A giant Hollow struck Rei and wounded him. It wasn't the first time he had been hurt, and the wound quickly healed.
But the intense pain jolted him awake. He had been immersed in the fighting in his Shikai state for too long. His blood-drinking ability could only increase his attack power and heal his wounds; it couldn't let him maintain his Shikai indefinitely.
Not everyone could keep their Zanpakuto released indefinitely. If a Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto could remain in its Shikai state year-round, it meant that person was exceptionally powerful. Ichigo Kurosaki was a typical example.
His Reiatsu was so powerful that he couldn't suppress it completely, so his Zanpakuto couldn't return to its ordinary state...
"If this keeps up, I'll die here. I can't keep fighting like this. There's no end to them!"
Once Rei came to his senses, he knew that the moment his Reiatsu ran out, the Hollows would tear him apart.
He glanced at Maki, who had stopped crying beside him, and found himself in a difficult position. If I take him, it'll be hard for either of us to escape. But if I leave him, he's my subordinate, and I can't bear to do it.
Rei still remembered how, a few days ago, when he had wanted to find Hollows, Maki had taken his companions into the wilderness and mountains to search for them. They had carried out his orders without fear of death...
Maki saw the hesitation in Rei's eyes and understood. After remaining silent all this time, he suddenly shouted, "Lord Nangong, go on ahead! I'll cover the rear!"
Seeing the resolute expression on Maki's face as he said this, Rei's heart softened a little.
"If you don't want to die, grab your sword and fight your way out with me!"
With that, Rei swung his sword forward and stopped looking back at Maki. If Maki couldn't keep up, that would be his own problem.
The two fought their way out, one behind the other. Maki had given up earlier out of despair, but he was actually still in fairly good shape. Even if he couldn't cut down the larger Hollows, he had little trouble avoiding their attacks...
Just as the two were breaking through, several new sources of Reiatsu suddenly appeared. The main force of Soul Reapers had finally arrived, with the combat unit, the 11th Division, naturally arriving first...
"I thought we'd be too late and find no one left, but there are actually two survivors. You two are impressive!"
A man with messy hair and a faint smile suddenly appeared before Rei. A terrifying pressure from his Reiatsu bore down on Rei, nearly crushing him. Rei was still in his Shikai state, so he stayed on his feet.
Maki fared worse and immediately dropped to one knee. He struggled to breathe until the newcomer realized something was wrong and suppressed his Reiatsu.
The man in the white coat drew his sword and slashed horizontally. Dozens of Hollows around them dissolved into Reishi and scattered. Rei also saw the number "eleven" on the back of his white coat, its strokes as sharp as blades.
The captain of the 11th Division, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi.
What an incredible guy. And that coat... Is he the captain of the Soul Reapers' 11th Division?
As Rei stood there in shock, Blood Drink suddenly returned to its original form. He could no longer maintain his Shikai. Exhaustion instantly swept over him, and his vision went black as he fainted.
"Lord Nangong! Lord Nangong, stay with me..."
Maki rushed forward and caught Rei.
"He's fine. He just fought for too long and exhausted his Reiatsu. He'll be all right after some rest. Take him and stand to the side for now! We'll handle things here."
Kuruyashiki Kenpachi spoke as he cut down Hollows, paying the Ragged Hollows no mind.
Soon, a large number of Soul Reapers appeared and cleared out the thousand or so remaining minor Hollows in the area. One Soul Reaper came forward to report, "Captain, the group of Menos Grande has headed for West District 66."
"Pursue them. Two of you stay behind and look after these two boys. Rejoin us once they can move again. And... ask him whether he'd be willing to serve in our 11th Division."
"Yes, sir!"
After giving his orders, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi left with a flash step. Earlier, he had also used flash step to get here after landing via a teleportation Kidō, leaving his squad members behind because he was so fast...
Half an hour later, Rei woke with a start. His sudden movement startled Maki and the two Soul Reapers.
"Lord Nangong, you're awake!" Maki greeted him happily and gave him some water.
"Was that messy-haired guy just now Captain-level? He was amazing..."
"Hey, kid, don't you know how to show some respect? What do you mean, 'messy-haired guy'? Our captain saved your lives!"
Rei had spoken thoughtlessly after drinking the water. The two Soul Reapers beside him thought he was disrespecting their captain and angrily reached out to hold his head down.
"Right, right. I haven't thanked him yet, have I? He's the captain of the 11th Division, Kenpachi Zaraki, right?"
Rei voiced what he thought was the answer. He remembered how, back in school, several of his overweight otaku classmates had discussed the plot and characters of Bleach at the back of the classroom during breaks, and they had mentioned Kenpachi Zaraki.
The title of Kenpachi could be inherited, provided one defeated the previous Kenpachi. Every Kenpachi had been the captain of the Gotei 13's combat unit, the 11th Division.
Bored at the time, Rei had gone over to listen to them shoot the breeze. The guy with glasses had said the manga had reached the part where the First Kenpachi taught Kenpachi Zaraki to release his Zanpakuto. The otaku had all asked for the website so they could check it out after school.
But this time he had guessed wrong. This wasn't the era he knew a little about. It was an era of Bleach he knew nothing about...
"Kenpachi Zaraki? What nonsense are you talking about? The current captain of the 11th Division is Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, the Seventh Kenpachi."
"That's right. Our captain defeated the Sixth Kenpachi fair and square and inherited the name of Kenpachi from him. Kuruyashiki Kenpachi is the strongest in the Gotei 13."
The two Soul Reapers took turns correcting Rei, and they didn't stop until he apologized and asked them to thank Kuruyashiki Kenpachi for him.
Seeing that Rei had regained his strength, the two Soul Reapers prepared to leave as ordered. Before leaving, they also passed on Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's interest in recruiting him.
But Rei declined, saying plainly that he had no plans to become a Soul Reaper within the next ten years. He wanted to travel the world...
The area was safe now, and the Fifth Division had also arrived to rescue the souls. They had saved quite a few and sheltered them within a Barrier on the mountain.
Kuruyashiki Kenpachi? Was there a character like that? Damn, this is bad. This isn't Aizen's era at all. When the Arrancar were around, the captain of the 11th Division was Kenpachi Zaraki...
Rei spent a long time trying to remember. Putting together the six episodes of Bleach he had watched in middle school and what he had learned from his classmates' weekly anime discussions at school on Sunday evenings, he realized that this was before the Arrancar appeared.
As for what specific events had taken place and whether those terrifying villains had appeared, he had no way of knowing.
"Kenpachi Zaraki is the Eleventh Kenpachi, and this is the Seventh... Forget it. At this rate, who knows if I'll even live that long..."
As he walked out of the ruins, Rei gradually let go of his unrealistic fantasies. A horde of Ragged Hollows had nearly killed him, so there was even less reason to think about what came later.
And when the sky had first shattered, he had seen those Gillian Menos Grande in groups. Danger was ever-present in this world.
"Um... Lord Nangong, you really don't need to dwell on it. He's someone who holds the title of Kenpachi! There are countless powerful people in the Gotei 13, and only the strongest can bear that name."
Seeing Rei's expression change repeatedly, Maki thought he had been discouraged by Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's strength.
That was hardly surprising. The name Kenpachi was renowned throughout Soul Society. Even ordinary souls had heard of it, let alone people like them who had the talent to become Soul Reapers.
That was because the 11th Division was a combat unit that often fought in the remote regions of Rukongai.
"Huh? Of course I know the title Kenpachi. I was thinking about something else. The Fallen Silver Group is gone. From now on, it's just the two of us..."
Rei felt a little sad. He had planned to make a grave for Genji and the others, but decided against it. The group was gone; apart from the two of them, who would remember an insignificant nobody like Genji, let alone the others?
"Don't worry, sir. We'll definitely make a comeback. And... I firmly believe that you'll surpass Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and become the next legend of Soul Society, Lord Nangong..."
Hearing that Rei wasn't discouraged, Maki immediately gave him a word of encouragement. The sight of Rei protecting him just now was still vivid in his mind, and he had secretly sworn to be loyal to Rei for the rest of his life.
"Good brother, stop calling me 'lord.' Call me Brother Nangong. I'll look after you from now on..."
"Yes, Brother Nangong. I'll never disappoint you. From now on, I'll stand in front of you."
"Heh, then you'll have to work hard to get stronger!"
"Mm..."
Rei put an arm around Maki's shoulders, putting them on equal footing. Maki was deeply moved and clenched his fist, secretly swearing to follow Rei for the rest of his life.
In terms of strength, it was certainly right for Maki to call Rei his elder brother. In terms of age, Maki had spent longer in Soul Society; he simply hadn't had any Reiryoku before, so his height and appearance hadn't changed.
Rei told him his plans for afterward. Just as he had said when declining Kuruyashiki's offer, he intended to begin traveling Soul Society, broadening his horizons while improving his strength.
Maki naturally intended to follow him, but they couldn't leave yet. The war between the Soul Reapers and the Hollows wasn't over, and Hollows still came rushing over from time to time. But with Soul Reapers from the Fifth Division here, they couldn't cause much trouble for now.
To better prepare for their travels, the two began searching the Fallen Silver Group's headquarters for valuables collected in recent times. Such things were necessities in the Rukongai districts ahead.
The nearby Soul Reapers of the Fifth Division were surprised to learn that two Rukongai souls had survived being surrounded and attacked by Hollows. They were even more astonished when they came over and saw that Rei and Maki, who were searching through the ruins, were only boys. That alone was enough to show that the two weren't weak.
The Fifth Division Soul Reapers had come to take them to shelter on the mountain, where a Barrier had been set up to protect the souls.
Rei readily agreed and packed up the valuables and a little dry food. He planned to sleep for one night inside the Barrier on the mountain and leave once the war was over.
When the two arrived, the Soul Reapers who had led them there ran over to a red-haired girl nearby and said something to her, glancing toward Rei from time to time...