Let the years strengthen: Kuroi's training [R, DE]

[Zou ۞]

This is a SINGULAR training thread. No one can enter to participate. No one is going to be watching. This is a private room, closed off to everyone else. This room is gigantic, dome-like, empty except for the participants and combatants. Kuroi will be training not just his body and skills, but his techniques. He will be mastering his bladed abilities. This is part of his quest to become the greatest swordsman alive. What will happen in this thread is DE purely because some of it will be permanent, in terms of scars and lost parts and whatnot. Kuroi will be training WITH some people, and also UNDER one person. He will find training partners among a few, and he will then later find himself as a pupil under one. His training will be typed up later, piece by piece. Below, there's a list of what will happen as this thread progresses.

• Training vs Grimoire
  
• Training to imitate Grimoire
  
• Training vs Souzetsu
  
• Training UNDER Nishiru
  
• Final battle: Swordsman fight - Kuroi vs Nishiru
  

[Zou ۞]

[Day 1] (Note: Grimoire is doing this because he is technically "friends" with Kuroi.)

Clang!

"Is that all, Kuroi Naito?" a voice grumbled with the depth of a dragon's stomach. The monstrous, evil tone was menacing. Blades were slammed up against each other. At that moment, two figures stood, each holding only a single blade. One was a man in black khaki pants and black dress shoes, but who wore no shirt. His bare torso was fresh, vitalized, and it had very good tones. The muscles were great, he had an eight pack, etc. His hair was black, and short. His eyes were black, and staring intently at the enemy. The other one was not even a man, some would think. He was a huge monster of over seven feet tall, with gigantic rippling muscles, orange skin, and a contorted, demonic face. His skin looked contorted in general, in fact. The two present were Kuroi Naito, Segunda Espada, and Grimoire Acero, Primera Envainar.

In Kuroi's grasp, a guardless blade that glowed with some sort of white aura. It was a beautiful, majestic katana. On it, the word "Contrivance" was visible in white text. In Grimoire's grasp, there was an enormous white katana, easily larger than an average buster sword, and yet regular katana size to Grimoire. Both held their blades in their right hands. "What did you ask me, Grimoire Acero?" Kuroi asked in a tone of voice indicating not only insult, but menace. He was willing to kill Grimoire for uttering such nonsense. Grimoire's blade was great however, and it was pressed up tightly against Kuroi's. Grimoire's strength was pushing Kuroi back ever so slightly. Their locked blades were not evenly matched in physical strength at that time. "I asked you if that's all you can muster in strength, Segunda Espada." Grimoire clarified boldly.

Instantly, his blade began pushing with more force. "With the way things look right now...your skill with the blade will never equal mine. With the way things appear, you will never reach your goal. Right now...YOU'RE WEAK!" Instantly, his blade broke through Kuroi's guarding stance, and Kuroi had to force himself back, knowing what was coming. Instantly, it was as if white flames were visible in front of Kuroi, dancing towards him. This was actually Grimoire's sword, moving with such blurring speed that it looked like fire. If the flames even touched Kuroi, no doubt his body would be shredded completely. "Jigoku no Bijutsu: Saisho no Buredofomu." Grimoire declared. Kuroi's eyes narrowed and he quickly kicked his foot upwards. Instantly, a new blade was there, this time in his left hand. In a flash of light, he'd gotten a new sword. This one was black and curved like a lightning bolt just at the guard point.

He began to spin his blades like buzz saws in his hands. Winds danced around his body, though without the same significant power as Grimoire's would tend to draw. The winds were enough to angle Grimoire's blades away from intended target stroke areas by a full inch, allowing Kuroi to glance Grimoire's incoming blade directly off of his two blades, therefore blocking Grimoire's attacks as Kuroi continued to back away. By backing up and deflecting literally every stroke even an inch away from himself, Kuroi initially prevented Grimoire from killing him with this sword style. However, it was obviously quite tiring. "Oni...FUKUSUHA!" Kuroi declared. He began moving his blades with even more blurring speed, attempting then to hold his ground. Sweat began dripping from his body as he blocked off the vicious rampage from Grimoire. Most swordsman would be dead by now. Kuroi was proving that he was extraordinary.

"I don't intend to lose." Kuroi told Grimoire then, their blades continuing to meet. Kuroi suddenly whirled to the side, Grimoire's blade nicking his bare shoulder just barely, drawing a small droplet of blood. However, Kuroi flicked his foot as he propelled off of it, into Grimoire's discomfort zone as a third blade made it to Kuroi's mouth. This one looked like a much more ordinary katana, though with a very fine blade to it. He held it in his mouth by the hilt, of course. He spun, moving the blade in his mouth upwards to slash to Grimoire's face. Grimoire on the other hand was busy whirling to the side in an attempt to dodge fierce slashes from the two blades that Kuroi held. In this way, Kuroi caused his mouth blade to rake across Grimoire's left cheek. It wasn't a deep wound, only enough to get a single droplet of blood, just like Grimoire's earlier strike to Kuroi's shoulder. "Karatsubasa."

However, getting that wound on Grimoire during a sword fight was impressive enough in itself. The two had their backs turned to each other as Kuroi blurred past Grimoire, skidding forwards, around eight meters away. The two turned to face each other, and the gap instantly closed. "Jigoku no Bijutsu: Dai Sodofomu." Grimoire declared. It was suddenly as if rain from in front was falling forwards, moving to Kuroi not from above, but from in front of him. In reality, it was Grimoire's blade, which stabbed furiously towards Kuroi with insane speed, precision, and power. Kuroi instantly switched back to Oni Fukusuha, letting his third blade fall from his mouth, touching his shoe and instantly disappearing in a flash of reiatsu. With his two blades, he began to continue spinning them, using winds to move Grimoire's blade by a mere inch, and just barely manage to adjust this to deflect strikes away from himself.

It was only by a hair that each new strike continued to miss Kuroi. In the meantime, he was attempting with the best of his ability to observe Grimoire. He wanted to know all about Grimoire's fighting styles with these blades. He was naturally very, very interested in it. He was going to master it himself, in fact. He'd learn and master Grimoire's Hell Art Sword Forms! It would take days, probably weeks or months even. Hell, years would probably pass before he had it truly down. Kuroi didn't even have the speed to master it. He would have to increase his speed somehow to do that. However, Kuroi had faith in himself. He'd succeed inevitably. By learning Grimoire's styles, and adapting this power, he'd become stronger. By doing this, Kuroi had confidence. By continuing to improve his own swordstyles, and then learn Grimoire's too, he would become...the greatest swordsman alive.

That was Kuroi's goal, his absolute dream! With this in mind, despite the sweat tearing across his body from trying to keep himself on an even level with Grimoire's relentless, maddening sword skill, Kuroi was able to continue. He was blocking strikes that would have long since finished off any normal swordsman. However, he knew that there was more to come. Grimoire did not use only one single blade. He used two blades. Grimoire was being rather chivalrous, and going easy at that moment. His sword style was possibly holding back a bit. Even if it wasn't, he was only using one blade, rather than two. Kuroi knew his own limitations. In a duel of swords, Kuroi would have already lost if Grimoire had started with his two blades, rather than just one of them. Kuroi had had to resort to three just to land a blow against one. This was not an easy battle by any means.

At last, Kuroi broke away, just barely managing to escape Grimoire's invincible onslaught. He wasn't wrong in his original impression of the Akki. Being the Primera Envainar, it was only natural for Grimoire to be exceedingly powerful. Kuroi had judged him to be so strong, it was maddening, even from the very start. Grimoire had not disappointed him in this regard. Grimoire's ability with the sword was top notch. In truth, Kuroi had only ever met one superior swordsman. In Kuroi's mind, Grimoire was #2. The second best swordsman alive, to Kuroi's perceptions. Grimoire was a demon straight from Hell. No one ordinary could use a style like that. Grimoire really, truly was an absolute monster. There was no doubt about it in Kuroi's mind. However, Kuroi knew something quite true as well. If he could master this, he'd be invincible.

Kuroi knew that not only would he be incredible if he was the greatest swordsman, but literally invincible. His Segunda Etapa for example neutralized reiatsu. It put everyone on a melee scale. If Kuroi had the same monstrous blade skill as Grimoire, things would not work out for any enemy that Kuroi ever encountered. Still, a problem presented itself. Kuroi was basically at the peak for his own speed. But, he needed to get even faster if he wanted to be able to use Grimoire's style. Grimoire had a 50% speed advantage over Kuroi. That was how fast Kuroi had to become to effectively use Grimoire's style. And yet, Kuroi didn't really know how he was supposed to do that. How could he boost his speed like that? Was it even possible for him? He really did not know. He got that speed in Segunda Etapa, but he wanted to be able to use it without. What could Kuroi do, he wondered.

[Zou ۞]

[Day 46]

"Jigoku No Bijutsu: Saisho No Buredofomu. Ikari-En." That was Kuroi's voice, declaring the name of Grimoire's first hell art sword form, Rage Flames. Instantly, Kuroi was in swift action. This was the 42nd day in which he was attempting just this sword style alone. At that moment, Kuroi held a singular blade. The one he was using in that moment was Ashirein, the only one of his three new katanas that wasn't cursed. He wasn't ready to attempt this with a cursed blade, and he knew it. At least that much was quite obvious. Kuroi had already memorized the movement patterns of the style. It was now up to committing it to muscle memory, and forcing the body to use it. His blade was moving swiftly throughout the air, but it could still be seen as a swift moving blur. It wasn't flames in appearance, yet. Kuroi was simply too slow to get it to do that.

The blade moved, but could not reach the speed that Kuroi desired. However, next to him, Grimoire was practicing as well. They were training together, and Grimoire had allowed Kuroi to attempt to imitate his blade style. The two were friends, after all. Kuroi wanted to become the world's greatest swordsman, and something that Grimoire wanted was to hone his own skills by training with a powerful adversary. In terms of battle ability, Kuroi wasn't good enough to combat Grimoire with a blade. Grimoire was much stronger with the sword. Therefore, even if it took years, he was willing to help Kuroi with this. Next to Kuroi, Grimoire was using the blade quite well. It was fine for him. The flames were clearly evident, and obviously visible. He was master of this style, while Kuroi was learner to it. Kuroi could mimic the actions and movements, but he couldn't reach the speed to copy the style.

He was a fast learner, a genius in that regard. In terms of raw improvement, Kuroi was faster than anyone else. Anybody else that tried this would have failed many more times than Kuroi. No one could match him. Nobody could keep up with his improvement rate. It was a merciless pace. However, Kuroi's shortcoming here was his limitations. Despite his esteemed ability to copy the style, and train with it to "mastery," the most true fact in this training was that Kuroi completely lacked the speed that Grimoire did. Without it, Kuroi had no chance of actually using the style to its full effectiveness. He didn't know a way to increase his own speed, though. He'd reached what was assumably a "speed cap" in his own strength. Essentially, it was his limit. It would be very difficult for Kuroi to ever actually get any faster than he was at that time.

Kuroi had been going at this style nonstop. It had been well over twenty minutes of simply moving his blade in front of him in an attempt to use the style. Sweat was beading down his body like a waterfall, and his arms ached from exhaustion. His powerful muscles were clenched tightly, and his eyes did not blink at all. They were going a bit red. He was fatiguing, but showing no slackening of his determination. To become the world's greatest swordsman, Kuroi of course had to do this. He had to master the styles that Grimoire used, and that one more person used. He simply had to. That was the only way that Kuroi could become the world's greatest swordsman. By mastering and even customizing these styles just a bit. But, this of course begged the question. How? Kuroi could use the styles just fine in that moment, but not the speed. He needed the speed to do it.

Kuroi continued moving, keeping his eyes forward, but trying with his peripheral vision to see Grimoire doing it. He was trying his best to copy it. To copy that. He had the motions down to a tee. Identical. His speed, though! How could he possibly improve that?! It was a conundrum that Kuroi really just wasn't certain how to solve. And then it dawned on him. It came to him. The way that Kuroi could train his body to increase his speed. What if he met with more resistance when he attempted this style, and then overcame said resistance? What if he could do that?! If his speed became what it was presently at "normal" underwater, then it would most certainly be able to reach even higher peeks on land. Of this, Kuroi was absolutely certain. And so therefore, it was only natural that he was going to need to fill this room with water.

He'd also have to keep just a bit of a surface present up top, so that he could still get his oxygen when necessary at the very least. Kuroi felt like a genius for thinking this up. This was an even greater training method than he'd previously contemplated. And then, another idea came to his head. What if he did that not with a sword, but with an enormous weight? If he used a bench press bar with lots of weight stacked onto it, he'd increase his abilities even more! What if he could take advantage of this opportunity to create further improvements as well?! There were all sorts of things that Kuroi could do in order to expand himself and make himself even stronger than before! It was a genius idea. Kuroi had finally thought of it! A genius set of ideas. Strings that were going to give him a great amount of power indeed. He was going to get rather strong.

Grimoire and Kuroi stopped at the same time, and Kuroi then properly explained to Grimoire what it was that he was planning. Grimoire showed no surprise at all, and he even left the room for Kuroi, since his training for that day was done. Kuroi at that time promised Grimoire a great fight. The two of them one day would battle not just as equals, but as rivals in the art of the blade. Kuroi however would win, he knew. It was Kuroi who would prove himself to be the greatest swordsman alive. It was his goal, and his absolute dream. It was something he'd do no matter what the cost was! So, a few hours of preparation got Kuroi to fill the room with water, and put his blades away in favor of the random weight that he was wielding. It was extremely heavy, and very hard to swing around, especially underwater. It was more like a club than anything else.

However, Kuroi continued to use it anyway. At that point, it was worth doing it. Though it was extremely slow at first as he did it, he continued through the motions of the techniques that he had imitated from Grimoire, moving the weight through the water under those patterns. Of course it was slow. And in fact, from that day onwards, weeks passed of Kuroi simply locking himself in that room and training underwater for hours. From Day 46 onwards, there was no view of Kuroi to anyone except Grimoire, and one or two others who later came to train with and against Kuroi. At that point, it was perhaps 80 total days of training in which Kuroi gave into this training routine. This regiment that he had created was simply incredible, Kuroi thought. It wasn't something completely ordinary. It was something so amazing that no one could ever accuse Kuroi of weakness.

It wasn't until the 81st day of training that Grimoire managed to observe Kuroi again. It was then that he got to see the fruits of Kuroi's efforts. The water had not yet submerged the room. Kuroi first was going to use the style regularly, on land. It was something that he had yet to do. He hadn't done it in a while, so it was only natural that he did. Kuroi kicked his foot upwards, and a flash of light revealed one of his blades. It had the lightning bolt type blade, and it was the black one. This blade was called Ryu No Ketsuatsu Kou. It was one of Kuroi's two cursed blades. He was ready of course to use it with this style. It was when he first started up that it looked no different. At first, it still looked exactly the same. In truth, and in reality, Kuroi didn't look like he'd improved. Of course, that was only for one or two seconds of observation.

Next instant, some sort of white steam puffed out of his arms, which seemed to exhale. And in that instant, the steam dissipated, blasted aside by the sudden gusts of wind that followed Kuroi's strokes around. Then, it could be seen. There they were! The flames that could be witnessed when Grimoire performed the style. They were black, since Kuroi's blade color was black with Ryu no Ketsuatsu Kou. Kuroi was successful in his blade style. In fact, the flames looked even more brutal than that. If one stopped to take a look, it could be witnessed that Kuroi's speed in this style had even...surpassed Grimoire's. Of course, this was excluding when Grimoire used his own "Do-sequence" techniques or similar. However, the fact was that Kuroi had indeed mastered this style. It had taken 80 days to perfect what was coming. And yet, it was still incredible. Kuroi had done it. But, what had he done to get it done?! At least, he spoke. "Jigoku No Bijutsu: Saisho No Buredofomu!"

[Zou ۞]

[Day 86.]

Two blades met in mid air, splitting the air with a metallic clanging sound. Just from there, one blade retracted itself, sliding away from the other one, and began to move in a blur of speed. It spun viciously towards the enemy, moving like a buzz saw in a way. This blade, at the start that extended from the hilt, was curved like a lightning bolt. The blade in general was also black, rather than any other ordinary blade color. Its wielder wore no shirt, wore black khaki pants, and had short black hair which glistened with sweat. His body looked fresh, though it did have some sweat on it, and his powerful, toned muscles moved reflexively in response to the other man, defending in fluid motions all the time. The other man had short black hair as well, rather empty looking eyes, and also wore no shirt. The blade that he held was a one handed saber type weapon with a red blade.

These were Kuroi Naito and Souzetsu Masarao, two who were training together at last once again after such a long time apart. In history, Souzetsu was the direct student of Kuroi Naito, having been trained by him for quite a while. He'd even traveled with Kuroi for a ways at some point. In truth, he was incredibly powerful, his skill with the blade being massive. He was also faster than Kuroi by a monumental margin, possessing a speed at the same level as Grimoire Acero. Of course, however, his skill with the blade far paled in comparison to Kuroi's. It was his speed that kept him alive as Kuroi continued to spin his singular blade around back and forth, slashing at Souzetsu, who could barely keep himself defending. He wasn't using Fullbring properties, despite being human, and was simply doing things with his blade only. It was a sword training fight.

Every now and again, he managed to launch a serious onslaught of vicious techniques, which Kuroi was able to defend against by deflecting constantly, continuously doing this every time Souzetsu mounted some kind of string of attacks. This was most certainly a hell of a fight, anyone could have to admit. Kuroi was using the blade known as Ryu No Ketsuatsu Kou. It was one of his two cursed blades, and it seemed to have a lot of power behind it, backing it as Kuroi fought against Souzetsu, who was using his Fullbring, Blade of Sorrow. Kuroi's katana was a strong one, but he was only using it in one hand. He didn't typically do two handed styles. Lately, he'd been training a lot more than before with his blade. He had set in himself the ambition to become the world's greatest swordsman. That was his goal, and his absolute dream.

Kuroi's sword was a fast, quick blur that always managed to deflect the attacks of his enemies, even Souzetsu's, though Souzetsu was much faster than Kuroi. Recently, Kuroi had reached a whole new level in his training, and had in fact managed to reach the epiphany of his power. He'd successfully mastered that which was his own strength. Essentially, he'd found a breakthrough, and managed a way to perfectly imitate and utilize the Hell Art sword forms that Grimoire employed. It was more costly to Kuroi to use, as he didn't have the centuries of mastery Grimoire did, and as he didn't have the same physical ability as Grimoire, nor the same monstrous body. He couldn't use it as well as Grimoire could, and this was the undeniable fact. But, it was also undeniable that his skill in the styling method was so great that most other swordsman couldn't face him anyway.

However great another swordsman became, most couldn't challenge Kuroi. Yet, he wanted to get stronger. He wanted to be the very best. In recent days, Kuroi had learned the name of the one known to be the world's greatest swordsman. That one was known to Kuroi by title only, and as an entrant in the Devil's Vendetta Tournament to soon be hosted. This man was known as The Displeased God. Therefore, it was only natural that Kuroi would improve himself in such a way that he could face and defeat this man, the Displeased God. Outside of the tournament, this one had another name, and this was what slightly worried Kuroi. Outside of the tournament, they called him The Undying Man. This meant that they saw him as a man that did not die. It meant he was better at taking damage, and people had seen him survive very wild things.

It meant that Kuroi had to watch out for something like that when he fought him. At any rate, Kuroi and Souzetsu continued. Kuroi's blade slammed into Souzetsu's, but Souzetsu held fast, pushing against Kuroi to force him a couple of steps back. Then, he released his barrage of slashes across Kuroi's torso, to no avail. Not a single strike hit, for Kuroi's blade blurred and spun all around in front of him to block and deflect every single hit. At last, one of his strikes found a small mark across Souzetsu's cheek, drawing a droplet of blood as it created a small cut on that one. Kuroi instantly blurred past Souzetsu, moving behind him. Steam ejected itself from Kuroi's skin, and his body. His pores had released it just then, as if his body was exhaling, or as if it was a locomotive engine. It was in that time that his speed had massively increased.

He was on par with Souzetsu then, moving past Souzetsu and getting behind him. And then, in the next moment, Souzetsu was forced to whirl and defend against the monstrous new styling that Kuroi had managed to pick up. "Jigoku No Bijutsu: Dai Sodofomu." Kuroi declared. His blade was stabbing viciously towards Souzetsu, and it was as if a black rain was crashing towards Souzetsu from in front of him instead of overhead. The rain was moving across at him, and Souzetsu was forced to continue to step back as fast as he could to attempt to evade Kuroi's massive onslaught attack. However, nicks, cuts, and various wounds that took droplets of blood still found their various ways to Souzetsu's body, marking and striking various different parts of his body. Kuroi was certainly a strong foe, one worth remembering. Souzetsu was having quite a bit of trouble.

Souzetsu backed away continually, immediately trying to escape Kuroi's invincible attacking onslaught. He was no match for it, especially when Kuroi changed his attack style very suddenly. "Jigoku No Bijutsu: Saisho No Buredofomu." And then, that was it. The flames were approaching Souzetsu. Black flames, vicious. They were daunting, terrifying flames that Souzetsu had no idea how to defend against at all. It was simply a shocking ordeal, really. His blade continued to move in an attempt to defend against Kuroi's riptide onslaught of power, but it was no use. It was to absolutely no avail. Souzetsu wasn't geared with the ability to fight against Kuroi's strength. And then, worse yet, reiatsu suddenly extended across the blade, and red reiatsu became visible across it, a gigantic blade forming. It was at least ten feet long.

This greatly increased the range, and made the flames black and red instead of just black. Souzetsu tried to block with his blade, but this was torn away from his grasp merely for the attempt, and instantly wounds splattered across his body, blood spraying out of numerous facets. In truth, and in the absolute reality of things, Kuroi had grown very powerful. His strength had been increasing progressively as time went on. He really was getting much too powerful for the good of anyone. His power was no longer something that Souzetsu could keep up with. As time went on, it became clear that Kuroi was at a level in strength far above any Espada. Perhaps in previous years it had been debatable who the strongest of the top three was. In these new days, there should be no dispute in that it was Kuroi, the Segunda Espada. Many said he should be Primera.

However, Kuroi had no interest in this sort of thing. He didn't plan to do it. He had no intention of ever becoming the Primera Espada. Though, he did remember that when he'd encountered the version of him 200 years in the future, he had been the Primera Espada. Did this mean that Kuroi would eventually change his motives? Would he inevitably change his mind and decide that he wanted to be the Primera Espada after all? When he thought about it, in Las Noches, he was already thought of as the strongest Espada. Perhaps Soul Society didn't know it, but people still thought of him in Las Noches that way. It wasn't much use hiding it anymore, was it? The number "2" did not suit his strength. The number "1" suited it better instead. However, it had been so long, already. Did Kuroi really wanted it? That #1 spot. Did he really wish to become the Primera? No. At that time, not yet. He didn't want to just then.

[Zou ۞]

[Day 119]

"Asa No Ame: Jihi No Ato!" Declared a voice as a blade starting blazing across the area. This blade was quickly intercepted by a custom katana, which also moved at the same blurring speed. Steam could be seen as this happened. Between the two, it should be evident who each were. The speaker that countered the water-like style was using some style that made it appear as if fire was present. "Jigoku No Bijutsu: Dai Buredofomu. Ikari-En." The two speakers and combatants were very vicious in this, but it looked like the water type style was beginning to win over the flame type one. Of course, it was only natural. Water defeated flames. Within an instant, one had to retreat, and begin to block, while the other began to press. It wasn't a very close fight. One was clearly stronger than the other when it came down to terms of swordplay.

The first combatant, the one with the water-like style, was, believe it or not, a human. And it was he who was considered one of the top three greatest swordsman in the world. Just below him, Grimoire Acero. However, this man was said to be only #2. Whoever #1 was, he was of great and massive skill that far exceeded even this young man, who in himself was a genius in terms of the sword. He'd learned from a master who had previously held the position of second greatest swordsman in the world. This human was someone of incredible strength, but he looked rather casual to begin with. He had black hair, he wore a common school uniform, and he had an extremely friendly face. This man was not someone who looked at all threatening. And yet, when it came down to it, his skill with the blade was legendary. As one of Death Inc's PEAs, Nishiru Tokoheita was heralded.

Meanwhile, his opponent, the one who he was training, was someone quite familiar, obviously. This one was wearing no shirt, and he wore black khaki pants and no shoes. Steam had earlier emitted from his pores, out of his skin it seemed, as if his whole body was just taking a regular exhale. His hair was black, and cut short. In his right hand, he held a Zanpakuto with violet flame patterns across it. It looked like a cursed blade, but of course was his Zanpakuto, Hora. This man was without a doubt the most powerful of the Espada, and probably the fourth strongest of Sonken Kouhai's minions, behind Guujin Karai, and also behind the two Envainar that existed. In terms of swordplay though, Kuroi was certainly a step above both Envainar at that point. His skill had become quite legendary. Kuroi Naito, Segunda Espada, was the greatest swordsman in Las Noches.

"It's getting good, Kuroi." Nishiru declared boldly. "Your imitation of the Hell Arts is pretty good. But, your ability to counter my style isn't all that great. You been practicing my styles these past few weeks?" Kuroi of course was humble when under a master he was aware was indeed superior to him in strength. Though he didn't like it, he knew for a fact that this time around, he couldn't actually defeat this man. Nishiru Tokoheita was far too high above Kuroi in terms of actual strength, but this didn't mean that Kuroi couldn't just go ahead and strive to surpass Nishiru in swordplay ability. The skill with the sword was very important to Kuroi as well, after all. "I have indeed been practicing with your styles." Kuroi noted. Earlier in the training, Nishiru had given Kuroi detailed step-by-step analysis of how to do this. The reason Nishiru had agreed to this was he saw Kuroi's power and potential, and wished for Kuroi to protect someone important to him. Kuroi had of course found that someone.

"Why don't you use them against me?" Nishiru asked. "It's familiar to you." Kuroi responded. "Regardless of effectiveness, you know and can combat all of the moves that I utilize on you from your own styles. I cannot use them against you, for you will surely counter them flawlessly. To be successful, I must also be unpredictable." This was a truth, and Nishiru actually grinned. This was something all who wielded the blade knew very well, actually. To be predictable was to be dead. That was the law and order of things. Nishiru knew this, and Kuroi knew this as well. Wherever he was on that day, Grimoire knew this too. And, whoever he was, even the #1 swordsman knew this. Kuroi and Nishiru actually both wondered who that actually was. Many said that it was someone in the Devil's Vendetta Tournament. They called him "The Displeased God."

Whether or not he was that amazing simply remained to be seen. They'd witness him later on, of course. Kuroi blasted forwards, shooting towards Nishiru. Rocketing towards him like a torpedo, using his speed which seemed to presently match Nishiru's, Kuroi shot forwards so quickly that even Nishiru was taken aback, unaware that Kuroi had found methods to enhance his speed. Steam was ejecting from Kuroi's pores again. It should be noticeable that it hadn't been that long since Kuroi had done that before, though. Was the limit of the technique extremely short, or was it something else? When Kuroi began slashing in Grimoire's style again, Nishiru's eyes suddenly widened. Kuroi's arm was larger, and far more muscular. It was more than twice the previous size. Even the popping veins could be seen. Massive winds were blasting away Nishiru's blade as Kuroi slashed.

Nishiru...couldn't counter in time to block! No, he managed. Just by a hair's breath, the water-like style was there again, barely blocking Kuroi. However, the winds managed to force his blade to the side, and numerous slashes and cuts materialized all across Nishiru's chest, drawing blood. In semi-panic, Nishiru changed tactics instantly. It was as if a miniature wave of silver flames erected in front of him. Just like that, it was there, and Kuroi's attack couldn't break it. Blood exploded out of Kuroi's arms and shoulders as cuts made their way across his body. It should however have been noticeable that the cuts started to seal a few seconds after Kuroi skidded back, beaten back by the raw and vicious power of Nishiru's attack style. So then, one must afterwards consider that Kuroi had High Speed Regeneration active at that present time.

Their blades slammed into each other with great power, and Nishiru was blasted back, sent skidding. It was noticeable then that Kuroi's physical strength had massively expanded. It was quite a shock, really. Kuroi was going all out for Nishiru in terms of swordplay. His style was incredibly effective. This wasn't something that was seen every day.

Not just any swordsman could actively rise to meet the needs and requirements of their style, and certainly not just any swordsman could even perform all of these styles anyway. It was in that moment of realization that Kuroi fell upon Nishiru, and initiated Nishiru's water-type style rather than Grimoire's fire-type style. And when their blades continued to collide and clash again and again, wounds struck across each of them with equal measure. Whatever happened then, no one was certain.

And then, at the very end of it, both lay panting, exhausted. Kuroi noticeably had far more wounds, but the fact that both were forced to sit and pant indicated that the result might not have absolutely been Kuroi's defeat. Whatever was happening, Kuroi was definitely becoming very good at that which was swordplay. It was quite surprising, really, how quickly one could improve in so short of a time span. Kuroi Naito, Segunda Espada, was indeed a master of the blade. He wasn't just an ordinary prodigy, but a genius even among geniuses of the sword. This described Kuroi.

[Zou ۞]

[Final Day: Day 130]

He was more muscular than before, noticeably. He'd become just a tad bigger, noticeably. His hair was a bit longer, since he hadn't had a chance to keep it neat recently, and this was also noticeable. His shirt was missing, and he was wearing black cotton pants then, as well as no shoes. He was taking this truly seriously. They were on a rooftop as pouring rain beat down on them within the human world. This was going to be quite a sight, for certain. He had eyes like a hawk and like a devil both. They were focused and all-seeing, but they were also menacing and devastating to look at as well. Whatever was going to happen, he certainly wasn't just playing around. His insane skill was far too great for that. His abilities were very high quality, very high level. Whatever happened next, he was insanely strong. His chest had a few more scars, noticeably.

In particular, there was nothing really special about his opponent. Like him, the adversary had a bare torso in the rain, and only cotton pants, though these ones were gray. His opponent's hair, just a tad longer than his, was drenched, soaked to the roots and plastered to his head, as if gelled greatly. His opponent's blade was held in the right hand, gripped tightly, just as his blade was out as well, also held tightly in the right hand. His opponent had eyes, calm like the wind, and unbending like steel. Eyes, cold like steel, his opponent focused on him with. With the two of them facing each other than in that moment, it was almost poetic in seeming value. The two of them had become great swordsman in the world through trial and error. Nothing was really going to escape them in each other. Their moves? Flawless. Time to see who was the better of them.

Like that, they launched forwards in a single instant. Their blades clashed, slamming into each other instantly. Steam blew out of Kuroi Naito, Segunda Espada's pores in an instant. The blade that he held was black, and curved just at the point where it began to extend from the hilt, like an oddly shaped lightning bolt. His adversary of course was merely Nishiru Tokoheita, a human, and Death Inc PEA, PEA to Zouma Santeku. He was using his traditional Fullbring blade. The two of them were blazing with insane speed, completely on par with each other. Kuroi's blade danced within the rain, for he had initiated first Nishiru's style. "Asa No Ame: Jihi No Ato." Kuroi declared at an identical time to Nishiru, the two of them initiating the exact same style instantly. Their blades clashed and clanged against each other, together.

It was as if two geysers had erupted into place, or better yet two waterfalls, and their paths crossed and marked. That was what it looked like as they continued to move their weapons at insane speed and with great ability and skill. Their continual clashing was intense, an incredible display unmatched by any other. The two of them, the combatants that could be truly matched by none, were continuing to fight to the end here. It wasn't to the death, but rather to the defeat, or the conceit. As both were stubborn, and neither would concede defeat until absolutely evident, it was for certain that this fight would continue until one was lost to the ground with a wound, and the other was not. Nishiru broke Kuroi's guard momentarily, being the superior at the style, and got a nick on Kuroi's cheek, and a droplet of blood. Kuroi cursed.

However, Kuroi's cut soon began to seal itself up. High speed regeneration was active as well, and his blood was washed away by the wetness that came with the rain as well. This too was evident. Both of them were soaked by their own sweat, but neither one had yet been touched by rain. Their blades were wild, moving and blazing so fast and so far everywhere around, that their bodies were even untouched by the rain as they fought. Not a single droplet of rain could find opening to make entrance across their skin. This was the synchronized incredibility of the two combatants, who were simply so powerful and so skilled that it was a wonder anyone ever bothered to fight them. To be underestimated was certainly a great asset to both of them. Their blades continued to smash together again and again, until of course Kuroi got tired of it.

"IKARI-EN!" he declared, his arms puffing out more steam. Very suddenly, his arms expanded, growing more muscular and large, vein popping, twice their original size. It was unbelievable, and his blade was blasting around intensely. Sweat continued to pour off of his body, but the winds were devastating. They were fully knocking back Nishiru's blade this time, and slices were making their way across Nishiru's chest. It was only through his own conviction and will, his own skill, that Nishiru was able to actually use his prior knowledge of his own techniques to maneuver himself a bit so he could use his blade to defend and stop himself from being carved apart. However, it was no good. It was to no avail, for blood continued to be met by Kuroi's weapon as he continually landed quite a few strikes on Nishiru. And then, things got worse.

In the middle of that, Kuroi began spinning, jumping, and flipping in blade, moving and juggling his blade in those same earlier mannerisms, but then kicking his legs out and catching two more blades very suddenly, one of them being Ashirein, the other being his second cursed blade, which then landed on the first blade he'd been holding. His Zanpakuto also appeared landing on Ashirein. It was then that four blades, moving with intense juggling and balancing maneuvers, were made to move around Kuroi. It was then as if a tornado of flames was advancing on Nishiru. More importantly, it was as if they were advancing on him, but also as if the flames were on his sides as well. The only place to go was behind, and yet if he took his eye off of the incoming flames for even a second, it was death. Even worse yet, the powerful winds were blowing him backwards.

He could well lose his balance or something from the insane winds, which also knocked particularly at his mid section, and his arms if they moved towards there. Essentially, this meant that if Nishiru tried to block to defend himself, his arms would be lifted and moved backwards, or at least to some direction slightly away from where he'd been aiming, so his block would either fail or miss. That was the skill which was being employed by Kuroi. It was ridiculous how incredible he was becoming with the art of the blade. Kuroi was a monster, a true and absolute demon. Some might even call him a God when it came to use of the sword. They should have at least one title saying "God" and "Swordsman" related to Kuroi, he thought. Both in one line. That would be quite amazing, would it not? Kuroi was very, very strong. He knew it, everyone knew it.

When the fight ended, details were of course uncertain. Whoever won was certain, however. For, though Kuroi was covered in as much his own blood as Nishiru's, he stood over the adversary with all four blades quickly being put away again, and Nishiru on his butt and on the ground. Kuroi was the winner.

The greatest swordsman in the world.