288. Kekkai

A unique existence?

Ichigo chewed on that word.

Rukia and the rest of the group didn't talk further into that topic.

"It's better if you go to Kisuke Urahara. That man is very peculiar, he might be able to help you."

Leo spoke to Ichigo. The latter nodded.

"Right, let's get started."

With other matters out of the way Leo started to instruct Chad, Orihime and Uryuu.

Ichigo also left since he had nothing to do.

...

In an unmanned valley in Karakura town.

The air rippled as a black hole opened in mid air.

A person dressed in black garbs walked out. He was tall and had rough skin. The most eye catching thing about him was the tattered captains robe he wore.

"How long has it been since I walked the living world?"

The man asked himself.

Leo was instructing Chad and Orihime when he sensed the arrival of this man.

He frowned.

This man had an evil soul, an extreme one at that.

"You guys continue, I'll be right back."

He said to the group and rushed to the sky before disappearing from their sight, "What could have happened?"

Chad muttered.

...

The burly man was just about to walk out of the alley when he sensed someone coming towards his direction. Whoever it was, they were moving at incredible speed.

Ssh!

He raised his head and saw a man flash in front of him. The man was well built and had a charming face. He wore white shirt and black pants. And in his hand was a sword.

The man curled his lips into a faint smile as he said, "Leo Heart."

Leo narrowed his eyes, "You know me?"

The man laughed, "Of course. You, as a human, matched the captain commander. There are many who are curious about you."

"Uh-huh. So, what brings you here?"

The man suddenly smiled. His smile looked a bit disgusting.

"Hehe, I wanted to see what's so great about you."

As he spoke he drew out his zanpakuto.

"Bankai, Shadow Bind."

Slash!

As soon as the man drew out his zanpakuto Leo reacted. He slashed out. A sword ray flashed and cut towards the man.

His opponent raised his sword that was giving off tremendous amount spiritual energy. When Leo's sword ray touched his sword it disappeared.

Hm?

Leo looked behind him. He saw a portion of a building next to him get sliced off neatly. There were bystanders around when the crumbled part fell down. Leo waved his sword and shattered the falling rubble into dust.

He frowned. There was a lot of people around them. Without figuring out his opponents ability, it was unwise to directly confront him.

Just at that moment Leo lost sight of his opponent. Even his spiritual sense lost track of him.

Well...

Leo was surprised. His extreme Kenbunshoku Haki immediately shower him a scene into the future. He jumped to the sky and stayed there using his spiritual energy as a foothold.

The place where he was a moment ago was suddenly engulfed by a flood of shadows.

The burly man rose from the dark shadows. He looked at Leo and grinned, "Not bad. Not many could sense my attack, much less dodge them. You certainly deserve the title as the strongest human."

Leo narrowed his eyes as he slashed out. The man again disappeared from his sight and sense.

This time Leo focused his extreme Kenbunshoku within a limited area. Several scenes into the future emerged in his mind.

There!

Silent Wind!

Leo disappeared.

The burly man cloaked in darkness emerged from a corner. Just as he peeked out he saw a sword slashing at him.

Ssh!

The man reacted immediately and disappeared into the shadows.

He reappeared several meters away. He looked at Leo with surprise, "You can sense me?"

Leo didn't bother to reply. He disappeared once more and flashed right next to the man.

"Hmph! Don't be so confident! Shadow Prison!"

Suddenly the shadows around them twisted. It rose from the ground and wrapped around the man.

Leo's sword fell on him and slashed through his body. But no blood was spilt.

Hm?

Leo frowned. He slashed once more and took a step back. From his spiritual sense he saw both of his slashes being redirected to his surroundings.

"Haha, what can you do? What can you do? You can't touch me!"

"Maybe."

Leo commented and disappeared once more.

Merciful Rain!

Countless swords rose to the sky. All of it formed a circle and blocked the burly man inside.

By now many people had noticed the commotion that was happening and crowded around the area. Leo had no choice but to limit the movement of his opponent.

The countless swords blocking the burly man hummed. A trace of spiritual energy leaked out from every sword, faintly forming a seal.

What?!

The burly man was shocked. He could sense the area around them getting sealed. More accurately speaking, the stability of his surroundings were being strengthened!

Leo flashed in front the man and slashed.

Spurt!

This time the man wasn't able to redirect the brunt of the attack. A long wound appeared on his chest. Blood seeped out and dyed his clothes red.

"You! Aahh!!

The man's eyes turned red when he saw his own blood. His spiritual energy started to churn wildly. The seal formed by Leo's sword stance shook for a second before it broke.

The shadows around them rolled like waves. It crashed into the buildings and reduced it to dust.

Leo frowned.

Immovable Mountain!

He used his strongest defense and pushed out the humans around them. The shadow tide swallowed everything it touched.

Slowly it started to engulf it's surroundings. A couple of buildings were gone in an instant.

Leo looked around. There were still crowds of people running around in panic. He let go of his sword and slapped his palms together.

"Kekkai, Celestial Prison."

Masses of spiritual energy spilled out of Leo. It glowed golden and formed a spiritual cover over every human.

The shadow tide fell on this spiritual cover, trying to devour it. However the golden glow only fluctuated for a second and held on.

The burly man grinned. His eyes glowed with madness as he roared in laughter.

"Buhaha, I admit, you are strong. You can easily kill me. But, with these pests holding you back, how are you going to stop me? This is why I hated my job."

"These ignorant ants don't understand anything. They just live and die without knowing anything. Looking at them makes me wanna puke."

He walked towards Leo, step by step.

"As someone who stood his ground against that old man, it's a shame to see you die this helplessly."

Leo was still holding his palms together. He was providing cover for a lot of people, so he couldn't divert his mind for an attack.

He raised his head and looked at the burly man. His lips curled up into a vague smile.

"For situations like this, I have backup."

The man sensed something was wrong when he saw Leo's smile. Before he could react he saw a beautiful woman land silently beside Leo.

She raised her slender palm and made a seal.

"Kekkai, Poison Valley."