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"Ready?"
Saitō tilted her head, her stance utterly unguarded slouched and carefree, a goofy grin plastered across her face as she eyed Makoto.
"Here I come!"
Makoto's pupils constricted, his reiatsu senses fanning out in all directions.
The instant her words hit the air, Saitō's entire demeanor shifted.
Her once-lax, drooping posture snapped taut, her petite frame crouching low like a leopard. Delicate fingertips grazed the floor.
Yet Makoto's mind remained a still pond.
No matter how you sliced it, he'd survived countless bloodbaths in Zaraki's hellscape.
Though he trusted the Four Arts stats on his panel even now, a sliver of hope lingered born from the knowledge and instincts of his past life.
Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Kidō, Hohō.
Hakuda, hand-to-hand combat, pure and simple.
And in any brawl, landing a hit was the ultimate goal.
That meant height, reach, leg length, and weight remained the bedrock of mastery.
He'd proven as much against Zaraki's lunatics.
Sure, this oversized loli might boast captain-level skill, but her build…
His thoughts barely had time to churn.
Saitō let out a sharp "Ku!"
Beneath her bare, snow-white feet, a shockwave of reiatsu erupted like a sonic boom. Her body angled razor-close to the ground, and with a boom, she vanished.
When she reappeared, her slender fist slammed into his left cheek from the side.
In slow motion, Makoto's face rippling like waves under that tiny fist's freakish force, his head warping in an instant.
Bang!
The sheer power twisted his entire body, sending him spinning through the air, consciousness blanking out in a flash.
"Yay!"
Saitō's bloodthirsty, ecstatic grin burned into his vision up close.
[Harder! Please deeper into me, you flat-chested snake-tongued nee-chan!]
[Hakuda +10]
One glance at the numbers told the tale, her Hakuda outclassed him by a crushing margin.
Thud!
Crash! Crash! Crash!
He tumbled across the floor, splintering countless planks before his senses staggered back. Shaking his head, he propped himself up on unsteady hands.
"That reaction's pathetic."
From the instructors' seats, Nobutsuna Shigyō, a gaunt, tubercular figure still smarting from his lost bet propped his cheek on his hand, muttering with unmasked disdain.
A wicked thought struck him. He smirked at his neighbor, voice low, "Hey, Kinroku."
"Another round? Ten thousand kan."
Kinroku Izuhara, as ever, kept his hands tucked in his sleeves.
He watched from the sidelines.
But beneath his drooping lids, a faint contempt gleamed. Hearing Nobutsuna, he chuckled. "Twenty thousand. Take it or leave it."
"Twenty it is! I'm betting he loses!"
"Hah?!"
Most of the instructors were veterans of centuries or millennia, perched at Soul Society's apex, and had eyes honed to razor precision. Save for a few slackers, they could gauge Makoto's level in a heartbeat.
Only Unohana maintained her serene smile.
It had begun.
Saitō, unimpressed after a single punch, planted her hands on her hips and strutted forward with a bowlegged gait.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
"That's all you've got?"
"How'd a weakling like you survive that idiot Yachiru's hands?!"
"Give me your all, all of it!"
Makoto, meanwhile, could only draw a deep breath.
That punch wasn't just brute force.
An explosive burst of reiatsu had flooded his skull the moment it connected, like a grenade detonating inside his head. Even with his current physique, he'd nearly lost himself.
But… he'd learned.
"Tch!"
He hauled himself up, shaky but defiant, and beckoned her on.
"Keep going."
Saitō squinted at him, noting he could still stand. A bloodthirsty grin spread across her face. "Now that's more like it."
In the next breath, her tiny frame lunged again, a blur too fast for the eye.
This time, Makoto was ready. Guided by near-instinctive reiatsu sense, he slashed a hand chop to his side.
Boom!
A cluster of reishi burst apart in the air.
Saitō tilted her head, effortlessly blocking the strike with one hand, unfazed, while her other arm hooked his wrist mid-spin. Her small foot darted through his guard, threading under his armpit, and smashed into his face with a thunderous bang.
[Feet! My beloved feet!]
[Hakuda +10]
But this time, Makoto seemed to weather the blow. His head spun briefly, then cleared. He snapped a knee upward at the girl hovering midair.
"Oh?"
Saitō faltered for a split second, surprised, but swapped hands to block his knee with ease. Her monkey-like agility flipped her half-circle in the air.
Then her legs clamped around his head.
The moment those soft thighs squeezed, Makoto's vision darkened, a warm, plush sensation pressing against his skull.
Before he could process it, her waist flexed with sudden force. Leveraging her midair twist, she hurled Makoto whose frame dwarfed her petite one, half a circle through the air, slamming him into the ground.
Boom!
His upper body burrowed deep into the wooden floor, kicking up a storm of splinters and dust.
Saitō hopped back, clearing space, her cute face alight with growing thrill. "Hey!"
"Keep it coming!"
This time, it wasn't just Saitō.
Every instructor seated along the sides keenly caught the leap in skill behind Makoto's hand chop.
Kinroku adjusted his glasses, his sharp gaze cutting through the air.
Nobutsuna furrowed his brow in turn.
No one dared toss out casual jeers like before.
Crack.
Makoto gripped the shattered planks, hauling himself up with effort, shaking off the dust clinging to him.
That force... it packed a hell of a punch.
No.
She wasn't even going all out, was she?
A spark of battle lust flickered in his eyes.
What followed left everyone in the room stunned.
He crouched low, mirroring Saitō's opening stance, his body angled razor-thin to the ground, fingertips bracing the floor, drawing a deep breath.
"Huu..."
Saitō blinked, caught off guard.
Then her dainty face split into an exaggerated, gleeful grin, her eyes widening with delight.
Boom!
A surging ring of reiatsu exploded beneath Makoto's feet.
His form vanished in a blink.
When he reappeared, he loomed at Saitō's left rear, his hand slicing downward in a ruthless chop, aimed to sever her neck with no quarter given.
Saitō dodged with an ecstatic twist, her deep purple twin tails swaying midair. Her seemingly frail arm snapped back with a counterpunch, only for Makoto to block it swiftly. What followed was a relentless cascade of shockwaves, reiatsu bursts rippling outward in a ceaseless torrent.
The dojo trembled without pause.
[Hakuda +10]
[Hakuda +10]
[Hakuda +10]
[Hakuda: Tier 3 ↑]
[Hakuda Bottleneck · Stage 1]
[Training in Progress, Hakuda Bottleneck Breakthrough ↑]
[Hakuda: Tier 4 ↑]
[Hakuda +5]
A flurry of notifications blared in Makoto's mind, the system's crude chatter an unrelenting drone.
But he had no time to heed it now.
Beneath that delicate, alabaster arm surged a terrifying storm of reiatsu. Each soft-looking fist unleashed blows that could casually demolish a building.
Beyond that, the girl before him outclassed him in speed, reflexes, combat savvy, and sheer agility by leagues.
Only absolute focus kept him barely in step with her pace.
Until a single moment when he let a flaw slip.
Whoosh!
A bare foot lashed out, legs splitting nearly into a perfect line, the sole rocketing toward his face.
As if he'd foreseen it, Makoto reacted a hair faster, ducking aside with razor-sharp instinct. His hands darted out, one to block and trap her knee, the other hammering a fist toward Saitō's forehead at blinding speed.
Yet in that razor-edge instant, Saitō's face brimmed with exhilaration. Her small hands seized his shihakushō's front, her lithe frame twisting midair with a flick of her core.
Dodging his punch, she poured force into her free leg.
Using the momentum of her spin, she wrenched her trapped leg free and swung it down like a battle-axe, smashing into Makoto's cheek. His body lurched sideways, neck stretching like a taut rubber band yanked to its limit.
The wooden floor beneath his left foot spiderwebbed into a mosaic of cracks, his calf sinking partway into the ground.
He held his stance, just barely.
The dojo itself seemed to shudder with the impact.
[Step on me! Crush my face with those adorable feet! Come on, what're you waiting for?!]
[Hakuda +5]
[Hakuda: Tier 5 ↑]
This time, the instructors along the sides sat up straight, faces solemn.
True, Saitō had dialed her strength down to match Makoto's level in this skirmish.
But they'd all seen it.
Had he been a fraction faster, that last strike might've grazed her face.
And more than that...
"Even his resilience is skyrocketing…"
"That damn freak!"
Nobutsuna muttered a curse under his breath. "To think there's really a monster out there who can steal experience just by fighting?"
"I thought that old man was perverse enough already."
Kinroku nodded gravely, adjusting his glasses jarred loose by the tremors and murmured, "His Hakuda's climbed at least one step since the start."
"Indeed."
"Terrifying, these youngsters nowadays."
Kinroku turned toward the voice.
There sat a bald giant, dwarfing those around him even while seated. His lipless mouth flashed a row of gold teeth, his Herculean frame straining against his loose robes. Round, scholarly wooden glasses perched on his face, and an eerie grin split his features unconsciously.
At the battlefield's heart...
Saitō flicked her head lightly, tossing a stray twin tail off her shoulder. Her laughter rang out, wilder and freer than before.
A monster with such breakneck growth…
Absolutely, utterly thrilling!
"Hey!"
"Where're you looking?"
Makoto's voice rasped, thick with blood.
As the girl's exhilarated gaze locked onto him, he tilted his head, flashing a feral grin. Blood trickled from the split corner of his mouth.
Saitō's eyes paused.
Then... his trapped calf yanked free from the floor. Using his lurching momentum, he swept a leg low across the ground, kicking up a blinding shroud of dust between them.
"Hah!"
"Petty tricks like that won't work on me!"
Saitō cackled, dropping low in the haze. Her petite frame darted past a fist swinging through the smoke, her deep purple twin tails lashing the air like whips in her high-speed dance.
Her bare feet dug into the floor, power surging from the ground up through her twisting spine. She snapped a punch backward.
Aimed square at his gut.
But in the split second her pale fist closed to within an inch of him, Saitō froze.
Her body halted as if seized by an unseen force, locked at that hair's breadth distance.
Her peripheral vision caught it, her braid, snared.
"My hair!"
Her pupils shrank, her focus snapping astray.
In that fleeting lapse, Makoto's other hand clenched into a fist.
"Got you!"
His eyes flared wide, crimson from relentless blows, glinting with savage intent.
This punch... its surface shimmered with dense, visible reishi, channeled every ounce of his strength.
All the punishment he'd endured...
He'd repay it now!
The next instant...
Fist met tender cheek in a brutal collision.
A deafening blast of reiatsu erupted, the shockwave exploding outward from the point of impact. A visible tide of force rippled through the air, even distorting the far side of Saitō's face with its gust.
Boom!!
The sonic wave roared, shattering the silence.
A direct hit!
The spreading surge whipped up the robes of nearby instructors, their hems fluttering wildly.
Every onlooker sat still, eyes wide, drinking in the scene.
Many betrayed faint astonishment.
Nobutsuna down another twenty thousand kan, gaped, croaking a guttural "Tch…"
Kinroku chuckled low, a quiet relief blooming within.
Good thing that fool Nobutsuna had jumped in first.
"…?"
But Makoto faltered, stunned.
Saitō slowly turned her face back.
On her pale, youthful cheek, only a faint scratch marred the skin.
She beamed at him, a grin of unhinged, ecstatic madness.
The battle's rising heat seemed to crest in that minor sting, her joy peaking.
Her deep purple pupils shrank to pinpricks, glinting with a blood-red sheen.
At her waist, her delicate fingers curled into a fist.
She swung...
Right then, Yamamoto, seated immovable till now, opened his eyes.
"It's over."
With those mere words, Saitō's body locked up as if struck at a vital point.
Her dainty fist...
Halted abruptly beside Makoto's nose.
Rumble!
A concentrated storm of reiatsu roared past his cheek and neck, its ferocious howl threatening to rupture eardrums. Goosebumps prickled across his skin unbidden.
Blood sprayed from his flesh, carried off by the wind.
It was the primal scream of a death instinct honed to a lethal edge.
His entire body locked rigid.
That single punch demolished a vast swath of wall behind him, exposing the scenery beyond.
[Can't you let me have my fun? Come on, snake-tongue nee-chan, give me a few more solid kicks!]
[Hakuda +10]
In that moment, Makoto finally grasped just how much Saitō had held back in this so-called test.
One hair's breadth more, and he'd have been dead.
"Seriously!"
As she pulled back, Saitō hopped about, wailing in frustration. She slapped her thighs with loud smacks, lamenting, "I got too careless!"
"Didn't even dodge!"
"Guhhh, my precious hair…"
She rubbed the braid Makoto had seized, muttering regrets with a pout. Her dainty face wore a pitiful, endearing look.
A stark contrast to the savage, bloodthirsty beast of moments ago.
"But…"
Mid-grumble, Saitō's lone eye swiveled back to the boy before her.
She straightened, stepping closer.
"What now?"
Makoto frowned, puzzled, instinctively edging back.
But in the next breath, she closed the gap, grabbing his shihakushō's front.
Her bare toes lifted slightly, and that soft, serpentine tongue darted out, gliding over the gash on his cheek, savoring his blood with delicate precision.
Slurp!
"Eh?!"
Makoto recoiled, his expression freezing.
"Quite a fine flavor."
Saitō, meanwhile, looked utterly sated. She cupped her cheeks, reveling in bliss.
Her small fist tapped his chest twice, dull thumps, as she giggled foolishly. "Not bad!"
"I really like your taste."
"Let's have another go sometime with swords next time!"
"I won't lose again."
Makoto blinked, dazed by the sudden lick. Her words sank in, and his eye twitched. Glancing at the ruined wall behind him, he muttered, "I'd rather not."
"…?"
"Oh, right."
As she turned to walk off, Saitō paused, scooping up her tabi from the floor and tossing them his way. Hands on hips, she laughed heartily. "Both are yours now."
"Next time, I'll bring a fresh pair!"
Makoto's eyes widened, his face twisting as if insulted. He barked back, "Your stinky socks? I don't-"
Before he could finish, a sickly sweet, almost coy voice rang out from afar, tinged with mock shyness.
[I'll take them home and brew tea with them for life! Thank you so much!]
He turned. The instructors who'd just been eyeing him with admiration now wore complicated looks.
Such a fine kid.
What a pity he's a freak.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC