(OST Theme: On the precipice of defeat or Reminiscence. Invasion is also good but this isn't a fight to the death so it doesn't really fit.)

Standing with his spear held tightly in his hand, Ikkaku focused on his Reiatsu.

On his side, he could see a brown-skinned tall, and muscular man, with fiery long hair that reached his heel.

"Partner. Are you sure? I thought you wanted to hide me."

A deep and heavy voice echoed in Ikkaku's mind. 

Silently gazing at the man, he murmured, "Hozukimaru...I don't want to lose like this."

This was a simple sentence that encompassed his full personality.

He knew that him always hiding his Bankai was something his partner did not like.

'Sorry for being so selfish.'

Hearing this, the tall man, or rather the spirit of Ikkaku's weapons, nodded,

"Is that so? Then, let's go all out."

Reaching an agreement with his sword, Ikkaku smiled fiercely. A smile that was mirrored by the spirit.

It was then that he murmured this word

"Bankai!"

----

The moment that word was uttered, a storm of Reiatsu suddenly covered the field, as wind and lightning hid the silhouette of Ikkaku.

Wind and lightning warred in the sky, and the roar of a dragon filled their ears.

In Gojo's eyes, the initial power level that was already amplified by the Shikai was growing stronger and stronger at a pace so fast it was dazzling.

Two times...four times...six times.

Seeing the jump in power, a light flashed in his eyes.

The Bankai was supposed to provide a base 10 times boost once mastered.

The fact that Ikkaku was reaching only a little above half of what he should have proved one thing,

'He still didn't master it.'

Still, he had to admit that he was impressed.

Once the storm abated.

Ikkaku's figure could finally be seen again.

But the change was startling.

The spear he once held was no more. 

In his hands, he held two swords large enough to look like a shield. The pommels were connected by heavy chains to a central blade floating behind his back that looked like the blade of an axe.

An oriental dragon seemed to have been graved on the central blade, giving a fierce aura to the weapon.

Facing him, Ikkaku shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Bankai: Ryumon Hozukimaru!"

'So this is a bankai.'

"Before we continue fighting, let me ask you something."

Holding his two swords, Ikkaku grinned, "Go on."

"Why do you hide your power? With a Bankai, you should meet the minimum requirement to become a captain, right?"

"If it gets out that I have a Bankai, I will surely receive a promotion once there's space but-"

When he reached this part, his eyes blazed with a deep almost fanatical drive, "-I do not wish to become a captain. Becoming a captain would mean that I cannot fight under Captain Zaraki. I have no deep loyalty towards the Seireitei. My one and only wish–Is to fight and die under that man's command."

Gojo's eyes widened. Such a deep conviction. Such passionate words.

"Interesting. Very interesting. Very well, let's go all out, shall we?"

"You took the words out of my mouth."

Their aura collided, causing sparks to fly.

"Hado #58: Tenran."

From a wave of Gojo's zanpakuto, a tempest was created and thrown at Ikkaku.

"Hahaha! Too weak!"

Taking one step, Ikkaku raised his two swords above his head and swung them down.

*BOOM*

The earth rumbled under their might and the tempest was completely destroyed.

Ikkaku's Bankai did not give him any special ability aside from boosting all his physical parameters to an incredible degree.

After swinging his swords, Ikkaku took another and this time appeared directly right in front of Gojo. 

"Ha!"

"Bakudo #39: Enkosen."

This was the same shield that had once completely stopped Ikkaku. But, this time...

"Break!"

*BOOM*

Like a flimsy piece of paper, it was completely destroyed under the might of the sword.

Gojo barely had time to avoid the impact zone but still was not able to completely leave unscathed.

Still, he had no time to take care of his wounds and immediately used Shunpo to avoid another swing.

Using the lag time, he pointed at Ikkaku,

"Hado #33: Sokatsui."

But this wasn't all, a second Gojo suddenly appeared next to him and also pointed his finger.

"Hado #58: Tenran."

If Soi Fon had been present to assist at this scene, she would have been too astonished to speak. After all, Gojo had just used one of her prized techniques, <<Speed clone>>.

The torrent of blue flame from Sokatsui and the tempest of Tenran fused seamlessly and hit Ikkaku before erasing absolutely everything at a distance of 200 meters.

The shock was so much that even Gojo's barrier was showing signs of breaking down.

*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*

'Man. Been a long time since I was so tired.'

Breathing heavily, Gojo complained silently.

Thanks to his Rikugan, Gojo had god-like control over his energy, effectively making it limitless.

Still, there was a limit to what his own body and mind could bear. After all, only his Reiryoku was near infinite. Not his stamina.

This fact was further aggravated by the fact that the combination technique he had just used was no mean feat.

This was one of Gojo's new inspirations when he was in the academy. Since he was unable to learn higher Kido because of his rank, he could simply make new ones by combining what he had.

Of course, now thanks to some peeking in the library of the 4th division he had learned some higher Kido. Just not by following the official way.

After the attack, dust and rubble filled the zone. Still, Gojo did not let his guard down.

After all, 

'His Reiatsu is rising?'

Suddenly, 

*Swoosh*

The dust was swept off only to show a bloodied Ikkaku.

The upper part of his clothes was completely destroyed and he was bleeding from basically every part of his body.

Despite this, the almost maniacal grin on his face was still present.

"Damn! You crazy bastard. You almost killed me."

"Heh. You aren't dead though."

"Of course. I won't die just because of something like this."

Laughing, Ikkaku took the axe-like weapon and raised it overhead before spinning it.

The black dragon that had been engraved on the blade seemed to gradually change as if it was filling itself with energy.

Gojo could clearly feel that the greater the change on the dragon, the higher the Reiatsu of Ikkaku became.

"So this is the true special skill of your Bankai?"

"Oh? Seems like you caught it. Hahaha! See, Hozukimaru is really a lazy fellow. I can only raise him completely by fighting. Now that the warm-up is finished, let's fight for real, shall we?"

'Fast!'

This was like a repeat of what had happened, but once again far faster than Gojo could have imagined.

"Got you!"

*Splash!*

Moving at the last moment, Gojo avoided what would have been a crippling wound, but was once again wounded.

A gash that went from his collarbone to his hips could be seen as blood poured heavily.

Activating black flash, Gojo also counter-attacked and managed to pierce the right side of Ikkaku's stomach before he could react.

But he did not seem to care and still went on the offensive.

As if possessed by madness, the two began to fight more and more violently. Uncaring of the wounds they could get.

Kido after Kido, slash after slash.

They seemed to completely forgo defense and fight to see who would be the first one to reach his limits.

Watching from the side, as far away as possible to avoid being affected by this fight of titans, Yumichika could only clench his fists before relaxing.

He had absolutely no intention to intervene in this fight. He could see just how much Ikkaku was enjoying himself and knew that if he really intervened, his best friend might hate him for the rest of his life.

Still, 

'What is a guy like this doing in the 4th division?'

He couldn't help but ask himself again. 

Even though Gojo wasn't laughing like Ikkaku, the ferocious glint in his eyes was something he was used to seeing in both Ikkaku and their captain, Zaraki Kenpachi.

'No...There is some difference.'

Yumichika was very observant and could see that Gojo had another drive.

The members of the 11th division sought enjoyment in their fights, winning or losing did not really matter as long as it wasn't a mission. But this man…

'There is only the pursuit of victory in his mind.'

-----

*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*

Both Ikkaku and Gojo stood facing each other.

Each breath seemed to hurt their lungs, the rustle of the wind irritated their bloody skins, their visions were getting blurry because of the excessive blood loss.

There was not one part of their bodies that wasn't wounded.

All around them, only blood, ruin, and destruction could be seen. 

"It's time to end it. Otherwise, one of us will really croak."

Ikkaku murmured while looking at Gojo with awe.

Even though they were equally matched, Ikkaku had never forgotten one fact. One undeniable truth.

'He did not even awaken his Shikai.'

He felt as if he was facing another Zaraki. Only one is geared towards Kido rather than Zanjutsu.

It was simply incredible.

"You are right. It's time to end this."

Gojo nodded, he knew very well that he had already reached the limit of his body.

Even though he was still full of energy, he simply wasn't able to continue for long.

In fact, he wasn't even able to move anymore. Something Ikkaku seemed to notice.

"It was a beautiful fight, but it's my win."

Walking toward Gojo with difficulty, Ikkaku announced proudly.

But,

"I am sorry. But it's MY win."

Looking at Gojo's smile, Ikkaku felt all the hair of his body stand straight.

He didn't know what was happening, but all his instincts were screaming at him to flee as fast as possible.

Believing his instinct, he tried to move back. Sadly, it was too late.

The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness were those two beautiful eyes shining with a blue light.

The last words he heard were, 

"Domain Expansion: Infinite void." 

(AN: Ikkaku vs Gojo is finished. Hahaha. What did you think of the fights? I know it wasn't one with big objectives. But now, Gojo is really taking the first steps to stand at the top. He still has a long way before facing a near-omniscient being like Yhwach but heh, it will come. Anyway, the next chapter will give some explanation and then the start of the training arc.)