Smack~
With a dull thud, Araki carried Unohana over his shoulder into the 11th Division's Captain's Office, vanishing from the sight of the division members. In an instant, the 11th Division Barracks erupted into an uproar.
"That was Captain Unohana, right?"
"Are you saying that the unidentified object our newly arrived captain had slung over his shoulder just now was our Captain Unohana? I didn't see wrong, did I?"
"I saw it too. Damn it, am I still dreaming? This dream feels way too real."
"I saw something unclean..."
For a time, the division members in the 11th Division Barracks all spoke at once, creating an endless racket.
"So what are we supposed to do?!"
As a fairly senior Seated Officer spoke up, everyone fell silent. It was not only the question he wanted to ask, but the question in all their hearts.
"Didn't you hear what our new captain said just now? He told us to train on our own until we couldn't stand anymore..."
A Seated Officer who looked somewhat calmer than the others chimed in.
"Do I really have to obey the orders of some guy whose background we don't even know?"
Someone protested.
"Hehe~" The Seated Officer could not help laughing. "What else can you do? As you saw, not only did we lose! Even Captain Unohana lost! Whether we acknowledge it or not, he is now the captain of our 11th Division."
As soon as the Seated Officer finished speaking, the entire 11th Division Barracks fell quiet.
"And that guy isn't some person of unknown origin. He seems to have some connection to Captain-Commander Yamamoto."
After thinking briefly, the Seated Officer added that point.
The barracks became even quieter.
Every word from that Seated Officer, who looked calmer than the rest, struck straight at their hearts and crushed the unwillingness of every 11th Division member.
That was right! Not only had they lost, even Captain Unohana had lost. Now even Captain-Commander Yamamoto had acknowledged Araki as the 11th Division's captain. What meaning was there in the resentment of nameless nobodies like them?!
"Sigh..."
After letting out a long sigh, the 11th Division members picked up their wooden swords and began training.
They could not beat him, nor did they have a chance to argue with him. What else could they do? Train, then!
Meanwhile, inside the Captain's Office.
Araki opened his system.
Character: Araki Title: Second-Generation 'Kenpachi' 'Genryu' menkyo kaiden Fullbring: Ever-Blooming Flower (Awakening requirements met) Reishi Manipulation: LV1(+) ...
The other attributes on Araki's Character Panel had not changed and remained as they had been before.
However, his title section now contained the title of Second-Generation 'Kenpachi.' Araki knew he had automatically received it after defeating Unohana.
Of course, none of that mattered to Araki. What truly mattered was that the Ever-Blooming Flower ability in his Fullbring section had met its basic awakening requirements.
"Awaken!"
Without another word, Araki directly chose to awaken it.
As he awakened his ability, Araki felt deeply gratified. At least for now, everything he had done to Unohana had been worth it~
Choose a character to bind: (1) Unohana Yachiru, (2) Saito Furofushi
Araki stared at the characters available for binding, and his expression froze.
"Saito Furofushi's favorability has reached the requirement too? Since when?"
Looking at the prompt on his panel, Araki was somewhat bewildered. Even he did not know when he had won over Saito Furofushi. It was as though he had done nothing, yet that foolish girl had won herself over?!
"Whatever. I choose Unohana Yachiru!"
Araki did not hesitate and directly chose Unohana Yachiru.
Between Unohana Yachiru and Saito Furofushi, hesitating even one second longer would have been disrespectful to Unohana! Of course, if it were Katori Bakuunsai instead, he might have hesitated a little...
Ahem, ahem...
Binding successful.
With Araki's choice, he immediately felt the connection between himself and Unohana Yachiru. However, Unohana Yachiru was currently unconscious, so he could not immediately test his Fullbring's abilities.
In truth, Araki had several ideas for how to use his Fullbring right now... but he could only put them off for later.
Providing feedback...
After Araki bound Unohana, the prompt on his System Panel did not disappear. Instead, it changed to another line.
Araki knew the most important part was coming. He had not forgotten the note attached to his Fullbring.
Note: Ever-Blooming Flower receives ability bonuses based on the Spiritual Pressure of the first person bound to it! The higher the Spiritual Pressure of the first bound person, the higher the level of Reishi Manipulation, the Fullbring's innate skill!
Reishi Manipulation, its full name being the manipulation of souls and reishi, was the foundational ability of all Fullbringers. Any Fullbringer with a Soul King Fragment within their body could use this ability, though some were stronger than others...
Weak Fullbringers could barely manipulate any reishi, while powerful Fullbringers, such as Aura Michibane from the official novel "Can't Fear Your Own World," could use Reishi Manipulation to display a mist-like ability that practically ignored physical attacks, as if she had transformed into an element. She also possessed Kidō abilities that Urahara Kisuke had called comparable to Aizen's.
Originally, Araki's Reishi Manipulation ability had only been the lowest level, LV1. But now, after Araki formed a contract with Unohana Yachiru—the woman whom Szayelaporro Granz, after crawling up from Hell in Jigoku-hen, had called one of the strongest Spiritual Pressures—
Under the bonus described in Araki's Fullbring ability notes, the level of his Fullbring's foundational ability, Reishi Manipulation, instantly rose to—LV10!
Character: Araki Title: Second-Generation 'Kenpachi' 'Genryu' menkyo kaiden Fullbring: Ever-Blooming Flower (Awakened) Reishi Manipulation: LV10(+) ...
For a time, Araki's panel received another update.
"This is unbelievable! It feels as though I can manipulate the reishi within my body and some of the reishi around me at any time. I don't know whether Aura Michibane, whose soul contains the Soul King's Lock, or I have the stronger ability to manipulate souls and reishi, but securing second place and competing for first should not be much of a problem."
Araki silently sensed the power within him, gaining an entirely new understanding of his own strength. Everything in Soul Society was made of reishi, after all, and Araki had now gained the ability to manipulate that power...
Of course, even with Reishi Manipulation at level ten, Araki still could not manipulate reishi on a world-scale level. To manipulate the world itself, perhaps only the true 'Soul King' could accomplish that!
But merely manipulating the reishi within his own body, like Aura Michibane in the novel, using cellular-level Reishi Manipulation to evade physical attacks—that was something Araki could now do as well...
As for using Reishi Manipulation against an enemy? Araki considered that utterly pointless. Against someone weaker than him, there was no need for such delicate control; he could simply cut them down in one strike. Against someone stronger, it was not that Araki did not want to manipulate their reishi—it was that he simply could not!
Fortunately, Araki's control over the reishi in his own soul had now reached an astonishing level. This made using Kidō exceptionally easy for him! At the same time, it compensated for his weakness in Kidō and saved him the experience he would have needed to spend leveling it up.
"I won't level up Kidō for the time being. What I have now is enough."
That was what Araki thought to himself.
"Next comes the testing phase."
"Unohana is still unconscious, so it wouldn't be right to forcibly wake her. What a headache. If only some ready-made test material would come knocking..."
Araki stroked his chin and continued thinking.
"Get out of my way! I have something to say to Araki—that guy who's your new captain!"
Just as Araki stared pensively at Unohana, who lay on the sofa in the 11th Division's Captain's Office with her eyes closed, resting, a burst of commotion came from outside his office.
"That voice is..."
Araki was briefly stunned when he heard the voice beyond the door, then became overjoyed.
He could not have been more familiar with the voice of the person speaking outside.
"Speak of the devil, and the devil appears~"
"Isn't the experimental guinea pig here now?"
Araki muttered inwardly. Looking at the other name still available for contract on his Fullbring panel, the corners of his mouth rose slightly. Yes, the person outside was none other than dear Saito Furofushi~
Two chapters! This update speed is pretty good, right? Seeing how hard I'm working, how about giving me some recommendations to support humble little me~
Before you continue