Chapter 12: The Scent of Power
Looking at Rukia's flushed face, Renji Abarai felt like he was going insane.
But the irresistible aroma wafting from Kuroha was too strong. Gritting his teeth against the awkwardness, he stepped forward and wrapped Kuroha in a full bear hug.
What came out of Rukia's mouth next nearly made Renji question whether he was about to take his first step down a very different path.
"Renji, really feel it—you'll notice something special."
Renji jolted. Then he noticed something was very wrong.
No— He noticed something was very right.
Not only were his pores opening wide, but the spiritual energy inside his body suddenly felt alive, surging with unusual smoothness. When he instinctively tried circulating it, the flow was noticeably slicker and more effortless than normal.
Right now, Renji had the absurd urge to just cling to Kuroha like a koala on a tree.
"Alright, Renji—let go already. A grown man hugging a drunk teenage boy? Even I'm getting grossed out. Captain Zaraki already took the sake jug," Ikkaku Madarame said, rolling his eyes and shooting Renji a look of disdain.
Just moments ago Renji had been completely repulsed by Kuroha. Now he was practically koala-ing him. This "True Fragrance Law" was getting ridiculous.
Still—compared to this nonsense, Ikkaku was far more interested in the sake jug now in Kenpachi's hands. The memory of that involuntary rush of pleasure made him itch with urgency. If the jug hadn't been claimed by the captain he respected most, Ikkaku might have tried snatching it himself.
"Hm?"
Kenpachi held the jug under his nose and took a long, deep inhale. His eyes suddenly widened.
BOOM!
A violent surge of reiatsu erupted from within him like a tidal wave—unrestrained and explosive. The shockwave blasted outward, forcing Rukia and the others to stagger back several steps.
Even the eyepatch covering his right eye snapped apart under the pressure.
Ikkaku snapped awake first and shouted urgently: "Get back—now! Or you'll get hurt!"
As Kenpachi's most loyal follower, Ikkaku knew exactly what that eyepatch meant: It was the seal suppressing the overwhelming majority of Kenpachi's reiatsu. Unless Kenpachi removed it himself, most of his power remained locked away.
But now—just from inhaling the aroma—the seal had broken on its own.
BANG!
The raging reiatsu storm swept through the area.
Kenpachi—still in a daze of intoxication—instinctively raised the jug to his lips and tried to drink.
"Empty?"
He blinked in confusion.
That incredible sensation had been cut off mid-flow. Just moments ago, when he inhaled the aroma, he had felt the absolute limit of his reiatsu trembling—as if one more push would shatter it completely. The bottleneck that had plagued him for so long—the frustrating constipation-like blockage—had been on the verge of bursting wide open.
But now the jug was dry. The feeling vanished.
A deep sense of emptiness and frustration welled up inside him. He almost wanted to punch Kuroha awake right then and there.
But as captain of the Eleventh Division, Kenpachi still had some shred of composure. He licked his dry lips, closed his left eye, and forcibly reined in the wild reiatsu.
Looking again at Kuroha—and the now-empty jug—he broke into an even more savage grin.
"This kid… really isn't as simple as I thought. That sake is even more potent than old Kyōraku's stuff. He's officially moved up to the top of my 'worth cutting' list."
"Renji, you and Rukia take the brat to the exam. Leave the rest to Ikkaku. I believe this guy won't disappoint me. As for the report to old man Yamamoto—I'll handle it myself."
Seeing Kenpachi's sudden shift from manic excitement back to calm determination—and his vow to protect Kuroha and keep him in the Eleventh Division for endless fights—Renji froze.
Especially when he heard Kuroha had jumped straight to the highest priority on Kenpachi's personal hit list.
"Captain Zaraki… the report has already been submitted to Captain-Commander Yamamoto. It should be in his hands by now. It lists three bamboo."
"Three bamboo?"
Kenpachi paused for a second, then waved his hand dismissively.
"Doesn't matter how many bamboo he has. Even if it really is three, I'll back him. If he fails, I'll force him into the Eleventh Division anyway. I want my fights. As for old man Yamamoto—I'll go talk to him myself. You two—go, now."
Watching Kenpachi turn and stride away—full of cruel anticipation and dead-set on securing Kuroha for the Eleventh Division—Rukia's face showed a trace of bitter resignation.
She glanced down at the still-snoring Shiba Kuroha in her arms.
This kind of special treatment from a captain… she wasn't sure whether to feel fortunate or pity him.
First Division barracks The vast courtyard felt unusually quiet and desolate.
Shunsui Kyōraku, in his flowery kimono, lazily shook the half-empty sake gourd in his hand as he strolled into the main hall.
"Old man Yamamoto, calling me over so urgently… this wouldn't happen to be about that kid, would it?" Shunsui sat down casually.
Chōjirō Sasakibe soon approached and handed over a document.
"This is the report from the Eleventh Division and the Shinigami in charge of reception—Kuchiki Rukia. Please take a look first," Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni said, leaning on his cane with eyes closed in meditation.
As one of the two students Yamamoto truly valued, Shunsui's drinking habits and casual dress sense clashed heavily with the old captain's rigid traditionalism. But beyond that, Shunsui remained the person Yamamoto trusted most. In the original timeline, after Yamamoto's death, it was Shunsui who succeeded him as Captain-Commander.
Shiba KurohaZanjutsu: Unknown Kidō: Unknown Hohō: Unknown Hakuda: Suspected Exceptional Reiatsu: Three Bamboo
"Exceptional Hakuda but only three-bamboo reiatsu… isn't there likely some error here?" Shunsui raised an eyebrow.
He had been among the earliest students of the Shin'ō Academy and later served there as an instructor. But a student this extremely specialized—he had never seen before.
"Captain Kyōraku, Shiba Kuroha was in a state of intoxication at the time. He is currently held in the reiatsu-suppression chamber. His reiatsu level was measured via the black stone—there should be minimal margin of error," Sasakibe explained.
"As for marking Hakuda as 'suspected exceptional'—that is based on Kuchiki Rukia's testimony: Shiba Kuroha obliterated a soul-mutated oni with a single punch."
"One punch to obliterate an oni?" Shunsui's eyes widened briefly before he recovered. "If Rukia's report is accurate, that is indeed his most outstanding feat.
But I suspect, old man, the real reason you called me here isn't the kid's strength—it's the oni issue, isn't it?"
As captain of the Eighth Division—primarily responsible for intelligence—Shunsui might seem laid-back and frivolous on the surface. But his insight and strategic mind were unmatched.
"You're correct," Yamamoto said, opening his eyes with a grave tone. "I made an exception to grant the Shiba Clan's recommendation only to draw out whoever is lurking in the shadows—hoping they would show themselves again.
I never expected these new oni to exhibit soul mutations strikingly similar to those from one hundred years ago. Afterward, Captain Zaraki pursued the escaped oni… and found they had completely vanished without a trace…"
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