"Oh…"
"To be able to turn pure rage into power without limit?"
"That ability… it's somewhat similar to my own — The Scales of God."
In the Silverframe City,
inside the frozen crystal palace,
Jugram Haschwalth turned his calm eyes toward the screen, arms crossed.
Up to this point in the ranking,
three consecutive videos had been revealed —
each showing Kenpachi Zaraki locked in savage duels,
first against Soul Reaper captains,
then against two of the Espada.
For that reason,
the Quincy — pure-blooded descendants of the Almighty —
had, for once, simply been quiet spectators.
But now,
with Yammy transforming again — entering his rage beast form,
a second evolution that swelled with uncontrollable power —
even Haschwalth could not help but grow intrigued.
His gaze fixed upon the screen,
as if picturing himself in Yammy's place,
trading blows with Zaraki in that endless white desert.
Beside him,
the iron-blooded Cang Du — the Sternritter with the Schrift "I," symbol of Iron —
shook his head coldly.
"Pointless," he said flatly.
"His size may have increased, but the hardness of his skin hasn't changed.
That so-called rage beast Yammy… he can't stop Zaraki Kenpachi."
His tone was confident, absolute.
And at the end, he added quietly:
"Don't forget — Kenpachi himself is a spiritual pressure monster.
When that golden, tangible reiatsu wraps around his blade…
it becomes what they call a Zanpakutō —
a sword that can slice through anything in existence."
He exhaled faintly.
"Even my steel body would be no exception."
It wasn't praise.
Cang Du wasn't flattering his enemy —
he was stating a fact he could no longer deny.
After all, through the previous rounds of the rankings,
even the mighty Haschwalth and Lille Barro —
the Quincy's strongest combat forces —
had been shown losing their lives to Soul Reapers.
And not just once.
After witnessing those scenes,
even Cang Du's arrogance had begun to fade.
He might be proud — but not a fool.
He knew the truth:
Zaraki Kenpachi was no ordinary opponent.
"No matter how it ends,"
Haschwalth finally spoke again, his voice steady and cold.
"Let's continue watching."
"Clearly, the Arrancar and Hollows are not Kenpachi's final opponents."
"In the end, the one to face the unleashed 'Nozarashi'…"
"...will most likely be one of us."
He rested one hand on his chin.
Up until now, he had silently studied every round of the rankings,
trying to find the pattern.
And he had succeeded.
Each battle followed the same progression:
first, Soul Society;
then the World of the Living;
then Hueco Mundo;
and finally — the Wandenreich's true domain,
the Silbern itself.
In other words — the final battle would take place during their war with the Soul Society.
And that meant one thing:
Kenpachi's final enemy… would indeed be a Quincy.
This realization only made Haschwalth more certain,
and far more interested in seeing the next part —
the awakening of Nozarashi.
At that moment, the video sped up,
showing the end of the fight between Zaraki and Yammy.
Despite Yammy's immense size,
his overwhelming force,
and the ground-splitting shockwaves his fists unleashed…
his movements were still clumsy — slow.
Zaraki slipped through every strike effortlessly,
his golden reiatsu dancing along the edge of his jagged sword.
"Oh… is that all?"
He frowned, eyes narrowing in irritation.
"Number Zero? What garbage."
"Fighting trash like you is just boring me to death!"
With a single leap,
Kenpachi raised his sword overhead,
the blade wrapped in a golden aura of pure spiritual power.
He swung down —
the strike crashing like a waterfall of light.
A deafening boom followed.
Yammy's massive right arm was cleaved away completely!
Unable to balance,
the monstrous body toppled —
the earth shook violently as it fell,
the beast's roar fading into silence as it vanished beneath the swirling sands.
And then… the screen froze.
The battle had ended.
"Still a failure, huh?"
Inside Las Noches,
Starrk sighed quietly from atop the high platform.
He gazed at the fading image of Zaraki's back —
a war god standing alone against the desert winds.
The silence that followed felt heavy.
So many of their kind had died.
Four rounds of battles now,
and every Espada who had appeared —
without exception —
had fallen to a Soul Reaper's blade.
Even he, once called the Strongest Espada,
had been slain by Kyōraku Shunsui.
And now, Yammy too…
gone.
"Looks like the Arrancar never even get a chance to face the Quincies,"
Starrk muttered bitterly.
"We're not even strong enough to make it that far."
His words hung in the air.
And in the vast hall of Las Noches,
no one — not even the loudest of Hollows — could refute them.
Every eye lowered in silent frustration.
Back in the 11th Division,
the atmosphere was entirely different.
"Congratulations, Captain!"
"To crush two captains, slaughter two Espada,
and even dismember the Zero Espada right before everyone's eyes—
that's god-tier!"
Zaraki's subordinates, Ikkaku and Yumichika,
looked up at their captain in awe, voices filled with excitement.
"Your Zanpakutō's ranking — no one can argue with it!"
Indeed, every opponent Zaraki faced
had been captain-class or higher —
and yet, he never seemed close to losing.
His power had only grown with every battle.
To the 11th Division,
this was the greatest pride imaginable.
To follow that kind of captain…
was an honor in itself.
Zaraki, however, only grinned faintly.
"Hmph. Enough with the chatter."
He waved them off and turned his gaze back toward the darkened screen.
"There's gotta be more," he said with a wolfish grin.
"I'm waiting to see it—
the moment Nozarashi's name is called."
As if in response, the screen flickered.
A thunderous BOOM shattered the silence,
and the view shifted —
to a battlefield within the Soul Society.
Boulders rose into the air,
drawn together by invisible force.
They collided, stacked, and spiraled upward,
forming a colossal circular platform.
The sight stunned everyone watching.
"A stage…?"
"An arena, built in seconds?"
"This has to be another Quincy's power!"
The answer came quickly.
A young man's mocking voice echoed from the screen:
"All right…"
"The stage is ready."
"For someone like you, Kenpachi Zaraki —
it would be rude not to prepare a grand stage for your demise."
And with that,
the camera slowly tilted up, revealing—
a tall figure in white,
hands tucked in his pockets,
a confident smile curving on his lips…
(End of Chapter)
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