"Captain Nangong, I'm sorry, I was supposed to notify Captain, I didn't expect you to be back too."
Just when everyone thought the scene would fall into dead silence, Shiba Kūsei took a few steps closer to Zero and apologized to him.
"Hey, Captain Shiba, that expression doesn't look sincere!"
Zero felt a slight disdain, sensing that he had deliberately withheld the information. He cursed inwardly, 'Perhaps it's because I'm from Rukongai, huh, those arrogant noble bastards.'
Zero has wronged Shiba Kūsei. Zero Division's arrival should have been announced to all Captains by the Shiba Clan, but Shiba Kūsei forgot that Zero had just returned and they were responsible for picking up and dropping off the people from the Soul King Palace.
To receive them, you'd simply provide a place for them to come down; as for sending them away, you'd obviously use cannons to fire them up...
"Well, then I guess I wasn't being sincere! I have something to tell you..."
Captain Shiba didn't seem to mind. Instead, he lowered his voice and leaned close to Zero, asking, "Is there something wrong with your detector? Kyōraku used to spar with me a lot, and we often ended in a draw! I even had a slight advantage."
Upon hearing this, Zero looked at him with the gaze one would use to recognize someone for the first time, then glanced around and noticed that no one seemed to care.
But Zero knew that everyone else had clearly heard what Shiba Kūsei was saying; perhaps they just didn't show surprise because they knew his true nature.
A Captain-level figure is comparing himself to others like a little kid, even when it's just comparing the basic difference in strength between powerful individuals...
"Impossible. The instrument measures Reiatsu concentration. Normal people can only control the area covered by Reiatsu; there is no one who can control the essence of Reiatsu concentration. So he's been holding back."
"W-what? Releasing water?"
Upon hearing Zero's explanation, Shiba Kūsei felt as if the world was spinning, and the only words in his mind were "letting the water out," leaving him speechless for a long time.
Kyōraku is no less impressive; in fact, he's incredibly strong. Zero recalled that Kuruyashiki had once told him about the top combatants in Soul Society.
Yama-jii counts as one, there are three more in the Zero Division, plus Kiyoki Shihoin, Kuchiki Ginrei, and the Unfathomable Captain Unohana.
When the conversation turned to these masters, Kuruyashiki became increasingly excited; he most wanted to duel with one of them...
Kuruyashiki once revealed that if Kenpachi Zaraki hadn't been just an 'ordinary Pluses' who didn't want to become Soul Reaper, he would have actually wanted to challenge him... As the Captain, he couldn't lower himself to challenge someone with no status.
"Call!"
Thinking of this, Zero let out a long sigh. Some people can only live on in other people's memories after all, and that's what happened to Kuruyashiki.
To others, Azashiro, who could easily defeat Kuruyashiki, might seem very strong, but after fighting Azashiro, Zero realized that Azashiro didn't possess that overwhelming power at all.
As Azashiro lay dying, he revealed the abilities of his Zanpakuto and the past he was unwilling to discuss.
Recalling that he hadn't seen Kyōraku for a while, he asked Shiba Kūsei, "By the way, where did Captain Kyōraku go? It seems like it's been ages since I've seen him!"
"He's gone to the World of the Living! He should be back soon."
Shiba Kūsei recalled Kyōraku's personality and realized that it was quite normal for him to go easy on him.
As the two were talking, a bright light suddenly appeared in the sky. Upon closer inspection, it was a cylindrical object falling at high speed. Zero Division had arrived.
The pillar pierced directly into the center of the platform, causing the earth to tremble— the Tenchūren, the Zero Division's means of transportation!
In Soul Society, one can levitate, or rather, fly, but not at excessively high altitudes.
The principle is similar to that of oxygen; the higher the altitude, the thinner the oxygen. The same applies to Reishi; the farther away from the ground, the thinner the Reishi, making it more difficult for the Soul Reaper to create a foothold using their Reiryoku.
The gates of the Tenchūren Carriage opened, and three strange figures emerged: a Monk and a man with an airplane hairstyle, both dressed in Captain's Haori.
The other guy with small glasses, who looked more like Captain's Haori than Captain's haori, had an artistic hairstyle that looked very similar to a mohawk.
"Zero Division's three-man crew, reporting for duty!"
The guy with the mohawk yelled, and the team Captain present all looked embarrassed. Some of them had seen these three guys a long time ago.
"Three guys have come out who are a bit different from what I expected!"
Zero recalled his memories of his past life; the Zero Division had been mentioned in the anime fan meeting, but he couldn't remember the specific characters' names.
Unbeknownst to him, more than thirty years had passed in this world. In his previous life, he didn't care much about anything except for things that left a deep impression on him.
"Yo ho ho ho, my old friends, long time no see! Unohana- chan, have you found someone you like yet?"
The man with the pompadour, toothpick in his mouth, greeted her enthusiastically, then ran over to Unohana and started laughing and teasing her, causing Hana-nee's gaze to gradually change from indifferent to dangerous, as if a wild beast was about to burst out of her body.
"Haha, let's put everything else aside for now and get down to business!"
The glaring Monk suddenly grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from further angering Retsu Unohana; how could old monsters like them not know the skills of the First Kenpachi!
"Then let's talk somewhere else! We'll have Captains' Meeting later."
After giving his instructions, Yama-jii left, and the three Zero Division followed with Shunpo. The four of them were so fast that even Zero couldn't keep up.
"These are truly impressive Shunpo. Judging from their Reiatsu alone, none of them are simpletons!" Zero teased with a smile.
"Their strength isn't just limited to Shunpo; the combined combat power of the three of them rivals that of the entire Gotei 13!"
Unbelievably, Unohana took the initiative to speak to Zero, after all, he was her half-disciple.
"Really? That's very interesting! The Soul King must be very strong!"
"!!!"
Zero suddenly uttered these words, and the Captains on the field looked at him with dangerous eyes. This guy definitely didn't know what the Soul King was yet dared to make such a presumptuous statement.
"Let's go, let's not stay with him anymore..." The Captains, who shared the same idea, all left to go to a meeting, Hana-nee also kept quiet about the matter of the Soul King.
"Captain Nangong, it's best if we, those of lower rank, refrain from speaking ill of the Soul King."
The head of the Shiba Clan, who knew a little about the matter, reminded Zero and then Shunpo to leave.
In terms of position, the highest-ranking are the Soul King and his royal family, followed by the heads of the Five Great Noble Clans. In terms of status and position, even Yama-jii would have to rank below them.
However, thanks to his overwhelming power, Yama-jii earned the respect and obedience of the Central 46, including the Five Great Noble Clans... No, it was less awe and more fear of his overwhelming power.
Many nobles had accumulated considerable power over the years, but because of Yama-jii's existence, they could only endure in secret...
"Tch, status and position? Yama-jii isn't an aristocrat, but he still stands at the top! Don't you think so, Hana-nee? In this world, power is king!"
Zero muttered the first half of the sentence, then looked at Unohana, who was moving slowly, and chased after her to ask.
'This kid is very quick to learn, but... being too powerful might disrupt the so-called balance!'
Hana-nee immediately agreed with Zero in her heart, but she said it perfunctorily, "Well, if you say so, then so be it!"
"That's pretty perfunctory."
"That's not the point. The point is, what did you just call me? Why did you call me that?"
A sinister and terrifying expression appeared before Zero, demanding the reason for that title.
"Well, I see you like flowers and plants every day, and your name even has the character for 'flower' in it, so it just came to me..."
"I see... Giving people nicknames isn't a good habit! Be more careful next time."
She didn't mind the nickname "Unohana" given to her by Zero, and she could accept Kyōraku calling her "Sister Retsu"). However, she couldn't forgive the "sauce" added by Tenjirō Kirinji hairstyle.
In the original timeline Zero Division descended upon Azashiro during his rebellion, defeating Kuruyashiki almost instantly; at that time, Azashiro Isshin to destroy Hueco Mundo and disrupt the balance of the Three Worlds.
Furthermore, he killed Kuruyashiki in an almost instantaneous manner, causing the Zero Division to take him very seriously.
In this timeline, they were also planning to descend, but just as their preparations were completed, the Azashiro was killed by the New Kenpachi. They couldn't help but wonder about the New Kenpachi's strength.
However, due to rules, they no longer leave the Soul King Palace.
This time, the influence of the Quincy has existed for a long time. They are the opposite of Hollows, and each time they kill a Hollow, they do not purify it, but completely annihilate it.
Therefore, the Zero Division also needs to intervene and assist the Gotei 13 in eliminating the potential threat...
"Yo, you're the New Kenpachi? You don't look like much!"
Inside the Captains' Meeting room, Ōetsu Nimaiya from Captain's Down Vest, suddenly came out of Yama-jii's office and walked over to Ling, winking at him.
"Your breath stinks! Did you not brush your teeth?"
Zero frowned first, then pretended to cover his mouth and nose, not quite understanding why he suddenly provoked him, but this did not stop him from retaliating.
"Huh? Really? Ha~ No way! You're kidding me."
Ōetsu Nimaiya Yue put her hand in front of her mouth and nose and exhaled... Everyone should understand this action; who would think they have bad breath? Moreover, the bad breath that Ling mentioned is a different meaning.
The clever Captains remained silent, but their eyes betrayed their secret amusement.
"You were joking first, weren't you! Unknown Zero Division Master..."
Zero remained unmoved; the other party had provoked him first, so there was no reason for him to back down.
"Oh dear, you're joking! This is really boring, but my workload has increased recently, all thanks to you! You've suddenly recruited so many Soul Reapers."
Ōetsu Nimaiya's dissatisfaction stemmed from the expansion of the 11th Division, which resulted in an insufficient number of well-prepared Asauchi, forcing him to create a new batch...
Although most of them are cannon fodder, none of them should be underestimated. It is possible that some of them will stand out. Ōetsu Nimaiya came this time to deliver a large number of Asauchi weapons.
Zero was about to say something more, but Yama-jii's sudden appearance signaled the start of the Captains ' meeting. His first words were. "All your Squads, continue to expand and enter high alert status, awaiting orders."
"This is a battle for survival, not for justice and glory. I hope you can all unite as one..."
Everything about Quincy is in the textbooks of the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy, it's just that Zero hasn't studied it...