More than half a year had passed since Azashiro Kenpachi became captain of the 11th Division.
Yet even now, in the eyes of every member of the 11th Division, this Kenpachi remained an extremely mysterious man.
The members had not grown any closer to him.
Usually, they hardly ever even saw him.
As a Third Seat, Natsuki often went to the captain's office to assist the vice-captain, Gosu Sho. Even he rarely saw Azashiro, let alone the other members.
Thinking of that report and comparing it with the Reiatsu he had sensed this time, Natsuki immediately began to suspect what was going on.
And so, he was faced with two choices.
The first was to ignore it.
The second was to investigate.
After thinking it over briefly, however, Natsuki chose to ignore it.
After all, there wasn't much of a connection between him and Azashiro Kenpachi.
Nor had he formed any particularly deep ties to this world.
The only person he had any real connection with, Watanabe Yuji, had also returned to the Expeditionary Force.
It didn't seem wise to meddle in other people's business.
Earlier, his curiosity had led him to discover Azashiro Kenpachi's whereabouts. Looking back on it now, he felt he'd been a little rash.
There was no need to investigate further just because he had sensed Azashiro Kenpachi's Reiatsu again.
He would simply act as if he had never noticed.
That was what Natsuki thought.
What he didn't know was that the moment he sensed Azashiro Kenpachi's Reiatsu, the man had already noticed him.
In a residence in Rukongai.
The soul living there let out a scream of agony. As he screamed, white material kept surging out of his body. In just a few moments, his body underwent a dramatic transformation, swelling to several times its former size. He looked more like a monster than the human he had once been.
"Did it fail?"
A figure wearing a Captain Haori murmured softly.
As soon as he spoke, a sharp female voice rang in his ear, mocking him. "Oh, dear, is this our Kenpachi? That's hilarious. After all this time, you haven't succeeded even once, and yet you still confidently believe you can turn all these souls in Rukongai into weapons?"
"I advise you to give up while you still can."
"If you give up now, you'll still be the captain of the 11th Division, a truly important figure!"
"Hahahaha!"
She began with scornful remarks, then burst into loud laughter.
Someone with a slightly worse temper would never have put up with such taunts. But Azashiro Kenpachi endured them, his expression calm and showing no sign of anger.
He had been with the woman for a long time. She had been by his side ever since his Zanpakuto first began to awaken.
Back then, all his family members had died.
It could be said that the woman's presence had been the last bit of warmth he had felt, keeping him from being utterly alone.
So he could put up with her sharp tongue.
Looking at the soul before him, who kept changing and was on the verge of becoming a Hollow, Azashiro Kenpachi raised his hand. A Zanpakuto formed from Reishi appeared in his grasp. He swung it once, and the other soul's pained cries abruptly stopped. The soul turned into Reishi and vanished completely.
He left the house.
The man was about to look for another soul and continue his experiment.
This was Rukongai. It had no shortage of anything—and souls were everywhere.
Just then, the man's brow furrowed slightly.
The woman's voice rang out behind him once more. "Oh, dear, it seems to be that young man from before."
"He seems to be the Third Seat of your Division."
"He's somewhere nearby. Has he discovered what you've been doing?"
The man said nothing. His face was expressionless, and no one could tell what he was thinking.
In Rukongai, after sensing Azashiro Kenpachi's Reiatsu, Natsuki had been about to leave and pretend he hadn't noticed anything. Whatever outrageous things Azashiro Kenpachi did, the Gotei 13 would handle them.
It had nothing to do with him.
All he had to do was mind his own business.
But just then, a cold voice reached his ears. "Third Seat Natsuki, are you looking for me?"
Natsuki heard the voice, his pupils contracting slightly. Then he abruptly turned to look in that direction.
"Captain Azashiro!"
Natsuki addressed the other man.
After greeting him, Natsuki pretended not to know anything and asked, "Captain Azashiro, what are you doing here?"
Azashiro Kenpachi replied coldly, "I'm conducting an experiment here."
"I see. Then please carry on, Captain Azashiro. You don't need to mind me." Hearing that, Natsuki turned to leave.
Azashiro Kenpachi, however, showed no intention of letting him leave so easily.
"Don't you want to know what kind of experiment I'm conducting?" he asked Natsuki.
Natsuki replied, "There must be a reason for whatever you do, Captain. I'm only a Seated Officer. It's not my place to ask too much."
"Is it that you can't ask too much, or that you noticed something was wrong but don't want to get yourself into trouble, so you'd rather not interfere?" Azashiro Kenpachi fixed Natsuki with a piercing gaze.
"What makes you say that, Captain Azashiro?" Natsuki asked.
Azashiro Kenpachi explained, "You clearly sensed my Reiatsu earlier, yet you deliberately didn't come any closer. You even hesitated for a moment. That tells me you've probably already guessed something, but don't want to get involved."
His words left Natsuki stunned.
He had indeed sensed Azashiro Kenpachi's Reiatsu.
Of course, that wasn't what had shocked him.
It was the fact that Azashiro Kenpachi seemed to be standing right beside him, fully aware of everything that had happened.
How had he known?
That was it. He had thought something was strange back when they were in the Division.
Even when Azashiro Kenpachi wasn't there in person, he always seemed to know exactly what had happened, down to all the details.
Azashiro Kenpachi continued, "You're a very clever person."
"Earlier, I asked you a few questions, but you never gave me a clear answer."
"But it doesn't matter now. Since you've noticed some of what I've been doing in Rukongai, whether or not you want to get involved, you can no longer avoid it now that you know."
Azashiro Kenpachi spoke to Natsuki in a cold tone.
Natsuki took a deep breath.
He knew he wouldn't be getting away today.
So why did his Spiritual Perception have to be so sharp?
Why had he come to Rukongai on a mission today?
Faced with Azashiro Kenpachi's relentless pressure, all he could do was calmly admit that he had made a few guesses.
He continued, "Recently, several souls have disappeared in Rukongai. Captain Azashiro, do you know anything about those cases?"
He had only meant to sound Azashiro Kenpachi out and give him a chance to explain.
He hadn't expected the answer he got.
"I'm the one who did it."
Azashiro Kenpachi admitted it without hesitation.
Natsuki was stunned again. It took a long while before he asked Azashiro Kenpachi in a complicated tone, "Why?"
"You're the captain of the 11th Division, bearing the name of Kenpachi. Judging by your clothes, you're even of noble birth. I can't understand what you hoped to achieve by doing this."
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