Chapter 323

But when Houtao charged forward, petals surrounded her as well—but at this moment... Kyōka Sōjirō wore an expression of shock.

Those petals quickly retracted.

Even dodging Houtao's attack.

Kurosaki Ichigo exclaimed in astonishment: "Why is this happening..."

It wasn't even about to hit him.

Why would he dodge?

Soon he heard Kyōka Sōjirō's furious roar: "You dare try to destroy my Zanpakutō..."

Amidst the scattered petals,

some flowers had already lost their color.

Like wood that had been burned.

Deprived of vitality.

Houtao then coldly laughed: "I'm just like you—both hunters of ghosts... even possessing inherited power, trained by Su Han, and guided by immortals...

The current Anhun Secret Art,

specifically targets souls...

I already told you to release your full power... since you wouldn’t listen, don’t blame me... And you there, Kurosaki kid, hurry up and save the person..."

"Oh, got it..."

Shocked by the battle, Kurosaki Ichigo

hurriedly ran toward the interior.

Kyōka Sōjirō didn’t even glance at him, because the girl before him was his true enemy.

Right now, Houtao

was completely engulfed in flames.

Her entire body seemed like a blazing firestorm.

Within the Multiverse Task Group,

Mona: "What an amazing battle... I never thought the Shinigami in this world could be so strong... except for that one Shinigami Houtao just hit a few times.

Everyone else’s strength is incredible!

No wonder Su Han said not to recklessly kill..."

Ningguang: "Their souls have been cultivated for countless years. Regardless of technique or power, they’re already monstrous—especially the power of their Zanpakutō.

Sometimes even stronger than Devil Fruits.

So Su Han’s concern was justified.

Now it all depends on whether Kurosaki Ichigo can bring out the target soon..."

Kamisato Ayaka: "@Su Han... do you think Houtao or Kyōka Sōjirō will win?"

Su Han: "It's hard to say... Shinigami power also has limitations. As long as it's not an extreme Zanpakutō, it can generally be defeated. For example, Houtao just now used the Anhun Secret Art

to burn part of the opponent’s Zanpakutō.

This weakens the Zanpakutō’s power.

That’s why Kyōka Sōjirō took it seriously... And the scattered blades from a Full Release can number in the hundreds of millions.

Sounds terrifying.

But in reality, it’s not that bad... as long as your speed exceeds that of the blades,

you can directly rush the core body."

In truth, Kyōka Sōjirō’s current strength hasn’t reached its peak.

Plus, Houtao’s power targets spiritual bodies.

The outcome between them

is truly hard to predict... If it were Kyōka Sōjirō from the Thousand-Year Blood War, ten Houtaos wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

But in this stage,

it should be fine.

After all, Kurosaki Ichigo’s Full Release could still fight him.

Speaking of which, Kyōka Sōjirō activated his Full Release.

Because he realized the flames could scorch his blade.

He no longer wanted to play around.

Ending it early might be a better choice.

"Scatter, Senbon Zakura Kyōen..."

The blade descended vertically, continuously falling.

Until it plunged into the ground.

Countless petals exploded outward.

Endless petals rapidly tore through the air, and Houtao felt significant pressure.

"Hiss... so many petals—if hit, it won’t be pleasant... Well then, here goes..."

A ball of flame flew out from her hand.

But it was blocked by countless petals.

And Kyōka Sōjirō was now enraged.

A massive wave of petals kept shifting shapes as they attacked.

After Full Release.

The number of petals surged to an extremely terrifying level, while her speed kept increasing as well—had it been just moments ago, Hua Tao could still joke around with a carefree smile.

Now, however,

she had to focus entirely on her cultivation.

In the battle at Lanruo Temple,

she had lacked the ability to perceive vibrations.

As a result, she was thoroughly beaten.

Afterwards, under Su Han’s guidance and with her emotions nurtured,

she gradually matured a little.

Though her playful nature remained unchanged,

she had managed to grasp the understanding of Perception and slowly adapt to this power.

Swish.

Swish.

Swish.

Her figure flickered continuously.

Thousand Cherry Blossoms couldn’t even come close to catching Hua Tao’s body.

“Your speed is decent, but... mine will be even faster.”

Hua Tao appeared before Yūkaku Byakuya.

A burst of flame exploded instantly.

Petals rose up,

blocking the explosion—but behind Yūkaku Byakuya, a punch landed.

He turned his head.

He discovered that an elemental flame spirit had launched the attack against him.

“My Flame Soul moves at the same speed as me—whenever I move fast, they move just as fast. You, little flower boy.”

The person inside has been rescued.

I’m not playing with you anymore!

Ultimate Art: Flame Spear…”

One Flame Soul was molded by Hua Tao into the shape of a long spear, then hurled downward toward Yūkaku Byakuya.

She didn’t look back—she simply ran after delivering the strike.

Even if she could briefly match a Full Release.

But the physical strain was too great.

At that moment, Kurosaki Ichigo had already run out with Kuchiki Rukia.

"Phew... Is there enough time?"

"It's okay! Let's go... Otherwise, my stamina won't hold out..."

Hu Tao grabbed the two and hurled them down with all her might.

She herself flew out afterward.

The three disappeared together off the cliff's edge.

After Kuchiki Byakuya blocked the attack with Senbonzakura, his expression was utterly grim.

Because his sword had been damaged.

"What a terrifying opponent..."

Kuchiki Byakuya quickly glanced at the blade's damage and hurried after them.

Regardless.

Such a being posing a grave threat to Soul Reapers must not be allowed to escape.

Meanwhile, in another location.

A sly fox quietly sneaked inside.

Gazing at the displayed blades, she let out a mischievous grin.

"Now this... this is true treasure, isn't it? So wonderful..."

How much reward can be gained from completing tasks?

If only I could take these weapons away, that would be truly satisfying!

Within the Soul Reaper world.

There exists a special weapon known as a Zanpakutō.

And a "Shin'ei" is a Zanpakutō that has not yet been awakened.

Why Yae Miko participated in this mission—her target was precisely the Shin'ei crafted by Niwa Ōtsune, the initial Zanpakutōs that had not yet been infused with spiritual energy or soul power.

Now everyone's attention

was focused on Beidou and the others.

The defenses here were naturally lowered.

With the map provided by Su Han,

she could easily infiltrate.

In the courtyard, those physical manifestations of Zanpakutō beauties all collapsed~ to the ground.

They had fallen victim to fox magic.

These fools wouldn’t wake up for at least three hours.

Meanwhile, Yae Miko began placing the Shin'ei into her personal spatial artifact.

However, there weren’t many Zanpakutō here.

Only about a hundred.

But even so, it was more than enough to satisfy Yae Miko.

“Next... should be the betrayal by Aizen. No one will notice me anyway...”

The petty fox smiled faintly.

Her body vanished within the room.

At this moment, on the open ground outside the Confession Palace.

The battle between Rosalyn and Hitsugaya Tōshirō continued.

Feeling the immense power of hellfire,

the captain also released his Zanpakutō.

He fought using his Shikai form.

Ice clashed against flame.

In truth, the flames held a slight advantage.

Especially since Rosalyn’s fire was hellfire—within an instant, Hitsugaya found himself at a disadvantage.

“Ice Dragon Tail Revolve...”

Hitsugaya unleashed a devastating slash.

Blue-tinged sword energy.

Even freezing the air itself.

Two streams of blade energy, like two blue serpents.

Swarming around from both sides to attack Rosalyn.

But as the sword energy approached,

a fiery line ignited.

“The power of hellfire cannot be frozen by mere ice...”

Rosalyn raised a finger.

The temperature nearby rose sharply once more.

Hitsugaya seemed to sense something.

He looked up toward the sky.

Two massive meteorites crashed down from the heavens.

Wrapped in terrifying molten lava.

Before they even struck the ground,

the surrounding trees were instantly dried out by their heat.

“Damn it... even Shikai isn’t enough? Then I have no choice but to use Bankai...”

The temperature around him rapidly dropped.

Twelve lotus-like wings quickly sprouted behind Hitsugaya.

Great Red Lotus Ice Wheel Blade.

This was his Bankai form.

Though not fully matured,

it was more than sufficient to counter this technique!!

“Ice Heaven, Flower Burial...”

Hitsugaya roared, swinging his long sword fiercely.

Countless ice spikes froze into existence along the sword’s path.

The meteorites in the sky collided directly with the Ice Heaven, Flower Burial.

An intense explosion erupted between them.

“Huff... huff... what a troublesome opponent... huh? Where is he...”

Hitsugaya blocked that terrifying attack.

Yet he realized the person was gone.

He turned his head to look.

The distant Rosalyn was retreating along with Kurosaki Ichigo and the others.

Clearly, that was just a feint.

"Damn it... you forced me to release my Bankai and then just stop?..."

Hyōrinmaru Tōshirō sighed.

He restored his spiritual pressure to normal.

His Bankai vanished in turn.