Chapter 75: An Honest Talk with Yukinoshita!
'A Zanpakuto... and a witness?'
Makoto understood both words individually, but putting them together left him completely lost.
As far as he knew, awakening a Zanpakuto didn't require a witness. Was this some special requirement for Yukinoshita Yukino's Bankai?
Her face was slowly turning red from excitement. Makoto didn't ask what the ritual was or why it worked. He simply looked at her and asked, "What do I need to do?"
Yukinoshita hadn't expected him to agree so readily. Her grip tightened around Yukimi's hilt, and even her speech quickened.
"You need to see my truest self, acknowledge my truest self, remember my truest self, and then... become something genuine that I can acknowledge."
"Something genuine?"
Hearing those familiar words, Makoto almost felt as though he'd been transported from a collapsing battlefield in Konoha into the Service Club of some ordinary high-school drama.
"Yes, something genuine. But please don't ask me exactly what that means. I don't completely understand it myself yet."
Yukinoshita hesitated before continuing.
"But at the very least, could you stop lying to me from now on? No pretending, no false fronts."
Her voice had become noticeably uncertain.
By now, Yukinoshita could tell that Makoto's Talent was unusual. But that wasn't a reason for her to retreat.
He was already the best teammate she'd found in a very long time, and she had also taken responsibility for bringing him safely back to the Main God Space.
That was why Yukinoshita had to step forward now. In her judgment, she was the only one capable of fighting the powerful, brutal enemy currently sustaining Fate Burn.
Makoto's expression became serious as well.
He could technically continue using Making Fake Become Real to preserve the image that he'd never lied to Yukinoshita.
But if this witness ritual was an important part of her pursuit of something genuine, then he needed to reconsider how he treated her.
Until now, they had gotten along well, but their relationship had remained firmly at the level of teammates.
Using Yukinoshita's Trust for Making Fake Become Real had felt perfectly reasonable to Makoto. Strengthening himself gave him a better chance of protecting them both.
In return, Yukinoshita wanted Makoto to serve as the witness to her Bankai. Their cooperation benefited both sides.
But if their relationship was going to develop beyond that, especially if Yukinoshita's Bankai depended upon it, Makoto had to seriously consider whether he could stop lying to her altogether.
Doing so meant giving up one of his easiest sources for triggering Making Fake Become Real.
In exchange, he might gain a powerful partner whose relationship with him went far beyond that of an ordinary teammate.
Before entering the Naruto world, Makoto probably would've chosen the first option.
Looking at the malformed giant still rampaging in the distance, however, he decided having one truly dependable partner wasn't a bad trade.
There were plenty of high-Fate Value Story Characters and potential future teammates he could use for Making Fake Become Real.
There was no need to keep squeezing the little Fate Value Yukinoshita had left, especially now that she'd already sensed something unusual.
After reaching his decision, Makoto answered in his own voice.
"I agree. From now on, I'll treat you with absolute sincerity."
He deliberately activated Making Fake Become Real at the same time.
[Ding! Making Fake Become Real has failed...]
[Your resolve is firm. No possibility of false or performative behavior toward Yukinoshita Yukino has currently been detected. Manifestation is impossible.]
Seeing Makoto's sincere expression, delight flashed through Yukinoshita's eyes.
Yukimi trembled faintly in her hands as though the Zanpakuto itself could barely wait.
"Thank you, Kitano-kun."
Yukinoshita's voice trembled slightly.
At first, Makoto assumed she was embarrassed for reasons he didn't understand. He soon realized that interpretation had been far too shallow.
"There's something I need to do next. I hope you won't be afraid..."
Yukinoshita suddenly tightened her grip on the sword and pointed the blade directly toward Makoto's chest.
She could have attacked without warning, but instead suppressed her excitement and explained first.
"This may hurt badly. Please don't be afraid... and please, don't refuse."
Looking at the blade poised to pierce his chest, Makoto finally understood why Yukinoshita had become so excited the moment he'd agreed to become her witness.
Finding someone inside the Main God Space who never lied was already difficult enough.
Apparently, becoming her witness required passing another trial afterward.
Most Players would probably assume Yukinoshita was using the ritual as an excuse to murder a teammate and steal their equipment.
Even Makoto briefly wondered whether Yukinoshita had secretly changed over time and had been acting this entire time just to create the perfect opportunity to kill him.
He quickly suppressed the suspicion and spoke.
"I won't refuse, because everything you've told me is true."
[Ding! Making Fake Become Real has failed...]
[Everything Yukinoshita Yukino said is true. There is nothing to manifest.]
Only after seeing that notification did Makoto completely relax.
"Go ahead. I trust you."
Relief and happiness flashed through Yukinoshita's eyes.
"I'm sorry."
She pushed the sword forward with both hands.
Yukimi pierced straight through Makoto's chest.
Intense pain made his entire body tense, but before he could activate Reverse Cursed Technique, icy spiritual power froze his heart.
Crystalline ice spread rapidly throughout his body.
Yukinoshita couldn't escape the effect either. Ice spread from the hands gripping Yukimi until both she and Makoto were frozen inside the same sculpture.
Orochimaru stared at them in complete bewilderment.
He couldn't understand what insanity had suddenly possessed Makoto and Yukinoshita.
'Did they seriously start fighting each other now?'
What Orochimaru couldn't imagine was that Makoto didn't actually feel cold after being frozen.
If anything, warmth flowed through him.
His heart was still functioning because pure spiritual power was pouring into his body through Yukimi.
[Ding! You have gained an initial grasp of Shinigami power.]
[Source: Shinigami Yukinoshita Yukino.]
[You can now condense an ice-and-snow Zanpakuto.]
Only then did Makoto understand.
What Yukinoshita had done was remarkably similar to Kuchiki Rukia transferring Shinigami power to Kurosaki Ichigo.
No wonder the wound hadn't caused the kind of agony he'd expected.
But another question immediately arose.
'If she's giving Shinigami power to me, what happens to her own power? Doesn't she still need to use Bankai?'
Makoto soon understood.
The Shinigami power Yukinoshita had transferred to him barely brought him to the level of a low-ranking seated officer.
For someone with captain-class combat strength, that amount of spiritual pressure was almost negligible.
Now Makoto became genuinely curious about how this would make him Yukinoshita's witness.
His answer arrived almost immediately.
Konoha vanished.
The sounds of battle disappeared.
Even the frozen Yukinoshita standing before him was gone.
In their place appeared countless shattered ice mirrors suspended across an endless sky.
Each mirror reflected a different moment from Yukinoshita's life.
One showed her sitting alone in a classroom after being isolated by others. Another showed a solitary dinner, her mother's cold gaze, or her sister's meaningful smile.
Most of the mirrors showed Yukinoshita striving endlessly to be correct and perfect.
She used that perfection as armor, pushing herself harder and harder until she finally reached her limit and was dragged into the Main God Space.
Directly beneath the mirrors stood a girl completely sealed in ice.
She wore a pure white shiromuku and looked pristine, almost flawless.
Yet beneath the hood there was no beautiful face.
Only emptiness.
This was Yukinoshita Yukino's Zanpakuto.
A seemingly perfect yet hollow version of herself stared silently at Makoto, examining him.
Makoto instinctively reached toward the frozen figure.
Then he realized he could move again.
He looked down to check his body's condition, and his expression immediately turned strange. Because at this moment, he was completely naked.
This... Yukinoshita didn't mention this beforehand!
"This is my inner world. Right now, both of us exist here only as projections of our minds."
Yukinoshita's voice came from somewhere near the frozen girl.
"Because this place pursues the true self above everything else, nothing our true selves reject can exist here."
Makoto nodded.
That explanation made enough sense.
After all, he couldn't consider the clothes on his body as part of himself.
But the current situation was still somewhat improper... Makoto focused his mind and used Sky Manipulation.
He actually distorted the space around himself, hiding his vital parts within it.
His appearance now bore a considerable resemblance to Urokohiko.
It seemed the spatial technique created through Making Fake Become Real had been acknowledged by Yukimi as part of Makoto's genuine self.
With his privacy issue solved, Makoto started walking toward the frozen Yukinoshita.
"Wait! Give me a moment to prepare myself!"
Yukinoshita sounded thoroughly flustered.
"Time passes much more slowly here than in reality. You don't need to worry about the enemy destroying Konoha while we're inside."
Makoto frowned slightly, not because of what Yukinoshita said, but because as he got closer, he realized her voice didn't seem to come from inside the frozen girl at all. Instead, it came from somewhere behind her.
He didn't rush her.
"All right."
He remained where he was and waited for Yukinoshita to prepare herself.
Roughly three minutes passed by Makoto's perception.
From behind the frozen girl stepped out a tall and graceful figure, carrying youthful charm mixed with innocence. It was Yukinoshita, hands covering herself in front, still making a final struggle.
The moment he saw her, Makoto suddenly felt he didn't know where to look.
So he chose to simply look at everything honestly, from her toes with nowhere to hide, to her slightly trembling calves, to her toned and streamlined waist and abdomen, and finally to her face, which was so red it looked like it might drip blood.
Yukinoshita only then noticed the technique Makoto was using. She immediately said in a tearful voice, "Y-you can do something like this, why didn't you say so earlier!"
"Cough, I didn't know you'd make an entrance like this either... I'll make one for you right now."
Soon, a bikini formed from Sky Manipulation covered Yukinoshita's vital parts. Although from Makoto's perspective he could no longer see anything vital, the current Yukinoshita appeared even more innocent and alluring.
Yukinoshita clearly understood that now wasn't the time to be shy. She slowly adjusted her breathing, then raised a hand and pointed toward the countless mirrors overhead.
"Look at them."
"See every humiliating moment of my life, and remember the false, performative version of me. That's what you need to do."
Makoto blinked.
"That's all?"
"That's all."
Yukinoshita lowered her head slightly, relief entering her voice.
"Only by showing my witness my truest self and having you remember all of it can I truly master Bankai."
"And as long as you remember everything you've seen, my power will have almost no weakness."
Yukinoshita looked directly at him.
"The greater the trust between us, the stronger the amplification from my Zanpakuto becomes."
Her eyes began to shine.
She looked at Makoto with unmistakable hope.
Beneath that hope, however, burned a quiet flame of revenge.
Yukinoshita had never forgotten her former teammates.
Perhaps that hatred was precisely what allowed her to reveal everything without hesitation now.
Understanding her thoughts and determination, Makoto reached out and took Yukinoshita's hand.
He had done the same thing with Togawa Sakiko many times.
With Yukinoshita, however, this was the first.
Her strength and experience were far beyond Sakiko's, and under normal circumstances, forming such a close relationship with her would have been extremely difficult.
Yet their respective Talents and abilities had tied them together.
Makoto understood that this connection was only the starting point.
What their relationship eventually became would depend entirely on how the two of them chose to develop it.
"I'll remember everything."
Makoto tightened his hand around hers.
"And someday, I'll stand beside you when you finally settle the hatred you've carried all this time."
Yukinoshita's fingers had been tense and uncertain.
After hearing his sincere promise, they slowly relaxed, like a drifting boat finally finding a harbor where it could rest.
"Mm... But we're still nowhere near strong enough."
"Are they that strong?"
"They're Professionals."
Yukinoshita paused.
"And they're an entire Guild."
Makoto already had a clear understanding of how strong Veterans could be.
Professionals stood above them.
An entire Guild of Professionals was certainly beyond anything Makoto could currently fight.
Even so, he smiled confidently.
"They don't sound that impressive. Just give me a little more time to develop."
Yukinoshita couldn't help laughing.
She was about to tease him when her gaze suddenly shifted past Makoto and froze.
Behind them, the ice covering the faceless girl had begun to melt.
That meant she and Makoto had chosen correctly.
The only problem was the speed.
The ice was melting far too slowly.
And Yukinoshita was already becoming impatient.
…