"Captain Kuchiki, you are indeed a reasonable man."
Having obtained Ginrei's agreement, Kyoya nodded in satisfaction and turned to Koga, "Koga, you heard it too… Captain Kuchiki won't stop your wife from going with you. However, this must be with your wife's consent. Go to the Kuchiki Clan's estate first and ask for her opinion. If she is willing to leave the Seireitei, bring her to the 11th Division, and I will take you to the Rukongai."
"Yes, Captain Kyoya!"
Koga sheathed his Zanpakuto, bowed excitedly to Kyoya in thanks, and immediately rushed toward the Kuchiki Clan's estate.
"See how simple this is? Captain Kuchiki and Captain-Commander, you both made it so complicated."
Watching Koga leave, Kyoya turned and smiled at Ginrei and the Captain-Commander: "Captain-Commander, it's not just your body that has aged… your mindset has too. I believe that if we went back a few hundred years, someone like Kuchiki Koga wouldn't have even concerned you. Old man, if you don't want to ruin your reputation in your later years, you'd better start nurturing a successor now while your mind is still sharp. Otherwise, who knows? You might one day capsize in a ditch and tarnish your lifelong fame..."
After saying this, Kyoya shook his head, flashed away, and disappeared from everyone's sight.
"Yare yare, if you're leaving, take me with you..."
Borsalino couldn't help but complain upon seeing this, transforming into a golden light and swiftly following Kyoya.
Just as Kyoraku was about to say something to Yamamoto, he suddenly paused, then slapped his forehead: "This guy, why now of all times..."
The other Captains had no doubts about Kyoraku's words because they had already heard the noise.
Amid wild laughter, a figure like a raging bull with its tail on fire charged rapidly from the distance, destroying everything in its path with tremendous force.
"Where's the enemy?"
Zaraki rushed frantically to the scene, circled the apocalyptic-like battlefield, and stopped in front of Yamamoto: "Hey, old man, where did the enemy fighting Kyoya go? With that level of Reiatsu, they couldn't have been killed so quickly, right?!"
Yamamoto's brow furrowed. Already frustrated from being suppressed by Kyoya without being able to use his Zanpakuto, and further angered by Kyoya's remarks about his age and senility, Yamamoto was seething. Yet, he couldn't find a way to refute it.
After all, as Kyoya had said, if Koga had appeared a few hundred years earlier, he likely wouldn't have used the 'assessment' as a pretext to gradually push him into violating the Seireitei's rules and then seal him under that charge.
With this in mind, Yamamoto glanced at Unohana, who was smiling with narrowed eyes.
Back when the Gotei 13 was first established, Unohana had been known as the 'unprecedented and unparalleled great villain of the Soul Society'.
With labels like 'unprecedented' and 'great villain', it was clear what kind of existence Unohana had been in the Soul Society at that time.
Yet, in the end, hadn't Yamamoto still made Unohana the Captain of the 11th Division? He had even agreed without hesitation to the Kenpachi's Privilege she requested to appease her and secure her contribution to protecting the Seireitei.
No matter how great a threat Koga posed to the Seireitei, could it compare to hers? After all, when Unohana was Captain of the 11th Division, she would go to the Rukongai every night to seek out strong opponents and engage in bloody battles, never returning to the Seireitei until the streets were littered with corpses.
If not for this, Unohana wouldn't have encountered the young Zaraki.
Yet, Koga and Yachiru had received completely different treatment from Yamamoto.
Why?
On one hand, Yamamoto's 'protective heart' had guarded the Seireitei for nearly a thousand years, and protecting the Seireitei had long been integrated into his very soul… he would protect it at all costs, even with his own life.
On the other hand, Yamamoto had to admit that Kyoya's words held some truth. He had aged! His inability to maintain his peak strength for extended periods was his greatest weakness.
Yamamoto could clearly feel that his current stamina was at most sixty percent of his peak.
This 'sixty percent' didn't mean that if he could maintain Bankai for several hours before, he could now only maintain it for half that time. It was even shorter. Ryujin Jakka was the strongest Fire-type Zanpakuto, and Yamamoto's Reiatsu was at the peak of what a Shinigami could achieve.
Combined, once Bankai was activated, the burden of this power far exceeded anyone's imagination.
At his peak stamina, Yamamoto could maintain Bankai for several hours. But as his stamina declined, the duration he could maintain Bankai would inevitably plummet.
Although his stamina was still sixty percent of his peak, Yamamoto felt that he could likely only maintain Bankai for half an hour now. The difference was incomparable.
Fortunately, for Yamamoto, once he activated Bankai, no one in the world could withstand more than a few moves.
If he couldn't defeat an enemy with a single combo, he might need to use his life force to burn his body's potential.
Now, with Zaraki bluntly asking about Kyoya's enemy and suggesting he had been killed by Kyoya, it was the final straw that detonated Yamamoto's fury.
"You want to fight Kyoya's enemy? Now, I'll satisfy you! Reduce All Creation to Ash, Ryujin Jakka!"
Boom!
Watching the battle erupt again, Kyoraku let out a sigh: "Captain Unohana, I'll leave this to you for now. I need to go have a chat with third seat Kuchiki."
"Mm, travel safely." Unohana nodded with a smile, then turned her gaze back to the two figures engaged in fierce combat ahead.
One of these two had subdued her with absolute strength, transforming her from a 'great villain' into a Captain who protected the Seireitei.
The other was her greatest regret in this life. Because she was strong enough, the young Zaraki had been able to enjoy the thrill of battle. Because she wasn't strong enough, to continue enjoying the pleasure of combat, the young Zaraki had unconsciously sealed his own Reiatsu, gradually suppressing his strength to match hers.
For all these years, Unohana's greatest wish had been to let Zaraki experience the joy of battle once more and to die by his sword.
This battle surpassed the previous one in intensity.
However, the situation on the battlefield was completely reversed.
Yamamoto, after releasing his Shikai, wielded Ryujin Jakka and immediately overwhelmed Zaraki. He vented all the frustration he had accumulated from Kyoya onto Zaraki.
After all, this guy was the Lieutenant of the 11th Division, so attacking him was equivalent to attacking Kyoya.
Moreover, Yamamoto knew Zaraki very well. As long as he didn't kill him instantly, he could stimulate more of Zaraki's latent Reiatsu, allowing him to recover his true strength faster. Besides, with Unohana here, even if Zaraki suffered severe injuries, he wouldn't die.
Additionally, Kyoya's existence had indeed made Yamamoto feel a long-lost sense of threat. Training Zaraki might eventually make him a capable assistant to restrain Kyoya in the future.
After all, Yamamoto knew that the main reason Zaraki stayed in the 11th Division as Lieutenant was to challenge Kyoya and engage in battle with him.
He wasn't worried that Zaraki would obey Kyoya's orders once he grew stronger. For Zaraki, nothing else mattered… only combat and fighting were real.
Koga held Haruko's hand, smiling happily as they walked out of the main gate of the Kuchiki Clan's estate. As he had expected, when Haruko learned that he was leaving the 6th Division to join the 11th Division and would thereafter be stationed in the Rukongai, she didn't hesitate for a moment.
Even before Koga could speak, she asked him to take her with him. With a wife like this, what more could he ask for?
The smile on Haruko's face made Koga feel that joining Kyoya's ranks was the best decision he had ever made.
If Kyoya hadn't appeared tonight, Koga would inevitably have caused significant chaos and turmoil in the Seireitei.
However, Koga also knew that he was no match for Yamamoto. Even without his Zanpakuto, Yamamoto's strength was still terrifying. Only Kyoya could suppress Yamamoto in that state.
It was easy to imagine the despair Haruko would face if he were sealed by Yamamoto.
As a member of the Kuchiki Clan, with her husband branded a 'criminal', to avoid leaving a stain on the Kuchiki Clan, Haruko would most likely be 'driven to suicide'.
Of course, it was also possible that Haruko would take her own life to follow Koga. Kyoya's appearance had saved not only Koga's life but also Haruko's.
…
"Who's there?"
Not far from the estate, Koga's expression shifted, and he quickly shielded his wife behind him, shouting sternly toward the alleyway corner.
Simultaneously, his right hand rested on the hilt of his Zanpakuto.
Koga could sense that the Reiatsu of the person hiding in the shadows was no weaker than his own.
And it wasn't that Koga was arrogant… so far, only a few Captains had Reiatsu exceeding his. He didn't know who it was, but hiding in the shadows like this, who knew what their intentions were?
Normally, he wouldn't fear them, but with his wife beside him, even a Captain-level battle, or just a clash of Reiatsu, could injure her.
So, Koga didn't want to fight and after sensing the other party's Reiatsu, he chose to expose them.
Now, it depended on who they were and what they wanted!
"Yare yare, third seat Kuchiki, your perception is quite sharp."
Under Koga's intense gaze, Kyoraku emerged from the shadows. Actually, with Kyoraku's abilities, he could completely conceal his Reiatsu to the point where Koga wouldn't be able to detect it.
"Captain Kyoraku?"
Koga's expression changed, 'Captain Kyoraku is the Captain-Commander's disciple. Earlier, the Captain-Commander had suffered a significant loss against Captain Kyoya. Was Captain Kyoraku seeking him out to kill him as revenge against Captain Kyoya?'
Thinking this, Koga slowly began to draw his Zanpakuto.
"Third seat Kuchiki, I mean no harm."
Kyoraku's figure suddenly appeared beside Koga, one hand pressing down on the hilt of Koga's Zanpakuto, forcefully sheathing the half-drawn blade.
Kyoraku knew about Koga's Zanpakuto's Abilities and naturally didn't want him to release it in front of him.
Moreover, he hadn't come to fight Koga.
"No harm?"
Kuchiki Koga was startled, gaining a deeper understanding of the Captains' strength.
Previously, he had thought he could cause significant damage to the Seireitei with his Zanpakuto's Abilities.
But whether it was Ginrei, Yamamoto, Kyoya, or now Kyoraku, they all made him feel weak.
'What was the use of my Zanpakuto's Ability if I couldn't even use it?'
"Don't worry, ma'am." Kyoraku said to Haruko, who still had a trace of fear in her eyes, "I'm only here to ask third seat Kuchiki about a few things. I have no intention of fighting him. After all, no matter what, third seat Kuchiki is now a member of Captain Kyoya's division. If Captain Kyoya found out I was giving him a hard time, he'd probably block the entrance of the 8th Division. I'm not the Captain-Commander… I can't withstand attacks as strong as Captain Kyoya's."
"However, as the Captain of the Intelligence Division, I'd like to ask third seat Kuchiki for some information. Would you have time to chat with me for a bit?"
Hearing this, Koga relaxed, 'Indeed, although Captain-Commander couldn't use his Zanpakuto, it was an indisputable fact that Captain Kyoya had defeated him.'
'Moroever, Captain Kyoya's Zanpakuto hadn't even returned to continue lending me its power. Captain-Commander wasn't at his peak, but neither was Captain Kyoya. Especially as the [Kenpachi], Captain Kyoya enjoyed many privileges.'
'Even if he blocked the entrance of another division, neither the Captain-Commander nor the Central 46 could do anything about it.'
"Speak, Captain Kyoraku. What do you want to know?"