The moment Sumashi's voice fell, the distant dust settled abruptly.
Behind him, Shinji's expression shifted to shock, his gaze fixed on the direction where the dust still lingered.
Accompanying Sumashi's words, a lean figure, roughly two meters tall, emerged slowly from the depths of the dissipating haze.
Its body was entirely encased in a bone-white, armor-like exoskeleton, as if draped in tough leather. A grotesque bone mask covered its face, and thick, root-like tendrils floated silently behind it, moving as if underwater.
"Ghh…"
A low, guttural wheeze emanated from beneath the mask, utterly alien and devoid of human speech.
Its eyes gleamed a deep, blood-red.
Sumashi narrowed his eyes, leaning forward, his hand resting on his Zanpakutō's hilt.
The instant he assumed his attack stance, several pale tendrils shot forth like bullets, leaving hollow, fragmented afterimages in the air. The shockwaves of their blinding speed rippled outward, distorting the air like waves across a pond.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Shinji couldn't even catch the moment the older man drew his blade. Though sitting behind him, Shinji's face stung as if grazed by countless razor-sharp gusts.
When he came to his senses, the tendrils, which had shot out like projectiles, lay severed in midair, reduced to broken chunks.
Sumashi grinned, chuckling softly:
"I may not have much talent."
"But in all my years, this one sword-drawing technique, honed through relentless effort, is at least worth some praise."
As his words landed, he stepped forward.
His figure vanished in a burst of fierce wind.
So fast!
That was the only thought that flashed through Shinji's mind.
Sumashi, still gripping his hilt, surged forward, crossing a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
Yet the figure cloaked in pale Hollow-like skin stood motionless, neither dodging nor flinching, staring him down.
Really underestimating me, huh?
The thought flickered through Sumashi's mind, his narrowed eyes suddenly widening.
In an instant, dozens of afterimages seemed to slash at the "Hollow" from every angle.
At the same time, its tendrils shot out in response.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Countless collisions rang out simultaneously, the blend of speed and force creating an explosive roar that threatened to rupture eardrums.
The shockwave slammed into the ground beneath them, a seemingly small force shattering the sturdy bricks into dust.
First, the stone tiles cracked into web-like patterns, spreading outward. Then, the fragmented stones were hurled upward by the violent tremors. Finally, the rising airflow pulverized the debris into a dusty jet, scattering in all directions.
In a single moment, the once-pristine academy plaza transformed into a barren, sand-swept wasteland amid the surrounding buildings.
Shinji struggled to cover his ears, curling his small body into a corner. Yet his eyes remained wide, transfixed by the clash between two "monsters."
He knew they'd exchanged countless strikes, but in the vast space between them, nothing was visible.
Only faintly, his eyes caught the dense sparks where tendrils met blade, perhaps from a single clash, or countless.
The contradictory sight made his head throb. Only by gripping Yoshida's Zanpakutō tightly did the disorienting sensation ease slightly.
"Is this… a captain's strength?"
Watching the unimaginable battle, Shinji's young heart grasped the concept of "power" for the first time.
But Sumashi, at the heart of the fray, had no time to mentor a junior.
Though his relentless sword-drawing speed was astonishing, the creature before him seemed immune to fatigue. After countless clashes, its movements showed no sign of slowing.
Sumashi, however, knew his limits.
Moreover…
His narrowed eyes flicked to the tendril ends sparking against his blade.
They appeared soft and slick, like tofu, but when struck, they turned hard as steel. Yet when extended, they flowed with a fluid, almost illusory softness…
If that's the case…
Boom!
His blade flashed from its sheath, slashing upward, striking multiple tendrils midair and sparking a trail of fire.
Sumashi shifted his stance, darting to the side like an arrow.
Only after gaining distance did he turn, his gaze cold as he faced the "Hollow."
"Nothing is indestructible."
"Only speed is unbreakable."
"So…"
He crouched lower, nearly parallel to the ground, hands poised to draw, his eyes icy.
"If something can't be cut, I just need to be faster."
As if understanding him, the tendril-wielding figure let out a soft, arrogant "ghh," crossing its arms.
Its tendrils fanned out behind it.
Sumashi's face broke into a wild grin, his voice a low chant:
"Rage-"
His words were slow, deliberate.
But around him, a visible whirlwind surged, his rising Reiatsu steaming upward, enveloping him in a cyan tornado, tightly condensed.
Even his scabbard, gripped in his hand, seemed to tremble, emitting a low-frequency hum.
The mere leakage of his Reiatsu made Shinji, far away, struggle to breathe, overwhelmed by the suffocating pressure.
That oppression, that strength, that unmatched power…
It was awe-inspiring!
Though breathing grew difficult, the small boy with pigtails strained to keep his eyes open, staring intently at the scene.
He wanted to become like that.
To become… unbelievably strong!
"Shigoru!"
The moment the name rang out, time seemed to freeze.
Whether it was Shinji or the "Hollow" facing Sumashi, both stiffened for an instant.
The next moment, the ground where Sumashi stood erupted, a straight path blasting backward.
The immense force, too much for ordinary structures to withstand, propelled him at extreme speed in the opposite direction.
As debris flew, Sumashi's figure became a world-cleaving gale.
Boom!
His blade, wreathed in blazing cyan tempests, traced a faint, dozens-of-meters-long arc. Moving at multiples of the speed of sound, it slashed irresistibly toward the arrogant figure.
The "Hollow," unprepared for this strike from a man who called himself "limited" and "clumsy", publicly ranked among the bottom three captains in strength, faltered, its reaction a fraction slower.
Its pale tendrils folded inward like a tyrant flower, attempting to seal every gap.
But in that fleeting moment…
The cyan blade-storm, like a master butcher carving an ox, slipped effortlessly through the uncovered seams, slashing toward the central mask.
From a distance, it was as if a fish glided into water.
As they passed, Sumashi's narrowed eyes met the figure's still-masked face.
Maybe your talent outshines mine.
But in battle, the only difference is life or death.
This round was his victory.
Sumashi thought silently.
His blade sliced through.
Shing!
The moment the sensation registered, a rare flicker of shock crossed the scarred man's face.
Then, the sound followed, too late.
Too late.
Swish!
The tendril tips, seemingly a step behind, suddenly sprouted bone-white blades.
No!
Not just the tips!
As their figures crossed…
Sumashi spun, crashing heavily into the distance, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Huff…
After a long pause, he pressed his hands to the ground, gasping lowly, hunched over, unable to rise.
Sweat poured from his temples, dripping onto the dry bricks one by one.
His jaw clenched, as if suppressing something, his face contorted in pain, only low groans escaping his lips.
In the distance, Shinji stared at the sudden turn of events, eyes wide.
The monster still stood, its ten tendrils, now wrapping its body, bristling with pale bone blades from root to tip.
One blade was stained with crimson blood.
Farther off, on the tiled ground, a severed leg, cut at the knee, lay in its charging pose, silent.
Sticky blood spots grew sparser from near to far.
Captain Sumashi, now missing a leg, struggled to remain upright.
"H-How…?"
Shinji muttered unconsciously, gripping his blade tighter. He struggled to stand, swaying as he stepped forward.
"Don't move!"
But Sumashi, still gritting his teeth, roared at him.
Shinji's steps froze.
Sumashi, finally adjusting to the pain and imbalance of his severed leg, grunted as he dragged himself upright, standing on his remaining leg and retrieving his Zanpakutō.
He glared at the "Hollow" advancing slowly toward him, eyes wide, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
As he stood, Shinji noticed that Sumashi's wounds weren't limited to his leg. His waist, forearm, and shoulder bore additional injuries, though less severe.
Clearly, even he couldn't fully control himself at such extreme speeds.
"So…"
"I'm just a guy with no talent."
Sumashi muttered under his breath, yet he steadily sheathed his blade, hand resting on the hilt.
His gaze locked onto the monster before him.
Sticky blood dripped from the stump of his leg, splattering the ground in crimson blossoms.
He slowly straightened his posture.
Complaining was one thing; duty was another.
Talent or no talent, some things had to be done.
"Hey."
"What are you?"
Sumashi stared at the creature, his voice cold. "You're the first to counter my technique on the first try."
"Or… did you already know my moves?"
The Hollow advanced, seemingly devoid of reason, offering no response.
One by one, sharp bone blades sprouted along its tendrils, blooming like a pale flower.
"Hmph."
Suddenly, Sumashi let out a low chuckle.
The tendril-wielding Hollow paused.
In the next instant, a cyan tempest erupted vertically from the ground beneath Sumashi, a cascade of wind blades surging upward like a waterfall defying gravity, engulfing the creature's entire body.
In a fleeting moment, countless wind blades tore through, leaving a fine, net-like pattern of cuts across its form.
This was his hidden trump card, a lethal technique kept secret for years.
Simultaneously, an explosive burst of Reiatsu surged from Sumashi's remaining left leg.
Swish!
His figure vanished and reappeared, his Zanpakutō wreathed in cyan light, slashing horizontally toward the Hollow as if to cleave it in two.
But the monster ignored the blade entirely, firing all ten tendrils at once.
Boom!
The cyan tempest shattered, wind blades scattering in all directions, slicing through stone and earth.
Along with them, several severed tendrils soared into the sky.
Sumashi's figure emerged from the dust, gripping his blade with one hand.
A severed pale tendril, like a gnarled root, was lodged deep in his left arm.
"Huff… huff…"
Though he appeared to have stamina left, his chest heaved uncontrollably, his breaths heavy with a muffled rasp.
No matter how strong he was at his peak, losing a leg had cost him. Without his lower body to anchor his strikes, his swings were thirty percent slower, leaving him unable to fully protect himself.
But what was this thing?
Sumashi squinted at the monster.
The tendrils he'd severed were already regrowing, sprouting from its body like roots in a time-lapse, effortlessly regenerating.
Only one remained severed.
"High-speed regeneration…?"
Witnessing this, the suspicion of an inside job wavered in his mind.
Just then, Shinji's face twisted in panic, his voice piercing the air:
"Watch out for the tendril, Captain!"
The severed tendril embedded in Sumashi's shoulder suddenly swelled.
His expression tightened, his blade flashing like an arc of light.
Slash!
His arm flew off.
Along with it, the tendril lodged within landed in the distance.
The moment it hit the ground, Sumashi watched his own arm dissolve into ash under the tendril's absorption.
If it had stayed attached…
Before he could dwell on the grim outcome, the tendril-wielding Hollow, its tall, gaunt frame suddenly bloated as if infused with a massive surge, transformed. Its once-visible ribs now bulged with muscle, its body trembling and swelling nearly a size larger.
Two small bulges sprouted on its back, bursting with a squelch of fluid, extruding two thin, drooping tendrils.
Not just its form.
Its Reiatsu…
In that instant, even a battle-hardened veteran like Sumashi felt a flicker of despair.
This monster could grow stronger?
As the thought struck, a faint voice called from the distance:
"Still not done?"
"They're almost here."
Sumashi snapped his head upward.
There, atop the academy building, stood a figure cloaked entirely in a raincoat.
Their face was obscured.
Sumashi shouted, "Who the hell are you people?!"
No response.
The Hollow, now swollen with power and restless, let out a piercing, guttural roar from beneath its mask:
"RAAAGH!"
Sumashi instinctively raised his hand, shielding himself from the gusting wind.
But before he could react, the Hollow's figure vanished from its spot.
So fast!
Faster than before!
Sumashi's expression tightened, his senses probing the surroundings, but he couldn't detect its reishi.
Until its form flickered, appearing less than a meter away.
Its massive clawed foot, capable of crushing his skull, loomed, casting his entire vision in shadow.
Missing an arm and a leg, Sumashi could barely move.
Faced with this overwhelming gap, a resigned thought surfaced:
It's over.
BOOM!
An explosive roar, laced with dust, engulfed the area around them.
Shinji, still reeling, stared blankly at the scene.
The man atop the building turned without lingering.
It's finally over.
But as the thought crossed his mind, his steps froze.
He sensed something.
Sumashi, battered by the shockwave, knelt on his remaining leg.
The shadow of the massive claw loomed over his head.
Yet it didn't descend.
His neck stiffened as he turned.
A familiar figure came into view.
Makoto stood calmly beside them, his left hand resting casually on the Hollow's wrist, rendering it immobile.
Up close, one could see his slender, pale fingers clamped like a vice, digging into the creature's wrist bone, compressing it until flesh and bone oozed between his fingers.
"Over six thousand students in this academy, and you've killed nearly all of them."
"That's a bit much."
"I'm the vice-principal here, you know… even if it's just in name."
Makoto's voice was lazy, as if chatting with a friend.
But the figure atop the building whirled around.
When?!
He was so far away…
Completely unnoticed.
Compared to him, the Hollow, its wrist shattered effortlessly, reacted more violently. Its roars shook the heavens, the ground beneath it fracturing as its arm muscles bulged, straining to free itself from Makoto's seemingly delicate grip.
"RAAAGH!!!"
Yet no matter how it struggled, Makoto stood unmoved.
Steadfast.
Until its roars carried a tremor of desperation.
Makoto looked up at it, asking:
"How are you going to make this up to me?"
As his words fell, he reached out, yanking casually to the side.
With a savage, effortless tug, the Hollow's entire arm was ripped from its shoulder, the jagged wound spraying blood like arrows, drenching Sumashi's face and head.
Impossible!
The thought struck Sumashi and the figure on the rooftop simultaneously.
But the Hollow, its arm torn off, had only one instinct, flee!
Its mind and body acted faster than the thought itself.
The massive pale figure shot across the ground like a streak, weaving through shattered tiles and dust, moving so fast it vanished from Sumashi's perception.
But Makoto merely quirked a faint smile, extending a single finger forward.
"Bakudō #79: Kuyō Shibari."
The moment his voice fell, the fleeing pale figure froze.
Nine black orbs materialized, encircling it, forming a ring of dark points that seemed to pierce space itself.
No matter how it struggled, it was powerless.
Not even a finger could move.
Sumashi's eyes widened.
A Number 79 Bakudō, without incantation, with this kind of power?!
Before he could process his shock, Makoto gazed at the writhing, tendril-laden monster and continued in a low chant:
"Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi."
As his words landed, a colossal black coffin, piercing the clouds, rose from the ground.
Centered on the Hollow, a several-meter radius was crushed by an immense density of reishi, collapsing inward as if countless black blades stabbed simultaneously.
Sumashi's eyes widened further.
A Number 90 Hadō, without incantation, with this kind of power?!
He wasn't alone in his disbelief.
Even the residual shockwaves were beyond what ordinary Shinigami could endure. For Shinji, standing nearby, they sparked a visceral sense of impending death.
Yet the towering black coffin seared itself into his deepest memories.
As expected.
Still not enough.
Though he'd anticipated this, the figure on the rooftop sighed softly.
He turned, draping the surrounding space over himself like a curtain.
His figure vanished.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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