Kenpachi challenged!

"Too close. I can't dodge, and there's no time for Resurrección. In that case..."

Szayelaporro looked at Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, who was right before him, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. He had thought of an interesting idea.

"Shhk..."

With the sound of a blade piercing skin, the blade in Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's hand easily pierced Szayelaporro's Hierro, opening a huge hole in his abdomen.

"You're a Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande, aren't you? Why don't you have a mask on your face?"

Holding his sword hilt in both hands, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi questioned Szayelaporro in confusion.

"Who knows? Why don't you take a guess yourself?"

Szayelaporro gave Kuruyashiki Kenpachi a slight smile. At some point, a thick syringe had appeared in his right hand.

"Shhk."

In an instant, the syringe in Szayelaporro's hand pierced Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's body, covered as it was in Spiritual Pressure, stabbing straight into his spiritual body. Immediately afterward, Szayelaporro injected a mass of mysterious substance into him, where it merged with Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's body.

"Cough, cough..."

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's head instantly swam. He pulled his Zanpakuto out of Szayelaporro's body and staggered back a few steps, then clutched his head and dropped to one knee.

"What did you do to me?"

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi questioned Szayelaporro in confusion.

"Who knows~ Whatever it is, it's good stuff~"

Ignoring his profusely bleeding abdomen, Szayelaporro jumped into the Garganta behind him and left just like that.

"Ugh..."

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi lightly held his head. He remained kneeling there for about a minute before standing up.

"Strange, I..."

After standing up, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi felt that something had been added to his body, but he had no idea what exactly it was.

"Now isn't the time to examine my body."

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi shook his head lightly, took up his Zanpakuto, and began slaughtering the Menos Grande wreaking havoc around him.

After Szayelaporro fled, the Menos Grande fought individually without a leader. Under Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's overwhelming fighting strength and the suppression of the 11th Division's Soul Reapers, they were soon cut down where they stood.

An hour later.

"Oh my~ Isn't this Sister Hana?"

Yawning as he led his division members along, Eighth Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku happened to run into Fourth Division Captain Retsu Unohana, who had come to provide support just as he had.

"Captain Kyōraku?! It seems the Captain-Commander is taking this seriously too~"

Retsu Unohana paused slightly at the sight of Shunsui Kyōraku. Counting Kuruyashiki Kenpachi along with the two of them, Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had effectively sent all of Soul Society's strongest captains here.

"Let's hope it isn't too much trouble!"

Shunsui Kyōraku shrugged helplessly. Looking listless, he walked toward Kusajishi District alongside Retsu Unohana...

Then they saw the members of the 11th Division, who had already begun a banquet.

"Oh my~"

"It looks like it's already been settled~"

"As expected of Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, who bears the title of Kenpachi and is known as Soul Society's strongest Soul Reaper~"

Watching Kuruyashiki Kenpachi lead his division members in drinking great gulps of liquor, Retsu Unohana praised him softly.

"Hmm?!" After hearing Retsu Unohana's words, Shunsui Kyōraku lightly lowered the hat on his head and discreetly glanced at the smiling Retsu Unohana, muttering, "Are you praising Kuruyashiki Kenpachi or yourself?"

"What was that, Shunsui?"

Retsu Unohana addressed Shunsui Kyōraku directly by name.

"Uh, hahaha... Let's go join them!"

"On a day of such a great victory, we ought to have another drink."

Retsu Unohana's smile frightened Shunsui Kyōraku so much that his body kept trembling. He lowered his hat a little farther and walked into the simple banquet.

"Hey~ Kuruyashiki Kenpachi~"

"Looks like we all arrived late~"

Shunsui Kyōraku and Kuruyashiki Kenpachi were acquaintances. As captains in the top tier of fighting strength, the two shared something of a mutual appreciation.

"You're not late. The banquet just started."

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi gave Shunsui Kyōraku a slight smile and spoke frankly.

"Hahaha... Then we certainly aren't late."

Shunsui Kyōraku sat down beside Kuruyashiki Kenpachi with a laugh, and the two immediately began drinking together.

"Oh my~ Is there a place for me here too?"

Before long, Retsu Unohana also walked in with a smile. Though she was asking the two of them, she had already sat down beside them, showing no intention of actually asking permission.

"O-of course..."

Fine beads of sweat covered Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's forehead as he nodded lightly. If there was anyone he feared most in the entire Gotei 13, it was undoubtedly the woman before him.

"Speaking of which, when I passed the entrance just now, I heard a few division members chatting. They said that you, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, easily killed Gillian-class Menos Grande without even releasing your Zanpakuto, and that you could be called the strongest Kenpachi in history. Is that true?"

Retsu Unohana looked at Kuruyashiki Kenpachi with smiling eyes, placing him under tremendous psychological pressure.

"Not at all, not at all. Captain-Commander Yamamoto, Captain Kirio Hikifune, Captain Senjumaru Shutara, and the Five Great Noble Clans, including the Kuchiki Clan and the Shihōin Clan, all have experts who can treat Menos Grande as small fry without releasing their Zanpakuto."

"Besides, couldn't the two of you do something of that level too?"

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi asked Retsu Unohana and Shunsui Kyōraku.

"Hahaha... You must be joking, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi. I'm nothing more than an ordinary doctor. What fighting strength could I possibly have?"

Retsu Unohana chuckled softly and waved a hand at Kuruyashiki Kenpachi.

"..."

Shunsui Kyōraku merely glanced at Retsu Unohana without speaking. He neither said he could nor said he could not.

"Speaking of which, Captain Kyōraku, with your strength, how would you fare against a Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande? Could you win? I'm ashamed to say that although I killed the other Menos Grande, I failed to kill the Vasto Lorde leading their attack. In the end, he still escaped."

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi spoke with some shame.

"A Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande~ Those things are monsters~ Absolutely terrifying~"

"For an ordinary captain like me, whether I could kill a monster like that would depend on fate~"

After hearing Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's question, Shunsui Kyōraku lightly adjusted the straw hat on his head, looking as though Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande were utterly terrifying.

"Oh~ Whether you could kill one depends on fate, does it~"

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi narrowed his eyes and studied Shunsui Kyōraku. The implication of his words was that losing was impossible, but whether he could kill his opponent was another matter.

"Hahaha... Soul Society really is growing stronger and stronger. At this rate, it'll only get stronger. Perhaps one day, every Soul Reaper serving as a captain in the Gotei 13 will be able to defeat a Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande. Perhaps... even lieutenants will have their day of defeating Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande! Then, even if I die, Soul Society's fighting strength won't diminish."

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi laughed heartily while feeling his chest. He still remembered what Szayelaporro had done to him before leaving.

"What are you talking about? Who in this world could possibly kill you?"

"Unless you go mad one day and challenge Old Man Yama."

Shunsui Kyōraku teased him. Although Kenpachi was known as Soul Society's strongest Soul Reaper, that designation did not include the bald old man who had presided over the First Division for over a thousand years.

No matter how strong Soul Reapers like them were, they still needed Zanpakuto or Kidō to kill Menos Grande. That old man, however, could beat Menos Grande to death with his bare fists as though they were punching bags. His strength was on an entirely different level from theirs.

"Hahaha... There are plenty of strong people in this world. I'm nowhere near as strong as you think."

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi smiled faintly. He had never considered himself particularly strong.

"I, Sōya Azashiro, have come to challenge the captain of the 11th Division, the seventh Kenpachi, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi!"

Before the drinking party had ended, a man with strikingly beautiful features and long black hair walked through the drinking members of the 11th Division and came before Kuruyashiki Kenpachi.

"See? Here's an up-and-coming talent challenging me already."

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi smiled slightly at Shunsui Kyōraku, then stood up with an excited expression. His eyes resembled those of a bloodthirsty beast.

"The seventh Kenpachi, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, accepts your challenge, boy!"

Gripping the Zanpakuto at his waist, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi gave Sōya Azashiro a slight smile.

"What a surprise! Is that the boy left from the Azashiro Clan? He's actually come to challenge Kenpachi? Has he already grown this much?"

Shunsui Kyōraku looked with some surprise at Sōya Azashiro, who had challenged Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, while silently calculating his chances of victory. In all honesty, he was not particularly optimistic about Sōya Azashiro's challenge. Kuruyashiki Kenpachi truly was a monster among monsters.

(End of chapter)