A Division's Daily Life

Unlike Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, who would worry about collateral damage to his subordinates even when facing life-and-death situations, Natsuki was a very selfish person.

He adhered strictly to the philosophy of "better the friend dies than me."

After all, having managed to live a second life in this world of the dead, he was the type to cherish his life dearly and would never treat his own existence as a joke.

The presence of Azashiro Kenpachi had somewhat impacted the morale of the 11th Division.

Yet, the division as a whole did not cease its operations because of this.

Whenever a Menos Grande appeared in the Soul Society, the 11th Division would strike out proactively.

Aside from his cold personality, Azashiro Kenpachi was actually a competent captain in other respects; whenever a hollow appeared, he always chose to lead the charge himself rather than hiding behind his subordinates.

His strength was immense, making him a person similar to Kuruyashiki Kenpachi.

Because Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's Bankai was restricted by decree, he would always use an Asauchi when facing hollows, rarely even using his Shikai, relying instead on his overwhelming spiritual pressure to tear the hollows apart.

Azashiro Kenpachi, however, was even more purist; he wouldn't even draw his blade, relying solely on Ghost Way to deal with hollows.

His mastery of Ghost Way was extremely profound; even a Menos Grande would be consumed and destroyed by his techniques.

Of course, for a division that championed visceral, blade-to-flesh combat, the act of using Ghost Way to deal with enemies was not accepted by many members, nor did they enjoy such a style of fighting.

Consequently, even when Azashiro Kenpachi emerged victorious, many members felt no sense of admiration for him.

Not to mention, after a battle was won, Azashiro Kenpachi would not hold grand drinking parties to celebrate like Kuruyashiki Kenpachi used to.

It was the same after victory as it was when setting out; he held no ceremonies whatsoever.

If there were no comparison, it might have been fine, but precisely because of the contrast, Azashiro Kenpachi was, at present, simply not very well-liked.

Perhaps as time passes, everyone's impression of you might change, Natsuki thought to himself while considering the reputation of this new Kenpachi.

Immediately after, he whispered, "But then again, what does that have to do with me?"

Whether it was Kuruyashiki Kenpachi or Azashiro Kenpachi, for someone like him who hadn't been in the Seireitei or the Gotei 13 for long, he had no deep impression of them, and naturally, he had formed no deep bonds with them.

In Natsuki's mind, they didn't even compare to the comrades he had back in the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force.

If nothing else, those comrades had at least fought side-by-side with him for several years.

Life in the 11th Division was very monotonous.

Aside from fighting, there was only training.

The other members had a hobby of drinking, but Natsuki had a low tolerance for alcohol, so he didn't share that pastime.

When there was no fighting, he preferred to stay in his quarters, communicating with his Zanpakuto through "Sword Meditation."

"Soon, it's almost time..."

Over the long years, the number of hollows Natsuki had slain was not small.

The spiritual particles that dissipated after these hollows died were all silently drawn in and absorbed by his Zanpakuto. He could feel his own spiritual power growing stronger. As his spiritual power increased, whenever he chose to merge his spirit with the Zanpakuto, he would gradually hear a vague voice. Unfortunately, he still couldn't enter his inner world to meet his Zanpakuto and master his Shikai.

Not long ago, when Kuruyashiki Kenpachi died in battle, although Natsuki hadn't deliberately drawn his blade to scavenge the remains, he still noticed after the battle that a portion of the spiritual particles dissipating from Kuruyashiki Kenpachi had been quietly absorbed by him.

It seemed that whether he drew his blade or not, it didn't affect this passive ability of his Zanpakuto.

Thinking about it carefully, it was only natural.

This ability was not something Natsuki could freely manipulate; it was a passive trait.

A scabbard wasn't exactly a special object, so naturally, it couldn't seal away this passive effect.

The death of Kuruyashiki Kenpachi was a heartbreaking event for most Shinigamis in the 11th Division, but for Natsuki, his own spiritual power had indeed increased by another notch, bringing him one step closer to mastering his Shikai.

After his daily routine of Sword Meditation, he arrived at the 11th Division's training grounds.

Even with the change in Kenpachi and the dissatisfaction many felt toward the new one, it didn't dampen the combative nature of the 11th Division members.

In the training grounds, many members were sparring in pairs. There were both men and women—the number of female Shinigamis was not small—and due to the nature of the combat, their bodies would twist and turn, inevitably highlighting certain areas, which drew many lecherous old men to watch while drinking.

However, these female members seemed long accustomed to this and showed no shyness; instead, they displayed their assets quite openly during the heat of battle.

Natsuki's gaze swept across the training ground before he found an empty spot and asked some of the idle people nearby who were watching out of boredom, "Is anyone coming to spar?"

As soon as he said this, many Shinigamis became interested.

"I'll go!"

"Count me in!"

Thanks to the current nature of the 11th Division, the responders were naturally both men and women.

Natsuki was a seated officer; fighting a seated officer, even if they lost, was a gain for them, so the battle-hungry members of the 11th Division would naturally not refuse.

Natsuki didn't refuse to fight them just because they were ordinary squad members.

However, ordinary squad members were, after all, just ordinary squad members.

After only a few exchanges, they were defeated by Natsuki.

"As expected of 9th Seat Natsuki, we still have a long way to go!"

After their defeat, these squad members did not show much dejection, merely sighing at the clean and efficient skill Natsuki had displayed.

There was no hint of complacency on Natsuki's face.

Just then, a low voice reached Natsuki's ears: "9th Seat Natsuki, how about we have a spar?"

"It's 3rd Seat Akagi!"

Hearing this, many squad members immediately looked toward the speaker, recognizing him.

The 3rd Seat was already the highest-ranking officer among the seated officials.

Above that were only the captain and lieutenant. The lieutenant was appointed by the captain; their strength wasn't necessarily overwhelming, and they could even be a nepotism hire, but anyone who could attain the position of 3rd Seat was undeniably strong.

Watanabe Yuji, back when he was in the 11th Division, had only been the 5th Seat.

Ashido, who had gone to support the Expeditionary Force in Hueco Mundo, had been the 11th Division's 4th Seat.

And this man before them, Akagi Ryosuke, was the 3rd Seat.

This did not necessarily mean his strength was greater than Watanabe Yuji's or Ashido's, but as a 3rd Seat, he was certainly no weakling.

"3rd Seat Akagi!"

Natsuki greeted him, though he made no effort to close the distance. His relationship with everyone in the 11th Division was currently limited to mere nodding acquaintances; he knew them, but they were not close enough to be sharing the same bed.