Chapter 365: BSUS - 368: An Unexpected Battle

White ribbons danced in the air. Rukia slashed through the sky, and a chilling light instantly erupted beneath Yammy.

"First Dance, White Moon."

Unable to turn around in time, Yammy was instantly sealed within a pillar of ice. The anger on his face had yet to fully dissipate, and his beady pupils drooped slightly within his widened eyes, making him look rather comical.

"Not bad at all." Luppi covered his mouth with a slight smile, turning his gaze toward the instigator of it all. "Thank you for letting me see Yammy looking so cute, woman."

"You’d better worry about yourself!"

Ikkaku suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The blade in his hand seemed even faster than his voice, thrusting straight toward Luppi’s left side.

Luppi bent forward, dodging the thrust while simultaneously kicking at Ikkaku’s wrist. Even though Ikkaku hastily blocked with his scabbard, the force of the kick still sent him flying backward.

Pulling his Zanpakutō from the ice pillar, Yumichika stepped in just in time to cover Ikkaku’s opening. As he slashed at Luppi, the blade split apart like a peacock spreading its tail feathers. Though it didn’t directly injure his opponent, it successfully tore a piece of Luppi’s sleeve.

Luppi’s expression turned somewhat ugly, but what infuriated him even more was yet to come.

Succeeding in his strike, Yumichika seemed unsatisfied. He swept his bizarre, iron-fan-like Zanpakutō straight toward his enemy’s waist.

Not only that, but the moment he ducked his head, a spear thrust out, nearly grazing his scalp. It made one wonder just who the spear-wielding Ikkaku’s enemy actually was.

Faced with such an assault, Luppi had no opportunity to counterattack for a moment, forced to constantly retreat and dodge. He even felt a bit troubled. Even without releasing his Zanpakutō, he could easily defeat either of these two Shinigami in a one-on-one fight. Logically, two ants added together were still just ants, yet these two guys were somewhat... annoying?

Yes, annoying. It wasn’t just because of Ikkaku and Yumichika’s erratic attacks—sometimes flipping up and down, sometimes advancing and retreating in tandem, sometimes pincering from the front and back—but also because of their incessant bickering and insults.

"You actually dared to step on my back? I just ironed this, you bastard!"

"You were trying to use that as an excuse to kick me just now, weren’t you, Yumichika..."

"If you touch my hair, I’ll kill you, Ikkaku!"

"Why are you using so much force, you idiot! Oh, wait, that was actually perfect? Nice job, Yumichika!"

Indeed, Yumichika and Ikkaku didn’t direct a single word of complaint at their enemy, Luppi. Instead, after every masterful coordination, they would offer each other their most "affectionate" greetings.

Were they mortal enemies who despised each other in everyday life? Just like him and Grimmjow.

Luppi didn’t think so. If it were him and Grimmjow, let alone cooperating, he would seize every possible opportunity to send the other straight to hell, and he was certain Grimmjow would do the same.

But to say these two guys were good friends, like him and Ulquiorra, didn’t quite fit either. Because the expressions they wore while berating each other truly looked as if they wanted nothing more than to murder one another...

Another simultaneous horizontal slash came from the front and back. Luppi leaped upward to dodge, and sure enough, those familiar voices of blame quickly rang out beneath him.

"Having you help is worse than fighting alone! I’d have a much easier time!"

"If it weren’t for Captain Chōzuka, do you think I’d put up with you for this long, let alone let a bald bastard like you step on my shoulders?!"

But this time, Luppi saw it—the fleeting smiles at the corners of their mouths after they finished speaking. So these two guys were either putting on an act on purpose, or they were looking down on him. How detestable!

Luppi wasn’t the only one who felt his patience running out. Sealed within the ice pillar, Yammy’s eyes suddenly twitched. Like a male lion locking onto its prey, Rukia reflected in his gaze was the target he was about to tear to shreds!

The ice pillar binding him began to tremble slightly. As if completely unhindered, Yammy stepped out of the ice step by step like a god of war. Shards of ice continuously slid off his body, and the collapsing pillar kicked up layers of icy mist behind him like a slow-motion film.

His Reiatsu was like an active volcano billowing thick smoke, and even more suffocating was the restless, boiling killing intent radiating from him. Rukia knew this murderous aura was directed at her. The heavy beating of her heart seemed to remind her that the giant before her was a terrifying opponent.

"Stay calm, Kuchiki! We’re all right here with you."

"Lord Kaien, Miss Rangiku..." Rukia looked up at Kaien’s profile, then turned to look at Matsumoto Rangiku on the other side. Although the latter didn’t speak, her bright smile was inexplicably reassuring.

"I understand."

Rukia nodded. The fear in her eyes gradually faded away. Her strength and confidence, which had been nearly half-eroded, once again became nourishment, allowing her heart to beat with renewed vigor.

"You talk a big game, brat." Hearing those words, Yammy scoffed at Kaien disdainfully. He slowly clenched his right fist, producing a series of crisp cracks. "I’m gonna kill that woman right now, and then I’ll smash your mouth to pieces!"

"You won’t be able to kill her!"

The two moved simultaneously. As Kaien drew his blade, the faint sound of crashing waves echoed in the surroundings. With a flash of white light, the Zanpakutō in his hand transformed into a trident. "Surge, water and sky, Nejibana!"

Facing the thrusting spear, Yammy remained completely unfazed. He viciously smashed his right fist toward the spearhead, looking as though he intended to break both Kaien and his weapon in half with a single punch.

Unexpectedly, Kaien suddenly flicked his wrist. Before Yammy’s fist could make contact, he bent his body and spun. Nejibana twirled in his hands, the shaft of the spear whipping up a massive wave in the air as it struck heavily against his opponent’s lower abdomen.

Yammy’s massive body paused for a moment, and a sharp gasp escaped his nose and mouth—whether from anger or the impact of the spear shaft, it was hard to tell.

It was likely anger; otherwise, in Kaien’s eyes, an Espada would never make such a foolish attack.

Yammy opened his mouth wide and lunged forward with his arms spread out, looking exactly like a polar bear trying to hug a tree. The problem was, Kaien wasn’t an immobile tree!

Retreating and pulling back his spear, Kaien thrust upward at the jaw encased in a white, beast-fang mask. But Yammy seemed to have truly gone mad, not dodging or evading in the slightest, allowing the spear to stab right into his chin.

Just as his upper and lower front teeth were about to collide like two planets, Yammy actually managed to forcefully withstand Kaien’s assault through sheer, astonishing strength. He even began to push the water-wielding spear back bit by bit, as if engaging in a contest of power.

Yammy’s strength might indeed far surpass Kaien’s, but suppressing him with bite force alone was simply too unbelievable. And that was exactly the case. This giant before him inexplicably wanted to test his strength against him, but Kaien wasn’t a child who would do something as ridiculous as pushing shoulders back and forth all day.

Despite being a long weapon, Nejibana showed no signs of clumsiness in Kaien’s hands. After stepping out of the range of Yammy’s arms, Kaien pulled back with his left hand and pushed forward with his right. Almost the exact moment the spearhead left Yammy’s chin, the spiraled tail of the spear struck the opponent’s chest like a water dragon bursting from the surface.

At that moment, he once again "threw himself" into Yammy’s broad embrace. The spear shaft glided like an ice skate over a frozen surface, smoothly tapping right between his opponent’s eyebrows.

Flustered by this ebb and flow of attacks, Yammy strained his neck to stop his head from snapping backward. Panting heavily like an out-of-control bull, he actually tried to headbutt Kaien directly!

In stark contrast, Kaien’s response was the picture of elegance. The spear, retracted at just the right moment, acted as a dancer’s hand. Taking a step back and to the side, he looked as if he were wearing a tuxedo, inviting his partner to dance—though Yammy, as the dance partner, somewhat ruined the picture.

Kaien seemed to think so as well. In the next second, he spun Nejibana around and smacked the back of Yammy’s head. Accompanied by splashing waves, Yammy was like a massive boulder thrown into the ocean, sinking down, down, down...

Until finally, he crashed into the earth known as Karakura Town.