C5 One Punch to Destroy

Bang!

Fists met with unyielding force, causing onlookers to shrink their pupils in shock.

The thunderous clash echoed far and wide.

A massive fist, the size of a millstone, hesitated briefly.

Then, in an instant, bones cracked, blood splattered, and gasps of horror filled the air.

The gargantuan form of the evil ghost burst like a balloon under the relentless onslaught.

Boom!

A shower of blood and flesh rained down, whitening the faces of the pursuing evil ghosts as their feet trembled uncontrollably.

The sight of an evil ghost, vastly larger, exploding from a single punch was nothing short of astonishing.

"Run, for the love of God, run!"

Ijiri of the Black Bandits bellowed in terror.

He had come to the grim realization that they had indeed bitten off more than they could chew.

But before they could even process this,

Taku charged into their midst, his steps shaky but swift.

With a twist of his torso and a flick of his arm, he unleashed a force akin to ten thousand pounds.

Bang!

A three to four-meter tall evil ghost was flung away first, hurtling through the air like a missile, taking down other evil ghosts in its path.

Five or six figures collided and crumpled against the ruins of an old city wall.

Bang!

Yet another splendid spray of blood blossomed.

Blood and broken flesh rained down, painting the earth a gruesome red.

The scene was a stark contrast to the drunken youth, a vision of hell on earth next to Taku's frail form.

In that moment, it became clear that Taku had not been lying from the start.

His drunken state had led to excessively brutal blows, not just killing but obliterating his foes.

"Don't... don't come any closer, or I swear I'll kill you!"

Ijiri, now frantic, roared.

His once imposing stature now felt like nothing but a hindrance.

Especially as he watched Taku, seemingly inebriated, move with a speed that far surpassed his own.

The shadow of death loomed over him, and as Taku closed in, escape was no longer an option.

A flicker of madness crossed Black Bandit Ijiri's face as he withdrew a saber as large as a door panel and leaped into the air with a sudden twist.

"Kid, since you're hell-bent on wiping me out, I'll drag you down with me, even if it means burning up my soul."

With a roar, Ijiri's body erupted in a crimson glow.

His seven to eight-meter stature swelled to over ten meters in an instant.

His skin, bared to the elements, took on the hue of fresh blood.

His arms bulged once more, threatening to tear from the strain of his expanding muscles.

In his grip, he wielded the door-sized blade, pulled from the rubble.

He brought it down in a mighty slash toward Taku.

The momentous scene was mirrored in Lucia's eyes.

Upon awakening, Lucia was momentarily stunned.

A ludicrous thought crossed her mind: Not another explosive punch, surely?

Her thoughts were a whirlwind of chaos.

Taku belched, his head wobbling, the wine jug in his hand long since emptied.

In a swift motion, he flung the jug at Ijiri.

The jug took flight, rocketing through the air.

In a flash, it collided with the massive blade.

The blade shattered on impact, and the jug, undeterred, continued its trajectory toward Ijiri.

With a resounding bang, his head burst apart.

The colossal figure, now halved, toppled backward.

The crash reverberated like thunder, sending the remaining specters scattering in terror.

In a heartbeat, the vast wasteland was plunged into eerie silence.

Lucia stood there, utterly bewildered.

She had witnessed countless battles, but this raw, brute-force punch had completely overturned her understanding of combat.

She had braced for a deadly predicament, never anticipating a drunken man would be her savior.

"Lucia, are you okay?"

A figure dashed forward, alighting upon the battlefield.

He glanced at Lucia, confirming she was unharmed, then wrinkled his nose and remarked, "Lucia, your fighting style... it's gotten as brutish as those from the Eleventh Division. What happened?"

"Is that Evil Ghost Ijiri? You took him down too? You've really gotten stronger, even without our recent training sessions!"

Meanwhile, the Soul Society remained undisturbed, enjoying a prolonged period of tranquility.

The emergence of the Black Bandits, Ijiri, on Flowing Soul Street had undoubtedly caught the attention of many formidable Shinigami.

In times of peace, such a feat was a rare badge of honor and a path for commoners to rise through the ranks.

"Renji, what brings you here?" Lucia breathed a sigh of relief.

Her youthful comrade, Abarai Renji, currently the sixth seat of the Eleventh Division, possessed combat prowess far beyond Lucia's own.

His timely arrival meant at least she wouldn't have to fret over the possibility of the Evil Ghosts returning for an attack.

"I was on leave when I ran into Captain Kuchiki. He mentioned you were in the 80th district of Northern Flowing Soul Street, so I came to check on you," Abarai Renji explained hastily.

"Captain Kuchiki is here too...?"

"Big brother?" Lucia's face showed a flicker of concern.

Before long, she spotted the austere Captain Kuchiki, clad in his noble feathered garb, standing atop a ruin, surveying the scene from above.

"Did you do all this?"

Captain Kuchiki, with the insight of a captain, saw more than Abarai Renji.

"Captain Kuchiki, this must be the fruits of Lucia's training. Who else could it be?" Abarai Renji said with a chuckle, scratching his head.

As her childhood friend, Abarai Renji was well aware that not only did he yearn to grow stronger.

Lucia, too, sought to strengthen herself to earn Captain Kuchiki's approval.

"Lucia, you mentioned someone came to your rescue earlier," Captain Kuchiki said coolly. "As a noble, I trust you won't be mistaken. This residual spiritual energy is yours, but it's faint. I doubt you had time to invoke your Shikai before the battle was over, didn't you?"

Shikai?

Lucia was taken aback. The recent turn of events in battle had made her completely forget that she could use her Shikai.

But with Captain Kuchiki's probing, there was no time for self-reproach. She quickly clarified, "Captain... I mean, Captain Kuchiki, I wasn't the one who defeated these evil spirits."

"It was... Shiba Taku, who obliterated them with a single punch..."

Lucia had considered finding more fitting adjectives to capture the scenes she had just witnessed.

Yet, the sheer brutality of the combat had her speaking without filter.

Both Abarai Renji and Captain Kuchiki were visibly taken aback.

Exploded them with a single punch?

What on earth?

Had they not heard it straight from Lucia herself, they would have refused to believe any of it was true.

Lucia, after all, was known to them as someone who was always reserved and measured in her speech.

Such outrageous claims seemed entirely out of character for her.