Natsuki's Spiritual Perception was exceptionally powerful.
That powerful Spiritual Perception came from his perfect control over his own spiritual power.
After crossing over into this world, he hadn't had a system, but that didn't mean he was ordinary.
Whether it was swinging his Zanpakuto as soon as he got his hands on it and killing a Menos Grande, or later discovering that his Zanpakuto could absorb Reishi and increase his spiritual power, these were all things that had helped Natsuki survive in this world and grow stronger. But they weren't the entirety of his trump cards.
In addition, after learning the Ghost Way, he had discovered that he could perfectly control his own spiritual power.
That was why he'd been able to master the Ghost Way so easily.
And that was only how this ability manifested internally.
Externally, it manifested as his immensely powerful Spiritual Perception.
The Soul Society needed a Reiatsu Monitoring Device to detect Reiatsu Wave fluctuations, but Natsuki could sense a great many things through his own Spiritual Perception.
Even though the Reiatsu he sensed at that moment was very faint, he instantly recognized whose it was.
Azashiro Kenpachi!
The current captain of the 11th Division, the Eighth Kenpachi, and Natsuki's captain.
Since taking up the captaincy, Azashiro Kenpachi had rarely shown himself outside of necessary battles. Even when Natsuki, as Third Seat, went to the captain's office to help Lieutenant Gosu handle division affairs, he seldom saw him.
Azashiro kept to himself and was a man of mystery.
Natsuki had naturally wondered what he was up to.
Now, sensing the Reiatsu of Azashiro Kenpachi—who should have been in the Seireitei—in the Rukongai, Natsuki couldn't help but grow curious.
What caught his attention even more was how scattered Azashiro Kenpachi's Reiatsu was.
It was spread across trees and stones, but on closer inspection, the traces formed a straight line that extended deep into the Rukongai.
Using Shunpo, Natsuki hurried forward, following the trail he sensed with his Spiritual Perception.
But soon, he stopped.
A cold-faced figure dressed in white stood in his way.
"Captain Azashiro!"
When he saw the man, Natsuki greeted him calmly.
"Third Seat Natsuki, why are you here?" Azashiro Kenpachi asked flatly, making no attempt at small talk. He was always this direct, just as he had been when he appeared before Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and challenged him.
"I happened to be nearby on a mission. After killing the Hollows who'd invaded, I was on my way back to the Seireitei when I sensed your Reiatsu, Captain Azashiro. I was surprised, so I came to take a look." Natsuki answered calmly. He didn't ask Azashiro Kenpachi why he was there.
Of course, he couldn't help guessing at the reason in his mind.
"I see." Azashiro Kenpachi's gaze flickered. Then, without warning, he brought up something else. "I heard Third Seat Natsuki returned to the Soul Society from the Expeditionary Force?"
"Yes." Natsuki nodded. His background wasn't a secret in the 11th Division. Some people had known about it already, and after he became Third Seat and a well-known figure in the division, even more had heard the story.
"The Expeditionary Force spends a long time in Hueco Mundo fighting Hollows. You must know a thing or two about them, Third Seat Natsuki?" Azashiro Kenpachi went on to ask about Hollows.
"I know a little."
Natsuki then explained what he knew about Hollows: how they came into being and how they were classified. But after he'd said only a little, Azashiro Kenpachi interrupted him. "I already know all that, Third Seat Natsuki. What I want to ask is what you think of Hollows."
"What I think of Hollows?" Natsuki asked in surprise. "Do you have a different view of them, Captain Azashiro?"
Instead of answering directly, he asked Azashiro Kenpachi a question.
He had a feeling that Azashiro Kenpachi wasn't asking these questions at random. There seemed to be some purpose behind them. If he could figure out what that purpose was, he might be able to understand Azashiro Kenpachi's intentions.
"Don't you think Hollows shouldn't exist in this world at all?" Azashiro Kenpachi said coldly, opening with a brutally absolute declaration.
Natsuki's heart tightened, and a bone-deep chill swept over him.
"They are souls that have taken a fundamentally wrong path of evolution. Yet this wrong evolution gives them immense power. To fill the emptiness within their souls, they devour their own kind and ordinary souls indiscriminately, disrupting the order and balance between souls."
"What wicked creatures they are. They shouldn't exist in this world at all."
Hearing this, Natsuki finally couldn't hold back. "Isn't that why we need Soul Reapers? Hollows are evil, so we Soul Reapers fight them with our blades and purify them."
"You're right," Azashiro Kenpachi said. "The reason Soul Reapers exist is to fight Hollows and preserve that order and balance."
"But Soul Reapers are finite in number, while Hollows are different. As long as human desires exist, new Hollows will emerge constantly. Even Soul Reapers can fall and die when faced with vast numbers of Hollows. If the number of Hollows keeps growing without limit, then one day, every Soul Reaper will perish and cease to exist."
"What do you mean, Captain Azashiro?" Natsuki asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Souls that have evolved wrongly possess great power, while orderly, righteous souls have none at all. What an unjust world! If only the souls living in the Rukongai could have power comparable to that of Hollows." A heartfelt sigh escaped Azashiro Kenpachi's lips.
Natsuki fell silent for a moment, then replied, "Captain Azashiro, it's a fine idea, but this world is simply unfair. Among the countless souls, very few have the potential to become Soul Reapers. Most have no spiritual power at all, and they can't gain the strength to stand against Hollows."
Azashiro Kenpachi was silent as well.
He had wanted to say more, but in the end, he held back.
Changing his tone, he said to Natsuki, "You may go."
Natsuki gave Azashiro Kenpachi a long look, but said nothing more. He turned and left.
Azashiro Kenpachi remained where he was, watching Natsuki leave. Suddenly, a woman's voice sounded beside his ear.
"Well, well. You really do think highly of him, don't you? You said so much to him. Could it be that now you've become a Kenpachi, you really intend to fulfill your duties as captain and gather some subordinates?"
Her voice was laced with mockery.
Azashiro Kenpachi's expression didn't change. He replied calmly, "I just happened to see him and wanted to ask his opinion."
After that, the woman kept chattering beside his ear, but he didn't respond.
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