"Hey! Is your fight over already?!" Zaraki Kenpachi shouted rudely.
"It is," Ikkaku Madarame answered immediately.
"So, who the hell are you? I heard you came looking for me?" Kenpachi fixed his gaze on Natsuro, questioning him directly.
"Yeah. I heard from my captain that you're pretty strong, so I came to see for myself," Natsuro replied casually.
"Your captain... you mean Captain Unohana from the 4th Division?" Kenpachi paused, clearly thinking seriously for the first time, his impression of Unohana was clearly very deep.
"That's right." Natsuro nodded.
Zaraki suddenly grinned, gripping his sword with one hand and pointing it straight at him. He laughed wildly: "Since you're her man, I guess I don't need to let you take the first few swings, huh?"
"Huh?" Natsuro was a bit speechless. Did this guy usually let people hit him first in battle? What kind of bizarre habit was that?
"No need," Natsuro answered.
"Heh… Good. Then let's fight!" Kenpachi laughed as he stopped suppressing his spiritual pressure. A terrifyingly overwhelming force burst from him, collapsing nearby buildings on the spot. The surrounding Shinigami had long retreated to a safe distance, they seemed used to this kind of chaos from Kenpachi.
Natsuro looked at Zaraki. That spiritual pressure was strong, no doubt about it. But… it still wasn't strong enough.
In the next instant, Natsuro's own spiritual pressure exploded outward. Their reiryoku clashed like two titanic forces, neither side giving an inch.
The spectators in the distance were already overwhelmed. His pressure was on par with Zaraki Kenpachi's?! They were numb from shock.
Kenpachi clutched his head and laughed like a maniac. A foe with spiritual pressure equal to his own, now this was a battle!
He charged at Natsuro like a beast, swinging his blade in a wild arc.
Even before his sword reached Natsuro, the pressure from the blade was already cutting through the air, forcing Natsuro to raise his guard. He stopped holding back and met the slash with a full-power swing of his own.
The next moment, their Zanpakutō collided. He felt the shock all the way down to his wrists, he was genuinely surprised. For the first time, he had lost a pure contest of raw strength.
That said, the gap between their physical power wasn't large. A short clash like that was still manageable.
Kenpachi's eyes lit up with delight as Natsuro withstood the blow. Like a beast unchained, he roared and launched into a flurry of brutal swings.
No technique. Full of openings. But....
Against Kenpachi's blade, who would dare think about exploiting an opening?
No one. Because if you didn't block his strikes directly, even if you saw an opening, you'd be cut down before you could act.
And with Kenpachi's monstrous physique, taking a hit himself wasn't even a concern!
As everyone knew, Zaraki Kenpachi was a battle-crazed beast. Not just in spirit, but in body, too.
But Natsuro wasn't just anyone.
His strength wasn't far below Kenpachi's, so...
"Second Form: Hachikanzan (Eight-Crown Slash)!" Natsuro called out.
His blade split into countless sword shadows. Half intercepted Kenpachi's swings, while the other half struck at him directly.
In an instant, Kenpachi's body was slashed in multiple places, blood flowing freely from the wounds.
Natsuro clicked his tongue in surprise. Despite the cuts, they were only superficial. Kenpachi's body was even tougher than he had expected.
"Huh?" Kenpachi glanced at his wounds, watching his own blood drip down.
"Hahahahaha!" Suddenly, Kenpachi burst into crazed laughter. Amazing! Even if he just stood still and let others swing at him, most couldn't even pierce his skin. They'd go weak at the knees just seeing him.
But this man in front of him not only broke through his spiritual pressure and defense, he actually wounded him.
Kenpachi hadn't felt pain like this in ages.It was exhilarating. It pulled his mind tight.It made him happy.
This, this was the joy of battle. This was why fighting was so addictive!
"Do all you guys in the 11th Division like hiding your strength?" Natsuro suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Kenpachi looked confused.
"You're not using your full power, are you?" Natsuro said, eyeing the eyepatch covering Kenpachi's right eye.
"You're right. With someone like you, holding back any longer would just be plain disrespectful." Kenpachi grinned, and removed the eyepatch.
"He actually made the Captain take off his limiter!" Ikkaku and Yumichika Ayasegawa both gasped, eyes wide. Renji was completely stunned.
He had heard that even with the eyepatch on, their captain had a captain-level spiritual pressure. But now, Natsuro, who had fought evenly with that version of Kenpachi...
Was his strength already at the level of a captain? Renji felt like he could no longer comprehend his power. It was simply… unbelievable.
"Ken-chan's really happy."The small pink-haired girl sitting nearby, Yachiru Kusajishi, the 11th Division's lieutenant, rested her chin in her hands and watched the fight with a bright smile.
"The captain may be happy, but our whole training ground's been destroyed…" Yumichika commented.
"And with this kind of spiritual pressure, the other captains are bound to show up soon," he added.
"Still, the fight should be over before they arrive," Ikkaku replied."Because once the eyepatch comes off, our captain's strength isn't something to be compared with before."
"So this is your full strength?" Natsuro asked.
"You bet!" Kenpachi grinned fiercely.
Natsuro stared at him. His spiritual pressure was greater than Unohana's. But compared to his own?
They were about evenly matched.
Natsuro smiled, and for the first time outside of Meikyō Shisui, he fully unleashed his own spiritual pressure.
In that instant, two overwhelming spiritual forces erupted in the Seireitei. Every Shinigami, regardless of division, felt them.
Just as Yumichika had predicted, the clash of those two energies triggered a reaction.
All captains, including the head captain Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, were now rushing toward the source.
"Looks like I need to finish this quickly," Natsuro muttered, sensing the many approaching captain-level energies.
"Forget them. Come fight me!" Kenpachi roared, unleashing a sword wave that cracked the earth as it flew toward him.
But Natsuro simply flicked his sword, and casually dispersed the wave.
"Zaraki Kenpachi," Natsuro suddenly said.
"Hm?" Kenpachi was puzzled.
"Honestly… your strength disappoints me," Natsuro said flatly.
Kenpachi's face twisted in fury.
Roaring, he released a massive surge of spiritual pressure and appeared before him in an instant, slashing down with all his might.
Yet even this fearsome strike was effortlessly deflected by Natsuro .
Each of Kenpachi's follow-up attacks met the same fate, nullified by Natsuro's graceful, unhurried movements.
Natsuro observed his opponent. Kenpachi's power was raw, brutal, and terrifyingly singular in nature.
All he had was raw strength… and overwhelming spiritual pressure. His battle instincts were purely beast-like.
But to him, that was completely ineffective.
In terms of raw power, Natsuro was slightly inferior. But not enough for Kenpachi to overpower him.
As for spiritual pressure, this was his undisputed strength. And even then, Kenpachi could only match him, not surpass him.
At first glance, it seemed like Kenpachi held the advantage: higher strength, equal spiritual pressure.
But the biggest problem was… Kenpachi's swordsmanship was full of holes. To Natsuro, his blade had more openings than substance.
If he wanted to end this fight, he could do it in an instant.
This… was the absolute gap in technique.
In the past, Zaraki Kenpachi had always relied on overwhelming force to overcome skill, but that tactic didn't work on Natsuro!
"Zaraki Kenpachi, do you know why humans are able to rise above beasts?" Natsuro said softly. "It's because when a person picks up a weapon… even against the king of beasts, they have a chance to win."
At that moment, Kenpachi's eyes burned crimson, like a demon from hell.
Every one of his strikes missed, and each failed blow only fueled his fury. He couldn't even hear Natsuro's words anymore.
Natsuro let out a soft sigh, then slashed.
The power of that sword forced Kenpachi to hurriedly defend. But a rushed defense could never fully block such a strike.
Kenpachi was driven back several steps.
Now suspended mid-air, Natsuro looked down at Kenpachi. The blade of Meikyō Shisui in his hand seemed to ignite with crimson flames.
"Zaraki Kenpachi," Natsuro continued, "let me tell you something. Learn to control your spiritual pressure. Control isn't about suppressing your strength, it's about wielding it to deliver even stronger blows."
As he spoke, Meikyō Shisui seemed to transform, into a hundred-meter-long blade of fire.
"Fourth Form: Futen. (Burning Heaven)" Natsuro's voice was calm.
This sword form was one he had developed after sparring with Unohana, derived from the level of Hadō #96: Ittō Kasō.
And this sword? It was far more powerful than Ittō Kasō.
In the next instant, he swung the massive flaming blade down at Kenpachi.
Kenpachi looked up at the descending sword of fire, not with fear, but with pure delight.
Fear? That emotion didn't exist in Zaraki Kenpachi. His earlier anger had simply been frustration at missing his target.
But this, this frontal collision, was exactly what he craved most.
He gripped his sword with both hands, veins bulging, and instead of dodging, charged directly at the blade.
"Kenpachi Sword Art: Ryōdan!"
A golden wave of sword pressure collided with the massive flaming blade.
But after a brief struggle between the two forces, the golden wave was consumed by fire, and the enormous flame sword engulfed Kenpachi's body.
A sea of flames roared across the battlefield, obliterating everything in its path.
Thankfully, most of the 11th Division Shinigami had retreated far away when Natsuro and Kenpachi first unleashed their full spiritual pressures.
Otherwise, the casualties would have been catastrophic.
"Captain!!" the onlookers were stunned.
Only Ikkaku and Yumichika dared stay somewhat close.
None of them could believe what had just happened. Was it possible… their captain had lost?!
How was that even possible?!
The firestorm raged for a long time.
By the time it began to fade, nearly all the captains had arrived.
They stared at Natsuro in the sky, stunned.
They recognized him.
Vice-Captain of the 4th Division.
But…
Could a vice-captain possess this kind of spiritual pressure? And that sword strike just now… you're telling us that came from a medic?!
Was this a joke?
Natsuro looked back at them, and his gaze landed on the elderly figure standing at the forefront, leaning on a cane, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13.
The old man stared back silently.
"My apologies, Head Captain," Natsuro spoke first. "Our fight is over. It was just a friendly match, nothing more."
After that, the captains all fell into silence.
Because the result was already clear, Kenpachi… had lost.
"No… It's not over yet! I can still fight!" came a voice from within the flames.
As the fire dispersed, Kenpachi stood there, sword in hand.
His body was nearly charred black, but he was still on his feet, glaring at Natsuro.
"I said it's over," Natsuro replied coldly. "...Fighting you... It was boring. If you want to fight me again, at least learn how to control your spiritual pressure without relying on that eyepatch."
Then Natsuro smirked. "Someone who can't even control his own power has no right to talk about being strong."
Kenpachi fell silent.
The only thing echoing in his mind was that phrase, "Fighting you… was boring."
Kenpachi clenched his sword tightly.
All his life, he had been the one to feel bored by others in battle. And now, after finally finding a worthy opponent… he couldn't even satisfy that opponent?
That sentence hit him like a hammer.
For the first time, Zaraki Kenpachi, who lived for battle, no longer had the desire to keep fighting.
But what surged up in his heart now… was a desperate hunger to become stronger.
He wanted power, enough to satisfy Natsuro , enough to defeat him, enough to fight him on equal ground.
Someone who could give him such pleasure in battle had finally appeared.
And because of that… How could he ever allow himself to stop growing?
Captain-Commander Yamamoto looked around at the devastated battlefield, expression twitching slightly. He took a deep breath and finally spoke.
"Since your battle didn't result in any casualties, I'll spare you from punishment.
However, the damages to the area will be deducted from your salaries. Also, this must not happen again. Next time, take your fight somewhere open."
"Understood."
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Currently on Chapter 479 - Sword Dominion