"Come to think of it, it's quite amazing. Even though Kuchiki Koga is dead, this place can still exist."
Toshiro looked around at the endless expanse of water and couldn't help but say with some surprise.
If a Shinigami dies, their Inner World naturally disappears as well. Yet Muramasa was still here in his Inner World.
"Well, who knows. Even I don't know why I'm here. Did the reunion with Koga bring me here? Or is this just an illusion?"
Muramasa looked at his own hands, his expression confused.
"This is definitely not an illusion. I can assure you of that."
Toshiro said with certainty.
Given Toshiro's strength, if it were an illusion, he would have noticed it from the start.
"Well, whatever. Whether it's an illusion or reality doesn't matter anymore. Anyway, this place is about to collapse soon."
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
As Muramasa's words fell, the surrounding stone pillars collapsed one after another, and even the space of the entire Inner World began to collapse.
"But speaking of which, I still have to thank fate. At the last moment of my life, I can meet you again. It seems even the world wants us to have a final reckoning."
Muramasa reached out, and a sword appeared in his hand.
Whoosh!
Muramasa flashed and instantly appeared before Toshiro, then swung his sword fiercely.
Clang!
Toshiro drew his sword and easily blocked Muramasa's attack.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
One strike failing, Muramasa swung his sword again, unleashing a sky full of blade light that enveloped Toshiro.
But Toshiro remained calm and composed, swinging his Zanpakuto seemingly slowly but actually quickly to block Muramasa's attacks, looking utterly relaxed and carefree.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew as swords clashed. The sky full of blade light that Muramasa desperately unleashed could not break through Toshiro's defense.
"Surrender, Muramasa. Koga is dead. You should have no reason to fight anymore. If you surrender, I can ensure that the Soul Society won't make things too difficult for you."
Toshiro again urged him to surrender.
It had to be said that Muramasa's ability was too unbelievably powerful. Even a Zanpakuto on the level of Ryujin Jakka could be bewitched and controlled.
Without prior preparation, few Zanpakuto could escape the influence of Muramasa's power.
So, if they could subdue Muramasa, it would undoubtedly be a great help to the Soul Society.
This was also why Toshiro had been lingering with Muramasa until now. If Toshiro had really gotten serious, dealing with a Muramasa who could no longer influence his own Zanpakuto wouldn't have been difficult at all.
The reason he hadn't finished him off yet and was still 'playing' with him wasn't just because Toshiro sympathized with Muramasa. More importantly, he valued Muramasa's power.
"Hmph, how naive. Do you think I would surrender to you Shinigami just because I have no way out? Impossible. Koga is dead, and I have no attachments left in this world. Life or death doesn't matter to me anymore. Since that's the case, I will fight until the very end, until the end of my life."
Facing Toshiro's recruitment, Muramasa refused without hesitation.
As Muramasa said, after Koga's death, he had no attachments left.
Although Koga was cold and heartless towards Muramasa, causing him to fall into grief and despair, Koga was always his master, and Muramasa had spent his life seeking his trust.
Whether it was hate or love, with Koga's death, everything became empty, and Muramasa's heart became a blank slate, as if he had lost the meaning of existence.
So for the current Muramasa, life or death didn't matter anymore.
After refusing Toshiro's surrender offer, Muramasa launched another fierce attack.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Toshiro, while blocking Muramasa's attacks, spoke: "Alright, since you refuse, there's no helping it. But to show you respect, in these last moments of your life, I'll have a good fight with you."
Although he had long known it would be difficult to recruit someone of Muramasa's character, Toshiro still couldn't help but feel some regret upon hearing his clear refusal.
But Muramasa was indeed an opponent worthy of sympathy and respect. So Toshiro decided to have a fight with no regrets in these final moments, as a farewell.
"Ha!"
Having made his decision, Toshiro shouted, suddenly switching from defense to offense. He agilely flicked his wrist, unleashing a sky full of gleaming blade light like a storm of pear blossoms.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Facing Toshiro's offensive, Muramasa desperately swung his sword in a panic.
Sclick! Sclick! Sclick!
Although Muramasa was doing his best, he still couldn't completely block Toshiro's attacks. Small cuts began to appear on his body.
At this moment, Muramasa was not Hollowfied like he was outside. But precisely because of this, without Hollowification, Muramasa could not erupt Reiatsu at the peak of Captain-class, even approaching Beyond Captain-class.
Currently, Muramasa's full power eruption was at most late Captain-class. In terms of Reiatsu, he wasn't much stronger than Toshiro, who hadn't released his Zanpakuto. But Toshiro's swordsmanship had already reached its peak, and in terms of physical strength, Hoho, Kido, and other aspects, he was far superior to Muramasa.
So, considering overall strength, even without releasing his Zanpakuto, Toshiro was superior to the current Muramasa.
Clang!
Blade tips clashed. This time, they didn't separate immediately but began to exert force against each other.
"Ha!"
Toshiro shouted, erupting his powerful physical strength, transmitting it through his Zanpakuto to Muramasa, pushing him back step by step.
Boom!
Finally, Muramasa's body was pushed by Toshiro, sinking into the water like a falling meteor.
Toshiro also gave chase, as if wanting to finish him off completely, pursuing him into the water.
Although they were in the water, it didn't affect their fight at all.
Muramasa's blade suddenly glowed with purple light, and he slashed a Kenatsu at Toshiro.
Toshiro was not to be outdone, pouring Reiatsu into his Zanpakuto and sending an ice-blue Kenatsu to meet Muramasa's attack.
Boom!
The Kenatsus collided, power erupted, and a dozens-of-meters-high wave shot up, the water's surface churning like a stormy sea.
Bang!
Before the water could calm, Muramasa's figure suddenly burst out from the surface.
Bang!
Toshiro followed closely, bursting out as well.
"hunkuho!
Whoosh!
Toshiro flashed, taking advantage of Muramasa just exiting the water and being off-balance, appearing before him and instantly attacking.
Sclick!
Blood sprayed. Toshiro's attack once again successfully left a wound on Muramasa.
Whoosh!
Helpless, enduring the pain, Muramasa flashed repeatedly, putting distance between himself and Toshiro.
"Haah... haah..."
After catching his breath, just as Toshiro was about to pursue, Muramasa suddenly extended his left hand towards him.
Then, an invisible wave of Reiatsu emanated, and Toshiro's body suddenly halted, as if bound by something, stopping in mid-air.