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Chapter 82 - Chapter 81 Gosuke Kenpachi: You will be the captain of the 11th Division

"Forest of Menos..."

"Las Noches..."

After Tier Harribel left, Yoriichi looked at the map marked on a piece of quartz, his brows slightly furrowed.

Based on the directions.

He was currently located in the northern part of Hueco Mundo.

Las Noches was in the centre.

It was approximately tens of thousands of kilometres away from him.

It would take at least a week to reach it.

The Forest of Menos, however, was extremely close, right underground, but once inside, it would be difficult to get out unless he used Bankai...

It wasn't impossible, but there was no meaning to it. His mission was merely to kill Adjuchas to alleviate the pressure on Soul Society and train himself at the same time.

And speaking of alleviating the pressure on Soul Society...

Yoriichi suddenly remembered something.

—Had Gosuke Kenpachi died yet?

His gaze deepened slightly.

He looked in one direction.

Instantly.

Bang.

Turning into a streak of light.

He vanished from his original spot.

...

...

Dozens of kilometres away.

The flat desert had been transformed into a basin by their battle.

Bleak silver light spilt over this area.

The surroundings were utterly silent.

At this moment, a sudden gust of wind broke the quiet atmosphere.

Whoosh~

Standing at the edge of the basin.

Yoriichi looked down.

Although he didn't know how this basin was formed, he sensed traces of Gosuke Kenpachi's spiritual pressure within it.

Closing his eyes, he perceived carefully.

Spiritual threads subtly emerged.

—This was something only high-ranking Shinigami could perceive. Through spiritual threads, one could sense another's location, even from an extreme distance.

Of course, the prerequisite was to be able to see and grasp them.

Opening his eyes.

Amidst countless spiritual threads of various colours, a crimson ribbon appeared.

Yoriichi accurately grasped it and pulled downwards.

Whoosh.

As if a surging wind appeared by his ears, his entire being was invigorated.

His consciousness seemed to leave his body.

His vision was continuously pulled away, like a god's-eye view.

Before long, he saw Gosuke Kenpachi's current location and everything he was experiencing.

"..."

"Hmm..."

After a moment of silence, Yoriichi couldn't find words to describe it. He could only see Gosuke Kenpachi confined in a glass jar filled with liquid.

The dignified Kenpachi had lost all power to resist, being treated and kept like a pet... If this were to get out.

He would probably become a laughingstock.

The moment the thought settled, he made a decision.

He disappeared with a step.

Yoriichi headed straight for Szayelaporro's base.

After half an hour, and dealing with a few Hollows along the way, he successfully rescued Gosuke Kenpachi from the container.

"Ah... Pfft."

Staggering as he spat out some liquid, Gosuke Kenpachi felt disgusted. His consciousness had remained at the moment he was defeated.

It was only when he subsequently realised that he seemed to have escaped danger and that his surroundings had changed that he couldn't help but be startled.

Then...

"You saved me?"

Kneeling on the ground, looking at Tsugikuni Yoriichi, Gosuke Kenpachi was somewhat bewildered.

In his black pupils, the image of the other person, who was even "taller" than himself, was reflected.

He really wanted to ask why he didn't come sooner.

But... the words got stuck in his throat.

What right did he have to say such things...

As a Kenpachi, as the strongest Shinigami, he had been miserably defeated, unable to even protect his subordinates.

Although he disliked other divisions, he held deep affection for his own division.

Watching his squad members die one by one before his eyes...

It was like a knife twisting in his heart.

Was it his fault? Clearly it was, and because of this, whenever he thought of it, he felt he had let them down.

His chest felt a bit tight.

Gosuke Kenpachi's eyes dimmed, and he struggled to stand up.

His gaze swept around, and when he saw his Zanpakuto not far away... his expression darkened again.

—It was broken.

The black great hammer was left with only a handle.

The upper part had vanished without a trace.

It's over.

A broken Bankai meant it was irreparable. In other words, as a Shinigami, he had lost his greatest trump card.

Even if he could return to Seireitei alive, he wouldn't be able to remain as the Captain of the Eleventh Division.

Although he still had spiritual pressure and could still use Kido and Hakuda, the problem was that the Eleventh Division was not proficient in these.

The only thing they were skilled in was Zanjutsu.

"..."

Clutching his chest, the successive blows made it difficult for Gosuke Kenpachi to stand steady.

When Yoriichi noticed his condition, his gaze swept over.

He was also speechless.

However, Yoriichi's subsequent discovery made Gosuke Kenpachi suddenly snap back to reality.

"Your teammates don't seem to be dead..."

In front of the container.

Yoriichi vaguely sensed some spiritual pressure fluctuations emanating from inside.

Gosuke Kenpachi quickly rushed over and smashed the container with a punch.

Crack!

A large amount of yellow liquid flowed out.

"Cough cough."

Along with the liquid, several members of the Eleventh Division also emerged.

They lay on the ground, coughing incessantly, seemingly struggling to adapt to the change in environment.

They coughed for quite a while before recovering.

Raising their heads.

Their expressions brightened with joy, their eyes gleaming:

"Captain!"

...

...

Soon after.

The group thoroughly searched and cleared out the area along the passage.

Aside from the few Shinigami they initially encountered, there was no one else.

Although there were no living people.

But.

Gosuke Kenpachi discovered several mummified corpses.

They were wearing Shinigami robes.

They were Shinigami.

Judging by their squad badges, they were members of the Eleventh Division from several centuries ago.

Gosuke Kenpachi was uncharacteristically silent. He didn't speak, but merely quietly laid them down.

Yoriichi, on the other hand, found some materials in a place opposite to them.

They were related to Hollowfication of Shinigami.

The text was somewhat complex, but he could roughly understand it. It was probably Szayelaporro's research on Zanpakuto.

He believed that a Shinigami's release of their Zanpakuto was a liberation of their own power.

Then perhaps Hollows could also achieve this.

Because high-ranking Menos Grande also possessed souls and consciousness.

Based on this hypothesis, he had conducted hundreds of years of research and finally achieved some results...

Of course, he hadn't put it into practice yet, which benefited Yoriichi...

Yoriichi thought silently:

"Very valuable..."

"As a taboo, if they succeeded, the consequences would be unimaginable."

"I'll take these for now. When I return to Soul Society, perhaps I can warn the Captain-Commander..."

"You never know."

"There might be Hollows in the vast Hueco Mundo who have succeeded, after all, it's a research topic from centuries ago..."

Once destroyed, there would be no way to counter them.

Putting away these materials, Yoriichi let out a long sigh.

After continuing to search for a bit longer and confirming there were no further gains, he then left the place with Gosuke Kenpachi.

Outside the base.

Gosuke Kenpachi suddenly turned around in front of everyone.

He looked at Tsugikuni Yoriichi, his tone solemn:

"If I remember correctly, you should be the Vice-Captain of the Tenth Division, right?"

"Thank you for saving me this time."

"Also, I have something I'd like to ask of you."

"The fact that you could defeat that Vasto Lorde shows that your strength is not as simple as it appears.

And my Zanpakuto is already destroyed. Even if I can return alive, I can no longer serve as the Captain of the Eleventh Division."

"Therefore..."

At this point, he took a deep breath, as if having made a certain decision.

"You should become the Captain of the Eleventh Division!"

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