Clang!
The heavy iron door split into four pieces, which crashed to the ground with a loud noise.
A towering figure appeared in the doorway and stepped into the room with a serrated Zanpakuto over his shoulder. His left eye glanced ahead. "So this is what you really look like, Kurotsuchi."
A large wooden barrel stood in the middle of the room. Inside was a bare-chested, blue-haired man who looked to be in his thirties or forties, with the world-weary air of a mature man. His golden eyes regarded Kenpachi Zaraki coldly. "I don't remember inviting you."
"That doesn't matter. Where's Shiraishi?"
Kenpachi Zaraki continued forward until he reached the barrel. Looking down, he saw that Mayuri Kurotsuchi had nothing below his waist; his lower body was still liquid.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi said expressionlessly, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Quit playing dumb. You went after Shiraishi two days ago, and he beat you into this sorry state. Your lieutenant even died. You still planning to keep it quiet?"
Kenpachi Zaraki knew all this thanks to Yachiru Kusajishi. She had tried to contact Nemu Kurotsuchi, but when she couldn't reach her, she had sneaked off to the Research and Development Institute and heard the squad members discussing how the lieutenant, who was always at her captain's side, had disappeared.
With their captain in that sorry state too, everyone agreed that the lieutenant had been killed by an enemy.
"Shut up!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi roared, slamming both hands against the rim of the barrel as his Reiatsu spilled out of control.
At first, it hadn't been much, but as time passed, the more he thought about it, the more afraid he became.
Yes, afraid.
Nemu Kurotsuchi was the greatest masterpiece he had ever created, his greatest trump card for surpassing Kisuke Urahara.
A dreamlike creation.
He had poured countless hours of effort into Nemu Kurotsuchi, and he couldn't even be sure he could reproduce such a miracle.
If Shiraishi destroyed Nemu Kurotsuchi, all his efforts would come to nothing.
The feeling of being unable to control the situation made him irritable and volatile. He completely lost his usual composure and restraint, becoming the kind of person he despised most.
Kenpachi Zaraki's words had undoubtedly torn open his wounds again, exposing the bloody truth.
"You look awful."
Kenpachi Zaraki paid no attention to his threat and continued, "You should know what happens when you act on your own and fail. If you don't want Old Man Yama to find out, tell me where Shiraishi is."
"..."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi fell silent, agitation raging in his chest. Damn it, why am I like this? Why?
After a long while, he suppressed those negative emotions and chose to compromise. "Beginning of Spring, West District Ten. He probably hasn't moved on yet. A Hollow appeared there yesterday and was dealt with quickly. The local Shinigami, Kawakami Saburō, couldn't possibly have done it."
"Why didn't you just say so?" Kenpachi Zaraki grinned and turned toward the door. He had finally learned Shiraishi's whereabouts, and he could hardly wait to fight him.
"You'd better take off your eyepatch beforehand. He's not an opponent you can beat while wearing it."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi offered the advice not because he cared whether Kenpachi Zaraki lived or died, but because he wanted to collect more detailed data.
This guy was a beast, and the other was no pushover either. The value of the data produced by a fierce clash between them was beyond the understanding of a mere battle maniac.
He had to record it properly.
He couldn't be there himself, but he could send Nemu-no, Akon-to collect it.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi came back to his senses. He hated this feeling: even though Nemu Kurotsuchi wasn't beside him, he had still instinctively wanted to entrust the task to her. That was completely at odds with a scientist's way of thinking.
"Take off my eyepatch? I can't wait." Kenpachi Zaraki's grin widened. It had been a long time since he'd met an opponent he could fight with all his strength.
Lately, the people he'd cut down had all been so boring they made him sleepy.
With a spring in his step, he crossed the corridor and the hall and stepped out of the Research and Development Institute's front gate.
A group of Shinigami in black robes had gathered in the courtyard outside.
They were unruly and carefree, without a shred of discipline, and were fooling around with one another.
The moment they saw him emerge, they stopped and fell completely silent.
A bald man with narrow, upturned eyes stepped forward. "Captain Zaraki, did you find out where Shiraishi is?"
"Beginning of Spring, West District Ten."
Kenpachi Zaraki gave his answer.
"Oh!" they cheered happily.
Unlike the other divisions, the 11th Division had no lofty conviction that they fought for justice or to protect the Seireitei.
They fought simply for the sake of fighting.
Perhaps some of them wanted to coast through life, but they would still be swept along by the people around them and forced to charge toward their deaths.
Such people usually didn't survive long in the 11th Division.
"Same rule as always. Whoever finds him gets him as their prey."
Kenpachi Zaraki did nothing to stop their desire to fight, even though they were weaker than Shiraishi and would certainly be killed if they ran into him.
But as long as they dared to draw their swords,
Kenpachi Zaraki was willing to respect their wishes and grant them the dignity of battle.
As always, battle was everything to the 11th Division. Staying alive was never something they needed to consider.
Kenpachi Zaraki sheathed his sword and took off at a run, leading the way.
He had mastered none of the Shinigami's Zankensoki, and he hadn't even learned Shikai.
Even so, he was still captain of the 11th Division, still the Kenpachi who bore the title of strongest Shinigami.
All thanks to his own immense strength.
The members of the 11th Division hurried after him.
They poured out through the Hakutōmon in the west. The sight of so many Shinigami shocked the residents of Rukongai, who hid in their homes and peered through cracks in their doors and windows.
"Is a war about to start?" "How long has it been since we last saw something like this?" "That's the 11th Division." "Even among Shinigami, they're a bunch of monsters with some of the greatest fighting power."
"Who could have made them all turn out in force?"
Leaving the Rukongai residents' questions and commotion behind, the 11th Division raced to West District Ten at tremendous speed, then quickly scattered to surround it and block the roads leading elsewhere.
Seemingly tireless, they immediately launched a large-scale search.
Soon afterward, members of the Stealth Force arrived in the area as well.
The Twelfth Division, the Eighth Division.
The ever-growing number of Shinigami formed a ring and closed in.
Shiraishi looked around. He couldn't see a single black-clad figure in the wooded mountains, but he could sense Reiatsu surging in from every direction. Who had they come for?
The answer was obvious.
"Isn't this a bit much?" Shiraishi muttered.
Beside him, Nemu Kurotsuchi said, "The Captain-Commander originally gave the order to four division captains, telling them to deal with you together."
Shiraishi gave a wry smile. "The Captain-Commander thinks highly of me."
Nemu Kurotsuchi asked, "What are you going to do?"
"Do you even need to ask? Hide, of course. I like ganging up on other people, not being ganged up on."
Shiraishi rolled his eyes. He could ignore the squad members, but he couldn't ignore three captains, especially Shunsui Kyōraku of the Eighth Division.
"Let them search aboveground."