Before long, the worry gnawing at Ikkaku and Yumichika…
didn't come true.
Kenpachi's brief curiosity about "Shinigami" and the Gotei 13 was just that—
a passing thought.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then stomped down hard.
BOOOOM—!!
A savage golden spiritual pressure erupted like a beast waking up—violent and unrestrained.
The wind from it alone shredded what remained of his tattered clothes.
RIP—!!
Fabric exploded apart.
And Kenpachi's upper body—scarred beyond belief—was laid bare in front of everyone.
It triggered instant panic.
"That's… terrifying…"
"Those scars—he's covered in them!"
"If it were anyone else, they'd be dead ten times over!"
"Is this guy immortal?!"
There were scars everywhere—big, small, old, healed, cracked open again.
So many that just looking made your skin crawl.
And yet Kenpachi didn't flinch.
He didn't groan.
He didn't slow.
He only licked the blood off his lips like a wounded predator—ready to charge again.
Off in the "safe" area, Yachiru bounced happily on Ikkaku's shoulder, waving tiny hands.
"Go, Ken-chan!"
"You're the manliest man in the world!"
"Though Shiro-chan is super handsome too, heehee~!"
Unlike her carefree cheer, Ikkaku and Yumichika were tense.
Because Kenpachi wasn't just "still standing."
He looked more alive than before.
Ikkaku's voice turned heavy.
"Yumichika…"
"It's been years, right…?"
"I've never seen Boss this excited."
Yumichika nodded slowly.
"No matter how many fights he's had…"
"None of them made him this thrilled…"
Then his eyes drifted to Bai Chen—warily, almost unwillingly.
"Still… I don't see how we win."
Because Kenpachi felt like a violent storm with a blade.
But Bai Chen—
Bai Chen didn't feel like a person.
He felt like a sword given a human shape.
If Bai Chen weren't standing there in plain sight, Yumichika could've sworn Kenpachi was facing an actual weapon—pure edge, pure pressure, pure inevitability.
Even without a deliberate spiritual burst, Bai Chen's sword aura alone pressed down on anyone watching.
"He moved!!"
Ikkaku shouted first.
"Boss moved first!!"
Kenpachi's grin widened as he stamped the ground and tore forward.
BOOOOM—!!
The earth caved beneath his step.
He raised that chipped blade and surged at Bai Chen again, aiming to repeat the same play—
a frontal swing, a crushing golden pressure.
But this time…
Bai Chen didn't stand still.
The moment Kenpachi launched—
Bai Chen's body twisted in a smooth, fire-red blur.
"Bakyūryū Sword Style — Opening Form…"
"Curved-Blade Slash!!"
A low, cold voice.
Then Bai Chen vanished—like a flame snuffed out midair.
When he reappeared, he was already at Kenpachi's back.
"Kenpachi…"
"You fight with nothing but brute force."
"Your openings…"
"are everywhere."
His eyes flashed with a fleeting, eerie red sheen.
The Great Fire Extinguishes the Fan swept across like a guillotine—
edge wrapped in tangible killing intent.
SHHK—!!
Kenpachi froze as if time itself had snapped.
Then—
a bloodline burst skyward from his back.
"…What…?"
"Curved-blade… that was—"
For the briefest instant, something inside him stirred—like an old memory trying to surface.
But pain hit, hard.
"Damn it!!"
Kenpachi snarled, spinning like a cornered beast and hacking back on instinct.
CLANG—!!
Metal collided.
Pressure detonated.
But Bai Chen didn't budge.
Not even a step.
The heat from his presence alone evaporated the blood mist in the air.
Behind the fan, his face stayed calm—almost bored.
He caught Kenpachi's follow-up swing as if it were nothing.
Around the ring, Shinigami erupted in excitement.
"Third Seat Bai Chen is insane!!"
"He's playing with him!"
"And if that rebound triggers again…"
"Kenpachi's getting launched a third time!"
Kenpachi's eyes widened.
"Rebound again?! You shameless bastard!!"
He tried to pull back.
Tried to retract the strike.
But he'd already committed—
and he'd underestimated what that fan really was.
"Great Fire—Rebound!!"
The same nightmare repeated.
A red beam erupted.
Kenpachi was blasted off his feet—again—crashing back into the broken earth like a thrown corpse.
Bai Chen's voice didn't rise.
It didn't shake.
It simply judged.
"Kenpachi…"
"This is the difference between us."
"Your casual swings are impressive."
"But they also mean you've abandoned swordsmanship."
"And you've ignored the very thing you're holding…"
"a Zanpakutō."
"You treat it like a tool."
"With that many weaknesses…"
you can't beat me."
It wasn't just an insult.
It was a verdict.
Ikkaku exhaled, not surprised—almost resigned.
"Yeah…"
"And he isn't wrong."
"A sword fight is also a clash between Zanpakutō."
"But Boss's blade…"
"is just a chopping knife."
Yumichika shook his head, bitter.
"Two full rebounds…"
"Even if Boss has absurd stamina, this is too much."
He looked away, convinced it was over.
"In a matchup where the enemy hard-counters casual swings…"
continuing is just suicide.
And the worst part?
Dying to your own reflected strike…
would be the ultimate humiliation.
In the rubble… something changes
But then—
from within the fractured trench—
a hoarse whisper rose.
"…Name…"
"…the Zanpakutō's… name…"
Kenpachi lay drenched in blood.
His sword had been thrown aside, resting a short distance away.
And yet his state was… wrong.
Not fading.
Not breaking.
His mind—usually nothing but hunger and violence—
was becoming strangely clear.
Then, inside the darkness of his consciousness…
a voice formed.
And it questioned him—again and again.
"Do you want to be stronger?"
"Do you want to defeat Bai Chen?"
"Then call my name…"
"And I will return all my power to you."
Kenpachi's eyes snapped open—brighter than they'd ever been.
He finally heard it.
Clear.
Absolute.
A name he'd never known.
Foreign.
Rough.
Savage.
A name that felt like sun-bleached bones and wild slaughter—
Nozarashi.
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