Chapter 228: Big Bro Satoru!
"Hadouken!!"
Satoru threw a punch.
With speed and Reiatsu far surpassing Zaraki's, he easily struck a critical blow.
Though Zaraki was a tank, even he couldn't withstand such a massive impact to his brain and had no choice but to pass out.
Looking down at Zaraki lying on the ground, Satoru raised his fist and blew on it, like a cold-blooded Western gunslinger blowing away gun smoke.
Truthfully, he really wanted to see what Zaraki looked like when pushed to his limits.
But considering the latter's physical condition, he regretfully chose to end the fight.
In that brief moment, Zaraki had unleashed terrifying potential.
As a man with half the protagonist's aura, Zaraki had enough potential that even tapping into it a few times wouldn't drain him completely.
The problem was, unleashing too much potential at once could be fatal for his future fighting career.
It was like a strong, gifted man who could go seven rounds in one night—if you made him expend all seven rounds' worth of energy at once, he'd be lucky to survive without shedding a layer of skin.
The Eleventh Division members froze for a few seconds, then erupted into cheers—
"Big Bro won!!"
"As expected of Big Bro!!"
"Big Bro, we adore you!!"
Amid the cheers, Ikkaku and Yumichika hurried to Zaraki's side.
After confirming he was okay, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, they turned to look at Satoru with expressions of disbelief.
In all their years following Zaraki, whether fighting him one-on-one or teaming up against him, they had never gained the upper hand.
Yet this guy, Satoru, had easily secured victory.
Both of them were skilled enough to recognize from that final punch that Yachiru was right.
This Satoru's strength far surpassed their captain's—he had just been playing around before.
"Hmm..."
As Ikkaku wrestled with whether he should step up to reclaim their honor, Zaraki slowly opened his eyes.
Despite having his face smashed by a powerful punch, he hadn't been unconscious for long.
Rubbing his cheek, he sat up.
"Woo-hoo, Ken-chan!"
Yachiru cheerfully called out, jumping onto his neck and tugging at his hair.
Zaraki ignored the girl on his back.
He looked up at Satoru, grinning widely.
"You're really strong, you know."
"Let's go again!"
As he spoke, he reached out to grab his sword.
But before he could grasp it, Satoru walked over and stepped on the blade with his foot.
"Hmm?"
Zaraki frowned, showing an displeased expression.
Satoru said lazily, "Before that, we still have unfinished business, right?"
"As we agreed earlier, if I won, you would come with me."
"What, trying to go back on your word?"
At the end of his words, Satoru curled his lips into a dark smile.
Zaraki stared at him without saying anything, seemingly lost in thought.
A few seconds later, he suddenly said:
"If I defeat you, can I order you around as I please?"
Satoru was taken aback.
Then he nodded and said, "According to the Eleventh Division's rules, that's correct."
"However, the prerequisite is that I'm not killed by you and haven't left the Eleventh Division."
Hearing this, Zaraki revealed a beast-like grin.
"Fine, I'll go with you."
"I'll defeat you, then command you to fight me forever!"
"Ah, this... forever might be a bit much."
Satoru narrowed his eyes and contemplated that scenario.
It was too absurd, rather hard to accept.
Zaraki stood up.
"My name is Kenpachi Zaraki."
"Zaraki, as in the Zaraki District of Rukongai."
"Kenpachi, because I will become the strongest swordsman!"
"Hmm... what should I call you? I'll follow the others and call you Big Brother Satoru."
Before Satoru could respond, the surrounding Eleventh Division members erupted in outrage.
"Kenpachi?! How dare you use that name!"
"Only Big Brother Satoru deserves to be Kenpachi!"
"Even if he didn't defeat the previous Kenpachi, we all acknowledge him!"
No... actually, I really did defeat the previous Kenpachi.
Satoru remained expressionless.
Zaraki grinned widely. "It'll be mine sooner or later!"
Amid the Eleventh Division's angry protests, he turned to Ikkaku and the other.
"I'm going to become a Shinigami with this guy. What about you two?"
The two exchanged glances before showing determined expressions.
Ikkaku looked at Zaraki.
"In that case, we'll become Shinigami too!"
"Oh, then do your best."
Zaraki nodded and said nothing more.
Satoru waved his hand.
"Becoming a Shinigami isn't that simple. Zaraki here has the talent to be exceptionally admitted, but you two should first spend a few years studying at Shin'ō Academy."
Hearing this, Ikkaku looked somewhat dissatisfied.
Before he could say anything, Satoru continued:
"When I graduated from the academy, I could defeat ten of you at once."
"And there's more than one person at my level."
Ikkaku's eyes widened.
He could tell this guy was telling the truth.
This absurd reality made him question his life.
After a few seconds of silence, he nodded firmly.
"Understood. I'll go to the academy!"
...
...
That night, Satoru submitted a report to the First Division.
The former vice-captain was demoted to third seat.
Rukongai wanderer Zaraki applied for promotion to vice-captain.
Yamamoto was initially annoyed by Satoru's bizarre request.
What nonsense was his foolish disciple up to now?
However, after personally visiting the Eleventh Division to assess Zaraki's abilities, Yamamoto looked at Satoru with newfound approval.
This kid was actually taking his captain duties seriously.
Previously, he had assumed Satoru becoming captain was just a temporary arrangement.
He expected him to slack off for a while before finding some "scapegoat" to take his place and escape responsibility.
Unexpectedly, the kid was genuinely managing the Eleventh Division properly.
Both the orderly division management and discovering this prodigy Zaraki from Rukongai pleased Yamamoto greatly.
Before leaving, he patted Satoru's shoulder.
"Kid, you've done well."
"Your captain inauguration ceremony is in a few days. Remember to clean up properly."
With that, Yamamoto departed gracefully.
Watching Yamamoto leave, Satoru put his hands on his hips.
Hah, when I put my mind to it, I can do pretty well, can't I?
...Wait.
Satoru suddenly froze.
Hold on!
Hadn't I decided to dump the captain position on Zaraki and make my escape?
How did he inexplicably end up as my vice-captain instead?
What kind of joke is this!
If this continues, my acting captain position will become permanent!
With a horrified feeling, he rushed toward Zaraki's dormitory...