"Yoruichi-san!!!" Aika and Koneko shouted seeing Yoruichi in grave danger. They weren't able to keep up with the sudden switch in the situation.

Koneko used her mostly complete Flash Step towards the barrier. Seeing Koneko disappearing from her side and appearing halfway the distance from the barrier, Aika ran with all her might to catch up.

Koneko couldn't use Flash Step in quick successions, so she ran the rest of the distance reaching the barrier. She already returned to her true form with a pair of white cat ears and two white tails. Koneko put up the stance she learned from Yoruichi and used all her might with Ki to punch the wall of the barrier, but the barrier only shook a little with most of her force disappearing with the ripples on the surface.

Koneko didn't give up and kept repeating what she is doing to the point that the veins in her thin arms are about to explode due to overexerting herself.

Aika also reached the barrier after some time, but she didn't know what to do. She wanted to stop Koneko from obviously hurting herself, but she knew that what she is doing is their only chance of opening this wall without assistance from both Kisuke and Yoruichi.

Yoruichi saw what they are doing and was angry, "You blasted fools!!! Stop messing around and escape now!!!" She's still trying to pry open Kisuke's hand while also trying to control her Reiatsu, but would still take some time. It is unknown whether she can escape from his grasp before being blasted by a supercharged Cero.

"No! I can't leave you nor Kisuke-senpai behind!" Koneko adamantly refused and kept punching the transparent wall while gritting her teeth. Some of the veins in her arms were already ruptured and the blood splashes around as she swings her tiny fists.

Aika, who didn't know what to do, decided to drag Koneko away after seeing the relatively undamaged barrier and her almost broken arms, "Toujou-san! Stop! Let's leave! We can't do anything! We'll only hold back Yoruichi-san! And we still have to warn Sakura-san about what's happening! We're under the ground of the candy shop, remember!?" Aika hugged Koneko's waist and tried to drag her back but failed to even move the hulking cat.

"Koneko! Listen to Aika and leave! You can't break the barrier with just the two of you! I can survive, but after he's done with me, you two wouldn't even have a chance to activate your pendants!" Yoruichi was able to focus to activate her Shunko partially, but that is still not enough to let her escape.

Koneko still wouldn't budge. She opts to stay silent and just continued bashing the barrier while her tears are flowing down her face. It is unknown whether it's from pain or desperation.

Yoruichi is kicking Kisuke's head to somehow change the trajectory of the Cero, but it was like a statue that wouldn't budge. Until finally, the Hollowfied Kisuke finished charging his ball of pure destruction.

All of them noticed this change.

"Yoruichi-san!!!" Both Aika and Koneko shouted on top of their lungs

Kisuke tightened his hand on Yoruichi's neck. Yoruichi grimaced in pain and reached out her arm towards Kisuke, "Kuh... Ki...su.ke..."

At the last moment, before Kisuke's Cero discharge, a trace of rationality returned to his eyes. Understanding the situation at hand, Kisuke turned his head slightly to the right.

The wave of destruction just passes one centimeter to the left of Yoruichi's head. The beam of dark green light hit the walls of the training ground in no time and instantly went through it.

The Cero punched a large hole 100 meters across through many barriers protecting the training grounds from outside interferences like they weren't even there. What's only left is the molten lava from the rock wall and the scenery outside of the training ground which is a mix of colors that would be impossible to find in the real world.

Aika and Koneko were shocked at the enormous destruction that the laser from Kisuke did. Koneko was in even more shock as she saw the scenery behind and muttered loudly, "The Dimensional Gap?" But her focus didn't stay too long from that and she ran towards the hole that was created after Kisuke's attack. She couldn't use Flash Step anymore as her Ki reserves are almost depleted, "Yoruichi-san! Kisuke-senpai!"

Aika also followed Koneko but not as fast as her. She's still staring vigilantly at Kisuke and trying to gauge the danger before approaching, 'The oppressive aura that's coming from him has completely disappeared, and the ivory-like material that's covering his entire body is slowly disintegrating. Is it safe now?'

Yoruichi is staring straight to Kisuke's eyes as he slowly let go of her neck. The hole in his chest closed and his bulky body is slowly dropping to the ground and reducing to ashes. Yoruichi finally saw his whole face filled with complicated emotions.

"I'm sorry." Are Kisuke's first words addressed to Yoruichi after he regained his sanity. Seeing her in a bad shape and the mark around her neck where his hand is formerly gripping, Kisuke approached and hugged her softly taking care not to worsen the wound on her back. Partially activating the Hougyoku, Kisuke let her borrow some of his regeneration ability. He learned to this after years of studying the Hougyoku and precisely controlling the strange energy coming from it.

"I'm sorry." He repeated his words and whispered it to Yoruichi's left ear. His voice contains self-loathing, worrying, dejected and loving tones. Kisuke ignored the other two who are calling out to him in worry and solely focused on Yoruichi and sharing his regenerative ability.

Yoruichi returned his hugged and also whispered to his right ear, "It's okay... Welcome back." Her voice, contrary to Kisuke's, contains relief and gladness, but also like Kisuke's, a loving tone.

"Ah... I'm back." Kisuke closed his eyes and fell asleep, but he kept the Hougyoku activated and didn't separate from Yoruichi. He's even more tired than both Yoruichi and Koneko as his mind is also damaged from Benihime's last attack. Kisuke's body is also a mess, even though he successfully fused his Ki and Reiryoku, it looks like a dumpster and needs fixing, but he can't do that now.

Yoruichi laid him down to her lap and just let him sleep. She could have brought him to the healing hot spring but she didn't know how it would affect him at his current situation, so Yoruichi opts to not move him any further and just wait for him to heal sufficiently.