"Whoosh!"
Soi Fon, as expected of the Onmitsukidō Commander-in-Chief, had Shunpo speed far exceeding Ito Makoto's.
With a direct Shunpo, she flashed in front of him, drawing the small Asauchi from her waist and thrusting it towards Ito Makoto's face; Ito Makoto, not to be outdone, raised his sword to meet the attack.
In this battle, Ito Makoto did not borrow Reiatsu from his main body; he wanted to fight Soi Fon with his own hard-earned strength.
Previously, during the battle with Zaraki Kenpachi, he had constantly used Reiatsu sharing to borrow Reiatsu from his main body because the gap between him and Zaraki Kenpachi was too vast, making it impossible to fight without it.
Now, engaging in combat with an opponent like Soi Fon was an excellent opportunity to hone his Shunpo, a very rare chance, so Ito Makoto naturally wouldn't want to borrow his main body's Reiatsu to fight Soi Fon.
"Clang!"
Ito Makoto directly parried Soi Fon's strike, and sparks flew as their blades met.
"What, aren't you going to release that strange barrier of yours yet? Are you still trying to hold back against me?"
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
One could only say that Soi Fon was indeed Soi Fon; relying solely on Ito Makoto's strength, without borrowing Reiatsu from his main body, it was indeed very difficult to fight. Just these few Zanjutsu moves had him scrambling.
Suddenly, Soi Fon's figure flickered, and with a Shunpo, she disappeared from her spot.
"Pfft!"
No sooner said than done, Soi Fon instantly appeared behind him, slashing her sword, and trickles of blood seeped from his back, soaking his soul reaper uniform.
"You're really persistent, Squad Captain Soi Fon!"
Feeling the sharp pain from his back, Ito Makoto couldn't help but gasp.
"Is this Soi Fon, personally taught by Yoruichi the Shunshin!"
Soi Fon might not rank high among the Thirteenth Division Squad Captains, but her Shunpo was absolutely one of the best, with the exception of Old Man Yamamoto, of course.
Even Ito Makoto's Shunpo, with the Reiatsu boost from three-tenths of his main body, was still a notch weaker than Soi Fon's, let alone his current state.
Feeling Soi Fon, who was almost a blur around him, Ito Makoto directly swung the Asauchi in his hand:
"Chīmèi Sēnlúo, Wǎngliǎng Wànxiàng, Zhūshén Zhòngshèng, Jiē Huà Chéntǔ, Soumetsu!"
"Soumetsu First Form—Tremor!"
Ito Makoto lightly twisted the sword hilt, and an invisible tremor force emanated from the blade. Soi Fon, who was initially moving around Ito Makoto, was caught off guard by this tremor force and immediately felt as if her internal organs were being kneaded by a large hand.
"Ah!"
Soi Fon's pure white Reiatsu burst forth, expelling most of this uncomfortable tremor sensation!
"As expected!"
Seeing this, Ito Makoto's mouth couldn't help but twitch. This move of his seemed quite useless against enemies with higher Reiatsu than him; it was a definite "abusing weaklings" skill. Without the aid of his main body's Reiatsu, it was difficult to pose a significant threat to Soi Fon, who possessed Third Class Reiatsu.
"Hmph! Is that all your Zanpakuto can do? Where's that barrier from before? Use it!"
Facing Soi Fon's taunt, Ito Makoto merely smiled faintly:
"Squad Captain Soi Fon is truly impressive; this Shunpo has really pushed me to my limits!"
"The even more amazing stuff is yet to come; just prepare to repent for your foul mouth!"
"Sting all enemies to death! Suzumebachi!"
As Soi Fon uttered the release command, the Asauchi in her hand instantly transformed into a sharp, cone-shaped dart affixed to the middle finger of her right hand. Its tail was black, while its tip and stinger were pure gold.
"Is this Squad Captain Soi Fon's Shikai? It's as small and cute as you are!"
Ito Makoto commented on Suzumebachi with great interest.
Upon hearing Ito Makoto's words, Soi Fon gritted her teeth in anger, flashing forward to Ito Makoto's proximity and directly thrusting at his chest.
Just as the middle finger of her right hand was about to make contact with Ito Makoto.
"Whoosh"
Ito Makoto used Shunpo to create distance, narrowly dodging the attack!
Seeing this, an expression of astonishment appeared on Soi Fon's face.
"You're imitating my movements?"
She actually discovered that Ito Makoto was secretly learning her Shunpo during their battle.
From being completely unable to keep up with her rhythm at first, in this short period of time, he had already learned about three or four tenths of it.
"Are you… using me as a sparring partner?"
Soi Fon first marveled at Ito Makoto's incredible talent, then felt a bit annoyed, and instantly, a white light flashed around her as Shunko activated!
Soi Fon's speed greatly increased, and she advanced at an extremely fast pace towards Ito Makoto, directly touching his chest with Suzumebachi.
Immediately, a flash of light passed, and a black butterfly pattern appeared on Ito Makoto's chest.
"Hmph!"
Seeing her attack succeed, Soi Fon let out a rather proud hmph.
Ito Makoto, to cooperate with her, could only feign surprise as he looked at the bee-crest flower on his chest.
But inwardly, he felt a wave of disdain:
"Is this the Two-Hit Kill Suzumebachi that was completely crushed by Aizen's Reiatsu?"
"My Zanpakuto is called Suzumebachi. Its special ability is Two-Hit Kill; as long as it stings the same spot twice, you'll die!"
"Ito Fourth Seat, don't wet your pants in fear!"
Soi Fon looked at Ito Makoto's somewhat disheveled posture and spoke proudly.
"What, Squad Captain Soi Fon, do you want to help me wash my underwear?"
Upon hearing this, Soi Fon's veins on her forehead throbbed with anger:
"How did a person of such poor character pass the Spiritual Arts Academy's screening? Do they only value talent and not character?"
Facing Soi Fon's fury, Ito Makoto merely spoke calmly:
"Yes, you're right!"
Seeing Ito Makoto acting like an unyielding rogue, Soi Fon knew she couldn't out-argue him. So she stopped trying to win with words and instead, her expression turned cold as she attacked with full force.
Soi Fon's body once again lit up with Shunko's white light, and then her figure flickered, attacking Ito Makoto again.
"So, at this time, her Shunko had not yet been mastered to her will!"
Ito Makoto, however, noticed that Soi Fon's Shunko duration was very short each time, lasting less than a second before she had to reactivate it.
After understanding this point, Ito Makoto immediately used successive Shunpo steps, meeting Soi Fon's attack and engaging her in a fierce battle.
"Clang!"
After exchanging a blow, both retreated backward.
"As expected, the Shunko effect disappeared. Now's the time!"
"Soumetsu Secret Art—Four Directions Realm!"
Ito Makoto swung Soumetsu in his hand, and a grey-black barrier instantly formed, enveloping both Ito Makoto and Soi Fon, as well as the surrounding ten-meter radius.
The moment she was enveloped by the barrier, Soi Fon felt her speed and strength being restricted.
"Unfortunately, with my strong Vice-Captain level Reiatsu, I can only weaken her speed by at most one-tenth!"
Ito Makoto felt the feedback from the barrier and was somewhat helpless about it.
"Indeed, Shinigami battles are all about Reiatsu."
"Tremor!"
Under the enhancement of the Four Directions Realm, the power of Tremor doubled. Even though Soi Fon, with her Squad Captain-level Reiatsu, negated most of the effect, it still made her feel very uncomfortable.
"Shunko!"
What Ito Makoto didn't expect was that Soi Fon's body once again lit up with white light, and that dense Kido aura once again enveloped her!
Soi Fon actually endured the tremor force and the weakening effect of the Four Directions Realm, activating Shunko again!
Ito Makoto glanced at the Suzumebachi that instantly pressed against his neck, then looked at Soi Fon's delicate face, his voice carrying a hint of surprise.
"According to my calculations, the interval between your Shunko activations should be at least ten seconds, yet this time, it's been less than four seconds, and you've activated it again! Your speed is even faster than before!"
"You're truly impressive, Squad Captain Soi Fon. Were you intentionally holding back earlier to mislead me?"
"Hmph, if you, Ito Fourth Seat, can secretly learn my movements during battle, why can't my Shunko achieve a breakthrough during combat?"
Soi Fon said with a proud expression.
At the same time, she lowered the Suzumebachi from Ito Makoto's neck. She hadn't expected that her Shunko, which she had struggled to master, would achieve such a significant breakthrough during her entanglement with Ito Makoto.
Thinking of this, when she looked at Ito Makoto's face again, it didn't seem so detestable anymore.
Ito Makoto stood in place, savoring the recent battle.
"Indeed, if I don't borrow Reiatsu from my main body, I currently cannot defeat Soi Fon."
"No, perhaps even with Reiatsu, I might not win!"
After all, Ito Makoto had not yet mastered Bankai at this moment.
"This little girl is quite strong!"
Ito Makoto stretched, looked at the somewhat excited Soi Fon in front of him, and slowly spoke:
"Squad Captain Soi Fon, it seems both of us have gained quite a bit from our battle. I look forward to our next spar!"
Soi Fon didn't reply, turning around and walking away without a word.
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