His strength had increased.
In the instant their blades clashed, Fujimiya Makoto immediately assessed "Sato's" current condition.
No.
To be precise, his spiritual power had expanded several times over.
"Clang!"
Fujimiya Makoto turned his blade, deflecting "Sato's" weapon upward, forcing him to expose an opening.
However, several blades made entirely of shadow instantly followed his movements like his own shadow, thrusting forward like multiple spears surrounding his body.
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—"
A series of air-piercing sounds echoed in his ears.
Yet Fujimiya Makoto's eyes remained calm.
His figure maintained extremely controlled, minimal movements while brushing past these sharp black shadows. Until he spotted a weakness, his shallow strike suddenly flashed out.
"Thud!"
Hachi Shinichi quickly retreated, but a bleeding wound still appeared on his left arm.
Fujimiya Makoto stood in place, shaking the blood off his blade.
He didn't know if this was the effect of his long-term training with the Killing Stone.
But Fujimiya Makoto was gradually beginning to understand what it meant to "know what to do on the battlefield."
"Damn it!"
Hachi Shinichi clutched the wound on his arm, glaring at Fujimiya Makoto with bloodshot eyes.
Yet, faintly visible in those bloodshot eyes was a flash of fear that briefly appeared.
This wasn't how it should be...
Even with just an initial release, there should be at least a three to five-fold difference in spiritual pressure, which is why higher-ranked officers could completely suppress lower-ranked officers and remaining squad members.
As the Third Seat of the Soul Society's Secret Mobile Unit and a member of the Hachi clan, Hachi Shinichi should have known this better than anyone.
But!
He looked at Fujimiya Makoto standing before him.
This guy hadn't even taken a single extra deep breath since the beginning.
And he hadn't released his sword either.
Realizing this, he felt as if his heart was being gripped by an ice-cold hand.
If that was the case, the gap between them...
"You should die, Fujimiya Makoto!"
The moment he realized this, Hachi Shinichi no longer cared about conserving energy to escape Genjiryū. His spiritual pressure exploded as he channeled it all into his blade.
The blade, already deep and dark in color, turned so black it seemed it could drip ink.
Then, he suddenly thrust it into the ground.
"Kill him! Shadow Strike!"
Almost as soon as Hachi Shinichi's voice rang out, large swaths of shadow blades rose from the dark earth like silk ribbons, completely surrounding Fujimiya Makoto from all directions.
After a moment's pause, they suddenly plummeted toward the center.
Hachi Shinichi's facial muscles tensed, blue veins twisting across his forehead.
However, Fujimiya Makoto remained calmly standing in place.
He seemed not to notice the shadows obscuring his surroundings, only frowning and muttering:
"As I thought."
"At this level, I won't get any points."
For some reason, Hachi Shinichi's heart suddenly tightened.
The next moment, he saw Fujimiya Makoto sheathing his sword at his waist.
He bent his upper body forward, completely mimicking Saito's training posture, his figure almost flat against the ground.
His eyes fixed on Hachi Shinichi in the distance.
"Thump, thump, thump—"
Almost instantly, the shadow blades that had risen to their highest point were stretched to their limit.
They fell suddenly.
The sound of high-speed piercing tore through the air's resistance, creating explosive sounds like giant crossbow bolts flying, descending like black rain.
In the blink of an eye, they completely engulfed Fujimiya Makoto's figure.
Hachi Shinichi's heart leaped with joy.
But in the next moment, he seemed to notice something.
His eyes suddenly widened.
He saw Fujimiya Makoto's figure flashing like an afterimage through the falling shadow pillars, creating countless Z-shaped black trajectories. As if playing some boring game, he kept advancing through the countless obstacles before him! Advancing!
How could this be possible?
Hachi Shinichi found the scene unfolding before him utterly absurd.
Yet it was happening right before his eyes.
His mouth unconsciously gaped open.
Until the final moment.
Fujimiya Makoto's figure appeared abruptly close to his face, so close he could almost feel the beast-like bloody scent emanating from him.
Hachi Shinichi's body froze.
"Slice—"
The dazzling blade drew a full arc through the air, blood droplets flying from its edge.
The severed arm holding the sword flew up.
With a "thud," it fell far away.
Only then did Hachi Shinichi's brain seem to be reactivated by the intense pain. He suddenly clutched his severed arm and stepped back, gasping for breath, his forehead covered with cold sweat.
His gaze held nothing but blankness.
After his burning desire for revenge was easily shattered, all that remained was fear rapidly filling the depths of his heart.
Hachi Shinichi wanted to live.
"Wait!"
He suddenly shouted, trembling with pain as he threatened: "You—you think killing me will help?"
"Although this operation was moved up, it was already formulated into a plan and submitted to the Central 46! Many others are involved in this operation!"
"Right now, they should already be carrying out destruction and infiltration operations throughout Genjiryū!"
"There are at least five more as strong as me!"
"They all lead a squad!"
Hachi Shinichi tried to put on a fierce expression, but his face was unnaturally pale from blood loss.
Hearing this, Fujimiya Makoto frowned.
If that was really the case, getting all the heads and points would be difficult, wouldn't it?
He was still hoping to get more points.
Under less dangerous circumstances.
However, just as he was speaking with Hachi Shinichi, a woman's voice, cold to the bone, came from the distant sky.
"By what karmic connection do you drink from the sword? Standing on rock amidst fire, forsaking all evils in fear."
"—Kūrikara!"
As the voice echoed throughout Genjiryū, terrifyingly massive spiritual pressure, like a raging flood, spread in all directions. The extremely heavy reishi flow extinguished the flames, causing even the wind to stagnate. In the pitch-black night sky, phantom-like, dotted spiritual auroras filled the space, making even the earth seem to tremble.
If Hachi Shinichi's spiritual pressure when he released his sword was like a pond,
Then what appeared before the two of them now was like the overturning deep-sea currents.
Both turned their heads simultaneously.
From a distance, they saw the girl who had been sitting in the study hall earlier, now standing in the sky.
On the blade of her long naginata with connected tassels, five heads were somehow strung, their expressions blank, their necks showing signs of forceful tearing.
It seemed they didn't know how they were killed even in death.
Kakutori Batsuunsai stood high in the sky, expressionless.
Looking down at the last one.
Fujimiya Makoto looked at those heads, his back suddenly tightening.
In an instant, Kakutori Batsuunsai abruptly appeared before the two.
Without any trace.
The naginata swung down.
Fujimiya Makoto immediately reacted, parrying:
"Wait!"
"My head!"
"Clang!"
The shallow strike's blade suddenly swung from the side, with a shower of brilliant sparks, narrowly deflecting the girl's casual strike.
"Boom—"
Merely the deflected casual strike created a shockwave that destroyed most of the trees on the slope's surface, leaving a deep trench.
However, Hachi Shinichi, caught in its path, didn't even make a sound before becoming a mass of gore in the trench.
The head was gone.
Unfortunately, before Fujimiya Makoto could lament, he saw Kakutori Batsuunsai's calm eyes beneath her glasses slowly turn toward him.
The naginata's heads were tossed aside, and its tip pointed at him.
Fujimiya Makoto was stunned.
At this moment, Kakutori Batsuunsai, having lost her entire study hall, was beyond grief.
Her voice, instead, seemed incredibly calm.
The girl asked: "Are you on his side?"