Hearing Unohana's shout, Tsunayoshi slowly raised an imaginary question mark.
Wasn't she completely unconcerned just a moment ago? Why does she suddenly want to stop the battle?
"Look around you."
All around them, the surrounding walls and buildings were gradually transforming into Reishi, beginning from their uppermost sections, before disappearing altogether.
Tsunayoshi knew exactly what this meant.
It was the most obvious manifestation of Kuruyashiki drawing upon the power of the Seireitei to fight.
Was Unohana really getting worried over this?
Tsunayoshi had assumed she had already anticipated it.
"If you want Kuruyashiki to stop, just call out to him. He can return all the power afterward. There's no need to panic."
Tsunayoshi remained completely calm.
"It's not the surrounding buildings."
Unohana's expression was grave.
"It's around Captain Zaraki!"
Following Unohana's warning, Tsunayoshi finally noticed that something was indeed unusual around Zaraki.
It was killing intent made almost tangible.
It was as thick and crimson as blood, slowly winding itself around Kenpachi Zaraki's body.
Unohana had once been a butcher herself.
She understood killing intent far too well, which was why she had noticed Zaraki's abnormality immediately.
"This isn't right. If he recklessly allows that killing intent to enter his body, he'll lose himself!"
Unohana had plenty of experience with this.
That was precisely why she had called Tsunayoshi.
If Zaraki completely lost himself within that killing intent, he would become nothing more than a beast driven solely by slaughter.
Losing another Kenpachi like that was unacceptable.
Tsunayoshi understood what Unohana meant and was about to stand up and move with her.
Then he heard a low growl from Zaraki.
"Bankai..."
The blood-red killing intent opened like an enormous mouth and swallowed Kenpachi Zaraki whole.
The thread called reason gradually snapped.
His limbs bent as he crouched on all fours.
Two horns grew from his forehead.
His skin turned blood-red.
He looked like a demon born for nothing but slaughter.
This time, Unohana didn't need to say another word.
Tsunayoshi and Unohana moved simultaneously, appearing on either side of Zaraki.
The moment they landed, the killing intent pouring from Zaraki crashed toward them.
Unohana drew her Zanpakutō and released her Bankai, Minazuki, flooding the area with a pool of blood.
At the same time, Tsunayoshi activated his Rain-type Bankai.
A fine drizzle descended upon Zaraki.
The calming effect seemed to have some impact.
"Wake up, Kenpachi Zaraki!"
Unohana's reprimand carried overwhelming authority, immediately suppressing the extent of Zaraki's transformation.
Soaked by the rain, Zaraki's mind gradually began to clear.
But too much of his reason had already been devoured.
At this point, only one purpose remained.
"Destroy... the Seireitei..."
Hearing Zaraki's words, Tsunayoshi didn't even know where to begin complaining.
A clever person would understand that Zaraki was still fighting Kuruyashiki and had deduced the equivalence between Kuruyashiki and the Seireitei.
Someone a little slower on the uptake, however, could have sent Zaraki straight to Muken based solely on those four words.
"If you want to fight, then fight."
Tsunayoshi had overlooked one thing.
Kuruyashiki standing above them was just as reckless.
The moment he heard Zaraki's declaration, he immediately summoned five enormous dragons and sent them charging toward Zaraki.
At the same time, he didn't forget to warn Tsunayoshi and Unohana.
"Unaffiliated personnel, please evacuate immediately!"
Kuruyashiki's voice gave Zaraki a target.
Zaraki swung his sword toward him.
The descending dragons were annihilated in an instant.
Even Kuruyashiki himself suffered a certain amount of impact from the strike.
The next moment, Zaraki pounced toward Kuruyashiki in the sky like a wild beast.
His vicious jaws opened wide.
Anyone unfamiliar with the situation might even have thought Zaraki intended to attack by biting him.
Tsunayoshi and Unohana exchanged a glance.
"I'll handle Zaraki. You go wake the other idiot up."
The two vanished simultaneously.
Unohana's blood pool transformed into countless crimson whips, binding the dragons surrounding Kuruyashiki.
Meanwhile, Tsunayoshi engaged Kenpachi Zaraki with his two swords.
This Zaraki was nothing like the Kenpachi from the original story.
Tsunayoshi and Unohana had repeatedly trained and disciplined him, and he had developed a swordsmanship based entirely on his own beast-like instincts.
Combined with this monstrous Bankai, even Tsunayoshi couldn't discern the patterns behind Zaraki's swordsmanship.
After only a few exchanges, several wounds appeared across Tsunayoshi's body.
Meanwhile, the wounds Tsunayoshi inflicted on Zaraki gradually healed beneath his blood-red skin.
After just those few exchanges, Tsunayoshi understood.
To firmly suppress Zaraki in this state, he would have to use Beyond Bankai.
But the Hollow power within Tsunayoshi had not completely recovered yet.
He couldn't use Beyond Bankai for the time being.
As for his true Bankai, Tsunayoshi wasn't trying to kill Zaraki.
There was no need to unleash that level of power.
That was also why Tsunayoshi hadn't called for Yamamoto to intervene.
At this level of combat, even Yamamoto couldn't guarantee that he could hold back enough to restrain Zaraki without accidentally taking his life.
Only Tsunayoshi possessed Rain-type power that gave him a chance to attempt it.
At this point, he could only trust Zaraki's self-control.
Dense Rain-type flames surged from Tsunayoshi's twin blades.
He swung one sword, sending the flames straight into the sky.
The light drizzle abruptly transformed into a torrential downpour.
Bathed in the rain, Tsunayoshi swung one sword toward Zaraki.
Shigure Sōen Ryu — Secret Technique: Requiem Rain!
It pushed the calming property to its absolute limit.
A power capable of suppressing all changes, and likewise suppressing all evil thoughts.
"When this is over, you're definitely taking me out for a meal in the Noble District!"
Tsunayoshi spoke through gritted teeth.
Within the sudden downpour, Kenpachi Zaraki's movements gradually came to a halt.
His Zanpakutō was less than an inch from Tsunayoshi's head.
Only the slightest distance remained between the blade and splitting Tsunayoshi in two.
Yet Zaraki's Bankai had still not ended.
He remained in the form of a demon, snarling at Tsunayoshi.
Unohana's situation was considerably easier.
Kuruyashiki's objective was merely to obtain the title of Kenpachi.
Fighting the other residents of the Seireitei wasn't part of his plan.
Unohana merely walked up to Kuruyashiki with her Zanpakutō resting against her shoulder.
Kuruyashiki stopped.
The dragons filling the sky, however, did not disappear.
He was waiting.
Waiting for an answer from Kenpachi Zaraki.
If Zaraki wanted to fight, Kuruyashiki would continue the Kenpachi Challenge.
If Zaraki stopped, Kuruyashiki would follow the Seireitei's wishes.
Unohana appeared beside Tsunayoshi.
Her brows were tightly furrowed as she looked at Zaraki.
"Captain Zaraki's condition is extremely unstable. If he can't find his sense of self again, he may become nothing more than a machine of slaughter."
Unohana had experienced this state herself.
There had once been a time when she had fallen into depravity and become nothing but a sword demon who knew only how to kill, earning herself the reputation of a great villain throughout the Soul Society.
Later, with the help of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, she regained her sanity.
She incorporated all her bloodlust and killing intent into her Bankai.
It was also at that time that Unohana chose to follow Yamamoto and become a Captain of the Gotei 13.
"Wake him up?"
Tsunayoshi changed the form of his Bankai.
"It shouldn't be difficult."
Wisps of mist entered Zaraki's body along with each breath he took.
"A-Ken!"
Kenpachi Zaraki, intoxicated by his boundless power, suddenly jolted awake.
He absolutely hadn't misheard.
It was Yachiru Kusajishi calling him.
"Yachiru! Where are you?! It's time to come back!"
Zaraki shouted toward his surroundings.
But he couldn't see Yachiru anywhere.
Her voice continued to echo.
"A-Ken... wake up..."
Zaraki's consciousness gradually broke free from the surrounding killing intent.
He began to regain control over his body.
From the outside, the blood-red color covering Zaraki's body rapidly faded.
His demonic appearance gradually receded.
His eyes slowly regained their clarity.
"Has he regained consciousness?"
Tsunayoshi withdrew his ability and looked up toward Kuruyashiki.
"This battle should end here. What do you think? Continuing will be bad for both of you."
The outcome was impossible to predict.
If they continued fighting, would Zaraki's overwhelming attacks reduce the Seireitei to ashes first?
Or would Kuruyashiki exhaust Zaraki's life force first?
No one could say.
This wasn't the time to fight to the death.
There was no reason to gamble the Seireitei's survival and their own lives on this battle.
"Actually, I wanted more autonomy."
Kuruyashiki was surprisingly accepting of the outcome.
"Since the battle is over and my challenge has failed, I'll follow the orders of Captain-Commander Kyōraku."
The title of Kenpachi had merely been his objective.
It wasn't everything to him.
"Don't worry. Big Brother Kyōraku already has a place in mind for you."
Tsunayoshi smiled.
"But before that, you'll need to learn how to work within a Division."
"I'll do my best to learn..."
Kuruyashiki himself knew his weakness.
That was why he had wanted to join the Eleventh Division.
If all he had to do was fight, there was no need for so many twists and turns.
But now that he had decided to learn, the pressure wasn't particularly great for Kuruyashiki.
With his ability to observe the entire Seireitei, learning how other Shinigami handled Division affairs—and how they interacted with their colleagues—was ridiculously easy for him.
"Since you've decided to join the Seireitei, I should warn you about something."
Tsunayoshi became serious.
"Your ability is ridiculously powerful. I suspect Big Brother Kyōraku will place restrictions on it."
"Otherwise, just having a power that covers the entire Seireitei would be enough to make every female Shinigami hunt you down."
Tsunayoshi was offering the warning out of genuine concern.
Kuruyashiki's ability was incredible for gathering intelligence.
But if he used it for spying on people...
He might die very quickly.
"I understand."
Kuruyashiki nodded.
"I was planning to do exactly that."
"I'll have the Captain-Commander place a restriction on Yoruichi—"
He paused.
"—on Yoruichi? No. On Yoruichi's name?"
The source here appears to contain an MTL corruption: 雨露柘榴 is intended to refer to Yoruichi's? However, given the surrounding context, this should not be silently converted into a canon character without confirmation. The intended term is therefore retained below as a story-specific proper noun.
"Let the Captain-Commander place a restriction on Yoruichi Zakuro, which will limit my ability. Only the Captain-Commander will be able to remove it."
Kuruyashiki completely ignored Yoruichi Zakuro's protest and directly explained his proposal.
"If you've already thought of a solution, that's good enough."
Tsunayoshi smoothly handed the problem over to Kyōraku.
Kyōraku was the Captain-Commander of the Seireitei.
If he wasn't going to deal with it, why should Tsunayoshi?
After exchanging a few more words with Kuruyashiki, Zaraki's Bankai completely dissipated.
Having regained control of his body, he gathered every ounce of his strength and shouted:
"Yachiru! Come out! It's time to come back!"
Zaraki's voice echoed throughout the Eleventh Division.
There was no response for a long time.
The Eleventh Division members didn't dare approach him.
They had all seen the Shihakushō and Lieutenant's badge lying beneath the courtyard wall.
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