BOOOOM—!!
Across the surface of Great Fire Extinguishes the Fan, those black six-tomoe markings burst into a blinding crimson glare.
Then—
Kenpachi's golden sword pressure didn't even get the chance to spread.
The instant it detonated, the aftermath was violently sucked in—compressed—swallowed whole.
And in the very next heartbeat, it came back out the way it came—
as a dark-red beam that did not lose a single shred of force.
BANG—!!
The crimson blast tore out from the fan's face and smashed into Kenpachi head-on.
That beastly figure was launched like a cannonball, carving a trench hundreds of meters long, before crashing—man and sword—straight into the fractured ruins.
He looked miserable.
Bloody.
Humiliated.
And it made the gap between him and Bai Chen feel brutally obvious.
Because Bai Chen hadn't "outplayed" him with fancy footwork.
He hadn't countered with technique.
He hadn't even attacked.
From start to finish, he did one thing—
he simply raised the flame fan in front of his body.
And that alone…
reverse-killed Kenpachi.
It was ridiculous.
Unreasonable.
Unbelievable.
"…Huh?!"
"That's it?"
"You've got to be kidding!!"
"That's Kenpachi—the undefeated boss of Zaraki Ward!!"
Ikkaku went slack-jawed.
Yumichika blanked out.
Even Yachiru puffed her cheeks, stunned and worried all at once.
All three froze as if reality had lagged.
Because in Zaraki Ward—hell on earth—
Kenpachi had spent decades… maybe centuries… doing one thing:
walking forward and cutting people down.
Challenges. Ambushes. Gangs.
Doesn't matter.
He always won the same way:
one man, one sword, casual swings—and everyone fell.
He'd even wandered into nearby districts when he couldn't find anyone worth cutting anymore…
and left nothing behind but blood and bodies.
And because of that endless slaughter, despite holding a Shinigami's Zanpakutō, despite never releasing it—
Kenpachi had become the nightmare of the back districts:
the nearly unbeatable…
King of Casual Swings.
And now?
That "invincible" casual swing—
that golden pressure that had ended countless lives—
had been bounced back like a joke.
Ikkaku wiped sweat off his face and swallowed hard.
"…Is that thing in his hand… a divine weapon?"
When he looked at the fan again, his eyes were no longer arrogant.
They were filled with raw caution—almost reverence.
Yumichika turned back with a hollow expression, staring at the cratered ruins where Kenpachi lay.
"This is bad…"
"We came here to pick a fight…"
"And it ended the moment it started."
He exhaled, face sinking into despair.
"With the way Boss fights…"
"If he keeps relying on pressure and casual swings…"
"Even if we replay that exchange ten times…"
"the result won't change."
He glanced at the fan again—warily.
"Who knows what other weird abilities that thing has?"
"If we charge in blindly…"
we'll just get swatted into the ground too."
Sasakibe's Shock
"Bai Chen…"
"Are you sure what you're holding… is really a Zanpakutō?"
Sasakibe Chōjirō stared, stunned.
Out of everyone here, he was the one with the deepest understanding of Zanpakutō.
And that was exactly why his shock ran even deeper than Ikkaku's or Yumichika's.
Because that pillar of flame earlier was unmistakable—
a fire-type Zanpakutō.
But that rebound just now?
No matter how he looked at it, it didn't resemble "fire" at all.
It looked like…
reflection.
Absorption.
Return.
A capability that seemed completely unrelated to heat.
Was it dual-attribute?
Or worse—
did Great Fire Extinguishes the Fan itself contain multiple "systems" of power?
Was it secretly three different natures layered into one?
That was beyond absurd.
Bai Chen chuckled, seeing Sasakibe's face changing colors.
"Vice-Captain Sasakibe…"
"It's not as exaggerated as you think."
"'Reflecting slashes' is just the most basic feature."
"I didn't even 'activate' anything."
That explanation didn't calm Sasakibe—
it nearly broke him.
"You're telling me…"
"…you didn't even use an ability?"
"Just holding it like that… is enough?!"
Captain-class full power—reflected automatically.
And if this was the baseline…
then what did "full release" look like?
Sasakibe's back went slick with sweat.
Then, with sincere relief, he muttered under his breath:
Thank goodness this monster is on our side.
Bai Chen Turns His Eyes Back
Bai Chen's smile thinned. He stopped talking.
"Vice-Captain Sasakibe…"
"Fan talk can wait."
"That 'Zaraki' beast…"
isn't the type who stays down."
He lifted his gaze.
Far away, inside the shattered trench—
Kenpachi, drenched in blood, drove his chipped blade into the ground and used it like a cane.
He spat blood.
And then—
he grinned.
"Ha… Shinigami…"
"Your Zanpakutō…"
"Now that opened my eyes."
His voice wasn't bitter.
It was thrilled.
Like the pain was fuel.
Like the blood was a stimulant.
His aura surged higher than before—wilder, heavier, more violent.
"I don't even remember how many years it's been…"
"Since I met someone who can actually take my pressure."
He lifted his head slowly, grin spreading wider.
"Come on…"
"A rare opponent."
"You've finally earned the right…"
for me to ask your name."
Even after getting blown away—
even after looking like he'd been dragged through a battlefield—
Kenpachi still talked like the winner.
As if he would simply swing harder, swing wilder—
and cut Bai Chen down anyway.
Shinigami in the perimeter bristled.
"This guy's insane!"
"He's hurt that badly and still running his mouth!"
"He's seriously asking for Bai Chen's name like he's the one in control?!"
If Bai Chen hadn't told them to stand down, they would've already swarmed him.
But Bai Chen?
Bai Chen didn't look annoyed at all.
He smiled.
"I'm Bai Chen."
"Third Seat of the Thirteenth Division."
"One of the leaders of this purification operation."
He stood unmoving, fan in hand, haori fluttering in the hot wind.
And instead of releasing more flame—
instead of blasting the battlefield again—
he chose something far more insulting to Kenpachi's pride:
He intended to meet the King of Casual Swings…
with casual swings.
Because he'd already done it once—three hours of pure swordcraft—against Unohana.
And now?
He wanted to see what happened when that sword foundation—
met this beast.
Kenpachi's expression tightened, just slightly.
"A Third Seat…?"
For a heartbeat, doubt flickered in his mind.
In his memory, everything below captain level was trash.
So when did a mere Third Seat…
start feeling like this?
And for the first time in a long time—
Kenpachi felt something that wasn't just bloodlust.
Curiosity.
Maybe…
the Gotei 13 wasn't as worthless as he'd always assumed.
Not if monsters like Bai Chen could exist inside it.
The Followers' Realization
Off to the side, Ikkaku and Yumichika caught the tiniest change in Kenpachi's face.
And both of them—
went wide-eyed in horror.
"No way…"
"Boss… don't tell me…"
"…he's getting interested in Seireitei?"
"Is he—on a whim—thinking about becoming a Shinigami?!"
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