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Squad 11 barracks.
Unlike the gloomy, suffocating atmosphere of Las Noches, the moment the footage of Zaraki Kenpachi getting repeatedly slashed came on-screen, the entire barracks burst into cheers and laughter.
"Wuhu! Let's go!"
"Captain, you really are the man who never goes down! That Espada is probably coughing up blood right now!"
"Kenny, when all six scythes hit you at once, you looked ridiculously cool!"
Excited voices filled the room as Yachiru, Ikkaku, and Yumichika sat huddled around the translucent screen, cheering nonstop.
Even though the video showed Zaraki getting chopped again and again, not a single one of them looked worried. If anything, they were thrilled watching him get blood-soaked in the desert.
If the Arrancar army could see this, they'd probably die from anger on the spot.
"Hah… yeah, that's exactly the kind of entrance I was hoping for." As the man being chopped to pieces in the footage, Kenpachi watched his own future battered self with zero concern. In fact, he looked a little dissatisfied as he frowned and commented, "But the me in that video wasn't wrong…"
"That Espada swings his blade like a weak little girl. Attacks like that just tickle me."
His voice overflowed with ambition and absolute confidence. Kenpachi wasn't pretending. He genuinely meant it.
Yes—whether it was now or in the future, he thought Nnoitra was weak.
Sure, "the strongest hierro" sounded intimidating, but…
Battles between Shinigami are really just clashes of spiritual pressure. The difference in power levels decides everything.
Which means the "strongest hierro" is just a bonus trait. What actually determines Nnoitra's durability and the force behind his attacks is his spiritual pressure.
Unfortunately for him, Zaraki Kenpachi is a spiritual pressure monster.
His reiatsu is second only to Aizen and the Head Captain within the entire Gotei 13.
So whether it's offense or defense, Nnoitra is destined to get crushed.
Squad 6
"Still fighting like a barbarian… It seems even in the future, Zaraki Kenpachi remains unchanged."
Byakuya Kuchiki's pitch-black eyes reflected the footage, his stoic face twisted into a faint expression of disgust.
It wasn't Kenpachi he disliked. He hated that lunatic style of fighting. And enjoying self-inflicted pain? Besides Kenpachi, who in the world had that kind of twisted hobby?
Completely absurd.
"Captain, personally I think Captain Zaraki's 'immortal' attribute is pretty impressive. If it were me, I'd be lying on the ground after two hits…" Renji said with obvious awe.
The more he watched, the more pumped Renji got. He couldn't stop imagining: If I were as unkillable as Zaraki, maybe Rukia would look at me the same way…?
The Wandenreich — Inside Silbern
"Tch… an immortal body? What's so special about that? I don't believe that alone puts him above Gremmy Thoumeaux."
Valkyrie scoffed with open disdain.
To someone with the power of Miracles, "not dying" was basic functionality.
"I agree," Lille Barro said with a nod. "Being able to tank hits is still just taking damage. If he doesn't have the destructive power to match it, he doesn't deserve a ranking."
As expected of a bunch of broken monsters.
Even as Kenpachi was shown being hacked apart, the Sternritter didn't react at all. To them, this was child's play.
Compared to their Schrift abilities, Zaraki's so-called "immortality" was nothing.
Unless…
He could show overwhelming killing power.
Meanwhile, the video continued.
A metallic clang rang out again.
It was impossible to count how many times Nnoitra had swung. After unleashing his final, desperate blow, he lowered his arms, panting hard, his wrists numb.
But the despairing part—
Kenpachi was still standing.
Aside from a few more cuts, his aura had only grown stronger.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!"
Nnoitra's veins bulged across his forehead as he roared in rage. His scream blasted away the dust around them.
It was obvious.
Failing to knock Kenpachi down had completely broken him.
Across from him, with sand swirling in the air, Kenpachi casually rested his blade on his shoulder and shook his head in disappointment.
"Hey, Espada, giving up already? That's not how a man acts."
"Hurry up and pick up your scythe. Swing at my head with everything you've got."
No mockery, no arrogance. He was being honest.
Kenpachi was only annoyed because Nnoitra was too discouraged to continue, ruining his fun of being hit.
Hueco Mundo
"DAMN IT!!!"
"This is fake! It has to be fake! I'm the strongest Espada! How could I look this pathetic in front of a Shinigami?!"
The real Nnoitra reenacted the video almost perfectly, furious enough to break his own teeth. His roar nearly blew the roof off Las Noches.
Everyone in the army was watching this. And he always bragged about being "the strongest Espada."
Now look at him.
That humiliating meltdown was exposed to all.
It made him want to crawl into a hole and die.
But the fight wasn't over.
The true despair was just beginning.
Back in the footage—
"Sigh… boring."
Seeing Nnoitra hesitate, Kenpachi exhaled and reluctantly raised his battered blade. He asked, "Hey, Arrancar. Do you know why I always fight with one hand?"
"I don't owe you an answer!"
Nnoitra screamed, reaching peak fury.
"Is that so? Then I'll tell you anyway."
Kenpachi's expression shifted, becoming serious. Meeting Nnoitra's hateful glare, he slowly lifted his chipped blade in front of him as he spoke with a hint of self-mockery:
"When I first joined the Gotei 13, the old man dragged me off for some one-on-one training. Stuff like proper swordsmanship. Boring old crap like that."
He swung the sword once, pointing the sharp tip straight at Nnoitra.
"So here's the thing. Swordsmanship, when used with both hands, is way stronger than using just one."
As his final word fell, Kenpachi placed his other hand on the hilt.
Then…
He slowly raised the blade over his head.
"What—?!"
Nnoitra's pupils shrank.
For the first time, he sensed a true life-or-death crisis.
Acting on sheer instinct, he grabbed his scythe with his severed limb and leapt upward, striking with everything he had.
I have to stop him. Before he brings that sword down—
Something inside him kept screaming.
Stop that monster's swing at all costs.
But—
"You still don't get it, huh?"
Kenpachi's calm eyes burned with primal ferocity.
His blade paused at its highest point.
Both hands gripped the hilt.
Then he brought it down with full force.
"One-Strike Style… Iaizuki!"
"..."
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