Kuruyashiki used enormous flaming blades as weapons, engaging Kenpachi Zaraki in a battle of swordsmanship high above the Seireitei.
Although those flaming blades didn't appear to possess particularly impressive physical durability, every clash with Zaraki's sword resulted in a violent explosion. Kuruyashiki nevertheless seemed to enjoy himself, simply replacing each destroyed blade and continuing his assault.
The fact that he hadn't simply thrown all his Ittō Kasō at Zaraki and the Seireitei at once was the result of Kyōraku's warning.
Otherwise, once these two Kenpachi really got fired up, there was a good chance they wouldn't stop until they had torn the Seireitei apart.
In fact, the Seireitei wasn't exactly in good condition even now.
The way Kuruyashiki was producing so many Ittō Kasō was effectively tearing down his own home. However, because he knew the Seireitei so well, he was only destroying relatively unimportant areas. No one had noticed yet.
Kenpachi Zaraki wasn't exactly having an easy time of it, either.
He could block the attacks of Ittō Kasō, but doing so required him to swing his sword with all his strength every single time. The slightest lapse in concentration would give Kuruyashiki an opening.
At this rate, the crucial question was whether Zaraki's physical endurance would give out first—or whether Kuruyashiki's Reiatsu would be exhausted first.
Kuruyashiki had noticed the same problem.
"Why don't you find out whether your body gives out first, or the Seireitei disappears first?"
Kuruyashiki was clearly confident that he had Zaraki trapped.
Although he had produced what appeared to be ninety-nine Ittō Kasō, that number was merely symbolic. As long as the Seireitei still existed, he could create as many as he wanted.
If necessary, Kuruyashiki could even launch two or three Ittō Kasō simultaneously as surprise attacks.
Zaraki's single Zanpakutō would eventually become exhausted as well.
Would he still be able to withstand the power of Ittō Kasō then?
That was Kuruyashiki's trap.
Outside the Seireitei, he might truly be inferior to Zaraki.
But within the Seireitei, he was just as worthy of the title of Kenpachi.
Zaraki didn't answer.
He simply continued swinging his sword.
This wasn't him giving up.
Rather, he was carefully searching for the flaw in Kuruyashiki's words.
"You mean destroying the Seireitei is the only way to actually cut you, right?"
Zaraki's battle intelligence was every bit as formidable as his Reiatsu.
It was just that when he encountered a problem, he usually couldn't be bothered to think about it. He was accustomed to solving everything with his muscles instead.
Kuruyashiki wasn't surprised.
In fact, he had never intended to hide it.
This was also a form of yōjin—a transparent strategy.
As a Shinigami, and more importantly, a Captain, how could Kenpachi Zaraki possibly destroy the Seireitei with his own hands?
What happened next nearly made Kuruyashiki's eyes pop out of his head.
After blocking another Ittō Kasō, Zaraki followed through with a slash toward the area occupied by the Eleventh Division.
A gigantic sword mark instantly carved itself across the Eleventh Division's territory.
A training hall was caught in the attack and shattered into countless pieces.
"Damn it. Did he really find a loophole?"
Tsunayoshi turned toward Retsu Unohana.
"Captain Unohana, should we stop the fight?"
"The affairs of a Kenpachi should be settled by a Kenpachi."
Unohana's expression remained completely calm.
"Destroying one Eleventh Division facility is acceptable."
Someone who had walked out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood could hardly be shaken by a little damage to her territory.
Or perhaps Zaraki was simply being more rational than it appeared.
His attack had been a test of whether Kuruyashiki was telling the truth, and he had deliberately directed it toward an unoccupied building.
Now Zaraki had obtained his answer.
It seemed Kuruyashiki truly was inseparable from the Seireitei.
Did that mean he really had to destroy the Seireitei to win this battle?
If he relied on Nozarashi alone, how long would that take?
Zaraki himself hadn't noticed that his mindset was gradually changing.
At first, he had wanted to kill Kuruyashiki.
Now he was thinking about how to defeat him.
Perhaps Zaraki had underestimated his own strength.
Perhaps Kuruyashiki's method of forcibly binding himself to the Seireitei was simply too unfair.
Unable to find a path to victory, Zaraki had gradually forgotten his original intention of killing Kuruyashiki.
[A-Ken, do whatever you want. I believe in A-Ken...]
Zaraki's eyes suddenly widened.
He had heard the voice of his Zanpakutō.
His Zanpakutō had responded to his refusal to admit defeat.
That voice...
Could it really be you, Yachiru...?
Zaraki had already begun to suspect Yachiru Kusajishi's true identity back when she was able to act as his humanoid power-up and assist him in battle.
The voice he had just heard sounded completely different from Yachiru's usual voice—it was that of a mature woman.
But who else in this world would call him A-Ken?
Should he respond?
And if he did, what would happen to Yachiru?
For the first time, Zaraki's normally unstoppable heart hesitated.
It lasted only an instant.
But that instant was enough.
An Ittō Kasō grazed Nozarashi and pierced straight through his chest.
"Captain Zaraki!"
The Eleventh Division members watching the battle shouted in alarm.
Could they really be about to witness the succession of the Kenpachi firsthand?
Zaraki plunged toward the Eleventh Division's grounds like a flaming meteor.
When the flames collided with the ground, another enormous eruption of fire burst into the sky, immediately preventing the Division members who wanted to rescue him from approaching.
"Ikkaku!"
"I know!"
Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayase exchanged a glance.
They both understood what the other had decided.
They drew their Zanpakutō.
They were going to save him.
They didn't care about the Kenpachi Challenge.
The man they had chosen to follow for the rest of their lives came from Zaraki District!
The flames produced by Ittō Kasō were certainly enough to make ordinary people hesitate, but they weren't enough to stop Ikkaku Madarame.
He unleashed his Bankai.
No matter how intense the flames were, he would split them apart with a single strike.
"Shouldn't we stop them?"
Tsunayoshi asked Unohana.
"The reason the Kenpachi Challenge is held before the entire Eleventh Division isn't merely so that the Division members can acknowledge the new Kenpachi's strength."
Unohana's voice remained composed.
"It is also a test of the current Kenpachi's ability to command the loyalty of the Division."
"If the challenger has what it takes, then let him challenge the entire Eleventh Division."
Tsunayoshi had no idea whether this was an actual rule or something Unohana had invented on the spot.
But its meaning was obvious.
She wasn't going to interfere.
She tacitly approved of Ikkaku's actions.
Her attitude clearly favored Zaraki.
"Stop! Who told you to interfere with my battle?!"
Zaraki's dry, hoarse voice came from within the flames.
His fury came with it.
"Get lost!"
Ikkaku had just been cursed out by his Captain, but he didn't take it to heart.
Instead, he grinned and waved toward the Division members behind him.
"Get lost, get lost! Don't interfere with the Captain's battle!"
A wave of Reiatsu swept the flames aside.
Zaraki was revealed within.
His entire body had been scorched black.
The wound across his chest was still glowing red like molten metal, though it was impossible to tell whether the color came from his blood or the residual Reiatsu of Ittō Kasō.
"Not bad."
Zaraki grinned.
His charred face twisted into a terrifying smile.
"I've decided."
"I'll cut you down!"
Zaraki finally stopped worrying about the consequences.
He would simply follow his instincts.
He wanted to kill Kuruyashiki.
So what if his opponent carried the entire Seireitei on his shoulders?
That wasn't something the Captain of a combat-oriented Division needed to consider.
The Eleventh Division only needed to fight.
The consequences and logistics were someone else's problem.
Plop.
A small sound came from beside Tsunayoshi.
A miniature Shihakushō had appeared next to him.
Beside the Shihakushō lay a tiny Lieutenant's badge.
A-Ken's cry seemed to still echo in his ears.
But this time, the person herself was completely gone.
Tsunayoshi slowly gathered the clothes and Lieutenant's badge Yachiru had left behind.
Behind him came Unohana's shocked voice.
"Yachiru... Could it be?"
"When you stabbed my chest in the Rukongai back then, it wasn't just Zaraki."
"Yachiru was part of it as well."
"His overwhelming power caused him to seal away a portion of himself. Yachiru was born from that self-sealing. After that power was sealed, what remained was the Kenpachi you see today."
"When Zaraki recognizes what he truly wants and develops an overwhelming desire for power, Yachiru will inevitably respond."
"From the moment she was born, Yachiru's disappearance was inevitable."
"How could...?"
Unohana had already guessed most of it.
Even so, she covered her mouth in disbelief.
She didn't want to accept that the beloved mascot of the Seireitei—the President of the Women's Shinigami Association—had simply disappeared like this.
"As more people like you and me demonstrate overwhelming combat power, Zaraki's desire for strength will only grow."
Tsunayoshi spoke quietly.
"Yachiru's return was inevitable."
At present, there were already at least five people in the Seireitei whose combat strength surpassed Zaraki's.
Tsunayoshi.
Yamamoto.
Unohana.
Urahara.
Yoruichi.
As the Captain of the Seireitei's premier combat Division, if Kenpachi Zaraki couldn't even rank among the strongest fighters, then what meaning did his existence have?
And that was without even counting the people in the Human World.
Someone like Ichigo, the ultimate wild card, could potentially surge ahead of Zaraki at any moment.
This made it impossible for Zaraki to continue pretending to be a rookie while wearing his eyepatch.
Reclaiming the power that truly belonged to him was inevitable.
That was why Nozarashi had appeared.
And when even the power of Shikai could no longer satisfy Zaraki's desire to fight, a higher level of power would answer his call.
That was the reason Yachiru had disappeared.
The power of Shikai was no longer enough to satisfy Zaraki's hunger for strength.
Back with Zaraki himself, he had no idea what was happening near Tsunayoshi.
He only knew that at the instant he made his decision, it felt as though something new had appeared inside his body.
His past attempts to call out to his Zanpakutō had been like stones sinking into a bottomless sea.
But now, his call had finally found a target.
Zaraki was even certain that if he entered Zanjutsu meditation, he would be able to communicate directly with his Zanpakutō Spirit.
As for the troublesome Kuruyashiki...
He would simply tear him to pieces first.
A murderous intent filled Zaraki's eyes and shot directly toward Kuruyashiki.
Kuruyashiki's expression remained unchanged.
He had nearly killed Zaraki just moments ago.
It would have been strange if Zaraki didn't want to kill him.
Kuruyashiki didn't stop moving.
He withdrew every remaining Ittō Kasō from the sky.
The Reishi was completely dispersed before being recombined.
He wasn't surprised that Zaraki had recovered his fighting spirit.
He had already prepared other techniques for him.
Above Ittō Kasō was an even higher level of Kidō.
Aizen's personal favorite.
Hadō #99 — Goryūtenmetsu.
The next instant, the sky above the Seireitei was filled with the roars of dragons.
There were simply too many.
Dense masses of dragons intertwined and coiled through the sky, making it impossible to determine exactly how many there were.
"Hadō — Calamity's Mad Dragons."
This time, Kuruyashiki didn't specify a number.
The purpose of this Kidō was simple:
Destroy the enemy.
Until the enemy was completely annihilated, the number of dragons would continue to increase.
They could not be killed.
They could not be extinguished.
Within this calamity, the enemy would eventually meet true destruction.
Tsunayoshi stared at the absurd sight of dragons filling the sky and silently compared it with Aizen's Goryūtenmetsu.
Kuruyashiki and Aizen had clearly taken completely different paths.
Kuruyashiki relied on quantity.
Aizen placed greater emphasis on quality.
Aizen's Goryūtenmetsu had already developed a distinctive personal style.
The version he used possessed extremely recognizable characteristics:
Mirrored surfaces.
Brilliance.
Illusion.
It could be said that Aizen's Goryūtenmetsu had already gone beyond the ordinary limits of Hadō #99, becoming a unique Kidō technique belonging to him alone.
What would happen if these two versions of Goryūtenmetsu collided?
As a mere spectator enjoying the spectacle, Tsunayoshi idly wondered about it.
Unfortunately, someone interrupted his leisurely thoughts.
"It's about to begin, Tsunayoshi..."
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