Because Hueco Mundo is always restless, and the Seireitei has been sealed by the Sekki-seki for the past hundred years, and the Four Gates have not been opened, it is confirmed that the Azashiro is still inside the Seireitei.
"11th Division Captain Kenpachi Azashiro has fled to evade justice. Arrest him immediately."
Hell Butterfly notified all Captain-level again, and Zero, who received the message, was even more excited. He rushed back to the Squad Barracks to retrieve his Zanpakuto, not caring about the specific reasons.
"Has that guy become the target?"
"Yes, let's go! Our dear Captain Azashiro will definitely help me improve significantly."
This is a simple conversation between Zero and Yanis in Zero's Inner World as Zero picks up the Greatsword. Yanis, who has no mouth, can no longer speak in a way that others can hear.
According to orders, since Azashiro is already considered a sinner, it's perfectly acceptable for me to kill him as well.
Previously, Unohana asked Zero why he wanted to be Kenpachi so much, and Zero replied that he wasn't interested in titles, but he really wanted to become the Captain of the 11th Division.
As an offensive combat unit, the 11th Division is tasked not only with eliminating Hollows, but also with wiping out large-scale bandit groups or those who rebel against the rule of the Seireitei.
Those bandits and rebels are Zero's targets. If he becomes the Captain of the 11th Division, he can openly slaughter and devour them.
Zero used the Bakudō 'Kakushitsuijaku' to track Azashiro's Reiatsu, but discovered a terrifying situation: Azashiro's Reiatsu was everywhere in the Seireitei, indicating that he himself was inside the Seireitei. Zero lost his target.
At this moment, only one person was still tracking Azashiro. Due to Azashiro's betrayal, the other teams with Captains were still awaiting assignments, while the Captains were waiting for the Captain-Commander to assign them their tasks...
During the Captains' Meeting, Azashiro suddenly appeared, causing all the Captain to shudder. Yama-jii opened his usually impassive eyes and looked at Azashiro, asking, "Sinner Kenpachi Azashiro, have you come to confess your crimes?"
"I am innocent. The transformation of the Rukongai residents into warriors was approved by the Central 46. If successful, we can..."
"Enough, no more words needed. I'll ask you now: have you submitted to the law?"
Yama-jii interrupted Azashiro, who was trying to persuade the Captains. All the Captains looked at Azashiro, and Captain were ready to take action.
According to Yama-jii's thinking, if Azashiro is willing to accept punishment, then he will naturally talk to the Central 46 and sentence him to a hundred or eighty years before releasing him.
After all, Azashiro didn't know the complex relationship between Hollows and Soul Reaper. If Hollows disappeared, the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo would lose their balance, the Soul Society would collapse, and how would the Soul Reaper continue to live?
To put it simply, if Hueco Mundo is gone, what's the point of having Soul Reaper? Soul Reaper 'd lose their purpose!
"I refuse. Although I don't want to be your enemy, I apologize, but I will uphold my own sense of justice."
Azashiro gave his answer, and before he could finish speaking, two knives pierced his body.
These are Kyōraku from behind him and Shun Gen Shihoin from in front of him; one is a true cunning old fox, and the other is the cunning leader of an assassination squad.
Salad!
Goodbye, everyone!
"Disappeared?"
"What's going on? Is it a clone?"
Just when the Captains thought the outcome was decided, Azashiro bid Captain farewell and then vanished from the conference room in the form of countless Reishi, leaving the Captains bewildered and analyzing his abilities...
Because escaping from Azashiro was no simple matter, involving many people and events, the Captain began to be assigned tasks.
The Tenth Division and Seventh Divisions strengthened security within the Seireitei, and their two Captains were reassigned to protect the forty-six old dermatitis patients. The 2nd, 5th, 9th, and Gotei 13 took the initiative to launch an attack to encircle and annihilate the modified individuals.
All of these must be eliminated as potential safety hazards and cannot be ignored.
This was a secret order from the Central 46 to Yama-jii carried it out. The Second Division's Stealth Force had already discovered the gathering point of the Modified Subjects.
As for the 11th Division, they were jointly monitored by the Eighth Division and the First Division, and none of them were allowed to participate in operations to prevent anyone from still listening to Azashiro.
The Third Division was also under joint defense by the Sixth and Twelfth Divisions. Captain Kasumioji Yakumo and Vice-Captain Chitetsu Iba had their Zanpakuto, simply because the Kasumioji Clan had sold a lot of weapons to Azashiro, and with the head of the family's consent...
"Where did your Vice-Captain go?"
The person in charge of monitoring was the arrogant Kōga Kuchiki, who immediately noticed that the Vice-Captain Nangong Ling was missing and reported it to the Captain-Commander.
Kyōraku, Ukitake, Unohana were also there. They left their affairs to the Vice-Captain and changed the subject, having originally been analyzing the feud between the Central 46 and Azashiro.
"Judging from their relationship, it's unlikely to be an alliance. Perhaps Nangong Ling is going to challenge Kenpachi Azashiro."
"Now is not a good time for a duel!"
"You'd have to ask Yama-jii. It's all his fault for imposing the ban on Vice-Captain Nangong Ling. He's probably ecstatic! He's finally found a reason to ignore the ban..."
While Kyōraku and Ukitake were talking, Yama-jii closed his eyes and pondered in front of them. Upon closer inspection, the corners of his mouth, which were hidden by his mustache, were slightly curved, as if he were smiling.
"Are you on the side of justice? The Azashiro has challenged the order; will you fight to uphold it, or simply for your own benefit?"
Yama-jii had a very good impression of Zero. Not only was he incredibly strong, but even after Yama-sensei gave the order not to challenge Captain-level, Zero, despite desperately wanting to avenge Kuruyashiki, still chose to obey.
As for Azashiro, to be honest, Yama-jii didn't want him to die at first. Azashiro could be considered a victim of a loophole in the rules, and Yama-jii felt that with a little guidance, he could become an asset to the Gotei 13.
However, since he doesn't trust me, there's no need for me to go through all this trouble. I can just kill him and find someone else to take his place; there's already someone perfectly capable of doing the job...
"Shunsui, Shishiro, you two go and track them down as well, try to witness it... The Fourth Division is preparing to treat the wounded."
"Yes!"
The three responded and disappeared into thin air, while Yama-jii's eyes flashed with a sharp light.
Sending two disciples to witness the duel between Zero and Azashiro is to allow Zero to win, and if he does, he can be promoted to 'Kenpachi'.
If he loses, Yama-jii will just say he's old and blind, and that he overestimated some unknown piece of trash.
Yama-jii believes that after a month of training, Nangong Ling has been able to withstand six of his punches without falling, which means that Nangong Ling is not much weaker than Kuruyashiki. Given Kuruyashiki's experience, Nangong Ling should not be careless.
After several attempts at 'Kakushitsuijaku,' I found that it really couldn't track the target. It's like you're using GPS to go to a certain town, but the GPS directs you to the city to which that town belongs, and then you have to find your own way.
This is Azashiro's Bankai ability. After he merges himself into the Seireitei with his Bankai, his Reiatsu is present throughout the entire Seireitei, which means that he himself is the Seireitei.
Aside from not being able to lift the Sekki-seki Gate of the Seireitei, Azashiro could do whatever he wanted in other aspects. He could instantly disappear, instantly reappear, create clones, spy, completely hide, and penetrate the various Kidō within the Seireitei.
For example, right now, just as Zero is struggling to find the location of Azashiro, who has seen through Zero's actions, appears before him...
"Um?"
Seeing Azashiro suddenly appear, Zero pulled Greatsword from behind and immediately slashed at it.
The sword pierced through him. This was not his true form, but merely a composite of Reishi, supported by a small amount of Reiatsu from Azashiro. It could disperse and reassemble at any time.
"Are you distressed because you can't find me? There's no need. I'll give you a chance to avenge Kuruyashiki. Keep heading west, I'll be waiting for you up ahead!"
After saying this, the clone of Azashiro vanished instantly, and his true body left Seireitei.
"Pretty arrogant, huh!"
"He defeated Kuruyashiki. Even if you defeat the Captain, you'll still be subordinate to Kuruyashiki, so he definitely won't value you much."
Zero chuckled and said something, while Yanis analyzed the reason for Azashiro's arrogance. Zero discerned the direction and quickly gave chase. This was a contest of Shunpo.
While the Captains inside the Spirit Tower were still inside the city, they received the news when Azashiro left through the west gate, but only Kyōraku and Ukitake actually went there.
Meanwhile, the Captain on the other side had already led his men to wipe out the modified ones. It was not wrong for them to desire the power to fight the Void; the mistake was that Azashiro made the Central 46 feel threatened.
The knife itself is not at fault; the fault lies with the ghost wielding it. The knife may have been tainted by the ghost's evil energy, so naturally no one dares to use it anymore, and it can only be destroyed and purified.
The Seireitei is not a charitable organization, nor are the Gotei 13. Their "justice" is to protect "One King and Five Nobles," namely the Soul King and the Five Great Noble Clans.
Everything deemed a threat must be eliminated. Slaughtering those modified beings is eliminating threats, upholding justice, so ordinary Soul Reapers wouldn't see anything wrong with it...
Zero chased after them alone and encountered several Seated Officers who tried to stop him at the door, but he broke through their lines in an instant.
"You run really fast!"
"Let's hurry and catch up!"
Less than a minute later, Kyōraku and Ukitake appeared here. For someone of Kyōraku's caliber, it would definitely take no more than ten minutes to travel from the Seireitei using Shunpo.
Therefore, the situation in the original timeline where the "riding monsters" caused Ryoka for several days was almost complete nonsense, or rather, the Seireitei was simply training its troops, sending those Captains who had been in office for less than a hundred years to meet the enemy...
The western 13th district of Rukongai is the main base for the reconstruction of Azashiro, but it is now engulfed in war.
Faced with the powerful Soul Reaper, some of those who had been modified surrendered, some resisted, and some were at a loss.
"If anyone wants to preserve their power, run! If you don't want your power anymore, surrender, and perhaps Soul Reaper will spare you..."
The voice of the Azashiro suddenly rang in their ears, giving those who were confused a choice.
The Grim Reaper does not kill those Soul Reaper surrender, but their memories will be erased through the Kidō's 'Wēimián,' and their Hakusui and Saketsu will be slightly damaged, causing the Reiryoku within their bodies to disappear.
The method used by the Azashiro to transform them was quite simple: they would use the "Urozakuro" to fuse a portion of their own Reishi into the bodies of Pluses without Reiryoku, and then use this portion of their own Reishi to forcibly guide external Reishi into the soul Hakusui and Saketsu, causing them to generate a weak Reiryoku.
Some gifted souls succeed on their first try, while others with less talent need several attempts or even several days to succeed; this is the transformation of the Azashiro, forcibly giving people Reiryoku.
Then there's the issue of equipping them with weapons. Asauchi can't possibly have that many, and even if they did, many of them are too difficult to tame. Giving them to them would just be a waste. The only option is for the Kasumioji Clan to build them.
After these two processes, his artificial Reiryoku army was complete; but one sentence from Central 46, and his army was gone...
Ignoring the annihilated legion, Azashiro left directly. As long as he was alive, there was a chance to rebuild; however, before leaving, he wanted to meet with his Vice-Captain.
Logically speaking, Nangong Ling has spent over a decade in Hueco Mundo and fought for over a decade; he should have a deep-seated hatred for Hollows, and perhaps he could be pulled in to fulfill this dream together.
He figured that as long as he demonstrated the power to defeat Kuruyashiki, thwarted him once, and then persuaded him, it wouldn't waste much time even if he failed... at least that's what he thought.
It must be said that the logic of the Azashiro is quite correct, if Zero weren't the kind of person who only knew how to pursue power and somewhat disregarded life.
However, Zero is someone who is madly pursuing power, even going so far as to cooperate with Hollow and merge with the Hollow he hates the most, so they are destined to be enemies.
At noon on the second day, in the 22nd district of Rukongai West, Azashiro arrived quickly, but a Reiatsu was rapidly approaching from behind him.
As this Reiatsu drew near, everything in this world—the grass, the birds, the water, the fish, the air, and even Azashiro himself—was enveloped in a heavy atmosphere.
Zero had already broken the seals on his wrists and caught up at top speed. With Azashiro deliberately slowing down, the two finally met on a grassy field.
"Captain Azashiro, I have bad news for you. Captain Kyōraku and Captain Ukitake are hanging on behind us! Shall we find another place to fight?"
Zero saw the serene and composed Azashiro, as if he were an old Daoist priest, and felt that it was not appropriate for others to see him devour him.
"No need. It'll take them at least ten minutes to get here, but they can take care of you in less than a minute..."
Azashiro is very confident; he has the confidence to back it up. The rain, Urozakuro are his source of confidence.
"In that case, let's begin!"
Zero had barely finished speaking when he Shunpo above Azashiro's head, slashing down with his Greatsword.
Pfft!
"What?"
The attack came to an abrupt halt. Zero's entire body was pierced by unseen blades, and even as he fell to the ground, his eyes remained filled with confusion.
'Is this the invisible sword? He used it to kill Kuruyashiki...'
Zero was puzzled. He had already raised his Reiatsu to the maximum, so how could he not even withstand a single attack?
Moreover, judging from the intensity of the attack, it wasn't just one strike from Azashiro, but dozens; Zero felt as if he had been stabbed in various parts of his body.
"Do you understand now? The gap between us is so vast that you can't even get close to me."
Azashiro's expression remained calm, showing no joy whatsoever at defeating his opponent.