After the Captains' Meeting ended, the captains left the meeting room one after another.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni followed behind Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake, a Third Division Captain's token now hanging at his waist.
As for his Captain's Haori, it was still being made in a rush.
After all, no one had expected the Third Division to suddenly gain a fifteen-year-old human captain.
Shunsui Kyōraku adjusted his straw hat and said with a smile, "Young Yoriichi, we're colleagues now. I look forward to working with you."
"Thanks for letting us leave before, old man."
Shunsui Kyōraku stopped in his tracks.
"O-old man?"
He turned toward Jūshirō Ukitake and asked in disbelief, "Ukitake, do I really look that old?"
Ukitake raised a hand to scratch his head and studied him seriously for a while.
"You do look a little weathered."
"Even you think so?"
"Cough, cough..."
Ukitake held a fist to his lips and coughed lightly.
Looking at his white-haired friend, Shunsui Kyōraku felt that he should never have asked him such a question.
"Looks like I'll have to pay more attention to my appearance."
Kyōraku rubbed the stubble on his chin, beginning to seriously consider whether to shave it off.
Just then, a surge of Reiatsu brimming with fighting spirit came from ahead.
A towering figure blocked the end of the corridor.
Kenpachi Zaraki rested his Zanpakuto on his shoulder, with Yachiru Kusajishi sitting on the other. The two had clearly been waiting for a long time, and all the nearby First Division members were keeping their distance.
"Finally out."
Kenpachi looked at Yoriichi, an excited smile spreading across his face.
"Hey, kid. I hear you're strong."
Yoriichi stopped.
"Do you need something?"
"Of course I do."
Kenpachi brought his Zanpakuto down, pointing its tip at Yoriichi.
"Aren't you taking the captain's assessment? How about letting me be your opponent?"
Yachiru leaned over his shoulder and waved happily.
"Little Tsugikuni is going to fight Little Ken! Little Ken will be so happy."
"Little Tsugikuni?"
Yoriichi looked at Yachiru.
"That's right."
Yachiru nodded as though it were only natural.
"Your name is Yoriichi Tsugikuni, so you're Little Tsugikuni."
Yoriichi fell silent for a moment.
He did not like that nickname.
But she was just a little girl, so he could hardly take issue with it.
Kenpachi's fighting spirit grew stronger and stronger, and Reiatsu had even begun spilling out of his body.
"Well? Are we fighting or not?"
Yoriichi could sense that the man harbored no ill intent.
Kenpachi Zaraki simply wanted to fight.
That purity stirred a little interest in Yoriichi as well.
"I have no objection."
Yoriichi looked at Shunsui Kyōraku.
"But doesn't the captain's assessment require three captains as witnesses? We're still two short."
"We already have enough."
Shunsui Kyōraku explained with a smile, "The Captain-Commander is one of the witnesses. Ukitake and I are the other two."
"In fact, we had already acknowledged your strength before the meeting began."
Ukitake nodded and said, "You fought Kyōraku and then the Captain-Commander, and destroyed the Sōkyoku with a single slash. That was already enough to prove that you possess captain-level combat strength."
"So you don't need to take a practical combat assessment."
Yoriichi understood.
From the start, the so-called captain's assessment had merely been a formality to let him smoothly assume the position.
"Hey, hey. Don't go turning me down for him."
The smile on Kenpachi's face faded a little, and his tone turned dangerous.
"I've been searching for days, and I finally managed to catch this kid. If you let my prey get away, I'll cut you down first."
Shunsui Kyōraku raised both hands.
"Don't get the wrong idea. We weren't planning to stop you."
"Good."
Kenpachi looked at Yoriichi again and grinned. "Let's go. Find somewhere we can fight to the death."
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's voice suddenly came from inside the meeting room.
"If you intend to fight, go somewhere farther away."
"If you dare start fighting in the First Division Barracks, I will throw you both out myself."
Kenpachi rested his Zanpakuto on his shoulder, paying no heed at all to the Captain-Commander's warning.
Yoriichi glanced at him.
"Follow me."
With that, he used Shunpo and headed toward the outskirts of the Seireitei.
The excitement in Kenpachi's eyes grew even more apparent.
"Don't think you can run!"
He charged out of the corridor right after him, his powerful Reiatsu shaking several tiles loose from the roof.
Yachiru sat securely on his shoulder, pointing ahead happily.
"Little Ken, that way!"
"I can see him!"
Shunsui Kyōraku and Ukitake remained where they were.
The two exchanged a glance.
"Shall we go take a look?"
"I'd like to know just how strong Yoriichi is now, too."
Ukitake smiled gently.
Shunsui Kyōraku nodded. "Besides, once Kenpachi gets carried away in a fight, he won't spare a thought for his surroundings. We'd better go keep an eye on things."
"Are you worried about Yoriichi, or Kenpachi?"
Shunsui Kyōraku recalled the scene of Yoriichi fighting Yamamoto and fell silent for a moment.
"Both, I suppose."
They used Shunpo at the same time, following the distant Reiatsu.
Elsewhere.
Retsu Unohana had just stepped out of the First Division Barracks when she sensed Kenpachi's undisguised fighting spirit.
Following behind her, Isane Kotetsu asked quietly, "Captain, are we returning to the Fourth Division?"
Unohana did not answer.
She looked in the direction Yoriichi had gone, the gentle smile still on her face.
As someone proficient in every sword art, she was also very interested in Yoriichi's swordsmanship.
She had never seen swordsmanship like that, without a single unnecessary movement, existing solely to cut down the enemy.
"Isane, go back first."
"Huh?"
"I still have something to attend to."
Unohana took a step forward.
The next moment, she vanished.
Isane Kotetsu stared in the direction her captain had gone, looking somewhat bewildered.
Why had even Captain Unohana gone over there?
On the outskirts of the Seireitei.
Yoriichi landed in the middle of a stretch of barren ground, turned, and drew Hekyō.
Kenpachi Zaraki followed close behind, landing heavily several dozen meters away.
Boom!
Large cracks spread through the ground beneath his feet, and dust scattered in every direction.
Yachiru jumped off Kenpachi's shoulder and ran over to sit on a rock.
"Go, Little Ken!"
Kenpachi tore the black eyepatch off his right eye, and an enormous surge of Reiatsu instantly shot into the sky.
"Kid, you'd better not disappoint me."
Yoriichi gripped the hilt with both hands, the flame-shaped Demon Slayer Mark on his forehead reddening slightly.
He looked at Kenpachi and said calmly, "The same goes for you."
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