The Top of The Top [Shura/Kanae]

Battle was just the way of the Gotei, whether one wanted to admit it or not. Few could deny that the Gotei spent the majority of its time in combat, so to do anything except prepare for the next fight was little more than a test in futility. At least that's how this Kurata saw the world, and who could convince her otherwise? Her entire life was a constant battle, impressing her father, acting as security, apart of the best Squad within the Gotei 13, and now apart of the best Squad within the Gotei United.

There were no other squads that came close to what the Fourth Division could accomplish, those within it understood the truth of the Gotei's existence and the vast majority of them treated their lives with the same respect even if they stood no chance against the upper echelon's. Most struggled to improve, they spent day after day training to improve themselves and seeing small and incremental improvements, but they at least were trying and Shura had to give them credit for that if nothing else.

The stand out individuals within this division ensured they stood out, power immeasurable when compared and skill unattainable by the normal Shinigami let alone anyone outside of the Fourth Division. Certainly the others had their unique talents, but none could stand toe-to-toe with the Fourth Division in direct combat. Each individual within the division held their own unique fighting style, each one uniquely distinct from the others and that was the reason they were the best.

Of course there were some, namely the Taicho, who seemed to think themselves worthy of their ranks... Like their ranks meant anything about who they were in combat. Watching those training within the grounds gave her more information than trying to fight most of them could give her, slow and weak... Attacks containing predictable patterns that even a novice Shinigami should be able to see. Training with most of them would prove fruitless in efforts to better herself, but that wasn't new for her. There were precious few within the Fourth Division that could offer her a true challenge, and truth be told it'd been awhile since she flexed herself in any meaningful way.

"So many training, yet so few improvements. It's almost like they don't know how to train or improve themselves beyond what they're currently capable of. A shame for the Squad meant to succeed the best squad of the Gotei 13, wouldn't you agree, Taicho?"

Those that knew even the most generalized information of Shura would find her attitude not in the least surprising, her patience for the weak barely existed on a good day, and was utterly non-existent on a bad day. "Of everyone that has fought here, I can scarce recall a time when you've stepped out and been personally pushed during training. So how's about you get out there and show them what it means to train and spar within the Combat Division of the Gotei United?"

"The fact you have to ask if I missed it tells me that you yourself failed to pay enough attention to see if I was there or not, believe me if I was there you'd know it Taicho." She had a pretty big grin on her face as she slammed her fist against her chest with an almost boastful air of confidence. She definitely caught the venomous tone that Kanae had, but truth be told that only meant she was a viper ready to strike its prey and that all on its own gave her a rather large amount of excitement.

"And why would I be upset that you beat a worthless welp? The previous Taicho failed to hold his position and showed he wasn't capable to be leading the Single Best Division in the Gotei United. No question about it." She said, her large grin never leaving her face, but as she said that she jumped backwards, doing a solid backflip before landing in the center of the training arena. "But as far as I'm concerned you barely showed anything during that mockery of a fight." With that, Shura drew her Zanpakuto and held it directly above her head pointed toward the sky.

Her tone and demeanor had shifted during her backflip and her face was now one of stoic composure "Minna o Horobosu, Hakaishin" A swirling vortex Reiatsu erupted from around her for about a second before a large serrated axe head came swiping through, dispersing it and revealing the released Zanpakuto, an enormous two-handed battle axe, a viciously serrated edge that had a faint purple aura that all on its own pulsated with power. "I want to see your full strength and nothing less, I want to see that Bankai for myself, because those unwilling to openly challenge those stronger than them aren't worthy of being in this division."

Her eyes alone pulsated with bloodlust, her tone emanated authority "So to answer your question, I couldn't give a fuck if you were an unseated Shinigami or a Taicho. All that matters in the Best Division of the Gotei United is what you can do in combat." To ensure their arena was clear, she channeled her Reiatsu into the blade of her axe before bringing it down to slam into the arena, a loud lion's roar erupting outwards to blow back the lesser Shinigami around her "So the least you can do..." She said slowly as her head tilted up, her eyes staring directly at Kanae "Is release that Zanpakuto and attack me with it, and if you dare do anything less I'll release my Bankai and kill you right where you stand, Nagoshi Kanae."

Was releasing a Zanpakuto like this in the middle of the Seireitei something that had consequences? Sure... Did Shura Kurata care? No.

Techniques Used:

To say that Shura was anything less than excited wouldn't be just an understatement, it'd an insult of the highest magnitude. Truth be told however, neither of Kanae's statements were even close to the truth. Shura didn't care if she'd been defeated or not, nor did she care if she was the first to challenge her... No all Shura cared about was seeing precisely what her Zanpakuto was capable of, and that's precisely what she intended to find out. The grin once more returned to her face when the power of Kanae's Shikai was released, the overwhelming Reiatsu and malevolence that came from it all on its own was a sight to behold.

She'd never felt such a cascade of power in its raw form, let alone anything close to it being aimed towards her. Shura took a moment to soak it in, taking a big wif of the air with eyes trained on Kanae. "Yeah... That's the power I want..." She muttered to herself, sizing Kanae up briefly. She'd barely moved yet all in attendance could feel the resulting power be released, Shura wasn't a fool and she knew the power that Kanae held was extraordinary. But Shura's power was also extraordinary, as was the rest of the top of the division, so being extraordinary meant little at this point. What could Kanae do with that extraordinary power? That's what Shura wanted to know.

Leaping into the air and bringing her Axe above her head "Let's start this off right shall we?!" As the axe spun in the air, her Reiatsu began to once more gather within its blade to an even further extent, lightning radiating off of it "Girochin" a single word came from her lips before her axe was brought down in a single, powerful overhead swing directly towards Kanae.

Techniques Used:

To say that she was surprised that Kanae managed to deflect her attack would be a massive overestimation, in fact it would've been far more surprising had she not managed to do so. This only proved that Kanae was the perfect person to fight against, someone who could easily take the attacks she dished out... It meant that Shura had no worries about accidentally killing her, if she did it... it meant Kanae wasn't worthy of her place. Simple as that.

But with the parry came a flick and hop backwards from Kanae, Shura herself digging her feet into the ground to come to a skidding stop, a grin on her face. Was that all? Not even close. Her next flurry of attacks came from her personalized Shunpo, one that was accompanied by a series of five strikes. Each of the five strikes came from a different angle, the first one coming from the front with a downwards left-angled strike. When that was inevtiably blocked, parried, or dodged, Shura wasted no time before the next one was initiated, a tactic repeated for each of the following swings, the second coming from behind as a slash towards Kanae's waist, the third from above as yet another overhead strike, the fourth from the left with the axe swinging towards Kanae's back, and the fifth coming from the right accompanied by both words and a spinning of the blade once more like the first strike she'd done "Girochin"

Techniques Used:

With each swipe it was increasingly more and more obvious the difference in their levels, removing any question as to whether her initial assessment was correct or not. Like a train moving in slow motion, Kanae did not even make contact with her blade, slipping underneath it entirely and moving forward rather than backwards... the sign of a predator knowing when to pounce. The counterattack being just as swift as the dodge itself, a strike upwards with enough force behind it that Shura had no way of stopping the full force of it, and so she had but a single choice.

Shura's form vanishing from the spot, headed backwards. But for all her speed and skill in Hoho, she didn't escape unscathed, as not only indicated from the blood that remained on her Superior's Zanpakuto, but also the diagonal cut along her torso, causing the bottom half of her Hakama to fall down along her waist. "Alright... too close for comfort." She thought to herself momentarily, but truth be told part of her wasn't expecting it to be Kanae who drew first blood yet here it was... Maybe she underestimated her just a tad too much. But it was clear that the large axe she now carried was, quite frankly, too slow to compete with the nimbler Zanpakuto that her opponent used. Very well then.

Shura lifted one foot before slamming it down in front of her "Fumitsukete Funsai Seyo, Bankai: Shinmetsu Tei" The one single large axe split itself, connecting the two smaller battleaxes that came from it with a singular chain, the blades themselves radiating with the destructive power that was her Bankai, each handle adorned with sharp spikes and the thicker blades covered with jagged edges that more resembled teeth than spikes.

Shura knelt just slightly "I warned you, Nagoshi Kanae" She said as she flung one of the blades towards her opponent, though this attack was a feint, for as soon as she moved to block or dodge it, Shura would utilize her Shunpo to move behind her opponent and initiate the true attack "Karitorisha" A diagonal swipe, aimed to do its namesake and swipe through her opponents neck and in one swing remove the head from its body. While it wasn't her most powerful strike possible, it was among her most deadly due to the amount of speed put behind it rather than the raw strength of the attack itself.

Techniques Used: