"Take this!"
Madarame Ikkaku let out a strange laugh, drew his blade, and chopped downward. Ito Makoto immediately retreated, narrowly dodging the fierce strike.
In the next instant, Ito Makoto leaped high, gripping his sword with both hands, and brought it down toward Madarame Ikkaku's gleaming bald head.
Madarame Ikkaku raised his right hand, blocking the blow with his sword sheath. At the same time, his left hand flashed, and his sword swept toward Ito Makoto's waist.
Whoosh!
Ito Makoto vanished with Shunpo, creating distance in an instant.
"What's wrong, kid? Do you only know how to dodge? Come and face me head-on!"
Madarame Ikkaku held his sword in his left hand and his sheath in his right, striking with both simultaneously, the twin attacks aimed directly at Ito Makoto's face.
"As you wish!"
Ito Makoto shifted his form repeatedly with Shunpo, then appeared behind Madarame Ikkaku and delivered a powerful horizontal slash with both hands on his sword.
Unexpectedly, Madarame Ikkaku seemed to have anticipated it. He twisted his body, flung the sword sheath in his right hand, and slammed it into Ito Makoto's abdomen. At the same time, his blade carved a slash across Ito Makoto's chest.
Ito Makoto seized the opening and struck back, his blade biting into Madarame Ikkaku's shoulder.
The two immediately retreated with Shunpo, separating once more.
Ito Makoto glanced down at the gruesome wound on his chest. Madarame Ikkaku, meanwhile, pressed his left hand against his bleeding shoulder, blood seeping between his fingers.
"Hahaha, this is fun!"
Almost simultaneously, both men burst into laughter, clearly reveling in a battle where blood had been drawn from the very first exchange.
Since the Zanjutsu examination, Ito Makoto had become acquainted with Madarame Ikkaku. Through him, he had also met Ayasegawa Yumichika. As both he and Ikkaku were obsessed with battle, they quickly became close.
In the nearly half year since Ito Makoto entered the Spiritual Arts Academy, he and Ikkaku had sparred privately more than ten times. During that time, Ito Makoto had fully digested the Zanjutsu inherited from Ito Kai's memories and formed his own combat style.
At the beginning, his Zanjutsu had been raw and incomplete, often suppressed by Madarame Ikkaku. Now, however, he could fight Ikkaku to a standstill. The growth over six months was undeniable.
Mid-battle, Madarame Ikkaku wiped gray-brown paste from his sword sheath and smeared it over his shoulder. The bleeding stopped instantly.
"Ikkaku-senpai, you're cheating again."
Ito Makoto's mouth twitched, though he was already used to it.
He reached into his sleeve with his left hand, pulled out the same gray-brown ointment, and applied it to his chest. The bleeding from his wound also ceased.
"Damn it, you brought medicine too, kid!"
Madarame Ikkaku roared.
"Didn't I learn that from you, Senpai?"
Ito Makoto replied calmly, though inwardly he grumbled.
If my main body were here, I'd show you what real cheating looks like. Speed Regeneration is the real nonsense.
Of course, if his true body fought Ikkaku, Speed Regeneration might not even be necessary, unless Ikkaku had already reached Bankai at this stage.
After a brief pause, the two charged again.
Ito Makoto entered a state of intense focus. He adjusted his breathing, gripped his sword with both hands, and unleashed a rapid series of slashes that forced Madarame Ikkaku to retreat step by step.
Then Ito Makoto gathered his spiritual pressure. Wisps of white lightning crackled along the edge of his Asauchi as he swung with full force.
Boom!
The sound was sharp and thunderous, like a spring thunderclap.
It was Thunderclap Slash.
A white lightning arc carrying fierce sword intent tore toward Madarame Ikkaku.
Ikkaku rolled away instantly, barely evading the attack. The slash gouged a deep fissure several meters long into the barren ground beside him.
Thunderclap Slash was the signature technique of Yekawa's main body. Since the clone lacked Flash Lightning, Ito Makoto had substituted it with Shinigami Kido. The lightning bound to his blade was Hadō Number Four, White Lightning, which he had refined to an extreme level.
Though inferior to the original technique, the imitation was still formidable.
Madarame Ikkaku straightened, eyes burning.
What a monster. He's getting stronger every single fight. In just half a year, his Zanjutsu and spiritual pressure have risen this much.
He stopped holding back.
Aligning his sword sheath with his blade, he thrust it forward and shouted:
"Extend, Hōzukimaru!"
White light flared as the Asauchi and sheath transformed into a long wooden spear with a short blade tip and a crimson tassel.
With Shunpo, Ikkaku appeared before Ito Makoto in an instant, thrusting straight at his face.
His Shikai boosted both his speed and spiritual pressure.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ito Makoto blocked repeatedly, sparks flying as steel met steel. Hōzukimaru's spearhead struck like a venomous serpent, each thrust aimed at a vital point.
Now!
Ito Makoto seized the brief gap between attacks and swung horizontally, forcing Ikkaku to retract the spear and brace it sideways to block.
"Split, Hōzukimaru!"
The shaft divided into a three-section staff. Chains snapped tight, binding Ito Makoto's Asauchi. The spearhead curved sharply toward the back of his neck, poised to decapitate him.
Whoosh!
Ito Makoto vanished, leaving only an afterimage.
"I told you, Ikkaku-senpai. The same trick doesn't work twice."
In their previous duel, this move had nearly taken his head. This time, he had been ready.
"Hadō Number Thirty-One: Shakkahō!"
Ito Makoto reappeared behind Ikkaku and thrust out his palm. A crimson fireball roared toward Ikkaku's bald head.
Ikkaku hastily reverted Hōzukimaru, spinning it to block the unchanted spell.
The fireball exploded against the spear, smoke billowing outward. When it cleared, Madarame Ikkaku stood scorched and disheveled, but still standing.
"Cough, cough… Ito, kid, using Kido is cheating! A real man fights up close!"
"Didn't you cheat first, Senpai?"
Ayasegawa Yumichika, watching nearby, frowned darkly.
"Are you two children? If you're going to fight, then fight properly."
Madarame Ikkaku laughed and looked at Ito Makoto.
"You've mastered it already, haven't you? Stop holding back and show me."
Ito Makoto sighed.
"I wanted to wait until Seireitei officially issued me an Asauchi. Using someone else's blade feels… awkward. But since you want to see it, Senpai, I'll indulge you."
"Chi…"