In the center of the battlefield, the fight between the two had lasted ten days and ten nights.
For this desolate land of Hueco Mundo, without the alternation of day and night, 'time' lost its meaning.
Zaraki's Reiatsu was stronger, but Setsuna's stamina was nearly limitless.
"Not enough! Still not enough!" Zaraki's eyes grew brighter and brighter, the bloodshot veins appearing in his pupils spreading to the whites of his eyes.
His breathing was as heavy as a bellows. Each inhale caused the surrounding space to cave inward. Each exhale sprayed bloody Reiatsu mist.
"This is my final slash!" Zaraki gripped the hilt with both hands, raising the blade high above his head.
This movement was very slow… slow enough for Setsuna to see the contraction of every muscle in his arm, slow enough to see every crack spreading along the blade.
"Kendo: Bisection!"
The blade fell. No sound, no light, no Reiatsu eruption.
But the spatial rift lying between them was severed. The world let out a wail.
However, Setsuna's speed was faster.
The kinetic energy accumulated from ten thousand times the speed of sound, carrying the sacredness and violence of the Nirvana Flames.
Speed and power reached a certain critical point in this instant.
Boom!
A sound like the creation of the world. Space didn't shatter this time… instead, the cracks were smoothed over by the Reiatsu erupted from their battle.
Seeing this final outcome, Zaraki finally exhausted his strength. He could no longer hold on and fell, yet his face was wreathed in a joyful smile. Before losing consciousness, he shouted loudly, "That was great!"
Setsuna grabbed him and, under the Captains' awe-filled gazes, came before them.
"Headmaster, I should now be considered the Captain of the 11th Division, right?" Setsuna asked with a smile.
Yamamoto's expression was quite complex, but he still nodded. "Correct. From now on, you are Chiaki Kenpachi."
The corner of Setsuna's mouth twitched slightly. "Although I am now the Captain of the 11th Division, it might be better to leave the title of Kenpachi to Zaraki. 'Chiaki Kenpachi' doesn't sound quite right."
"I have no objections," Yamamoto said, glancing at Unohana. Finding she also seemed not opposed, he nodded. "Decide for yourself. The 11th Division's primary duty is combat, eliminating Hollows that invade the Soul Society. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of this, you can handle it well."
"Let's return," Yamamoto turned, tearing open a new Garganta. "There's much to attend to in the Seireitei."
…
Behind the Gotei 13's Captain-Commander's office was the 'Moon-Viewing Platform', from which one could overlook the night scenery of the entire Seireitei.
The lights of each division's barracks scattered like stars. The occasional blue flash from the Senkaimon streaked across the night sky. The outline of the distant Rukongai was faintly visible under the moonlight.
To celebrate Setsuna becoming a Captain, all the Captains held a banquet here… an internal gathering of the Gotei 13's highest power level.
"Well then," Yamamoto raised his cup; the sake within reflected the moonlight. "Let us celebrate the official inauguration of the new 11th Division's Captain, Chiaki Setsuna."
The other Captains raised their cups one after another.
Setsuna lifted the cup before him. The sake was clear, exuding a faint cherry blossom fragrance.
"Thank you all," Setsuna raised his cup in return and drank it all in one go.
After several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.
"Come, try this," Hikifune Kirio enthusiastically presented a dish before Setsuna.
It was a plate carved from white ceramic, holding some kind of translucent meat slices. Seven-colored halos flowed across the surface of the slices, trembling slightly as if alive.
Hikifune explained, "I made this using a Gikon. It's definitely a flavor that strikes the soul. It can also increase the consumer's Reiryoku."
Setsuna picked up a slice and put it in his mouth.
Instantly, the world of taste was reconstructed.
As the meat slice melted on his tongue, it felt like experiencing a microcosmic cycle of life and death.
The fresh sweetness of birth, the fullness of growth, the richness of maturity, ultimately returning to a certain Nirvana-like emptiness.
Even more wonderfully, as the taste progressed, a pure and warm Reiryoku diffused from his stomach, moistening his entire spiritual network like spring snow melting.
Setsuna's eyes lit up. Since leaving the Toriko World, he hadn't experienced this level of deliciousness for a long time.
Although he had no physical body now, after his Gourmet Cells evolved into a conceptual existence, they had taken root within his soul.
Such a rare experience stirred his long-dormant Gourmet Cells once more.
This gave Setsuna the idea of 'apprenticing himself to learn'. Hikifune's skill plus Vasto Lorde Menos Grande ingredients… seemed like it had great potential.
Setsuna put down his chopsticks, eyes sparkling with sincere admiration. "The opening is as fresh as morning dew, the mid-palate as hot as lava, the finish as deep and eternal as the starry sky… an absolute masterpiece!"
Hikifune was stunned.
She had been developing soul cuisine for decades. The Captains' reactions after tasting were nothing more than 'not bad', 'very unique', 'interesting'.
But this was the first time someone used such precise, poetic language to describe the essence of the cuisine.
Hikifune's eyes lit up… the sparkle of a researcher finding a kindred spirit. "You've also researched Reishi Cuisine?"
"A little," Setsuna smiled. "In my cognitive system, food is not only a carrier of energy, but also a medium of information. Tasting is essentially 'reading' the 'world' contained within the food."
This wasn't a lie. In the Saint Seiya World, Cosmo training was deeply connected to the five senses.
And taste, as one of the five senses, was also a path to the [Seventh Sense].
Tasting delicious food was essentially tasting the world's 'flavor', a way to understand the world's 'composition'.
"A medium of information..." Hikifune mused. "A very interesting perspective. After the banquet, perhaps we can talk more in depth… about the conversion between Reishi and matter, about the 'seasoning' of soul power..."
"With pleasure."
Setsuna took a few more bites, carefully feeling the Reiryoku flowing within him.
His Reiryoku had indeed increased, but there was no 'tiered' leap like Ichigo's in the original story.
It seemed because Hikifune hadn't yet been promoted to the Zero Division, and her bone structure hadn't been reconfigured by the Soul King's power, so the soul cuisine she made couldn't reach the original work's level... Setsuna understood, and wasn't disappointed.
As long as his Gourmet Cells evolved once more, the resulting boost shouldn't be inferior to tasting cuisine containing the essence of souls.
The banquet continued.
"Captain Chiaki," Unohana Retsu raised her cup, her voice gentle as ever. "Thank you for allowing Zaraki to no longer have to suppress himself."
Setsuna smiled in return. "No need to be polite. Zaraki's growth also gives me a sense of urgency, preventing me from becoming complacent."
Kyoraku Shunsui somehow drifted over. "You monsters feel urgency, wanting to keep getting stronger. What are us old folks supposed to do?"
He shook his empty sake flask. "I'm at this age. I just want to be a Captain peacefully, occasionally drink, appreciate the flowers. But you guys, one more desperate than the next, are even giving me some urgency."
Ukitake Jushiro also approached, a gentle smile on his face. "The ones with the most urgency aren't us, but the Central 46."
"Zaraki was always wanted. Azashiro committed a massacre that terrified even the Central 46..." Ukitake's gaze swept over Setsuna. "And Captain Setsuna goes without saying. The smell of blood in the courtroom still hasn't dissipated."
Ukitake smiled and shook his head. "The three of you gathered together… the wise sages of the Central 46 Chambers probably can't sleep at night."
Setsuna smiled faintly. If Aizen were added to this, they'd be the four great villains of the Soul Society.
"Not at all. I'm a good citizen. Moreover, I have always held the wise sages of the Central 46 in awe and reverence."