"Old man, you're seriously no fun!"
Kenpachi Zaraki complained loudly to Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, though he still sheathed his Zanpakutō and stepped back obediently.
"Captains, lieutenants, what are your thoughts?"
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto swept his gaze across the room and asked in a deep voice, "Do you believe Uchiha Ryūjin is qualified to join us?"
"Captain Commander, this young man possesses strength comparable to Captain Zaraki. With his addition, the power of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads will undoubtedly increase further."
Unohana Retsu was the first to speak, carrying the gentle elegance of a refined older sister.
No one would ever guess that such a woman was once a terrifying devil whose name alone caused countless people in Soul Society to tremble.
"Since he possesses this level of strength, I naturally have no objections."
Tōshirō Hitsugaya immediately expressed his agreement.
"Oh dear, what a troublesome matter. Since the Eleventh Division wants him, as long as Captain Zaraki approves, isn't that enough?" Kyōraku Shunsui said lazily while yawning.
"Captain Commander, I have no objections."
Kuchiki Byakuya spoke respectfully toward Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, his noble demeanor remaining as composed and elegant as ever.
Among all the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Byakuya valued etiquette and rules more than anyone else.
"I hope Ryūjin-kun's addition will make the Thirteen Court Guard Squads even stronger."
Soi Fon also voiced her approval.
Some captains openly expressed their opinions while others stayed silent, but not a single person objected.
Everyone understood that this process was mostly ceremonial anyway.
Kyōraku Shunsui was correct. Since the Eleventh Division wanted Ryūjin, and Captain Zaraki himself approved, that alone was enough.
As long as Ryūjin possessed sufficient strength and wouldn't disgrace the reputation of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, nobody cared much beyond that.
Only Aizen silently pondered the matter inwardly.
His carefully crafted plan, built in secret over many years, was gradually approaching its final stage.
Would the sudden appearance of someone equal to Kenpachi Zaraki disrupt his plans?
From Aizen's perspective, Ryūjin was an uncontrollable variable.
Naturally, he would rather Ryūjin not join the Eleventh Division.
Unfortunately, Aizen had no legitimate reason to oppose him, so he simply smiled modestly and welcomed him like everyone else.
"Since nobody objects, this old man hereby announces that from this moment onward, Uchiha Ryūjin officially joins the Eleventh Division as a member of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads."
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto made the final decision personally.
Just like that, Ryūjin smoothly became part of the Eleventh Division.
"Very well. The assessment regarding Uchiha Ryūjin's admission into the Thirteen Court Guard Squads has concluded. Dismissed."
After speaking, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto rose from his seat and departed immediately.
The remaining captains also began leaving in small groups.
"Little Ryū, welcome to the Eleventh Division!"
Yachiru Kusajishi jumped back onto Kenpachi Zaraki's shoulder and waved cheerfully at Ryūjin.
"Uchiha Ryūjin, my Eleventh Division doesn't have rules. Everything here is decided by strength."
Kenpachi Zaraki casually tossed out those words before walking away.
Once they returned to the Eleventh Division Barracks, Yachiru Kusajishi immediately gathered every member together.
"Everyone, you've all heard the news already, right? Uchiha Ryūjin will officially become part of our Eleventh Division from now on!"
Yachiru enthusiastically introduced him to the squad.
The surrounding members immediately began sizing Ryūjin up.
Some looked hostile, some seemed friendly, while others remained indifferent.
Then Ryūjin casually stepped forward and spoke a single sentence that instantly detonated like a bomb in the middle of the crowd.
"Good, everyone's here. Saves me the trouble of finding another opportunity."
Ryūjin pointed directly at Kenpachi Zaraki.
"Captain Zaraki, I want to challenge you. If I win, you hand over the captain's position."
The entire area exploded into chaos.
"Uchiha Ryūjin, you've got some nerve!"
"You just joined and you're already challenging the captain? Are you insane?!"
"Do you even understand what you're saying?!"
The members of the Eleventh Division instantly erupted in fury.
Originally, Ryūjin only planned on joining the Eleventh Division.
He had no intention of becoming captain.
But after visiting the First Division Barracks, he changed his mind.
He needed more opportunities to access the First Division.
Ordinary members rarely had any reason to enter that place, but captains and lieutenants were different.
For the sake of future sign ins, Ryūjin decided he would take the captain's seat for himself.
Fortunately, while this would be shocking in other divisions, it wasn't entirely unheard of in the Eleventh Division.
After all, Kenpachi Zaraki himself had killed the previous captain upon joining the division and seized the position directly.
Under Kenpachi's leadership, the Eleventh Division had become a place that worshipped strength above everything else.
"A bunch of weaklings, what right do you have to bark at me?"
Ryūjin sneered coldly.
The next second, a terrifying wave of Spiritual Pressure exploded from his body and crashed down onto every member of the Eleventh Division.
"Damn it!"
"What insane pressure!"
Ikkaku Madarame and the others were furious.
None of them expected this newcomer to be arrogant enough to suppress the entire division immediately after joining.
Yet Ryūjin's Spiritual Pressure was simply overwhelming.
Compared to him, all of their combined pressure felt insignificant.
Even though everyone released their own Spiritual Pressure together to resist him, it accomplished absolutely nothing.
Each of them felt as though a massive mountain had been dropped onto their shoulders.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
Their knees bent lower and lower.
Just before they were forced onto the ground, Ryūjin finally withdrew his Spiritual Pressure.
The members immediately gasped heavily for air, staring at him with fear and disbelief.
Nobody dared speak recklessly anymore.
It was obvious Ryūjin had shown mercy.
Otherwise, every single one of them would've already been kneeling.
"Hahahaha!"
Kenpachi Zaraki burst into loud laughter.
Without wasting another word, he directly pulled out his Zanpakutō.
"Not bad! The captain's seat belongs only to the strong! Uchiha Ryūjin, I like you more and more!"
As he spoke, Kenpachi gently set Yachiru down before walking toward Ryūjin step by step.
"Let's have another proper fight to the death!"
"I lost last time, but don't think I'll lose again!"
To a certain extent, Kenpachi Zaraki resembled a Saiyan.
Every life and death battle caused his strength to grow, especially after suffering severe injuries.
Naturally, the increase wasn't as ridiculous as an actual Saiyan's growth, but it was still extremely abnormal.
Swoosh!
Kenpachi Zaraki instantly swung his Zanpakutō and charged directly at Ryūjin.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two immediately erupted into another violent battle.
Kenpachi Zaraki was someone who lived purely for combat, and the personality Ryūjin currently displayed wasn't much different.
Neither of them held back in the slightest.
The battle escalated almost instantly.
Terrifying Spiritual Pressure spread throughout the entire Seireitei.
The unfortunate Eleventh Division Barracks quickly collapsed into ruins under the shockwaves of their fight.
The overwhelming clash naturally alarmed all of Seireitei once again.
Many Shinigami were shocked, uncertain about what exactly was happening.
However, the captains and lieutenants who had just returned from the First Division quickly relaxed after sensing the familiar Spiritual Pressure.
Given Captain Zaraki's personality, starting another massive battle immediately after returning wasn't strange at all.
Everyone knew he was a complete battle addict.
"This is simply Captain Zaraki sparring with one of his division members. There's no need for concern."
The captains reassured their subordinates, finally calming the panic spreading throughout Seireitei.
As a result, nearly the entire Seireitei began paying attention to the clash between Ryūjin and Kenpachi Zaraki.
After all, with two monstrous Spiritual Pressures colliding so violently, ignoring it was impossible.
"Judging by the timing, they must've only just returned to the barracks, and they're already fighting again."
Kyōraku Shunsui sighed helplessly and shook his head.
"Seriously, if there's no mission, wouldn't relaxing be much better?"
"Uchiha Ryūjin still hasn't released his full Spiritual Pressure. There's an even greater power hidden inside him."
A faint look of surprise appeared in Aizen Sōsuke's eyes.
Soon after, he adjusted his glasses and smiled meaningfully.
"Interesting. This person may not be as simple as he appears."
Naturally, nobody else in Soul Society noticed this.
Not even Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto detected it.
The reason was simple.
Their Spiritual Pressure wasn't high enough.
Among everyone in Soul Society, Aizen's Spiritual Pressure was the strongest.
Even stronger than Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's.
It was precisely because of that monstrous level of Spiritual Pressure that Yhwach would later acknowledge Aizen as one of the Five Special War Powers.
"Does Uchiha Ryūjin require special attention?"
Standing beside Aizen, Ichimaru Gin casually asked while continuing to play the role of Aizen's subordinate.
"Could he become a variable?" Tōsen Kaname asked deeply.
"It's too early to conclude anything. We'll observe him for now. Perhaps I can incorporate him into my plans."
Aizen spoke meaningfully.
Within Aizen's current scheme, there was only one method capable of extracting the Hōgyoku hidden inside Rukia Kuchiki.
That method involved using the terrifying high temperature of the Sōkyoku execution to completely evaporate Rukia Kuchiki's soul.
Only then could the Hōgyoku be extracted successfully.
To make this happen, Central 46 needed to issue the execution order personally.
Which meant Central 46 had to fall under Aizen's control.
Because of that, eliminating Central 46 was absolutely necessary.
Still, someone as cautious as Aizen naturally prepared backup plans.
No matter how confident he was in his scheme, nobody could guarantee success until everything was completed.
If some unexpected accident caused the plan to fail before he obtained the Hōgyoku, he needed another option available.
And now, the suddenly appearing Uchiha Ryūjin seemed like a perfect choice.
If his plans failed and the destruction of Central 46 was exposed, Ryūjin could become the ideal scapegoat.
At that point, Aizen could continue hiding within Soul Society while preparing another strategy.
After all, Ryūjin had only recently arrived in Seireitei.
If Central 46 was suddenly wiped out shortly after his arrival, suspicion would naturally fall onto him.
Combined with several additional schemes Aizen had already prepared, he could easily shift all blame onto Ryūjin if necessary.
Of course, these were merely precautions born from Aizen's cautious nature.
In truth, he remained extremely confident in his plan.
Naturally, Aizen had no way of knowing that all these backup schemes involving Ryūjin would eventually become meaningless.
After all, he couldn't possibly predict that someone named Ichigo Kurosaki would later become the true variable threatening everything.
Forcing him to fake his death and search for another method of extracting the Hōgyoku within the Great Underground Central Prison.
Meanwhile, Ryūjin remained completely unaware of Aizen's thoughts.
At that moment, he was still fully "immersed" in his battle against Kenpachi Zaraki.
After an extremely "difficult" fight, Ryūjin finally slammed Kenpachi Zaraki into the ground once again.
"Captain Zaraki, you lost. No, Kenpachi Zaraki, you lost. I'm the captain now."
Ryūjin looked down at him arrogantly from above.
"I, Kenpachi Zaraki, always keep my word. Since I lost, I'll naturally hand over the captain's seat."
"We'll go find the old man right now and make you the new captain of the Eleventh Division!"
Kenpachi Zaraki declared seriously.