"Kyoya, a new member of the 11th Division, please take care of me!"
Since his opponent was polite, Kyoya naturally responded in kind.
After bowing respectfully, Kyoya introduced himself as well.
"Kyoya? Why does that name sound so familiar?"
Hearing Kyoya's name, some of the Shinigami in the 11th Division scratched their heads, feeling like they'd heard it somewhere before.
"Kyoya… isn't that the genius from the Shin'o Academy who's been compared to Ichimaru Gin recently?"
"Ah, now that you mention it, I remember."
"To think he actually joined our 11th Division..."
Soon, the Shinigami of the 11th Division all recognized Kyoya.
Over the past year, rumors about Kyoya had spread widely among the Gotei 13, becoming a common topic of conversation among Shinigami during their downtime.
However, some of these rumors were so exaggerated that they were hard to believe.
Things like 'a Zanjutsu prodigy unseen in thousands of years', or how he could unleash Kenatsu, a technique only Captain-level fighters could wield, after just a month of basic training.
Or how he was said to rival, or even surpass, last year's genius, Ichimaru Gin...
After all, Gin, who had broken the record for the shortest graduation time in Shin'o Academy's history, wasn't just a 'genius'.
He was a straight-up monster.
Those who had followed Gin's career knew that after joining the 5th Division, he became a seated officer in less than a month.
Now, Gin had even risen to a high-ranking seated position… he was the 5th Seat of the 5th Division.
Comparing Kyoya to Gin, those who hadn't seen Kyoya in action felt the claims were too far-fetched.
But now, it seemed they simply hadn't understood what a true 'genius' looked like!
Kyoya was every bit the equal of Gin!
"So it's him... No wonder he's challenging a seated officer right after joining the 11th Division..."
"If it's Kyoya, he might actually pull it off..."
"Hard to say. But if I recall, Kyoya hasn't even been at Shin'o Academy for a full year yet, right?"
"Exactly. By my count, he's still got about a month left..."
"Tch, impressive. That breaks Ichimaru Gin's record..."
The surrounding Shinigami weren't speaking quietly, so Noguchi Ozawa naturally overheard his comrades' discussion and learned Kyoya's identity.
"Kyoya..."
"Perhaps, in the future, I'll take pride in having fought against you today."
Ozawa drew his Zanpakuto, his expression grave.
As a seated officer of the 11th Division, even if just the lowest seat, Ozawa's strength was nothing to scoff at.
However, the surrounding Shinigami had said, if his opponent was Kyoya, he might truly be outmatched.
After all, according to the rumors, Kyoya was someone capable of unleashing Kenatsu!
"Rage forth, Arenami!"
As Ozawa shouted, dense Reiatsu erupted from his body, and his Zanpakuto began to change form.
In a flash, the Zanpakuto in Ozawa's hand transformed into a pair of deep-blue dual maces.
Without hesitation, Ozawa released his Zanpakuto, going all out from the start.
Boom!
Reiatsu exploded beneath his feet as Ozawa raised his dual maces high and brought them crashing down toward Kyoya.
"Torrential Smash-!"
White Reiatsu gathered around the maces, surging toward Kyoya like a tidal wave-
Facing Ozawa's attack, Kyoya slowly drew his Zanpakuto and simply swung downward-
Boom!
A deafening roar erupted as the wave Ozawa had summoned was instantly split apart by Kyoya's slash.
Then, as if meeting no resistance at all, Kyoya's Zanpakuto clashed against Ozawa's maces-
Boom!
Bang-
Like a flyswatter smacking a fly, Ozawa was sent flying with almost no chance to resist, utterly overwhelmed by Kyoya's strike.
"Pfft-"
With just one strike, Kyoya had utterly crushed Ozawa. The man tumbled across the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood before his Zanpakuto reverted to its sealed form.
Kyoya had literally shattered Ozawa's Shikai state with sheer force.
"So strong-"
Ozawa struggled to flip himself over, his arms trembling as he propped himself up.
Cracks had split open between his fingers, blood oozing from the wounds.
At this moment, there was a hint of fear in Ozawa's eyes when he looked at Kyoya.
'What kind of monstrous strength was that?!'
'Was this really the power of a child?!'
'In terms of raw physical power alone, Kyoya might even rival Kiganjo-sama, right?'
At the very least, Ozawa had never been one-shot by Kiganjo like this before.
"Too weak…"
In stark contrast to Ozawa's shock, Kyoya felt nothing but disappointment after their single clash. Even the lowest seat of the 11th Division was far too weak against him.
Of course, Kyoya knew the reason… his newly acquired Buccaneer bloodline had boosted his strength to thirty times from before.
Without this enhancement, he would've needed to use flying slash to quickly defeat an opponent like Ozawa.
The power boost from the Buccaneer bloodline was immense… comparable to when he first obtained Observation Haki.
This is not to say that Buccaneer bloodline can be compared with the Observation Haki.
From the levels of the One Piece Achievement System, it can be seen that the Buccaneer bloodline is only a purple-tier achievement reward, while the Observation Haki is a gold-tier achievement reward.
The gap between the two is obvious.
However, while Kyoya's Observation Haki remained at its most basic level, as it had not been properly trained yet, the Buccaneer bloodline took immediate effect, directly amplifying his physical strength the moment it fused with his body.
Once Kyoya's body fully matured, the Buccaneer bloodline's enhancement would reach its peak.
But the Observation Haki is different.
This is an ultimate ability capable of developing powers like [Hearing the Voice of All Things], [Future Sight], and [Mind Reading].
With his strength multiplied thirtyfold, Kyoya could now casually unleash Kenatsu with every swing. Opponents of Ozawa's level couldn't even withstand a single strike.
"I... I admit defeat!"
Ozawa forced himself up from the ground, his smile bitter. He had foolishly believed that despite Kyoya's youth, he might still put up a fight even if the boy was stronger.
But reality proved far crueler than he imagined.
He had even released his Zanpakuto, but he couldn't even block one slash from Kyoya.
In fact, Ozawa suspected that had he not used Shikai, that single strike might have killed him outright.