You Call That Inborn Divine Strength?

Kensei Muguruma, muscular and straightforward, was still troubled by Kyōsuke Kuchiki's choice.

He did not look down on the Kidō Corps; he simply felt that Kyōsuke Kuchiki's talent was being wasted.

At his words, Retsu Unohana smiled.

"Someone like Kyōsuke Kuchiki won't be ordinary wherever he goes. He'll shine with a dazzling light."

"Then I'll be watching! Oh, oh, oh, I'm fired up!"

As if he had thought of something, Kensei Muguruma threw back his head and roared at the sky in excitement.

The captains were long accustomed to the Captain of the Ninth Division's occasional displays of "performance art."

As they spoke, a huge shadow suddenly fell over them, enveloping the group.

Immediately afterward, an exceedingly crude male voice rang out.

"Huh?"

"The Kidō Corps?!"

Kenpachi Kiganjō rested a hand on the Zanpakuto at his waist, his face full of disbelief.

He glanced at the captains, then at Kyōsuke Kuchiki and Tessai Tsukabishi before him. After freezing for a few seconds, he suddenly burst into booming laughter.

"No way! That's it?"

"That noble brat you all praised to the heavens ended up joining a place like the Kidō Corps, packed full of trash?"

"My men told me you all wanted to invite the brat into your divisions?"

"But he didn't think any of you were worth joining. He just wanted to be an idle noble!"

"How embarrassing!"

His attitude was utterly disdainful. He did not even deign to look them in the eye, and with an arrogant look on his face, he repeatedly patted the Zanpakuto at his waist, seemingly flaunting his status as captain of the 11th Division.

"And here I was, thinking I'd show this genius a little respect. I came all this way to wait for him to submit his application to join my division."

"But in the end... hahaha, the once-in-a-century super genius of the Kuchiki Clan—no, of the Soul Society, as you kept calling him—went to a place like the Kidō Corps!"

"Then again, how could trash from a noble family join the 11th Division?"

As it happened, Tessai Tsukabishi and Kyōsuke Kuchiki had come over to make the final handover and say their goodbyes, only to hear Kiganjō speaking rudely about the Kidō Corps and Kyōsuke Kuchiki.

Caught red-handed badmouthing people behind their backs, Kiganjō showed not a trace of shame. He used Shunpo to appear before the two of them and said bluntly to Kyōsuke Kuchiki:

"Choosing the Kidō Corps was a truly wise decision. I'm starting to see you in a whole new light!"

"The Kidō Corps isn't bad at all! At least there are plenty of missions, and you can rise through the ranks quickly."

"..."

As he spoke, Kenpachi Kiganjō reached out to pat Kyōsuke Kuchiki on the shoulder.

But the next second, he froze.

At some point, Tessai Tsukabishi had drawn his staff-shaped Zanpakuto and silently placed it in front of Kyōsuke Kuchiki.

Smack.

The tip of the staff met Kenpachi Kiganjō's hand squarely, blocking it.

"The Kidō Corps is not a place for keeping trash."

Tessai Tsukabishi tightened his grip on the staff and looked at Kenpachi Kiganjō coldly.

His powerful Reiatsu stirred, making the air a little more oppressive.

The man had come right up to his face to provoke him, insulting a newcomer to his own corps in front of him, the Grand Kidō Chief.

How could he tolerate that?

Without the slightest hesitation, he said the next moment:

"Kiganjō, apologize to Lord Kyōsuke and me. Now."

"Otherwise—you're not leaving here today!"

Seeing this, Kenpachi Kiganjō froze.

He usually mocked and sneered at the members of the Kidō Corps, and had struck a superior pose before them more than once.

But Tessai Tsukabishi had never openly retaliated, at most using other means to have the Captain-Commander punish him.

Yet now... he had rashly made a move for the sake of a brat who had just graduated!

He had even said something that sounded like a threat.

This was truly a first!

How unusual!

But Kenpachi Kiganjō's attention was not on Tessai Tsukabishi.

Instead, he turned his head slightly and glanced behind him.

The moment he finished speaking, Yoruichi Shihōin had drawn the short blade at her waist, though he had not noticed when.

She had likewise thrust its cold scabbard forward, firmly pinning Kiganjō's arm and preventing him from touching Kyōsuke Kuchiki.

Her usual lively, big-sister manner had vanished entirely, and Yoruichi Shihōin's expression was frighteningly cold.

As if sensing his gaze, she slowly raised her head. Her amber eyes brimmed with chill as she stared fixedly at Kenpachi Kiganjō like a beast.

"Hey, Kiganjō—"

She tilted her head slightly, a trace of killing intent in her voice.

"What are you saying to my little brother Kyōsuke?"

"If your head's tired of where it is, you can say so anytime. I'll help you move it."

"..."

Her killing intent was unmistakably real. Kenpachi Kiganjō could feel its bone-chilling cold without even turning to look.

If he were somewhere other than the Seireitei, on some remote, deserted path,

the woman behind him would probably have already drawn her blade and cleanly taken his head.

Realizing this, Kenpachi Kiganjō did not rein himself in. Instead, his irritation grew even stronger.

He was just a noble brat. Had these people gone mad?

They actually dared challenge him, the captain of the 11th Division?

He raised his eyebrows, then let out a cold laugh.

"Hey, hey, seriously?"

"I was only joking."

"What are you all so worked up about?"

"..."

Of course Yoruichi Shihōin could not remain calm.

She had practically watched Kyōsuke being born and growing up, and had long regarded him as her own little brother.

Her family had been insulted, and she would never let the matter rest.

Before the Captain-Commander learned of this and arrived... she had plenty of time to give Kiganjō a proper lesson.

Tessai Tsukabishi felt the same way.

After Eight Linked Twin Cliffs and Kyōsuke Kuchiki joining the Kidō Corps, he had long since come to regard him as one of his own.

He was looking forward to befriending him and studying Kidō together in the future.

How could he allow Kenpachi Kiganjō to insult him and the Kidō Corps?

The captains were all stepping back now, making it plain that they were willing to let them make trouble.

If he didn't charge in now, when would he?

Unfortunately, before he could speak, Yoruichi Shihōin chuckled.

"Kiganjō, you only became captain of the 11th Division because you stumbled into a huge stroke of luck."

"Everyone knows the previous Kenpachi only inherited the captain's position as an exception because he was lucky. His strength didn't meet the standard at all."

"You're the only one who thinks killing him and taking his place was some great achievement."

"You only got the captain's position because you were lucky too. That's all there is to it."

"And now you dare stand here insulting the Shin'ō Academy's finest student and spouting nonsense about the Kidō Corps..."

"Kiganjō, where do you get the nerve?"

Chapter 42: You Call That Inborn Divine Strength?

Yoruichi Shihōin's words were simple, but they struck perfectly at the point Kenpachi Kiganjō cared about most.

His claim to his position was illegitimate.

Fighting one's way up from Rukongai to become a captain was something anyone would be proud of.

But for him, it was like having his fig leaf stripped away.

One had to kill a Kenpachi to gain the name "Kenpachi." That had always been an unchangeable tradition.

There had been only one exception: the 11th Division's previous captain, the Ninth Kenpachi.

The man named Gosuke had originally been the Eighth Kenpachi's lieutenant, and his strength was not particularly outstanding.

But no one had expected the Eighth Kenpachi, Sōya Azashiro, to suddenly turn himself in to the Central 46 Chambers and confess to a string of crimes. In the end, he was imprisoned in Muken, the lowest level of the underground prison.

The Seireitei could not find a suitable candidate for Kenpachi on short notice, so it had no choice but to make an exception and promote the lieutenant at the time, Gosuke, to Ninth Kenpachi.

And the man Kiganjō had killed was this "Kenpachi," the most inflated and weakest in history!

"Strongest swordsman in the Soul Society," indeed. He was nothing more than a brute who had seized an easy opportunity!

Strictly speaking, he had merely slain a lieutenant.

This was the subject Kenpachi Kiganjō hated most. Ordinarily, anyone who brought it up would die.

Now that Yoruichi Shihōin had exposed his past to his face, he immediately clenched his teeth, his expression turning exceptionally ferocious and ugly.

Kyōsuke Kuchiki, watching from behind them, smiled slightly.

Sure enough, striking at the heart was the way to go.

Just as Kiganjō was about to curse back,

one of the students watching from a distance happened to remark:

"Huh? So that's... how Kiganjō got his captain's position?"

"That really is surprising."

...Mockery?

They dared mock him?!

His head instantly grew hot. Kiganjō swept a vicious gaze over the crowd, his fierce stare frightening the students into retreating several steps.

But the captains were not afraid of Kiganjō.

They neither retreated nor looked away, instead sizing up the enraged Kiganjō with faintly amused expressions.

That sight, however, completely enraged Kenpachi Kiganjō!

"What are you looking at?! Believe me, I'll kill you!"

"I'm... I'm the captain of the 11th Division!"

"The Soul Society's strongest... Kenpachi!"

His eyes slightly bloodshot, he glared once more at Tessai Tsukabishi and Kyōsuke Kuchiki.

"And you, what the fuck are you talking about?!"

"I became a captain through a stroke of luck?"

The little reason he had possessed had long since collapsed. Kiganjō's face flushed red as he roared in fury.