Chapter 169: [Quest: The Greatest Kenpachi of This Era]
If Matsushita Yusuke had still been in the realm of speculation a moment ago, the confirmation he had just received put the question entirely to rest.
So it really was you.
He moved fast, heading straight for the captain's office.
He stopped at the door, raised his hand to knock, and a familiar voice came through before his knuckles landed.
"Come in."
Don't mind if I do.
"Pardon the intrusion."
He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The room was empty except for Unohana Retsu, sitting behind her desk, taking small unhurried sips from a cup of matcha.
From the expression alone, she was the picture of serene contentment, the kind of face that said all was right with the world. Most people would have taken one look at her and softened their approach, worked in a few polite pleasantries.
But Kenpachi didn't need to do that.
Matsushita Yusuke walked up without ceremony, raised his right index finger, and tapped it against the surface of the desk. A few short, sharp knocks.
"Old bat. Care to explain yourself?"
A deeply rude way to address someone.
It was entirely a product of the sparring sessions they had accumulated in private, a level of familiarity that put them well outside the normal range for two captains, something closer to colleagues who had long since crossed that line. Even so, that was not really justification for "old bat." Under most circumstances, Unohana Retsu would have turned on someone for considerably less.
This, however, was not most circumstances. She leaned back with a completely relaxed smile and looked up at him with warmth.
"Explain what? This is your destiny. Our Kenpachi's responsibility. Isn't it?"
Matsushita Yusuke rolled his eyes.
He had first heard about Zaraki Kenpachi from Unohana herself, some time back. Through their various exchanges, he had come to understand that she had very particular feelings toward Zaraki, something like the gleeful anticipation of a senior watching a prodigy finally come into their own.
Not hard to understand.
Zaraki growing up half-starved in Rukongai and still managing to injure Unohana was the kind of talent that stopped you in your tracks.
Now that Zaraki had found his footing, the normal timeline would put this right around the window where he would show up, take out Kijishi, and complete the handover. That chapter had never actually been written out in the source material. Everyone filled it in for themselves.
But now, apparently, the pieces had been there all along.
Nine times out of ten, the old bat had been watching Zaraki grow, decided he was ready, and arranged for him to walk straight through the city gates and openly demolish Kijishi to claim the position.
Yusuke had figured this would still be years off. By his count, he had not even been in the post a full year, and here Zaraki was already at the door.
I thought I had a hundred years of breathing room. Apparently I had twelve months. Great.
"Drop the high-minded speech. What are you actually thinking?"
Faced with the question, Unohana set down her teacup. The corner of her mouth curved upward.
The air around her shifted without warning, settling into something cold and deep, a glimpse of what lay underneath. A true nature, briefly visible.
"To watch the new generation tear each other apart, of course. To witness the birth of a true Kenpachi."
A bloodthirsty spectator, through and through.
Not that she was wrong, strictly speaking. The First Kenpachi had always enjoyed watching people fight. That much tracked.
Matsushita Yusuke could only scratch his cheek with a pained expression and sigh quietly.
"If it's all the same to you, a month's notice would have been nice. Give me time to actually prepare."
"A Kenpachi shouldn't be making that kind of complaint. You should be excited. Fired up."
"Don't lump me in with you people and your particular brand of crazy..."
But.
Matsushita Yusuke sighed and lowered the hand from his face.
His expression settled. His tone was level.
"Things have already gotten this far. You're not going to let me walk away without a fight, are you?"
She smiled, tilting her head.
"Who knows? I can't make promises about the future."
"Right. Still playing dumb."
So. Fight Zaraki Kenpachi.
He had seen it coming. That didn't make the timing any less jarring.
Because of one simple truth that everyone who had spent any time in this world already understood.
Growth in the Bleach universe had never been linear.
Methodical, step-by-step training, accumulating strength through discipline and patience. It was the least efficient path by a significant margin.
So how did the strong actually do it?
Check the source material. Either born broken, or born with talent that defied explanation.
Even Hitsugaya Toshiro, who came with an explicit "future powerhouse" label attached, spent most of his screentime as comedic relief. Regularly used as a punching bag, and Yachiru apparently held a lifetime subscription to the "Tormenting Hitsugaya" program. Any chance she got, she was finding a new angle to mess with the poor guy.
And Zaraki Kenpachi was the standout case among all of them. In Matsushita Yusuke's read, this man's ceiling sat just one tier below Ichigo's.
The more accurate framing was not "he isn't strong enough yet." It was: he doesn't know how to use what he already has.
Thinking about it that way left a distinctly uncomfortable feeling.
Like spending years grinding your swordsmanship, finally beating someone through sheer accumulated effort. And then they take a three-minute break, and something just clicks into place.
Wait. This isn't a fire poker. Squeeze here and it shoots bullets?
So what exactly am I supposed to do with that?!
Plenty of complaints, but they stayed internal. No matter how uneasy you felt on the inside, when the moment actually came, who wouldn't want to step up and have a go?
The reason was simple enough.
The quest had just appeared.
[Quest: The Greatest Kenpachi of This Era]
[Description: Kenpachi is the symbol of an era. In each generation, every few centuries, one powerful and singular individual rises to claim that distinction. In this era of extraordinary people, you and your rival have stepped onto the same narrow bridge. Find every way to push him off. Make everyone understand that you are this era's symbol.]
[Reward: Special Technique, Designated Zanpakuto +10]
Seeing this, Matsushita Yusuke's expression shifted noticeably.
Designated Zanpakuto +10, with no restriction field. Meaning it could be applied directly to a Bankai-stage Zanpakuto.
The scale of that improvement spoke for itself. Even thinking purely about long-term needs, there was no reason on earth to decline.
He drew a slow breath, turned his head, and said:
"I'll take it. When do we start?"