The Man

The expedition to exterminate the Quincy had gone exceptionally smoothly. With terrifying, unstoppable force, the Gotei 13 had utterly crushed the resistance of the Quincy in the World of the Living.

It had formally displayed its despair-inducing, absolute military might to all three realms, especially to those within Soul Society itself.

When the expeditionary force returned in triumph, reeking of blood, the nobles in the Seireitei who had been itching to make a move all obediently withdrew into their shells.

Soon after the expedition ended, the Gotei 13 underwent another round of personnel appointments.

Yoruichi Shihōin formally took up her father's burden and donned the white haori of the Second Division Captain. The lieutenant's armband naturally went on Fujiwara Genshin's left arm.

For the members of the Second Division, however, these personnel changes existed in name only.

That was because an unspoken iron rule circulated throughout the entire Second Division:

If an urgent division matter came up, never go to the captain! There was no point in asking her, because she would only yawn and tell you to go to the lieutenant. In the Second Division, the lieutenant was the one who truly made the final decisions.

Though his official duties were crushingly heavy, Xuanxin had not neglected his personal training in the slightest.

Recently, however, he had been receiving guidance from Old Man Yamamoto at the First Division noticeably less often. This was not because Xuanxin was slacking off. Captain-Commander Yamamoto had called a halt to their Hakuda sparring sessions on his own.

The reason was simple: the old man could no longer bear Xuanxin's Hakuda talent, which could only be described as "abstract." To keep his treasured disciple from going out and embarrassing him in the future,

the strongest Soul Reaper, who had lived for a thousand years, did something unprecedented: he shut his doors to visitors and began painstakingly studying new Hakuda techniques in his dojo that might suit Xuanxin.

By comparison, the trials in the Fourth Division's underground dojo had grown ever more brutal.

Their weekly life-and-death bouts were growing exponentially more intense. Xuanxin noticed that as his strength improved, Retsu Unohana grew increasingly unrestrained in their sparring.

The instinct for slaughter hidden beneath her gentle mask was gradually awakening, and the look in her eyes was growing stranger by the day.

In their most recent clashes, Sister Hana's braid, always neatly plaited over her chest, had come so loose from her violent sword swings that it had nearly fallen completely apart!

The oppressive force of that sea of blood, almost tangible in its intensity, sent Xuanxin racing back and forth along the edge of life and death. Under Musashi's guidance and Sister Hana's pressure, his swordsmanship improved at an incredible speed.

In another dark corner of the Seireitei, the blond-haired Kisuke Urahara, who was forever appearing and disappearing without warning, remained holed up deep within the Maggot's Nest, conducting his unknown, mad research.

It was a sunny afternoon. Yoruichi sat sprawled on the desk, eating fruit and occasionally feeding a piece to Xuanxin as he waded through paperwork.

With a bang, the door to the Second Division office was kicked open.

Kisuke Urahara walked in with heavy dark circles under his eyes, his face full of excitement as he cradled a human-shaped object.

At the sight, Yoruichi abruptly stopped eating. After looking the suspicious object in Kisuke Urahara's arms up and down several times, she smirked and teased him:

"Oh, Kisuke, I know you might have been lonely, cooped up in the Maggot's Nest these past few years, but running around with something like that in broad daylight... you really ought to think about how it looks."

Hearing Yoruichi's bawdy teasing, Kisuke Urahara stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face.

He rolled his eyes so hard they practically disappeared. "What nonsense are you talking about?! This is the ultimate training tool I developed—the 'Tenshintai'! It's advanced technology for forcibly materializing the true form of a Zanpakuto!"

"Hmph, if you don't believe me, come to the secret base tonight. I'll demonstrate it for you myself!" With that, Kisuke Urahara turned to leave, still holding the Tenshintai.

Just as he was about to step through the door, Xuanxin suddenly pulled a black cloth from somewhere and casually tossed it, landing it squarely on Kisuke Urahara's face.

Then, feigning solemnity, he added insult to injury. "Yoruichi's right. It's broad daylight, so you really should think about how it looks."

Yoruichi laughed even harder. Kisuke Urahara pulled the black cloth off his head and looked at the wretched pair in front of him, taking turns ganging up on him.

He felt a profound misery that left him wanting to cry without tears. Suddenly, he thought that this pair might well be the death of him someday.

That night, inside the secret base beneath Sōkyoku Hill.

Kisuke Urahara carefully explained the Tenshintai's heaven-defying capabilities to them and told them that he had already achieved Bankai with its help.

Though the two had spent the day mocking the Tenshintai's appearance, they genuinely admired Kisuke Urahara's extraordinary skill with his hands and his genius mind.

Just as the demonstration ended and the three were preparing to leave,

Xuanxin suddenly paused. His keen senses had caught what seemed to be a faint flicker of Reishi light on the surface of the Tenshintai, which had been left unused to one side.

"Yoruichi, you and Kisuke go back first." Xuanxin turned and patted her on the shoulder. "I still have something to take care of here."

Yoruichi gave him a suspicious look, but out of absolute trust, she asked no further questions. She merely told him, "Come home early." Then she took Kisuke Urahara, who was nearly exhausted to the point of collapse, and left the underground base.

When Xuanxin was alone in the vast secret base, he slowly turned around and fixed his gaze on the Tenshintai standing in the middle of the space. His voice was calm but certain as he spoke:

"Stop hiding. I believe it's you, isn't it, Urozakuro?"

As Xuanxin's words fell, the Reishi on the Tenshintai's surface began to boil violently.

Immediately afterward, a voluptuous figure exuding an air of danger and languor slowly emerged from the Tenshintai.

"My, my~ As expected of Sister Musashi's man. Your senses really are frightening~"

"What are you doing here?" Xuanxin eyed the woman in front of him warily.

"Nothing much. Muken was terribly boring, so I came out to find a little entertainment for my Azashiro. I can tell him about it when I get back, just to pass the time."

"It had better be." With that, Xuanxin ignored Urozakuro and headed outside.

But just as Xuanxin was about to reach the entrance, Urozakuro's voice came from behind him once more:

"For Sister Musashi's sake, if you ever want to know some secret information, you can try calling my name. I'll help you. Of course... this is Sōya's wish as well."

Hearing that, Xuanxin's retreating figure gave a slight start. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind," he said in a low voice.

On his way back, Xuanxin kept wondering why Sōya Azashiro had sent Urozakuro to help him. Did he have some other scheme?

But when Xuanxin returned to the Shihoin Clan's residence under cover of night and slid open the paper door to his room, he temporarily put all his questions aside.

A pitch-black cat lay quietly in the middle of the tatami.

Hearing the door open, the black cat lazily rose to her feet. A faint puff of white mist appeared, and she transformed back into Yoruichi Shihōin's strikingly beautiful body.

That night, phoenix flutes sounded, light played upon jade vessels, and fish and dragons danced until dawn.

All that was known was that, starting the next day, the Second Division members noticed that the atmosphere between their captain and lieutenant had grown even more cloyingly affectionate, enough to make the air around them thicken.

Time continued to march steadily onward.

A few days earlier, the 11th Division had finally welcomed its new Kenpachi—a mountain of flesh named Gosuke Kiganjō.

Ever since he took over the 11th Division, Xuanxin had often heard its veteran lieutenant complaining to everyone in a low voice at the weekly captains' meetings, his face full of worry.

He said Kiganjō had thrown the 11th Division into chaos, and its once pure pride as a fighting force was being replaced by the ways of thuggish bandits.

At first, Xuanxin had not paid it much mind.

He had assumed that Kiganjō was new to the position and might simply have a rough manner and be unfamiliar with some of the Gotei 13's rules. With his lieutenant's help, things would surely improve in time.

Reality, however, soon slapped Xuanxin hard across the face.

On a gloomy afternoon, Xuanxin led a small squad of the Second Division's Executive Militia to investigate a disturbance involving displaced souls in the nearer districts of Rukongai.

When they arrived, the sight before them instantly filled Xuanxin with rage.

The cause of the disturbance was no Hollow, but Gosuke Kiganjō of the 11th Division.

He was leading several of his new division members, wantonly kicking over roadside stalls and brazenly bullying unarmed ordinary souls like the lowest of street thugs!

"Stop!"

His gaze icy, Xuanxin used Shunpo to step straight into their midst and ordered them to stop.

Kiganjō not only refused to listen, but picked his nose, crudely spat on the ground, and began mocking Xuanxin without restraint:

"Heh, who did I think it was? It's the Second Division's 'married-in son-in-law.' Who the hell do you think you are, sticking your nose in my business?"

At such crude language, anger began to burn in Xuanxin's heart. Clearly, Kiganjō did not know how strong Xuanxin was. Seeing him fall silent, Kiganjō thought he was afraid and pressed his advantage:

"You're just a pretty boy who got his lieutenant's seat by living off a woman. If that Yoruichi Shihōin hadn't been blind, would you ever have gotten so lucky? Hahaha..."

As soon as those words were spoken, the air around Xuanxin dropped to freezing. Yoruichi Shihōin was the one thing in this world he would not allow anyone to touch.

"Shing!"

The clear sound of blades leaving their sheaths cut off Kiganjō's barking. Xuanxin drew the two swords at his waist and said, "I, Shihoin Genshin, lieutenant of the Second Division, hereby formally challenge you for the name of 'Kenpachi.' It will be a fight to the death."

News of Xuanxin's Kenpachi challenge soon flew back to the Seireitei as if on wings, carried through the special channels of the Executive Militia members present.

Before long, Yoruichi Shihōin, Sixth Division Captain Kuchiki Ginrei, and Eighth Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku arrived, their faces grave.

They also brought Captain-Commander Yamamoto's decision: "The Kenpachi succession battle is approved."

The group then swiftly returned to the 11th Division's enormous training ground.

With three captains and hundreds of 11th Division members watching with bated breath, the battle began. More accurately, a one-sided execution began.

Kiganjō roared and swung his spiked club down hard, while Xuanxin did not even use Bankai.

He merely shifted slightly to one side and made a gentle sweep with his right hand.

A faint black line, seemingly capable of cutting through space itself, swept smoothly across Kiganjō's enormous body.

[Nadegiri]

Xuanxin's voice fell softly, and before the horrified eyes of the onlookers, Gochū Kiganjō's enormous body was cleaved cleanly in two and crashed heavily into the dirt of the training ground!

Xuanxin then slowly sheathed his swords. In the deathly silence, he stepped through the blood covering the ground and became the eleventh Kenpachi, replacing Kiganjō!

The disturbance died down in a very short time.

No one was happier about Xuanxin's promotion to captain of the 11th Division than Fourth Division Captain Retsu Unohana and Seigen, the former head of the Shihoin Clan.

One was happy that Xuanxin had finally severed his "useless shackles" and taken the "right path." The other was happy that his son-in-law and daughter were now both captains wielding great authority.

The most unhappy, however, was Yoruichi Shihōin.

Leaving aside the fact that she could no longer see Xuanxin at every moment of the day after he became Kenpachi, the paperwork that fell on her shoulders because of his departure was enough to give her a headache.

Noticing the change in Yoruichi, Xuanxin held her that night and made a promise that could only be called tragic and heroic:

"Don't be angry. I promise I'll come home to rest every night, and whatever paperwork you can't finish, bring it home and I'll take care of it all for you!"

Only after hearing his promise did Yoruichi let him off.

Thus, for the first time since the Gotei 13's founding, a captain appeared who shouldered the paperwork of two divisions. It was also the first time two people with the same surname served as captains in the thirteen divisions.

This brought the Shihoin Clan's prestige among the nobles to an unprecedented height.

Chapter 41: The Man

After Gochū Kiganjō's enormous body crashed to the ground, the 11th Division underwent an unprecedented upheaval and reshuffling.

As the new Kenpachi, Xuanxin's first task after taking over the division was to launch a sweeping, merciless "purge."

During Kiganjō's tenure, he had recruited a large number of thugs like himself who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Relying on the 11th Division's name, these men regularly went to the Rukongai districts outside the Seireitei to bully ordinary souls.

On the day Xuanxin took office, before every member of the division, he used his Reiatsu to pin the notorious troublemakers to the training ground. Listening to their pleas for mercy, he said:

"The 11th Division's glory is built on the courage to draw your swords and charge forward against powerful enemies, not on your waving blades around to bully the weak."

Xuanxin looked down from above at the scum kneeling on the ground, his voice utterly devoid of warmth:

"From today onward, the 11th Division has no need for trash who only know how to throw their weight around. Anyone who bullies civilians again can look to Kiganjō as an example of what awaits them."