Chapter #20,5 - Pure Technique Fight

When Kizuna accepted her offer, they looked at each other in a mutual way. On one side of the training ground, everyone who was somehow in the know was gathered, watching them.

Kizuna gave a resigned sigh and asked Tier Harribel, "Are you sure about this?" There was a clear difference in power. That's why, apart from Sonido and Hierro, no reiatsu, techniques, etc. were to be used. It was a pure technique fight.

Nevertheless, Kizuna had great confidence in the effort he had put into increasing his speed. He was only worried about hurting Tier Harribel.

Tier responded in a flat voice. "Of course, I wonder what your pure fighting skills are like."

Kizuna's eyes narrowed at the answer. Despite his speed advantage, he lacked confidence. He involuntarily increased his focus. This resulted in silence around them both, with only the slight rustle of the wind and their focused gazes on each other.

Kizuna moved his claws and walked a few steps towards Tier. Tier calmly took position with her sword. The uncertainty of who would make the first move was determined by the exchange of glances they exchanged, and Kizuna suddenly lunged forward, his claws making a sharp attack towards his opponent's sword!

His sudden speed caused the sand to lift behind him. In the eyes of some Arrancars, Kizuna seemed to teleport for an instant.

The sword met the claws with a metallic clang, the first clash ended as both sides stepped back. Kizuna was briefly surprised by the reaction to his speed, but recovered quickly. A more difficult challenge awaited him than he had anticipated.

Tier was smiling now, although it was not visible through her jacket's high collar. Kizuna, as she had expected, had a terrifying speed. She would have missed him in the first collision if she hadn't paid attention! As she had expected, she had to trust her senses more than anything else in this fight.

Kizuna lunged at her once more, launching a series of fast and sharp attacks with his many claws, Tier skillfully countering each thrust with her sword. The clash of metals was heard one after another.

As the sounds of the collision grew louder and louder, the spectators in the background whispered among themselves in amazement.

"T-This is crazy!" raised Loly's voice. Menoly grabbed Loly's hand, frightened. The collision of these monsters was too frightening!

Emilou Apacci was equally shocked as she watched with an ambivalent expression. "Harribel-sama and Kizuna... way out of our league." It was undoubtedly hard to follow as each claw and sword strike created an aftershock.

Mila Rosa, with a rare focus, said, "Kizuna is very fast and hits hard, but without technique. Look at Harribel-sama dodging them all with care." Cyan Sung-Sun chuckled and spoke as if she knew something:

"I hope Harribel-sama gets the answer she wants."

Cirucci was breathless with the intensity of the battle she was watching. If they could achieve such an effect even though it was only a sparring match and they were holding back... Cirucci didn't even want to think about what would happen if they didn't.

Antonella, right next to her, muttered in a low voice.

"This is monstrous."

Just after that sentence, the collisions became frantic and the dust cloud closed in around Kizuna and Tier, obscuring their vision. All that could be heard was the sound of metal on metal. The frenzied blows were getting louder and louder.

The first to emerge from the sand cloud was Tier Harribel, who was retreating backwards. Then came Kizuna, who jumped on top of her and swung his claws up and down in an 'X' shape.

She tried to deflect this too with her sword, but the claws stuck in the blade for a brief moment. At this moment they looked at each other's faces. Behind the focused expression on Tier's face, a rivalry adorned it. With Kizuna's overall superiority and the fact that this was just a training session, Tier was caught up in the heat of battle without restraint.

Kizuna, on the other hand, was surprised after surprised. No matter how much he increased his speed, Tier Harribel could react to him!

"How?" asked Kizuna. He continued as he retracted his claws and stepped back: "How do you react so well?"

Tier paused and replied in an amused voice: " Sense." After a brief pause, she explained:

"Even though it gets harder to see every second, I can sense your presence, so I can react."

Before she needed to go on, Kizuna understood and shuddered. The sight reminded him once again how important combat experience is. But he refused to lose. A similar flame of competition flared in him and he grinned.

"Very good. Let's see how long you can keep going."

And once again he began a barrage of attacks. Each time Tier seemed to be falling behind. But finally Tier caught Kizuna off guard with a swift and sharp cross sword swing, and Tier's eyes flashed like a predator's.

Kizuna narrowly dodged Tier's sword and a few strands of his white hair fell to the ground, as he saw this he quickly drew back and charged towards his opponent's sword with a powerful thrust.

The claws slid across the metal, sending sparks flying. Tier quickly side-stepped to avoid Kizuna's attack and launched a counterattack. Her sword descended swiftly towards Kizuna's right shoulder, but Kizuna deftly met the attack with his claws and parried the sword.

"Is there a need to go on?" questioned Kizuna as he continued his attacks. He knew the answer he would get. He tried to force Tier's defenses by using his claws faster and stronger.

Tier was attentive to Kizuna's every move, her eyes sharp and focused. "We've only just begun," she replied, twirling her sword, parrying one of Kizuna's claws and returning the other.

Kizuna, his claws swiped back, tried to take her down with a quick leg sweep, but Tier stepped back and gave a slight chuckle: "Nice try."

Kizuna sighed in resignation and continued to attack. As each attack was parried, Kizuna became more ferocious. His claws swept through the air, each blow striking Tier's sword with great force.

Tier, however, managed to block the attacks, even if she retreated only a few steps. It wasn't the power. No, she was transmitting the force to the ground, solidifying her defenses, demonstrating her swordsmanship.

Kizuna, on the other hand, based on the wild experiences of his time as a wolf, adopted an increasingly out-of-control style of attack. His attacks became sharper, each blow more deadly. Sparks flew and metallic clang echoed every time his claws struck Tier's sword.

Tier had little trouble meeting Kizuna's savage attacks. Her sword skillfully withstood the speed and power of Kizuna's claws.

Kizuna suddenly increased his speed and charged towards Tier. His claws pushed through Tier's defenses with a series of quick, successive blows. Tier was forced to take a step back in the face of this attack, but without a moment's hesitation, she counterattacked. As her sword descended rapidly towards Kizuna's claws, Kizuna parried it with his claws and moved quickly to Tier's side.

Kizuna took this as an opportunity and struck Tier in the stomach with his claws. Tier, however, had anticipated this attack and quickly retreated, narrowly avoiding the blow. Immediately afterwards, she twirled her sword and made a quick slash towards Kizuna's claws and fists.

Kizuna was beginning to tire from the succession of brutal attacks and was panting for breath. Taking a step back, he noticed a gleam in Tier's eyes and began to question the purpose of this duel.

Just then, Tier raised her sword again and made another thrust, this time with a swiftness that pushed through Kizuna's defenses. Kizuna was not expecting this, but he managed to counter Tier's move with a swift swing of his claws.

Kizuna parried Tier's sword and stopped for a moment. "Your intuition is frightening," he said, taking a deep breath.

Tier paused, her eyes locked on Kizuna's. "So is your power and speed. Looks like you've pulled yourself together, huh?"

Kizuna smiled in defeat. "Yes, although I clearly couldn't beat you."

Tier lowered her sword and took a step towards Kizuna. "You lack fighting experience because you rely on pure power and speed. Anyway..." and paused once more. She continued with emotions in her eyes that Kizuna saw for the first time: "Let's end this duel and talk about something really important."

Kizuna pulled his claws back and looked at Tier. "Deal."

With one final move, the fight between Tier and Kizuna ended. With that, there was a round of applause. At that moment, both of them exchanged a look of understanding that they should go to a more appropriate place to talk.

Before entering the ma, Kizuna's do not follow voice echoed outside and the two of them entered the pavilion together.