Facing off against Kenpachi Zaraki!

"Different people have different perspectives on the same thing. In your eyes, I might be somewhat extreme, but I do not think so myself."

Azashiro Kenpachi's gaze was peaceful, revealing not a hint of emotion as he responded calmly to Natsuki.

Then, Azashiro Kenpachi added, "Third Seat Natsuki, since you have discovered my secret, there must be a battle between us today."

Azashiro Kenpachi was always so indifferent. It seemed as though one could never sense a fluctuation of emotion from him; even when mentioning the word battle, it felt as if it were a matter completely unrelated to him. He was that composed.

Facing Azashiro Kenpachi's challenge, Natsuki had no intention of evading.

Or rather, he had considered staying out of it, but he could not, so he could only face it squarely.

"I, too, have long wished to cross blades with a powerhouse such as Captain Azashiro."

"It is a pity that we are not currently within the Division, and there are no other captains here to witness this event. Otherwise, if I were to accidentally defeat Captain Azashiro, I could take up the mantle of the new Kenpachi."

Slightly arrogant words spilled from Natsuki's lips.

Azashiro Kenpachi did not comment on Natsuki's arrogance, instead opting for a more tactful phrasing, "It seems you are quite confident in your own strength."

Natsuki said nothing more.

In the next instant, his figure vanished abruptly, utilizing Shunpo to arrive directly before Azashiro Kenpachi.

His palm fell quietly onto the hilt of his Zanpakuto.

A flash of cold light!

Golden sword pressure swept toward Azashiro Kenpachi, and his body was instantly split in two. However, Natsuki felt no sense of triumph; as the sword pressure passed through Azashiro Kenpachi's body, he felt a sense of nothingness.

This was not the real Azashiro Kenpachi.

His powerful Spiritual Perception allowed him to instinctively probe for Azashiro Kenpachi's Rei-Network, seeking to track down his true location.

After detecting a slight clue.

Natsuki shifted again with Shunpo, swinging his blade by instinct.

Another golden arc of sword pressure tore through the air.

Boom!

A nearby residence was immediately destroyed, and the startled cry of a young boy rang out from within.

Natsuki's expression remained unchanged.

Azashiro Kenpachi's voice suddenly sounded by Natsuki's ear, "Let us fight somewhere else."

His tone remained calm.

Natsuki did not refuse.

Upon sensing Azashiro Kenpachi's Rei-Network, he quickly pursued it.

Soon, they arrived in an uninhabited area of the Rukon District.

Upon seeing Azashiro Kenpachi, Natsuki launched another attack against him.

"Hado #31—Shakkaho!"

A crimson sphere of flame tore through the air, heading toward Azashiro Kenpachi.

Natsuki did not only rely on Shunpo and swordsmanship; he occasionally utilized Ghost Way, and his attainments in it were not low.

He cast the Ghost Way without incantation; although it lacked the power of a full chant, it condensed rapidly and was fired almost instantaneously.

The crimson fireball struck Azashiro Kenpachi, and amidst the rolling dust and roaring sound, his figure was engulfed.

Natsuki utilized Shunpo, but he did not intend to attack the smoke-shrouded Azashiro Kenpachi.

Instead, he swung his blade toward a spot behind him.

Another figure of Azashiro Kenpachi was cut down, yet it was still not the true body.

"What kind of ability is this? Does it have something to do with your Zanpakuto, Captain Azashiro?"

Natsuki did not attempt to launch further attacks, instead asking toward the direction where he sensed the Rei-Network.

In the world of Shinigamis, setting aside Quincies and Hollows, whenever a Shinigami possessed some strange or bizarre ability, it was simply attributed to the power of their Zanpakuto.

After all, Shinigamis, as individuals, possessed nothing inherently special.

Only the Zanpakuto was different; because every soul was unique, the Zanpakuto born from them were vastly different as well. Each blade possessed distinct abilities, and it was inevitable that some strange and peculiar powers would emerge.

"I have no obligation to answer your questions!"

A figure appeared; it was indeed Azashiro Kenpachi.

There was not a single injury on Azashiro Kenpachi, and even his clothes were completely intact. Clearly, all of Natsuki's previous attacks had missed.

"Then, as the Kenpachi, do you intend to keep hiding like this?"

Natsuki began to employ moral coercion.

Although it was true that he had struck first, who told him to be the weaker one while the other was the Kenpachi? As the stronger party, what was the harm in letting him have the first move? Yet, for a powerhouse like the Kenpachi to refuse a direct confrontation was truly contemptible.

Moral coercion, coupled with double standards—Natsuki was frantically stacking buffs in his heart.

But it had to be said, Moral coercion, it seems, truly does have its uses.

"You are right; since I was the one who initiated this battle, there is indeed no need for me to evade it."

As Azashiro Kenpachi spoke, a blade suddenly appeared in his hand.

In Natsuki's eyes, Azashiro Kenpachi was a very peculiar Shinigami. While other Shinigamis, if not keeping their blades on their persons at all times, were at least accustomed to carrying their Zanpakuto with them, Azashiro Kenpachi was different. He traveled light, and since becoming Kenpachi, aside from the captain's haori he wore, there had been no sign of a Zanpakuto anywhere on him.

Yet, without a doubt, that blade was certainly there, hidden away by some special method known only to Azashiro Kenpachi.

And when the necessary moment arrived, he could draw it out at any time.

It had been the same when he fought Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, and it was the same at this very moment.

The instant the blade appeared in Azashiro Kenpachi's hand, Natsuki immediately sensed a high-intensity Reiatsu radiating from it.

What a terrifying blade!

Natsuki muttered to himself; seeing Azashiro Kenpachi choose to fight head-on was exactly what he had hoped for.

Swish!

He unleashed Shunpo once more, pouring his Reiatsu into his Zanpakuto and transforming it into sword pressure.

A golden wave of sword pressure slashed toward Azashiro Kenpachi.

Azashiro Kenpachi merely flicked his Zanpakuto with a light motion.

The golden sword pressure Natsuki had unleashed shattered instantly.

Then, Azashiro Kenpachi's blade arrived before Natsuki in a flash.

As the bearer of the name Kenpachi, whenever Menos Grande had appeared in the past, Azashiro Kenpachi had always chosen to engage them with Ghost Way. Although he had successfully defeated the Menos Grande, such behavior made it difficult for the 11th Division Squad Members to accept him, let alone feel any sense of admiration.

Now, before Natsuki, Azashiro Kenpachi revealed his formidable mastery of swordsmanship.

Natsuki swung his blade again, meeting Azashiro Kenpachi's strike.

The two Zanpakuto collided.

Natsuki felt an indescribable sense of oppression wash over him. Contained within Azashiro Kenpachi's Zanpakuto was an immensely powerful Reiatsu, its concentration and quality so high that, merely from the contact of the two blades, it threatened to snap Natsuki's Zanpakuto in two.

Natsuki, of course, could not allow such a thing to happen.

Consequently, he mobilized an even greater surge of Reiatsu. A crimson Reiatsu erupted and flooded into his Zanpakuto, filling it with high-intensity power to stand against the blade of Azashiro Kenpachi.