Sparring and Seat Changes!

"9th Seat Natsuki is as indifferent as ever!"

Ryosuke Akagi had a head of fiery red hair that stood up like a hedgehog's, and two crisscrossing scars on his cheeks made his otherwise decent face look somewhat ferocious.

He was tall and, holding his Zanpakuto, walked up to stand before Natsuki.

"I really wanted to ask you for a drink at the previous party, but you were always hiding in a corner. You didn't seem to like drinking, so I had to give up."

"However, I have always been quite curious about 9th Seat Natsuki's strength."

Ryosuke Akagi arrived in front of Natsuki and spoke gently.

"Your strength shouldn't be as simple as just a 9th Seat."

"But I don't see any ambition in you to climb higher; it's as if being a 9th Seat is enough for you."

Natsuki felt Ryosuke Akagi's gaze and said calmly, "Indeed, for me, being a 9th Seat is enough. We are all seated officers anyway, so there is no real difference, is there?"

"That is true!" Ryosuke Akagi nodded. "However, I still really want to witness your true strength and see exactly what kind of power the junior held in such high regard by Senior Watanabe possesses."

As soon as these words were spoken, Natsuki immediately understood why Ryosuke Akagi had sought him out.

It actually had to do with Yuji Watanabe.

"Do you have a grudge against Watanabe?" Natsuki raised an eyebrow and asked Ryosuke Akagi.

Ryosuke Akagi was stunned, then quickly said, "How could 9th Seat Natsuki think that? When Senior Watanabe was still in the 11th Division, he gave me a lot of guidance. It was because of his guidance that my strength improved by leaps and bounds. After Senior Watanabe left for the Expeditionary Force, I became the 3rd Seat. I have always been very grateful to him."

"So that's how it is!" Natsuki nodded.

By that logic, he and the Ryosuke Akagi before him were actually fellow disciples of a sort.

However, neither he nor Ryosuke Akagi deliberately mentioned this to bridge the distance between them.

"Let's begin!"

Without any further nonsense, Natsuki spoke to Ryosuke Akagi.

Ryosuke Akagi drew his Zanpakuto.

The two stood a distance apart, then moved simultaneously, swinging their blades.

Because Ryosuke Akagi had taken the initiative to show up and spar with a 9th Seat like Natsuki, many Shinigamis who were training in the arena stopped their practice to watch. Even more Shinigamis from the barracks heard the news and rushed over.

In an instant, the area around the training ground was packed with people, making it quite lively.

Under their watchful eyes, afterimages flashed as the two blades collided, then the two figures separated, only to swing their blades again.

Because the 11th Division favored close-quarters combat, they preferred Hakuda and swordsmanship, rarely using Ghost Way during fights.

Therefore, whether it was Natsuki or Ryosuke Akagi, they only used Shunpo, swordsmanship, and Hakuda to confront one another.

Their Zanpakuto, still in the form of Asauchi, clashed repeatedly. Between the crossing of blades, their fists would also strike out in a display of close-quarters brawling.

As they fought, they utilized Shunpo, their figures constantly shifting.

"So, so amazing!"

Watching the two evenly matched figures constantly changing positions in the arena, a Squad Member opened his mouth in awe.

For lower-ranked Squad Members, becoming a seated officer was their lifelong pursuit.

However, there were only so many seats, and becoming a seated officer was no easy task.

At this moment, having witnessed a battle between seated officers with his own eyes, he finally understood the gap between himself and them.

It was a gap in every aspect.

He was inferior to both men in the arena when it came to Shunpo, Hakuda, and swordsmanship.

After that Squad Member's exclamation, others began to praise Natsuki's strength.

"9th Seat Natsuki's true strength is so strong!"

"He is fighting 3rd Seat Akagi, yet after so long, he hasn't fallen into a disadvantage."

This statement was agreed upon by many Squad Members.

Indeed, although they were all seated officers, there was a huge gap between a 9th Seat and a 3rd Seat.

Now that Natsuki could go toe-to-toe with a 3rd Seat, it showed that his strength was definitely not as simple as just a 9th Seat.

Thinking back to the brief conversation between Ryosuke Akagi and Natsuki earlier, many Shinigamis gained a new perspective on Natsuki.

He was clearly a very powerful Shinigami, yet he seemed to have no ambition to climb higher.

They naturally knew how Natsuki had become a 9th Seat; it was the result of a spar where Natsuki defeated the former 9th Seat, who then directly ceded the seat to him.

This was also a tradition of the 11th Division.

The strong were respected; as long as you could defeat a current seated officer in a head-on fight, you would become the new seated officer.

The former officer's position would then shift down by one.

As for the lowest-ranked seated officer, if they were dissatisfied, they could also choose to challenge those in higher seats.

"Do you think that if 9th Seat Natsuki wins, he will directly become the 3rd Seat?"

Someone suddenly thought of this question and couldn't help but ask.

"No way, Third Seat Akagi isn't going to be defeated that easily." Some Squad Members were full of confidence in Akagi Ryosuke.

Just as they were discussing this.

In the center of the battlefield.

After Akagi Ryosuke had matched Natsuki blow for blow in Zanjutsu, Hakuda, and Shunpo, he said to Natsuki, "Let's decide the outcome in one strike, Ninth Seat Natsuki!"

As he spoke, his Reiatsu erupted, surging into the Asauchi in his hand.

"Fine!"

Natsuki responded calmly, also unleashing his own Reiatsu.

Two powerful forces of Reiatsu collided.

The expressions of the many Squad Members turned incomparably grave.

"As I thought, I knew your strength was definitely more than just that of a Ninth Seat."

Feeling Natsuki's Reiatsu, Akagi Ryosuke remarked.

As he spoke, he swung his Asauchi, and a blade of pressure tore through the air.

Natsuki swung his blade as well, also unleashing a strike of pressure.

BOOM!!

The two strikes collided, and a raging storm of Reishi spread outward before coming to an abrupt halt as the dust settled.

Everyone saw that Akagi Ryosuke was panting heavily.

Meanwhile, Natsuki remained completely unscathed.

Taking a moment to steady his breathing, Akagi Ryosuke said to Natsuki, "I lost."

"From this day forward, the position of Third Seat is yours, Natsuki!"

He no longer addressed Natsuki as Ninth Seat.

These words were also heard by the many squad members watching the battle.

Shock!

They were deeply shocked.

After a long while, someone finally could not suppress the astonishment in their heart and couldn't help but speak up, "Third Seat Akagi actually... lost?"

Although Natsuki had been a Ninth Seat previously, his true strength had still left them thoroughly shaken.