Of course, Kaginjo's words stemmed from absolute confidence in his own strength.
Within the entire 11th Division, he was the only one who had successfully mastered Bankai.
As for the others, even his Lieutenant, Ichinose Maki, in Kaginjo's eyes, they were nothing more than weaklings.
Whether it was one-on-one, one against ten, or even one against a hundred, Kaginjo was certain he would emerge victorious.
After achieving Bankai, Kaginjo had come to understand its overwhelming power.
This was not a gap that could be bridged by sheer numbers.
In Kaginjo's mind, only the other twelve divisions' Captains were worth his slight consideration.
"Hahaha, Captain, how could we ever be a match for you..."
Hearing Kaginjo's words, the members of the 11th Division broke out in cold sweat, responding awkwardly.
As members of the 11th Division, they loved battle… but fighting against Captain Kaginjo was an exception.
Kaginjo's strength far surpassed theirs. Under normal circumstances, he could control the force of his attacks well enough to provide combat training for his subordinates.
But unfortunately, Kaginjo had no intention of nurturing his division's members.
To him, sparring with his subordinates was merely a form of entertainment.
Especially when it came to breaking their limbs and listening to their screams… that was what truly excited Kaginjo.
Among the 11th Division's ranks, only the newest recruits naively believed they could gain valuable training from their Captain. The more seasoned veterans had long since learned Kaginjo's true nature and knew better than to seek unnecessary suffering.
Of course, if no one volunteered to entertain Kaginjo for too long, he would simply pick out a few subordinates at random to 'play' with.
Therefore, in order to avoid such situations, the veterans generally didn't warn newcomers about the dangers of sparring with their Captain.
However, no new recruits had joined the 11th Division recently. The last batch of newcomers had suffered severe injuries at Kaginjo's hands… two had died before the 4th Division's medics could arrive, and the rest had transferred to other divisions.
For a moment, aside from the few Shinigami closest to Kaginjo offering flattery, no one stepped forward.
"Tch. How boring."
Seeing this, Kaginjo frowned, already considering randomly selecting a few unlucky souls to 'play' with.
But at that moment, a child's voice suddenly rang out.
"I'll do it!"
"Hm?"
Hearing this unfamiliar voice, all the Shinigami in the training ground turned their attention toward its source.
Amidst a crowd of rough-looking men, Kyoya stood out like a sore thumb.
For one, his height was lacking, so he had to hover slightly above the ground using Reishi just to stand half a head taller than the surrounding Shinigami.
Moreover, while all the 11th Division's members wore black Shihakusho, Kyoya, having yet to officially register, was still dressed in his white Shin'o Academy's uniform.
"Oh? This brat's got guts…"
"Do we even have someone like this in our division?"
"Are you stupid? Just look at his clothes… he must've just graduated from Shin'o Academy."
"Tch. Graduating at such a young age… must be a genius."
"What do we do? Should we stop him?"
As the Shinigami around Kyoya stepped back, clearing a path, he dispersed the Reishi beneath his feet and walked toward the center of the training ground.
Standing in front of Kaginjo, Kyoya looked up. From this angle, he had to admit the man's imposing presence was genuinely intimidating.
From Kaginjo's body, Kyoya could feel the overwhelming Reishi.
'The gap was still far too wide.'
'But soon… very soon!'
"Captain, I want to challenge a seated officer!"
"Hiss…"
As Kyoya's words fell, the surrounding Shinigami collectively sucked in a sharp breath.
Even those who had intended to warn Kyoya earlier now stared at him in shock.
Seated officers were no small matter… not just anyone could hold such a position.
In every division, including the Lieutenant, there were only twenty seated officers.
The most basic requirement to become a seated officer was the ability to release one's Zanpakuto.
If a division didn't have twenty Shinigami capable of Shikai, the seated officer's positions would remain vacant.
Of course, some divisions had fewer, while others had more.
In the stronger divisions, the number of Shinigami who could achieve Shikai exceeded twenty, so naturally, only the best were selected.
As one of the combat-focused divisions in the Gotei 13, the 11th Division's overall strength was second only to the 1st Division.
Many seated officers in other divisions had originally come from the 11th.
In other words, every seated officer in the 11th Division was an elite among elites.
For Kyoya to openly challenge a seated officer meant he, too, had mastered Shikai, a level of strength surpassing 80% of the Shinigami present.
With such strength, he would not die easily even if fighting with the Captain.
"Hahahaha, interesting, interesting..."
Kiganjo roared with laughter, his voice so loud it made Kyoya's ears ring.
"Kid, what's your name?"
"Captain, my name is Kyoya. I just graduated today and intend to join the 11th Division."
"Good, Kyoya, was it? I like your spirit. Hope you can give me some entertainment."
After saying this, Kiganjo turned and bellowed at the surrounding Shinigami, "Hey, you! The newbie's issuing a challenge! Get out here."
"The lowest-ranked one, step up. Don't make me call you twice."
Hearing Kiganjo's words, Kyoya inwardly shook his head.
'To not even know the names of his own division's seated officers, or perhaps he knew but couldn't be bothered to say them, this Captain was truly pathetic.'
'But whatever. If I were in his position, I wasn't sure I'd remember the names and faces of every Shinigami in the division either.'
With Kyoya's current strength, challenging the Lieutenant, Ichinose Maki, wouldn't be too difficult.
However, Kyoya was worried that if he defeated Ichinose and became the 11th Division's Lieutenant, challenging the lower-ranked seated officers afterward might not yield any achievement rewards.
Therefore, to milk the system for all it was worth, Kyoya decided to challenge his way up from the lowest seated officer all the way to Lieutenant.
That way, he could unlock all the Marine's rank achievements and claim multiple rewards.
Anyway, there are only twenty people at most.
Ten minutes-
No, better to be humble. Let's say half an hour.
At that rate, each fight would last just over a minute, which is more than enough.
"Coming, Captain!"
While Kyoya silently calculated how long it would take to complete the Marine's rank achievement challenges, the 11th Division's lowest-ranked seated officer finally stepped forward.
He is a middle-aged bald man who looked to be in his thirties. He bowed slightly to Kyoya and said, "I am Noguchi Ozawa, 20th Seat of the 11th Division. Please take care of me!"