"Is he really letting a captain cut him up for free?!"
"Of course! No matter when it happens—Little Kenpachi is always the manliest one!"
While the Soul Reapers stood there, utterly baffled by Zaraki Kenpachi's "suicidal" behavior, the small girl perched on Bai Chen's shoulder—Yachiru—was already bouncing with excitement. After spending the past few days together, she was completely familiar with Bai Chen now, and she cheered for Zaraki like it was the greatest thing in the world.
"Hey, Squad Eleven Captain!"
"To make up for the gap between us…"
"I'll let you slash me a few times—for free!"
In the dead-silent battlefield, Zaraki's voice rang out, sharp and unmistakable.
Then—
RIP!!
He grabbed his ragged prison clothes and tore them apart with brute force.
The fabric exploded into scraps, scattering like dust.
With his torso exposed, a chest covered in old scars and blade marks was fully revealed—laid out under the sword's edge like a slab of meat offered right to the mouth.
Inside the ring, Zaraki threw his arms wide.
To maximize the humiliation, he didn't just ignore Kiganjo Kenpachi's incoming slash—
He invited it.
"Bastard!"
"Zaraki—don't you dare play with me!"
Kiganjo's face turned the color of pig liver, humiliation boiling over.
He was the current Kenpachi—the strongest warrior of the Gotei 13's combat division!
How could he possibly accept winning through something this disgraceful?
That brief hesitation…
made his killing pressure falter for a fraction of a second.
And in a duel at this level—
A fraction was enough.
Under Zaraki's thrilled gaze, and everyone else's breath-held stare, the spiritual-pressure-laced blade came down—heavy and violent—straight onto Zaraki's bare chest.
And then—
CLANG!!!
It sounded like metal slamming into a solid block.
No fresh wound.
No blood.
No penetration.
Instead—
Kiganjo's hands snapped back from the rebound force.
His wrists split.
Blood seeped out.
Drip.
Drip.
As red drops slid down the blade and splattered onto the ground…
the entire Zaraki District went silent.
Like a library.
Only the sound of people sucking in cold air remained.
"What… is going on?!"
"Kiganjo is the one cutting—!"
"But Zaraki isn't hurt at all!"
"Kiganjo's hands are bleeding instead?!"
The Soul Reapers stared, frozen.
Even the captains found it hard to believe.
So that was the truth—
Zaraki wasn't trying to kill himself.
He had absolute spiritual-pressure armor.
Against a gap this wide…
Kiganjo couldn't even break his defense.
Not even close.
"It's over," Bai Chen said calmly.
"With Zaraki's personality… he won't waste time playing with weaklings."
"So Kiganjo's on a countdown now."
Bai Chen didn't move. Arms crossed, expression steady—like he was simply watching something inevitable.
And he was right.
There was no reversal coming.
"Impossible!"
"I'm the current Kenpachi!"
"How can my slashes not cut him?!"
Kiganjo's eyes went bloodshot.
He roared like a madman and swung again and again—blades of pressure strong enough to split the ground, pounding Zaraki's body in relentless waves.
The result didn't change.
At most, shallow surface lines appeared.
Zaraki remained practically uninjured.
And finally—
his patience ran out.
"…Seriously?"
"Trash is trash."
"How did a worthless piece of garbage like you ever become a captain?"
Zaraki frowned, voice dripping with disgust.
Before Kiganjo could swing again—
Zaraki reached down, seized his sword, and pulled it up in one clean motion.
SHHNG—!
His zanpakutō, Nozarashi, rose and stood upright in front of him.
Under the blazing sun, its long shadow fell—
perfectly covering Kiganjo's body.
Like a death sentence.
"I'm not dying here…"
"Not in Zaraki District…"
Kiganjo's mind shattered.
His last line spilled out in terror.
And then—
the golden blade-pressure expanded in his pupils.
A single swing.
A single flash.
BOOM!!!
The strike landed.
Golden light exploded.
Kiganjo Kenpachi was cut clean in half.
His body burst into reishi—and vanished.
Just like that.
The battle for the name Kenpachi ended.
Zaraki won.
Perfect victory.
"It's… over…"
"Kiganjo is gone!"
"That monster… killed our captain in one strike!"
Squad Eleven stood stiff, faces blank with shock.
They didn't want to believe it.
But where Kiganjo had stood—
a massive crater split open, blown out by the impact.
Reality was unavoidable now.
"That's insane…"
"He actually did it…"
"In a fair duel… in front of hundreds of witnesses…"
"He killed a captain—!"
Isane Kotetsu covered her mouth, pale as a sheet.
A captain who'd been alive moments ago…
was now simply erased.
Even his sword, shihakushō, captain's haori—gone.
It felt unreal.
"Isane," Unohana Retsu said gently, turning with a soft smile, "a fair duel…"
"Single combat is a clearly recognized path to becoming a captain."
"And if you lose…"
"Then death is the fate you accepted."
Unohana had seen too much life and death—then and now.
She didn't mourn Kiganjo.
Her heart didn't ripple.
Instead, she calmly reminded Isane:
"And one more thing…"
"From this moment on…"
"you should change how you address him."
Her gaze settled on the towering figure in the arena.
"That man… Zaraki."
"He is now the new captain of Squad Eleven."
"The Eleventh Kenpachi since the Gotei 13 was founded."
"From now on…"
"we call him—Zaraki Kenpachi."
Final. Absolute.
A verdict sealed by the first Kenpachi's recognition.
From that day forward, the "Zaraki District demon king" of Rukongai was gone.
In his place stood a monster who had awakened Nozarashi—
a blade that surpassed ordinary captains.
The undisputed king of basic slashes.
Zaraki Kenpachi.
Three days later, after the chain of upheavals finally settled, Unohana and Chōjirō led the group back to Seireitei.
And soon after—
a captains' meeting was held in Squad One.
The Captain-Commander stood at the head, staff in hand, eyes heavy with authority.
"I see…"
"The full sequence of events is now clear."
"What an unexpected storm of chaos."
Chōjirō had reported everything in detail—no omissions:
The Espada invasion.
Yammy's release and death.
The towering wooden giant.
And the Kenpachi duel that followed.
"Zaraki Kenpachi," the Captain-Commander said, turning toward him.
"Now that you have assumed command of Squad Eleven…"
"I expect you to discard the crude habits you picked up in Rukongai."
"And adapt to Seireitei's laws and discipline—quickly."
Zaraki looked irritated.
He hated meetings.
He didn't care about rules.
But in front of the Captain-Commander…
the beast instinctively reined himself in.
His aura tightened.
He even looked slightly stiff.
"And as for you…" the old man's gaze shifted.
"Bai Chen."
"This time, you acted when it mattered."
"As for praise… I won't waste words."
His eyes didn't linger on Bai Chen's face—
they went straight to the massive crimson war-fan on Bai Chen's back.
Hao Fire Fan.
The heat it gave off was impossible to ignore.
"Bai Chen," the Captain-Commander said in a deep voice, "the duel I mentioned earlier…"
"You haven't forgotten, have you?"
Bai Chen bowed slightly.
"Reporting, Captain-Commander…"
"I'm ready."
"At any time."
"In my best condition."
His words were calm.
Not arrogant.
Not submissive.
But his eyes—
burned with excitement.
"Good," the old man said.
"You've just come out of a brutal battle with Arrancar…"
"yet your resolve and fighting spirit have clearly improved."
"And that is exactly what I want to see."
In front of the captains, the Captain-Commander didn't hide his approval.
Between the lines, it was obvious—
in his eyes, Bai Chen already had the caliber of a captain.
Only his short service time kept him at Third Seat.
When the time came…
he would rise.
"Ahh…" Kyōraku Shunsui laughed under the brim of his straw hat.
"How many years has it been…"
"since I've seen the old man's battle spirit light up like this?"
As his student, Kyōraku could see it clearly.
The Captain-Commander was acting composed—
but inside, he was itching to fight.
"But where do we do it?" Ukitake Jūshirō frowned.
"With the strongest fire-type zanpakutō…"
"the moment Ryūjin Jakka is released…"
"everything nearby will turn to ash."
"We need somewhere wide…"
somewhere that won't damage Seireitei."
Before Ukitake could finish listing requirements—
the Captain-Commander tapped his staff once.
"Enough."
"North of Sōkyoku Hill…"
"there is a vast forest plain."
"That will do."
He stood.
The aged, hunched body radiated crushing authority.
He looked directly at Bai Chen—
and issued the challenge in front of everyone.
"Come, Bai Chen."
"Before all witnesses…"
"with my Ryūjin Jakka…"
and your Hao Fire Fan…"
"North of Sōkyoku Hill…"
"we will settle the question of the strongest fire-type zanpakutō."
"The battle for supremacy—begins."
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