A single blast shattered the outer barrier. Without sparing a second to mourn the nameless fallen, the battlefield welcomed its newest arrivals... Makoto's squad!
Honed by days of tactical refinement, this team under Makoto's command needed no more than a glance to spring into action. Upon landing, they fanned out across the sprawling Asaimon clan grounds, each member darting toward their assigned target with ruthless efficiency.
Makoto's quarry was none other than the Head of the Asaimon, Hakura Asaimon, a man whose strength according to intel is equivalent to that of a lieutenant.
Before the mission began, the intelligence unit had unearthed every scrap of detail on this target. With scarcely a flicker of hesitation, Makoto surged forward via Shunpo, homing in on the memorized coordinates.
Yet as he instinctively opened his senses, a jolt struck him. From a side building, not the distant manor of the clan head, emanated a spiritual signature far more potent than expected.
Another master?!
Before he could react, the guest room erupted under a colossal wave of reiatsu. The structure crumbled into a thousand fragments, debris hurled outward by a ferocious gust. Amid the chaos stood a figure, resolute and unyielding, eyes glinting with faint light, hand resting firmly on his sword hilt.
With a guttural "Hmph!" the chaotic reiatsu snapped into focus, coiling around the man's waist, Chika Shiba, before unleashing in a concentrated burst.
A slash!
The sword pressure roared forth, banishing the deep night cloaking the Asaimon grounds. A blinding surge of reiatsu tore skyward, carving a path hundreds of meters long. The shockwave obliterated buildings and earth alike, kicking up a vast plume of dust in its wake.
A deep scar gashed the once-pristine ground.
Yet as that blade's mark reached Makoto, it split effortlessly in two, veering harmlessly to either side.
Makoto exhaled softly.
That reiatsu… near Captain-class reiatsu!
"How dare you raid nobility under cover of night! Who are you?!" Chika stood firm, his expression grave.
Makoto's face hardened. "We are Night Raid!"
"Hm?"
Chika blinked, momentarily thrown, before snapping back, "You dare quibble?! Genji filth!"
"If you already know, why ask?"
Makoto gripped his blade with one hand, eyes narrowing slightly. "Bury them!"
The instant the words fell, his form vanished from sight. Like a streak of shadow, he lunged toward Chika, sword slashing downward.
Clang!
Metal met metal in a dull, resonant crash.
Heavy!
The moment the blade descended, Chika's mind reeled. He hadn't expected this young rogue to wield such monstrous strength. His hand dipped under the weight.
In that first exchange, Makoto gauged his opponent's level.
No prompt flared in his mind.
He could win.
Bolstered by that certainty, he shed all restraint. His Asauchi rained down like a storm, blade shadows blurring into near-invisibility.
[Zanjutsu: Tier-9]
A mastery beyond the natural limits of most Shinigami, attainable only by the rare few who married unrelenting dedication to prodigious talent.
Unleashed now before Chika, it wove a web of oppressive dominance through sheer swordplay.
Sparks flared into a continuous sheet, scattering through the air with each relentless clash. Even an untrained onlooker could see the tide: one side pressed a ferocious assault, the other struggled to hold ground.
In such a duel, both combatants burned through stamina, focus, and spirit at a breakneck pace. Victory hinged on whose will endured.
And Makoto feared no contest of resolve.
[Bond Trait: Wall of Sighs]
[Your will remains eternally fixed at its strongest moment, unyielding until death.]
Abruptly, his raised blade tore through the fabric at Chika's left elbow. A sharp sting jolted the noble, a gash splitting his arm. Though his mind stayed clear, his body betrayed him.
The instant the nerves in his wrist severed, an involuntary tremor broke his airtight defense, exposing a fatal gap.
Makoto's eyes narrowed. His blade darted forward with machine-like precision, piercing the breach.
A shrill screech of metal grinding against metal pierced their ears.
Screech!
Clang!
Chika's blade was wrenched aside, caught by Makoto's Zanpakuto.
In the split second their swords veered off course, Chika instinctively exhaled in relief. But his peripheral vision caught a chilling sight, Makoto had released his grip on his weapon.
"Damn it-"
Before Chika could react, Makoto's foot slammed forward with a thunderous bang. The ground beneath splintered into a web of fine cracks, the sheer force surging through his spine. Fueled by an equally ferocious burst of reiatsu, his shoulder and arm drove into Chika's chest.
The power coursed through every vertebra, culminating in a single, explosive strike.
"Ikkotsu!"
With a fierce shout, a torrent of roaring reiatsu erupted from his fist, detonating within Chika's frame.
One blow sent him hurtling like a broken kite, crashing through a dozen walls in rapid succession. Dust billowed in his wake.
In midair, Makoto deftly caught his spinning Zanpakuto as it fell.
…
"What… monstrous Hakuda."
Chika coughed up a mouthful of blood, staggering from the cratered wall.
He'd held back his Shikai, intending a fair duel with this rogue. Now, that choice mocked him with bitter irony.
"Hah... how embarrassing."
As the thought crossed his mind, his gaze snagged on something nearby, two young bodies sprawled lifelessly.
The larger one, even in death, clung protectively to the smaller.
Blood still trickled from a severed neck, pupils dilating into oblivion.
In an instant, Chika's body tensed, his expression hardening.
The competitive spark in his heart snuffed out.
These scum… they'd even killed children?
In the distance, Makoto's silhouette emerged from the haze of explosion-stirred dust.
Chika's surface reiatsu churned under a swell of emotion, the pain in his body forgotten. He stood ramrod straight, tendrils of reiatsu coiling around the Zanpakuto in his grip.
"Pierce the heavens, Jikugoka."
With a low incantation, his reiatsu surged wildly. The Asauchi morphed into a jet-black spear, two and a half meters long. His aura darkened, sinking into a deeper gravity.
He advanced slowly toward Makoto.
When only a few steps separated them, Chika's eyes locked onto the youth before him.
His voice, hoarse with suppressed fury, or perhaps pure sorrow, rasped out, "You…"
"Why did you start this war?"
Makoto met his gaze, catching the earnestness in this naïve fool's expression.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
A sudden, uncontrollable laugh burst forth doubling him over, stomach cramping.
As if he'd heard the grandest jest imaginable.
The reaction only stoked Chika's rage further.
His eyes widened, veins threading red through the whites, voice dropping to a guttural demand, "What's so funny?!"
"What's amusing about this?!"
"What… do you take human lives for?!"
Makoto, still chuckling, shot back: "You noble scum…"
His mirth faded mid-sentence, replaced by a cold, mocking edge. "…have the right to say that?"
At those words, a tempest of chaotic airflow erupted behind Chika. His feet tapped the ground, and he seemed to float, speed surging to a new tier.
Leveling his spear, he thrust it toward Makoto with ferocious intent.
That mocking look from the youth struck a raw nerve. Chika's eyes flared wide, a roar tearing from his throat, "Irredeemable!"
In the next heartbeat, a whirlwind whipped up a shroud of dust.
His form vanished in a sonic boom.
***
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
***
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