As soon as the figure appeared, Kido energy laced with fierce winds shot straight for Makiya's face.
Soi Fon, the vice-captain appointed and nominated by Makiya, was staring at her captain with a look of resentment. Her Stealth Force uniform was skin-tight, and her thin braids danced behind her as she moved.
Soi Fon was enveloped in pale green Kido energy, focusing her power into her left foot. Her five delicate toes curled slightly, and the black polish on her nails reflected a strange light.
Although Soi Fon's movements were swift and sharp, in Makiya's eyes, the entire process from her sudden appearance to the launch of the attack was crystal clear.
A second before her foot could connect with his head, Makiya—appearing as if in slow motion—slightly tilted his head away. He grinned at Soi Fon before snapping his head back into its original position.
Boom!
A heavy thud rang out as her petite foot slammed hard against Makiya's face. The massive Kido force transferred from her sole to Makiya's body, sending him flying backward.
Soi Fon's kinetic vision was equally sharp. Close-quarters combat required the ability to track an enemy's movements perfectly. Thus, at the final moment, she had seen Makiya move his head away and then move it back. For some reason, despite landing a solid hit, her anger flared even hotter.
"Seriously, you really... you really kicked hard. I am your captain, after all. What if a passing squad member saw this? What would they think?"
Makiya stood up, white smoke rising from his face, which now bore a clear footprint.
Though he acted dramatically, Soi Fon's attack hadn't actually bypassed Makiya's defenses. Battles between Soul Reapers were brutal in that regard; once one side's Spiritual Pressure completely suppressed the other's, they could dominate the fight easily. Even rule-based abilities could be broken through sheer force.
A Soul Reaper's battle was a battle of Spiritual Pressure—Aizen's summary of this fact was spot on.
"Honestly, I don't know what to say about you. You're the Captain of the 2nd Division, yet you dump all the work on me and run off to drink. What kind of behavior is that?" Soi Fon grumbled, her cheeks puffing out. Her gaze flickered to the footprint on Makiya's face, and she looked away, a slight blush creeping up her neck.
"This is to train you in advance!" Makiya suddenly became serious, his tone solemn and his expression stern. "Who knows what the future holds? If I were to meet with an unfortunate accident one day, little Soi Fon, you would be able to smoothly take over the duties of Captain."
"Pah, pah, pah! Don't jinx it!" Soi Fon walked ahead with her hands on her hips, then turned back to glare at him. "What's with the weird talk? You're basically... a monster. You're so terrifyingly strong, how could anything happen to you?"
The two of them walked into the Captain's quarters together, and Makiya casually closed the door. Two shadows were cast against the window by the lamplight.
Fortunately, no squad members were passing by. If anyone saw the Captain calling a female subordinate to his quarters in the middle of the night, their minds would inevitably wander. If word got out, Makiya would have a hard time defending his reputation.
In truth, Soi Fon was just giving him a verbal report. Some matters still required the Captain's personal decision. While Soi Fon could draft the plans, Makiya had to be the one to give the final approval.
The report lasted half the night. Finally, a parched Soi Fon dragged her exhausted body out of the quarters. Makiya let out a long breath. Being a captain was truly not a job for humans; he was far too responsible, and clearly, his level of shamelessness wasn't high enough yet.
The main issue was the procrastination finally catching up to him. Compressing several months of work into a few hours was enough to break anyone. Despite his immense strength, dealing with these trivial matters left him feeling inexplicably drained. This was what people meant by mental fatigue.
"Finally finished. Now I can go find Uhara and head out for some hunting!"
Makiya stretched and sat cross-legged on his wide double bed. He tossed the messy blankets and sheets aside, drew his Zanpakuto, Longbing, and began his daily mandatory Jinzen practice.
A Zanpakuto was the very foundation of a Soul Reaper. Maintaining communication with one's blade was a required course for everyone.
Makiya could feel that his Zanpakuto had even deeper functions waiting to be unlocked. This required his understanding of the blade to reach a certain level. As for what that level was or if it could be quantified? No one could say for sure. Even Oetsu Nimaiya, the man who originally invented the Asauchi, likely didn't have a clear answer.
A Zanpakuto was the manifestation of a Soul Reaper's soul. Only you could truly understand yourself. The process of a Soul Reaper developing their Zanpakuto was essentially a process of continuously discovering the essence of their own nature.
The night passed in silence. The next morning, the early-rising Makiya slipped away again, leaving only a note on the massive Captain's desk before vanishing without a trace.
His blade craved the consumption of more diverse energies. He had already challenged most of the powerhouses in the Gotei 13 to sparring matches, and Longbing was 'tired' of that flavor.
After tasting the power of a Hollow, it had been obsessed with that sensation. Makiya felt that the catalyst for evolution lay within Hueco Mundo. The blade constantly hummed with desire, urging Makiya to make a trip there.
It wasn't so much that Longbing was urging him as it was Makiya's own soul pushing him. The three major systems of the Soul Society world—Soul Reaper, Hollow, and Quincy—each had their own strengths. To break the limits of one's own system, one had to integrate the energy of foreign systems.
This was why the protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, was able to counterattack all the way. The reason he took such a short time to complete the path of the strong that others took decades or centuries to walk was that Ichigo possessed all three powers. By merging and breaking boundaries, his strength skyrocketed.
Ichigo Kurosaki's father was Isshin Kurosaki, a Soul Reaper. His mother, Masaki Kurosaki, was a Quincy. Before giving birth to Ichigo, Masaki had been attacked by the modified Hollow 'White' created by Aizen Sosuke, triggering Hollowfication and embedding Hollow power within her. To stop the Hollowfication, Isshin had linked his Soul Reaper powers with the Hollow power inside her to reach a balance. Thus, Ichigo was born with the power of a Hollow.
One could only say that Ichigo Kurosaki was a true Child of Destiny, born with the potential to reach the peak of the world. While Makiya didn't have that kind of background, the ability of Longbing gave him infinite possibilities as well.
In the 12th Division, the Department of Research and Development was as busy as ever. Makiya used Kido to mask his presence and expertly navigated the deep stairs leading into the underground facility.
A Soul Reaper Captain going to Hueco Mundo without permission was technically a violation of the rules. However, powerful Soul Reapers often did such things secretly—whether to hone their skills, gather experimental materials, or simply satisfy a bloodlust. Regardless of the reason, it had to be done in secret. On the surface, everyone followed the rules so the Head Captain could maintain his dignity by turning a blind eye.
Naturally, when doing something 'bad,' one had to avoid being seen.
Kisuke Uhara had long ago leaked the diagrams of the Department of Research and Development's defensive barriers to Makiya. As such, the barriers covering the 12th Division were practically non-existent to him. Makiya reached the bottom floor with ease and used a specific knocking pattern on a certain door.
With a creak, the door opened from the inside. The large-chested Akane poked her head out. Seeing it was Makiya, she happily opened the door wide, her ample arms sandwiching him as she pulled him into the room.
This was the entrance to the new underground space Kisuke had built. After their last battle, the previous underground space had been exposed, and Kisuke had been scolded severely by the Head Captain. The old man had accused him of disregarding the peace and security of the Seireitei by building unstable underground structures.
In the face of the old man's reprimand, Kisuke had listened humbly and then completely ignored it, choosing instead to build an even more hidden underground space. As long as no one found it, he wasn't technically breaking any rules.
Makiya wasn't surprised by Akane's enthusiasm. This girl had tasted plenty of benefits during his and Kisuke's various experiments. Every time the power of the Hogyoku entered her body and Makiya stepped in to purge the Hollow power, her power ceiling would jump. After countless experiments, Akane's Spiritual Pressure was now no weaker than an average Captain's.
At the very least, Akane was confident she could fight Kensei Muguruma from the 9th Division and win. In Makiya's words, the current Akane was equivalent to about twelve Kenseis.
The ability of the Hogyoku to modify and enhance a Soul Reaper's power was evident. This was even with Kisuke carefully controlling every step. If he hadn't, the Hollowfication would have become uncontrollable. As for what the final evolution would look like, even Kisuke didn't know.
However, once Makiya and Kisuke had gathered enough data, the two of them had behaved like bored playboys, tossing Akane aside and ignoring her.
Having tasted the sweetness of increased strength, Akane was addicted to that sensation. Her welcoming smiles were only in hopes that the two of them would 'lay hands' on her again.
"Ahem, just talk, no touching." Makiya struggled to pull his arm out. He failed, tried again, and continued to pull. Finally, he reluctantly broke free from the abyssal seal and habitually pulled a bottle of men's perfume from his pocket, spraying his arm twice.
Akane stood there, speechless.
'Why is he so practiced at this?' she wondered.
What was with the perfume? As far as she knew, Captain Makiya wasn't married yet. Could he be in a secret relationship?
Tsk, tsk, what a shame. Captain Makiya was so handsome and strong, yet it seemed he was just like that young head of the Kuchiki clan—a henpecked man controlled by his lady.
Makiya had no idea about Akane's mental monologue. He followed her through the corridor and finally arrived at Kisuke's hidden underground space.
"Yo, Makiya, you're finally here!"
Kisuke was wearing his green-striped bucket hat, a dark green short coat over light green clothes. He was practically glowing green.
During the early to middle stages of the anime, Makiya had always thought Kisuke and Yoruichi Shihoin were a couple. He had wondered why Yoruichi kept giving Ichigo 'fan service'—naked springs, naked hugs, over and over. Ichigo saw things he should have and things he shouldn't have; everything was seen clear as day.
The younger Makiya had been naive back then, constantly scouring forums for an answer. The netizens had told him that this situation usually pointed to a cuckoldry fetish, and that such people were very suited for making friends. This had resulted in his impression of Kisuke being skewed for a very long time.
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