"Hakumen-senpai actually lost..." Terumi Mei watched the scene in disbelief.
Just moments ago, Hakumen had been suppressing his opponent.
She quickly realized something and turned to Itachi and Shisui beside her, asking, "Hakumen-senpai is the strongest among us, right? If he lost, then we..."
Shisui pondered for a moment before replying, "Although it might sound disrespectful to Hakumen-senpai... he can't really be considered the strongest."
Itachi silently thought to himself: I don't know who the strongest is, but I'm definitely the weakest. Hopefully, my opponent won't be too strong, or I'll end up embarrassing myself.
Hyuga Hakumen was the first to obtain the Sage Mark, yet among the current Ten Crown Guards, his strength didn't even rank in the top five.
Kakashi, Guy, Anko, Shisui, and Kabuto were all stronger than him.
Of course, only Makoto truly knew this.
While Hakumen's talent was exceptional, his current strength had already far surpassed his former limits.
On the other hand, Kyoraku Shunsui ranked among the top three in strength within the squad captains.
As the two finished their respectful gestures and walked toward the seating area, Makoto smiled warmly.
"Your Majesty," Hakumen bowed.
"It's alright. You've worked hard," Makoto said with a light chuckle.
Understanding the emperor's temperament, Hakumen felt a sense of relief.
His performance had been lacking, yet His Majesty had not reprimanded him, which filled him with guilt.
A wave of synchronized and enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.
They had been instructed beforehand that, regardless of the battle's outcome, even if their captain won, they must not display excessive pride.
At the same time, people watching the live broadcast in the real world were equally shocked.
They didn't think Hakumen was weak—whether it was his ability to fly or his golden chakra bullets, these were not powers an ordinary ninja could possess.
They were utterly stunned.
"Hakumen, that was a bit embarrassing."
As soon as Hakumen took his seat, he heard Kakashi's voice beside him.
"I was simply outmatched," Hakumen replied calmly.
At first, the battle had been evenly matched, but the unexpected reversal at the end caught everyone off guard.
"These Shinigami are quite capable," Kakashi remarked.
"Underestimating them could be costly."
With the first match concluded, Makoto chuckled and said, "I didn't expect Captain Kyoraku to be this strong—truly an eye-opening experience."
From his seat, Kyoraku nodded toward the emperor.
"It was merely a lucky victory. Hakumen-kun's strength is by no means inferior to mine."
Just as they exchanged a few words, they noticed Kenpachi in the seating area attempting to stand up multiple times.
Makoto smiled and said, "It seems that Captain Kenpachi can't wait any longer. Let's start the next match as soon as possible."
Head Captain Yamamoto had no objections.
Kyoraku's victory had been within his expectations, though he was slightly surprised that Kyoraku hadn't used his Bankai.
Kenpachi immediately sprang up from his seat, striding toward the Ten Crown Guards with excitement.
His towering, muscular frame and fierce, menacing face exuded an imposing aura.
His gaze swept across the members of the Ten Crown Guards one by one before he grinned and asked, "Which one of you is the strongest?"
The moment he said this, Kakashi and the others frowned.
How arrogant!
Although Mei found his attitude unpleasant, she instinctively avoided his gaze.
Kakashi didn't hesitate for long and was about to stand up when Guy stopped him.
"Kakashi, let me handle this one."
"...Alright."
Might Guy stepped forward and stood beside Kenpachi, bowing toward Makoto in the chief seat.
"Your Majesty."
The contrast between the two was striking.
Kenpachi exuded raw intimidation, while Guy, dressed in his signature green jumpsuit over a Konoha combat vest, with thick black hair and bushy eyebrows, looked almost comical.
A murmur of hushed discussions spread through the audience.
"Captain, good luck!"
Suddenly, a cheer rang out from the audience—it was a bald man shouting encouragement, and his voice quickly sparked a chorus of support from others.
Kenpachi Zaraki looked down at the man before him, who was noticeably smaller in stature.
"Hey, you're the strongest among them, aren't you?"
Guy remained calm and said, "That's right. But to deal with you, I don't think I'll need my full strength."
Hearing this, Kenpachi's gaze sharpened, and in an instant, an immensely dangerous aura emanated from him.
The grin on his face widened. "Hah! Hurry up and show me, then!"
Under the watchful eyes of the audience, the two stepped into the center of the arena.
Vice Captain Sasakibe once again recited the formal announcement.
Kenpachi found the ceremony irritating—just noise to him.
His grip on his sword trembled slightly with excitement.
"Let the match begin!"
"Hey, you're not using a weapon?"
"No need," Guy replied calmly.
He himself was the best weapon.
The two stood facing each other as the arena gradually fell silent.
Kenpachi deliberately took up a stance full of openings, spreading his arms wide as he taunted, "Come on."
Boom!
The moment he finished speaking, Guy's figure vanished, reappearing right in front of him.
A powerful punch smashed directly into Kenpachi's abdomen—so fast that many in the audience couldn't even see the movement.
"This speed..." The normally composed Captain Soi Fon's delicate face turned serious.
Kenpachi was sent flying several meters backward by the sheer force of the punch.
Barely steadying himself, he locked eyes with Guy and grinned. "Not bad at all."
Guy wasted no words.
In an instant, he reappeared at Kenpachi's side, delivering a devastating high roundhouse kick to his head.
A normal person would have died instantly from such a blow.
Even Kenpachi, under the immense force, was sent crashing down, his head slamming hard into the ground.
Silence.
The entire arena fell into a deathly stillness as everyone stared at Kenpachi, whose head was embedded in the ground.
Guy did not follow up with another attack.
Instead, he stood quietly to the side, waiting for his opponent to get up.
Since this guy was so arrogant, he had to be defeated thoroughly.
Kenpachi's hand twitched slightly.
Gripping the scattered rubble nearby, he lifted his face from the ground.
Despite taking a direct heavy blow, he appeared largely unscathed—aside from his hair now being covered in dust.
"So that's how it is. You specialize in Hakuda (taijutsu), huh? No flashy Kido tricks… I like that," Kenpachi said.
Guy's gaze sharpened.
He could sense that Kenpachi's aura had grown stronger.
"Keep going. You weren't using your full strength just now, were you?"
Kenpachi remained in his open, defenseless stance, as if relishing the feeling of being attacked.
Guy didn't hold back—at such close range, he delivered another powerful punch straight to Kenpachi's midsection.
But to Guy's shock, the same man who had been unable to withstand his blows earlier didn't even budge this time!
He had not held back at all—in fact, he had put in even more force than before.
"What's wrong?" Kenpachi grinned, gripping his sword in one hand.
His towering figure loomed over Guy.
"Did your strength get weaker?"
Kenpachi suddenly swung his jagged sword, bringing it down hard on Guy's shoulder.
Guy didn't dodge.
The blade struck his shoulder directly—but there was no scene of blood spraying or a severed limb.
Instead, Kenpachi felt as if he had struck an unyielding mass of steel.
A powerful recoil shot through his arm, making his grip tremble in pain.
Guy's black hair began to rise on its own, despite the lack of wind.
A swirling current of energy surrounded him.
"Is that really all the strength you've got?" Guy countered.
Normally, he wasn't aggressive by nature, but the demeanor of these Shinigami irked him.
Kenpachi, however, showed no fear in the face of this unknown power—he looked utterly exhilarated.
He didn't care about winning or losing.
He only wanted to revel in battle.
"Come on! Show me all your strength!"
Boom!
A tremendous surge of energy erupted from Guy, sending shockwaves outward.
The sheer force blasted through the air, creating razor-sharp winds that forced many to shut their eyes.
A swirling blue aura encircled Guy, his eyes now glowing white with pure energy.
His black hair stood completely on end, his skin flushed with a deep purplish-red hue as veins bulged across his body.
Within the blue chakra, a visible white radiance burst forth from Guy's body, enveloping him in a glowing aura, as if a true god had descended upon the world.
Dark markings slowly crept up his cheeks.
"The Sixth Gate—"
"Demonic Vanquishing Form!"
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