"No!"
Seeing Madarame Ikkaku so brazenly prepare to use Bankai on the Eleventh Division's Training Grounds, Ito Makoto immediately borrowed thirty percent of his Reiatsu from his main body.
In an instant, Ito Makoto's Reiatsu firmly stepped into Third Class Reiatsu, reaching Squad Captain level.
There was nothing he could do; the two were fighting fiercely. If he rashly went to stop them without Squad Captain-level Reiatsu, he could easily be caught in the crossfire.
"Whoosh!"
Faster than words could describe, Ito Makoto directly used Shunpo to enter the field, grabbing Madarame Ikkaku, who was about to use Bankai, and forcibly interrupting his Bankai.
At the same time, facing Kenpachi's one-handed sword while he still had his eye patch on, Ito Makoto also drew his sword with his right hand, blocking the attack.
Ayasegawa Yumichika, who was about to step forward to stop Madarame Ikkaku from below the field, instantly widened his eyes, surprised that before he could act, Ito Makoto had already stopped Ikkaku's movement.
"Has little Ito Makoto grown to this extent?"
Of course, this wasn't surprising to Yumichika. Who would have thought that a newcomer who had only joined the Squad for three years, becoming a Fourth Seat upon joining, would now burst out with Squad Captain-level Reiatsu?
He hadn't witnessed the previous battle between Ito Makoto and Kenpachi because he was accompanying Ikkaku in training. Now, seeing Ito Makoto unleash Squad Captain-level Reiatsu with his own eyes, he was naturally beyond shocked.
"Ito, you're back?"
On the Training Grounds, Madarame Ikkaku and Kenpachi said in unison.
Ito Makoto's face immediately darkened. It was clear that the two had been too engrossed in their fight to notice Ito Makoto, who had been watching from below for a long time.
"Ikkaku-senpai, and Captain, when you two fight, can you at least pay attention to your surroundings?"
"Are you really planning to use Bankai so brazenly within the Squad's quarters?"
Ito Makoto looked at Madarame Ikkaku helplessly and began to complain.
Then he turned his head to look at Kenpachi:
"Captain, are you going to demolish the Training Grounds again? If so, next time you'll have to go to Chōjirō Sasakibe yourself to apply for funds!"
Facing Ito Makoto's sudden reprimand, Madarame Ikkaku repeatedly apologized:
"Sorry, sorry, little Ito, it was my oversight."
"Tch."
Kenpachi, on the other hand, just scoffed arrogantly, then turned his head to look into the distance.
"Sigh!"
Ito Makoto painfully pulled out a small pull-tab can from his pocket. This was a barrier capsule he had bought from Akon, a Squad Member of the Twelfth Division and Vice-Director of the Technological Development Bureau.
It could form a simple barrier that could be broken from the outside with a poke, but breaking it from the inside, even for a Squad Captain-level existence, would require a lot of effort. However, this barrier could only last for fifteen minutes.
Ito Makoto threw the pull-tab can onto the center of the Training Grounds. A light blue barrier instantly enveloped the entire Training Grounds, centered around it.
"You can start fighting now. You have fifteen minutes. Be careful not to break the barrier!"
"Oh, and remember to reimburse me for the cost of this capsule from the Squad funds!"
Ito Makoto knew that if he didn't let them fight today, they wouldn't give up, so he had no choice but to take out the barrier capsule he had prepared earlier. Firstly, it would prevent them from damaging the Eleventh Division's internal buildings if their battle became too intense.
Secondly, this barrier would block their Reiatsu, preventing the outside world from discovering that Madarame Ikkaku had mastered Bankai, as his wish had always been to die in battle under Kenpachi!
"Yo, you little brat, you've thought this through quite thoroughly!"
Seeing the barrier rise in the center of the Training Grounds, Madarame Ikkaku and Kenpachi laughed heartily at the same time. Ito Makoto, knowing his place, retreated to the edge of the barrier, watching the impending battle.
Outside the barrier, Ayasegawa Yumichika and Kusajishi Yachiru looked at each other, staring at the battleground sealed by the barrier.
"Sigh, little Ito is so cunning. Now we can't see the battle at all!"
...
In the center of the field, Madarame Ikkaku reassembled Hozukimaru, which had been broken into two pieces. In an instant, an invisible hurricane erupted from Hozukimaru's cracks.
"Bankai — Dragon Crest Hozukimaru!"
Madarame Ikkaku's Reiatsu began to surge dramatically, starting from the Vice-Captain level and strengthening. Before long, it reached Ito Makoto's strong Vice-Captain level. However, this process did not end; it continued to strengthen until it touched the threshold of Third Class Reiatsu before stopping.
The hurricane dissipated, revealing Madarame Ikkaku and his Bankai form.
Madarame Ikkaku held a massive axe in each hand, and on his back was an even larger axe with a dragon-shaped groove carved into it. The three massive axes were linked together by chains, and the connection points between the axes and the handles were covered with red tassels.
"Holy cow, that's cool!"
Although Ito Makoto had seen Dragon Crest Hozukimaru many times in the original work in his previous life, it was still not as shocking as seeing it live.
He had to admit that Dragon Crest Hozukimaru was indeed somewhat lacking, but it was truly cool!
Ito Makoto observed Dragon Crest Hozukimaru, which was known as the weakest Bankai, with great interest.
"How can this Bankai be so weak? Is this an incomplete Bankai, just like Renji's was at first?"
After a moment's thought, Ito Makoto felt that this possibility was very high. After all, Renji had been taught by Ikkaku in the Eleventh Division before becoming the Sixth Division Vice-Captain.
It was very possible that Ikkaku's path to comprehending Bankai was inherently flawed, and he ended up leading Renji astray as well. Fortunately, in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, Renji underwent further training in the Soul King Palace and only then mastered the true name of his Bankai.
"Heh, this is my Bankai, what do you think?"
"Captain, and little Ito?"
On the field, Madarame Ikkaku excitedly showed off his newly mastered Bankai to Kenpachi and Ito Makoto.
"Tch, how flashy!"
Kenpachi scoffed disdainfully.
Ito Makoto, on the other hand, feigned surprise and said:
"Is this Ikkaku-senpai's Bankai? That's amazing!"
There was nothing he could do. As a junior, if a senior wanted emotional value, he had to provide it sufficiently.
Madarame Ikkaku seemed very satisfied with Ito Makoto's reaction and laughed excitedly:
"Captain, underestimating me will cost you!"
He then lowered the two axe blades, gripped the axe blade on his back, and began to spin. Kenpachi, on the other hand, did not attack, merely waited, leaning on his sword.
While waiting, he boredly picked his ear:
"What's the hold-up? Are you ready with that Bankai of yours?"
As Dragon Crest Hozukimaru spun continuously in Madarame Ikkaku's hands, red Reiatsu slowly began to flow into the dragon carved on the central axe blade.
As the dragon crest filled up, Madarame Ikkaku's Reiatsu began to rise again. It wasn't until thirty seconds later that the dragon-shaped groove was completely filled with red Reiatsu.
The moment the dragon-shaped groove was filled, Madarame Ikkaku's Reiatsu also reached its peak.
However, Ito Makoto observed that his Reiatsu, even at its peak, only stabilized at the Third Class Reiatsu level, still weaker than Ito Makoto after he borrowed thirty percent of his Reiatsu from his main body.
"That's all it is after the Reiatsu is fully charged?"
Feeling Madarame Ikkaku's Reiatsu, Ito Makoto secretly calculated and found that Madarame Ikkaku at this moment was even far weaker than the expeditionary Squad Captain killed by his main body in Hueco Mundo, let alone Kenpachi!
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