Chapter 555 - 555 The Hardest Hierro

Clang—!!!

The Zanpakuto and the sickle collided, producing a piercing metallic screech.

Ashido and Nnoitra both shuddered, then involuntarily stepped back from the recoil.

Nnoitra took three steps back, while Ashido took five.

Nnoitra's expression changed. "You... you're not bad. You actually made my hand go numb."

Clearly, after that exchange, Nnoitra had shed his contempt.

On the other side, Ashido looked extremely grave. "You too. As expected of the Quinto Espada. You're much stronger than that Yammy fellow."

That last clash was a pure test of strength. Because Ashido had been sent flying by Nnoitra earlier, he didn't dare underestimate him. So, when his Zanpakuto collided with the huge sickle, Ashido had used his full strength.

Yet even so, Ashido still came out on the losing end. This meant Ashido's strength, or at least his raw power, was inferior to Nnoitra's!

"Hey, Shinigami! I am Nnoitra Gilga, the Quinto Espada. What's your name? As a decently strong guy about to die by my hand, I'll make the effort to remember your name!" Nnoitra said arrogantly.

"I am Ashido, Third Seat of the 10th Division. But it's not certain who will die in the end!" Ashido replied with equal firmness.

However, although Ashido seemed confident on the surface, inside he was already thinking about how to defeat his opponent.

'I can't match him in pure strength. If that's the case... I'll have to use my strengths to avoid his weaknesses. Use my vast combat experience to find his opening and defeat him.'

Thinking this, Ashido shouted again and charged at Nnoitra. But this time, instead of clashing head-on, he engaged Nnoitra in a melee, using his agile movements and rich combat experience.

…

Meanwhile, inside Las Noches, on one of the branching paths.

Toshiro was quickly advancing, holding Nel, with Rangiku beside him.

"Hmm!?"

Toshiro, while running, suddenly let out a surprised sound.

"What's wrong, Captain?" Rangiku asked.

"Just now... I sensed two quite powerful Reiatsu colliding. One of them seemed to be Ashido's." Toshiro frowned.

"That should be Ashido fighting an enemy. But... for you to call it a 'powerful' Reiatsu, Captain, it seems the enemy is quite strong. I wonder who Ashido ran into?" Rangiku asked curiously.

Hearing Rangiku's words, Toshiro closed his eyes again, sensing carefully. Then he opened them, a look of concern on his face. "The enemy's Reiatsu is stronger than the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow, but weaker than the Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra. So, Ashido should be facing the Quinto Espada..."

"The Quinto Espada? Can Ashido handle that?" Rangiku asked worriedly.

"The Quinto Espada's Reiatsu is probably not weaker than that Zaraki fellow. Compared to Ashido, it's significantly stronger. Even though Ashido has very rich combat experience... he might not be a match for the enemy." Toshiro said gravely.

In Toshiro's sensing, Nnoitra's Reiatsu was probably at the peak of Captain-class, while Ashido had only recently broken through to late Captain-class. Purely in terms of Reiatsu, the gap between Ashido and Nnoitra wasn't small.

Although the difference between peak Captain-class and late Captain-class might seem small, Captain-class was already a high-level combat power in the Shinigami world. The gap between each sub-level, while not a chasm, was not easily crossed.

For example, among the Gotei 13's Shinigami, besides the Captains, there were Captain-class existences like Ikkaku and Renji. But they were at early Captain-class, and the gap between them and the Captains was still large.

Among the Captain-class, the weakest, Sajin and Sui-Feng, were probably at mid Captain-class. Yet, even they were much stronger than Ikkaku and Renji.

Just like when Renji had just broken through to Captain-class and was still easily thrashed by Byakuya, who was only mid Captain-class at the time. Even a single sub-level difference within Captain-class was significant. Unless you were a cheating protagonist like Ichigo, it was very difficult for ordinary people to cross.

In Toshiro's view, Ashido was clearly not a heaven-sent protagonist. Even though his centuries of battle in the Forest of Menos gave him much richer combat experience than ordinary people, it would still be very difficult for him to defeat Nnoitra.

"Captain, what should we do now? Should we temporarily stop searching for the Expeditionary Force and go support Ashido?" Hearing even Toshiro admit Ashido would likely lose, Rangiku was truly panicked.

"We will now... advance at full speed! Whether to support Ashido or continue searching for the Expeditionary Force, we must exit this branching path as quickly as possible!" Toshiro said in a deep voice.

Having said that, Toshiro immediately increased his speed. Rangiku gritted her teeth, ignoring Reiatsu consumption, and desperately kept up.

Swish—

Nnoitra swung his huge sickle at Ashido.

Seeing this, a glint of sharp light flashed in Ashido's eyes. He sidestepped the sickle's blade. Nnoitra seemed unable to immediately retract his weapon due to swinging too hard.

Then, Ashido's rich combat experience instinctively made him seize Nnoitra's opening. He slashed at a weak point on the sickle.

Clang!

Ashido's slash struck Nnoitra's huge sickle. The powerful force nearly made Nnoitra drop it. Although Nnoitra struggled to hold onto his weapon, he stumbled backward, nearly falling.

"Good opportunity!"

Ashido suddenly shouted, seizing the moment to slash at the off-balance Nnoitra.

Swish—

Ashido's Zanpakuto traced a bright arc of light, landing on Nnoitra's body. However...

Clang—!!!

Ashido's Zanpakuto struck Nnoitra, sparks flying, producing a metallic clang.

Far from being killed, Nnoitra wasn't even scratched.

"What?!" Ashido was shocked.

Swish—

While Ashido was shocked, Nnoitra, having regained his balance, swung his huge sickle backhandedly at him.

Schlick—!!!

Blood bloomed. A huge wound appeared on Ashido's body. Unlike Nnoitra, he couldn't remain unscathed after being cut.

Fortunately, Ashido's rich combat experience had become instinct. He instinctively twisted his body just before being hit. So, although the wound looked long, it wasn't very deep.

Swish!

Ashido quickly flickered back, putting distance between them.

Then Ashido said, shocked, "How is this possible?! Unbelievable... being slashed by me and coming out unscathed..."

Ashido admitted that both his Reiatsu and strength were slightly inferior to Nnoitra's. But only slightly. The gap wasn't so large that he could be slashed and remain completely unharmed.

Ashido believed that if it were someone of his Captain's level, being slashed by him and coming out unharmed would be normal. But no matter what, Ashido didn't believe Nnoitra's strength had reached his Captain's level.

"Hmph, haha..." Nnoitra laughed wildly. "Shinigami! My Hierro is the hardest among all Espada to date! Your Shinigami swords can't hurt me!!"