Chapter 418

2-in-1 chapter:

------------------------

Putting away his lesson plans, Kaelith left Shin'ō Academy and headed toward the 11th Division.

Though he was less than a month away from becoming Captain of the 1st Division, for now he was still Captain of the 11th, and he had to go home.

Speaking of going home… he did seem to have a residence—the Yurei Estate.

Back when he was first granted nobility, Marenoshin Ōmaeda had gifted him a small courtyard home.

But over the past hundred years or so, he’d rarely returned. He mostly just slept at the 11th Division barracks.

Who knew what condition that place was in now—maybe he should check on it sometime.

Hopefully it hadn’t turned into a Hollow nest or something…

Suddenly, he accelerated slightly, shifting forward by two meters.

At almost the same time, a figure shot through where he’d just been standing.

Kaelith turned his head and looked at Rangiku, who stumbled forward a couple of steps after missing her tackle, and showed a smug expression.

"Heh, foolish girl. Trying to ambush me? You’re twenty thousand years too early."

"What ambush? That was Technique No. 7 from ‘One Hundred Ways to Build Favorability!’"

Rangiku gave a huff.

The next second, she smiled and ran over to Kaelith, grabbing his sleeve.

"Hey hey hey, Kaelith, you're going to Squad One, right? The lieutenant hasn't been decided yet, has it?"

"Lieutenant? Kenpachi."

"?"

Rangiku looked stunned.

Squad One's lieutenant—Zaraki Kenpachi?

"You're joking?"

"Hmm..."

Kaelith showed a thoughtful expression at her words.

In truth, he hadn’t been joking.

Until now, he’d subconsciously assumed that with the captain’s position changing, the vice-captain should follow suit as well.

But only after Rangiku mentioned it did he suddenly realize—

That guy Kenpachi had already grown up.

That captain's seat had long been his to take.

With that thought, Kaelith suddenly vanished from the spot.

Luckily, Rangiku was now also at a top-tier level, so she could just barely make out that Kaelith was speeding toward the direction of Squad Eleven.

"...I wasn't even done talking yet?"

Looking slightly annoyed, Rangiku hurried to follow.

.....................................

Squad Eleven was full of excitement.

With Kaelith about to be promoted, the squad members were all in high spirits.

Although they were reluctant to see their big brother go, this was a major step in Squad Eleven’s conquest of the Seireitei—a reason to celebrate!

Kenpachi was lying under a large tree, peacefully napping.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked into the distance.

There, Kaelith was walking toward him.

Kenpachi grinned wide like a child.

“Big bro!”

He stood up and greeted Kaelith.

Yachiru, perched on his shoulder, waved with a smile:

“Kaelith!”

Kaelith walked up to them.

"Have you eaten?"

"Eh? Yeah, I have."

Kenpachi responded instinctively.

Kaelith nodded.

"Good. Then let’s go."

As he spoke, he walked into the training grounds, grabbed two dueling Shinigami by the back of their collars with a shadow arm, and tossed them out of the ring.

Seeing this, the squad members grinned.

“Big bro’s gonna spar?”

But Kaelith shook his head.

“Not spar. A duel.”

He looked toward Kenpachi standing at the edge of the field.

“Squad Eleven’s rule: to claim the captain’s seat, you must defeat the previous one.”

“Though I’m so strong I’m practically an unbeatable legend… you’re not who you used to be either.”

“Come, Kenpachi—show me your full strength. Let me see whether you’re worthy of inheriting the captaincy of Squad Eleven!”

Hearing this, the squad members suddenly understood.

So that’s what this was... a captain succession duel.

No wonder big bro was so serious today.

As he looked at Kaelith in the ring, Kenpachi went from momentary surprise to a wide, savage grin.

“I see… so the day’s finally come.”

“I’ve been waiting for this day… who knows how long!”

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand.

A jagged, chipped Zanpakutō suddenly sprang from the ground into his grasp.

“Yachiru, take the idiots and get back.”

“This fight... isn’t something weaklings can just sit around and watch.”

Kaelith raised a hand and yanked off his haori, tossing it aside.

Kenpachi tore off his eyepatch.

In an instant, two flares of spiritual pressure shot into the sky.

“Whoa! Big bro and Kenpachi are going all out—fall back!”

With startled cries, the squad members rapidly retreated.

As they backed off, one seated officer suddenly looked puzzled.

Come to think of it, the vice-captain’s eyepatch was a spiritual pressure limiter custom-made by Squad Twelve. Once removed, it released all the spiritual pressure that had been stored.

But what about big bro’s haori… was that also a limiter?

While mulling over these thoughts, he quickly organized the others to activate the defensive barrier.

Since Squad Eleven was full of monsters, battles often caused damage, so Squad Twelve would come every few years to reinforce the squad’s defensive barriers.

As long as regular Shinigami poured their spiritual energy into it, the barrier would activate.

Behind the shield, everyone watched excitedly as the battle began.

The two, each holding a Zanpakutō, cloaked in spiritual light, clashed violently!

Feeling the weight behind Kenpachi’s blade, Kaelith gave a slight nod.

Through his deeper talks with Unohana, he had heard about young Kenpachi.

When he learned that Kenpachi had defeated Unohana—the original Kenpachi—while still a child, Kaelith had been astonished.

According to Unohana, Kenpachi had already been a top-tier powerhouse over 900 years ago. But because worthy opponents were rare, Kenpachi had sealed his own power to better enjoy the thrill of battle.

The many battles over these centuries had been a journey of rehabilitation—of rediscovery.

Now, Kaelith was certain: through their countless fights, Kenpachi had fully recovered.

His strength had long since returned to the level Unohana remembered.

And even after reaching that level, Kenpachi hadn’t stopped.

He continued to chase that distant silhouette.

He was still getting stronger!

Facing the madman before him, Kaelith couldn’t help but grin.

“Good. Very good!”

“This is what the captain of Squad Eleven should be!”

He brought his blade crashing down onto Kenpachi’s, and with his other hand clenched into a fist, slammed it straight into Kenpachi’s face.

Kenpachi was blasted away with a crash, smashing through a row of buildings before hitting the barrier wall.

He hit the barrier hard and stumbled forward.

But just before he fell, he suddenly flipped, pushed off the wall, and charged at Kaelith again.

Raising his Zanpakutō high, he brought it down like a thunderous cannon strike.

Kaelith gave a snort, tossed his Zanpakutō aside, and charged in bare-handed.

“Muda muda muda muda!!!”

“AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

As the fight reached its fever pitch, Kaelith’s expression suddenly changed.

He saw a strange energy fluctuation ripple across the blade in Kenpachi’s hand.

At the same moment, in the crowd of onlookers outside the field, Yachiru’s figure suddenly distorted—like a glitched image—blurring and flickering.

"Hmm?"

Sensing a familiar surge of power from the Zanpakutō, Kenpachi's movements paused slightly.

Because he stopped, Kaelith landed a solid punch to his chest, sending him flying backwards, spitting blood.

While airborne, Kenpachi braked in midair by stepping on the air, stabilizing himself.

He glanced at his Zanpakutō with a puzzled expression.

But soon, he tossed the thought aside and dove back into the fight.

While exchanging blows with Kenpachi, Kaelith split part of his attention to observe Yachiru outside the battlefield.

He had discovered long ago the abnormal relationship between Yachiru and Kenpachi.

That pink-haired little girl wasn’t a real Soul Reaper. She was a manifestation of power split off from Kenpachi's Zanpakutō.

If Kenpachi only increased his own strength, Yachiru would remain unaffected.

But if he began to pursue his Zanpakutō’s power, then whether Yachiru could continue to exist became uncertain.

That was why Kaelith had previously advised him not to dwell on Zanpakutō release.

Now, however, it was clear that Kenpachi’s steps toward new strength were unstoppable.

Given that, he needed to think of a solution.

Kaelith took a deep breath and suddenly burst forth with speed. Under Kenpachi’s surprised gaze, he unleashed a flurry of force-enhanced combo punches, knocking him to the ground.

Brushing his hands together, Kaelith nodded.

“Not bad. At this pace, maybe someday you really could catch up to me.”

He wasn’t just flattering Kenpachi.

When it came to fighting Kenpachi, there were no tricks or shortcuts—it all came down to raw stats.

For Kaelith to be forced to use a multi-force technique to win, Kenpachi's strength was already beyond question.

"The sparring ends here."

"As your captain, I’ll first help you solve a problem.”

With that, under Kenpachi’s slightly dazed look, Kaelith reached out and took his Zanpakutō.

Then he looked off to the side and beckoned.

“Yachiru, come over here.”

“Okay!”

Yachiru smiled and ran over like a little ninja, arms trailing behind her. With a little hop, she landed on his back.

Kaelith gripped Kenpachi’s Zanpakutō in one hand and placed the other on Yachiru’s head.

He planned to imitate the ability of Starrk and Lilynette—to create a special communication channel between Yachiru and the Zanpakutō.

If Kenpachi directly absorbed Yachiru’s power, there was a high chance she would vanish forever and never return.

But if Kaelith’s plan worked, then Yachiru could merge into the Zanpakutō during battle and separate again afterward.

Kenpachi got to his feet and looked toward them.

Though he didn’t know what Kaelith was doing, his instincts told him: a transformation was coming...

......................................................

.........................

.

Shadow Realm, Wandenreich.

In a dimly lit chamber, Yhwach sat on a stone bed, his face twisted, eyes tightly shut.

Blue spiritual pressure surged wildly around him.

Now and then, arcs of blue light flared from his body, like solar flares erupting from the sun’s surface.

Suddenly, his spiritual pressure went dead silent for a second.

In the next instant, it exploded.

Within the column of blue light, wisps of gray spirit energy were forcibly expelled from his body.

The Hollow-based spiritual pressure that Kaelith had sent into him—finally, it had all been purged.

Inside the light column, Yhwach’s mouth stretched into a cruel grin.

He slowly opened his eyes.

As his eyes moved, three pupils emerged within each.

Standing nearby, Haschwalth was just about to offer congratulations—then froze upon seeing those eyes.

The moment he saw them, it felt like he had fallen into an icy abyss.

Staring into Yhwach’s eyes, Haschwalth couldn’t help tensing up.

From the very first meeting, he had known this man was someone he could never surpass—the embodiment of greatness.

But now, for the first time, he truly understood the meaning of the word “God.”

Those eyes alone seemed capable of tearing him apart, pulverizing him, and seeing through every hidden layer inside his body.

“Your Majesty, you—”

“I’m fine.”

Yhwach shook his head slightly.

Under Haschwalth’s gaze, he slowly closed his eyes.

When they opened again, the pupils had returned to normal.

“Heh. Kaelith… he probably never imagined that the power he sent would not only fail to harm me, but instead become the key to my recovery.”

Though Yhwach possessed terrifying strength, his essence remained that of a Quincy.

The Hollow energy Kaelith had injected into him had caused him pain—real pain.

But it was because of that pain that his body, dormant for a thousand years, remembered how to wield power.

Unfortunately, his strength hadn’t fully returned yet—he couldn’t maintain that state.

Unless… he retracted the power he had bestowed upon the majority of Wandenreich’s Quincy.

Yhwach felt no guilt about reclaiming the Schrift.

The only reason he hadn’t done so was because he believed that this thousand-year war of revenge would also serve as a trial for his Quincy followers.

Those who passed the trial would become stronger than before.

Then, when he reclaimed their power, he would reap it all—principal and interest alike.

As Yhwach smiled faintly, Haschwalth pressed his lips together.

Even though His Majesty was smiling… all he felt was cold.

.................................................

...........................

.

“Jajajaja…”

Kaelith let out a cheerful laugh as he pinned Kisuke Urahara to the ground, straddling his back.

Urahara’s face was full of despair.

Kaelith was smiling, but all Urahara could feel was chilling dread.

“Mr. Kaelith, isn’t this a bit much? Isn’t this too much?!”

“It’s just paperwork! I never said I wouldn’t do it!”

“Oh?”

----------------------------------------

You can check out here for 31 advanced chapters!

Patreon(.)com/IDKjust

Btw you also get 2 daily chapter