Bleach: The Path to Transcendence

Ito Makoto raised his eyes and saw that the diminutive Nikujiki-sho, previously clad in a green cloak, had completely changed his appearance. Before him stood a tall figure, his entire body enveloped in a thick, scarlet blood, like a demon god emerging from the depths of a sea of blood. Perhaps, calling him "Kaisai" (All-Consuming) at this moment would be most appropriate.

"Pfft!"

With a muffled sound, Ito Makoto looked incredulously at his shoulder, blood gushing out like a burst dam, instantly staining his clothes red.

"When..."

Ito Makoto muttered to himself, realizing with horror that Kaisai, after activating Bankai, had experienced a terrifying increase in both sword speed and power, completely different from before. The fierce attacks were impossible to defend against.

"Hah!"

Kaisai stood firmly in place, the blood around him surging as he swung his long sword again. In an instant, the viscous blood on the sword seemed to come alive, transforming into countless sharp blood blades, rushing towards Ito Makoto like a raging tide. Wherever they passed, the air was torn apart, emitting a sharp whistling sound.

At the same time, the scarlet figure flashed like a ghost behind Ito Makoto, the long sword in his hand wrapped in endless killing intent, slashing down fiercely with such speed that there was no time to react.

At the critical moment, Ito Makoto unleashed his full potential, gathering all the spiritual pressure around him. In an instant, black and white spiritual pressure surged and erupted around him, releasing powerful waves of energy that distorted the surrounding air.

"Annihilation Realm Kill!"

Ito Makoto roared, his left hand quickly brushing across the blade, and the intense black and white spiritual pressure instantly wrapped around the long sword like a nimble snake. The blade shone brightly, as if containing the power to create the world.

"Binding Art Number Eighty-One - Disconnecting Space!"

Ito Makoto turned around and desperately parried Kaisai's attack with his sword. At the same time, an invisible but resilient barrier suddenly rose behind him, firmly blocking the surging blood blades. Where Annihilation collided with the blood blades, bursts of roaring sounds erupted, stirring up circles of energy ripples.

"Pfft!"

The next second, a shocking gash suddenly opened in Ito Makoto's chest, and strands of blood seeped from the wound, staining his front red.

"Again!"

Faced with these successive attacks and injuries, Ito Makoto's face showed no sign of frustration.

On the contrary, he grinned, revealing a hint of excitement, his eyes flashing with fiery light, like a blood-soaked war god, and then continued to hold his sword without hesitation, rushing towards Kaisai and engaging in another fierce battle.

Because, in the course of this intense battle, he had faintly sensed that the barrier of his long-stagnant Third-Class Peak strength had begun to show signs of wavering. Ito Makoto felt a strong premonition that as long as this battle continued, he would most likely break through this obstacle and successfully step into Second-Class spiritual power.

"Boom!"

A loud noise, like the roar of the beginning of heaven and earth, shook the entire space violently.

Ito Makoto wore a confident smile on his lips, raised his arm slightly, and swung a sharp sword.

This sword contained the power to destroy the heavens and the earth. Even the bottomless, seemingly endless abyss of scarlet blood pool was forcibly split open by him.

Under the blessing of Bankai's powerful force, his blade was wrapped in powerful spatial power. Each swing seemed to tear through the void, causing layers of twisted ripples in the surrounding space. These were traces of the space being shaken, and each strike possessed the terrifying power to shatter the void. With just one strike, the blood pool receded like a tide.

On the opposite side, Kaisai also grinned, revealing a fanatical smile, and the scarlet aura surrounding him became even more intense. Carrying the blood-colored killing intent of the sky, he rushed towards Ito Makoto madly like a ferocious beast once again.

Behind him, the blood pool that had been split open by Ito Makoto's spatial slash was restored to its original state in an instant, as if it had never been attacked. The blood still surged, exuding a chilling aura.

Ito Makoto was not afraid, his eyes flashing with a firm light, and he rushed towards Kaisai as well. In an instant, the terrifying spatial slash and the sharp blood blade collided fiercely, and each collision erupted into a spiritual pressure storm powerful enough to destroy everything.

Wherever the storm passed, the air was instantly evacuated, forming terrifying vacuum zones.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

The sound of blades entering flesh rang out one after another, and the two fell into a fierce close-quarters blood battle. In the early stages of the battle, Ito Makoto felt a lot of pressure, and each time he resisted Kaisai's attack, he seemed a little strenuous.

However, after only a few hours, he had adapted to the high-intensity battle rhythm and became more than capable.

Ito Makoto seized the opportunity, and the long sword in his hand stabbed out like lightning, instantly piercing Kaisai's shoulder; and Kaisai was not to be outdone, waving his hand back, and a blood blade swept across, leaving a long wound on Ito Makoto's waist.

In the next instant, the blood pool below surged violently as if it had a life of its own. In the blink of an eye, the gap in Kaisai's arm was quickly healed and restored to its original state.

Seeing this, Ito Makoto quickly patted his waist, and a gentle healing light instantly wrapped the wound. Although the recovery speed was not as fast as Kaisai's, it stopped the bleeding and stabilized the injury for the time being.

There was no panic on Ito Makoto's face, and the fighting spirit in his chest burned more and more vigorously, his eyes fixed on Kaisai intently.

He took a deep breath, slowly adjusted his breathing, and adjusted his state to the best. At this moment, he had a flash of inspiration, and an unprecedented feeling surged into his heart.

He clenched the long sword in both hands, used all his strength, and swung a sword fiercely. This sword condensed his deep understanding of his own swordsmanship over the years, and also integrated the essence of the new insights he had gained in the battle with Kaisai just now.

In an instant, the black and white spatial power, like two nimble dragons, intertwined and wrapped around each other, turning into a dazzling streamer. This streamer, wrapped in the most terrifying slashing power in the world, roared towards Kaisai's blood blade. Finally, the two collided fiercely, erupting a dazzling light, and the entire space was shaken and crumbling under the impact of this powerful force.

"I've mastered my spatial slash!"

Ito Makoto couldn't hide his excitement. In the past, the reason why he rarely used Bankai was that this move consumed too much energy. Without the help of his main body's majestic spiritual pressure, just a few spatial slashes would be enough to drain his spiritual power.

However, after this thrilling death battle with Kaisai, he seemed to have divine help and perfectly realized the method of subtly integrating his own slash with the spatial slash.

Now, every time he swings a sword, not only does the power not decrease at all, but the consumption of his own spiritual power is greatly reduced, which is undoubtedly a huge breakthrough.