Chapter 25: The Strongest vs. The Strongest

"It's over, kid." Erron Black said. "Put down the sword unless you like to have bullet going through your head."

Then an idea popped into Toshiro's head. "Very well then…" He pointed his zanpakuto to the ground and jabbed it blade first. Then a small trail of ice formed the blade and connected with the trail he made trapping the mercenary's feet in the ice. Erron Black looked down and saw ice started to cover his legs and come up to the rest of his body. "Earlier you said earlier that I shouldn't bring a sword into a gun fight. I believe you got it backwards. You should never bring a gun into a sword fight." Erron glared at the captain as he pointed his gun at his head. Before he could pull the trigger, ice completely covered his hand and gun.

"Damn it!" Erron Black cursed as the rest of his body was covered in ice.

"Nice try, skinny!" Ferra taunted as Torr punched Renji hard in the gut, sending him crashing through one of the trees behind him. Torr charged towards Renji again. A smirk appeared on Renji's face as pieces of Zabimaru started to float around them. "What's big idea?!"

"I'm far from done!" he shouted as he rammed Zabimaru's handle to the ground. "Higa Zekko!" The pieces of the zanpakuto flew towards Ferra and Torr, piercing the both of them. Renji sat up as Ferra and Torr fell to the ground. "Don't ever underestimate me or my Zabimaru."

Ikkaku looked around the area, searching for Reptile. As he was fighting the Zatarn, the battle was overwhelming in Ikkaku's favor. Knowing that he was losing, Reptile vanished from his sight and Ikkaku was looking for him ever since.

"How long do you plan on hiding?!" He shouted irritated. "Come out and fight me like a man!" Ikkaku looked over his shoulder when he heard footsteps coming from behind him. Reptile appeared a few meters away from the 3rd seat as he formed a green ball in his hands. He smirked as he launched the ball at Ikkaku. Ikkaku quickly jumped out of the way as the ball one of the nearby trees. Ikkaku widen his eyes when he saw some of the tree melt away from the acid. As Ikkaku landed, Reptile charged towards him and slashed his claws at him. Ikkaku quickly blocked with Hozukimaru but Reptile spat some of his acid onto a part of the shikai where the blade is located and easily broke through it. He kicked Ikkaku in the gut, sending him back a few feet. Ikkaku stopped himself, glaring at the Zatarn. He looked down at the shikai and that the blade is gone.

"Now what can you do?" Reptile taunted. "Without your weapon, you're completely defenseless."

"You think so, huh?!" Ikkaku said, placing Hozukimaru on the ground. He looked at the Zatarn with a smirk on his face, cracking his face. "Well then, I guess I have to do this job by hand. Bring it on, if you think you have the guts."

Reptile narrowed his eyes as he charged towards Ikkaku. "You'll regret challenging me boy!" Ikkaku grinned as he charged at the Zatarn. Reptile punched Ikkaku in the face who responds with a punch of his own. The two exchanged punches with each other with each punch connecting and neither one giving an inch. Reptile narrowed his eyes in frustration, seeing that the soul reaper wasn't faltering from the hits he's receiving. The Zatarn spat more acid at Ikkaku, aiming for his eyes. Ikkaku quickly put his arms up in defense as the acid covered them. He grunted in pain from the burning acids on his arms. Reptile took advantage of the opportunity and punched Ikkaku hard in the gut and kicked in the face, knocking him back. As Reptile charged towards Ikkaku again, the 3rd seat gave him a swift uppercut to the jaw and head-butted him hard in the skull, knocking the Zatarn unconscious.

"Man that stuff burns." Ikkaku said, looking at his arms as he picks up Hozukimaru. "I'm lucky it didn't melt my arms off. You're crafty, I'll give you that much. If you ever want a rematch, come and find me."

Byakuya walked towards Ermac calmly. Since their battle, all of Ermac's attacks have blocked by Senbonzakura's pedal-like blades. "You do realize, do you?" he said. "None of your attacks can touch me nor get anywhere near me."

"That's where you're wrong." Ermac said, using his magic to bind the Squad 6 Captain and lift him up in the air. He sends a pulse of energy towards Byakuya but Senbonzakura's pedals appeared in front of him and absorb the blow. Then pedal-like blades headed towards Ermac. Ermac quickly his energy to bind the blades heading for him and blast them away, releasing Byakuya in the process.

"I see…not only do use those spirits as an energy source of your attacks, you use them to defend as well. Just how many souls do you hold?"

"We hold the might of thousands! All of them bestowed by Shao Kahn's magic!"

Byakuya's zanpakuto returned into its blade form as he appeared behind Ermac, trying to strike him down. Ermac quickly turn around and send a pulse of energy at Byakuya, pushing him back. Ermac, not giving Byakuya chance to get his bearings, fired a ball of magic energy at him.

"Hado #33: Sokatsui!"Byakuya fired a blast of blue energy at Ermac's attack, causing both of them to explode on contact. From the smoke, another blast of kido was fired at the fusion of souls. Ermac fired another blast of magic energy at the kido, creating an explosion. Then Byakuya appeared in front of Ermac, swinging his sword at the fusion of souls. Ermac stuck his hand towards Byakuya's face as the captain got closer to him. An explosion erupted and Byakuya jumped out of the smoke, showing the effects of the attack. Before he could do anything, he was caught and bound by Ermac's magic again. The smoke cleared and showed Ermac was unharmed.

"It's over, intruder." Ermac said, lifting the captain into the air as he floats in the air also. "Now your soul will our collection!"

Byakuya tried to move a part of his body but couldn't with Ermac's magic holding him. All he could do tighten the grip of his sword. That gave him an idea. Byakuya let go of the grip of his sword and let it fall to the ground. The sword faded away as it touched the ground. "Bankai…" Then two rows of giant blades came out of the ground.

"What is this?" Ermac questioned, looking at the giant blades. The blades dissolved into sakura pedals, surrounding Ermac and trapping in a sphere and forced him to release the captain.

"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi…" Byakuya's voice sounded off in the sphere. "This is Senbonzakura's billion blades. They trapped their enemy within a sphere and cut them from every direction. If you have an army of thousands within you as you claimed, how will they fare if a billion swords cut them down?"

Ermac gritted his teeth in anger as he puts every bit of psychic energy to try stopping Byakuya's attack. "No!" He shouted. "We refuse to be defeated like this!"

"Gokei Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!" The sphere lit up as it exploded, destroying everything in its path. The pedal like blades vanished as Byakuya reappeared and saw Ermac still standing but with several cuts throughout his body. Then Ermac fell to his knees and collapsed. Byakuya lifted his arm and his zanpakuto reformed in his hand in its sword form as he put it back in its sheath.

Kenpachi and Kotal Kahn continued to clash with each other and Kenpachi was enjoying every second of it. His eye patch was off so he couldn't hold back in this battle any longer. His body was filled with cuts from Kotal Kahn's weapon and blood was coming out of them fast. Kotal Khan was in no better condition. Aside the damage he took from his battle with Ichigo, he has cuts on his body from Kenpachi as well. With every slash he got from Kotal Kahn, he came back with more force more before.

'He's just as bloodthirsty as Mileena, maybe even more.' Kotal thought, avoiding another swung of the captain's sword. He swung his blade at Kenpachi again, who blocked it with his sword. Kotal grabbed Kenpachi's face and lifted the captain. Kenpachi widen his eyes in shock, feeling some of his energy leaving his body as the emperor threw him back several feet. Kenpachi skidded back until he stopped himself only to see Kotal lower his weapon down on Kenpachi, cutting him again. Kenpachi smirked as he swung his sword of Kotal again. Kotal blocked it with his weapon but the force put behind the swing pushed him back several feet. Kotal fell to one knee, breathing heavily.

"Don't tell me you're done." Kenpachi said. "We're just getting started."

"As much I would want to this battle to continue, I'm afraid this is where we end it." Kotal Kahn said as blue aura surrounds his body. "I'll cut you down with this one strike."

"So you're putting everything you've got in this last attack." Yellow aura surrounds Kenpachi's body. "That's fine by me! Bring it on!"

They stood there for a few seconds waiting to know what happens next. The two charged towards each other and time seemed like it slowed down. When they got close to each other, time returned to its normal speed as they swung their weapons at each other. They passed each other waiting for the other to fall. Then a cut opened up on Kenpachi's chest, dropping the captain to one knee. Kotal Kahn smirked at that results but it quickly disappeared and a huge cut opened up on his chest, causing him to collapse. Kenpachi stood back up and looked over at the fallen emperor.

"Thanks for a good fight." Kenpachi said with his trademark smile. "It was fun."

To be continued…

Hey guys, hope you like the chapter. More Bleach characters are coming in the next chapter. There's a poll on my profile. You still have all of this week and next week to vote. Until next time, see ya.