CH 98: LIMITLESS (2)

Huff! Huff! Huff!

*Drip* *Drip*

In the tunnel of Dangai, a rough and laborious breath sounded while droplets of sweat hit the ground.

'How long has it been now?'

Kneeling powerlessly on the ground, her arms still connected to the surging flow thanks to the special string that transferred her energy, Soi Fon raised her head with difficulty to observe Gojo, but even that proved to be impossible since her vision was so blurry.

Nearly two months. For nearly two months, Soi Fon had stayed in the same position without moving, eating, or sleeping.

More than anything, her reserves of energy were constantly lowering.

To say that she was currently feeling awful would be an understatement. The feeling of slowly weakening was not one she could appreciate. In a way, it was a form of torture all on its own.

Thankfully, even though she had close to no Reiryoku left, she could still somehow manage the situation. But with each second trickled by, she could feel herself getting even weaker.

'Sigh, I am really too headstrong.'

She could have let go at any moment, but her pride and mostly the fact that Yoruichi was close to her made her reject such an idea.

She didn't want to appear lame in front of her idol. Soi Fon wanted to show Yoruichi that she had grown far stronger during those few decades and had perhaps even reached her level.

'Yes. I worked hard. I even developed my own special techniques. If I train for twenty or thirty more years and perfect this skill, I am sure that I will surpass her.'

In the tunnel, even though there were three women, none of them spoke with each other.

For Nemu, she may have begun expressing her desire and emotions, but this was only in front of Gojo. In front of the other people, she was still silent and somewhat gloomy.

All she was doing was sitting and observing Gojo in silence. Her eyes, hardly blinking at all.

'Waoh. Creepy. I guess she is really related to Mayuri.'

Yoruichi, who had just finished a set of exercises, thought as she took a look at Nemu.

Like Soi Fon, Yoruichi had been trained in how to stay still in ambush for days if not months, just to kill that one target. So, even though she had a lively personality, the present situation wasn't really a problem for her.

Since Gojo was using the feature of Dangai to obtain some kind of power-up, Yoruichi decided to do the same.

Though, in her case, it was more a kind of rehabilitation. As she warmed herself up in the hope of slowly regaining her old reflexes.

Even though the results had been average, she was still a little stronger than she had been when she entered Dangai at first so it was good enough in her book.

After all, the best way of training for a shinigami, in Yoruichi's opinion, was direct combat.

Only during combat would one use everything they learned and apply them to the real solution.

The proof was that even the act of reaching Shikai and Bankai required a fight between the shinigami and the sword spirit.

Of course, while training, she also observed Soi Fon's state regularly and was ready to stop her at any moment.

The main reason as to why Soi Fon was in such a state was because she was losing her Reiryoku, her source of energy.

Shinigamis were complicated beings.

Weak souls did not require sustenance. Their Reiryoku was so weak that it might as well be nonexistent. But when they reached a certain level, they needed to eat in order to maintain their existence.

Meanwhile, once they surpassed a certain level of Reiryoku, mainly around vice-captain level, eating became more a habit than a necessity.

Once she made sure that Soi Fon wasn't past the critical point, she turned her attention to the cause of all this.

'What a monster.'

Every time she looked at him, she couldn't help but think so.

Two months. It had been barely two months.

For a shinigami, such a period was completely worthless. Not even enough to learn a low-level spell.

But during those two months, the changes that had occurred on Gojo were startling.

Firstly, it felt as if he had matured a few years. Even though he still had his boyish look, he looked more mature. Furthermore, his beautiful silver-white hair had also grown past his shoulders and nearly reached the end of his back.

But if the changes stopped there, she wouldn't be surprised.

'His power…'

Cold sweat formed on her back. If before she was sure that she had a fair chance in beating him, now she wasn't so sure.

Even now, standing in front of him, she had a hard time measuring his Reiatsu.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not understand how someone could have such a change and increase in power in such a short time. It was completely mind-blowing.

'I really wonder what he is doing.'

---

Back in his zanpakuto inner world, Gojo showed a wry smile as he watched the translucent second throne placed in the dark side of the inner world.

"As I thought, it still isn't complete."

Even though the fusion had reached a rather high level, it had already been stuck some time ago.

Still, he showed no disappointment on his face. After all, what he gained from this trip was more than worth it.

He knew that even if he stayed longer, it would be useless. After all, now that he had already taken the most important step, what he needed now were frames of reference.

Still...

"Kogo, you are really incredible."

"Heh, no need to state the obvious. I know I am the most awesome."

"Less than me, I am sure you wanted to add."

"*Snort* In your dreams."

The two bickered like this for a few moments. Gojo had long realized that only when he was talking with Kogo could he be said to be stress-free.

He caressed the head of the girl sitting on his lap with a giddy smile.

Even though he had found the correct path to completely regain limitless, and even had some gains already. What truly made him happy was what he had glimpsed. The full potential of Kogo could only be said to be frightening.

'Well, I guess next I will visit the valleys of screams.'

The valleys were not created naturally, so he doubted that they were part of the frames of reference he needed. But it wouldn't hurt to try.

Furthermore, if he could finish his mission on the way, it would allow him to test his new powers.

'Ha! I can't wait.'

Thinking so, he raised his index and a scarlet ball of energy formed above it before being snuffed out by him.

Grinning, he stood up and placed Kogo back on her throne.

"Time for me to wake up."

He didn't know how strong he had gotten, but he was sure now of one thing.

The Soul Society would be shaken.

(AN: Excited about Gojo power up? Well, I am. Had to think many times before choosing that and the possible road. In the end, we will see whether you guys will like it or not.)