"Hah!"
With a shout, Toshiro charged at Vargas again.
"Bisection!"
Toshiro held his sword with both hands, gathering Reiatsu into his Zanpakuto. Then, he leaped up, delivering a full-power slash straight down at Vargas's head.
Seeing this, Vargas blocked horizontally overhead with his rod.
Clang!
Sparks flew, and metallic clanging rang out.
Thud, thud, thud-
Using the impact force from his descent, Toshiro's slash even forced Vargas, who had superior strength, to retreat continuously.
However, force works both ways. Although Toshiro's slash pushed Vargas back, the recoil split Toshiro's purlicue, blood staining his Zanpakuto. But the bottleneck within him loosened further.
'As long as I persist, I'll break through soon,' Toshiro thought, feeling the loosening bottleneck, somewhat elated.
But at that moment, Vargas, pushed back by Toshiro, seized the chance to fire a Cero at him.
"Ice Dragon Flash!"
Toshiro again met Vargas's Cero with Ice Dragon Flash.
Boom!
A massive explosion sounded. Terrifying shockwaves swept in all directions, throwing both Toshiro and Vargas off their feet.
However, mere shockwaves obviously couldn't harm either of them.
After being thrown, Toshiro and Vargas immediately stood up again.
"Ice Dragon Tail!"
Toshiro swiftly unleashed a freezing slash at Vargas.
"Bala!"
Bang!
Vargas's Bala shattered Toshiro's Ice Dragon Tail slash.
"Rapid-Fire Bala!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh-
Bala after Bala blanketed Toshiro and the surrounding space like a storm.
Shunkuho!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Toshiro's figure flickered continuously, like a petrel navigating a storm, trying to evade Vargas's Bala.
However, Vargas's Bala were simply too many, and Bala's speed was twenty times that of Cero. Toshiro ultimately couldn't completely avoid them.
Bang!
A Bala struck Toshiro.
Pfft!
Toshiro couldn't help but spit out blood. His rapidly moving figure inevitably stalled for a moment.
Seeing this, Vargas immediately fired more Bala at Toshiro.
"Icicle Birds!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh-
Countless ice pellets met the countless Bala like birds.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ice pellets and Bala collided, canceling each other out. Seizing this chance, Toshiro used Shunpo to appear behind Vargas, then slashed.
Squelch!
Blood sprayed. A deep wound appeared on Vargas.
Roar!
In pain, Vargas roared, then quickly turned to attack Toshiro.
But Toshiro immediately dodged and retreated.
Thus, Toshiro and Vargas fought back and forth, the battle intensifying.
After who knows how long, neither could gain the upper hand.
Although Vargas had superior Reiatsu and strength, Toshiro's speed and techniques were formidable.
Toshiro and Vargas were fully immersed in battle, neither daring to be careless. In such intense combat, a moment's distraction could mean defeat and death.
Boom!
After another exchange, both retreated.
Pant, pant, pant...
Toshiro gasped heavily, his remaining Reiryoku nearly depleted.
Although Vargas also seemed significantly drained, he was much better off than Toshiro.
After all, Toshiro was only Captain-level. Although his combat power was strong, even capable of contending with beyond-Captain-level briefly, his Reiryoku ultimately wasn't as vast. In prolonged battle, Toshiro would be the first to give out!
Crack!
Suddenly, a shattering sound rang out.
Toshiro looked back, his expression turning grim.
Only one ice crystal petal remained behind Toshiro!
'Damn! Bankai's time is almost up!' Toshiro frowned.
But Toshiro still hadn't broken through to beyond-Captain-level. And now, even if he wanted to use Frozen Heaven Hundred Flower Funeralto defeat Vargas, his Reiryoku was insufficient!
'My Reiryoku is nearly gone. I'll bet everything on this next move,' Toshiro murmured in his heart.
"Ice Dragon Flash!"
Toshiro gathered Reiatsu into his Zanpakuto. Hyorinmaru glowed brilliantly with ice-blue light.
"Hah!"
With a shout, Toshiro charged at Vargas!
He condensed Ice Dragon Flash's power without releasing it, directly slashing at Vargas.
Boom!
An air explosion sound rang out. Vargas likewise struck at Toshiro with all his might using his rod.
Clang!
Their powers collided!
Bang, bang, bang...
Bang, bang, bang...
Both Toshiro and Vargas were forced back continuously by the impact.
"Pfft!"
Toshiro spat out a mouthful of blood from the shock.
However, Toshiro paid it no mind. Instead, he gathered all his remaining strength to assault the bottleneck within him.
Crack!
Crack!
Two shattering sounds rang out simultaneously.
One was the last ice crystal petal behind Toshiro. The other was the sound of his internal bottleneck shattering.
After the last petal shattered, the massive ice wings behind Toshiro also disintegrated, as if he had released Bankai.
But Toshiro's previously depleted Reiryoku not only instantly recovered but began to surge dramatically!
Boom!
Powerful Reiatsu erupted from Toshiro's body. A fierce gale whipped up countless sand and soil, sweeping in all directions like a sandstorm.
Toshiro's Reiatsu directly broke through to beyond-Captain-level!
And after breaking through, it didn't stop!
Early beyond-Captain-level... Mid beyond-Captain-level!
Perhaps because Toshiro had lingered at peak Captain-level for too long, after this breakthrough, his Reiatsu directly surged from peak Captain-level to mid beyond-Captain-level before stopping.
Simultaneously, Toshiro's body grew rapidly. His original height of 1.33 meters increased to 1.8 meters. His previously childish, elementary school-like appearance transformed into that of a handsome, dashing youth.
The previously shattered ice reformed like armor covering his body.
"Th-this... How is this possible?!" Vargas stared at Toshiro incredulously.
Originally, although Toshiro's combat power was strong, even capable of briefly contending with him, Toshiro's Reiatsu ultimately wasn't as vast. As long as they kept fighting, victory would undoubtedly be his.
And things had gone just as Vargas thought. Toshiro's Reiatsu was eventually drained by him. Just as victory seemed within reach, why did Toshiro suddenly fully recover his Reiatsu?!
Not only that, after recovering, his Reiatsu surged dramatically! It increased until it surpassed his own level! Even his appearance changed drastically!
All of this left Vargas in disbelief.