A spiky mane of black hair, a savage, beast-like face, and a terrible scar running down the left side of his face from forehead to chin.
And most telling of all—on his shoulder sat a cute little girl with pink hair, watching with bright eyes.
So many obvious signs piled together—if Higashi Shuuichi couldn't recognize the man from just that, then he might as well stop calling himself a transmigrator.
"Zaraki Kenpachi."
Shuuichi halted, and with a silent command, retracted all of his deployed Reishi Soldiers back into Tōgen, the third ability of his Shikai.
If it was him, then there was no need to complicate things.
Because, like Unohana Retsu, Zaraki Kenpachi didn't fight for victory—he fought for joy.
And unlike Unohana, Zaraki thrived entirely on that thrill.
If he could, he'd willingly suppress his own power to match his opponent's, just to drag out the fight.
Though the eyepatch that sealed his reiatsu hadn't been invented yet, Zaraki could still instinctively restrain his strength when needed.
Which meant—so long as Shuuichi made this fun, Zaraki would keep holding back.
"Perfect. Making the enemy enjoy the fight? That's basically all I've been doing for twenty years under Unohana's blade."
Recalling the beatings he'd taken under Unohana's "training," Shuuichi knew that while his reiatsu hadn't grown, his combat instincts had evolved dramatically.
"Yachiru says you're a Soul Reaper."
Zaraki dropped from the sky with a grin, landing in front of Shuuichi.
"You're not one of the three bastards causing trouble here, are you?"
Shuuichi didn't answer directly.
"Of course not! Ken-chan already killed the strongest one!"
Yachiru Kusajishi chirped proudly from his shoulder.
Though Zaraki hadn't yet formally inherited the title from Squad 11, centuries ago, the day he first crossed blades with Unohana, he'd left her with a scar—and from that day, Unohana privately passed the name Kenpachi to him.
And he'd been calling himself Zaraki Kenpachi ever since.
"I was gonna hunt down the last two myself," Zaraki said, cracking his neck, "but Yachiru said you showed up. She said you'd be more fun."
He raised his massive Zanpakutō and pointed it at Shuuichi, flashing those wolf-like teeth.
"Guess that means you're my opponent now!"
Clearly, Zaraki still couldn't sense reiatsu in this era.
Otherwise, he'd know that Shuuichi was far beneath him.
But Zaraki judged strength on instinct alone.
He'd seen Shuuichi kill two strong opponents in seconds—so to Zaraki, that meant one thing: worthy.
And Shuuichi, knowing Zaraki's nature, didn't waste time with talk.
"As you wish."
He launched forward with a clean, direct slash. The blade stopped just a hair's breadth from Zaraki's chin—but the pressure it carried sliced open a thin red line across his jaw.
Against a combat junkie like Zaraki, there was no point using flashy kidō.
He wanted one thing: a fight.
And so Shuuichi gave him what he wanted—pure swordsmanship.
And it worked.
That drop of blood was all Zaraki needed to ignite.
"Hah! Hahahaha!"
Zaraki roared with joy.
This was fun!
In a blink, the battlefield turned into chaos.
Less than three minutes in, and the two had already clashed over five hundred times.
Only the shockwaves and sparks from their blades filled the air.
"Hell yeah!"
Zaraki's blade smashed Shuuichi mid-guard, launching him into the sky.
"Bakudō #37: Tsuriboshi!"
Midair, Shuuichi recited, summoning a net of spiritual energy behind him.
He landed, rebounded, and barely parried Zaraki's follow-up strike.
And again, they crashed into each other like twin storms.
But this time—within less than a minute—Zaraki paused, frowning.
"I'm getting… slower?"
His breath formed mist.
Cold.
The chill had seeped into his limbs.
Despite the warming weather, his breath steamed like winter.
"Good tacticians use deception—Ice!"
This ability could be layered not just on kidō, but on hakuda and zanjutsu as well.
Though Zaraki's reiatsu vastly outclassed Shuuichi's—even while suppressed—it had taken a long time to take effect.
"Too late to notice now," Shuuichi thought.
"Unless he lifts the seal on his power—now."
But Zaraki wouldn't. Not him.
He'd rather lose a fight than kill it with brute force.
The smart move would've been to disengage, let the ice wear off, then resume—but this was Zaraki.
"Then let's see who drops first! Will I freeze… or will you fall?!"
Attack. Attack. Nothing but pure, relentless attack!
Zaraki didn't even try to dodge anymore.
He didn't care how many wounds he took.
All he wanted—was to beat Shuuichi down before his limbs froze.
And Shuuichi? He didn't back off.
Because he knew—if he pulled away, Zaraki might stop holding back.
And if that happened… this would be over.
So he kept swinging.
And from the sidelines, Yachiru watched with wide, delighted eyes.
Two monsters. Blood and steel. Neither willing to yield.
Until finally—
Zaraki drove his blade into Shuuichi's chest.
And Shuuichi, in turn, pressed his tip into Zaraki's forehead.
One heartbeat.
Silence.
Zaraki was still upright—but his entire body now frozen in place, frost covering every inch.
Shuuichi coughed blood, vision fading—
"Heh… I tied with Zaraki Kenpachi…"
Even if it was a suppressed version, even if it wasn't the true monster.
It was still Zaraki.
And he had held his ground.
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For this week I will do more release depending on the power stones !
100 Power Stones = 1 chapter (in addition to the daily update)
So give stones if you want mooooar !