After asking his subordinates about the location of the last encounter, Sora quickly found Zaraki and Yachiru.
"Oh?"
The young man with spiky hair suddenly saw a Shinigami appear. But instead of feeling afraid, he flashed a fierce smile.
"You look different from those Shinigami who only know how to run."
After receiving the report from his subordinates, Sora had specifically told them to mark the target and use evasion tactics to avoid conflict.
So, the Shinigami the youth had met recently would retreat as soon as they saw him, giving him no chance to fight. This had made him very depressed.
"I came specifically to find you. Because of your interference, my subordinates can't work in the Zaraki district."
While sizing the two of them up, Sora glanced at their panels.
---
[None]
Ability: S+ (Incomplete)
Spiritual Pressure: lv80 (Sealed)
Affinity Level: Stranger
---
[Yachiru Kusajishi]
Spiritual Pressure: ?
Affinity Level: Stranger
--
The pink-haired loli, Yachiru Kusajishi, was clearly not a normal person; she didn't even show an Ability stat.
In fact, Yachiru Kusajishi was not an ordinary spirit body either. She was a materialized Bankai!
Normally, other Shinigami's Zanpakutō could only be seen by their owners when materialized.
This included Sora's 'Kagehime'; when she materialized, others couldn't see her.
But Yachiru Kusajishi was special. She possessed a spirit body and even had her own Zanpakutō, but her Spiritual Pressure couldn't register a specific value.
The spiky-haired youth's panel was even more impressive. He didn't even have a name. His Ability showed 'Incomplete', and his Spiritual Pressure showed 'Sealed'.
"Do you have a name?"
Sora was curious why the future Kenpachi Zaraki didn't have a name.
"Ken is just Ken."
Yachiru lay on his broad shoulder, revealing only her pink head.
"That's not my name." The spiky-haired youth twitched his lips, disagreeing with Yachiru.
"I won't have any other name until I take the title of Kenpachi."
He believed he would only have one name: 'Kenpachi Zaraki', the Kenpachi from Zaraki.
"So you want to become Kenpachi? That's ambitious." Sora chuckled softly.
"I just don't know if your strength can match that ambition."
"If Yachiru hadn't kept pointing me in the wrong direction, I would have found the Seireitei long ago!" The spiky-haired youth grinned.
"You're the leader of those weaklings, so you must be a Captain, right? Before I find Kenpachi, I'll use you to practice!"
He was a battle maniac. He had enjoyed killing since he could remember and had almost never been defeated.
He had only failed once, against a very powerful woman.
Later, when he heard that Kenpachi was the strongest Captain, he suspected that the powerful woman he met was Kenpachi.
So, he had always wanted to go to the Seireitei and fight Kenpachi.
Unfortunately, he had no sense of direction, and his guide, Yachiru Kusajishi, always pointed the wrong way, so they never found the Seireitei.
"Do you want to fight me?" Sora didn't refuse the battle, but he didn't agree directly either.
"But I'm very busy. Wasting time with you here would be a huge loss. If you lose, you have to promise me one thing."
"No problem." The spiky-haired youth didn't think he would lose at all, so he agreed immediately.
"What if Ken wins?" Yachiru raised her small hand.
"Didn't you say you couldn't find the Seireitei? If you win, I'll be your guide. I'll take you to the Seireitei and even help you find the current Kenpachi!"
Sora didn't think he would lose either, so he put Kenpachi Kuruyashiki on the betting table.
"I like that prize!" The spiky-haired youth's spirit soared.
"Go Ken!" Yachiru jumped off the youth's shoulder and cheered him on from the side.
At the same time, Sora noticed the youth's Spiritual Pressure skyrocketing.
In just a short moment, it rose from level 80 to level 85, stronger than many active Lieutenants!
"Interesting. Does the seal on his Spiritual Pressure loosen when his fighting spirit is high...?"
While Sora was thinking, the opponent's blade was already chopping down.
Sora drew his sword to block, knocking back the incoming blade.
Clang—!
Sora wanted to test the changes in the youth's Spiritual Pressure, so he suppressed his own Spiritual Pressure to match the opponent's level.
The youth's sword technique had no structure, but it had its advantages: speed, precision, and ruthlessness honed from real combat!
The blade flashed rapidly, aiming for Sora's throat, heart, abdomen, and other vital points.
But Sora saw through his fighting style instantly. He predicted the moves in advance, making it seem like the attacks were actively running into his defense.
Clang, clang, clang—
The spiky-haired youth felt his hand go numb from the shock and froze for a moment.
But he only froze for a split second. In the next moment, he flashed an excited, ferocious grin.
"Hahahahaha!!!"
The youth seemed to go possessed, slashing at Sora continuously.
His blade got faster and faster, and the Spiritual Pressure inside him skyrocketed along with it.
Sora calmly parried all the slashes. Despite the sky full of blade lights, not a single one could land on him.
At the same time, he watched the changes in Spiritual Pressure on the panel.
86...
88...
90...
As the youth fought, his Spiritual Pressure rose to the Captain level!
But that was as far as it went. Before he got injured, the seal on his Spiritual Pressure wouldn't loosen any further.
"I can't let you keep rising, or you'll be hard to teach later."
Sora felt he had grasped the correct way to 'start up' Kenpachi Zaraki and decided to end the battle.
Clang—!
The tip of Sora's blade hit near the hilt of the youth's sword. The immense force transmitted through the hilt numbed the youth's hand, and the tattered sword instantly flew out of his grasp.
"You lost."
Sora pressed his blade against the spiky-haired youth's neck.
"I can still fight!"
"The warmup isn't even over yet!"
The spiky-haired youth felt he wasn't even injured yet, so how could he count as having lost?
"Are you that sore of a loser?" Sora frowned slightly and goaded him.
"The name Kenpachi is a title for a swordsman. How can someone who can't even hold his sword be qualified to bear the name of Kenpachi?"
The spiky-haired youth's face sank. He had just said he wanted to take the name of Kenpachi, so he had to dismiss the idea of continuing the fight.
"I will defeat Kenpachi and take the name!"
The youth picked up his sword and rested it on his back. "Speak. What is your request?"
Since he had lost, he didn't plan to renege on the debt.
"Your talent isn't bad. Become my disciple. I can teach you swordsmanship."
The corners of Sora's mouth rose slightly.
"The name Kenpachi is a title for a swordsman. And you don't understand swordsmanship at all. So how are you qualified to bear the name of Kenpachi?"
"Huh?" The spiky-haired youth was completely stunned. He really hadn't expected the other party to make such a request.
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