"Not good!"
Seeing that Madarame was really preparing for Bankai in the 11th Team's martial arts field, Makoto Ito immediately borrowed 30% of the spiritual pressure from his body. In an instant, Makoto Ito's spiritual pressure surged, steadily stepping into the third-class spiritual power level, reaching that of a captain.
There was no way for ordinary people to interfere in such a fierce battle. If someone without captain-level spiritual pressure rashly attempted to intervene, they would easily be injured by accident.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, Makoto Ito flashed into the field, grabbing Madarame just as he was preparing for Bankai, forcefully interrupting the process. At the same time, he raised his right hand to block the one-handed sword strike from Kenpachi, who had yet to remove his blindfold.
Ayasegawa, who had been about to step forward and stop Madarame, widened his eyes in shock. Before he could even act, Makoto Ito had already taken control of the situation.
"Has Makoto Ito grown to this level?"
Of course, it wasn't just Ayasegawa who was shocked. No one would have expected that a newcomer who had only been in the team for three years could rise to the position of fourth seat. And now, he was displaying captain-level spiritual pressure.
Before today, Ayasegawa had never witnessed Makoto Ito's full power firsthand. He had been accompanying Madarame in training and hadn't seen Ito in action. But now, seeing Makoto Ito's spiritual pressure explode to a captain's level with his own eyes, he was beyond stunned.
"Ito, you're back?"
On the martial arts stage, Madarame and Kenpachi spoke in unison.
Makoto Ito's expression darkened. Clearly, these two had been so engrossed in their battle that they hadn't even noticed his presence, even though he had been watching from the sidelines for quite some time.
"Madarame, you're a captain now. Shouldn't you be more mindful of your surroundings?" Ito sighed. "Do you really think it's fine to unleash Bankai in the middle of the team's training hall?"
Makoto Ito helplessly turned to Kenpachi. "Captain, are you planning to demolish the martial arts field again? If so, you should at least apply for funds from Kuma Nakajiro next time!"
Faced with Makoto Ito's sudden reprimand, Madarame repeatedly apologized. "Sorry, sorry, I wasn't thinking about it."
"Tch." Kenpachi scoffed with a proud expression and turned his head, looking off into the distance.
"Well then!" Makoto Ito sighed and pulled out a small capsule from his robes with a pained expression. This was a barrier capsule he had purchased from Ajin, a teammate from the 12th Division and deputy director of the Technical Development Bureau. It could form a temporary barrier.
The barrier was weak against outside attacks and could be broken with a single punch. However, from the inside, even a captain-level combatant would find it difficult to shatter. The barrier would last for fifteen minutes.
Makoto Ito tossed the capsule into the center of the martial arts field. Instantly, a light blue barrier expanded, enclosing the entire field.
"Alright, you can fight now. You have fifteen minutes. Try not to break the barrier!" he announced. "Oh, and by the way—don't forget to reimburse me for the cost of this capsule!"
Makoto Ito knew that stopping them outright was impossible. If they didn't fight now, they wouldn't let it go. So he had come prepared, using the barrier capsule to minimize destruction. Not only would it prevent the 11th Division's buildings from being obliterated, but it would also isolate their spiritual pressure, keeping Madarame mastery of Bankai a secret.
After all, Madarame had always wished to die in battle against Kenpachi.
"Oh, you're surprisingly considerate!"
Seeing the barrier rise around the martial arts field, both Madarame and Kenpachi grinned in satisfaction.
Makoto Ito tactfully stepped to the edge of the barrier, preparing to observe the impending battle.
Outside the barrier, Ayasegawa and Kusaki Karaku stared at the closed-off battlefield.
"Damn it, Ito is so sneaky! Now we can't see the fight at all!"
In the field, Madarame once again pieced together the two halves of the Ghost Ding Pills. In an instant, an invisible hurricane erupted from the crack between them.
"Bankai—Dragon Pattern Ghost Lamp Pill!"
Madarame's spiritual pressure began to skyrocket, quickly reaching the level of a strong vice-captain. However, the surge did not stop there—it continued to climb, only stabilizing upon reaching the threshold of third-class spiritual power.
As the hurricane dissipated, Madarame stood revealed in his Bankai form.
He wielded a massive axe in each hand, with an even larger axe strapped to his back. A dragon-shaped groove was carved into the weapon's surface. The three enormous axes were connected by heavy iron chains, with red tassels adorning the points where the handles met the blades.
"Damn, that's stylish!"
Even though Makoto Ito had read about this Bankai countless times in his past life, seeing it in person was a completely different experience. The Dragon Pattern Ghost Lamp Pill was indeed impressive—its sheer presence exuded power and authority.
However, despite its fearsome appearance, Makoto Ito couldn't help but recall that this was known as the weakest Bankai.
"How can this Bankai be so weak? This doesn't match up with what I remember from the early stories."
As he pondered, a realization struck him—perhaps Madarame had misunderstood the true nature of his Bankai. After all, before becoming the vice-captain of the Sixth Division, Renji Abarai had trained under the 11th Division, where sheer combat prowess was prioritized over finesse and technique.
If Renji had misunderstood his own Bankai at first, it was highly possible that Madarame had done the same. Fortunately, Renji had later studied in the Royal Guard's Soul King Palace and mastered his Bankai's true name during the Thousand-Year Blood War. Perhaps Madara's Corner had yet to reach that level of understanding.
"Hey, this is my Bankai! What do you think?"
Madarame looked eagerly at Kenpachi and Makoto Ito, clearly proud of his achievement.
"Tch, flashy," Kenpachi scoffed with clear disdain.
Makoto Ito, on the other hand, put on an expression of exaggerated amazement. "Senior Ikkaku, is this really your Bankai? It's incredible!"
As a junior, he had no choice—if a senior was fishing for praise, he had to deliver.
Madarame beamed at the reaction, clearly pleased. "Captain, underestimate me and you'll pay the price!"
He planted his two side axe on the ground ,Kenpachi, rather than attacking immediately, simply rested his blade on his shoulder and watched in boredom.
"What are you doing? Are you actually preparing Bankai or just showing off?" he yawned, rubbing his ear in disinterest.
As Madarame continued to rotate the Dragon Pattern Ghost Lamp Pill, the dragon motif on the central axe blade gradually filled with red spiritual energy. The more the weapon spun, the stronger his spiritual pressure became. After thirty seconds, the dragon-shaped groove was fully saturated with energy, signaling that his power had reached its peak.
However, Makoto Ito wasn't impressed.
"Is that it?"
Even at its peak, Madarame's spiritual pressure barely reached the lower end of third-class spiritual power—significantly weaker than Makoto Ito himself, who had only borrowed 30% of his total power.
Compared to the captain-level Hollow he had once slain in Hueco Mundo, Madarame was far inferior. Against Kenpachi? He didn't stand a chance.
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