As it happened, the two of them had missed each other through sheer coincidence.
Despite being a member of Squad Zero, Kirinji Tenjirō hadn't spent particularly long serving in the Seireitei.
After displaying his extraordinary talent by inventing both Kaidō and healing hot springs — two techniques that profoundly shaped Soul Society — he'd been granted an exceptional promotion straight into the Royal Guard.
During that exact period, Kazuma had been drifting aimlessly through Hueco Mundo, accomplishing very little and staying almost entirely out of sight.
And he stayed there for two hundred years.
Naturally, their paths had never crossed.
That was why Tenjirō had no impression of Kazuma whatsoever.
As far as he knew, this foul-mouthed stranger was merely some arrogant captain from a younger generation.
"Hmph! Where did an ignorant little brat like you crawl out from?"
Tenjirō's forehead bulged with veins after being cursed out so thoroughly, and fury blazed in his eyes.
"Open those useless eyes and look carefully! The man standing before you is no ordinary Shinigami. I am Kirinji Tenjirō, lord of Kirinden and a proud member of the Royal Guard, Squad Zero!"
"Who gave a mere Gotei 13 captain the courage to speak to me like that?"
He couldn't believe such an unremarkable-looking man would behave with this level of arrogance.
Did this fool not understand that Squad Zero was the highest fighting force in all of Soul Society?
How could an ordinary division captain possibly act so insolently?
Perhaps Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni was backing him from behind the scenes.
Otherwise, where would he find the courage to challenge a lofty member of the Royal Guard?
"Hmph. Aren't you just the Hot Spring Demon?"
Kazuma glared back without yielding an inch.
"What the hell are you acting so proud about? Don't think I've never heard of you. If the nature of my Zanpakutō hadn't limited what I could contribute to Soul Society, someone like you would never have gotten the chance to join Squad Zero!"
"Keep dreaming, you bastard! And you still have the nerve to call yourself some great lord of Squad Zero? What a joke!"
"If I don't beat you until your teeth litter the floor and your face is a pulpy mess, i'll be ashamed of myself!"
Kazuma's eyes burned with fury.
He gave Tenjirō no chance to respond.
His right hand flashed, and his gleaming Zanpakutō left its sheath, slashing straight toward him without hesitation.
Tenjirō had never expected the apparently unimpressive captain to be this violent.
One moment Kazuma had been screaming insults, and the next he'd already drawn his sword.
Fortunately, Tenjirō was hardly helpless.
Though surprised, his body reacted instantly. His medical expertise wasn't his only specialty — his astonishing Shunpo was one of the abilities for which he was most famous.
He'd earned the titles Lightning-Fast Tenjirō and Divine General of the East for good reason.
When he first appeared before the Gotei 13, he'd moved behind Suì-Fēng and restrained her before she even realized he'd taken a step.
'So fast!'
Tenjirō reacted as quickly as he could, yet the vicious flash of steel still crossed his chest.
A line of searing pain followed.
A long wound split open across his torso, and blood immediately began pouring from it.
Tenjirō froze in disbelief.
He'd always had absolute confidence in his Shunpo. In his mind, there was no one left in Soul Society capable of matching his speed.
Yet someone had just surpassed him so completely that he'd almost failed to see the sword move.
Had his reaction been even slightly slower, that terrifying slash might have cut him cleanly in half.
'The younger generations have produced a Shinigami this powerful?'
Tenjirō clenched his teeth and pressed one hand against his bleeding chest.
Even now, he still believed Kazuma was some rising captain from a later era.
'I've underestimated the Gotei 13 for too long. I thought those people had become little more than a disorganized rabble, but they were hiding someone like this.'
'His strength might not even be inferior to that old man Yamamoto's…'
The wound across his chest burned as though filled with fire.
The cut was so deep it nearly reached the bone, and blood poured down his body, quickly forming a disturbing pool beneath his feet.
"Still feeling cocky, Pompadour?"
After delivering that single slash, Kazuma calmly returned his Zanpakutō to its sheath.
He had no intention of attacking again.
Of course, if Tenjirō insisted on continuing, Kazuma wouldn't mind giving him another cut.
"Who exactly are you?"
Tenjirō forced himself to calm down.
Someone this powerful couldn't possibly be an unknown figure.
The man had shouted that his name was Kazuma earlier, but Tenjirō had never heard of any such captain in the Gotei 13.
"Oh, so you've finally learned how to speak properly?"
Kazuma smirked.
"I thought you were going to keep acting like an arrogant bastard forever."
"I'm Kazuma, the second captain of the Seventh Division. Understand now?"
It was now Kazuma's turn to act smug.
Unlike Tenjirō, however, he actually possessed enough strength to justify it.
Tenjirō had tried to show off and been cut open instead.
That was considerably more embarrassing.
"The second captain of the Seventh Division?"
Tenjirō stared at him blankly.
So he'd run into another ancient fossil from Yamamoto's era.
No wonder the man was so outrageously powerful.
When Tenjirō had been promoted to Squad Zero, the Gotei 13 was still in its early stages.
Shigyō Nobutsuna had still been serving as the original captain of the Seventh Division, so Tenjirō had naturally never met Kazuma.
"Fine. I'll make it even clearer for you."
Seeing that Tenjirō still looked confused, Kazuma revealed his former identity directly.
"I used to be Batsu'unsai's lieutenant."
"What?!"
Tenjirō's eyes widened in shock.
"You're the Shinigami who vanished into Hueco Mundo for over a century?"
He'd heard the stories about Batsu'unsai's former lieutenant long ago.
According to the rumors, the man had possessed a bizarre personality, acted however he pleased, and wielded such absurd strength that calling him a monster wouldn't have been an exaggeration.
Then, one day, he'd disappeared without warning.
At first, people suspected something terrible had happened to him. Later, rumors spread that he'd entered the mysterious depths of Hueco Mundo.
Whatever the truth, no reliable news about him had emerged afterward.
"Vanished? Who the hell said I vanished in Hueco Mundo?"
Kazuma bristled with outrage.
"I was traveling! There's a difference!"
"What lying bastard went around spreading ridiculous rumors like that?"
He was furious with whoever had slandered him so shamelessly.
At the same time, everything finally made sense.
Tenjirō must have been promoted from the Gotei 13 into Squad Zero during the years Kazuma spent roaming Hueco Mundo.
That was why neither of them recognized the other.
"You know the person who said it."
Now that he understood Kazuma's identity, Tenjirō's arrogance had vanished.
Keeping up the tough act would only earn him another slash.
"It was Sixth Division Captain Saitō Furofushi."
"Saitō?! It was her?"
Batsu'unsai had never mentioned this to him.
Once his business in the Soul King Palace was finished, Kazuma would have to find Saitō and have a very serious conversation with her.
How dare she spread rumors that he'd disappeared in Hueco Mundo?