The battle between Natsuro and Zaraki Kenpachi, which had completely destroyed all the Eleventh Division's buildings, was thought to be over.
After all, the Head Captain had already spoken and announced the punishments for both of them.
Whether those punishments were too light or not, they were now an established fact.
But at that very moment, Central 46 decided to stir things up. In their deliberations, Natsuro and Kenpachi were deemed lawless and to have caused incalculable damage to the Seireitei.
Thus, they concluded, a much heavier punishment was necessary. In their eyes, the Head Captain's ruling was far too lenient, almost a joke.
When Yamamoto heard of Central 46's decision, his beard practically bristled with rage.
It was easy to talk, but who was going to punish them? Central 46 might not know Natsuro's exact strength, but they were well aware of Kenpachi's, and thus had some idea of what it meant for someone to defeat him.
Still, they went ahead with their ruling, because they were the noble council that sat above the Gotei 13.
In their eyes, they represented the Seireitei, and since the Gotei captains existed to protect the Soul King and defend the Seireitei, it was the Gotei's duty to protect them.
Even knowing how strong Kenpachi and Natsuro were, they believed the two together couldn't possibly stand against the other captains, especially with the thousand-year strongest Shinigami, Head Captain Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, among them.
So Central 46 quickly issued their verdict. Natsuro and Kenpachi were to be locked in the Central Great Underground Prison for decades, to serve as a warning to the other captains.
The order had been handed down… but no one had gone to carry it out.
Because really, I'm supposed to go arrest the Eleventh Division captain Kenpachi AND someone even more terrifying than him? Are you insane?
Among the rank-and-file, the news caused an uproar. This was the first time Central 46 had ever directly ordered the punishment of a captain-class Shinigami. Natsuro might "only" be a vice-captain, but at this point, who still saw him as an ordinary vice-captain?
"Central 46, huh?"
In the Fourth Division barracks, Natsuro murmured the words with a smile, as if it had nothing to do with him.
"Even the Head Captain can't overturn a decision by Central 46," Unohana said.
"So… is the Captain going to arrest me too?" Natsuro asked, genuinely curious why the Gotei 13 was burdened with so many supposedly higher authorities.
The Zero Division was one thing, they actually had the strength to stand above the Gotei but Central 46, the Noble Assembly, and the Great Noble Seal Assembly… what gave them the right?
Just because their lineage went back further? The thought amused him. Normally, he couldn't be bothered to care, as long as they didn't try to dump on his head. Whether the system was good or bad was irrelevant to him.
But now, his smile twisted slightly, he suddenly remembered the smile Aizen had given before leaving earlier.
Perhaps… Aizen had already foreseen this outcome.
"I'm just the captain of the medical corps. I don't handle arrests," Unohana said with a faint smile.
"The captain of the medical corps with the strongest swordsmanship of this era, right?" Natsuro teased. He was almost regretful that he might not get to fight Unohana again.
Unohana only smiled silently.
At that moment, a figure leaning on a cane entered the Fourth Division, a kindly-looking old man, bald, with deep wrinkles and prominent cheekbones, two intersecting scars on the right side of his forehead, long eyebrows and a silver-white beard tied with a purple cord.
It was none other than the Head Captain, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
"So, Head Captain, didn't expect you to come in person to arrest me," Natsuro said with a grin.
At the same time, his hand closed around his sword hilt. The man before him was without doubt the strongest he had ever seen. If Natsuro's full self were here, victory wouldn't be out of the question.
But now, in just his soul form and with only half his power, defeating Yamamoto would be… difficult.
Still, whether he could win or not, he could certainly get away.
And win or lose… he'd rather start by fighting first! Natsuro licked his lips, feeling a spark of excitement.
"I'm here to tell you not to be hasty. This isn't over yet. I've already contacted Captain Kuchiki to use the Kuchiki clan's influence to convene the Noble Assembly and try to overturn Central 46's decision," Yamamoto said with a sigh.
As Head Captain, he had no authority to challenge Central 46's ruling, but the nobles could.
If they could make the case that arresting Natsuro and Kenpachi would cause catastrophic harm to the Seireitei and Soul Society, and that the ensuing battles could flatten noble estates, there was a chance.
It wasn't an exaggeration. Kenpachi alone could cause that much damage, and Natsuro, far more refined in his strength, was even more dangerous.
And Yamamoto had already noticed the tension in the Fourth Division when he arrived, they looked ready to fight anyone who tried to arrest their vice-captain.
If the Fourth Division was like this, the Eleventh's reaction could be guessed, they might already be planning to break their captain out of the Seireitei.
On top of that, the Thirteenth Division owed Natsuro a debt and wouldn't move against him. In fact, very few captains would act.
Even so, Yamamoto had come to him first, fixing him with eyes that seemed to see through everything.
Because Yamamoto could feel that he was far more dangerous than Kenpachi, not just in strength, but in other ways.
For instance… he suspected that if he hadn't come, Natsuro might have already gone straight to Central 46. And by then, it would be too late to stop him.
And indeed, if Natsuro had heard that thought, he'd only admire the man's perceptiveness. If Yamamoto had been any later, he would have been on his way to Central 46, to make sure they learned exactly what happened to people who picked the wrong fight.
"Do you really think there's a chance?" Natsuro decided to give the Head Captain some face, not just because of his strength but because he'd clearly tried to protect both him and Kenpachi.
"There is. So for now, just stay here in the Fourth Division," Yamamoto said.
"Alright. I just hope I'm not walking into a trap," Natsuro said with a smile.
Yamamoto nodded and left.
"Don't worry, the Head Captain still carries weight," Unohana assured him.
"Mm."
Natsuro nodded, then glanced toward the direction of Central 46.
Even if this ended quietly, Central 46 had certainly given him a "pleasant surprise."
Making a mistake and facing punishment was fair enough, but decades of imprisonment?Who gave them that courage?
Maybe decades weren't much to a Shinigami, but for him, who'd only lived a few decades even counting his previous life, it was absurd.
He tightened his grip on his sword and chuckled. He wasn't worried about walking into an ambush, his perception was sharp enough that not even Yamamoto himself could set a trap without him noticing.
And just as Yamamoto had thought, the Eleventh Division erupted when they heard Central 46's ruling.
Blades drawn, they stood ready to fight anyone who tried to take their captain.
In the end, only Captain Kyōraku Shunsui of the Eighth Division was able to calm them down and convince them to wait.
That day, Natsuro was sparring with Unohana as usual.
"Your progress is frighteningly fast," Unohana said, sheathing her blade.
"It's alright," Natsuro replied, as if it were nothing. In his Meikyō Shisui state, this rate of improvement didn't even seem noteworthy.
Unohana couldn't help but marvel, news of Central 46's ruling hadn't affected him at all. In battle, his heart remained perfectly still, as if his entire being was devoted solely to becoming stronger, untouched by anything else.
Natsuro slid his blade back into its sheath. Recently, he'd been trying to enter the heart of Meikyō Shisui without actually using the ability.
In theory, Meikyō Shisui was only Shikai, it simply drew out the power he already possessed, unlike Bankai, which was the Zanpakutō itself evolving through absorbed power.
So, in principle, he should be able to reach the heart of that state without the Shikai's aid.
Unfortunately, it wasn't easy. No matter how many times he tried, he hadn't succeeded.
Meanwhile, he was thinking about his next steps.
His spiritual pressure had already reached saturation, but he continued to absorb reiryoku, compressing it to reach higher density.
If his spiritual pressure became strong enough, perhaps it could shatter the natural limit of his existence.
But that limit would be hard to break, it would take too long to accumulate enough power. He wasn't counting on a breakthrough in the short term.
In swordsmanship, however, his duels with Unohana had brought him close to perfection. Now, he was like a fusion of Unohana's technique and Kenpachi's raw strength.
It was just that each aspect was still a shade short of perfection, but even so, it was already at a terrifying level, and his swordsmanship was still improving. As his reiryoku became more compressed, his raw power would also increase.
That, too, was something that could only break through the final barrier with time and accumulation…
In terms of Kidō, whether Hadō, Bakudō, or Kaidō. Natsuro had basically mastered them all.
It was just that to use them with true proficiency, he still needed more practice.
This was the only path left for him to make rapid progress now. Unfortunately, even if his Kidō improved, that didn't necessarily mean it would be of much practical use.
Compared to Hadō spells that still weren't as effective as his normal sword strikes, he found Bakudō to be far more practical…
"Time, huh…" Natsuro muttered with a touch of helplessness. It seemed that even now, he had hit a bottleneck.
Sure enough, even in the world of the Shinigami, breaking through to the next level was never going to be easy.
But if he could break through his current tier and raise his soul to the next level, then when he returned to his original body, could he also push that body to break through as well?
It was only a possibility, but a very real one, and so Natsuro wanted to give it a try.
"Well then, let's keep going. At least here, I can still keep getting stronger." Natsuro made his decision: while continuing to compress his spiritual energy, he would also train in the Kidō he rarely used.
While he was lost in thought, the final verdict from the Noble Assembly was delivered.
The decades-long imprisonment for him and Zaraki Kenpachi was canceled, but they also agreed that the Head Captain's original punishment was too light.
So, they set a new penalty: Natsuro and Kenpachi would be stationed in the Human World for several years as a warning to others.
Normally, Soul reaper deployment to the Human World was handled by seated officers, but now, certain territories would be placed under Natsuro and Kenpachi's watch.
Natsuro didn't have much opinion about this kind of punishment, training in the Human World was still training, and since this was the result the Head Captain had fought for, he would give the man that courtesy.
He had no problem with it, but Kenpachi…
He didn't believe for a second that Kenpachi was the type to calmly perform deployment duties. Once in the Human World, he would probably spend all his time picking fights with Hollows.
Natsuro shook his head. He couldn't be bothered to manage Kenpachi, no one said they couldn't get someone else to handle the duties for them. And since they were only "stationed" there, there was nothing stopping them from handing off the soul burial work to others.
So really, this punishment was just for show. It looked more serious than a pay deduction, but in reality, it wasn't much worse.
"Can you accept this punishment?" Unohana asked.
"It's not unacceptable. But… could you come to the Human World to visit me sometimes, Captain? It might get boring there alone," Natsuro said casually.
"Alright." Unohana smiled. In truth, she was relieved, she'd been worried he might truly turn against the Soul Society. This was undoubtedly the best possible outcome.
"Well then, I should get going." Natsuro looked toward the Seventh Division Shinigami approaching from afar and smiled.
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