Chapter 76
"The past is the past, and now is now… there's no going back."
Suì-Fēng's face flashed with anger, then she took a deep breath, her gaze turning cold.
"No matter how much you dwell on the past, the mistakes you made, the hurt you caused me, and all the current repercussions, cannot be simply erased."
"…Indeed."
Yoruichi's expression also slowly calmed down.
"When I heard you came back, I felt uneasy, thinking you had left, so why return? But what angered me most was… my first reaction to the news was joy…"
Suì-Fēng suddenly bared her heart.
"Yoruichi, actually, I don't hate you much anymore. I hate myself more, for being so humble in front of you."
"Even after a hundred years apart, after putting in countless efforts and overcoming various hardships to grow to this point… the moment I meet you, I immediately revert to that timid, useless person I once was."
Yoruichi remained silent.
But Suì-Fēng continued to speak.
No one took the opportunity to attack, perhaps both sides had a premonition that this would be their last conversation in this life.
"Yoruichi, the time I spent with you is my most cherished memory. I regarded our relationship as the most important bond in this life."
"Now, this bond has become a restraint for me. So, whether it's for myself, for the Seireitei, or… for both of us to break free from the influence we have on each other, let me, right here… personally sever this bond!"
Suì-Fēng's voice was soft but filled with undeniable resolve.
A murderous aura permeated the air, like a raging fire engulfing her.
"Sting all enemies to death… Suzumebachi."
The Zanpakuto drawn from her waist transformed into a gold and black striped gauntlet with finger guards.
"Get ready, Yoruichi… If it's you, you should be able to tell if I'm joking or not."
"…While growth is good."
Yoruichi smiled helplessly, a complex look hidden in her eyes.
"But when a child becomes too extreme, parents get very troubled."
"Are you still trying to control my life under the guise of being my guardian?"
Suì-Fēng retorted coldly.
"That's not what I meant, really… Oh, never mind. I don't have Kisuke's eloquence. I prefer action over words… Severing bonds? An interesting way to put it. How exactly do you plan to do it? Kill me?"
"I will personally break your legs, so you, the 'Flash Goddess,' can never run again. Then I'll lock you in prison to face judgment… If you resist too fiercely, and I determine this arrest plan is difficult to execute, then, in the name of the Onmitsukidō Commander-in-Chief executing a traitor… I will kill you!"
At this point.
Suì-Fēng charged at Yoruichi first.
The battle between the two with their intricate relationship reignited.
This time, unlike the tense and thrilling chase and skirmish from before, it didn't appear to be an even match.
At a glance, it was clear… Yoruichi was being suppressed.
While part of it was due to Suì-Fēng going all out, her momentum soaring, making Yoruichi unwilling to clash head-on, a greater reason was the subtle but growing gap in their strength and actual performance.
In such a situation, attacking would give the opponent an opportunity.
Counterattacking would be the wise move.
However, the opportunity Yoruichi calmly waited for never came.
Instead, Suì-Fēng repeatedly inflicted superficial wounds.
As the injuries accumulated, even with extensive experience and techniques to minimize their impact, the probability of exposing weaknesses inevitably increased.
Suì-Fēng did not miss a single opportune moment.
Even if she couldn't injure Yoruichi, she would gain an advantage from other tactical angles.
For example, by blocking her evasion routes, forcing her into dead-end corridors inside buildings, and utilizing all environmental factors to create favorable conditions for herself, laying the groundwork for the next injury… repeating this process until the scales of victory slowly tipped in her favor.
This decisive and ruthless, yet patient, fighting style.
Made Yoruichi smell the scent of death for the first time in a long while.
Boom!
A wall was shattered.
Yoruichi flipped over, broke through the dust, and escaped through a window, her movements fluid and graceful, a hundred times more agile than a feline.
But even the most agile feline has no wings, and cannot compare to the lighter, more delicate poisonous bee.
Suì-Fēng pursued directly, her speed actually surpassing Yoruichi's.
Upon catching up, she aimed the sharp Suzumebachi at her opponent's eyes.
This was not malicious, but intended to deprive her of vision, further reducing her ability to resist.
"?!"
Yoruichi narrowly dodged, but the blade still left a scratch on her face, creating a black "Bee Mark Flower."
"Hmph!"
Suì-Fēng suddenly let out a cold laugh.
This action made Yoruichi feel uneasy.
Before she could figure it out, her body suddenly became paralyzed.
Although it was only for an instant, Suì-Fēng, as if having anticipated it, precisely and violently punched Yoruichi in the abdomen, causing a massive impact to her internal organs.
Such a move, even if used by an ordinary person, would have a high probability of making the opponent lose consciousness.
Yoruichi, however, did not faint.
She was sent flying by Suì-Fēng's punch, crashing into the outer wall of a building, causing large cracks.
"Ugh!"
Yoruichi grunted, clutching her abdomen. Without time to catch her breath, she flashed to the side, causing Suì-Fēng's subsequent kick to miss.
"Trying to run?"
Suì-Fēng's eyes flashed. Relying on her exquisite Hakuda mastery, she transformed the missed kick into a push-off, and like a ricocheting bullet, she launched a furious barrage of attacks at Yoruichi, striking her with a sudden, swift assault.
Yoruichi's continuous evasions and parries were also extremely skillful, but the impact of her injuries led to a decline in technical precision, which, for Suì-Fēng, was a glaring weakness.
A probing strike lured her into parrying, but then Suì-Fēng suddenly pressed down on her shoulder, using the leverage to flip behind her, and mercilessly thrust Suzumebachi into her spine, aiming to sever nerves and completely incapacitate her.
"…"
The plan failed.
Suì-Fēng looked at the fluttering piece of cloth in front of her, her cold gaze falling upon Yoruichi, who was crouching on the ground, gasping for breath.
A section of the latter's sleeve was visibly missing.
"Utsusemi? I didn't expect you to make the only correct judgment so calmly under these circumstances. It seems your combat awareness is starting to recover in our fight."
Yoruichi was at a disadvantage from the start.
But the leg injury had little effect on her Shunpo.
The real reason for her disadvantage was that she hadn't fought to kill in too long.
Living in her comfort zone for years, she might have had enough energy to refine her techniques, but she couldn't push herself to the limit. So, over time, her stamina decreased, and her sensitivity to danger also waned.
Engaging in high-intensity life-or-death combat against an opponent of a similar type, with comparable or even greater strength.
And under the disadvantageous condition of having no Zanpakuto, fighting Suzumebachi bare-handed.
Being suppressed was a natural outcome.
"Yes… Actually, I anticipated this, which is why I kept sparring with you earlier, just wanting to use you to adapt to this combat rhythm."
Yoruichi twitched the corner of her mouth, revealing a seemingly defiant smile.
"But I didn't expect you to become so powerful, inflicting injuries beyond my imagination… I even accidentally got poisoned by you."
"Poison?"
Suì-Fēng's lips curled slightly, as if she had heard something interesting.
"Did you mistake the sudden physical discomfort just now for poison?"
"Did I guess wrong?"
"…No, you're not wrong, it is indeed poison, but not the kind of toxin you understand. It's the Bee Mark Flower left on you by my Suzumebachi taking effect. If I had to describe it, it could be categorized as a type of Reishi bee venom."
"?"
"It's no wonder you look confused… After all, when you left, my Shikai ability wasn't mature enough, and the Bee Mark Flower for 'Death in Two Steps' could only last a maximum of thirty minutes."
Under Yoruichi's surprised and uncertain gaze, Suì-Fēng raised her right hand, encased in the gold and black striped gauntlet. Her tone was not triumphant, but rather contained a hidden, unusual anger.
"But now, the Bee Mark Flower will exist eternally with my will, no longer having a time limit."
"And… I also developed another use for the Bee Mark Flower, inspired by someone else."
"That is, when the opponent is intentionally guarding against 'Death in Two Steps,' at the cost of all Bee Mark Flowers disappearing, the opponent is temporarily put into a paralyzed state, as if their body has been corroded by bee venom."
"The more Bee Mark Flowers, the stronger the effect."
"I must praise you, the one I once admired. Five Bee Mark Flowers only paralyzed you for an instant. I thought I could defeat you in one go."
"But it doesn't matter, it's just a matter of time."
Facing Suì-Fēng's cold and ruthless declaration, Yoruichi sighed and slowly stood up.
"Yes, without a doubt, if this continues, I'll surely lose… I don't know who taught you such insidious tricks, but you seem to really dislike that person, you're even taking it out on me."
"But it doesn't matter anymore… I originally didn't intend to use this on you, as I haven't fully mastered it and it's a bit too dangerous. But now that you've pushed me to the brink, I can't maintain this calm and leisurely attitude anymore."
Boom!
It was as if a scorching white lightning bolt had struck Yoruichi.
The clothes on her arms and back instantly turned to ash.
Revealing her toned, brown skin and graceful, flowing muscle curves.
Yoruichi's entire body was enveloped in high-density Kido Reishi. A brilliant white glow, like burning flames and leaping electrical arcs, emanated from her skin, full of visual impact. It was an unmistakably destructive and transcendent state.
"This is…!?"
Suì-Fēng's eyes widened.
"It's no wonder you look surprised. The design of the Execution Force's combat uniform was my handiwork. Did you never wonder why it was designed that way? This is an ultimate Hakuda technique combined with Kido, its name is…"
Yoruichi deliberately referenced some of Suì-Fēng's lines, using the opportunity to introduce the technique to adjust her state to its peak.
As she said, she hadn't fully mastered this technique yet.
But, what Yoruichi didn't expect was.
The "name" she was about to blurt out was called out by Suì-Fēng first.
"Shunko?"
"?!"
Now it was Yoruichi's turn to widen her eyes.
But what astonished her even more was Suì-Fēng's subsequent display.
Boom!
The same sound, an exaggerated display of power.
If Yoruichi's Shunko was a lightning bolt striking down, then Suì-Fēng transformed into a storm, tearing and burning away excess clothing like her sleeves and haori.
The high-density Kido Reishi was quickly restrained.
Clinging tightly to her body, wrapping around her arms and legs.
Stable, like armor.
Observing with the naked eye, the intensity and depth of its glow even surpassed Yoruichi's.