Kenpachi Zaraki

The closer he got to the edge of Rukongai, the stronger the souls became. Some powerful souls could even use Shikai. Their bizarre abilities forced Duke into one bitter fight after another, and several times, he nearly lost his life.

Fighting on the brink of life and death again and again had caused Duke's strength to soar. It was not limited to swordsmanship; after every battle, Duke found that all aspects of his physical abilities had improved noticeably. His Reiatsu, in particular, grew remarkably during combat.

His command over swordsmanship techniques and variations in moves had become more composed and natural. Every strike flowed as naturally as an arm or finger. He had once needed to think about his next move after every attack, but now he could adapt smoothly, drawing moves at will as if water naturally flowed downhill, seamless and whole.

But Duke knew very well that he had merely mastered the power he should have possessed; he had not truly broken through. To do that, his Zanpakuto had to achieve Shikai. Duke could not help glancing at his Zanpakuto. After so many days, he could feel its call more and more clearly, yet he always got stuck when it came to its true name. That was why he was so desperate to learn his Zanpakuto's name.

"What exactly is your name?" Duke murmured softly, stroking his Zanpakuto.

He sheathed the polished blade. After letting his thoughts wander for a long while, Duke hugged his sword and leaned against a tree, closing his eyes to rest. Neither by day nor by night did anyone dare fall asleep in the chaotic zone, because death could come at any moment.

Three days later, on the outskirts of Rukongai, in some unknown region, Duke wound through the forest and got lost again.

"Good thing I asked Iba to help me. Otherwise, seven days really wouldn't have been enough. Where the hell is this place? There isn't even a living person in sight."

The closer he got to the outskirts of Rukongai, the fewer living creatures there were. Over the past two days, every person Duke had encountered had been a corpse dead for a long time. Not a single one was still breathing. It was a desert with drastic temperature changes between day and night, its surface littered with weathered rocks and sparse trees. The entire region was harsh and barren, without even a path to point the way. If he had not seen no Hollows, Duke might have suspected he had arrived in Hueco Mundo.

The blazing sun hung high in the sky, casting a long slanting shadow from a lone tree. Duke stepped over dry, cracked earth and stone with a sigh. The sun was about to set, yet he still could not find a place to settle down. The bitter cold of last night was still vivid in his mind. Out in the wilderness at more than ten degrees below zero, the freezing wind could crack a man's bones. He did not want to experience that a second time.

"Whatever. I'll go this way!" There were no roads in this region. After hesitating for a moment, Duke picked a direction at random and headed resolutely toward the next area. This region was deathly still and suffocatingly oppressive. The Reishi in the air was extremely thin, making it no place to linger.

"Clang—clang—" The sound of blades colliding drifted over from afar, accompanied by miserable cries.

"Someone?" Duke, who had been frustrated by getting lost, immediately perked up. Screams meant there were living people nearby.

He quickened his pace. After several consecutive Shunpo, Duke arrived where the sounds had come from. The sight before him made even Duke, a man with memories of several lifetimes who had endured the ravages of war, freeze for a moment. As far as the eye could see, red was the only color. Corpses carpeted the ground, and blood flowed like a river. The clearing resembled a slaughterhouse, covered in severed limbs and mangled flesh. It was practically Hell on earth. Though this region's lifeless silence was not much different from Hell, it was far better than this place, where even the air reeked of blood.

Mutilated corpses and severed limbs—there was not a single intact human body. That was the scene before Duke. More than a hundred incomplete corpses lay scattered across the ground, piled atop one another, and even the Reishi in the air carried a nauseating stench of blood.

"This Reiatsu is as unsettling as a Beast's. Who is fighting here?" As a master swordsman, Duke could tell at a glance that every corpse had been cut down by the same blade, each brutally cleaved in two. It shocked him deeply. These souls had died horribly. Rather than being killed by a person, it was more accurate to say they had been slaughtered by a Beast... or a Hollow.

"Kill him! Kill him! He can't hold on much longer!"

"There are more of us, don't be afraid!"

"Kill him!"

Shouts of battle and the ringing of steel drew Duke's attention. A hundred meters ahead, an exceptionally brutal battle was underway. Beneath flashing blades and sword shadows, lives vanished every second. Everyone had gone bloodshot with slaughter, charging forward without regard for death. In just a few breaths, more than ten people died miserable deaths, yet dozens more fearlessly besieged the towering figure at the center.

Duke stared at the figure slaughtering everyone around him with utter disbelief. Nearly two meters tall, he stood out from the crowd within the encirclement, his wild bearing commanding all attention at a glance. His messy, unrestrained long hair hung carelessly over his shoulders, sticky with thick blood. A scar ran from his forehead across the left side of his face, making him look especially savage. His lips curled wantonly, his face blooming with a bloodthirsty grin as he swung the long Zanpakuto in his hand. The blade was covered in jagged chips, and as he butchered the people rushing at him without fear of death, every downward swing took a spray of severed limbs with it.

"This guy is Kenpachi Zaraki... No wonder his Reiatsu is like a Beast's. It really suits his style." Though he still looked somewhat young, and his hair was not yet styled into spikes, Duke recognized him at once. There was no other reason: his Reiatsu was too distinctive. Like its owner, it brimmed with the savage ferocity of a primal Beast.

One by one, the attackers fell, while the long blade in Kenpachi's hand showed no hint of fatigue. Bathed in blood, he looked like an Evil Ghost from Hell. At last, those besieging him completely broke down. Terrified out of their wits, they no longer dared remain and turned to flee, only wishing their parents had given them two more legs. But how could Kenpachi, caught up in the killing, let them go? Like a tiger among sheep, he chopped every last one of them into two. Only Duke and Kenpachi remained alive on the battlefield.

Duke watched the scene quietly. Only when Kenpachi looked his way did he place a hand on his Zanpakuto. Such a perfect whetstone—was this not the opponent he had always wanted? To temper his swordsmanship, there was no better target in Soul Society than the Beast before him.

Seeing that Duke showed no fear at all, Kenpachi revealed a satisfied, vicious grin. He stepped over the pile of corpses and brought his unnamed Zanpakuto crashing down. Duke shifted his feet slightly and easily dodged the blow.

"You dodged it. You look pretty good—a guy worth cutting!" Kenpachi was greatly puzzled that Duke had not attacked him after dodging. "Why didn't you give me a slash from behind? Such a good opportunity?"

"An opportunity?" Duke slowly drew his Zanpakuto and sneered. "If I had really slashed you, I'd be the one falling down."

"You saw through it! Hahahaha... That's it. This is the battle I've been waiting for. It's been so long since I met someone as strong as you. That thrilling feeling of walking between life and death—fight me to the death!!" Kenpachi's eyes shone with delighted battle-lust as he laughed excitedly.

Before his words had even faded, Kenpachi raised his Zanpakuto high over Duke, carrying a fierce and majestic force as it whistled down viciously. Duke raised his Zanpakuto from below and smashed into it.

Boom—

The two Zanpakuto, carrying entirely different Reiatsu, collided. The blast of air gouged deep trenches into the ground. Dust was blown away by the clashing Reiatsu as Duke and Kenpachi remained locked in place, pitting their strength against each other. Neither was willing to take even half a step back.

"Hahahaha! You really are on a completely different level from those pieces of trash!" Kenpachi Zaraki let out a wild laugh, continuously pressing down with his Zanpakuto. His eyes were full of excitement, and the smile on his face grew ever wider.

Clang!

The blades scraped sparks through the air as Duke and Kenpachi each took a step back, facing one another from afar. It had only been a probing strike, but both had felt the pressure from the other. Neither could relax in this battle, because... they could die!

Duke resheathed his blade, then slowly pushed the guard open with his thumb. His five right fingers clenched around the hilt as a heavy aura rose with his Reiatsu like a colossal sword shooting into the heavens, ready to cleave open the sky in the next instant. Feeling the suffocating Reiatsu, Kenpachi Zaraki rolled his neck and tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto. His eyes showed a trace of seriousness, but the smile on his face grew ever more brilliant.

Then Kenpachi erupted with Reiatsu far greater than before. Golden Reiatsu formed the shape of a skull in the air. The two currents of Reiatsu met in midair, and their violent collision blasted everything around them away, whipping up a hurricane.

"What terrifying Reiatsu. I didn't know there was someone like you in this region! I thought I'd killed them all!" Kenpachi's expression turned solemn. Reiatsu could not represent strength, but a powerful soul would certainly possess powerful Reiatsu. It had been a long time since he had encountered Reiatsu as strong as Duke's.

"What's wrong? Afraid?" Duke fully drew his Zanpakuto, his aura rising to its peak. At that moment, he felt as though he could cut the entire world apart.

"Afraid? How could I be? This is excitement!" Kenpachi touched the bloody mark on his face where the Reiatsu had cut him, shaping it into a cruel smile.

"I'm excited too!"

Duke smiled back, vanished with Shunpo, and appeared behind Kenpachi. His Zanpakuto slashed viciously toward Kenpachi's back, but without even turning his head, Kenpachi thrust his blade out from beneath his arm. Their blade tips collided. After a brief stalemate, the two began swinging their Zanpakuto madly without holding anything back.

"Clang—clang—clang—"

Blade edges collided and sparks flew. Sword Qi filled the air, leaving countless tiny wounds of all sizes across their bodies. Their rapid sword swings gradually blurred their figures.

Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū: Ryūshōsen!

Matching speed with speed, a sharp gleam flashed through Duke's eyes as his Zanpakuto created countless blade shadows. The sword light before Kenpachi stabbed at his eyes, followed by searing pain through his limbs, torso, and every part of his body. Hot blood sprayed out wildly, splattering far into the distance.