The Gotei 13 really was full of monsters.
In fact, Uehara Shiroha's earlier jab had "accidentally" hit a sore spot.
After all, he too had been slashed by Kurosaki Ichigo and ended up on the losing side.
Grimmjow didn't appreciate being called out like that.
He chose to ignore it, pretending he hadn't heard a thing. Even when facing Aizen, he never played ostrich like this—but Shiroha was something else entirely.
Aizen tolerated his antics only because he still had some value.
But if he dared raise his voice in front of Shiroha?
His head would be flying off before he even finished the sentence.
Grimmjow had no doubt about that.
Zaraki Kenpachi scanned the group and grinned.
"Well, well. Ichigo Kurosaki's here too. What a surprise."
"Hueco Mundo's turning out to be a gold mine!"
He chuckled, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Lie down and recover, Ichigo. I'll take care of Shiroha first. Then you're next. Got that? You're number nineteen on the list!"
For Kenpachi, this was nothing short of a slaughter feast.
Uehara Shiroha wasn't his ideal opponent—his ice powers were too tricky and countered Zaraki too well.
But without the use of ice, Shiroha was the one opponent he wanted to defeat the most.
It had nothing to do with honor, duty, or any sort of higher calling. It was purely for the challenge.
Ichigo was also a rare powerhouse, full of surprises.
But compared to Shiroha?
He was just the little brother tagging along.
Their strength levels weren't even close. Not the same league at all.
But Kenpachi Zaraki wasn't about to pass up this "buy-one-get-one-free" deal.
Two rare opponents—both worth fighting—and both standing right here?
This was double happiness. The more, the merrier.
As his fighting spirit ignited, Kenpachi's Reiatsu surged like a wildfire. Waves of spiritual pressure rolled off his body in increasingly violent bursts.
Nearby, the pink-haired Yachiru Kusajishi skipped lightly across the battlefield, appearing atop a nearby rock.
She stared at her captain with glittering eyes, then turned to Shiroha with a curious grin.
She was looking forward to this.
In the past, she'd always wondered how Kenpachi would win.
Now? She was just curious how long he could last.
Pity, really. Her captain usually got tossed around like a ragdoll when it came to this particular matchup.
But even that had its charm.
Kenpachi enjoyed every second of it. Shiroha had more trump cards than a Vegas casino. The way those deadly techniques kept coming—each more ridiculous than the last—was pure spectacle.
Yachiru Kusajishi wasn't about to miss the show.
She wanted blood. Lots of it.
Fully fired up, Kenpachi ripped off the eyepatch that sealed his Reiatsu without hesitation. Then, gripping his sword with one hand, he launched into a wild slash.
He didn't hold back. Not even a little.
Facing Shiroha, he knew better than to go easy. His inner seal loosened with excitement, and his Reiatsu exploded outward like a dam breaking.
Within moments, it had already surpassed his usual limits.
His slashes came crashing down like tsunamis—raw, violent, and devastating.
If this were any other opponent, Kenpachi wouldn't have gone full throttle so soon. That would be too boring.
He liked to draw things out—feel the tension, taste the opponent's spirit as he wore them down with his blade.
But Shiroha wasn't an ordinary opponent.
He'd learned that the hard way.
In their last bout, he had one, maybe two chances to land a hit. Wait too long, and he'd either get frozen solid or one-shotted.
He couldn't afford to hesitate.
So this time, he went all in right from the start.
Golden Reiatsu exploded around him like a rising tide, swallowing everything in its path.
His blade flashed with fury—like a volcanic eruption, unleashing the wrath of a berserker.
Kenpachi's red eyes glowed with madness, his face twisted into a wicked grin.
There was nothing in his heart but one thing: destroy the enemy.
Every strike came with bone-crushing power. He was a walking hurricane of death.
At that moment, Kenpachi Zaraki embodied pure chaos—unstoppable and wild.
Uehara Shiroha simply watched him, relaxed as ever.
"The value of the 'strongest captain' just keeps rising."
The 11th Division had long been known for their battle prowess.
They were the front-line maniacs, the war junkies who rushed into every skirmish first and came out either bloodied or dead—and they wore that with pride.
Injuries? Sacrifice? That was just part of the lifestyle.
Because every battle, their captain led from the front.
Kenpachi was always the first into the fray—and somehow, he always won.
That made the 11th Division soldiers idolize him even more.
In fact, they even "crowdfunded" the title: Strongest Captain of the Gotei 13.
Whether by brute force or reputation, no one else even came close.
And right now, standing in front of Ichigo Kurosaki and the others, Kenpachi truly looked the part.
His presence, his pressure, his strikes—everything screamed dominance.
Especially the golden, skull-like Reiatsu forming around him—solid and terrifying. It struck fear deep into the hearts of those watching.
To them, he looked less like a Shinigami and more like a war god.
"So much Reiatsu!" Orihime and Nel trembled involuntarily.
If Uehara Shiroha's aura made people want to worship him...
Then Zaraki Kenpachi's aura made people want to run.
It wasn't just overwhelming—it was suffocating.
They only felt a small fraction of his power, yet their hands were already cold, their bodies shaking uncontrollably.
"This pressure is insane..."
"He's gotten even stronger…" Ichigo muttered.
He had once fought Kenpachi in a brutal battle for survival.
He remembered the crushing despair, the near-death moments, the overwhelming power that Kenpachi unleashed.
If not for the intervention of "Uncle Zangetsu," he might not have survived.
And that was the old Kenpachi.
This new version? Stronger. Wilder. Scarier.
Ichigo didn't like where this was going—no matter who won, this wasn't going to end well.
"Now's not the time for in-fighting…" he murmured.
But over there, Kenpachi had already leapt forward, blade swinging toward Uehara.
"Let's go!"
Uehara Shiroha didn't mind war-hungry types like him.
Actually, he didn't even view Kenpachi Zaraki as a proper person.
Even this almost-unsealed version?
Even if it were Kenpachi in full Bankai mode?
Still not worth taking seriously.
Sure, his fighting spirit and sheer force were impressive.
He could blast captains aside in base form, split meteorites in Shikai, and even threaten god-tier beings with his Bankai.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more than 60 chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~