At this moment, Makoto's chest wound, so severe it had nearly obliterated half his torso, was still in the process of healing. Yet, a gaping, horrifying injury remained.
And it was at this very moment that an icy, wrathful voice rang out, accompanied by a flash of white light slicing through the air.
"Kill him! Shinsō!"
In an instant, the white gleam collided violently with the descending limb of the Adjuchas.
"Clang!"
The shrill sound exploded in front of Makoto, shattering his dazed consciousness and snapping him back to reality. The impact was barely enough to deflect the Adjuchas' descending limb, which narrowly missed Makoto's head, grazing past it with a hair's breadth.
The Adjuchas shifted its gaze, locking onto the source of the retreating white light—none other than Gin Ichimaru. Pale-faced and weak, Gin knelt on the ground, his body trembling with exhaustion.
However, the Adjuchas twisted its grotesque, backward-turning head and ignoring Gin entirely. Its focus returned to the hateful Shinigami in front of it.
That stab—it must be repaid in full!
Without hesitation, the Adjuchas raised its segmented, bony tail high, aiming once again at Makoto. Through the exposed, gaping wound in his chest, his heart could faintly be seen, beginning to stir and beat anew.
Thump, thump, thump...
As the needle-like tail descended, the flow of blood sparked a flicker of focus in Makoto's nearly dull eyes.
"Die..."
The Adjuchas' strange, horrifying compound voice screeched, filled with humiliation and rage, laced with a rare sense of delight.
But then—
"Boom!"
The tail, which had easily shattered the Shikai-formed knight's spear of the Tenth Division's third seat and skewered him like a string of candied fruits, suddenly stopped mid-strike!
A massive impact reverberated. Smoke billowed into the air, only to dissipate rapidly...
Through the clearing haze, the Adjuchas' crimson-glowing eyes is filled with disbelief as it saw Makoto casually block its tail with a single fingertip.
The scene was absurd—like watching an ant raise its feeble antenna to hold back a colossal warhammer.
Impossible!
How could this be?
Makoto's finger slowly clamped down, causing a dense web of cracks to spread across the tail's bony exterior. A raspy, hoarse voice emerged, as though thick with blood that had yet to be fully expelled.
"Your greatest mistake was failing to land that Cero on my head..."
Hanging on the edge of life and death, Makoto had nearly been lost to oblivion.
The near-death experience ignited an uncontrollable fury within him. His gaze bore into the Adjuchas with raw, thick and uncontrollable killing intent for the first time.
Despite this, Makoto remained wary. He suspected that Aizen Sōsuke's subordinates—or perhaps Aizen himself—might be lurking nearby. Any full-fledged battle risked revealing the hidden ability of his Zanpakutō.
But now, having grasped the true essence of Shinro Bansho, exposing a fraction of its apparent wood-based offensive and defensive powers seemed insignificant.
Besides, given his current dire state, holding back was no longer an option.
And so
It was not only to vent the primal rage surging within but also to deter Aizen or his subordinates, preventing them from covertly making another move against him at this moment.
KILL!!!
Just as Makoto's thoughts stirred and wooden tendrils began to sprout again from the spreading grassland, a white figure streaked across like an afterimage, appearing right before him.
The flowing captain's haori, the familiar silhouette, the delicate, breathtakingly beautiful features...
Unohana Retsu!!!
However, unlike her usual gentle and intellectual demeanor, Unohana's expression was devoid of any emotion. Her slightly open eyes radiated a chilling indifference that froze the heart.
"Crack."
In the next instant, before Makoto could even see Unohana's movements, the bone-like tail that seemed to constantly threaten his life was already snapped in two.
"Ah!!!"
The immense pain made the Adjuchas, still struggling to grasp the situation with its limited intelligence, let out a shriek.
Meanwhile, Makoto's expression shifted in an instant. Adopting a pitiful, post-catastrophe look, with eyes slightly misty, he gazed at Unohana. In a voice tinged with a sob and urgency, he cried out:
"Teacher, run! This is an Adjuchas-class Menos. Quickly contact a combat-specialist captain—I'll hold it off…"
Hearing this, Gin, who stood observing from a distance, was momentarily stunned, unable to discern whether this man was utterly shameless or just possessed an innocent, genuine heart.
However, Unohana, who had rushed over, felt her heart inexplicably tremble upon hearing those words. A strange feeling began to sprout within her.
She then turned to look at Makoto, her frosty expression involuntarily softening.
His spiritual pressure was so faint it resembled that of a dying man. Half his body was drenched in blood, his tattered clothing revealing a grotesquely large wound. And yet, his pitiful yet resolute expression—seemingly determined to protect her despite his condition—unconsciously softened Unohana's gaze.
Despite being like this, his first thought is to protect me?
In over a millennium, this was the first time anyone had ever so recklessly tried to protect her. What's more, it was a disciple, gravely injured and teetering on the edge of life and death, who staked his life to do so…
"Idiot. If you don't want to die, stop moving."
Unohana reprimanded coldly, though her hands glowed with the healing light of Kaidō as she enveloped Makoto.
"Ah~"
Senju Makoto couldn't help but let out a soft groan.
It felt so soothing…
As expected of Teacher Unohana's personal healing. Even though Makoto had already used his Shinro Banshō ability to repair most of his injuries, there was something undeniably enjoyable about being bathed in Unohana's warm, healing energy without having to exert himself.
The injuries... are severe. The attack almost struck his heart. Massive blood loss... multiple internal organs damaged to varying degrees...
Unohana quickly assessed the critical state of his injuries, realizing that further comprehensive treatment was needed.
"Teacher…"
However, Makoto, now fully aware of the situation, weakly grasped Unohana's wrist, using every ounce of strength to frantically earn her goodwill.
"Teacher, that Adjuchas' Cero is terrifying. You should leave immediately!"
"There might even be more Hollows lurking around here. It's too dangerous for you to stay!!"
"In truth, I've always disliked you the most. I've secretly insulted you in my heart countless times—I'm a sinner beyond redemption. Please, don't bother with me, Teacher…"
*(TL/N - Bro is outright shameless💀)
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