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Chapter 43 - Chapter 43 The Second Spring of Martial Arts and Swordsmanship

"Shunko!"

High-density compressed Kido wrapped around her upper body. Yoruichi's yellow jacket exploded into fragments, her black tight-fitting attire revealing a significant amount of skin.

Her Captain's haori had long since been discarded along the way. Yoruichi was a wild, carefree girl who didn't like being tied down; formal clothing only got in her way, so she dressed very lightly.

Whoosh!

Yoruichi appeared behind Makiya in an instant, throwing a punch that unleashed a torrent of Kido power.

In her Shunko state, all of Yoruichi's physical attacks were infused with massive amounts of Kido; even a light wave of her hand carried immense destructive power.

Makiya turned and drew his blade to strike, spiritual pressure condensing on the surface of the edge.

The surging Kido power crashed against him. It struck Makiya's Zanpakuto like a massive wave hitting a solid cliff, unable to budge it even an inch despite its full force.

"Truly terrifying spiritual pressure. You've improved again since that day." Yoruichi flashed an excited smile, her fists becoming a blur as the air was compressed into sharp, shrieking explosions.

Makiya danced with the tip of his blade, his spiritual pressure splitting the Kido power in two. The hills behind him crumbled and the ground split apart, yet the earth beneath his feet remained perfectly intact.

"Captain Shihoin, are you finished warming up yet?" Makiya asked softly.

"You've got guts, kid," Yoruichi said, stepping back with a wide grin. "Just call me Yoruichi. You're a fine toy; I hope you're a bit durable."

The Kido power spread from her back down to her lower body. Her lower garments burst apart as her sweat evaporated, her dark-brown soles now enveloped in a blue glow.

Boom!

Yoruichi's figure vanished from Makiya's sight, replaced by a massive sense of pressure closing in on him.

His body reacted before his thoughts could catch up. Makiya's Zanpakuto collided with the arch of Yoruichi's foot, and the massive force was channeled through the blade into his body, causing the rock beneath him to crack.

Yoruichi was clearly getting serious now. Makiya did not hesitate and activated his Shikai.

"Gather the light and restrain the flames, mysterious candles in the shadows, all things enter Nirvana, all phenomena return to life... Bathe in fire, Chisato!"

Bright red flames spread in all directions. Yoruichi stepped onto the flames without a hint of fear, as a sky full of fist shadows and leg strikes enveloped Makiya.

In the world of martial arts, no defense is impenetrable and only speed is invincible. The extreme speed Yoruichi pursued was on full display; even if a punch or kick was parried by the sword, she could instantly shift positions and strike ten more times.

However, this logic didn't perfectly apply to the world of Soul Reapers. If spiritual pressures were similar, the faster side indeed held the advantage, but when the gap in spiritual pressure was too large, no amount of speed mattered—one might not even be able to break through the opponent's defense.

Makiya's red blade, Chisato, moved in an airtight defense, yet Yoruichi always found a gap in his swings. She would explode with a dozen punches at once, and Makiya's Shihakusho was reduced to tatters.

Makiya thought to himself that this was bad. 'Being a passive punching bag isn't my style. I can't keep letting a woman kick me in the face.' He began to recite the mental mantras of the Dugu Nine Swords, performing the swordsmanship with a slight touch of stiffness.

Makiya from the Wuxia Fusion World had completely let himself go after leaving the mysterious space. He had acquired the Dugu Nine Swords that very night, and was now scouring the world for all kinds of martial arts, entering the mysterious space daily to share the new techniques and sword styles he had just 'borrowed.'

The profoundly conceptual Dugu Nine Swords found a second spring in Makiya's hands. A wondrous chemical reaction occurred, making the combination greater than the sum of its parts. Supported by his terrifying spiritual pressure, Makiya's swinging speed reached a new level—striking second but arriving first, achieving the state where no-style beats all styles.

Yoruichi immediately realized something was wrong—very wrong.

Initially, she was a bit disappointed by the change, thinking he had been dazed by her fast-paced attacks. However, after a few seconds, Makiya's sword moves became increasingly eerie; they seemed slow, yet they always managed to jam her at the critical moment of her assault, leaving her stuck between advancing and retreating.

Yoruichi felt extremely uncomfortable, as if every punch and kick were bound by an invisible pressure. She leaped up to kick Makiya in the forehead, only to be shocked to find the blade of Chisato already waiting in its path. If she didn't abandon the attack, her right leg would be severed.

Boom!

Yoruichi quickly retracted her leg, and a massive amount of Kido power exploded outward without restraint. The shockwave spread in all directions, and Makiya swung his sword to cut through the air current, pointing Chisato back at Yoruichi.

Blood continued to flow from her calf, seeping into the ground. Yoruichi pulled a roll of gauze from behind her and tossed it; the gauze seemed to have a mind of its own, flying to the wound on her calf and wrapping itself tightly.

Makiya frowned and looked behind Yoruichi, but there was nothing. Yoruichi was clearly wearing a black bodysuit that exposed her limbs; there was nowhere to store anything. Where did that gauze come from?

"What kind of sword style is that?" Yoruichi asked, moving her calf and looking at Makiya with disbelief. She had mastered Shunpo to seize the initiative in battle, allowing her to attack or retreat at will. Yet Makiya, who was clearly on the defensive, managed to have that bright red blade appear out of nowhere, cutting off her path and seizing the initiative, leaving her feeling suppressed and miserable.

In all her years, Yoruichi had never experienced such a suffocating battle. Makiya's swordsmanship was unheard of; even with her status as the head of the Shihoin Clan and her vast experience, this was her first time seeing it.

"It's a sword style I saw in a dream," Makiya said with a grin. The roles of attacker and defender had swapped. He appeared in front of Yoruichi with a Shunpo, raising Chisato and swinging down with a cascade of flames. His terrifying spiritual pressure expanded wildly, as if a deep-red beast were roaring behind him.

On the other side, the three people cleaning up the testing grounds suddenly froze. The spiritual pressure swept over them like a tsunami. Hiyosu and Akane fell to their knees with a thud, propping themselves up with terrified expressions, gasping for air like fish out of water.

"Hey, hey, hey... with spiritual pressure of this level, they aren't actually trying to kill each other, are they?"

Kisuke Urahara sensed that things were going south. He had thought Yoruichi would have Makiya well in hand, but it seemed that the Goddess of Flash might have overplayed her hand.

"You two leave first. I'll go take a look."

Urahara gave the order and rushed toward the battlefield with Benihime in hand using Shunpo.

"Honestly, it's a good thing this place isolates spiritual pressure and monitoring, otherwise the old man would definitely be scolding us."

Rumble!

The earth shook and cracks stretched into the distance. Mountain-sized boulders were tossed into the air by an unknown force. Two figures were entangled among the flying debris; in just a few seconds, their spiritual pressure and Kido collided hundreds of times, the shockwaves shattering the clouds and spreading into the distance.

Makiya's long blade swung down heavily, only to be clamped tightly by two blue-glowing palms. The immense force pressed Yoruichi down, pushing her deep into the ground.

After the two left the air, the floating boulders crumbled from the center outward, dissipating into the atmosphere as basic spirit particles.

Bright red flames covered the surface of the ground. The Kido and spiritual pressure unleashed by Yoruichi fell into the flames and were quietly enveloped, suppressed, and swallowed, hidden deep within the fire.

"What terrifying swordsmanship. Makiya, I recognize your strength!" Yoruichi unleashed a flurry of fist shadows, her condensed Kido falling like a torrential storm from all directions. "You should join the 11th Division and compete with that Golden Beast for the title of Kenpachi!"

"No thanks, I have no interest in the name of Kenpachi." Makiya gripped his sword with both hands, forcing a trade of injuries. He took a heavy blow from Yoruichi on his chest to seize a brief opening for a counter-slash.

Chisato had already obtained what it wanted; it was time to end the battle.

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