Madarame Ikkaku only ceased his rotation when the dragon-shaped groove on the central axe blade was completely filled. The instant the crimson crest reached saturation, he launched himself at Zaraki Kenpachi, Captain-class spiritual pressure erupting from his body like a blazing furnace finally unsealed.
Zaraki Kenpachi did not respond with arrogance. Instead, he calmly reached up and removed the eyepatch over his right eye.
In that single motion, a vast golden spiritual pressure exploded skyward, colliding head-on with Ikkaku's crimson surge. Gold and red intertwined violently above the Training Grounds, grinding against one another until the surrounding barrier trembled without pause.
Watching from the edge, Ito Makoto felt his temples throb.
"Demons and monsters, all things, gods and saints, all turn to dust—Annihilation God!"
"Annihilation God Ultimate Technique—Four Directions Realm!"
At once, a gray-black square barrier more than ten meters long and wide unfolded within the original enclosure, sealing off Zaraki Kenpachi's rampaging spiritual pressure and confining the clash to a defined domain.
This was the ultimate technique Ito Makoto had newly mastered after deepening his communion with Annihilation God: Four Directions Realm.
Its function was absolute within its borders. Inside the square barrier, Ito Makoto and those he permitted would experience a measurable increase in speed and strength. In contrast, the enemy's spiritual pressure, speed, and physical power would be suppressed, the degree of suppression determined by the opponent's spiritual pressure. Ordinary seated officers would struggle even to move. Against an opponent of similar level, their strength and speed would be reduced by roughly thirty percent.
The stronger the opponent's spiritual pressure, the weaker the suppression—but as Ito Makoto himself grew stronger, so too would the Realm's influence.
Within this domain, the shock force of Annihilation God was doubled.
Moreover, the barrier was centered upon Ito Makoto and shifted seamlessly with his movement.
At present, this Four Directions Realm was sustained by Captain-class spiritual pressure, drawn after he borrowed thirty percent of his main body's power. Any ordinary Captain-level combatant entering this field would immediately suffer a thirty percent reduction in speed and strength.
As the Realm expanded, the two titanic spiritual pressures that had threatened to tear apart the outer barrier were forcibly compressed into its bounds.
"Clang!"
A deafening impact rang out. Had Ito Makoto not deployed the Four Directions Realm in time, the external barrier would likely have shattered under the shockwave of that collision.
Madarame Ikkaku's fully charged Bankai strike was met—and effortlessly parried—by Zaraki Kenpachi, who now fought without his eyepatch, using a single hand.
"Is that all the strength you've got?"
The sight of his full-power blow being so casually blocked made Ikkaku's eyes widen for an instant. Then he laughed, wild and unrestrained.
"Heh, as expected of the Captain. I knew you wouldn't be easy!"
He leapt back, fully aware now that even with Bankai, a chasm still separated him from Zaraki Kenpachi.
Just as Ikkaku prepared to withdraw his Bankai and conclude the exchange, Kenpachi's voice rumbled out slowly.
"Stopping now would be boring."
"Hey, Ito. You and Ikkaku—come at me together."
Ito Makoto blinked in surprise, then glanced toward Ikkaku.
"Little Ito, let's go together. Since the Captain asked, we can't disappoint him."
Ikkaku's eyes burned with exhilaration.
Ito had briefly worried that intervening in their duel might irritate Ikkaku, but clearly he had overthought it. In the Eleventh Division, battle spirit eclipsed pride.
Thus, the former spectator became a combatant. Ito Makoto stepped fully into the Training Grounds, battle intent rising, and joined Madarame Ikkaku in facing Zaraki Kenpachi.
"Annihilation God First Style—Tremor!"
"Wah—!"
The familiar shock force detonated outward. At first, Kenpachi dismissed it—but this time the impact was vastly amplified. The doubled force within the Four Directions Realm slammed through him, violently dislocating his internal organs.
Blood burst from his mouth. Even the shallow wounds left by his earlier clash with Ikkaku tore open under the reverberation, fresh blood spilling freely.
"Captain Kenpachi, be careful!"
"Within my Four Directions Realm, the shock force is doubled!"
As Ito joined the battle, the Realm's enhancement flowed naturally to himself and Ikkaku, while its suppression bore down upon Kenpachi.
Ikkaku's speed and strength rose by roughly thirty percent in an instant.
Kenpachi, meanwhile, felt the subtle restraint coiling around his limbs—his speed and power no longer moving entirely unbound.
Squatting amid blood and tremors, Kenpachi spat once more. Before he could fully recover, Ikkaku raised Dragon Crest Hozukimaru again and brought it crashing down.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Satisfying!"
Kenpachi forced his left hand upward, intercepting the descending axe with his blade.
"Yah!"
With a thunderous roar, his spiritual pressure surged anew. The golden torrent expanded outward, forcibly neutralizing much of the shock force. His displaced organs shifted back into place under raw pressure alone, and as muscle fibers writhed, the bleeding wounds sealed by sheer compression.
"I knew it."
Ito Makoto was no longer surprised. Zaraki Kenpachi embodied the brutal beauty of pure power.
If Kenpachi alone was like this, then how monstrous must Aizen Sōsuke or Kurosaki Ichigo have become at their peaks?
The instant Kenpachi's spiritual pressure flared, Ito gave him no breathing room. He hurled Annihilation God forward, gripping the ever-extending iron chain trailing from its hilt.
Carrying doubled shock force, the blade tore through the air. At the same time, Ikkaku leapt high, Dragon Crest Hozukimaru raised for a mountain-splitting cleave.
"Clang!"
Kenpachi lifted his sword with his left hand to block the descending axe. Simultaneously, his right hand shot forward and seized Annihilation God just before it pierced his chest.
Ignoring the intensified shock force and the deep cut slicing across his palm, he yanked hard on the chain.
"Holy crap!"
The overwhelming strength transmitted through the blade into his body stunned Ito. Even within the Four Directions Realm's enhancement, he remained inferior to Kenpachi in sheer power.
Rather than resist, Ito flowed with the pull, using the momentum to close distance.
The moment he entered close range, he thrust out his left hand.
"Hadō Number Four—White Lightning!"
A bolt of white lightning erupted point-blank toward Kenpachi's chest.
Still holding back Ikkaku's axe with his sword, Kenpachi twisted his torso. The White Lightning grazed his arm, carving a bloody streak across it.
As Kenpachi shifted, Ito braced a hand against the ground, stabilizing himself. With the Realm's speed enhancement, he vanished in a burst of Shunpo and reappeared behind Kenpachi.
His blade slashed down toward the Captain's back.
Kenpachi swung his sword behind him to block, then pivoted, meeting Ito head-on in a direct clash.
Even with the Realm's strengthening effect, the collision numbed Ito Makoto's hands.
Meanwhile, Ikkaku widened the distance once more and began spinning Dragon Crest Hozukimaru again, pushing its power toward another full charge.
"Hmph. Charging again?"
Kenpachi's voice dropped, and in the next heartbeat he flashed forward, intent on interrupting the rotation.
"Annihilation God Third Style—Mustard Net!"
A tiny black point appeared on Annihilation God's blade. It split instantly, proliferating into a dense black net that erupted behind Kenpachi and ensnared him mid-step.
As the net tightened, razor-edged strands bit into his flesh, scoring bloody marks across his body.
At the same moment, Ikkaku completed his charge. Dragon Crest Hozukimaru descended with mountain-cleaving force.
Just as the axe was about to strike the bound Kenpachi, he shifted his grip.
From one hand to two.
Then he swung.
"Bang!"
A dazzling golden sword pressure burst forth, shattering the Mustard Net in a single stroke. The sweeping arc tore through the battlefield, blasting Madarame Ikkaku from mid-air and sending Ito Makoto flying behind him.
{ 🥳 Enjoying the chapters? 🥰 Support me on Patreon and unlock 50+ advance chapters with 2 new chapters released every two days!! 🎉
✨ Available by subscription or as a one-time purchase for lifetime access—no membership needed!
👉 patreon.com/Oreski}