Chapter 394: Have You Decided on Your Vice-Captain?
"That's all for today's lesson... Practice well after you return."
"Next week, I'll check the results. Anyone who can't execute a proper consecutive punch will train under the waterfall!"
After saying this, Satoru yawned and turned to leave the classroom.
He left behind over a dozen students with ashen faces.
Being selected for Mikami's advanced class had initially made them ecstatic, feeling as if their lives were reaching their peak.
Little did they know, it wasn't a peak they were heading toward—it was hell.
However, after a brief moment of despair, everyone showed fierce expressions.
So what if they had to master the proper consecutive punch in a week? They were chosen by Lord Mikami—they couldn't fail here!
With the resolve to fight to the death, the students roared and went off to find places to train.
Walking through the school corridors, Satoru greeted other teachers he passed.
"Teacher Suzumori, have you eaten? If not, let's eat together?"
"Good afternoon, Teacher Yumeno! Have you eaten?"
"Ah, Teacher Momonogi, long time no see! Were you on leave before?"
"I see... You went back to Rukongai to help your family... That must have been tough. Have you eaten today?"
"Teacher Aozora, have you eaten?"
Seeing Satoru, the female teacher named Hikari Aozora was momentarily stunned, then bowed deeply to him.
"Teacher Mikami, thank you!"
"Huh?"
Satoru tilted his head.
He quickly racked his brain.
Though Teacher Aozora was very beautiful, he was sure he hadn't done anything for her...
As he spaced out, Aozora lifted her head:
"My hometown, South Rukongai District 47, has stabilized the prices of food and water with the help of the Great Council. Everyone no longer has to live in fear of arbitrary price hikes."
"Not only that, but the council also built a clinic and an elementary school for us. From now on, talented young people can take tests directly in their own districts instead of traveling all the way to Seireitei..."
Mentioning the changes in her hometown, Hikari Aozora couldn't help but smile.
Satoru, too, curled his lips upward.
"That's wonderful, Teacher Aozora."
"Please rest assured, the council will definitely continue to help everyone live better lives in the future."
He left half a sentence unspoken.
That was... if the council ever changed and stopped doing this, he would make it change back.
As for the methods he would use, that was another matter entirely.
Hearing Satoru's words, Aozora bowed again.
In a million years, such a thing had never happened in the Soul Society.
In the past, she never would have dreamed that the nobles of Seireitei would cast their gaze upon Rukongai, especially not the districts as far out as the forties.
A better life had truly arrived.
...
...
After setting down his teaching materials, Satoru left Shin'ō Academy and headed toward the Eleventh Division.
Though he would become the captain of the First Division in less than a month, for now he was still the captain of the Eleventh Division, and home was still where he belonged.
Ah, speaking of home… he did have a Mikami residence, didn't he?
Back when he was first granted noble status, his old friend Ōmaeda had gifted him a small courtyard.
But over the past hundred years, he had hardly ever returned, mostly sleeping in the Eleventh Division barracks.
He wondered what it looked like now—maybe he should drop by when he had time.
Hopefully, it hadn't turned into some kind of monster nest or something…
Suddenly, he accelerated slightly, shifting his entire body two meters forward.
Almost simultaneously, a figure rushed through the spot where he had just been standing.
Satoru turned his head and looked at Rangiku, who had stumbled two steps after missing her target, with a smug expression.
"Hmph, foolish little girl. You'd need another twenty thousand years to sneak up on me."
"Sneak up? This is Technique Seven of 'One Hundred Ways to Boost Favorability'!"
Rangiku snorted.
The next moment, she broke into a smile, ran up beside Satoru, and tugged on his sleeve.
"Hey, hey, Satoru, you haven't decided on your vice-captain for the First Division yet, right?"
"Vice-captain? Kenpachi, of course."
"?"
Rangiku was stunned.
Kenpachi Zaraki as vice-captain of the First Division?
"Are you joking?"
"Hmm…"
Hearing Rangiku's question, Satoru fell into thought.
In truth, he wasn't joking.
Until now, he had instinctively assumed that when a captain changed positions, the vice-captain would follow.
But now that Rangiku mentioned it, he suddenly realized—
Kenpachi had long since grown strong enough.
The captain's position should have been his long ago.
With that thought, he vanished from the spot in a flash.
Fortunately, Rangiku's own skills were now top-tier, allowing her to clearly see that Satoru had accelerated toward the Eleventh Division.
"…I wasn't finished talking!"
Rangiku pouted in annoyance and hurried after him.
...
...
The Eleventh Division was bustling with energy.
With Satoru's upcoming promotion, the squad members had been in high spirits lately.
Though they were sad to see their leader go, this was a monumental step toward the Eleventh Division dominating Seireitei—something worth celebrating!
Kenpachi lay under a large tree, sleeping peacefully.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked into the distance.
There, Satoru was approaching.
Kenpachi grinned widely, showing a childlike smile.
"Big bro!"
He stood up and greeted Satoru.
The pink-haired little girl perched on his shoulder also waved cheerfully:
"Little Satoru!"
Satoru walked up to the two:
"Have you eaten?"
"Huh? Yeah."
Kenpachi answered reflexively.
Satoru nodded:
"Good. Then let's go."
With that, he headed to the training ground, used his shadow arms to grab two Shinigami sparring there by the collars, and set them down outside the arena.
Seeing Satoru's actions, the squad members grinned:
"Big bro, here for some practice?"
But Satoru shook his head:
"Not 'practice'—a duel."
He turned his gaze to Kenpachi Zaraki, standing at the edge of the field:
"The rule of the Eleventh Division states that a new captain must defeat the previous one."
"Although I am overwhelmingly strong, almost an invincible legend... you too have become different from your past self."
"Come, Kenpachi, give it your all! Let me see if you have what it takes to inherit the position of Eleventh Division captain!"
Hearing Satoru's words, the squad members showed expressions of sudden understanding.
So that's it... it's the captain succession ceremony.
No wonder the captain is so serious today.
Watching Satoru standing in the arena, Kenpachi showed a ferocious grin after a brief moment of surprise.
"Is that so... this day has finally come."
"I've been waiting for this day for who knows how long!"
As he spoke, he opened his hand.
His Zanpakutō, full of notches like a broken saw, instantly sprang up from the ground and flew into his grasp.
"Yachiru, take those fools and get further away."
"The battle that follows isn't something those without sufficient strength can casually watch."
Satoru raised his hand, tore off his Captain's Haori, and casually tossed it aside.
Kenpachi tore off his eye patch.
Instantly, two pillars of Reiatsu shot into the sky!
"Yikes! The captain is getting serious, retreat now!"
Amid the panicked shouts, squad members swiftly retreated.
During the retreat, a seated officer suddenly showed a puzzled expression.
Come to think of it, the lieutenant's eye patch was a special Reiatsu limiter crafted by the Twelfth Division. Removing it would unleash the accumulated Reiatsu.
But what about the captain's haori... was it also a limiter?
While pondering these random thoughts, he quickly organized the squad members to activate the defensive barrier.
The Eleventh Division had many monsters, and their fights often caused destruction. Therefore, the Twelfth Division would come every few years to reinforce the Eleventh Division's defensive barrier.
As long as ordinary Shinigami channeled their spiritual power into it, the barrier would activate.
Through the barrier, everyone excitedly watched as the battle inside commenced.
The two figures, gripping their Zanpakutō and enveloped in glowing Reiatsu, began their fierce clash!
Feeling the immense force transmitted through the blades, Satoru nodded slightly.
During his deep conversations with Unohana, he had heard about Kenpachi's childhood.
Learning that Kenpachi Zaraki had defeated Unohana, the first Kenpachi, when he was just a kid, Satoru was truly astonished.
According to Unohana, over nine hundred years ago, Kenpachi Zaraki was already a top-tier powerhouse. However, due to the scarcity of worthy opponents, he had sealed his own power to savor the joy of battle.
Throughout these centuries, all of Kenpachi Zaraki's battles had been a journey of "rehabilitation" to rediscover himself.
And now, Satoru could confirm that through their countless battles, Kenpachi Zaraki had completed his "rehabilitation."
His combat strength had long ago reached the level Unohana remembered.
But even after that, Kenpachi Zaraki hadn't stopped.
He was still relentlessly chasing that figure's back.
His power was still growing!
Watching the frenzied man before him, who resembled a demon, Satoru couldn't help but grin wildly.
"Good, very good!"
"This is how the captain of the Eleventh Division should be!"
He slashed at Kenpachi's sword with one hand while clenching his other fist and smashing it into Kenpachi's face.
The latter was sent flying back with a loud crash, blasting through a row of buildings before slamming into the defensive barrier.
Crashing hard against the barrier, Kenpachi stumbled forward.
But before falling, he suddenly twisted mid-air, using the barrier wall as a foothold to charge back at Satoru.
Raising his Zanpakutō high like a thunderous cannon, he swung it down!
Satoru snorted dismissively, casually tossing aside his Zanpakutō as he charged forward.
"Muda muda muda muda!!!!"
"Raaaaaaaah!!!!"
As the fight reached its peak frenzy, Satoru's expression suddenly changed.
Under his gaze, a strange power fluctuation suddenly emerged from Kenpachi Zaraki's Zanpakutō.
Simultaneously, among the spectators outside the arena, Yachiru's figure flickered and blurred like a distorted image.
"Hmm?"
Sensing the familiar power fluctuation from the Zanpakutō, Kenpachi's movements hesitated slightly.
Because he paused, Satoru's fist smashed into his chest, sending him flying back while vomiting blood.
Mid-air, Kenpachi stabilized himself by stepping on the air as brakes.
He looked at his Zanpakutō with a confused expression.
But soon, he cast these thoughts aside and threw himself back into the battle.
While exchanging blows with Kenpachi Zaraki, Satoru divided his attention to observe Yachiru outside the arena.
Many years ago, he had already noticed the unusual relationship between Yachiru and Kenpachi Zaraki.
This pink-haired girl wasn't a true Shinigami, but rather the split-off power of Kenpachi Zaraki's Zanpakutō.
If Kenpachi only enhanced his own power, it would naturally have no effect on Yachiru.
However, if Kenpachi began pursuing the power of his Zanpakutō, it would be difficult to say whether Yachiru could continue to exist.
This was precisely why he had previously advised Kenpachi not to dwell on Zanpakutō release.
Now, it appeared that Kenpachi's pursuit of new power could no longer be stopped.
Since that was the case, he needed to think of a solution.
Satoru took a deep breath and suddenly burst forth with speed. Under Kenpachi Zaraki's astonished gaze, he unleashed a series of multi-layered force combination punches, knocking him to the ground.
Brushing off his hands, Satoru nodded:
"Not bad. At this rate, you might actually catch up to me someday."
These words weren't meant to deceive Kenpachi.
When dealing with Kenpachi Zaraki, there were no clever tricks—only pure statistical superiority mattered.
The fact that he, a Transcendent, had to use techniques like multi-layered force to secure victory was undeniable proof of Kenpachi's strength.
"The position exchange match ends here for now."
"As your captain, I'll help you solve a difficult problem first."
Saying this, under Kenpachi Zaraki's somewhat bewildered gaze, Satoru reached out and took his Zanpakutō.
Then, he looked toward the sidelines and waved:
"Yachiru, come over here!"
"Okay!"
Yachiru broke into a smile and ran over like a little ninja, her hands swinging behind her back before leaping onto his back with a "heave-ho."
Satoru held Kenpachi Zaraki's Zanpakutō in one hand while placing the other on Yachiru's head.
He planned to imitate Starkk and Lilynette's ability to create a special communication channel between Yachiru and the Zanpakutō.
If Kenpachi directly absorbed Yachiru's power, there was a high probability the little girl would disappear forever, never to reappear.
But if his idea succeeded, Yachiru could merge with the Zanpakutō only during battles and separate afterward!
Kenpachi Zaraki stood up and looked over.
Although he didn't know what Satoru was doing, his intuition told him that a transformation was awaiting him...
...
...
Shadow Space, Wandenreich.
In a dimly lit room, Yhwach sat on a stone bed, his expression twisted, eyes tightly shut.
Blue Reiatsu boiled and churned around him.
From time to time, blue arcs of energy surged from his body, like solar prominences erupting from the sun.
Suddenly, his Reiatsu completely stilled for one second.
The next moment, this Reiatsu erupted violently!
Within the blue pillar of light, strands of gray Reiatsu were completely expelled from his body!
The Hollow Reiatsu that Satoru had sent over had finally been completely purged!
Within the pillar of light, Yhwach grinned, revealing a cruel smile.
He slowly opened his eyes.
As his eyeballs rotated, three pupils appeared within them.
Haschwalth, standing nearby, was about to offer congratulations when he saw these eyes and suddenly froze.
Looking at these eyes, he felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.