This was the first time Fujimiya Makoto had seen Chōjirō Tōsen fight at full strength.
Golden lightning coiled around his slender frame like chains, flickering incessantly. His rapier-style Gonryōmaru shimmered with an ethereal glow, radiating a dense spiritual pressure from within.
He assumed a textbook fencing stance, his body taut as a drawn bow.
Then—
"Go!"
He shot forward like an arrow.
To Fujimiya Makoto and Shiba Yozuru, Chōjirō's figure was a blur of light dancing through the Hollow horde. The golden lightning around him traced jagged lines in the air as he moved.
And paving the path of this lightning were the shattered masks and corpses of countless Hollows.
His form was efficient and precise, his left hand tucked behind his back for stability. Even his spiritual pressure was compressed to its limits, every step and slash executed with flawless economy of motion—like a streak of light cutting through the dark tide.
He was too fast.
Only now did Fujimiya Makoto understand Chōjirō's earlier warning.
"Move!"
Seeing Shiba Yozuru still frozen, Fujimiya Makoto barked the order and immediately followed Chōjirō with Shunpo.
The three of them formed a wedge, with Chōjirō at the tip, carving a path through the Hollow swarm.
Straight toward the Genji Academy.
But the spatial rift spanning multiple districts—encompassing nearly all of West Rukongai's Districts 58 to 70—was simply too vast. In all his years overseeing the Dangai, Shiba Yozuru had never seen a Hollow disaster of this scale.
As for rescuing people? That was out of the question.
"Captain Chōjirō! Conserve your energy!" Shiba Yozuru suddenly called out, his eyes scanning the towering Reishi pillars still rooted in the earth. "We can't kill them all on our own!"
"We have to destroy those Reishi streams connecting to Hueco Mundo!"
"Otherwise, this will never end."
Chōjirō hesitated for a split second but immediately stopped attacking, focusing solely on clearing a path forward.
All three of them quickly grasped the logic.
Hollows were beings that could only survive by devouring spiritual bodies.
In Hueco Mundo, they were forced to endlessly battle one another, fighting for the meager scraps of sustenance, climbing mountains of corpses in their quest to become Menos.
To them, the Soul Society—where countless peaceful "Pluses" lived—was nothing short of paradise.
Weak, defenseless souls, living carefree lives under the sun, enjoying food and water.
To Hollows, these were nothing but an all-you-can-eat buffet.
With the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo now connected on such a massive scale, no matter how many they killed, more would keep pouring in.
So the priority was to sever the connection.
Fujimiya Makoto turned to Shiba Yozuru with sudden hope: "Lord Shiba, do you know how to destroy those things?"
Shiba Yozuru froze, staring at the towering Reishi streams with a blank expression before awkwardly admitting:
"I… I'm not sure."
Fujimiya Makoto's face fell for a moment before he suddenly remembered something. He quickly pulled out a black case from his robes—the "Wireless Spirit Terminal" Kirio Hikifune had given him some time ago.
It didn't matter if Shiba Yozuru didn't know.
As long as someone did.
Fujimiya Makoto opened the case, retrieving an earpiece-shaped communicator and fitting it to his ear, channeling a trickle of Reishi into it.
The device crackled with static for a moment before connecting to its sole recipient.
"Hello? Hikifune?"
"Can you hear me?"
He shouted, worried the cheap microphone might not pick up his voice clearly.
Then, Kirio Hikifune's signature monotone voice came through—laced with her usual sharp-tongued irritation:
"Do you need me to install a new vocal cord for you? If yours isn't working, just cut it out and replace it."
Hearing her voice, Fujimiya Makoto exhaled in relief: "How's the situation there? Is Kirio-chan alright?"
"Makoto-nii! I'm fine!" Kirio Hikifune's energetic voice chimed in from the other end.
Followed by a loud thunk—the sound of a head being smacked.
Kirio Hikifune quickly summarized the situation: "A massive Reishi reaction erupted near the Genji Academy's main hall. I dragged the brat along with me."
"But it seems Genryūsai was either swallowed by a spatial rift or sealed away."
"For now, Unohana is holding things together at the academy."
"Where are you?"
Again with this? Fujimiya Makoto thought.
He was starting to notice a pattern.
In every major battle, Yamamoto—who should've been the main force—always seemed to be the first one taken out.
"We're in West District 60, heading toward the Genji Academy," Fujimiya Makoto replied, keeping it brief. "Lord Shiba is with us. He thinks we need to destroy the Reishi streams to cut off the spatial connection."
"Any ideas on your end?"
"Do you even need to ask—" Kirio Hikifune started to retort before suddenly latching onto a key detail. "Wait, who did you say is with you?"
"Shiba Yozuru!"
"Get him back here immediately! Full speed!"
Her voice sharpened with urgency, as if she'd stumbled upon a critical piece of intel.
"Huh?" Fujimiya Makoto blinked. "But Shiba said he doesn't know how to—"
"He doesn't need to!" Kirio Hikifune cut in. "The Shiba clan's knowledge of the Dangai is exactly what our Research and Development team is missing. Just bring him back, and we can shut the gates from the Dangai."
"Got it!"
Finally understanding, Fujimiya Makoto turned to find Chōjirō and Shiba Yozuru already pressed against his earpiece, listening intently.
"Shut it from the Dangai?"
"I see."
The idea caught Shiba Yozuru off guard, but it made perfect sense.
After all, the Dangai was the only path connecting the three worlds.
Even if Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society were now undergoing a "Conjunction of Spheres," it merely compressed the Dangai's pathways to an extreme degree.
Sever those pathways, and no matter how ravenous the Hollows were, they couldn't just fly over from Hueco Mundo.
Kirio Hikifune's voice crackled through the earpiece again: "Just hurry up!"
"According to intel, nearly ten percent of the Genryū's territory has already been overrun! Civilians and Shinigami are fleeing inward—if we don't act fast, we'll be completely surrounded!"
"This really is bad," Fujimiya Makoto muttered, exchanging glances with the other two.
Then, almost as an afterthought, Kirio Hikifune added:
"Oh, and…"
"Don't die."
Fujimiya Makoto paused before replying softly:
"Yeah."
The line went dead.
She really is all bark and no bite.
Fujimiya Makoto and Chōjirō both turned to Shiba Yozuru.
The newly minted traitor of the Seireitei nodded firmly:
"I know what to do now."
Chōjirō gave a curt nod. "Then from here on, Makoto and I will take turns clearing the path while recovering our energy."
"Our top priority is getting Lord Shiba to the Genji Academy."
"At any cost."
At this point, Chōjirō had no room left to dwell on Fujimiya Makoto's "genius" status.
Hadn't they just heard?
Even Genryūsai had been banished to the Dangai. He wouldn't die, but whether he could return was another matter.
Right now, combat readiness and strategic value were all that mattered.
A genius who died before reaching their potential was nothing more than a fleeting regret.
Fujimiya Makoto understood this too, nodding in agreement:
"Understood."
Chōjirō turned to lead the way.
But the moment he stepped forward, a Cero arrow shot from the side, piercing through his body with a thunk and slamming him into a distant cliff.
BOOM—
The explosion's roar reached their ears a second later.
Fujimiya Makoto and Shiba Yozuru stiffened.
Then, from the forest, a chameleon-like Adjuchas emerged from its camouflage, its maw stretching wide in a grotesque grin as it hissed:
"...One down."