Cultivating Bankai

Meanwhile, within the Seireitei...

Inside the 1st Division Barracks.

A middle-aged man with a prominent cross-shaped scar on his forehead and a severely receding hairline stood silently at this vantage point overlooking the entire Seireitei, listening to the report of the person behind him.

This middle-aged man was named Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, who stood at the apex of the Soul Reaper system guarding the Seireitei!

Yet, this man, known for crushing his enemies with 'boundless authority,' 'absolute power,' and sheer 'brute force,' showed clear surprise upon hearing the report from the person behind him.

"What!?"

"You're saying that brat Araki and that fool Saito claim he intends to come to the Seireitei within the next few days?!"

"Is this information accurate?!"

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni asked the person behind him in a deep voice.

"Absolutely certain! This was spoken personally by Captain Saito while drunk!"

The person behind Yamamoto immediately lowered his head and replied respectfully upon hearing this.

"Very well, I understand! You may take your leave!"

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's lips curled slightly upward at the news, revealing his good mood. At the same time, he waved his hand at the person behind him, signaling that he could leave.

"As you command."

The 1st Division officer, having received permission to leave from Yamamoto, slowly let out a sigh of relief. To be honest, being in Yamamoto's presence was far too stressful for an ordinary officer like him! Even though he had always regarded Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni as the guardian deity of the Seireitei in Soul Society...

"Captain-Commander, this is wonderful! Brother Araki is finally willing to come to the Seireitei to help you! That should ease your burden considerably."

Shortly after the 1st Division officer left, a young man with gray hair and gray eyes stepped out from the shadows of the 1st Division Barracks, smiling as he addressed the Captain-Commander.

"Chōjirō, what nonsense are you spouting? When has this old man ever needed the help of that waterlogged-brain 'foolish' disciple of mine?"

The Captain-Commander snapped angrily at the young man named Chōjirō Sasakibe upon hearing this.

"Yes, yes, yes. Captain-Commander is the strongest Soul Reaper in Soul Society, far beyond needing Brother Araki's help..."

"However, Brother Araki hasn't exactly fared well in the century since he left the Genji School!"

"From what I know, in recent years Brother Araki has sunk so low as to go to the Rukongai, using his skills (fooling idiots) to earn money for noodles from the wandering souls, just to get by (in style)!"

"Captain-Commander, even if only for the sake that Brother Araki was once your disciple, you should give him a hand! Find a suitable position for your wayward disciple within the Gotei 13 in the Seireitei~"

Chōjirō Sasakibe, seemingly well-acquainted with Yamamoto's temperament, immediately soothed him by playing along with his mood.

"Hmph! This matter requires no further comment from you, Chōjirō!"

"Since Araki, that 'foolish disciple,' once bowed to this old man, I naturally cannot allow him to disgrace my school in the Rukongai!"

"Since my foolish disciple was exiled by this old man to the Rukongai for a century of seclusion, he must have realized his mistakes by now! If he's thought it through and knows to come to the Seireitei to find me, then this old man will naturally give him a chance."

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni first let out a cold snort, then began to boast.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes..."

"It was you who punished Brother Araki by making him sell ramen in the Rukongai for a hundred years."

Chōjirō Sasakibe nodded repeatedly upon hearing the Captain-Commander's words.

If he, Chōjirō, didn't know the inside story—that Araki had argued with Yamamoto Genryusai and, out of spite, gone to travel in the Rukongai... eventually settling in the Junrinan district, just a step away from the Seireitei, selling ramen right under Yamamoto's nose just to oppose him—he might have actually believed Yamamoto's words.

Of course, Chōjirō would never call Yamamoto out on this in his presence; otherwise, he wouldn't have served at Yamamoto's side for so long. With his high emotional intelligence, he simply gave Yamamoto a thumbs-up and replied, "Ah, yes, yes, yes! Whatever you say!"

But there was one thing Chōjirō knew better than anyone: Araki's place in Yamamoto Genryusai's heart was absolutely unique! After all, Araki was the only man in a thousand years to receive the 'Genryū: Menkyo Kaiden' from Yamamoto, making him the undisputed chief disciple in Yamamoto's heart.

Even back then, when Araki had infuriated Yamamoto to the point where he nearly drew his sword, Yamamoto still couldn't do anything about him and just let him go traveling, right?! After all, this was the 'good disciple' Yamamoto had trained himself; no matter how angry he got, he had to grit his teeth and accept it.

In fact, after Yamamoto successfully took control of the Seireitei and eliminated his rivals, fearing that Araki might be struggling in the Rukongai, he specially found a 'money-dispensing child' for Araki—someone not too bright, easily manipulated, and capable of ensuring Araki's quality of life...

—Yes, that 'money-dispensing child' was none other than Saito Furofushi.

To ensure Saito sent money to Araki every month, Yamamoto deliberately paid Saito a salary twice that of other division captains~

One could only say, such is the heart of a caring parent!

To this day, Saito still believes she gets a higher salary than other captains because she's smarter and performs better than them~

Little does she know that Yamamoto was afraid that Saito, that 'big brain,' would be swindled down to her underwear by Araki and end up starving herself.

Meanwhile, at the Sixth Division.

"Hehehe..."

"Let me tell you the good news—Araki, hic~ Araki has agreed to come to the Seireitei!"

"Then the vice-captain position of the Sixth Division will be his~"

"At that point, the Sixth Division will become the strongest division in the Gotei 13, second only to the old man Yamamoto's 1st Division! Celebrate with me! Glug, glug, glug..."

Sixth Division Captain Saito Furofushi was ecstatic, clutching a wine jar and drinking heavily, while around her lay a floor full of unconscious Sixth Division officers—clearly, everyone was drunk.

But in her excitement, Saito Furofushi failed to notice a 1st Division officer clad in black Shinigami Robes perched on the beam of her division's barracks, frantically taking notes, recording the drunken ramblings spilling from Saito's mouth.

11th Division.

Swordsmanship Dojo.

A beautiful woman with a graceful figure, a charming face, and long black hair cascading down her back stood steadily on the dojo floor, a wooden sword in hand. Surrounding her were a host of powerful Soul Reaper officers.

"Come at me, all of you."

After several seconds of standoff between the woman and the officers, she softly uttered four words.

"Charge!!"

The next moment, the officers encircling her roared and swung their blades toward her.

"Heh~"

Faced with such a terrifying scene, the woman merely chuckled lightly. Then, her wooden sword moved like lightning, sweeping toward the crowd of officers!

"Smack smack smack smack..."

In an instant, accompanied by the soft sounds of wood striking flesh, the officers surrounding her were sent flying backward! The handsome-faced woman at the center looked completely at ease, her long black hair gently swaying in the air currents stirred by her blade strokes, while all her opponents lay collapsed on the ground...

"Too weak! These fellows can't rouse even a shred of my interest."

"Is there no opponent left in this world who can satisfy me?!"

The woman gazed at the officers she had cut down one by one, her eyes devoid of any joy.

Her originally cold and piercing gaze flickered with a trace of melancholy. She lifted her head, looking through the dojo window at the scenery outside, silently pondering and hoping—hoping that within the vast Soul Society, someone might appear who could match her, or even surpass her.

"The Captain is truly too powerful!"

"Isn't that obvious? The Captain is the woman bearing the name 'Kenpachi'—the strongest Soul Reaper in all of Soul Society, second only to Captain-Commander Yamamoto."

"I dare say there's no one in this world who can defeat the Captain."

Just as the woman was gazing out the window in melancholy, feeling unbearably lonely from the lack of worthy opponents, the officers of the Gotei 13, 11th Division, who had been lying on the ground, scrambled to their feet and muttered among themselves.

In the eyes of these officers, the woman before them was the most powerful existence in the world, the object of their admiration, and the one who could lead them all forward...

For the woman before them was none other than the legendary first Captain of the Gotei 13, 11th Division—Unohana Yachiru! She was also the first to earn the title of Kenpachi! A woman who, with nothing but a single sword, had subdued every swordsmanship school in all of Soul Society.

"So lonely... I wish I could meet an opponent who can satisfy me!"

Listening to her officers' words, Unohana Yachiru's eyes grew even more desolate.

Elsewhere...

Rukongai, East 37th District, Ryugan.

In a desolate forest, Araki sat cross-legged on the ground, holding his Zanpakuto in his arms.

This was the place Araki had carefully chosen to learn Bankai! It was also the very spot where Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had witnessed Chōjirō Sasakibe's Bankai. Naturally, it was the root where Yamamoto had transformed from Jūjizai to Cross Jūjizai, and then named himself Genryūsai.

"Alright then, Ruriko. Here I come."

Araki closed his eyes, murmuring in his heart as his consciousness sank as if into the depths of the sea—that was the space forged by his soul, the dwelling place of his Zanpakuto.

"Oh~ You're here again, my 'King'~"

"This time, have you come for Bankai?"

"Your Spiritual Pressure is 'barely' enough, but Bankai isn't so easy to learn~"

Inside Araki's consciousness space, a being clad in a green robe—impossible to tell if it was a loli or a shota, its gender completely ambiguous—greeted Araki in a voice that sounded both like a boy's and a girl's.

"K-ROOM: Piercing Wave!"

In response, Araki smiled faintly, raised his Zanpakuto, and directly infused it with his fruit ability, thrusting his strongest awakened fruit power toward the youth.

"Boom!"

The youth had no time to react to Araki's attack, which resembled Kamishini no Yari.

In an instant, a four-thousand-meter-long blade pierced straight through the youth's chest.

"I've never seen a 'King' so lacking in martial virtue!"

The youth stared at the attack that had run him through, a flicker of disbelief in his eyes. He looked up, glaring at Araki, and shouted in a hoarse voice.

"Well, now you have!"

"Less talk—tell me your true (Bankai) name, now!"

Araki coldly smirked at the Zanpakuto spirit he had just ambushed.

Others training for Bankai treat their Zanpakuto like a lord, begging on their knees for its name!

Araki trains for Bankai by opening with a 'big move' and fighting until submission! As long as he beats his Zanpakuto into compliance, he'll naturally learn its Bankai name.

Even his own Zanpakuto, Araki won't coddle! As for whether his Zanpakuto might make things difficult for him? Araki couldn't care less! Before absolute power, everything is but fleeting clouds.

Two chapters~ Two chapters daily from now on~