Seireitei.
Fifth Division barracks.
A man in a white haori and black-rimmed glasses sat at his desk, calmly processing documents. His demeanor was refined and gentle, his presence like a soft breeze that naturally put others at ease. At a glance, he seemed more like a scholar than a Shinigami.
This man was Aizen Sōsuke, the one who would one day shake the entire Soul Society.
Aizen paused, turning his gaze toward the distant surge of overwhelming Spiritual Pressure. A faint trace of surprise flickered across his face.
"What an astonishing Spiritual Pressure. It matches Kenpachi Zaraki after removing his eyepatch. Who could it be?"
He adjusted his glasses thoughtfully, falling into silence.
Unlike most Shinigami, Aizen operated with long laid plans within the Soul Society. Because of this, he had a thorough understanding of its strongest individuals, having investigated nearly all of them in detail.
Yet this Spiritual Pressure was unfamiliar.
Eleventh Division barracks.
"That's Captain's Spiritual Pressure, the one he releases after removing his eyepatch!"
Ikkaku Madarame shot to his feet, shouting in disbelief.
The rest of the Eleventh Division froze in shock.
As members of Kenpachi Zaraki's squad, they understood his strength better than anyone. Simply put, he was a monster within the Soul Society.
Even with his eyepatch on, most Captains could not match him. Once it came off, they believed only the Captain Commander might stand a chance.
And now, someone in the Rukongai had forced him to that point.
"Unbelievable. Someone in the Rukongai can push the Captain this far? Who is it?" Maki-Maki said, eyes wide.
"Didn't the Captain go to find that king of the Rukongai, Ryūjin Uchiha? Could it be him?" Yumichika Ayasegawa said, though even he sounded unconvinced.
"Impossible! That so called king of the Rukongai can't be that strong. The Captain must have run into someone else!" Ikkaku snapped, already moving.
He flung the door open.
"Let's go support the Captain!"
The rest of the division followed immediately, rushing toward the Black Gate in the northern Seireitei.
On the way, another group intercepted them.
Ikkaku and the others halted, saluting at once.
"Captain Hitsugaya!"
The arriving group belonged to the Tenth Division, led by Tōshirō Hitsugaya. As a unit responsible for patrol and security, they were clearly responding to the same disturbance.
Hitsugaya gave a brief nod and continued forward without a word, moving alongside the Eleventh Division.
When they reached North District 72, the scene before them was staggering.
Two overwhelming Spiritual Pressures saturated the area, pressing down so heavily it was difficult to breathe.
Nearly half of the district had been destroyed.
Buildings lay in ruins, the ground torn apart with deep craters, as if disaster itself had descended.
Clang! Clang!
Boom! Boom!
At the center of the devastation, two figures clashed relentlessly.
One was Kenpachi Zaraki, eyepatch removed, drenched in blood.
The other was a young man no one recognized.
Both released terrifying Spiritual Pressure, and every strike carried destructive force on the level of catastrophe.
"Who is that?"
"He's fighting Captain Kenpachi on equal footing?"
The onlookers could hardly believe what they were seeing.
They had assumed that once Kenpachi removed his eyepatch, the battle would be over quickly. At worst, they expected the enemy to be killed before they arrived.
But reality was different.
Not only had Kenpachi failed to overwhelm his opponent, he was being suppressed.
The young man stood steady, composed, while Kenpachi was covered in wounds.
Calling it an even fight was generous. From what they could see, Kenpachi might not even win.
"Someone like this exists in the Rukongai?"
"Who is he?"
The same question echoed in every mind.
In a flash, Yachiru Kusajishi appeared before them.
"Lieutenant Kusajishi!"
The Eleventh Division saluted.
"Shōken is having fun right now. None of you are allowed to interfere," Yachiru said firmly.
"Lieutenant Kusajishi, what is happening? Who is that man, and why is he fighting Captain Kenpachi?" Hitsugaya asked.
Everyone focused on her.
"He's the king of the Rukongai who's been making waves lately, Ryūjin Uchiha. You've all heard of him, right?"
"Shōken heard about someone strong down here, so he came to find him. He wanted a proper fight."
Her explanation was simple, but it hit like a shockwave.
"What, that Ryūjin Uchiha?"
"The king of the Rukongai is this strong?"
"No way… it's really him?"
Disbelief spread through the crowd.
They had all heard of the title, but no one had taken it seriously.
Now, that assumption shattered.
After hearing Yachiru, no one stepped forward to interfere. Instead, they remained where they were, watching.
Clang! Clang!
Boom! Boom!
The battle raged on.
Two full hours passed in relentless combat.
At last, Kenpachi Zaraki collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily, his body drenched in blood. He had no strength left to continue.
Ryūjin was also breathing hard, but he remained standing.
The result was clear.
Kenpachi Zaraki had lost.
"That's impossible… Captain Kenpachi lost?"
"Even with his eyepatch removed?"
"What kind of monster is Ryūjin Uchiha?"
Shock consumed everyone present.
"Ding! The host has defeated Eleventh Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki. Reward obtained: Kenpachi Zaraki's Kendo!"
The system's voice sounded in Ryūjin's mind.
The mechanics remained unchanged from before. Defeating enemies or checking in at special locations granted rewards.
Still, the return from defeating Kenpachi was underwhelming.
Kenpachi's strength was immense, but his skillset was limited. There was little to gain.
A Shinigami's combat ability revolved around Zankensoki, zanpakutō, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kido.
Ryūjin valued zanpakutō and Kido the most.
Hakuda was essentially Taijutsu, and Shunpo resembled the Body Flicker Technique. He had already reached the peak in both.
Kenpachi, however, lacked refinement.
He had no Bankai, and he could not even communicate with his zanpakutō. The blade he wielded was merely an asauchi taken from a fallen low level Shinigami during his time in the Rukongai.
An asauchi was only a prototype. It required deep connection through Jinzen to awaken into a true zanpakutō.
Kenpachi had never done such a thing.
Strictly speaking, his weapon was incomplete, an intermediate state without even a name.
The system did not even consider it a viable reward.
As for Kido, Kenpachi had no knowledge of it at all.
His entire fighting style could be summed up in one word, reckless.
A disappointment in terms of rewards.
"That was satisfying… truly satisfying!" Kenpachi laughed from the ground, blood covering his body. "It's been a long time since I've had a fight like this."
"Captain Kenpachi," Ryūjin said, stepping forward, expression steady, "you lost. Time to keep your word. Let me join the Eleventh Division."
"It'd be a waste if someone like you didn't join," Kenpachi replied with a grin.
The thought alone excited him.
Ryūjin said nothing.
This had gone smoother than expected.
Kenpachi's obsession with battle was even deeper than anticipated.
After recovering slightly, Kenpachi pushed himself up.
"Ryūjin Uchiha, come with me. You're heading back to the Eleventh Division."
Hitsugaya and the others exchanged looks, caught off guard by how quickly things progressed.
The king of the Rukongai was joining just like that?
Still, considering how the Eleventh Division operated, with both Kenpachi and Yachiru having joined under unusual circumstances, it was not entirely surprising.
And so, Ryūjin followed Kenpachi back.
"Little Ryū, even if Shōken accepts you, you're not officially part of the Eleventh Division until the Captain Commander and the other Captains approve," Yachiru said after settling him into a room. "Stay here and don't wander around."
Ryūjin nodded.
Yachiru left soon after.
Kenpachi, impatient as ever, immediately went to see Captain Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni to report everything.
"Even after removing your eyepatch, you were defeated?" Yamamoto said, clearly surprised.
Defeating Kenpachi in that state was no small feat.
As for the request to admit Ryūjin into the Eleventh Division, Yamamoto considered it briefly and did not oppose it.
While there were formal procedures for joining the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, he was not rigid to the point of ignoring talent.
Strength mattered most.
After all, he himself had once defeated Unohana Retsu, a notorious figure in Soul Society's history, and brought her into the ranks. She had even served as Captain of the Eleventh Division.
With that precedent, there was no reason to deny Kenpachi's request.
Kenpachi left with a fierce grin.
Meanwhile, word spread rapidly throughout the Seireitei.
"Have you heard? Captain Kenpachi was defeated by Ryūjin Uchiha!"
"You're late. I saw it myself!"
"He beat Captain Kenpachi? That's insane!"
The entire Seireitei erupted into chaos over the news.