"Little Rosse, it's about time you put a bit more strength into it, right?", Kyoraku Shunsui forced Rosse back with two blades, landing lightly on the floor like a dragonfly touching water.
Just now he had felt Captain-Commander Yamamoto's dissatisfied gaze, 'Is the old man thinking I am slacking off?'
'That is far too unfair.'
Aside from not using Shikai or Bankai, he really was giving it his all.
The Rosse standing before him was completely like a monster.
Not only was Rosse faster than he was, even in hakuda and swordsmanship, Rosse surpassed him.
But he had also noticed that Rosse must be a pure wild-type fighter; he didn't use kido or shunpo.
Rosse was faster than him purely because of raw physical speed rather than the technical speed of shunpo.
As for kido, when Kyoraku occasionally used kido to sneak-attack, Rosse didn't counter with a more energy-saving bakudo; instead he dodged or just took it head-on.
That alone showed that even if Rosse did know kido, he couldn't be very strong at it, at least not at a captain's level.
But then again, one didn't need a full set of captain-level fundamentals to become a captain. With the power Rosse was showing now, he was already more than qualified.
Next, it was time to test the zanpakuto's ability.
"Flower wind rage and flower God Roar, Heavenly wind rage and Heavenly demons sneer! Katen Kyokotsu!"
With Kyoraku Shunsui chanting the release phrase, the crossed dual blades in his hands changed.
From ordinary katana, they transformed into the shape of two large cleavers.
"Little Rosse, this is my zanpakuto, Katen Kyokotsu, an elegant-wind-type zanpakuto."
Kyoraku introduced it casually, but his hands didn't slow one bit. The two blades spread left and right, rotating toward the front, "Bushogoma!"
Two spinning wind blades slashed toward Rosse, extremely fast. So fast that Rangiku Matsumoto, who was watching, couldn't track them at all.
"An elegant-wind-type zanpakuto, huh?", Rosse let out a small laugh. If Kyoraku Shunsui's blade could be called elegant-wind-type, then his own could probably be called flowing-water-type.
"My zanpakuto is named Purifier, a flowing-water-type. Its effect is healing and purification."
He casually stated the ability he had made up, and at the same time spoke the release phrase, "REFLECT!"
His release phrase wasn't nearly as fancy as Kyoraku Shunsui's. With that simple call, the blade turned deep blue, and nothing else changed.
Facing the two spinning wind blades, Rosse simply lifted his sword lightly and struck the incoming blades.
Vmmm!
In that instant, the wind stopped.
All the captains who saw this revealed astonished expressions.
They could clearly see that Rosse hadn't dispersed Kyoraku's attack, he had completely nullified it.
When the zanpakuto touched the wind blades, they turned directly into nothingness, as though they'd been purified entirely.
"A flowing-water-type zanpakuto, huh… looks troublesome."
Kyoraku Shunsui frowned slightly, his figure flickering across the arena as he continuously released Bushogoma toward Rosse.
This was, after all, only an evaluation. Meant to test various aspects of Rosse's ability without needing him to explain anything himself.
Rosse had just mentioned that his zanpakuto could heal and purify.
Now Kyoraku wanted to know the limits of that purification.
"Captain Kyoraku, long-range chip damage doesn't affect me much."
Rosse smiled lightly and casually swung his blade, blocking every attack.
The true ability of his zanpakuto was complete restoration and reversal. Those wind blades he struck weren't purified, they were reverted to their original reishi form.
In short, erased completely.
And wind blades of that level didn't cost him anything at all.
But since he had already revealed a healing ability, he might as well use it now.
Vmm!
In an instant, Rosse stomped the ground and suddenly appeared behind Kyoraku Shunsui.
"So fast! That's shunpo?"
Feeling Rosse behind him, Kyoraku involuntarily shuddered.
Previously in battle, Rosse hadn't shown any sign of knowing shunpo.
And at this speed, there was no time to dodge—
Rip!
Rosse's blade struck Kyoraku's back, piercing through his pink haori, his captain's haori, and his shihakusho, leaving a deep wound across his back.
"Oh dear, I got hurt," Kyoraku instantly retreated to safety. Feeling the slight pain in his back, he showed a helpless expression.
He was absolutely getting scolded by the old man later.
That attack wasn't actually too fast for him to react to.
He had simply been too relaxed earlier, so in that instant he failed to respond, and naturally paid the price for his carelessness.
"Captain Kyoraku, shall we continue?", Rosse smiled slightly, flicking the blood from his blade as he stood in the center of the arena looking at Kyoraku.
Of course he knew Kyoraku hadn't gone all-out. But he himself hadn't even used the strength of a warm-up.
Otherwise, against a Kyoraku without Bankai, one slash would've been enough.
"That's enough. With Little Rosse's strength, you're already fully qualified to serve as captain," Ignoring the Captain-Commander's expression, Kyoraku directly declared that Rosse had passed the assessment.
He didn't want to fight while injured. If they kept going, his clothes would definitely end up soaked in blood, and then Nanao would nag him endlessly when he got home.
Compared to that, the old man's mood didn't matter at all. And besides, Rosse's performance truly was enough to qualify as captain.
"Thank you for holding back, Captain Kyoraku. My zanpakuto happens to have healing abilities, allow me to treat you," Rosse smiled gently, walking forward with his zanpakuto.
"Oh? Then I'll give it a try. Your zanpakuto sure has a lot of tricks."
Kyoraku didn't fear a sneak attack. Chuckling, he simply walked up and exposed the wound on his back.
If Rosse stabbed him now, he could absolutely kill him on the spot.
"Captain Kyoraku's abilities probably aren't limited to what you just showed. After all, you haven't revealed your Bankai."
Rosse smiled faintly and pressed the back of the blade to Kyoraku's wound.
In an instant, the wound healed completely, as though he had never been hurt.
"An impressive ability, almost like the wound was purified away."
After experiencing the healing, Kyoraku gave his assessment.
He had felt a wave of energy sweep by, and the wound simply disappeared without leaving any sensation.
'With healing like this, Rosse might even surpass Senior Unohana of the Fourth Division.'
Kyoraku instinctively looked up, just in time to meet Unohana Retsu's smiling eyes.
"Captain Kyoraku, do you have some question?"
"No, no, just thinking that since Rosse's zanpakuto has healing abilities, it might occasionally come in handy for you."
Kyoraku laughed it off, but he didn't say anything like suggesting Rosse transfer to Fourth Division.
Unohana was an even more senior first-generation captain than he was. And once the most fearsome killer in the entire Soul Society.
Suggesting Rosse join the Fourth Division wouldn't help anyone; it would only offend both sides with a single sentence.
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