Careless.
Really careless.
According to the information he possessed, Nilu should only be an Adjuchas. That wasn't a secret — with the Tsunayashiro family's status, a simple inquiry could confirm it.
And Kurosaki Kanbaru? Just a mixed-blood Quincy. Kurosaki Masaki? She hadn't even awakened her Blut Vene yet — the Quincy's "blood costume" defense.
Precisely because of this…
Tsunayashiro Tokinada didn't take them seriously at first.
After all, they were just captain-class at best, like a certain "six cars," weren't they?
(Muguruma Kensei: Why don't you just hand me my ID card while you're at it?!)
Even if "captain level" was among the world's top combat tiers…
There were massive differences between one captain and another.
To put it bluntly — if a Reiatsu of 100 was enough to qualify as "captain level," the ceiling before transcending that rank was closer to 199. Could anyone seriously believe a 100 and a 199 would be equals in power?
Of course not.
The difference between a newly minted captain and one at the absolute limit was almost a different dimension.
Shinigami at the very limit of the captain class could unleash combat power that grazed the level of transcendent beings — those who step into the "Transcendence" state like Ichigo Kurosaki briefly did, or Kisuke Urahara after merging his own body with the Hōgyoku's evolution.
And the few monsters among those could push even further.
Unohana Retsu, in her true, fully-liberated state, could battle at a level touching that of a transcendent.
Yamamoto Genryūsai, with his Bankai Zanka no Tachi, could literally scorch the entire Soul Society to ash.
Tsunayashiro Tokinada himself had reached the limit of the captain class and, through hidden experiments that skirted Central 46's oversight, had begun prying at that limit — attempting to step beyond into a state approaching transcendence. That was the foundation of his arrogance.
But now… he was about to be overturned.
Kurosaki Masaki — apparently awakened into her Quincy Blut Vene — could now muster combat power surpassing a standard captain, enough to hold her ground even against someone who had reached the captain-class limit.
The female Arrancar, Nilu — far from merely "tile-level" — wasn't just captain level. She was a Vasto Lorde in her prime, now Arrancar, and a monster who had already surpassed the captain-class limit.
And Kanbaru?
His hidden cards remained unknown — but they were certainly not as simple as they appeared.
Kurosaki Kanbaru… had been hiding his real strength all along.
Everyone had been fooled by his surface act.
Likes to complain?
Always joking around?
That was just the mask the brat put on for the world. Look past it, and you'd see the real Kanbaru — a calculating mind, dangerous in both combat and strategy. A man who kept the Vasto Lorde queen of Hueco Mundo at his side without revealing her identity.
Tsunayashiro Tokinada narrowed his eyes, watching Kanbaru bicker with Kurosaki Masaki.
Different.
This kid was different from every other Shinigami or Quincy.
He not only knew the Soul King's true nature, but also seemed to understand the hidden truths of the world itself — perhaps even concealing a power that could tip its balance.
What was he waiting for in this quiet, deceptive hibernation?
Ambition?
It had to be ambition.
How could a man like this not have it?
---
"Want to fight, huh?"
"Come on, don't think I'm afraid of you just because you're a few days older than me."
"You're poor and evil, and you're mediocre!"
"Then you're talking nonsense!"
A black vein throbbed on Tokinada's forehead. "This kind of life is very boring."
Masaki snapped back instantly: "Fix it, then! Let's settle this tonight!"
"Come on, I'm not scared of you!"
The corner of Tokinada's mouth twitched. "I said, you two…"
"Shut up."
"We're talking — why are you butting in?"
Tsunayashiro Tokinada: …
(What the hell is with this brother–sister act…? Who talks to me like this? I'm the head of Tsunayashiro, one of the Four Great Noble Houses, damn it!)
Blue veins burst across his temple. His blood pressure spiked. Tokinada, whose twisted nature found pleasure in dominance, had never been treated like this.
"Stop pretending — I know your ambition!" he barked.
Kanbaru: "???"
Masaki: "???"
(What's it to you if we're arguing? Do you even have eyes?)
"This world is boring, Kurosaki Kanbaru." Tokinada's voice darkened. "I know your ambition. A man like you will never be content with the way things are."
He extended his hand slowly, speaking with forced warmth. "Come to me. Strength, influence, freedom — anything you want, I can give you."
"Ambition?" Kanbaru pointed at himself, brows raised. "Who, me?"
"Don't act like you don't have it," Tokinada pressed. "Without ambition, this world would be—"
"I don't have that," Kanbaru cut in, scratching his head. "Seriously."
Ambition? Looking down on me, are you?
Kurosaki Kanbaru had no ambition — at least, none he cared to admit.
"Such an interesting guy," purred Yoruichi, watching with a sly grin, not lifting a finger to help.
---
"Do you want to keep playing this boring game?" Tokinada's voice dripped with contempt.
Masaki's eyes flashed. "You just want to use Kanbaru as a Hōgyoku test subject, don't you?"
(Touch my man? Not happening!)
Tokinada's smile twisted into something feral. "What a farce. Enough of this."
He drew his Zanpakutō in one slow, deliberate motion.
"Shikai…"
"Respectfully — Kyūten Kyōkoku!"
End of Chapter.
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