Death: This Death is a bit unorthodox.

With a crisp "crack," Hyosube Ichibei's sternum collapsed instantly, and he flew backward.

However, a closer look reveals...

The moment the fist struck him, a large hand had already blocked it in front of him, absorbing most of the impact.

As expected of the leader of Squad Zero, his reaction speed is indeed fast!

With a dull thud.

Hyosube Ichibei's back slammed hard against the wall, shaking down the ink paintings and calligraphy hanging on it.

In an instant, billowing smoke and dust filled the air, obscuring the view.

Aozaki Mayuki narrowed his eyes slightly, his spiritual pressure surging and emitting a faint glow, as he prepared to step forward and deliver the final blow.

A burly figure burst out of the dust and kicked out with one foot.

Upon seeing this, Hyosube Ichibei quickly crossed his arms in front of his chest, trying to block the kick.

A loud "bang" was heard, followed by a muffled thud even more intense than before.

Hyobu Ichibei's arms were pressed tightly against his chest with tremendous force, as if they were about to be embedded in it.

He was sent flying backward again, like an arrow released from a bow, flying straight for thousands of meters before finally plunging deep into the ground.

"Such immense power!"

Hyosube Ichibei crawled up from the ground and squatted down.

He moved his hands, and his joints made a series of cracking sounds.

His left hand trembled incessantly, and a deep, bloody hole appeared in the center of his palm, from which blood continued to gush out.

Blood, like a spilled paint bottle, flowed down his fingertips, forming a scarlet trail.

The bones in his arms were almost completely shattered, as if they had been crushed into countless tiny fragments.

All of this was because of that fatal punch and kick.

They looked at each other, but neither of them asked the foolish question—

Should we continue?

As another drop of blood fell onto the cold floor, blooming into a bright red flower, Hyosube Ichibei suddenly made a move.

His figure moved like a ghost, and black spiritual pressure surged beneath his feet like a tide, spreading rapidly.

Without hesitation, he plunged his injured arm into the ground, as if searching for some source of power.

At the same time, Aozaki Mayuki moved lightly, instantly traversing a distance of several thousand meters, rushing towards Hyosube Ichibei at extreme speed.

His palm transformed into a sharp blade, slashing downwards with fierce momentum.

Hyobu Ichibei reacted just as quickly.

He brought his five fingers together and suddenly slapped his palm forward.

Thousand-Mile Heaven-Piercing Palm!

In an instant, a huge hand formed from spiritual pressure appeared out of thin air and slammed down on Aozaki Mayuki's hand blade.

However, Aozaki Mayuki's attack was not hindered by this.

His hand chopped down with astonishing speed, easily slicing the enormous hand in two.

But at that moment, Hyosube Ichibei's figure disappeared once again into the pitch-black spiritual pressure.

Immediately afterwards, Aozaki Mayuki discovered that her hand blade had struck the handle of a giant calligraphy brush.

That writing brush was clearly not an ordinary weapon; it was Hyosube Ichibei's Zanpakuto!

At this time, Hyosube Ichibei's body also underwent changes.

His injuries miraculously healed completely, as if he had never been injured at all.

Hyōsuke Ichibei tilted the pen, then lifted the blade, the pen tip grazing Aozaki Mayuki.

Suddenly, Aozaki Mayuki frowned, looking at her arm with some confusion.

what happened?

There was no pain, and no other sensation.

Does he not have the ability to use his Zanpakuto?

Seeing the change in his expression, Hyosube Ichibei clearly misunderstood and grinned, saying:

"Hahaha, you've figured it out, haven't you? It kills names but not flesh... That's the power of Ichimonji."

"Anything struck by this sword will have its power reduced by half, and its name will be cleaved in half."

"In other words, the name 'Aozaki Mayuki' was just cut in two, and now you are 'Aozaki'."

After saying that, Hyobu Ichibei grinned maliciously and once again swung the brush in his hand at Aozaki Mayuki.

Despite Hyosube Ichibei's attack, Aozaki Mayuki did not back down.

Instead, he suddenly started moving.

He quickly raised his arm and forcefully blocked the brush that was pressing down on him.

However, when his arm came into contact with the brush this time, he still did not feel any pain or discomfort, and his strength did not diminish at all.

Despite the oddity, Aozaki Mayuki did not stop what she was doing.

There is no room for hesitation in battle.

Without hesitation, he clenched his right fist and lunged forward to attack.

Hyobu Ichibei raised his eyebrows, a look of surprise on his face, seemingly taken aback and puzzled by Aozaki Mayuki's reaction.

Is this an attempt to trade injury for injury?

However, after being hit twice by my single strike, its strength was reduced to only a quarter. How could it possibly harm the body of the King Key?

However, at that moment, he suddenly realized that something was wrong!

Just as Aozaki Mayuki's fist was about to make contact with his body, he felt a terrifying power contained within it, and the terrifying pressure made his body tremble uncontrollably.

This force is even stronger than before!

He immediately retreated as far as he could, trying to increase the distance between himself and Aozaki Mazuki.

However, Aozaki Mayuki was faster than him.

His fist pierced Hyosugi Ichibei's body with lightning speed.

At this moment, Aozaki Mayuki unleashed the ultimate technique of the Yuanliu style after a long absence—

One bone!

boom!!!

The power of that punch was unleashed without reservation on Hyosube Ichibei!

The terrifying impact instantly engulfed Hyosube Ichibei's body completely!

"Ugh!!!"

The intense pain caused Hyosube Ichibei to let out a wail that he hadn't uttered in hundreds of thousands of years.

Meanwhile, the other four members of the Zero Division, who had noticed the commotion, finally arrived.

Upon learning that Hyobu Ichibei was about to go to war with Aozaki Mayuki, Hikifune Kiryu and Shutara Senjumaru rushed over to dissuade him.

But to their utter surprise, upon arriving at the scene, they witnessed a shocking sight—

Aozaki Mayuki actually punched Hyosube Ichibei hard in the stomach!

In an instant, Hyosube Ichibei's upper body exploded like a bomb, turning into countless pieces of flesh and blood.

His lower body remained standing, swayed a few times, and then collapsed weakly to the ground.

Chunks of flesh lay scattered in front of the crowd, and splattered blood covered the ground like blooming flowers.

"Hey, hey, hey, how did you get yourself into this state? You must be kidding me..."

Nimaiya Oetsu stared in astonishment, his mouth agape, his face filled with disbelief.

Kirinji Tenjiro, carrying his oar-like Zanpakuto, was equally speechless with shock.

Hyosube Ichibei died just like that?

Since joining the Zero Squad, this is the first time anyone has managed to beat him into such a miserable state.

In the past, even when the members of the Zero Squad sparred without holding back, Ichibei Hyosube had never been injured!

Even Nimaiya Oetsu, whose seniority in the Zero Division was second only to the monk, could not pose any threat to him.

Aozaki Mayuki... This guy actually did something that none of the Zero Squad members could do!?

Are all the captains of the Gotei 13 this terrifying now?

Looking at the pieces of flesh scattered on the ground, Aozaki Mayuki, with a relaxed expression, spoke:

"The bald guy is gone, who will take me to the Spirit King's Palace?"

"Kid, you killed our leader, how can you be so calm?"

Kirinji Tenjiro curled his lip.

We are royal spies.

Even though you killed the senior monk, you are definitely stronger than us.

But at least give them some face, right?

Aozaki Mayuki said, "Anyway, we're not going to die, so hurry up and decide, time is almost up."

After saying that, the members of Squad Zero exchanged glances.

It seems that Aozaki Mayuki doesn't intend to conquer the Spirit King's Palace.

"No wonder that guy told me to be ready at any time... I'll take you there."

Nimaiya Oetsu sighed and awkwardly raised his hand.