet she was powerless, forced to watch Su Li face him alone.
"Su Li-sang…" Nilu and her companions trembled with worry, tears welling. They cared nothing for Ichigo's fate, only for the boy who had saved them.
"Idiot Ichigo…" Rukia's lips pressed tight, Renji's face pale with anger and disbelief.
Above, Ichigo exhaled harshly, white steam pouring from his maw as his body mended. His Reiatsu swelled, pressure mounting, his scarlet eyes locking onto the boy once more. But Su Li barely acknowledged him, instead glancing down at his ruined robe with a dark expression. Clothes could be replaced, but this one was not his.
"Damn it… Grimmjow won't pay me back for this," he muttered, embarrassed. Everyone watching assumed his grim face reflected the battle's weight, never guessing it came from worrying over a borrowed robe. "Maybe I should just give him my captain's haori instead…"
Completely unconcerned with Ichigo, Su Li tapped his chin, mulling it over. Defeating this rampaging Ichigo would not be difficult; waking him up was the true task. His disadvantage until now had been by choice. He had fought in his lowest state, his ordinary strength—the baseline he carried when dispatching nameless enemies with ease. But Ichigo, in this rampage, had reached his utmost peak. Using one's lower limit to face another's upper limit—was this not a mockery of himself, a foolish Tian Ji horse race? He sighed faintly. Perhaps his recent easy battles had left him drifting.
Ichigo roared, Reiatsu blasting upward, and hurled himself at Su Li again. The watchers below froze, tension spiking, but what they saw next stole their breath.
The boy tore off his ruined robe, muscles honed to steel revealed beneath. Heat shimmered off his frame as white steam rose, hair and brows shading into silver.
"...!!"
Unohana and Mayuri both stepped forward at once, faces changing. They had not seen this in decades. Not since that day—forty years past, at the Spiritual Arts Academy graduation.
Renji's body trembled, eyes wide with awe. The memory surged unbidden: a young man cloaked in white steam, standing unflinching before Sui-Feng, carving his name into the annals of the Academy. That sight had never left him, even as years passed, as he became vice-captain, as Su Li ascended to captaincy. And now, forty years later, the dream returned to life. Tears stung his eyes as if he had been thrust back to that day when youthful fire defied the heavens.
"Renji… what is that?" Rukia whispered, stunned. Orihime and Nilu stared likewise, eyes wide with wonder.
"B…" Renji's voice broke, quivering with awe.
"Ultra Instinct," Unohana said softly, her gentle voice carrying the weight of revelation.
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