Yoruichi's injuries were even more severe. A bone-deep blade mark stretched from her collarbone down to her lower abdomen. A large amount of blood sprayed from the wound, dyeing the surrounding ground red.
When Kisuke Urahara arrived, he saw such a scene of mutual destruction.
No, it wasn't mutual destruction. Kisuke Urahara looked toward Makiya. A massive mountain peak had collapsed, and Makiya, bare-chested and carrying his red blade, pushed aside the debris to climb back to the surface.
A burning pain flared in his chest. Makiya looked down and saw a blood-red footprint in the center of his chest, with five blood holes opened over his heart.
Yoruichi's foot seemed to have transformed into some kind of beastly claw. At the moment of the kick, her sharp nails had used the most concentrated Kido to pierce through his defense and stab into his heart.
Makiya spat out a mouthful of blood. The flames of Chisato surged back into his body from all directions. White smoke rose from the blood holes at his heart, and they began to heal rapidly, returning to normal within seconds.
"Cough, cough, cough... That was close. I almost got killed by you. You really don't hold back, do you? After all, I can still be considered a beauty, right?" Yoruichi also coughed up a large mouthful of blood. Looking down, she noticed the flames of Chisato had quietly attached to her chest, sealing the wound and preventing her blood and spiritual power from leaking away.
"How is that possible? I was careful." Makiya shook his head. "Besides, if I didn't use a bit of strength, I wouldn't have been able to break through your Kido defense at all. It's practically harder than the Grand Kido Chief's defensive Kido."
Yoruichi bared her teeth in pain. Hearing this, she rolled her eyes and controlled some bandages to wrap around her wound. Seeing this, Makiya withdrew the flames.
This bundle of bandages was a divine tool of the Shihoin family. It was extremely sturdy and could even seal a Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto. Its specific effects were known only to the successive heads of the Shihoin family.
Makiya wasn't sure of the bandages' specific origin, but in his previous life, he had seen people on forums analyzing them. According to unofficial history, these bandages were actually the Soul King's chest wraps, taken as a trophy by the first Shihoin head during an assault.
Whether it was true or not, this history was indeed quite wild.
"Ara ara, are you two having fun?" Kisuke Urahara appeared at just the right time.
"Not enough." Yoruichi stood up while wrapping her bandages, her golden cat-like eyes filled with dissatisfaction. "Makiya, I still have two powerful techniques I haven't used yet. Let's fight again another day!"
"Sure, then it's a deal."
"It's a deal."
"Hey, hey, how did it become a deal?" Kisuke Urahara felt a headache coming on. "This is my place, right? You should at least ask for my opinion first."
"Then do you have an opinion?" Yoruichi rushed to Kisuke's side and used a tackle-hug, with outstanding effect.
"No, I have no opinion. Use it as you like. Ahhh, my head, my head hurts so much..."
That night.
North 80th District, Zaraki District.
Corpses lay everywhere, and blood flowed like a river. Under the moonlight, the bright red flames also appeared eerie and terrifying.
Makiya pulled out Chisato and dodged the splashing blood.
"How insane. Is this really the 80th District?"
Disorder, chaos, and bloodiness. Even though Makiya was wearing the Shihakusho that symbolized his identity, a large number of souls still brandished broken weapons and lunged at him one after another, just to snatch the Zanpakuto in his hand.
In remote areas, resources were scarce. The supply of food and water couldn't meet everyone's needs. To survive here, one had to plunder the resources of other souls. Everyone's hands were stained with blood.
Ultimately, it came down to the lack of supplies.
Everyone held onto a fluke mentality, thinking that others would exhaust Makiya's strength, allowing them to take advantage.
The result was obvious. The fierce souls found that Makiya was a tough nut to crack. By the time they wanted to run, it was already too late. With every Shunpo, several lives vanished. Makiya struck with his blade, clearing the nearby area.
"That's about enough. This place will do."
The desolate earth was scorched black and barren. A few withered trees scattered about leaned to one side, their bark long gone.
Makiya walked under a crooked tree and sat cross-legged. Red flames emerged from his body, seeming as if they had a life of their own, turning into delicate hands that stroked Makiya's cheeks.
Then, a mass of foreign spiritual pressure was pulled out of Makiya's body by the red flames. It was blue and white, occasionally flickering with the aura of lightning.
It was Yoruichi's spiritual pressure and Kido power!
The mixed energy lunged left and right within the red flames but remained unable to break through the confinement.
Immediately after, a second, third, and fourth mass of spiritual pressure were pulled out of Makiya's body in succession, like a string of beads.
Before long, eight spheres of spiritual pressure with different properties and sizes were placed in front of Makiya.
Yoruichi's spiritual pressure, Aizen's spiritual pressure, Kaname Tosen's spiritual pressure, Kensei Muguruma's spiritual pressure, Mashiro Kuna's spiritual pressure, and the spiritual pressures of Heizo Kasaki and the other two!
The red flames burned fiercely, and the eight spheres of spiritual pressure were wrapped in red flames, floating around Makiya like will-o'-the-wisps.
Makiya rubbed his hands together excitedly, his eyes shining.
It had been too rushed when he was invaded by the Hollow power before, and he hadn't had a chance to experience anything. Now that he had found a place without people to experience it again, there was a strange sense of excitement.
It was like a young couple getting married; after a busy day finally seeing off their friends and relatives, they finally had their time alone, and then secretly slipped out to the suburbs for some exercise—that kind of excitement.
"Who should I start with? Hmm... let's take it step by step. I'll start with Heizo Kasaki and the other two."
Tossing his Shihakusho aside, Makiya controlled the three masses of spiritual pressure to float down from the air and re-enter his body under the protection of the red flames.
Makiya's entire body immediately ignited with bright red flames. A crisp phoenix cry faintly echoed in his heart. The spiritual pressures of Heizo Kasaki and the others intertwined and mixed with Makiya's aura, gradually merging. The refreshing sensation of breaking through boundaries spread through his body, making Makiya let out a soft groan.
His spiritual power and spiritual pressure climbed steadily. For Heizo Kasaki and the others to become high-ranking seated officers, their talent had already exceeded 90% of Soul Reapers. The flames of Chisato parsed and separated the innate talent contained within the spiritual pressure, continuously filling it into Makiya's soul body.
As the flames burned, his soul body underwent nirvana. The spiritual pressure of Heizo Kasaki and the others was exhausted. Makiya's aura retracted and changed within the flames, finally stabilizing.
"Phew... that felt great!"
Makiya stretched his arms, making a series of clicking sounds from his joints.
Heizo Kasaki and the others didn't have any special talents; they only enhanced Makiya's spiritual power and spiritual pressure.
"Next, Kensei Muguruma and Mashiro Kuna."
Two masses of spiritual pressure merged into his body, and the nirvana began again. His soul body melted and was reforged in the flames, like a piece of steel being infused with rare ores, absorbing useful elements and discarding useless impurities.
People only feel that time moves slowly when they are going through hardships. When immersed in enjoyment, time always passes exceptionally quickly. Makiya felt like the nirvana was completed in the blink of an eye.
Of course, it could also be because the amount of spiritual pressure collected was too small to last very long.
Unfortunately, Kensei Muguruma's mysterious time talent was not acquired by Makiya.
He looked at his own fists and felt countless ways to punch suddenly surge into his mind. In the path of fist techniques, he was now quite talented.
Since Mashiro Kuna was skilled in leg techniques, Makiya similarly felt countless ideas on how to use his legs to attack.
His spiritual pressure and spiritual power still received an upgrade, which is the foundation of a Soul Reaper.
Next was Kaname Tosen's spiritual pressure, which strengthened Makiya's other senses besides sight, as if suddenly narrowing the distance between himself and the world, making everything more vivid.
Yoruichi's spiritual pressure was what Makiya looked forward to most, and the amount collected was also the largest. As the spiritual pressure flickering with lightning patterns was gradually decomposed and integrated, Makiya's aura climbed steadily once again.
Long after, as the horizon turned pale, Makiya was completely bathed in bright red flames and slowly opened his eyes.
"Hiss... Fist techniques, leg techniques, Kido... Yoruichi is truly gifted."
Makiya thought back to the Kido he had learned. After his talent improved, he had gained new insights into many Kido techniques.
Looking through his memories, he even felt annoyed at how stupid he had been before. They were clearly simple Kido that could be understood at a glance, yet he had studied them for so long. It felt as if a wall in his mind had collapsed, and his use of Kido was constantly innovating.
The red flames withdrew as Makiya retracted his Shikai. Closing his eyes, he recalled the battle with Yoruichi, and a large amount of Kido power brewed on his back and shoulders.
A moment later, the Kido power was compressed to the extreme, and the azure glow gradually brightened.
"Shunko!"
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