[14] Interrupt

"Satō!!"

With a sidelong glance at the now-rigid Katori, Makoto made a split-second call, the best exit strategy for this moment, and roared with fury.

The sheer rage in his bellow painted the bruised, pig-faced man before him as some sworn enemy from a blood feud.

Righteous indignation thundered in his voice, "Unleashing Kidō in the library, demolishing the study, conspiring with outsiders, what's your game?!"

"Are you begging to be expelled from the Genji School?!"

As he spoke, buying precious seconds, Makoto slipped from his seat. His steps subtly sidestepped the killing aura radiating from Katori. With a click, he unlocked the Sekkiseki cuffs from his wrists, his cold stare fixed on Satō, seemingly offering a chance to explain.

In truth, his mind raced, Wait 'til these cuffs are off, I'll slaughter you.

No cushy expulsion for you.

"Move!"

"Don't let him ditch the Sekkiseki!"

To his shock, Satō, utterly devoid of honor, didn't give Makoto a moment to transform, barking orders instantly.

Makoto's eyes widened.

You bastard!

The second Satō's voice rang out, black-clad figures erupted from the shadows. Their custom riba knives stabbed forth with lethal precision, leaving no room for monologues.

The cuff still dangled from his left wrist as Makoto's fingers grazed his hilt, drawing steel.

Clang!

Firelight glinted off the blade as it carved a dazzling arc through the night, parrying the lead assassin's strike at a tight angle. Metal clashed, sparking a flurry of glints midair.

His left hand lashed out, the Sekkiseki cuff spinning free. The stone's reishi-nullifying heft met a blade with a sharp crack, and the chain coiled around it in a flash.

Makoto's pupils tracked left to right in the firelit dark. A kick sent one assailant flying as his left hand yanked, dragging the chain-wrapped fool, knife and all, into close quarters.

His right hand flipped the hilt upside-down, plunging it with a wet thunk into the man's neck.

He yanked it free.

Blood gushed, staining half his robes.

[Zanjutsu +2]

Before the kicked thug could rise, Makoto's form blinked out.

Shunpo.

He reappeared, blade piercing straight through the man's chest.

[Zanjutsu +1]

Two down in a heartbeat, no mercy spared.

As for the Sekkiseki?

Who said he couldn't kill while wearing it?

Yet the remaining assassins, cloaked in night, showed no flicker of grief for their fallen. Seizing the brief window of their comrades' deaths, they unleashed a synchronized Kidō barrage at Makoto.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"

"Hadō 31: Shakkahō!"

"Hadō 31: Shakkahō!"

"Hadō 31: Shakkahō!"

"Hadō 31..."

Six mid-tier Hadō spells, fully chanted for maximum devastation, coalesced into a menacing swell of reiatsu.

The blasts erupted, kicking up a storm of dust in their wake.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Another wave of ferocious firelight surged skyward.

For dozens of meters, the night drowned in smoke, the air around the study spiking ten degrees hotter. Scattered embers danced, illuminating Nobukazu's face, grimace twisted with a flicker of dread.

Years of lurking, all for naught.

To return to the Seireitei and dodge execution, he needed a win before fleeing.

Pity…

Whoosh!

A gust sliced through the swirling dust, carving a straight path.

Nobukazu's expression tightened.

"Watch out!"

The instant his warning rang, an assassin beside him jolted, something struck, snapping his head back at a blunt, perfect angle, nearly kissing his spine.

Nobukazu's pupils shrank.

What shattered the man's face was a pristine Sekkiseki cuff.

Simultaneously, a dark streak trailing smoke burst from the haze, arrowing toward Nobukazu.

Clang!

Without turning, he parried by sound alone, reflexes razor-sharp, deflecting the blow.

His eyes caught a battered scabbard tumbling through the firelit night.

"Where's he at?!"

Nobukazu whipped his head aside.

Then he saw, the Kidō casters lay sprawled, lifeless, without a whisper of awareness.

Makoto stood half-drenched in blood, face impassive.

Gripping his poorly maintained Zanpakuto, he stared at Nobukazu with icy detachment, like sizing up a corpse.

"Satō."

"You're from the Seireitei, huh?"

"I actually had high hopes for you."

Nobukazu, face swollen near double, nearly spat blood at the words.

Listen to yourself, does that sound human?!

But in a flash, he steadied.

Why waste breath on a dead man?

A twisted grin split his ugly mug, "Makoto."

"You think beating me a few times with Hakuda showed you my true strength?"

"You don't even get it!"

"…The gulf between you rabble and me, a noble of the Seireitei's million-year lineage!"

His voice rose, brash and shrill.

Nobukazu's glare turned frigid as he raised his blade, bellowing his Shikai release,

"Stalk them from the shadows! Fuku- "

Thud!

Before he could finish, Makoto's fist smashed into his nose with ruthless force.

A muffled crunch, Nobukazu flew back, tumbling into the ruins with a crash.

Makoto cracked his knuckles, sneering, "Did you think you're the only one who can interrupt a cast?"

"…kage!!"

But before Makoto could gloat, a scream, raw and near-hysterical, erupted from the debris.

So it's Fukukage, huh?

A blazing torrent of reiatsu pulsed outward, thick black mist billowing from the wreckage, forming a vivid pillar of spiritual force that pierced the sky.

Makoto's eyelids dipped, his Zanpakuto bouncing lightly in his grip as he gauged his angle.

Amid the ruins, Nobukazu clawed to his feet, gripping charred rubble. Blood streamed from his nose, shadows writhing unnaturally beneath him.

His grimace deepened into something feral.

"Makoto!"

The shout jolted Makoto's instincts, his body sensed it first, left foot sliding back a step.

Shink!

A thin, razor-sharp shadow stabbed up from where he'd stood, keen as a blade, slicing through the fabric at his chest.

Had he not retreated, his leg would've been severed clean off.

Then Nobukazu vanished, swallowed by the shadows.

Makoto's focus snapped to its peak.

Behind!

His body screamed before his mind caught up.

He pivoted, blade flashing.

Clang!

Steel met steel, a contest of strength.

In the firelight, Nobukazu's bloodshot eyes blazed, teeth grinding.

I'll tear you limb from limb!

His glare roared it loud and clear.

***

Bonus Chapter:

100 Power Stones = 1 BC

300 Power Stones = 2 BC

500 Power Stones = 3 BC

700 Power Stones = 4 BC

1000 Power Stones = 5 BC

***

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