"ROOOOAR—"
The deep, resonant bellows of dozens of Menos echoed once more—but this time, they came from the mouths of the frail, harmless "wholes."
Bodies burned like kindling, their ashen remains dissolving into gray-white flakes. Pure flames, carried by updrafts, reduced them to smoke and ash.
The village was encased in golden radiance, from sky to earth—
Trapping them like hamsters under a glass bowl.
Makoto, standing closest, could clearly see the elder's face contorting as a mask-like layer of gray-white matter surged from his skin.
A sign of spiritual collapse.
And it wasn't just the "wholes."
Every water jar in the village, even the river flowing past it, began evaporating into motes of pure white light.
The dipper that had been offered to Makoto was no exception.
The water was poisoned!
"Don't go!"
He yanked the lunging girl back, retreating from the hut as his body stiffened.
"Unohana-sensei!"
"Be careful!"
The remaining Genji Shinigami instinctively formed a protective circle around Unohana, drawing their Asauchi as they scanned for threats.
As for who was protecting whom...
That was irrelevant.
Unohana, however, simply stood still, gazing up at the golden Negación in the sky.
Negación was a special technique Menos used to protect their kin.
The moment the light descended, the space inside and outside became two separate, untouchable worlds.
But due to its unique properties, anchoring the Negación in place could also serve as an incredibly potent containment barrier.
Its duration depended on the spiritual pressure of those trapped inside—a captain-level individual in the future might only be confined for a few hours.
Clearly, they'd walked into a trap.
Yet, a faint, intrigued smile slowly spread across Unohana's face.
This sense of danger...
She didn't dislike it.
At the same time, even larger spatial distortions erupted around them.
Even without checking the Shutara Scale, Unohana knew its surface would be littered with red markers.
Jagged rifts split the sky open once more.
Gillian-sized bone claws reached through the gaps between worlds.
But what they carried in their palms made the remaining Shinigami freeze.
Some were beast-like, others humanoid, some floated, and others resembled insects.
In size, they paled in comparison to the hundred-meter-tall Gillian. Even their forms lacked the chaotic randomness of newly born Hollows.
Yet the Gillian, like towering black pillars, held them aloft as if presenting royalty.
Every single one was an Adjuchas.
"Oh?"
Noticing the Shinigami below, a bull-like Adjuchas lounging on a Gillian's palm mused:
"Not injured comrades?"
"I was hoping for a snack."
"But..."
"Shinigami will do."
Its maw split into a grin, revealing rows of jagged fangs.
Adjuchas could only evolve further by devouring their own kind.
And stagnation meant regression.
"Clack, clack, clack..."
Makoto turned toward the sound.
One of the Shinigami beside him was grinding his teeth, his grip on his Asauchi trembling slightly.
"We will defend the instructor to the death!"
Even in this state, he still shouted the slogan.
Loyalty!
Unohana, however, merely glanced at the handful of Adjuchas in the sky, her earlier flicker of interest fading.
To describe her expression in one word?
"That's it?"
Unohana's eyelids lowered slightly, shadowing her eyes.
"What a tedious farce."
"Unohana-sama?"
Before the Shinigami could finish asking, Unohana was already stepping forward, her right hand resting on her sword hilt as she drew her Asauchi.
She walked ahead without hesitation.
"Follow her!"
Makoto knew exactly whose side was safest in this situation and immediately moved to keep up.
But before he could take more than a few steps—
"BOOM!"
A shadow descended from above, kicking up a dust storm.
While the other Menos in the sky jeered, a scythe-like bone blade several meters long swept down, aiming to cleave a Shinigami's skull in two.
Makoto appeared in front of him in an instant.
His Asauchi came up to block.
"CLANG—!"
Sparks erupted as bone met steel.
Makoto's mind blanked.
This force—?!
Even braced, the impact sent him skidding backward, his feet carving trenches in the earth before he was launched like a ragdoll.
"CRASH!"
His body smashed through a nearby hut.
When the dust settled, the attacker came into view—
A humanoid Adjuchas with a serpentine lower body and mantis-like scythes for arms. Its triangular mask covered its entire head, and its voice was a nails-on-chalkboard screech:
"Kekekeke—!"
"These ones are mine!"
While it gloated, the remaining Shinigami had already prepared their counterattack.
Four of them raised their hands in unison, chanting:
"Mask of flesh and blood, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man!"
"On the wall of blue flames, inscribe twin lotus!"
"In the abyss of conflagration, wait upon the heavens!"
"Combined Kidō—"
"Hadō #73: Sōren Sōkatsui!"
A blazing orb of spiritual fire took shape above them, the full incantation and combined casting allowing even these low-ranking Shinigami to unleash the full might of this high-level Kidō.
"BOOM—!!"
The explosion engulfed the Adjuchas, flames so intense they scorched the earth for dozens of meters. Even those standing nearby could feel the searing heat.
The pink-haired girl, shielded behind the Shinigami, covered her ears, her eyes wide with awe.
So cool!
The thought had barely formed when—
A bone scythe sliced through the smoke, its edge carving through multiple Shinigami in an instant. Their Asauchi shattered like crackers, accompanied by the sickening crunch of snapping bones.
"Weak weak weak weak!"
"Totally—USELESS!"
The Adjuchas cackled as it tore through them.
In seconds, multiple Genji Shinigami were bisected.
A second-tier Menos was far beyond what ordinary Shinigami could handle.
Yet, even in the face of such slaughter, the remaining Shinigami continued charging forward, howling battle cries.
Such was the nature of the Shinigami-Hollow war—a fight to the death.
Makoto burst from the wreckage, his body cutting a straight line through the smoke as Reishi surged around his fist, erupting in a devastating strike.
"Ikotsu!!"
The punch landed squarely on the Adjuchas' upraised bone arm, the impact spiderwebbing cracks across its surface before—
"CRACK!"
The limb shattered.
[Fist Technique +10]
In the same motion, Makoto flipped his Asauchi into a reverse grip and stabbed into the fractured section.
"SHINK!"
The blade pierced through—
But got stuck halfway, trapped by the Adjuchas' Hierro.
This hardness—?!
Makoto's eyes widened.
"RROOOAAAGH—!"
The Adjuchas roared in pain, its remaining arm flinging Makoto away like a bug.
Its mask split open, revealing a void-like maw.
Bala.
Makoto twisted midair, his Asauchi deflecting the compressed spiritual bullet with a flick of his wrist.
"BOOM!!"
The explosion rocked the village center, sending debris flying.
Before he could land, the Adjuchas had already marked him as its primary target, lunging with terrifying speed.
Its massive, blade-like arms—each dozens of times larger than a normal sword—were not just powerful but blindingly fast. The flurry of slashes was so dense that an ordinary person couldn't even track them.
Makoto could barely keep up.
[Oh no oh no! You're about to get skewered by the big mantis' weird thingy!]
[Swordsmanship +5]
[No no no! Don't let that weird thing inside you, your brain will go all funny!]
[Swordsmanship +5]
[Are you even fighting right? That's not how you do it~ Aim for the legs, Master Fujimiyagi!]
[Swordsmanship +5]
A barrage of swordsmanship notifications popped up.
Though not as exaggerated as during his fight with Unohana, the gap between them was still painfully obvious.
In truth, Adjuchas were already beyond what most Shinigami could contend with.
Their Hierro alone made them nearly impervious to conventional attacks. Slicing through their limbs like normal Hollows? A pipe dream.
How do I swing a stronger blade?
Makoto parried desperately, but the pressure mounted as his stamina dwindled.
Every slash merely left shallow scratches on the bone-hard surface.
Until—his peripheral vision caught the crater left by his earlier Ikotsu.
"Why were you using Ikotsu and swordsmanship separately?"
Unohana's question echoed in his mind.
So that's what she meant.
Ikotsu wasn't a specific technique—it was the fusion of spirit and will.
It could be a fist, a foot, or even a blade!
If so, then extending that sensation to his sword...
Just recalling that hint, a spark of insight ignited in Makoto's mind.
[Swordsmanship: Tier 8 ↑]
[Fist Technique: Tier 6 ↑]
[Unohana-mama saw right through you at a glance~ Master Fujimiyagi!]
[Make sure to snuggle up and thank her properly later!]
Two notifications appeared simultaneously.
But Makoto had no time to dwell on them.
"CLANG—!"
Scythe and sword clashed, the recoil sending Makoto skidding back a dozen meters.
He adjusted his grip—from one hand to two.
A strange familiarity surged from within, as if the Asauchi had become an extension of his own body.
No—
It was part of his soul.
Even if it was obnoxious.
The moment this realization struck—
A faint glow enveloped the blade.
His will, made manifest.
"Haaah—"
Inhale. Exhale.
Makoto planted his feet.
His vision tunneled, the Adjuchas before him the only thing that mattered.
"That HURT, brat!"
"But... finally given up?"
"Or going all out?"
"Kekekeke—!"
The insectoid mask emitted a screech so piercing it felt like needles stabbing into eardrums, churning brains into mush.
Until, finally, it bellowed:
"ALL MEANINGLESS!!!"
Crimson spiritual pressure encased its scythe-arms, reinforcing its already-impenetrable Hierro to steel-like hardness. Then—
"BOOM—!!"
The arms broke the sound barrier, a series of sonic booms merging into one deafening roar as they stabbed toward Makoto.
In that instant, time seemed to freeze.
Makoto's world plunged into darkness.
Even the motion of his fingers tightening on the hilt felt sluggish, barely perceptible.
Yet his body moved with unprecedented fluidity, guided by something beyond his five senses.
He drew his sword—
And swung.
No buildup, no battle cry, no rage.
Just a single, unremarkable slash.
Yet that one strike tore through the darkness surrounding him.
His will fused with his Zanpakutō for the first time, Reishi saturating the blade into a cutting edge of unparalleled sharpness.
[First Form: Steel-Severing Strike]
The name appeared on his status panel.
Makoto stepped past the mantis-like Adjuchas as if out for a stroll.
Behind him—
The massive Hollow stood motionless.
Then, from its arms to its torso, a hairline fracture appeared.
"Click."
The sword returned to its sheath.
The Adjuchas' upper body slid diagonally off its lower half.
"THUD."
The two halves hit the ground.
A stunned silence fell over the battlefield.
The girl hiding behind the Shinigami gaped, her mouth hanging open.
As if she'd forgotten how to speak.
---
[First self-created secret technique achieved!]
[Spiritual Pressure Rank increased!]
[Reiryoku: 5th Class (Lower) → 5th Class (Middle)]
[Incredible! Master Fujimiyagi and I wreaked havoc together! So awesome!]