After a Soul Reaper achieved Bankai, their Reiatsu would surge to between five and ten times its original Shikai level. Though they could not maintain this state for long and it consumed far more spiritual power, Bankai was indeed a Soul Reaper's greatest trump card.
The tremendous surge in Reiatsu gave Soul Reapers immense strength in every movement.
Spiritual power, or Reiatsu, was an extremely important thing to a Soul Reaper.
The four basic Soul Reaper abilities—Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, and Kido—all relied on Reiatsu to some extent. In addition, the activation of a Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto abilities was also tied to their own Reiatsu.
It was precisely because Bankai brought such a tremendous increase in a Soul Reaper's strength that only those who had mastered it could become captains of the Gotei 13.
After Kiganjo had been wounded by Natsuki again and again, he finally lost control of his anger. He chose to use his most powerful weapon: Bankai.
After achieving Bankai, his Reiatsu surged, and his body grew larger as well. He had become a giant.
"Scum, die!"
Kiganjo swung the now-larger blade in his hand. As he did, the black flames swirling around his body surged onto the great blade, shrouding it. With his swing, an enormous black slash hurtled toward Natsuki.
"Too slow!"
Natsuki used Shunpo and easily dodged it.
Kiganjo had no ability to manipulate Reishi like a Quincy, and he couldn't interfere with Natsuki's Shunpo. Besides, Natsuki had honed his Shunpo through intense training and long battles against the Quincy. Even an ordinary Quincy would have a hard time disrupting it.
He easily dodged the attack.
Kiganjo's slash continued onward, passing through the spot where Natsuki had been and crashing into an 11th Division building.
Boom!!
The building shattered with a tremendous crash, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air.
But at that moment, not one member of the 11th Division cared about it.
All they cared about was the battle before them.
At the same time Kiganjo unleashed his Bankai, the nearby 12th Division detected a powerful Reiatsu Wave.
The captain of the 12th Division was named Hikifune Kirio. She was also a female captain and had served for many years. In this era, the Department of Research and Development had not yet been established. Instead, there was its predecessor, the Seireitei Research Institute. Unlike the Department of Research and Development of the future, the institute had not been divided into multiple departments. Even monitoring Reiatsu Waves had its own dedicated department.
Still, they were responsible for monitoring Reiatsu Waves across the Soul Society and parts of the Human World.
Whenever they detected the Reiatsu Wave of a Hollow or any unusual Reiatsu Wave, they would report it to the 1st Division immediately.
As the head Division, the 1st Division was responsible for collecting and handling reports from the other Divisions before assigning them tasks.
"What are those 11th Division idiots up to now?"
The 12th Division Soul Reaper muttered as he noticed the powerful Reiatsu Wave coming from the 11th Division, then drafted a report. The 11th Division members were always causing trouble, but this was the Seireitei. That made it a little different.
The battle continued on the 11th Division training grounds.
Natsuki used Shunpo to effortlessly dodge Kiganjo's many attacks.
This only enraged Kiganjo further.
He strode forward, moving quickly despite his massive frame, and charged toward Natsuki.
Natsuki didn't just keep dodging, either. Every so often, he met Kiganjo head-on.
Boom!!
The great blade wreathed in black flames clashed against the crimson Zanpakuto in Natsuki's hand.
Natsuki immediately felt an immense force bearing down on him, driving his legs partway into the ground. After all, strength was not his specialty as a Soul Reaper. In a contest of pure strength, he was at a disadvantage against a brute like Kiganjo.
"Die!"
Seeing Natsuki pinned down by his strength, Kiganjo grew even more pleased with himself and let out a roar.
At some point, the 11th Division members had fixed all their attention on Natsuki, worrying for his safety. Now, seeing him in this situation, they grew anxious.
They had already lost Gosu Kenpachi. Were they about to lose Natsuki, the vice-captain who had stood up for them, too?
Kiganjo Kenpachi was a violent man. If this went on, who knew what state he would leave the 11th Division in?
Just as Kiganjo brought his tremendous strength to bear, intending to break through Natsuki's guard and tear him in half, an immensely powerful crimson Reiatsu erupted from Natsuki.
Boom!!
The terrifying Reiatsu shot skyward like a pillar of light, then spread outward in a tangible wave.
Even though Kiganjo's Reiatsu had multiplied several times over after activating Bankai,
and his body had changed, granting him tremendous strength,
at that moment, when Natsuki unleashed his Reiatsu, Kiganjo still felt an irresistible force sweep over him, hurling his towering, muscular body aside.
Amid the crimson Reiatsu, Natsuki slowly straightened up. First, he pulled his feet free of the sunken ground. Then he looked at the stunned Kiganjo Kenpachi before him and said casually, "Looks like your Bankai does nothing beyond boosting your Reiatsu, size, and strength."
"But that's fine. Now I know all your cards, so I can kill you without holding back."
"Scum, do you even know what you're saying?"
Kiganjo Kenpachi roared in response.
He released his Reiatsu as well. He looked like an evil spirit that had broken free from Hell and entered the Human World, his body shrouded in black Reiatsu. He gripped his blade with both hands and sent a massive black Sword Pressure tearing through the air.
The moment the Sword Pressure appeared, a crack split the ground. An overwhelming pressure swept in every direction, making the 11th Division members tremble. Even the Seated Officers felt fear as Kiganjo Kenpachi unleashed his full strength.
Natsuki watched the Sword Pressure hurtling toward him and took a deep breath.
Crimson Reiatsu still shrouded his body.
He recalled the time he had spent learning swordsmanship and Zanjutsu from Unohana Retsu.
It had not been especially long by Soul Reaper standards.
But Unohana Retsu had taught him a great deal.
The deepest secret of Zanjutsu flashed through his mind.
The highest form of Zanjutsu had few techniques—or, rather, it cast aside all technique. It returned to the fundamentals, distilled into a single word: "Slash!"
By gathering all the strength in his body into the blade in his hand, he turned it into a single slash!
The thought flashed through his mind.
In an instant, all of Natsuki's Reiatsu surged into his Zanpakuto.
The tangible crimson Reiatsu that had shrouded his body vanished at once.
Facing Kiganjo's terrifying Sword Pressure,
Natsuki swung his blade.
A crimson thread flashed across the heavens and earth.
Natsuki's body vanished, then reappeared behind Kiganjo's towering figure.
Compared with Kiganjo, who had become as tall as a giant after activating Bankai, Natsuki's ordinary-sized frame looked especially short and small.
Yet under the eyes of all the Soul Reapers watching, Natsuki seemed to possess an aura that even Kiganjo, the current Kenpachi, could not match.
They simply couldn't put into words what that aura was.
The next instant, before their eyes,
the terrifying black Sword Pressure flying through the air vanished, wiped away. Then an expression of unbearable pain appeared on Kiganjo's face.
A thin line of blood appeared across his throat.
Pff!
The line split open, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
"I..."
Kiganjo seemed to want to speak, but he never managed to voice the words of resentment in his heart.
Thud!
His body fell to the ground. Its immense size made the impact ring out with a heavy thump, stirring up clouds of dust. Crimson blood spread beneath him, staining the ground and turning the white Captain Haori he wore into a blood-soaked garment.
His presence faded rapidly, until it was gone completely.
Only after Kiganjo's presence disappeared did his Bankai end. His body returned to its original size, and his Zanpakuto reverted to its original form, an Asauchi.
"Hah... hah..."
Natsuki still stood behind Kiganjo. He took several deep breaths.
Once he was sure Kiganjo was dead, a sudden sense of anticlimax washed over him.
He had thought Kiganjo would be a troublesome opponent, so he had made quite a few preparations.
Even though Zaraki Kenpachi had defeated Kiganjo with ease in the original story, Kiganjo had still held the title of Kenpachi for nearly a century. In that era, captains had been killed in battle more than once. The fact that Kiganjo had held onto the position for so many years meant he must have had some real strength.
During the fight, Kiganjo had even used Bankai, confirming Natsuki's suspicion.
But who would have thought it would be such a useless Bankai?
Apart from boosting his Reiatsu and strength, it had no other advantages.
No wonder Zaraki had killed Kiganjo so easily in the original story.
As long as one's Reiatsu surpassed Kiganjo's, killing him didn't seem difficult.
Natsuki's current Reiatsu might not compare to Zaraki's, but over the years, his Zanpakuto's passive ability had helped him grow stronger. Especially during the war in the Human World, when the Quincy would gather Reishi from time to time and shower him with gifts.
Even without mastering Bankai, Natsuki's Reiatsu had reached an extremely powerful level.
In terms of strength alone, even after activating Bankai, Kiganjo was still inferior to him.
The battle was over in a single breath. Starting tomorrow, he would settle into his daily routine as the Kenpachi.
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