As Makoto left the 1st Division barracks, Sasakibe stood by Yamamoto's side. After a pause, he couldn't hold back, whispering, "Genryūsai-sama."
"Sending Makoto-kun against that Quincy… isn't it a bit…?"
In public, Sasakibe was Yamamoto's subordinate, never questioning his decisions.
But alone, they reverted to master and disciple, leader and aide. Even Sasakibe, utterly loyal, sometimes challenged him.
Yamamoto sat still, gazing at Makoto's receding figure, sipping tea.
After a long silence, he sighed, "Chōjirō…"
"What kind of person do you think Unohana is?"
Sasakibe blinked, puzzled by the shift to Unohana.
Still, he answered earnestly, "A master of all sword styles, a grandmaster of Zanjutsu honed through killing."
"And…"
"The Soul Society's Most Diabolical Criminal."
Yamamoto slowly added the final title.
Setting down his cup, he said, "We both come from that era."
"We know exactly how many she's killed."
Turning to Sasakibe, he asked calmly, "Do you think someone like her would hold back for a disciple's potential?"
"Or that a butcher, shedding her coldness, would stop killing for sentiment?"
"…"
Sasakibe faltered, silenced.
Indeed, even those long acquainted with Unohana struggled to imagine her hesitating mid-strike.
Yamamoto's voice was even, "That's why she's called the 'Most Diabolical.'"
"Teacher, peer, or gifted disciple, anyone who could hone her Zanjutsu, she'd cut down without hesitation."
"But that's precisely why Makoto, surviving her Bankai, earned the title of 'strong.'"
He turned to Sasakibe, "Don't judge with old eyes, Chōjirō."
"A genius like Makoto progresses faster than we can predict."
"He's a child of miracles."
Yamamoto gazed at the distant view, exhaling, "All we predecessors can do is lay the foundation, open the stage."
"And await his miracle."
Sasakibe didn't agree.
When Makoto first joined the Genji School, fragile and new, Sasakibe had overseen his basic training.
He knew Makoto wasn't a born prodigy.
He had clumsy, stubborn, dull sides, needing time to grow and accumulate.
To Sasakibe, that made Makoto a complete 'person.'
But the one saying this was Yamamoto, the man he revered most.
After a long silence, Sasakibe countered weakly, "And…"
"If Makoto-kun dies?"
Yamamoto kept his eyes on the door, his voice as steady and deep as ever, unrippled.
"Then I chose wrong."
"When that time comes, I'll take responsibility."
Sasakibe said no more.
The hall fell into dead silence.
---
Dust swirled, rubble flew.
A lithe figure landed before Chika Shihōin.
The dark-skinned youth looked up, stunned.
"Hey, you up to it?"
Makoto grinned, turning to him.
Chika's shock lasted a moment, ignoring Makoto's jab, urgency in his voice, "Don't let your guard down!"
"That woman has an 'erasure' ability, she can erase her injuries too."
"Don't let her eyes catch you!"
Though once rivals, facing a common foe, Chika held nothing back, shouting warnings.
His eyes locked on the dust cloud.
The moment his words fell...
Whoosh!
The dust before them vanished, wiped blank.
Louise appeared in their sight.
Makoto's expression turned serious.
Or rather, he was likely the Shinigami most aware of the Quincy's power ceiling.
"Another weakling."
"Wasting time."
The pure-white icy woman stood still.
The bruise and wound on her kicked cheek faded swiftly.
Not healing through swelling reduction or tissue repair, her face was erased like a canvas, wounds turning 'blank,' her exquisite beauty unchanged.
Louise's face remained expressionless.
Before she could look their way, Makoto and Chika vanished near-simultaneously.
With two targets, Louise's gaze could only track one.
Her memory fixed on Makoto, who'd landed the kick.
"Erase."
She murmured, extending her left hand toward him.
As her words fell, vast swathes of soil behind Makoto silently 'vanished,' carving a massive trench.
No sound, no impact, no vibration.
Just a black ink painting swiped by an eraser, leaving stark blankness.
"Makoto-kun!"
Chika shouted.
Before his voice carried far, Makoto's face hardened, pointing at the woman.
"Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
Abandoned chant, no preparation, standard Captain-level Reiatsu.
Combined, it unleashed roughly a quarter of its full might.
Even so, it far surpassed any Hadō below number 80.
Yet the roaring high-level Hadō was erased before Louise.
Impact, heat, lightning, all vanished before her left hand.
Makoto's eyes narrowed.
Such attacks were completely ineffective?
In that case…
"Bakudō #26: Kyokkō."
Instantly, his form split into three, veering to encircle Louise from left, right, and center.
Louise glanced at the nearing figures, then ignored them, looking farther.
The white woman's voice was calm, "Pointless."
"I can feel your 'existence'."
However, Makoto, standing behind a distant boulder, suddenly revealed a smile on his face.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three phantom images formed from curved light slashed towards Louise almost simultaneously.
Almost at the same time, Makoto spoke lightly.
"This slash is real."
[Fixing Falsehood]
Immediately after, Louise seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up at the three blades slashing towards her. A clear blue flying sickle suddenly condensed under her feet, and her figure disappeared in a flash.
On the cold face of the mature woman, a trace of abnormality appeared for the first time.
"The 'existence' of the slash!"
"How could it be?"
But before she could react, she seemed to sense something again. Her body turned, and from her sleeve, an object that could cut through souls suddenly flew out, intercepting towards the direction behind her.
However, what entered her white eyes was a blurry figure enveloped in buzzing, thick black smoke.
"I am entangled by the swarm of butterflies."
[Fixing Falsehood]
Louise's gaze seemed to freeze for a moment, and her fingers, which were instinctively moving towards her chest, also stopped.
The blade light was like snow.
The pure white figure retreated repeatedly, stopping just over ten meters away.
At this moment, Louise's gaze towards Makoto was extremely grave.
On the mature woman's slender, white arm, there was a hideous red gash slowly bleeding.
"As expected."
The colorful swarm of butterflies danced densely, their fluttering wings obscuring the short distance between Makoto and Louise.
The flapping butterfly wings overlapped in their swaying, confusing the beauty's vision, making Makoto's face, appearance, height, and position all less clear, even blurring the light and shadows.
Makoto's voice came from afar within the swarm of butterflies, calmly analyzing,
"Your right hand's locking ability has a high requirement for 'seeing,' doesn't it?"
"On the contrary..."
Before Makoto could finish speaking, Louise, with a tense expression, extended her left hand, pointing directly at where Makoto was.
"Erase it!"
Accompanied by Louise's cold voice.
The colorful swarm of butterflies that obscured their vision was suddenly torn open, creating a huge gap.
Even some of the butterflies caught in the attack range were mostly erased by this rule-ignoring attack.
When they fell to the ground, only irregular shapes remained.
The 'human figure' hidden among the butterflies also wavered under this assault and turned into a patch of light and shadow.
Louise's expression froze again.
'Existence' and then 'non-existence'...
What on earth is going on with this Shinigami?!
Before she could react, Makoto's voice sounded again from behind her.
"...Your left hand's ability ignores all requirements and directly erases what your palm is pointing at."
"Is that right?"
Hearing his faint voice, Louise immediately turned back warily.
On her delicate face, which should have been indifferent and detached, like a sculpture without any emotion, now, whether due to the fear of having her ability's details exposed or anger towards Makoto, her brows were tightly furrowed without concealment.
Makoto's figure slowly stepped out from the shadows behind the woman.
He didn't avoid her gaze at all and smiling gently to her.
"Besides that, there's another hidden ability."
"Your eyes..."
"Can see through all substances and illusions, right?"
Louise's expression completely sank, her gaze towards the man in front of her becoming increasingly hostile.
On her beautiful face, her expression was gloomy.
However, Makoto seemed completely unaware of the impending danger, smiling,
"Our abilities have good compatibility, you know."
"Madam."
"Want to try guessing?"
"The 'me' standing in front of you right now..."
"Is it real?"
Although the distance between them was very close, Louise's gaze towards him became increasingly wary.
Her white eyes kept quickly glancing towards the direction behind Makoto.
One, two, three... ten!
How can there be so many 'existences' identical to this man?
Chika who watching this scene from afar and had been struggling since confronting that woman, suddenly widened his eyes in astonishment.
How did Makoto do that?
When did this guy suddenly grow into such a monster?
Is he really the same Makoto who was beaten to a pulp by me?!
Meanwhile, Makoto in the distance did not notice Chika's unease.
Looking at the beautiful mature woman's vigilant expression, Makoto chuckled softly.
"Not going to guess?"
"Then I'll take the initiative."
The moment these words were spoken, Louise's body suddenly tensed, and she forcefully swung her left hand forward.
"Erase him!!"
That slender, white, and delicate hand merely swept forward, and the ground in front of the beautiful woman seemed to be finely scraped by an invisible giant hand. The surface several meters deep dissipated, and the area tens of meters ahead was scraped into a huge concave arc, even erasing the shadow of Makoto standing there.
However, the 'existences' that Louise could sense did not decrease at all.
"You can't see me."
[Fixing Falsehood]
Makoto's voice suddenly sounded beside the mature woman's ear.
Louise, with her body tense, swung her light sword behind her but completely missed.
But behind her, a bright blade arced through, easily cutting into her back, leaving a long and bloody gash from which a large amount of blood gushed out.
"Erase!"
Louise's voice had just fallen.
The wound and the torn clothes restored to their original state together.
However, her expression showed no sign of relief.
Couldn't find him.
Completely unable to find where he was.
Only his voice lingered persistently by her ear like a haunting specter.
"Those who rely on rules will eventually be backlashed by the rules."
"Look."
"As long as I see through your 'rules.'"
"In reality, you are not that strong."
Makoto's voice was leisurely, each sentence coming from behind Louise.
The pure white beautiful woman kept swinging her left hand towards the direction of the voice, causing large areas of soil to disappear, but it was of no use.
"Obstruct, disrupt, shield."
"Even just being faster than the speed at which you shift your vision."
"As long as the ability is suitable, there are countless ways to deal with you."
"But..."
Makoto's voice suddenly paused briefly.
Louise seemed to sense something, a chill running down her neck.
The stunning woman, entirely in white, suddenly widened her eyes and twisted her entire body to one side.
Swish!
The wind howled fiercely, the blade light was chillingly cold.
After the moon-like arc passed.
Makoto's figure reappeared in Louise's white eyes.
In his hand, he was holding a slender right arm.
The blade was stained with blood.
On Louise's beautiful face, there was still not much expression; she merely pressed her left hand on the severed part of her right shoulder, looking gravely at the Shinigami standing in the distance.
"...Then it would be meaningless."
"Captain Obana's life isn't that easy to take."
Makoto turned around, meeting her white eyes for the first time.
His pupils seemed to be burning with fierce fire, but his voice was as cold and low as usual.
"Get up!"
"Let me see who the real trash is."
---
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[Tensura: The Multiverse Planeswalker]
Reincarnating into a fantasy world is truly extraordinary, especially one set in a universe of Heroes and Demon Lords; a perfect recipe for an exhilarating and incredible adventure.
That's what Damien is experiencing right now, reincarnating into the Tensuraverse.
But the first thing that crossed his mind after reincarnating wasn't whether he was part of the grand battle between Hero and Demon Lord, but whether he had reincarnated as one of the weakest creatures in the entire world… a Slime?
Fortunately, he didn't suffer such an unfortunate fate. But as the saying goes, if you're too lucky for no reason, misfortune will be the price you pay. Although he didn't reincarnate as a slime, he reincarnated as a Hybrid Majin-Human instead.
To make matters worse, he was reincarnated in a region that follows the anti-monster doctrine of a certain Demon Lord's church, a perfect setup for discrimination and ostracism against him.
But luckily, it seems the Voice of the World took pity on him for enduring such a fate and granted him [Planeswalker].
A Unique Skill that allows him to freely explore other worlds.
Incredible, right?
But that's not all. In addition to this skill, he was given a skill that makes him stronger with every powerful familiar he possesses.
No doubt about it, with these two skills, his future is bright…
Servants, Pokémon, Majin, Beasts, and all the powerful fictional characters he once admired… it seems that building his own kingdom composed entirely of his familiars is the surefire path to becoming the strongest!
[Tensura] [Pokémon] [Nasuverse] [Konosuba] [Highschool DxD] [Kumo desu ga Nani ka?] [Soul Land] [Dungeon Fighter Online] [No Game No Life] [Mondaiji-tachi]... and others.