Ichigō lunged forward with terrifying speed, his bde arm slig through the air with a high-pitched whihe grouh him cracked uhe force of his movement, a testament to the sheer power behind his attabsp;

  “Scatter!” Kuro barked, his voiapping Reika and Xero into motion.

  Reika leaped to the side with fluid grading nimbly behind a rge tree. Xero, grinning wildly, swung his sword up to meet the ining strike. The etal oal sent sparks flying, the impact reverberating through the forest like a gunshot.

  Ichigō’s strength was monstrous. The force of his strike sent Xero skidding backward, his boots digging into the dirt to steady himself. “Not bad,” Xero muttered, his grin widenie the strain in his arms. “Yoing to be fun.”

  Kuro seized the opening, dashing forward with blinding speed. His bde fshed in the dim light as he aimed a precise strike at the cyb’s exposed fnk.

  But Ichigō was faster. Without looking, he twisted his body, his other arm snapping upward to block Kuro’s attack with a bde that had emerged from his forearm. “Predictable,” he sneered.

  Kuro gritted his teeth, his mind rag as he disengaged and leaped back. His thoughts were a whirlwind of strategy and fragmented memories. James. Fire Fly. The past he’d buried for now was g its way to the surface, and now it stood before him in the form of this monstrous cyb.

  Reika emerged from cover, her kunai fshing as she hurled it with pinpoint accuracy toward Ichigō’s glowing eye. The cyb’s head jerked to the side, the bde grazing his cheek before embedding itself in a tree.

  “Cute,” Ichigō said, his voice dripping with dession. “But you’ll need more than toys to stop me.”

  As he spoke, his chest pte opened slightly, revealing a glowing core that began to hum ominously. Kuro’s eyes widened in reition. “Get back!” he shouted, his voice filled with urgenbsp;

  But the warning came too te. Ichigō unleashed a pulse of energy that radiated outward, smming into the surrounding area with enough force to uproot trees and send all three team members flying.

  Kuro hit the ground hard, the impact driving the air from his lungs. As he struggled to his feet, he saw Ichigō striding toward him, his bde arm glinting in the faint light.

  “This is just the beginning, James,” Ichigō said, his voice cold and unyielding. “Let’s see if you’re still the fighter they once feared.”

  Kuro’s world slowed as he activated Slow Vision, the chaotic forest battlefield crystallizing into razor-sharp focus. The sound of his heartbeat thundered in his ears, steady and unyielding. Time stretched, the swift arc of Ichigō’s bde being a crawling wave, its metallic edge catg the faint, fragmented light filtering through the opy.

  Kuro’s body responded instinctively, sidestepping with fluid precision just as the bde screamed past him, close enough to stir the air against his cheek. His feet barely touched the ground as he surged forward, closing the gap between them in a blink.

  With a sharp exhale, Kuro unleashed his Jeet Kune Do-inspired teique—a relentless flurry of rapid, electrified sps aimed at Ichigō’s shoulder joint. His strikes were calcuted, eae targeting the critical es between the cyb’s anic tissue and meical pos. The first sp nded with a sharp crack, sending a jolt of blue energy surging through Ichigō’s frame.

  The strike came faster, then another, and another, eae apanied by the crag hiss of his Thunder Cp skill. Sparks flew from Ichigō’s shoulder with every impact, illuminating Kuro’s determined expression in brief, staccato bursts of light.

  Ichigō staggered back, his shoulder jerking unnaturally as the damage began to take its toll. The acrid st of burning circuits filled the air, mingling with the damp, earthy smell of the forest. But instead of retreating, the cyb’s lips curled into a smile that sent a chill down Kuro’s spine.

  “Not bad,” Ichigō said, his voice carrying an unnerving mix of amusement and pt, the syic modution giving it a hollow, meical edge. “But this is far from over.”

  The whir of servos and grindial filled the air as Ichigō’s damaged shoulder shifted and clicked into pce, the meisms recalibrating with unnatural speed. Red energy pulsed through the exposed wiring like veins pumping blood, sealing cracks a motion.

  Kuro’s eyes narrowed, his mind rag as he took a step back to reassess. He could feel his Thunder Cp’s energy waning, the skill’s brief burst of power leaving a faint tingling in his fiips.

  Ichigō tilted his head, his glowing eyes log onto Kuro with a predator’s focus. “Impressive teique,” he said, his bde-arm rising to point at Kuro. “But electricity alone won’t save you.”

  The cyb lunged forward with a speed that defied logic, his bde splitting into segmeendrils mid-strike. The metallic whips shed out in every dire, f Kuro to twist and weave through the assault like a shadow in motion. Each tendril smmed into the forest floor, leaving deep gouges in the earth and sending debris flying.

  Kuro darted to the side, his body low as he slid beh one of the shing tendrils. He rolled to his feet in a seamless motion, only to find Ichigō already closing the distanbsp;

  From behind, Xero’s voice rang out. “Kuro! Duck!”

  Trusting his teammate without hesitation, Kuro dropped low just as Xero’s massive bde came hurtling past him, its edge glowing with a fiery red hue. The sword collided with Ichigō’s segmeendrils, sparks flying in a dazzling explosion of light and sound.

  Ichigō staggered, his tendrils retrag as he turo face Xero, who was already charging forward with reckless abandon. “You think that toy of yours stop me?” the cyb taunted, raising his other arm as it morphed into a psma on.

  “Toy?” Xero bellowed, a grin splitting his face. “This is no toy—it’s a dragon!”

  As the psma on charged, Reika appeared from the shadows, her kunai gleaming with an eerie green light. She hurled it with deadly accuracy, the bde embedding itself into the on’s charging port. The energy destabilized, sending a shockwave through Ichigō’s arm and f him to abandon the on before it exploded.

  Kuro seized the moment, dashing forward and nding a powerful roundhouse kick to Ichigō’s chest. The force of the blow sent the cyb crashing into a tree, the trunk splintering uhe impabsp;

  Ichigō rose slowly, his meical joints creaking as his systems struggled to pensate for the damage. His glowing eyes fixed orio, his smile repced by a scowl. “You’re more trouble than I expected,” he admitted, his tone ced with frustration.

  Kuro stepped forward, his staeady and unyielding. “You’re not the first to uimate us,” he said, his voice calm but carrying an edge of defianbsp;

  Ichigō chuckled darkly, his glowing core pulsing brighter. “Good,” he said, raising his bde-arm once more. “Let’s see how far that fideakes you.”

  The forest seemed to hold its breath as the two prepared to csh again, the battle far from over.