Chapter 62: King and Mount
Before their eyes, the scenery blurred and stretched away.
Aside from the roar of the wind in their ears, there was almost no other sound.
Yoruichi quickly adapted to the feeling of being carried at such speed and gave a dry, friendly reminder to the one holding her.
"There are no pursuers behind us. You can put us down now."
"It's fine. This weight is nothing to me."
"As a girl I should be happy to hear that, but the other person you are holding is about to faint from embarrassment."
"Yoruichi!"
They finally came to a halt on the roof of a grand hall with sweeping eaves and carved brackets.
Back on her own feet, Orihime let out a long breath of relief. She then looked at the black haired youth in front of her, eyes full of pleasant surprise.
"It really is Takeru. I could not see your figure clearly at all, but I remembered your spiritual pressure, so I held back from resisting."
"But you still could not stop yourself from blushing, right?"
"That was because we were moving too fast and all the blood rushed to my face."
"Let us go with that…"
Takeru waved it off.
"Anyway, thanks. By the way, your Shunpo is not bad. You are almost catching up to me. You would be good material for the Onmitsukido. Has the current Second Division Captain not tried to recruit you?"
Yoruichi finally gave him a thumbs up, praising him with a very familiar tone.
"They have, but after today I imagine that invitation to join will turn into an invitation to be locked up." Takeru shrugged. "Also, we came here specifically to help you. Since we are on the same side, there is no need to thank us. We are just getting what we each need."
"The same side, huh…"
Yoruichi's eyes narrowed slightly, as if she understood something.
Orihime did not catch any of the deeper meaning. Her attention had been drawn by the direction of Kenpachi's rampaging spiritual pressure.
"Takeru said 'we'… does that mean Kurosaki came too? That Captain who keeps yelling while he swings his sword is really scary. Is Kurosaki okay by himself?"
"Kenpachi is not just anyone. We should go and check on him," Yoruichi said, her expression turning serious.
"If two Captains chase us, we run. If only one chases us, we cripple him. That was the plan from the start."
Takeru could also feel that wild, violent Reiatsu, and it brought the image of a ferocious demon to mind.
But.
There was no need to worry.
Because the one facing that monster was something even more unreasonable.
"Since even you, as his ally, say that, I will not butt in," Yoruichi said. "Where are we heading next? Or rather, what is the next step of the plan?"
For some reason she accepted his assessment very naturally.
"The execution is tomorrow at noon. We lie in ambush near Sokyoku, then hit the execution platform together. It is a bit crude as a plan, but there is no need to overcomplicate it. In the end, it all comes down to force."
"That makes sense. I have a secret base near Sokyoku Hill. We can hide there first."
"Good idea. By the way, you also have a missing teammate. Shouldn't you be worried about him?"
"Hmm? You mean Kisuke?" Yoruichi tilted her head, then sighed. "I could feel his spiritual pressure earlier, but it disappeared just now. Still, his life force is irritatingly stubborn and he is annoyingly lucky. He always turns misfortune into good fortune."
"I see. So he is the same type as Kurosaki. That is reassuring."
Watching the two of them talk like partners who had worked together for years, Orihime blinked blankly, unable to keep up with the pace of the conversation.
"…Let's move. These last two days have really worn me out," Yoruichi said. "There is a hot spring at the secret base. It will be perfect for Inoue and me to relax."
"On the eve of a major battle, you sure know how to enjoy yourself."
"Do not say that. It is precisely because we are on the eve of a big fight that we need to relieve some stress and go in with light hearts. This is the wisdom of a veteran. Try it, I guarantee it works."
"I feel like I have heard something similar before…" Takeru thought aloud. "Oh well. Useful experience is worth learning from. Anyway, Kurosaki will not be finished any time soon, so we can talk about the serious details when he gets back."
"Speaking of experience, I am really interested in how your teacher trains you," Yoruichi added. "If you do not mind, tell me about it later. Inoue, keep up."
"O okay!"
The two of them settled everything with a back and forth that felt more like banter than strategy, then got ready to move again.
Orihime nodded reflexively and started running.
After a few steps, she suddenly froze.
Wait.
Hot spring.
Relax. Together.
With Takeru there too…
…
In Seireitei, tall buildings rose everywhere, making even Kenpachi's towering frame seem as small as an ant by comparison.
"Where is he? Where did he go… Yachiru?"
Sucking her thumb, Yachiru looked around with Kenpachi, her eyes roaming over the rooftops.
Suddenly, a terrifying spiritual pressure crashed down.
"?!"
"!"
For a moment, it felt like they had stepped off a sunlit road and fallen straight into the deepest, lightless depths of the earth.
This Reiatsu was wrong.
Too alien.
"Yo. Looking for me?"
The voice sounded like it was whispering right in Kenpachi's ear.
Very close.
Far too close.
Like a tongue licking along his neck.
Like another Yachiru perched on his other shoulder.
No, it was not an illusion.
He could feel it. The weight on his shoulder was real.
Someone had kept up with him unnoticed while he was running at full speed.
And that someone had quietly placed a hand on his shoulder.
A flash of steel tore through the gloom and vanished again.
The strike forced the vengeful shadow clinging to his back to show itself.
Hollow White, controlling Ichigo's body, stepped back lightly, his posture relaxed and almost casual.
"So this is the guy you were talking about, Yachiru?"
Kenpachi stared at the opponent in front of him.
"This…" Yachiru tilted her head, confused. "It is Ichi's face, but it does not feel like the same person."
"Ha. No need to get confused."
Hollow White spun the greatsword in one hand and laughed wildly.
"If you want a fight with Ichigo, you have to get past me first."
"Yachiru, get away. Go far."
Kenpachi cut off Yachiru's curiosity, his rough face now full of anticipation.
"Oh."
Once Yachiru obediently retreated, Kenpachi stopped suppressing himself and let his fighting spirit explode.
His Reiatsu roared out with his shout.
To the average Shinigami, he was the most terrifying demon in existence.
Every spiritual particle in Soul Society seemed ready to be trampled by him.
He was destruction given human form.
"Yo. I do not care if I was chasing Kurosaki Ichigo or you, who looks like him but reeks of something strange," Kenpachi said with a wild grin. "I just want to know how far you can go in a fight with me."
"Fight?" Hollow White scoffed. "Do not make me laugh."
"What is standing in front of you is a slaughter."
"And one with no suspense."
He whipped the spinning greatsword out like a flail.
Kenpachi swept his blade up and smacked it aside with sheer brute force.
On its own, the attack was nothing to him.
But in the next moment, Hollow White caught the hilt in mid air and came crashing down in a single leaping slash.
Kenpachi was forced to block.
The impact drove him straight down, and a circular pit yawned open under his feet.
"That is strong."
"There is stronger," Hollow White replied. "Getsuga Tensho."
A blinding flash burst from the edge of the blade.
A massive crescent of spiritual power slammed into the ground, carving deep into it and swallowing Kenpachi once more in darkness.
Watching from the top of a nearby tower, Yachiru clenched the railing, her small face full of worry.
"Ken chan…"
The enemy was strong.
The kind of strong Kenpachi liked.
But Kenpachi was also exactly the type of opponent this enemy was best at tearing apart.
In the pit, Kenpachi's body was covered in wounds that looked like burns, but he was still grinning, still charging, still gripping his sword with both hands.
The result did not change.
Hollow White knocked his blade aside, then countered with a slash across his face.
He slipped past Kenpachi's retaliatory swing, then answered with another cut that severed the tendons in his wrist.
Little by little, Kenpachi began to notice something was off.
The ring of clashing swords was as pleasing as ever.
His blood was still boiling.
The pain from his wounds still thrilled him.
But.
He was the only one getting hurt.
The opponent in front of him was like a veteran butcher who had carved up countless animals.
He calmly suppressed his prey, took it apart bit by bit, and savored the work itself.
This kind of battle was not a fight.
It was a one sided massacre.
"I say, it should be about time for you to get serious, don't you think?"
During a brief lull, Hollow White suddenly spoke.
"You're right. It is rare to meet such a powerful opponent. I cannot let myself fall first."
Kenpachi laughed fiercely and tore off his eye patch with his free hand.
The Reiatsu that had been devoured and suppressed exploded outward.
The surging golden torrent was far more outrageous than before, not just one or two times stronger.
It was like something ancient had awoken from a long sleep.
Buildings nearby collapsed under the onslaught. Even the sky seemed dimmer.
Yet Hollow White's expression did not change.
No, it did change.
He looked bored.
"You really do not listen," he muttered. "You are even more hopeless than that idiot Ichigo.
"Hey, knock it off, you idiot. Do not cause trouble at a time like this. I am not saying it again…"
It was like someone had kicked him from behind.
Hollow White's face froze. Fury lit in his eyes.
Unable to take his anger out on the source, he turned it on the man in front of him.
"Take this."
Kenpachi felt like he was pushing himself to his absolute limit.
In this state, exhilaration surged up from his core.
He poured all of it into his next swing, overpowering Hollow White for an instant and forcing him back.
He brought his blade around like a scythe, slamming it down.
And hit nothing.
There was no impact.
His sword was suddenly shorter.
He did not know when the missing half had been cut away.
He could only roughly guess from the way Hollow White's blade was raised that it had been an upward slash that intercepted and severed it first.
"?!"
This had never happened to him before.
Kenpachi's shaking, excited expression froze for the first time.
There was a sound like cloth tearing.
Blood flew.
Hollow White's blade carved a wound from Kenpachi's shoulder all the way down to his abdomen.
Then he spun and drove a heavy kick into his stomach.
Blood sprayed in the air as Kenpachi flew like a cannonball and smashed into a distant wall.
Even that was not enough to knock him out.
He clawed his way out of the crater he had made, every breath ragged, and looked down at the broken sword in his hand.
All the bells had fallen from his hair.
Sweat and blood soaked it, plastering it to his shoulders.
His whole body was bruised and torn, and his weapon was half destroyed.
It already looked like the result was decided.
But… why so quickly?
The opponent had not taken a single injury.
Was the difference in power really that overwhelming?
If that were true, then why did he not feel overwhelmed?
Did it not feel like he was fighting someone equal to him?
"Once you choose to be a mount, you cannot keep thinking you are a king," Hollow White said as he walked toward him.
"…What do you mean?" Kenpachi rasped.
"Let me ask you something. What is the difference between a person and a horse?"
Hollow White stopped ten meters away, his grin twisting.
"I am not talking about physical differences. I am asking you this."
"Why can one become a king who rules everything, and the other only ever be ridden?"
"Where does that difference lie?"
"Is it thinking? Rationality? Intelligence? Or just pure power?"
"None of those. It is instinct."
Kenpachi's eyes widened. He was stunned into silence.
Hollow White pointed at him, eyes full of contempt.
"Instinct is the ruthless hunger for power, the merciless crushing of enemies, the endless desire to struggle, the most primitive killing reaction carved into our core."
"Do you know why you cannot hurt me?"
"Because you keep holding yourself back. You judge the opponent's strength with your first exchange and then lower your own power to match it."
"I suppress my power on purpose and let you misjudge me, then I raise it sharply and catch you off guard."
"When you adapt, I raise it again, so it is always you getting cut up, not me."
"You are obsessed with the thrill of fighting, but you ignore the essence of a fight."
"You are a king who willingly crawled down from his throne."
"It is not just that you keep your sword sheathed. It is like you threw your blade away completely, terrified of killing your opponent, and then walked in empty handed to cross swords with me."
"You want to fight me like that? That is death seeking behavior."
"But I know you do not actually want to die. If you die, you can't keep fighting. So within the limits of what you allow yourself to believe, your instincts are still working, pushing you to try your best to beat your opponent."
"However."
"How could a king who gave up on himself, who only uses half baked instinct, ever beat a true mount?"
"So call it out."
"Call out your mount. Call out your Zanpakuto."
"Only then will you be qualified to stand in front of me."
His arrogant words carved into Kenpachi's chest like a knife.
They dug into his heart, hauled it out, and forced it in front of his own eyes.
With it came a bloody truth he had long abandoned.
"Zanpakuto…"
Kenpachi did not fully understand everything the other had said.
He had lost too much blood. His head was foggy.
But one thing burned clear.
He needed power.
Power to keep fighting.
To keep fighting this opponent.
I want to fight more.
I want to see all of the strength of the person in front of me.
So whatever it takes.
Even if only half a blade remains, just bring it forth.
A ragged roar tore from his throat.
"Raaaaah!"
"So it is here," Hollow White murmured.
He narrowed his eyes, watching Kenpachi throw back his head and scream.
The man was badly injured, yet the wounds seemed to become vents for his power.
Reiatsu poured out of him in terrifying waves.
The broken blade in his hand distorted and swelled under the crushing density of spiritual pressure.
It became massive.
Like a beast had been given shape.
"Devour… Nozarashi."
Kenpachi squeezed the last of his strength into his legs and jumped.
He looked like a battered beast on the verge of death, forcing out one last desperate counterattack.
The giant blade in his hand had an overwhelming visual impact, like a falling guillotine.
As he came down, the sheer weight of his Reiatsu made it feel like a mountain sized blade was dropping.
Seeing that, Hollow White's lips curled.
He could feel it. His plan had worked.
The darkness faded from his eyes.
The black sclera receded and his pupils returned to normal.
His entire aura shifted with it.
Ichigo stared up at the monster dropping toward him.
His sword shifted into a black bow.
He drew and released.
No arrow flew.
Instead, an intense flash exploded outward.
Bathed in the light, Kenpachi felt like his entire body was burning, like he had plunged into molten rock.
Worse, he could not see.
The devastating strike he had put everything into lost most of its force.
Relying only on instinct, he tried to sense where his opponent was.
He could feel it.
Impacts.
Again and again.
He was being pierced.
Not by arrows.
By blades.
That sensation was one he knew all too well.
He roared and charged forward, sacrificing his body to close the distance.
He finally landed a strike.
"…Now we are even. Let us keep fighting."
Nozarashi was taller than a person.
A direct hit from that massive blade to the main body would deal damage equal to all the wounds up to now.
Ichigo's chest should have been torn open.
But the injury healed almost instantly.
In just a few seconds, only the rip in his black robes remained.
Not only that.
Ichigo calmly raised his bow and aimed at Kenpachi, who had left himself wide open at point blank range.
"Getsuga Tensho."
The bursting torrent of spiritual power roared out like a cannon.
It swallowed Kenpachi whole.
Ten seconds later, Ichigo found him in the ruins of another street.
Barely alive.
"It is good you are not dead."
He let out a visible breath of relief when he realized Kenpachi was still breathing.
"A Ichi."
"Eh? You are… the Eleventh Division Vice Captain, Kusajishi Yachiru, right?"
"That is right. Thank you, A Ichi."
Yachiru glanced at Kenpachi, then looked up at Ichigo and spoke seriously.
"A Ichi let himself get hurt to create a chance for a single finishing blow, but he did not actually kill Ken chan. And the other A Ichi, even though he is bad tempered, helped Ken chan get stronger.
"Thank you both very much."
She bowed deeply to him.
"…You people in the Eleventh Division are really strange," Ichigo muttered. "Thanking the guy who beat your Captain half to death.
"Honestly, I feel kind of scummy about it. Letting someone else wear him down first, watching carefully from the side, then jumping in and ambushing him when he plans his big comeback, even trading injuries to win… it does not feel satisfying at all."
"Then next time A Ichi and Ken chan should have a proper fight again," Yachiru said brightly. "In the way you both like."
"Uh… I think I will pass. I do not want to fight that kind of unkillable monster again."
Ichigo's mouth twitched.
He turned to leave, then remembered to call back, "You should get him to the Fourth Division."
After he left, Yachiru stayed behind alone to watch over Kenpachi.
"Ken chan… we met a really great opponent today," she whispered. "Next time, let's have a two on two tag battle."
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