Bleach: The Strongest Shinigami, Hitsugaya Toshiro

"Hah!"

Toshiro let out a light shout. Instead of retreating, he advanced, actively charging towards Kyoraku and the other two.

Swish!

A flash of blade light. Toshiro attacked Kyoraku first.

Kyoraku crossed his two swords in front of him to block.

Clang!

A clear metallic clang rang out. The tremendous force transmitted from the Zanpakuto caused Kyoraku's body to involuntarily step back.

"Ice Dragon Tail!"

After repelling Kyoraku, Toshiro's Zanpakuto changed direction, sweeping towards Ukitake and Unohana.

Boom!!

Following the path of Toshiro's blade tip, a massive ice wall rose, freezing everything around it. Had Ukitake and Unohana not retreated promptly, they too would have been frozen.

After Ukitake and Unohana fell back, a voice suddenly sounded not far from Toshiro.

"The Flowery Winds Become Disturbed, The God Of Flowers Sings, The Heavenly Winds Become Disturbed, The Devil Of Heaven Sneers… Katen Kyokotsu!"

'Shunsui released his Shikai?' Toshiro's expression grew serious.

Given Kyoraku's strength, even his Shikai's power was not to be underestimated.

"Bushogoma!"

Swish! Swish!

Kyoraku Shunsui's two Zanpakuto simultaneously unleashed whirlwinds resembling spinning tops, hurtling towards Toshiro.

"Bakudo #81, Danku!"

A transparent barrier instantly materialized in front of Toshiro.

Hiss!

Kyoraku's attacks struck the barrier like stones landing on a lake, creating ripples before vanishing without a trace, showing no sign of breaking through the Danku barrier.

Swish!

While Toshiro defended, Kyoraku's figure flickered, appearing directly behind Toshiro.

Then, Kyoraku swung both Zanpakuto in his hands at Toshiro from the left and right.

Seeing this, Toshiro immediately turned. Moving later but arriving first, his Zanpakuto first met the blade attacking from the right, then his wrist flicked, using Kyoraku's own sword to block the other.

Clang!

Three blades clashed and tangled. Kyoraku's palms instantly split, blood staining his Zanpakuto. The immense force transmitted from the blades caused Kyoraku to stagger back two steps. Toshiro, however, stood firm as a rock, unmoving. The difference in their strength was evident.

At that moment, Toshiro suddenly sensed a powerful surge of Reiatsu. Looking closely, he saw Yamamoto, who had been sent flying earlier due to a moment of carelessness, was now in pursuit and would arrive in the blink of an eye.

"Damn it!" Toshiro's heart sank.

Held up by Kyoraku, and with Yamamoto about to catch up, the situation was extremely unfavorable for Toshiro.

Although defeating Kyoraku wasn't difficult for Toshiro, and if he's going all out, it would take mere moments, the key issue was Yamamoto had already caught up. There was no time for Toshiro to defeat Kyoraku and leave calmly.

At this point, if Toshiro wanted to break through the encirclement quickly, the power of his Shikai alone wouldn't suffice.

'Do I have to use Bankai?' Toshiro couldn't help but hesitate internally.

If he used Bankai, Toshiro believed he could force back even Yamamoto and leave at his leisure.

But Toshiro was acutely aware of how terrifying his Bankai's power was. If he used it, it could cause massive damage to the entire Soul Society's environment, let alone the Captains present.

Even during his earlier clashes with those blocking him, Toshiro had been carefully controlling his power, afraid of accidentally killing a few Captains.

If Toshiro truly fought without restraint, at least two Captain-level individuals would have died by his hand in that brief skirmish.

But if that happened, and Gotei 13's Captains died not in battle against an enemy but by Toshiro's hand... that would be a huge scandal.

'My Bankai's power is too great, I can't use it here. But my 'Pseudo-Bankai'... If I control it carefully, there shouldn't be major issues,' Toshiro thought.

Just as Toshiro prepared to use his Pseudo-Bankai to force his way out, Kyoraku suddenly gave Toshiro a meaningful look.

"Huh?" Toshiro was taken aback, not understanding what Kyoraku meant.

While Toshiro was puzzled, Kyoraku suddenly slashed at him.

Toshiro instinctively countered with his blade.

'This old schemer... Hmm?' Toshiro originally thought Kyoraku was pulling a dirty trick after giving him a look, then suddenly attacking. However, upon clashing with Kyoraku's Zanpakuto, he realized the force on Kyoraku's blade was extremely weak.

As Toshiro stood bewildered, Kyoraku suddenly let out a cry of pain and was sent flying backwards in an extremely exaggerated manner, as if Toshiro's blade contained utterly terrifying power.

Yet Toshiro knew perfectly well that while his strike wasn't weak, it wasn't exaggerated to that degree.

Then, Toshiro noticed that Kyoraku, flying back so dramatically, coincidentally crashed right towards the pursuing Yamamoto.

Seeing Kyoraku hurtling towards him, Yamamoto frowned but had no choice but to catch him.

To catch Kyoraku, Yamamoto's originally rapid pursuit faltered, pausing for a moment.

When Yamamoto caught Kyoraku, Kyoraku gave Toshiro another meaningful look.

This time, Toshiro finally understood… Kyoraku was helping him!

With Yamamoto blocked by Kyoraku, other Captains either repelled by Toshiro or still closing in, Toshiro's path of retreat was now clear.

Seizing the opportunity, Toshiro immediately used Shunkuho at full power, vanishing into the distance.

Swish! Swish! Swish...!

In an instant, Toshiro's figure completely disappeared from sight.

"Toshiro!!"

Seeing Toshiro vanish, Yamamoto couldn't help but roar in anger.

The various division captains approached Yamamoto.

"Captain-Commander, shall we pursue?" Sui-Feng asked.

Before Yamamoto could answer, Kyoraku suddenly spoke up, "I don't think we need to pursue. Toshiro's speed is unparalleled in the entire Soul Society. Even you, Captain Sui-Feng, probably can't match it. So, let's not waste our efforts. It would have been better if we could have entangled him earlier and not given him the chance to use his full speed."

"Hmph! And whose fault do you think that was? Shunsui!!" Yamamoto glared at Kyoraku in extreme annoyance. If Kyoraku hadn't crashed into him, Yamamoto might have stopped Toshiro.

"Ah... My apologies, Old Man Yama. But you know how terrifying Toshiro's strength is. I simply couldn't resist him, so he sent me flying. I just never expected to fly right towards you, sir," Kyoraku explained with an awkward laugh.

Upon hearing this, Yamamoto gave Kyoraku a meaningful glance but didn't say anything more, as if accepting Kyoraku's explanation.