Sword energy surged, spiritual pressure clashed, space shattered, and spiritual particles were annihilated.
When everything finally returned to silence, more than half of the Second Division Captain's office had vanished. A massive gap remained in its place, while dense spiritual energy drifted through the air, dissipating into specks of light.
Makiya held Chisato before his eyes. A stark, eye-catching smear of crimson stained the tip of the blade—it was Aizen's blood.
After collecting the blood into a specialized container, Makiya flicked the blade clean. Chisato deactivated from its Shikai state and slid back into its scabbard.
That strike should be enough to keep Aizen busy. Even if he had a special method of tracking coordinates, the spatial turbulence triggered at the end would completely disrupt his sense of direction. If luck was on Makiya's side, Aizen might even find himself completely lost within the Dangai.
In truth, Aizen was indeed a bit lost.
Driven by an absolute spiritual pressure, that terrifying sword intent had instantly pierced through Aizen's spiritual defenses and lunged straight into his chest.
The subsequent explosion of sword intent forced Aizen back step after step. The path he had paved with spiritual pressure beneath his feet shattered completely as the spatial turbulence raged around him.
The clothing on his chest was shredded, and blood flowed steadily. The nerves near the wound throbbed, sending wave after wave of pain to his central nervous system. Makiya's spiritual pressure clung to him like a maggot, relentlessly eating away at his body tissues.
Aizen tried to mobilize his spiritual pressure to expel it, but a burst of sword intent suddenly flared within the wound, stubbornly resisting alongside Makiya's spiritual pressure.
"Truly terrifying swordsmanship," Aizen praised sincerely. He could sense an air of immortality within the strike; this wound on his chest would be incredibly troublesome to heal.
'I'll have to wait until I return to deal with this.' Aizen looked around, realizing he had lost his sense of direction.
"My, my. A truly precious opponent." Aizen reached up and smoothed his hair. The hairstyle that had been disarrayed by the sword intent immediately snapped back into place, more perfect than a look crafted by a professional stylist after three hours of work.
He pulled the Hogyoku from his pocket and examined it closely. Fortunately, his most important possession was undamaged, but...
Aizen frowned as he pulled a stack of documents from his chest. These were Makiya's valuable insights into the Hogyoku's development, which had been hidden in a 'pure love' book beneath the mattress in the Captain's office lounge.
If Aizen hadn't been as meticulous as a needle, he never would have found where Makiya stashed his things.
But now, more than half of the recently acquired documents had been destroyed.
Paper fragments drifted away. Aizen opened the remaining half of the notebook, looking at the dense characters with a puzzled expression.
"What kind of writing is this? It looks like Han characters, but... I can't make sense of it!" After some thought, Aizen tucked the papers into his pocket, intending to decipher them later.
The priority now was finding a way back to the Soul Society.
Makiya's attack had been extremely fierce. After being forced to fly backward a significant distance in the Dangai to stabilize himself, his spatial coordinates had been completely thrown off.
"How troublesome..." Aizen murmured while scanning his surroundings.
Though he spoke of trouble, his eyes were exceptionally bright, shimmering with a calm yet hidden sense of delight.
Aizen's decryption work was destined to be a struggle. Setting aside the fact that the documents Makiya hid were fake to begin with, the content itself was a mess of Chinese mixed with dialect-based pinyin and even 'Martian script' leetspeak. If Aizen could actually read it, he'd be a god.
With his memories fused, Makiya had a photographic memory. He kept all his truly valuable research in his head; he would never let someone else just pluck the fruit of his labor.
The commotion would soon draw the other Captains. Makiya helped Soi Fon up, gave her a few instructions, and headed to the 1st Division to report.
The 2nd Division's current duty was to hunt down rogue Soul Reapers. His battle with Aizen fell well within his jurisdiction and was perfectly reasonable; he didn't believe the old man would reject that explanation.
By the time Makiya emerged from the 1st Division, the sky was growing dark. He didn't return to his barracks immediately, instead taking a detour to the Department of Research and Development within the 12th Division.
In the underground space at the bottom, Makiya released Chisato once more. Bright red flames enveloped Akane and Hiyosu, extracting the traces of Aizen's spiritual pressure from their bodies.
After Kisuke checked his records, he found that some of his carefully stored Hogyoku development data had been tampered with. It seemed Aizen had copied a set and fled without touching anything else.
"That guy is really something. Why is he always coveting my research?" Kisuke sighed. No scientist could stand having their hard-won results stolen.
"It's better late than never to mend the fence. Just hide it better next time."
"Sigh, I suppose that's all I can do."
After helping Kisuke screen the main cadres of the department, Makiya requested the blueprints for constructing a Senkaimon.
"What do you want that for?" Kisuke's gaze became wary. "If you want to go to Hueco Mundo, you can just use the gate here. Don't tell me you're planning to build one in secret... please don't abandon me!"
Makiya gave a sincere smile. "How could I abandon you? You're overthinking it, Kisuke. I'm just curious about the mechanics. I won't go building one for myself in secret."
Despite Makiya's explanation, Kisuke remained skeptical. However, given that Makiya had just helped him clear out the backdoors Aizen had left behind, Kisuke felt it was only right to agree to the request.
A week later, in the 2nd Division barracks.
Directly beneath Soi Fon's dormitory, in a secret underground space Makiya had constructed.
Bang! Clang! Crash!
Accompanied by the loud ringing of a hammer striking metal, a Senkaimon slowly took shape before Makiya.
After inputting a series of parameters, the Senkaimon began to hum. The doors swung open, and the void of the Dangai appeared before him.
Setting a timer for it to stay open, Makiya stepped into the passage.
Hueco Mundo.
The eternal gloom shrouded the land, and a crescent moon hung high in the sky, casting a faint, pale light.
This journey was without incident. When Makiya successfully stepped through the gate, he found himself right above the construction site of Las Noches.
Creatures with supernatural power could build things with incredible speed. Harribel was currently focusing her power on a sand dune; the white sand immediately collapsed, condensing and melting under her violent energy until it solidified into massive, grayish-white stone.
This was the primary building material for Las Noches.
"Lord Makiya, you've arrived!"
"Master!"
"Lord Makiya."
Several Menos sensed Makiya's aura and immediately gathered around.
"I'm here to handle your subordinates today. We'll start with yours, Harribel. Lead the way." Makiya drew Chisato and gripped the Phoenix Fire Hogyoku in his hand.
"Yes, Master."
Under Harribel's lead, the group soon found her three subordinates. As Makiya expected, all three Menos had traces of Aizen's spiritual pressure within them.
After devouring that pressure, Makiya bestowed the power of the Phoenix Fire Hogyoku upon them, helping the three find their humanity and complete their Arrancar transformation.
Ulquiorra, Yammy, and the others followed. As they gathered their subordinates, Makiya noticed that on the other side of Hueco Mundo, another Las Noches was also under construction.
Furthermore, battles had recently broken out in the territories of several great Hollows on that side. After those battles, the Menos inhabiting those areas had vanished. Many weaker Hollows had invaded their former territories without seeing them resurface to defend their land.
Many Hollows speculated they were dead, but Makiya knew better; this had to be Aizen's doing.
Combined with the note Aizen had left, Makiya understood his intent. Aizen wanted to set up a competition—both sides would use their respective Hogyokus to facilitate Arrancar evolution, and then they would see whose creations were superior.
"Interesting. If I have enough time, I don't mind playing along." Makiya flew into the sky, gazing toward the distant horizon under the dim moonlight. He could feel a gaze looking back from the other side of Hueco Mundo.
Returning to Las Noches, Makiya summoned Ulquiorra and the others. Once they reached a desolate, open clearing, he slowly drew Chisato.
"Stop what you're doing for a moment. All of you, come at me together. Attack with the intent to kill."
"Master?" Yammy asked, his face full of confusion.
"Since we have chosen to submit, we will not harbor any other thoughts. Please be at ease, Master," Harribel said, her arms crossed over her chest.
Ulquiorra remained silent, but his eyes reflected the same sentiment as Harribel's.
Only Grimmjow was proactive. After his transformation, he had become a blue-haired man who enjoyed keeping his hands in his pockets. He let out a wild laugh and bared his claws. "What's with all the talk? Since it's Lord Makiya's request, we just need to do it!"
With that, Grimmjow turned into a blur and charged at Makiya.
"Correct. All of you, come at once. My purpose is combat; don't overthink it." Makiya drew his blade to parry, his voice reaching the ears of Harribel and the others again.
The group finally stopped hesitating. They drew their respective blades and swarmed him.
Slash! Boom! Crash!
Three hours later, several Arrancars were lying sprawled out on the crystallized sand, their bodies limp and exhausted.
Makiya's body was filled with various types of energy. Feeling satisfied with the harvest, he deactivated his Shikai and sheathed Chisato. "That's enough for today. We'll fight again next time. Make sure the construction of Las Noches doesn't fall behind."
Just then, the positioning device in Makiya's robes emitted a beeping sound. The familiar gate opened behind him.
The Menos watched Makiya step into the Dangai. For a moment, there was silence before they began to whisper among themselves. "Was Lord Makiya... trying to intimidate us?"
"Of course," Grimmjow grinned. "That's how I used to handle my subordinates. A few beatings make them fall in line. Lord Makiya must be thinking the same thing."
"Since I decided to recognize him as my master, I would never choose betrayal. Lord Makiya... sigh." Harribel stood silently for a while, letting out a long sigh. She felt as though her loyalty had been doubted, and it left her feeling a bit downcast.
Even a Menos had pride. Once they made a decision, they would not easily go back on it, especially when it came to following the strong. Even if Makiya were heavily wounded and dying in front of Harribel, she would not take advantage of the situation.
However, facts proved that their wild guesses were entirely off-base. A few days later, Makiya returned for another sparring session and used the Phoenix Fire Hogyoku to further enhance their strength.
Then, after another three days, Makiya returned again. He handled the four of them with ease, reaping a massive amount of exotic energy once more.
Faced with such high-intensity combat, the Arrancars were initially miserable. Even as Menos, they had never experienced such frequent battles. Hueco Mundo was full of danger; once you were wounded and weakened, you had to worry about enemies coming for your life.
But Makiya always left them with benefits, whether it was pointers on swordsmanship or infusions of Hogyoku energy. The Arrancars were pained but happy as their strength skyrocketed.
Makiya's own strength grew even faster. The power of the Menos allowed him to break his limits time and again, surpassing himself.
In the mysterious space, when Soul Reaper Makiya walked out of the narrow path, he saw a group of people surrounding Wizard World Makiya, offering him comfort.
"What happened?"
Full of curiosity, Soul Reaper Makiya stepped forward and slapped Ninja World Makiya on the shoulder to find out the story.
The alchemy teacher of the Wizard World Makiya—that kind, old man who had taught him everything he knew—Nicolas Flamel, was dying.
To be precise, the old man had lived long enough and was ready to begin his next 'great adventure.'