As for Ashido's greeting, Kenpachi Zaraki naturally didn't care.
If anything, having a little entertainment would at least help pass the time.
Kenpachi waved his hand without saying anything, signaling Ashido to take over.
Ashido respectfully gave Kenpachi a fist salute, then drew his sword and pointed it at Sōya Azashiro.
"Draw your sword. Let me see what ability you possessed that allowed you to defeat Kenpachi Kuruyashiki!"
"Do your best, Ashi!"
Yachiru Kusajishi cheered him on.
After returning to Soul Society, Ashido's favorite place to make up for the two hundred years he had missed was the library that recorded the historical events of Soul Society.
It was there that he learned the name of the man who had killed Kenpachi Kuruyashiki and become the Eighth Kenpachi:
Sōya Azashiro.
"You're not my opponent."
Azashiro shook his head at Ashido.
He wasn't someone who enjoyed killing, and he had no desire to create another unnecessary blood debt.
"Cut the nonsense! I want to see how you managed to defeat Kenpachi Kuruyashiki without him even using Bankai!"
Ashido charged forward and swung his sword at Azashiro.
After learning that Kuruyashiki hadn't even used Bankai, Ashido had concluded that Azashiro had won through underhanded means.
He intended to obtain justice for his former friend.
Azashiro condensed Reishi out of thin air, forming a Zanpakutō that blocked Ashido's attack.
"If that's the case, I hope this preliminary exchange can at least pique your interest."
Azashiro's words were directed toward Kenpachi Zaraki from beginning to end.
Ashido was right.
Azashiro and Kuruyashiki had never directly clashed with Bankai against Bankai. Instead, Azashiro had used a clever method to defeat him.
Azashiro had never forgotten that fact.
At the time, however, he had had no choice if he wanted to obtain the title of Kenpachi.
This time, he didn't want to take the title from a Kenpachi who refused to fight with his full strength—even if that Kenpachi was the Zaraki he looked down upon, a man who couldn't use Bankai.
If he was going to fulfill the Soul King's instructions, Azashiro believed he needed a legitimate position within the Seireitei.
"Heh. Then let's see what you've got."
Kenpachi waved his hand.
Ikkaku Madarame immediately understood and began ushering the other officers away, clearing the area for the two combatants.
"Hey, Yumichika, move it! What are you standing around for?"
Ikkaku called out to the man beside him.
"Huh? Oh. Coming."
Yumichika Ayasegawa looked somewhat distracted.
Just moments ago, his Zanpakutō had contacted him.
The so-called Eighth Kenpachi standing before them was no match for him.
Ever since Yumichika had begun acknowledging his Zanpakutō honestly, Ruri'iro Kujaku had communicated with him far more frequently.
As a result, Yumichika's strength had grown exponentially, to the point that he was even showing signs of surpassing Ikkaku.
Azashiro glanced unobtrusively at Yumichika's departing back.
He knew that his weakness might already have been discovered.
But he had no intention of attacking Yumichika.
Leaving the Seireitei with a suitable means of dealing with him would actually make it easier for Azashiro to establish a place for himself within Soul Society.
Azashiro's Bankai allowed his soul to merge with living organisms and inorganic matter.
Therefore, if he encountered an enemy capable of absorbing or stealing the Reishi around him, there was a good chance his soul could be damaged.
Ruri'iro Kujaku, which could absorb an opponent's Reiatsu, was practically Azashiro's natural counter.
If Azashiro had come out intending to cause trouble, Yumichika might have been his first target.
But Azashiro wasn't here to attack the Seireitei.
He had chosen to become part of this family.
Ruri'iro Kujaku was therefore not something he needed to worry about.
Meanwhile, Ashido's assault grew increasingly fierce.
Crimson Reiatsu blazed along his blade, and every strike was aimed at a vital point on Azashiro's body.
In a pure contest of swordsmanship, Azashiro had no chance of winning.
Ever since releasing his Bankai, he had never deactivated it.
As a result, his body had gone several centuries without proper physical training.
In terms of physical ability alone, his body was little stronger than that of an ordinary soul from Rukongai.
Ashido's Zanpakutō exposed his openings twice in succession.
Azashiro's defenses broke apart, leaving his chest completely exposed.
Ashido seized the opportunity and thrust his blade straight toward Azashiro's chest.
"Tch. Boring."
Kenpachi Zaraki casually passed judgment.
Someone with this level of combat ability hadn't been worth killing even when Kenpachi was wandering Rukongai.
Now that he was a captain, it was even less interesting.
He had expected a good show.
Instead, it was turning into a complete disappointment.
Just as Kenpachi was about to close his eyes and take a nap, two powerful Reiatsu signatures immediately caught his attention.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two figures appeared beside him.
Sawada Tsunayoshi.
Retsu Unohana.
Kenpachi wondered which dish he should taste first.
His fatigue vanished instantly.
He looked at the two unexpected guests with great interest.
Then again, all the captains of the Seireitei were rare visitors.
Nobody willingly came near Kenpachi Zaraki, the battle maniac, unless they wanted to be dragged into a fight.
"Which one of you wants to help me stretch my muscles?"
Kenpachi rolled his shoulders and asked.
"Don't rush. Isn't your opponent right there?"
Tsunayoshi pointed toward Azashiro with his chin.
"Him?"
Kenpachi looked disdainful.
He couldn't even get past Ashido.
Why would Kenpachi bother fighting him?
Still, because he trusted Tsunayoshi, he turned his attention back toward the battlefield.
A strange scene unfolded.
Ashido's Zanpakutō had pierced straight through Azashiro's body.
Yet Azashiro appeared completely unaffected.
He simply continued swinging his sword at Ashido.
The sudden change forced Ashido to put on his Hollow Mask and use his Hollow powers to block Azashiro's attack.
The two separated after a brief clash.
That short exchange was enough for both of them to begin taking the other's strength seriously.
Azashido's expression darkened.
"Why are you using Hollow powers?"
Although the Soul King had forbidden Azashiro from exterminating all Hollows, that didn't prevent him from hating the creatures that had killed his sister.
Hirako Shinji and the others had been Hollowfied by Aizen, which was understandable.
But Ashido was a Shinigami born and raised in Soul Society.
To Azashiro, a Shinigami of legitimate Soul Society lineage using Hollow powers was practically an act of defiance against the natural order.
"Former member of the Eleventh Division's Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force—Ashido Kanō!"
Ashido slowly placed his antelope-like Hollow Mask over his face.
"The power of Hollows is proof that I survived more than two hundred years in Hueco Mundo!"
In the next instant, a crimson slash formed from a Cero shot toward Azashiro.
Just as the attack reached him, Azashiro suddenly transformed into countless particles of Reishi and dispersed.
Ashido's attack crashed into the training ground.
"I see."
Azashiro only knew about the events that had occurred in Soul Society during the two centuries he had spent imprisoned.
He genuinely knew nothing about Ashido, the Shinigami who had been abandoned in Hueco Mundo.
"If my defeat of Kenpachi Kuruyashiki was the reason you became trapped in Hueco Mundo, then I apologize."
Azashiro's tone remained flat.
There was almost no trace of sincerity in his voice.
"Surviving in Hueco Mundo was my own choice. You have nothing to apologize for."
Ashido turned around.
"I draw my blade today only to remember my dear friend, Captain Kuruyashiki!"
His eyes glowed with a Hollow-like crimson light.
"Bankai!"
Reiatsu erupted from Ashido's body.
His Zanpakutō completely merged with his physical form.
A white liquid spread across his body, covering and reshaping him.
Before long, a monstrous figure with a humanoid body and an antelope's head appeared before everyone.
Rather than Ashido, it looked more like a Hollow resembling an antelope.
After years of consuming the Reiatsu of Hollows, Ashido's Zanpakutō release had long since ceased to be pure.
That was also why he rarely wanted to release his Zanpakutō.
He didn't want to see himself transformed into the very appearance he despised.
But his brief exchange with Azashiro had allowed Ashido to understand one thing.
Azashiro really did possess the strength to defeat Kenpachi Kuruyashiki.
If Ashido wanted to leave even a single wound on Azashiro in remembrance of Kuruyashiki, he would have to use everything he had.
Azashiro's normally placid expression finally showed obvious disgust.
"Turning yourself into a Hollow only makes me want to hit you harder!"
Ashido roared and charged toward Azashiro.
Regardless of anything else, he was one of the few people who still remembered Kenpachi Kuruyashiki.
Even leaving a single wound on Azashiro would count as avenging his former friend.
"Bakudō — Hyapporankan!"
Azashiro hurled a single rod of light into the sky.
The light rapidly split apart.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Countless rods of light filled the sky before raining down toward the ground.
There was no need to aim.
Everything in front of Azashiro would be covered.
"What an absurdly powerful instant-cast multi-Kidō technique."
Tsunayoshi immediately understood what he was seeing.
Put simply, Azashiro's attack was essentially dozens of Bakudō #62 — Hyapporankan being combined into a single barrage.
Not only had he eliminated the complicated incantation normally required beforehand, he was also performing multiple incantations simultaneously.
A sufficiently gifted Kidō practitioner could perform dual incantations.
Aizen, for example, could cast two Kidō spells simultaneously.
But chanting multiple Kidō spells at once was far more difficult.
Normally, unless someone had additional mouths capable of chanting alongside them, there was no way to perform so many simultaneous incantations.
Yet Azashiro's attack clearly hadn't required anything like that.
He had been alone from beginning to end.
The technique looked almost like the fighting style of a Quincy.
The difference was that Quincies condensed Reishi into Heilig Pfeil, while Azashiro transformed the Reishi into Kidō.
In the past, Azashiro hadn't been capable of releasing this many Kidō spells simultaneously.
The combat method had existed in his mind for a long time, but according to his original plan, he needed the Gigai developed by Squad 12 to serve as auxiliary chanting vessels before he could cast multiple Kidō simultaneously.
Everything changed after Tsunayoshi's battle with the Monk.
The Soul King was the primary reason Azashiro's power had evolved.
Deep within Azashiro's soul existed a glowing particle of Reishi.
The Soul King had left that particle behind the last time he came to see Azashiro.
Just as he had done with other Shinigami, the Soul King had buried a possibility within Azashiro's body.
Unlike other Shinigami, who couldn't perceive the power the Soul King had hidden within them, Azashiro had fused his soul with matter.
He therefore had an extraordinarily clear understanding of every component of his own soul.
He discovered the foreign presence left behind by the Soul King almost immediately.
Through his contact with that particle of Reishi, Azashiro realized that it was gradually catalyzing the evolution of his power.
To a certain extent, after activating Bankai and merging his Reishi with the Seireitei, Azashiro's state could be considered a weakened form of Zanpakutō fusion.
The power bestowed by the Soul King shone brilliantly within him, completely breaking through the final barrier preventing Azashiro from fully utilizing Kidō.
From that moment onward, as long as the Seireitei's Reishi wasn't completely exhausted, Azashiro was an inexhaustible Kidō artillery platform.
Author's Note
Originally, Azashiro's ability to cast multiple Kidō spells simultaneously required the assistance of Gigai.
But after thinking about it, I felt that this limitation didn't really match the scale of his power.
Azashiro's Bankai has fused him with the entire Seireitei. Much like Uryū's Sklaverei and his Half-Vollständig, Azashiro should logically be able to manipulate the Reishi throughout the entire Seireitei.
So I used the Soul King's power to remove the limitation mentioned above, allowing Azashiro to truly become an artillery-platform-type Shinigami.
At least within the Seireitei, he is now the strongest Kidō firepower specialist.
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