"Shunpo."
Suì-Fēng vanished.
As Commander of the Onmitsukidō and Captain of the Second Division, her mastery of Shunpo was among the finest in Soul Society. Only legends such as Genryūsai Yamamoto and Yoruichi Shihōin surpassed her in pure movement refinement.
She appeared before Ito Makoto in less than a blink.
Her Zanpakutō flashed forward in a precise assassination thrust aimed at his face.
Ito Makoto reacted instantly, raising his blade.
Clang!
Steel collided. Sparks scattered across the grass.
The impact forced Ito Makoto back half a step.
He did not activate the Four Directions Realm.
He did not amplify his Reiatsu.
This time, he intended to fight using only his natural output.
Against Zaraki Kenpachi, overwhelming disparity had forced him to rely on every advantage available. But Suì-Fēng was different. Fighting her was a rare opportunity to temper his own Shunpo and close-combat reflexes.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their blades met repeatedly.
Suì-Fēng's attacks were economical, efficientevery motion designed to kill.
Ito Makoto found himself pressured almost immediately.
Her tempo was faster.
Her footwork cleaner.
Her breathing perfectly regulated.
Then
She disappeared.
A ripple of air brushed his back.
Too late.
Slash.
A clean cut tore across his shoulder blade. Blood seeped through his Shihakushō.
"You're persistent," Ito Makoto muttered, suppressing the pain.
This was the Shunpo personally refined under Yoruichi's guidancethe art of silent execution.
Even without activating Shunkō, her speed alone placed her near the peak of the Gotei 13 in mobility.
Ito Makoto exhaled.
"Annihilation God."
He twisted the hilt.
"First Form Tremor."
A vibration spread invisibly through the ground and air.
Unlike a visible shockwave, Tremor attacked through resonance, disrupting balance and internal rhythm.
Suì-Fēng's pupils narrowed
Her body stiffened for a fraction of a second as the oscillation interfered with her stance.
But only for a moment.
Her Reiatsu flared sharply, expelling the invasive vibration.
"So that is your Zanpakutō's ability," she said coldly.
Her voice carried no fear.
Only analysis.
Ito Makoto clicked his tongue internally.
As expected of a Captain. Against someone whose Reiatsu surpassed his, Tremor alone could not produce decisive damage. Its true value lay in disruption, not destruction.
"Hmph. Is that all?" she said. "Release the barrier from earlier."
Ito Makoto smiled faintly.
"You're already forcing me to this extent without it."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Sting all enemies to death Suzumebachi."
Her blade dissolved into a golden stinger affixed to her right middle finger. A black crest formed at its base.
Suzumebachi.
Nigeki Kessatsu Two-Strike Kill.
Ito Makoto's expression shifted slightly.
Now the fight had truly begun.
Suì-Fēng vanished again.
This time her movement pattern alteredlower, sharper angles, more erratic acceleration.
He barely avoided the first thrust by twisting sideways with Shunpo.
The stinger grazed air where his chest had been.
"You're adapting," she observed.
Ito Makoto did not deny it.
From the beginning of their clash, he had been studying her step intervals, weight shifts, shoulder alignment before acceleration.
Her Shunpo was not simply speed.
It was controlled violence.
She attacked again.
This time
Contact.
The golden stinger touched his chest.
A black butterfly crest bloomed over the point of impact.
Nigeki Kessatsu had marked him.
Suì-Fēng withdrew, landing several meters away.
"One more strike to the same location," she stated calmly, "and you will die."
There was no arrogance in her tone.
Only fact.
Ito Makoto glanced down at the mark.
So this was the technique that had once failed against Sōsuke Aizen due to the overwhelming difference in Reiatsu.
But he was not Aizen.
And she was not facing a defenseless opponent.
Suì-Fēng moved again
This time her Reiatsu flared violently.
White lightning crackled across her shoulders.
Compressed Kidō energy fused with Hakuda.
"Shunkō."
The aura burst outward.
Her speed surged.
Ito Makoto's eyes widened slightly.
So she had progressed further than expected.
However
He noticed it immediately.
The aura destabilized within seconds.
The lightning flickered inconsistently.
The duration was short.
Still incomplete.
She attacked in a flash
Ito Makoto narrowly blocked, but the impact sent him skidding backward.
Her enhanced speed under Shunkō nearly surpassed his perception.
They separated again.
The white aura faded.
Just as he suspected.
She had not yet mastered sustained activation.
Four seconds.
At most.
Ito Makoto inhaled slowly.
"Four Directions Realm."
The grey-black barrier expanded instantly, enclosing them within a ten-meter radius.
The Reishi density shifted.
Spatial perception compressed.
Suì-Fēng's eyes narrowed.
Her next step felt heavier.
Not drasticallybut noticeably.
A Captain's Reiatsu prevented severe suppression, yet even a fractional interference mattered at high speed.
"Tremor."
This time, amplified by the Realm.
The vibration struck harder.
Suì-Fēng grimaced faintly as the oscillation disrupted her internal rhythm.
Yet she endured.
"Shunkō!"
Lightning erupted again.
Against the distortion and tremor, she forced activation.
Her body became a streak of white.
She appeared at his side
Suzumebachi pressed against his neck.
He froze.
Another mark would mean death.
Silence fell inside the barrier.
Then
She withdrew.
The lightning dissipated.
Her breathing was heavier now.
But her eyes shone brighter.
"…It stabilized longer," she murmured.
Ito Makoto understood instantly.
During the stress of the Realm and Tremor interference, she had unconsciously refined her control.
Combat pressure had accelerated her growth.
He exhaled slowly.
"As expected of Captain Suì-Fēng."
The barrier dissolved.
Reishi returned to normal flow.
He flexed his shoulder experimentally.
"I can't defeat you at my current level."
That was the truth.
Even with full output, victory was uncertain without Bankai.
Suì-Fēng regarded him for a moment.
"You learn too quickly," she said quietly.
Not praise.
Not condemnation.
An observation.
Then she turned.
Without another word, she vanished with Shunpo.
Ito Makoto remained standing by the stream, replaying every exchange in his mind.
Shunpo intervals.
Reiatsu compression ratios.
Shunkō instability windows.
This battle had given him more than injury.
It had given him direction.
He smiled faintly.
"The next time we meet, Captain…"
"I won't be this far behind."
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