As the last bit of green Reiatsu left his body, Kaname Tosen shriveled up entirely, resembling a mummy that had been dried for a thousand years.
The barrier of Enma Korogi shook violently as the black canopy slowly dissolved.
The Zanpakuto, Suzumushi, melted into a cluster of shimmering white Reiatsu. Emitting a unique rhythm, it was absorbed into Makiya's body.
Suzumushi was not originally Kaname Tosen's Zanpakuto; it belonged to a woman named Kakyo.
Kakyo was a close friend of Tosen and possessed fragments of the Soul King within her. Later, she was scouted by the noble Tsunayashiro family and married Tokinada Tsunayashiro. Because she was too kind-hearted, she was murdered by Tokinada after attempting to stop his atrocities. This event was also the primary reason for Tosen's betrayal of the Soul Society.
'Would a Zanpakuto born from a soul that once contained fragments of the Soul King provide a special boost for me?' This was Makiya's first encounter with anything related to the Soul King's fragments.
Jushiro Ukitake also had fragments of the Soul King inside him, but that guy was sickly all day and unwilling to spar, leaving Makiya with no options there.
He remembered that Rangiku Matsumoto, who had been attacked by Aizen, was also connected to the Soul King. However, after asking around, Makiya couldn't find her; she likely hadn't joined the Seireitei yet.
The pitch-black barrier of Enma Korogi completely vanished, and the flames of Chisato were fully retracted into Makiya's body. He raised a finger, gathering a large amount of Kido energy at its tip.
"Hado #54: Haien."
A disc-shaped fire enveloped Kaname Tosen's corpse. Lacking any Reiatsu to sustain it, the frail shell was quickly incinerated into ashes.
"Hey, hey, hey. Murdering a colleague and then destroying the evidence right in front of me... I can't just pretend I didn't see that." Kenpachi Zaraki's neck had grown stiff from waiting. Finally seeing Makiya appear, he stood up quickly and shouldered his Zanpakuto, Nozarashi.
"That's not right, Ken-chan." The pink-haired girl riding on Kenpachi Zaraki's neck grabbed his spiky hair and ruffled it messily. "Tiny Bug was the one who tried to kill Little Fire; Little Fire was just defending himself!"
"Kenpachi, see? Your Lieutenant is much more reasonable." Makiya sheathed his Zanpakuto and waved to Yachiru Kusajishi. "Yachiru, you guys have fun. I have some business to attend to, so I'll be going now."
"Bye-bye, Little Fire!" Yachiru Kusajishi waved happily back at Makiya.
"Don't think about running! I don't care who tried to kill whom; let's have a fight first!" Kenpachi Zaraki grinned menacingly. His golden Reiatsu poured out without reservation, and a heavy pressure enveloped the surroundings.
Whoosh!
Kenpachi Zaraki appeared in front of Makiya. Raising Nozarashi high, he swung straight down, tearing through the air. The serrated blade gleamed with a cold light.
Makiya looked up but made no move. The blade passed through the top of his head, splitting his entire body in two with unstoppable force.
"Tch, he slipped away fast." Despite clearly hitting his target, Kenpachi Zaraki cracked his neck in irritation.
Makiya's figure slowly faded; what Kenpachi had struck was merely an afterimage. In his place, a Shihakusho sliced in half was left behind.
Onmitsu Step, Fourth of the Shiho: Utsusemi.
By leaving behind a garment or another object as a decoy the instant before an attack lands, the user moves at high speed to evade damage. It was somewhat similar to the Substitution Jutsu in the Ninja World.
"Ken-chan, are we going to chase Little Fire?" Yachiru asked casually, playing with Kenpachi's hair.
"Forget it. We'll wait until he's done. Let's go back to the Seireitei and wait for him there."
"Should we still report what happened with Tiny Bug?"
"That Kaname Tosen guy brought it on himself. What is there to report? It has nothing to do with us anyway." Kenpachi Zaraki was equally lawless; in his view, Tosen's death after coming to challenge someone and losing was simply what he deserved.
"Great! Then let's head back to the Seireitei. I think we should go that way." Yachiru pointed in a random direction.
"Huh? Isn't that the direction Makiya went? That's definitely not the way to the Seireitei." The directionally challenged Kenpachi Zaraki had a rare moment of clarity.
"Then it's this way." Yachiru rotated her arm ninety degrees, pointing toward a small path amidst the ruins.
Without a hint of doubt, Kenpachi Zaraki shouldered Nozarashi and Yachiru, pushed through the ruins, and walked down the path, quickly vanishing into the shadows.
On the other side.
Makiya was moving rapidly through the air. Reiatsu covered his body, manifesting into a black and red Shihakusho set.
As the district numbers increased, the urban landscape gradually receded, and the countryside became more prominent.
Eventually, even the villages became scarce. All that remained were desolate mountains, with the occasional soul settlement visible after crossing a ridge.
Waves of Reiatsu fluctuations came from ahead—massive, cold, and numerous.
Makiya found these Reiatsu signatures familiar yet strange. They were familiar because they resembled the Soul Reapers of the 9th Division, but they were different; clearly, they had been affected, with Hollow power mixed into their Reiatsu.
A green flash of light suddenly appeared, leveling an entire mountaintop with a single strike. The residual force shot into the sky and vanished beyond the horizon.
"Is that... a Cero?!" Makiya's eyes widened. Was Kisuke Uhara's neutralizing agent that powerful? Could Soul Reapers master Cero immediately after Hollowfication?
A Cero is a 'Hollow's Flash,' an advanced skill used only by Menos-class Hollows and above. A Hollow gathers and compresses its own Reiatsu within its body, then fires it through the mouth or other areas, creating powerful explosions and shockwaves. The intensity and compression of the Reiatsu directly determine the Cero's power and range.
In the sky, the 9th Division's Lieutenant, Mashiro Kuna, slowly retracted her leg. Her Cero release point was quite unique; specialized in Taijutsu, Mashiro could instantly fire a Cero through her feet during combat, catching enemies off guard.
Mashiro Kuna wore a heart-shaped white bone mask with four slits and two small antennae extending from the top, giving her an insect-like appearance. Her bright red scarf fluttered in the wind, and her every movement suggested she hadn't lost her sanity.
"Makiya, you've arrived too." A voice called out from the woods. Feeling a familiar Reiatsu, Makiya used Shunpo to dash into the forest.
Inside the forest, Kisuke Uhara, clad in a long coat, gripped the Hogyoku tightly, his expression solemn as he looked at the sky.
"Captain Uhara." As soon as Makiya arrived, he saw the conspicuous Hogyoku in the other man's hand. His expression turned odd. "Don't tell me you're the one behind this."
Kisuke Uhara nodded and then shook his head. "Yes and no. I did indeed inject the Hogyoku's power into them, but before that, they had already Hollowfied and taken the medicine. I helped them take the next step and quickly master the Hollowfication."
Boom!
An explosion echoed from the sky. Kensei Muguruma, wearing a tank top, surged up from a pile of rubble and threw a heavy punch at Mashiro Kuna, sending a circular shockwave outward.
Kensei Muguruma had also completed his Hollowfication. His bone mask stretched from his forehead to his chin, with six symmetrical slits covering his entire face.
Kensei also retained his sanity, yet for some reason, he was fighting Mashiro. Being the Lieutenant, she was being pummeled by her own Captain, though she seemed able to hold on for a while longer.
Makiya quietly ignited the flames of Chisato within him. The red fire enveloped Aizen's Reiatsu inside his body, and sure enough, he spotted Aizen's silhouette in the nearby woods.
"Captain Uhara, aren't you going to stop them?" Makiya asked, tilting his head.
Before Kisuke Uhara could speak, a voice answered for him.
"Please, calm yourselves, Sixth Seat Makiya, Captain Uhara." Aizen Sosuke slowly stepped out from the forest. Dressed in his Shihakusho and black-rimmed glasses, a warm, squinty-eyed smile was on his face as his gentle voice reached their ears. "The main event hasn't even begun yet. How could we let the actors leave the stage early."
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