A Tenfold Boost, Terrifying Indeed

"Why are there only two of you? Didn't I tell you? That guy..."

He clutched the wound where his arm had been severed, his eyes filled with deep terror, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

"That guy is a monster!"

"This many people aren't nearly enough!"

Frowning, Yoruichi reached out and pressed a hand to his shoulder.

"Calm down. What happened?"

At her words, an expression of utter despair appeared on the Soul Reaper's face.

"Nothing... happened..."

"I... and the others..."

"We just went there to die!"

"Let's go. There's no way we can stand up to a monster like that..."

Before he had finished, he suddenly began trembling even harder, his face turning deathly pale.

Yoruichi's expression abruptly sharpened as well.

The presence of Reiatsu!

And an unimaginably powerful Reiatsu at that!

Extremely violent and immense... and carrying pure killing intent!

"That guy... he's here!"

The one-armed Soul Reaper clutched his wound tightly, his eyes full of terror.

His emotions on the verge of collapse, he broke free of Yoruichi's hand and fled with Shunpo without so much as an explanation.

His retreating figure resembled a stray dog fleeing in panic. He lacked even the courage to look back, doing nothing but running forward.

But the two of them were no longer paying attention to him.

Another figure had appeared on the street, amid countless piles of wreckage.

He made no effort to restrain his Reiatsu, releasing it without inhibition. Its vast presence bore down on the air, making the already murky atmosphere even more oppressive.

His civilian clothes were caked in layer upon layer of dried blood. All that could be seen was a dull red; their original color was impossible to make out.

The long sword in his hand was covered in nicks of every size. It was nothing but a piece of scrap metal, hardly worthy of being called a weapon.

But when Yoruichi looked closely, a chill ran down her spine.

The nicks... were filled with scattered scraps of flesh!

The sword had hacked down to the bone again and again. Who knew how many times it had struck, how many people it had killed, to be worn down until it was covered in countless nicks!

Never mind whether it was a weapon or not...

The man before her was carrying that sword to show off his battle record!

In an instant, Yoruichi understood who had caused all the wreckage strewn across the ground.

"No wonder that Soul Reaper was so panicked..."

"Is this guy really human?"

Slowly drawing the short sword from behind her waist, Yoruichi put on an unusually grave expression.

The next second, Kyōsuke Kuchiki's calm voice rang out.

"He's the one I'm looking for."

"...Huh?"

Yoruichi made an exaggerated expression of shock.

"Kyōsuke, are you serious?"

"His strength might meet the standard... but how is he any different from an evil spirit, looking like that?"

"There's no communicating with him, no controlling him."

"The Captain-Commander would never agree to make him captain of the 11th Division!"

...An evil spirit?

Kyōsuke Kuchiki glanced at the man not far away and merely smiled.

That word really was fitting for him.

Kenpachi Zaraki!

In the original story, this guy was a famously ruthless figure in the Gotei 13!

In pursuit of more thrilling battles to the death, he had even willingly worn an eyepatch that suppressed his strength.

He knew neither Bankai nor Shikai, yet with nothing but his powerful Reiatsu and beastlike fighting ability, he had killed Kiganjō and become captain of the 11th Division.

When he was still a minor, he had even fought a life-and-death duel against the First Kenpachi of the time, Retsu Unohana... or rather, Yachiru Unohana!

He had even subconsciously restrained his own power to avoid killing his opponent.

And now, this man was standing before Kyōsuke Kuchiki.

"Kenpachi Zaraki..."

"No, right now he should just be Zaraki."

Watching Zaraki walk through the wreckage like a wandering ghost, Kyōsuke Kuchiki could not help feeling somewhat shaken.

As expected of one of the future Five Special War Powers, the only "Kenpachi" in all of Soul Society.

The Reiatsu washing over him alone carried an overwhelming pressure.

If he were not Captain-level himself, he would probably have been scared out of his wits, reduced to despair and collapse like the one-armed Soul Reaper just now.

"That's him."

Kyōsuke Kuchiki repeated it with certainty.

"Yoruichi, you can go back now."

"Bringing this guy back to the Seireitei won't be easy."

"You could very well be seriously injured."

At that, Yoruichi could not help glancing at him.

For Kyōsuke Kuchiki to say something like that, the man before them had clearly reached a certain level of strength!

But... she was already here. How could she leave now?

Waving the short sword in her hand, Yoruichi gave him a radiant smile.

"Kyōsuke, whatever else I am, I'm the Second Division Captain."

"You don't have to underestimate me like that!"

"..."

Chapter 54: A Tenfold Boost, Terrifying Indeed

As if noticing the commotion, Kenpachi Zaraki finally raised his head.

His gaze was utterly numb, as though he had lost his reason during a long stretch of fighting.

But the instant he saw Yoruichi, it was as if he had laid eyes on some rare treasure. His gaze cleared at once, and his eyes grew exceptionally bright!

He had no idea how to judge the strength of Reiatsu, nor did he have any desire to figure it out.

His fighting instincts told him that this woman was stronger than everyone he had just killed!

She was worth fighting!

Without a word of nonsense, his figure abruptly flashed from where he stood!

He swept across the street at tremendous speed, charging up to the two of them like lightning!

Shunpo?

Yoruichi was slightly startled and instinctively dodged to the side.

Whoosh—!

Almost the next instant, Kenpachi Zaraki flashed into the spot where she had just stood.

The long sword in his hand whipped out, and a streak of dark red sword light howled past!

It followed close behind Yoruichi!

No, that's not right!

This guy isn't using Shunpo!

Although Kenpachi Zaraki was fast, she had seen it clearly.

This guy... had simply unleashed his Reiatsu in a burst and used it to increase his speed!

Just how powerful did his Reiatsu have to be for him to burst into a speed comparable to Shunpo in an instant?

Startled, Yoruichi felt cold sweat break out on her back. Hearing the blade scream through the air beside her, she immediately brought up the short sword in her hand, intending to block it in front of her.

But the man swung his sword far too quickly!

Even the sound of it cutting through the air could only trail behind the sword light!

Rushing toward her was Reiatsu as vast and heavy as a tsunami, brimming with searing fighting spirit... and killing intent!

I can't block it!

Yoruichi already understood that, but she did not dodge.

At such close range, her Shunpo could not carry her clear of that streak of sword light!

Fear, oppression, suffocation...

Perhaps even she had not noticed that, under the terrifying presence of Kenpachi Zaraki's Reiatsu, she had abandoned the fighting style she was best at and been forced to fight him head-on.

But just then, a light, graceful streak of white appeared in Yoruichi's field of vision.

Serene, composed...

Like its master, that streak of sword light brought Yoruichi back to her senses in an instant.

She hurriedly warned him, "Kyōsuke! Careful, there's something wrong with this man's Reiatsu."

Kyōsuke Kuchiki delivered a concise reply: "Yoruichi, get back."

Without another word exchanged, Yoruichi withdrew her sword and retreated at once, without the slightest hesitation.

The howling red sword light naturally caught up with her, but just as it was about to reach her back...

"Bombard and resound, Dijiang!"

Passive activated, tenfold boost!

The white sword light instantly surged in speed!

Zaraki's sword was fast, so fast that even Yoruichi, the "Flash Goddess," had nearly failed to react.

But Kyōsuke Kuchiki's sword was faster now!

Its long afterimage trailed like a streaking meteor. The naked eye could scarcely capture the speed of the sword light, only vaguely sense that something had just swept past at tremendous speed.

Clang!

In the blink of an eye, the battered sword in Zaraki's hand was caught in a fierce block, without the slightest tremor!

The jagged blade was mere fractions away from Yoruichi's back!

But those fractions had already decided the outcome!

In less than a breath, Yoruichi had flashed to the side.

She had now released her Reiatsu and brought her Shunpo to its highest speed.

With Kenpachi Zaraki's amateurish method of acceleration, catching her would be difficult.

But the man no longer looked at her. Instead, he slowly turned his head toward Kyōsuke Kuchiki.