Although Captain Zaraki also wore a white haori, it had only half sleeves, and there was no Eleventh Division insignia on its back.
Captain Zaraki was merely the Eleventh Division's Vice-Captain!
If Captain Zaraki had been stronger than Captain Ailin, he would have defeated Captain Ailin long ago and become the Eleventh Division's captain.
Thinking of this, Renji Abarai did not know how he was supposed to feel.
On one hand, he marveled at Captain Ailin's strength.
Captain Zaraki, who was practically invincible in his eyes, actually needed Captain Ailin to hold back during their battle to avoid being killed.
On the other hand, because of Captain Ailin's strength, Renji Abarai felt that the distance between himself and Rukia had grown much greater.
Ever since they had met in the Rukon District, Renji Abarai had been chasing after Rukia.
He wanted to truly stand at Rukia's side and face every crisis the future held together with her.
He even wanted to go a step further and stand in front of Rukia, shielding her from wind and rain.
When he entered the True Zero Spirit Arts Academy and became a Class A student, Renji Abarai had felt that he had almost achieved this dream.
After all, following a period of Zanjutsu training, his strength had indeed surpassed Rukia's.
But unfortunately, that sense of accomplishment had not lasted long before Rukia became Captain Ailin's disciple.
From the moment he saw Rukia again a year ago, his instincts, like those of a wild dog, had told Renji Abarai that he had become the one chasing after her once more.
Still, that only proved Rukia was doing better than him, didn't it?
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
Under the cover of night, the Soul Reapers of the Eleventh Division used Shunpo to race from the