"Kyoya, Kyoya..."
"Gin, Gin..."
Clear, cheerful voices echoed through the 11th Division's barracks. Hearing these calls, the corners of the division's members' lips couldn't help but curl upward.
Within the entire 11th Division, the only one who could address the Captain, Kyoya and the Lieutenant, Gin, so casually was Rangiku.
Five years had passed, and Rangiku had grown close to everyone in the 11th Division, earning their affection.
Of course, as a combat division, Rangiku's acceptance stemmed from her own strength. Otherwise, even if she were Kyoya's 'older sister', the division's members wouldn't have given her any special treatment.
Judging by the tone of her voice, it seemed something delightful had happened, and she wanted to share it with Kyoya and Gin.
"Rangiku-san, Captain Kyoya and Lieutenant Ichimaru seem to have headed toward the training grounds." Some division's members who had seen Kyoya and Gin informed Rangiku as she approached.
"Oh, right! Today's the day Kyoya instructs everyone in Zanjutsu." Rangiku realized.
"Thanks, everyone!"
After thanking the Shinigami stationed outside the Captain's office, Rangiku turned and dashed toward the 11th Division's training grounds.
On the training grounds, numerous members of the 11th Division were either sparring in pairs, fighting against multiple opponents, or practicing alone… everything was orderly.
Meanwhile, Kyoya and Gin strolled through the area, occasionally pausing to observe the division's members' Zanjutsu techniques.
If they noticed any mistakes in someone's training, they would step forward to correct and guide them.
"Gin! Kyoya!"
From a distance, Kyoya heard Rangiku's voice.
Looking up, he saw a vibrant girl of about sixteen or seventeen running toward them excitedly.
"Rangiku, you're not a child anymore. You should pay more attention to your demeanor and stop being so loud and careless."
Seeing this, Kyoya straightened his expression and scolded her.
Over the past five years, both Rangiku and Gin had grown significantly in height… almost changing year by year.
Gin now stood over 170 cm tall, while Rangiku wasn't far behind, likely around 168 cm, if not 170 cm.
In contrast, Kyoya had only grown two centimeters in five years… from 145 cm to 147 cm, still not even reaching 150 cm.
At this point, Kyoya couldn't help but feel exasperated with the growth rate of souls in the Soul Society.
If a child's soul entered the Soul Society through Soul Burial in the living world, their growth rate would be similar to that in the living world… reaching adulthood in just over a decade.
However, for children born directly in the Soul Society, those without Reiatsu would grow normally, but those with Reiatsu would have their growth speed determined by the strength of their Reiryoku.
Kyoya's original Reiryoku hadn't been strong… not even matching Rangiku's.
But after several modifications from the One Piece Achievement System, especially the changes to his soul's essence from mastering the three Haki, his spiritual essence had undergone tremendous improvement.
Perhaps because of this, Kyoya's soul was now treated as a native soul of the Soul Society, slowing his growth rate several times over.
While Rangiku and Gin were already exchanging flirtatious glances, Kyoya still looked like a young boy… how could he not be frustrated?
Because of this, once Rangiku's height surpassed his, Kyoya had stopped calling her 'Rangiku-nee' and instead addressed her directly by name.
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry, Kyoya! I forgot you're still a kid-"
Rangiku paid no heed to Kyoya's warning. Instead, she patted his head, thoroughly enjoying the sight of him getting annoyed but unable to do anything about it.
Gin stood to the side, smiling as he watched Kyoya and Rangiku's interaction.
These past few years in the 11th Division had been the most relaxed and joyful period of Gin's life.
At the same time, it was the vision he fought to protect… the reason he endured his time under Aizen.
The more he interacted with the straightforward and simple-minded members of the 11th Division, the more Gin despised the constant vigilance and paranoia required around Aizen, always wary of being schemed against.
Most others didn't concern Gin much, but one person stood out as a true threat… Tosen Kaname.
From what Gin knew, Tosen had already mastered his Zanpakuto's Bankai, attaining Captain-level strength.
During their joint Hollowfication experiments with Aizen, many Shinigami had unknowingly fallen victim to Tosen's Shikai, effortlessly turned into test subjects.
That ability was troublesome even for Gin.
Unfortunately, despite Kyoya's teachings on a Reikaku called Observation Haki, Gin had made little progress.
This training method, which involved blindfolded practice, was at least ten times more difficult than swordsmanship.
At least with swordsmanship, Gin had some sense of direction, able to perceive his path forward.
But with Observation Haki, aside from slightly improved reflexes when facing sudden attacks, Gin couldn't sense anything else.
Gin suspected that if Tosen were to train in Observation Haki, he might master it effortlessly.
In fact, Gin believed Tosen's perception of the outside world was already on par with what Kyoya described as basic Observation Haki.
"Rangiku!"
Feeling her hand still messing with his hair, Kyoya roared in anger, his Reiatsu exploding outward and instantly knocking Rangiku's hand away.
"You'd better have some good news that will cheer me up later."
"Rangiku, I remember it's been a long time since I last instructed you in training."
"I hope you haven't been slacking off during this time."
"Otherwise-"
Hearing Kyoya's words, Rangiku instinctively shrank back slightly.
Then, she turned her gaze toward Gin, silently pleading for help.
Clearly, Kyoya's 'instruction' wasn't a pleasant memory for her.
Gin, noticing Rangiku's desperate look, deliberately turned his head away, avoiding her eyes.
Though he knew Kyoya's training sessions could be brutal for Rangiku, each one brought her significant improvements in Zanjutsu and invaluable combat experience… the benefits that far outweighed the pain.
How could he let her miss such an opportunity just because he couldn't bear to see her suffer?
Even he, if not for currently being in a bottleneck where he needed personal breakthroughs, would have gladly sparred with Kyoya a few times to refine his own Zanjutsu.
Over the years, Kyoya's swordsmanship had grown terrifying.
If before, Gin could still vaguely grasp the depth of Kyoya's swordsmanship, now, he couldn't even see the shadow of it.
Gin suspected that five years ago, Kyoya might have needed to release his Zanpakuto to defeat other Gotei 13's Captains.
But now, relying solely on his swordsmanship, without even releasing his Zanpakuto, Kyoya could overpower any other division's Captain.
Those hundred-meter slashes carried more destructive force than some Captains' Shikai.
Of course, Gin's intuition wasn't wrong.
Over these five years, Kyoya had unlocked the remaining three top-level gold-tier achievements, granting him another massive leap in power.
That's right… not two, but three gold-tier achievements.
Aside from the two he had left unopened earlier, after mastering his Zanpakuto's Bankai, Kyoya had also earned a gold-tier achievement: [Awakened Devil Fruit].
From this achievement, he unlocked the Armament Haki.
With that, Kyoya had fully awakened all three Haki types.
As for the [World's Strongest Swordsman] achievement, Kyoya obtained the lifetime swordsmanship mastery of Dracule Mihawk, the strongest swordsman in the One Piece World.
Now, having fused the skills of two Master Swordsmen, Kyoya had truly become the [World's Strongest Swordsman] across both the One Piece and Bleach Worlds!
It was precisely because of this advancement that Gin, who hadn't yet broken through the 'Steel-Cutting', felt the gap between his swordsmanship and Kyoya's was as vast as an ant staring at the sky.
Seeing that Gin wouldn't save her, Rangiku pouted.
"Today, during my Zanzen, I heard my Zanpakuto respond to me."
"Oh? Really?"
Kyoya and Gin spoke almost simultaneously, their eyes lighting up as they looked at Rangiku.
Hearing her Zanpakuto's voice meant Rangiku was close to achieving Shikai.
Perhaps even...
"Then, Rangiku, did you hear your Zanpakuto's name?"
Gin pressed eagerly.
Communication between a Shinigami and their Zanpakuto came in two forms.
The first was when the Zanpakuto deemed its wielder unworthy and refused to reveal its name.
In such cases, the Shinigami had to repeatedly engage with their sword, building trust until the Zanpakuto finally disclosed its name, allowing the wielder to achieve Shikai.
The second scenario was when the Zanpakuto actively told its wielder its name… but if the Shinigami's Reiryoku wasn't strong enough to meet the release requirements, the name would sound muffled or even completely silent to them.
Since Rangiku had already received a response, Kyoya and Gin wanted to know which situation she was in.
That way, they could tailor her training to help her achieve Shikai as quickly as possible.
Others might not realize it, but Gin, who was involved in Aizen's experiments, knew that Aizen had grown bolder recently, and over a hundred Shinigami had already gone missing.
Though Gin and Kyoya's presence ensured Aizen wouldn't dare target Rangiku, the increasingly tense atmosphere in Seireitei made them both eager to strengthen her before potential chaos erupted.