The Watcher in the Shadows

"Old man, what the hell are you trying to do? Come on, let's fight!" Kenpachi Zaraki's expression changed.

The excitement that had made him grin was gradually turning into irritation.

The kind of fight he sought wasn't one where he just kept swinging his weapon at empty air.

Cutting someone was fun, and getting cut was just as much fun.

But when he couldn't cut anyone and wasn't getting cut himself, it was far too boring.

"Cut me, old man!" He unleashed another storm of slashes, but still couldn't so much as touch Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

Kenpachi Zaraki finally stopped and roared.

"This isn't a fight at all."

"So do you understand now? To enjoy combat and killing, there must not be too great a gap between the two sides in either strength or skill."

"No wonder that boy Tokoyo Misao ran away instead of fighting you."

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto stood where he was, both hands resting on his cane, and shook his head lightly, looking as though he finally understood.

"Tokoyo Misao?" Kenpachi Zaraki wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and turned to look at Yachiru Kusajishi outside the fighting area. The image of the young man from the 11th Division instantly came to mind.

"You mean that guy's strong?"

"Of course. He graduated from the Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts in only half a year, the first to do so in the centuries since I founded the academy."

A hint of admiration appeared on Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's aged face.

"And his actual combat ability is exceptional. While carrying out a mission in the World of the Living, he fought over a hundred Hollows by himself and won."

"Not long ago, he also used the power of Ninth-Class Rei'i to instantly kill an enemy with Fourth-Class Spiritual Pressure."

"So that kid really is strong?" Kenpachi Zaraki asked in surprise.

"Ken-chan, Misao really is strong!" Yachiru Kusajishi called from the sidelines, waving repeatedly.

Kenpachi Zaraki shook his head. "It doesn't matter how strong he is. That's got nothing to do with this fight. Let's keep going, old man!"

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto let out a heavy sigh.

"Didn't you understand what I just said? The gap between our skill and strength is enormous, so there is no way for you to truly fight me."

"This battle can only be considered a lesson from me to you."

"If you truly intend to pursue the joy of battle and killing, then you should improve your strength and skill."

"Or are you unwilling to improve yourself so you can enjoy fighting?"

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm plenty strong!" Kenpachi Zaraki charged again.

This time, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto released his cane with both hands, lowered himself into a horse stance, and spoke in a deep voice.

"If you want to fight me, go back and train for another hundred years."

"First defeat Tokoyo Misao, the academy's greatest genius. Then come back and fight me."

As he spoke, Yamamoto stepped forward with his right foot and thrust his right fist out.

"Ikkotsu."

The seemingly ordinary punch was thrown later, yet landed first, striking Kenpachi Zaraki squarely in the stomach.

Boom! This time, the impact rang out like ten thousand peals of thunder.

Kenpachi Zaraki's mouth opened, and blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs sprayed out as he was sent crashing backward.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto picked up his cane and gave Yachiru Kusajishi a kindly smile. Speaking in the voice of an old grandfather, he said:

"Right now, I imagine Tokoyo Misao still isn't willing to fight Kenpachi Zaraki."

"Once his injuries have healed, have him come see me next month and learn what fighting is."

"Okay, Grandpa!"

Yachiru Kusajishi waved to Captain-Commander Yamamoto as she ran after Kenpachi Zaraki, who was still flying backward and smashing through walls.

"Ho ho ho. You can come to my place for roasted sweet potatoes later."

"Okay!"

Chapter 64: The Watcher in the Shadows

"Thirteenth Seat Tokoyo, have you heard?"

In a tavern in Junrinan, a member of the Tenth Division lowered his voice.

"The 11th Division has fewer than twenty members left in total."

Tokoyo Misao nodded with a smile and replied softly, "You know I used to be in the 11th Division. Things were fairly quiet there at the time.

"But as it happened, I'd already transferred to the Tenth Division by the time Captain Kenpachi Zaraki took over."

"I heard it from a relative of a friend of mine. Apparently, only a few dozen members left the 11th Division three months ago.

"And with so many Seated Officer positions vacant, plenty of people actually wanted to transfer over."

The division member spoke with a shake of his head.

"According to that relative of my friend, Captain Kenpachi Zaraki has been taking his men all over Rukongai to fight, and their casualty rate has reached sixty percent."

"Every time they go out on a mission, someone dies. It's terrifying. Good thing you left early, Thirteenth Seat Tokoyo."

He suddenly stopped, picked up his cup, and gave an awkward chuckle.

"What am I saying? With your strength, Thirteenth Seat, you'd be fine."

"How could I be? Kenpachi Saki was killed by Kenpachi Zaraki with a single slash, and he was a genuine Captain-level fighter.

"How could a Soul Reaper with an eighth-class Rei'i Grade like me possibly keep up?"

Tokoyo Misao shook his head and raised his own cup, drinking with the division member across from him.

The situation in the 11th Division really was dire. Even Kiyoyuki Yamanaka, the former Third Seat, had left.

Some of the other members who had decent dispositions and still had some strength had also transferred out one after another.

Those who remained, wanting the pay and position of Seated Officers, could only grit their teeth and follow the beast Kenpachi Zaraki around, hunting Hollows and evildoers in Rukongai.

Kenpachi Zaraki paid no attention to anyone else when he fought. If they couldn't keep up with him, it was perfectly normal for them to die.

Still, Iba had obtained the Third Seat position as a result. Misao ought to go congratulate him when he had time.

"Why are you two slacking off here?" A voice like a songbird's rang out.

Tokoyo Misao turned and saw that Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto had arrived.

She stood with one hand on her hip, her face full of reproach.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto, I—I'll get back to patrol right away."

The Tenth Division member immediately stood, his body stiff as a board as he fought to keep his eyes from wandering.

After waiting a moment without hearing anything from Rangiku Matsumoto, he dashed out of the tavern.

Rangiku Matsumoto sat in his place and glanced at the drinks on the table, a hint of disdain in her eyes.

Then her gaze fell on the bottle of sake on Tokoyo Misao's side of the table, and a glimmer flashed in her eyes.

She pursed her lips and spoke rather sternly.

"You should be on patrol right now, shouldn't you? Yet here you are slacking off. Hurry up and get back to your duties!"

Smiling, Tokoyo Misao raised a hand and waved toward the front. "Boss, a bottle of yuzu sake."

"Coming right up."

The owner brought a bottle of yuzu-flavored sake and a fresh cup to the table, set them down, and bowed as he withdrew.

Tokoyo Misao pushed the bottle in front of Rangiku Matsumoto and said with a smile:

"Lieutenant, you work so hard all the time. Please accept this craft sake as a small token of my appreciation."

The stern look on Rangiku Matsumoto's face immediately gave way to a smile as radiant as a chrysanthemum in full bloom. Without another word, she grabbed the bottle, poured herself a cup, and downed it in one gulp.

The sake gurgled down her throat.

"Ahh!" With a thump, Rangiku Matsumoto set the cup back on the table and let out a satisfied sound. "You always work hard on patrol too. You certainly deserve a rest tonight."

"Besides, every time you go out, you help the 11th Division deal with what they missed and kill quite a few Hollows. Your achievements are impressive. The captain recently said he wanted to promote you to Ninth Seat."

This wasn't the first time Rangiku Matsumoto had come to the tavern of her own accord to ask Tokoyo Misao for a drink.

For the past three months, Tokoyo Misao had been highly efficient on every mission.

Whenever he went on patrol, he inevitably encountered Hollows, and every time he managed to win and kill them.

Having completed his mission quota ahead of schedule, he naturally didn't keep patrolling everywhere. In the middle of the night, he would always come to Junrinan to find someone to drink and have a few snacks with.

Unfortunately, there were no game consoles or anything like that in Seireitei. Otherwise, he couldn't be bothered coming to the tavern.

"Ninth Seat? Isn't that a little early?" Tokoyo Misao's Rei'i Grade was currently eighth class, and in terms of strength, he was more than capable of holding the Ninth Seat.

With his reputation as both a genius and a noble, no one would have objected, either.

It was just that, because of Kenpachi Zaraki, he didn't want to rise through the seats too quickly right now.

"What? You don't want it? We're all Seated Officers, but every step up in rank comes with a big raise, you know."

"If you stay in your current seat, you won't be able to afford craft sake much longer."

Rangiku Matsumoto poured herself a few more cups, then picked up the flask and shook it. She found that after just those few drinks, less than half remained.

"Pay is important, you know. We Soul Reapers risk our lives day in and day out so we can live a little better, don't we?"

She reached to her waist and felt around, only to find that she was already out of money for the month. So she carefully poured half a cup of what remained and took a small sip.

She couldn't help it. Whenever she got paid, she drank herself silly in the tavern.

Even a lieutenant's salary was only enough to keep her drinking for a few days.

Her capacity for alcohol was simply too great.

"You're right, Lieutenant Matsumoto. Being happy is what matters most."

Tokoyo Misao nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Inwardly, however, he couldn't help sighing.

Two months ago, while patrolling Rukongai, he had happened to run into Kenpachi Zaraki leading his men.

The moment the captain saw him, he had charged straight at him with his sword, without a word.

Tokoyo Misao could only dodge while telling Yachiru Kusajishi that he wasn't ready yet.

It was also from that unexpected encounter that he learned Kenpachi Zaraki had been going to the First Division every month afterward to fight Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

Each time, he spent ten days to half a month recuperating in the Fourth Division, then immediately led the remaining members of the 11th Division on a frenzy of missions.

How could their casualty rate not be high?

Of course, the increasing number of modified Hollows lately was another reason.

The Twelfth Division believed the traitor Kisuke Urahara was responsible for all of them.

As for why Kenpachi Zaraki attacked him on sight, it was entirely because Captain-Commander Yamamoto had said that if Zaraki wanted to fight him, he first had to defeat Misao.

What a grudge-holding old man.

Tokoyo Misao picked up his sake flask and drank it down in one gulp.

If Yachiru Kusajishi hadn't spoken up for him and arranged for him to fight Kenpachi Zaraki once he became a lieutenant,

he might really have had to eat all 180 Reishi Orbs he had collected.

After all, that guy never held back in a fight.

"Ah, it's all gone again."

Rangiku Matsumoto reached for the sake flask in front of Tokoyo Misao as she spoke, but the moment she picked it up, she found it was empty too.

She couldn't help gritting her teeth. She stood and looked around, only to find that there was no one she knew drinking there tonight, so she couldn't even get a free drink.

"Forget it. I'll head back."

Tokoyo Misao waited a while, then paid and left.