Ever since his match with Ichimaru Gin ended, the rest of Nobu's battles had lost all suspense.
He crushed every remaining opponent in absolute dominance.
Thus, Fourth Division's Tachikawa Nobu successfully defended the stage, earning twelve wins for his squad.
Added to their original four victories, Fourth Division's total score shot them up to the front ranks, surpassing the Thirteenth Division.
When Nobu finally stepped down from the arena, head held high, the looks in the crowd's eyes were no longer the same as before.
In a world like this, strength could give a person many things.
He first walked to stand before Unohana Retsu, bowing respectfully.
"Taichō."
Her gentle face held its usual serene smile, but she looked at him for a long moment before softly answering, "Mm."
Nobu could feel countless eyes fixed on him.
"Today's exchange meet, Nobu-kun's performance truly opened our eyes."
It was Aizen who spoke first from among the crowd, smiling warmly.
"To think even our Fifth Division's fukutaichō, who has mastered bankai, was no match for you… I wonder, Nobu-kun, have you perhaps mastered bankai yourself?"
Nobu shook his head.
"My victory was only luck. Ichimaru-fukutaichō's strength is formidable—many times I thought I would lose. As for bankai, I have yet to even reach the threshold."
His words drew skeptical looks all around.
With the way you looked on the stage earlier, that arrogance didn't seem like someone on the verge of defeat.
As for his claim of not having bankai, the audience's thoughts were divided.
Some didn't believe it. Others found it even more shocking that he could defeat a bankai-using Gin without having one himself.
The second round of stage defense began.
But now, the remaining participants were barely half of what they had been.
Aside from Ichimaru Gin, Ōmaeda Marechiyo, and Saitō Hisaya, both Iba Tetsuzaemon of the Seventh Division and Ayasegawa Yumichika of the Eleventh had been sent to the medical ward by Nobu.
Originally, this also included Kurotsuchi Nemu—but to Nobu's surprise, after he pierced the reishi joints in her hands and won their match, Twelfth Division Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri injected her with some drug on the spot, restoring her instantly.
He hadn't expected that. And unfortunately, Nemu had gone up near the end of the matches.
That meant only five members were unable to continue in the following rounds.
The Third Division had originally taken five wins—adding these five gave them only enough to tie with the Sixth Division.
A bit of a miscalculation…
Nobu thought to himself he should have been more ruthless, sent all the high-ranking competitors to the medical ward.
But thinking it now was useless. It was all down to Togakushi Rikū—if he could win even one match in the remainder…
But to Nobu's disappointment, Togakushi's strength was truly average. He was a Third Seat in the truest sense—not like other high-seated officers whose ability approached vice-captain level.
Match after match, Togakushi was defeated.
As he walked down from the stage again, he glanced toward Nobu—Nobu noticed the awkwardness on his face.
Nobu sighed inwardly.
Forget it. A tie's still a tie. The result's about the same.
But just as he thought that, something unexpected happened in the very last match of the day.
First Division's Fifth Seat, Hokuzai Tsukasa.
Lost to Third Division's Togakushi Rikū.
Nobu blinked at the result, then glanced at Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryūsai, seated among the Captains. The Head-Captain's face was perfectly calm.
First Division, as the core of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, had deep foundations. While most of its members were in administrative roles, from Hokuzai's earlier performances, it was clear his strength should have been greater than Togakushi's.
Head-Captain, you…
And Nobu wasn't the only one surprised—many Captains and vice-captains were also glancing at Yamamoto with faint puzzlement.
On the stage, Kotetsu Isane announced the official close of the Seireitei Gotei 13 Exchange Meet, then unfurled a large cloth to read the final rankings.
First place—still the Tenth Division.
Fourth Division had climbed impressively high.
The Eleventh and Fifth Divisions, both heavily favored before, had seen their rankings slip to mid-table after their members had their reishi joints pierced by Nobu on the third day.
Second to last—Third Division.
Dead last—Sixth Division.
Kotetsu Isane took a deep breath.
"Congratulations to the Tenth Division for taking first place and earning the final reward for this meet. In addition…"
She glanced—unable to help herself—toward Unohana Retsu, Kuchiki Byakuya, and Yamamoto Genryūsai.
"The Sixth Division, as the bottom-ranked squad, will be responsible for Seireitei's cleaning duties for the next year."
Silence fell over the grounds.
Among the Sixth Division members present, all but Kuchiki Byakuya looked distinctly uncomfortable.
Finally, Yamamoto rose to give the closing address.
First, he reminded those who had excelled not to become arrogant, and those who had done poorly to reflect deeply and discipline themselves.
Then he spoke of how, though hastily organized, this meet had shown him the vitality still within the Gotei 13, and the excellence of its members—that the Soul Society had not been this lively in many years. He mentioned Nobu by name, saying the entire event had come from his suggestion.
He ended by promising the exchange meet would be held again next year, and would be even better.
A thoroughly official speech, with nothing to fault.
For the ordinary Shinigami, the only real takeaway was—if this kind of event would continue, it was good news.
And so, the Gotei 13 Soul Reaper Exchange Meet came to a formal close.
The other Captains departed with their squads.
All post-event matters were left to Sasakibe Chōjirō to handle.
Yamamoto did not leave. Instead, he remained at Fourth Division's barracks, summoning Nobu to Unohana's office.
The first words out of his mouth.
"Have you mastered bankai?"
Nobu shook his head.
"No."
It was the same answer he had given to Aizen earlier—and it was the truth.
But it seemed the Head-Captain was not fully convinced.
"You're young, and yet your spiritual rank is already Third-Class," Yamamoto said. "To say you've done so without bankai… it's hard to believe."
Nobu met his gaze calmly.
"Head-Captain, what I said is the truth. And besides—reiatsu level and bankai aren't directly connected. Eleventh Division's Zaraki-taichō hasn't even achieved shikai, has he?"
Yamamoto's eyes stayed on him for a while before he spoke again.
"…A pity. The Third Division still has no captain."
Nobu's expression shifted slightly.
---
T/N: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, i was toooo lazy and slept allllllllll week sorgee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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