"What did you just say?"

Saito's face darkened, her low voice grinding out word by word, filling the hospital room with a chilling killing intent directed at Senjumaru.

Her slender hand rested on her Zanpakuto's hilt, poised for a fight.

You can eat recklessly, but words must be chosen carefully.

Makoto was her man, already claimed.

Senjumaru, unfazed by the murderous aura, glided into the room on her wheeled platform, her gaze casually flicking to Saito's hand on her blade. With a soft chuckle, she sneered, "As expected, a monkey is just a monkey. In that head of yours, aside from instinct-driven desires, is there anyone you'd truly call 'important'?"

"What, you!" Saito growled, her hand twitching toward her blade.

But before she could draw, Senjumaru spoke languidly, "What? Don't you want Makoto to recover quickly?"

Screech,

Saito's blade, halfway drawn, froze in its scabbard.

Her decisive motion halted, as if petrified.

She hesitated for a few seconds, glancing between Senjumaru and the weakened Makoto lying listlessly on the bed.

With effort, she suppressed her fiery temper.

Her face remained wary as she muttered, "…What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said," Senjumaru replied.

Her wheeled platform rolled closer to Makoto's bedside, her skeletal arms deftly probing the "patient," completely ignoring Saito's darkening expression.

"Makoto is currently my most valuable test subject," Senjumaru said. "Even with your unrefined mind, you should grasp how rare a tier-1 Reiatsu warrior who's temporarily lost his Shinigami powers is, right? Especially one as unique as Makoto."

Saito's brow furrowed instinctively.

She knew how rare tier-1 Reiatsu warriors were, a realm she'd chased her entire life and never reached.

Even now, it eluded her.

Across the Soul Society, perhaps only Yamamoto, Unohana, and Makoto held that rank.

But what did this have to do with healing him?

Senjumaru saw through Saito's confusion in an instant, a lazy smile spreading across her face. "You really don't get it, do you? Others aside…" She turned her smile to Makoto on the bed. "If it's you, Makoto, you should sense something, right?"

"?" Makoto blinked at her, bewildered.

Senjumaru's smile faded.

She'd misjudged, expecting these fools to share her excitement and curiosity.

"Hey!" Saito snapped, glaring. "Speak plainly, you cryptic weirdo!"

She loathed Senjumaru's smug, condescending attitude, acting superior just because her mind worked a bit faster.

Senjumaru, uninterested in arguing, let her actions speak.

As her words fell, a skeletal arm formed a blade-like gesture, slashing toward Makoto's abdomen.

Saito's single eye widened, her hand darting to intercept.

But,

Clang!

The skeletal arm struck Makoto's skin, producing a piercing metallic screech, sparks flying along a long trail across his stomach.

Both Saito and Makoto froze.

"See that?" Senjumaru said coolly, retracting her arm. "You don't need me to tell you what that is, do you?"

Saito's gaze on Makoto turned complex.

After a long pause, she spoke, her voice low, almost disbelieving. "Makoto? Are you… a Vasto Lorde?"

That ability, it was unmistakably a Hollow's Hierro.

While Shinigami with high Reiatsu control could form Reishi armor to block attacks, for someone as weakened as Makoto, unable to move, to exhibit such a trait? It had to be Hierro.

"Not entirely, but close enough," Senjumaru replied, surprisingly without mockery, her tone professional.

"?!" Saito's eye widened further.

Senjumaru explained calmly, "To be precise, after losing his capacity to wield Shinigami powers, Makoto's body instinctively manifested aspects of Hollow power, resulting in the Hierro phenomenon."

"And that's not all."

As she spoke, a skeletal arm retrieved a small vial filled with liquid Reishi, shimmering like moonlight. She tilted it, letting a drop fall onto Makoto's skin.

The liquid Reishi merged instantly with his body, showing no rejection.

"See?" Senjumaru looked at Saito. "His body has an extraordinary affinity for Reishi, almost like a Quincy."

"Hey!" Makoto interjected, exasperated. "Don't use a patient's weak state to experiment on them!"

Yet he felt a twinge of guilt.

He couldn't exactly tell them this was due to his bond traits [Hierro] and [Perfect Lifeform].

His cheats were a slippery slope he couldn't touch.

"Whoa!" Saito's attention was hooked, her eyes wide with amazement. "What's going on?"

Senjumaru answered flatly, "That's what makes him special. But whether it's as I suspect will depend on further tests."

"Hey, wait-" Makoto's heart sank with a bad feeling, trying to interrupt.

"Makoto," Senjumaru continued, ignoring him. "Feeling powerless isn't pleasant, is it? Follow the doctor's orders, and this peculiar state will last at least a year."

"…" Makoto fell silent.

Admittedly, Senjumaru's words hit Makoto right where it hurt.

After wielding power that could shatter the three world, to suddenly become a frail invalid struggling even to get up was a fall no ordinary person could easily accept.

If he could regain his former strength quickly, Makoto would leap at the chance.

But…

He looked up, meeting Senjumaru's elegant, polite smile, and a wave of unease washed over him.

This woman was definitely up to no good!

Thankfully, he had Saito.

As expected, seeing Senjumaru's covetous expression, Saito lunged forward, positioning herself between the bed and Senjumaru. Her wary gaze fixed on the research-obsessed captain, who could be even crazier than her at times. "So, you're not even sure about the experiment's outcome? That's no treatment! Whatever weird stuff you're planning to do to him, you'll have to get through me first!"

"Exactly!" Makoto chimed in, practically cheering. He slapped his thigh in excitement.

Saving Saito was worth it, she was already proving her value!

"Get through you?" Senjumaru repeated thoughtfully, eyeing the single-eyed girl standing in her way.

Suddenly, she stepped closer, whispering something in Saito's ear.

Makoto's expression froze, a worse premonition creeping in.

"Really?" Saito frowned, turning to Senjumaru with skepticism but a hint of curiosity. Her eyes darted toward Makoto, betraying her wavering resolve.

"Saito… Saito?!" Makoto's heart clenched. "Don't fall for her nonsense!"

Saito's cheeks flushed, her gaze dodging his, guilt flickering in her eyes.

"Makoto!" She stammered. "This… it's all for your sake, okay!"

It was over.

Makoto's heart sank.

---

"Is… is this okay?" Saito muttered, her cheeks burning as she tugged at the hem of a scandalously short half-kimono. The fabric slipped off her smooth shoulders, revealing her pale collarbone.

The skirt barely covered her thighs, exposing swaths of creamy skin.

Her gaze trailed down her perfectly proportioned legs, wrapped from knee to toe in sheer 30-denier black stockings. Her toes curled slightly against the floor, betraying her discomfort.

Yet Senjumaru wasn't satisfied, her tone strict. "The honey! I already prepared it! Hurry up and dip your foot in! Makoto's watching, you know."

Saito's toes stiffened.

After a moment's hesitation, she gave in, plunging her foot into a nearby bucket of honey.

As she withdrew it, the viscous honey dripped from her toes, pooling on the floor in splotches, unwittingly drawing someone's attention.

"Gross!" Saito whispered, turning her flushed face away, avoiding Makoto's gaze, unsure if she meant the honey or something else.

Senjumaru turned to Makoto, whose eyes were wide, and teased, "Well? Your favorite treat is right in front of you, Makoto."

Makoto stared blankly at the shameless beauty, his voice rising in protest. "You can't seriously think I'm some pervert who'd eat off stockings! And untie me already! What kind of legitimate experiment is this? A humanity test?!"

He thrashed against his restraints.

But his body was bound by chainsaw-like ropes, wrapped like a dumpling, his limbs suspended from the ceiling.

No matter how he struggled, he only swung like a pendulum.

Three meters away stood Saito, her foot dripping with honey.

Between them, Senjumaru had drawn a long array of special Kido runes on the floor.

"No research spirit at all, Makoto," Senjumaru sighed. "Even with a chimp's brain, you should see my plan, right?"

"?" Makoto looked at her, confused.

Senjumaru sighed again, explaining patiently. "Regardless of how your Hierro formed, maintaining it proves your body is actively channeling ample Hollow power. If this power can sustain a high-level technique like Hierro, common among Menos Grandes, it's only logical it could be redirected elsewhere, yes?"

"!" Makoto blinked, stunned.

He'd never considered that angle.

"And these Kido runes?" he asked.

"Sonido," Senjumaru answered with a gentle smile. "Or rather, the Hollow equivalent of Shunpo. Though calling it Shunpo isn't quite accurate. If a Shinigami's Shunpo propels them across distances with a burst of Reiatsu, a Hollow's Sonido allows them to slip through spatial nodes, teleporting instantly. This technique stems from Hollows' innate spatial affinity."

"Not just Menos Grandes' Sonido," she continued. "Even lesser Hollows and Gillian can instinctively traverse spatial channels between Hueco Mundo and the World of the Living. For Menos Grandes, it's practically standard. All this stems from the unique nature of Hollow power."

Her smile faded, her gaze burning with fervor as she stared at the suspended Makoto. "Just a little, Makoto. Release a fraction of your Hollow power and activate the runes before you. You'll leap from one spatial node to another, just like a Menos Grande's Sonido. Right to Saito's honey-dipped toes! How's that? Feeling tempted yet?"

Her face radiated confidence.

Makoto turned to her, his expression screaming are you serious? "What kind of pervert breaks out of an impossible challenge just to lick a girl's foot? Isn't this a bit too absurd? What kind of image do you all have of me?!"

As his words fell, the door burst open with a bang.

A Fourth Division nurse, tasked with Makoto's care, stood in the doorway, calmly observing the bizarre scene.

Silence hung as their eyes met.

Finally, the nurse spoke, her tone serene. "Makoto-sama, your body hasn't fully recovered. Please mind your limits."

Click.

She shut the door and left as if nothing had happened.

Seconds later, her footsteps quickened down the hall.

Senjumaru turned to the stunned Makoto, her demeanor unruffled. "In short, you're the kind of person everyone expects to do strange things, and they'll just find it normal."

"…"

"Senjumaru!!!"

***

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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