Repeated battles on the brink of life and death have made Duke's strength advance by leaps and bounds, and not only in kendo. After each battle, Duke found that his qualities in all aspects have been significantly improved, especially his spiritual pressure, which increases very obviously during battle.

His control over kendo techniques and changes in moves has become more relaxed and natural, and he can use each move as easily as his own arm. Previously he had to think about the next move after each move, but now he can do it easily and effortlessly as if it were a natural and seamless process.

But Duke knew very well that he had only mastered the power that he was supposed to have, and he had not made a breakthrough. To make a breakthrough, he had to let his Zanpakuto perform Shikai. Duke couldn't help but look at his Zanpakuto. After so many days, he felt the call of his Zanpakuto more and more clearly, but he would get stuck every time he came to the real name. That's why he was so eager to know the name of his Zanpakuto.

"What's your name?" Duke stroked his Zanpakutō and whispered softly.

Duke sheathed the polished knife and thought about it for a long time before leaning against a tree with his eyes closed. No matter whether it was day or night, no one dared to fall asleep in the chaos zone because they didn't know when they would face death.

Three days later, in an unknown area outside of Rukongai, Duke wandered through the woods and got lost again.

"Luckily I asked the shooting range to help me, otherwise seven days wouldn't be enough. Where on earth is this damn place? There isn't even a living person in sight."

Seeing that Duke was not afraid at all, Kenpachi showed a satisfied grin, stepped over the pile of corpses, and chopped down heavily with an unknown Zanpakuto. Duke moved his feet slightly and easily dodged the attack.

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"Kill him! Kill him! He won't be able to hold on for long!"

Duke looked at the murderous figure in front of him with disbelief. He was about 2 meters tall, standing out from the crowd in the encirclement. His wild posture attracted everyone's attention at a glance. His messy long hair was casually draped over his shoulders, sticking together with thick blood. A scar ran from his forehead across his left face, making him look extremely hideous. His mouth was open and he had a bloodthirsty smile on his face, waving the long Zanpakutō in his hand. The blade was full of jagged notches, and he slaughtered the people who rushed over without hesitation. Every time the long sword chopped down, it took away a piece of stump.

Immediately, Kenpachi also burst out with a spiritual pressure far beyond his previous ones, and the golden spiritual pressure formed a skull shape in the air. The two spiritual pressures met in mid-air, and the violent collision of spiritual pressures blew away everything around them, setting off a hurricane.

"I've been seen through! Hahaha... That's it, this is the battle I've been looking forward to. It's been a long time since I met a strong man like you. This kind of pleasure of walking between life and death, please fight with me!!" Kenpachi's eyes flashed with joy at seeing the prey, and he laughed excitedly.

"Chance?" Duke slowly drew out his Zanpakutō and sneered, "If I really give you a blow, I'll be the one to fall."

"Is there someone?" Duke, who was depressed because he was lost, suddenly perked up. The screams meant that there were living people nearby.

Dang! Sparks flew in the air, Duke and Kenpachi each took a step back, facing each other from a distance. It was just a probing blow, and both sides felt the pressure from their opponents. They couldn't relax in this battle, because... they would die! Duke put the sword back, then slowly pushed the handle open with his thumb, and tightly grasped the handle with five fingers of his right hand. The heavy momentum accompanied by spiritual pressure rose up like a giant sword, and the next moment it would cut through the sky. Feeling the suffocating spiritual pressure, Kenpachi Zaraki twisted his neck, added some strength to his hands, and tightly grasped the Zanpakutō in his hand. There was a bit of solemnity in his eyes, but the smile on his face became brighter and brighter.

"Whatever, let's go this direction!" There was no so-called road in this area. Duke hesitated for a while, picked a direction at random, and then headed to the next area without looking back. This area was dead and depressing, and the air was very thin, so it was not a place to stay for a long time.

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, casting a long oblique shadow on the lonely tree. Duke sighed as he stepped on the dry and cracked soil and rocks. Seeing that the sun was about to set, he couldn't even find a place to stay. The severe cold of last night was still vivid in his mind. In the wilderness with a temperature of more than ten degrees below zero, the cold wind could freeze a person's bones. He didn't want to experience this again.

"Afraid? How could that be? This is excitement!" Kenpachi touched the bloody marks on his face caused by spiritual pressure and put on a cruel smile.

"You dodged it. You look pretty good. You're a guy worth a chop!" Kenpachi was very confused that Duke didn't attack him after dodging it: "Why didn't you give me a knife from behind when there was such a good opportunity?"

"This guy is Kenpachi Zaraki... No wonder his spiritual pressure is like that of a wild beast, it's really his style." Although he still looked a little young and his hair was not combed into bunches, Duke recognized him at first sight. It was because his spiritual pressure was too unique, just like his master, full of the most primitive beast's ferocity.

"This spiritual pressure is as disturbing as a wild beast. Who is fighting here?" As a top swordsman, Duke could tell at a glance that all the dead bodies were cut in half by the same sword, and they were all brutally cut in half, which shocked him greatly. These wandering souls died in a very tragic way. Rather than being killed by humans, they were more like wild beasts... or hollows.

"Hahahaha, you are really not on the same level as those bastards!" Kenpachi Zaraki laughed wildly and kept pressing down the Zanpakuto in his hand. His eyes were full of excitement and the smile on his face became more and more intense.

boom----

Duke quickened his pace and rushed to the place where the sound came from. Seeing the scene in front of him, even Duke, who had memories of several lifetimes and had been baptized by war, was stunned. Looking ahead, red was the only theme, corpses were everywhere, blood flowed like a river, and the open space was like a slaughterhouse, covered with body parts and fragments. It was simply hell on earth. Although this area was dead silent and no different from hell, it was much better than the place in front of him where even the air was filled with blood.

Duke smiled back, disappeared instantly, and appeared behind Kenpachi, slashing his back with his Zanpakutō. Kenpachi didn't even turn his head, but stabbed from under his armpit. The tips of the blades collided, and after a stalemate for a moment, the two began to swing their Zanpakutōs wildly without holding back.

Before he finished speaking, Kenpachi had already raised his Zanpakutō high towards Duke, carrying a fierce and majestic aura, whistling and slashing down fiercely. Duke raised his Zanpakutō from bottom to top and hit him hard.

"We are many in number, don't be afraid."

"Kill him!"

The besiegers fell one by one, but Kenpachi Zaraki still held the long sword in his hand without any fatigue. He was covered in blood like a devil from hell. In the end, those who besieged him completely collapsed. They were so scared that they dared not stay and turned to flee, wishing their parents had not given them two more legs. But how could Kenpachi, who was in the mood for killing, let them go? He chopped everyone in half one by one, leaving only Duke and Kenpachi alive on the battlefield. Duke watched the scene in front of him quietly, and didn't put his hand on his Zanpakutō until Kenpachi looked at him. Such a perfect whetstone, isn't this the opponent he has always wanted? To hone the sword, there is no one more suitable than the beast in front of him in Soul Society.

"Such a terrifying spiritual pressure, I didn't know there were people like you in this area! I thought I had killed them all!" Kenpachi looked solemn. Spiritual pressure cannot represent strength, but a powerful soul must have a strong spiritual pressure. He hasn't encountered a spiritual pressure as strong as Duke's for a long time.

Not far away, there were shouts and clashes of metal, attracting Duke's attention. He saw a fierce battle a hundred meters ahead. Life was lost every second under the flash of swords and sabers. Everyone rushed forward desperately. In just a few breaths, more than ten people died tragically, but there were still dozens of people who were fearless and besieged the tower-like figure in the middle.

The closer he got to the outskirts of Rukongai, the fewer living creatures there were. In the past two days, all Duke had encountered were corpses that had been dead for a long time, not even one that was breathing. The desert had a huge temperature difference between day and night, and the surface was full of rocks with broken leaves and sparse trees. The entire area had a harsh environment, and there was not even a road to indicate the direction. If he hadn't seen the Hollow, Duke would have even suspected that he had come to Hueco Mundo.

“I’m excited too!”

The two Zanpakuto collided with each other with completely different spiritual pressures, and the air currents created created deep gullies on the ground. The dust was blown away by the spiritual pressure of the collision, and Duke and Kenpachi just stood there in a stalemate, competing in strength, neither of them was willing to take a step back.

The scene before Duke's eyes was a mess of broken bodies and limbs, without a single complete human figure. Hundreds of mutilated bodies lay on the ground in all directions, one on top of the other, and even the spirit particles in the air carried a nauseating fishy smell.

"What? Are you scared?" Duke drew out all his Zanpakuto, his momentum reached its peak. At this moment, he felt that he could cut the whole world in half.

“Ding—ding—ding—”

The blades collided, sparks flew, and the sword energy spread over the two men, leaving countless tiny wounds of varying sizes. The extremely fast swinging of the swords made the figures of the two men gradually blur.

"Flying Sword Style: Dragon Nest Flash!"

Fighting fast with fast, Duke's eyes flashed, and his Zanpakutō swung countless sword shadows. Kenpachi's eyes were pierced by the sword light in front of him, and then his limbs and torso were in great pain, and his hot blood splashed and spurted far away.

(End of this chapter)