"Whoa, the Prison Warden is going to beat up Captain Zaraki again."
"Hurry up and grab a seat! If we're late, there won't be any room left!"
"Heck yeah, this is exactly what I want to see!"
In less than a few minutes, the spacious training grounds were packed with bloodthirsty spectators. They stared at the two confronting figures with excited expressions, wishing they could take their places.
Zaraki Kenpachi released his Reiatsu without holding anything back. The golden light burned fiercely like roaring flames, violently ravaging the surrounding space and distorting the very air.
Wearing a savage grin, his beast-like aura erupted wildly. Carried by this ferocious momentum, his jagged, violent longsword slashed straight down toward Naraku Sora.
The sound of tearing air was fleeting, immediately followed by the resounding clash of metal.
It sounded like grinding iron, absolutely deafening.
Under countless shocked gazes, Naraku Sora neither dodged nor evaded. He simply stood his ground, taking Zaraki Kenpachi's strike head-on.
What was even more incomprehensible was that the slash, which would have cleaved an ordinary Soul Reaper in two, only left a clearly visible white mark on Naraku Sora's shoulder.
*?!*
When he saw the flying sparks, the excitement in his narrow pupils couldn't help but falter.
This wasn't the first or second time he had fought Naraku Sora to the death, but this was the first time Zaraki Kenpachi had encountered such a situation.
*Have I gotten weaker?*
*It can't be that this guy has gotten stronger again, right?*
Naraku Sora grinned. To others, his seemingly harmless smile was even more brutal and terrifying than the savage-looking Zaraki Kenpachi.
"Zaraki, did you skip a meal or something?"
"Being this weak, how can you enjoy the thrill of the slaughter?"
The smile on Zaraki Kenpachi's face resembled an evil spirit. Although the words were infuriating to hear, judging by his performance, Naraku Sora's strength far exceeded his expectations.
Even though he didn't know exactly what had happened to the other man.
*But this time, I can definitely go all out!*
A speck of crimson lit up in his narrow pupils. As his flame-like golden Reiatsu burned wildly, Zaraki Kenpachi swung his jagged longsword once more, producing a sound like tearing silk in front of him.
His ferocity was ignited!
At this moment, instinct took over the battle.
His chaotic Zanjutsu targeted all of Naraku Sora's vital spots.
Neck, spine, heart, head...
Zaraki Kenpachi was born for battle. He knew absolutely nothing about Kendo, let alone what it meant to dodge.
Every shift in his movements was solely to launch a better attack.
However, the sheer gap in their raw stats could not be bridged by these things alone.
After tanking a few strikes, Naraku Sora didn't hold back either. He drew his blade backhand and slashed, a brilliant streak of silver flashing by.
*Rip!*
Accompanied by the sound of tearing flesh, an exaggerated gash was instantly cleaved across his bare chest. Thick, scalding blood sprayed out, filling the entire training ground with a heavy stench of gore.
Yet, the more injured he became, the more it stimulated Zaraki Kenpachi's latent ferocity.
*This is how it should be!*
*Only such a brutal slaughter makes me feel truly alive.*
*How wonderful.*
His materialized golden Reiatsu shot into the sky, causing the surrounding ground to groan under the overwhelming pressure as cracks spread from beneath his feet.
Zaraki Kenpachi lowered his body slightly and lunged forward like a wild beast, the red light in his eyes blazing intensely.
He raised his jagged longsword and brought it crashing down like a heavy hammer.
*Clang—*
The blades collided, sending shockwaves rippling through the air. A deafening boom erupted as visible ripples expanded in all directions.
The next second, blood bloomed in the air. The tall figure was sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing into the wall of the training ground and leaving a web of cracks beneath him.
However, even after taking such a heavy blow, he still refused to fall.
On the contrary, his Reiatsu burned even brighter. The phantom of a skeletal demon materialized above his head, unleashing a silent roar at Naraku Sora.
Stepping forward with Flash Step, he crossed dozens of meters in an instant. A savage grin surfaced as he swung forward without holding anything back—
And slashed down!
Fighting this guy to the death meant he didn't have to worry about accidentally killing him with too much force; he just needed to enjoy the battle to his heart's content.
Zaraki Kenpachi, who had lived for an unknown number of years, could only feel truly alive when fighting Naraku Sora.
It was even more exhilarating than that slaughter a thousand years ago!
Letting his life dance on the edge of a blade—the sheer beauty of this ultimate immersion was something nothing else could replace.
There was no need to think about anything else. Right now, only two things remained in his mind.
*Hack him to death, or be hacked to death by him!*
"Haha, Sora, show me your full power!"
As if stimulated by something, Zaraki Kenpachi's already exaggerated Reiatsu surged yet again, and the jagged longsword in his hand trembled violently.
A materialized pillar of light shot straight into the heavens, dyeing the azure sky.
It was as if another sun had risen.
Naraku Sora grinned. "Then you'd better brace yourself."
A towering pillar of fire erupted from the ground. The crimson light and the golden Reiatsu stood as equals, dividing the entire training ground into two completely different worlds.
The blades crossed and clashed. The massive boom drowned out everything, as if sound itself had been severed.
The next moment.
A deafening uproar erupted. The rampant shockwaves turned into a tidal wave, spreading unreservedly amidst the roar. The aftermath tore apart the solid ground, sweeping dirt and dust into the sky.
The gale, sharp as a knife, slashed fiercely against the outer Kidō barrier, sending out rings of ripples.
This was the result of Urahara Kisuke's hard work.
To prevent having to rebuild it multiple times, he had specifically calculated Naraku Sora's maximum output, as well as other potential accidents.
But he had overlooked one single thing.
And that was the fact that Naraku Sora's rate of improvement far exceeded common sense.
*Boom—!!*
Amidst the scalp-numbing explosion, a demon-like figure was sent flying backward. He instantly collapsed the wall and slammed solidly into the Kidō barrier, fracturing it with countless spiderweb-like cracks.
Seeing this, cheers that pierced the clouds erupted from the barracks. The bloodthirsty spectators all agreed that witnessing such a battle between powerhouses was well worth the price of admission.
Naraku Sora walked up to Zaraki Kenpachi and looked at the figure embedded in the Kidō barrier.
"Not bad. You've improved a lot since last time."
"But Zaraki, haven't you overlooked a problem?"
Looking as though he were at death's door, Zaraki Kenpachi looked up blankly at the figure standing beside him.
"Let me ask you, what is the difference between a king and his mount?"
Naraku Sora looked down at Zaraki and smiled.
"Is it their appearance? Their intellect? Their ability to think? Or perhaps... pure strength?"
"None of those. It's instinct!"
Zaraki's eyes widened, and he tilted his head.
"Instinct is peeling off your skin, tearing away your flesh, and smashing your bones to reach the depths of your nerves. It is the absolute, crystal-clear reaction to slaughter engraved in your primal core."
"The reason your strength is so lacking is that you subconsciously suppress your own instincts."
"Because you chase the thrill of the fight, you deliberately seal away your power."
"But doing so will only cause you to lose even more opportunities to enjoy the beauty of it."
"Therefore."
The corners of Naraku Sora's mouth curled up. "Go find your instinct. The moment you become a king, perhaps you'll be able to witness my true strength."
Zaraki Kenpachi's face was filled with bewilderment.
With nothing but muscle in his brain, he couldn't understand what Naraku Sora was trying to express at all.
But one thing was very clear.
That was, his current level of strength was simply not enough to enjoy the pure thrill of a deathmatch.
If he wanted to continue fighting Naraku Sora, he had to become stronger.
In a daze, Zaraki's fighting spirit soared even higher, and even his Reiatsu became purer.
But obviously, he was no longer in any condition to continue fighting right now.
That final slash had nearly cleaved his body in half, leaving even his bones clearly visible.
Soon, several squad members stepped forward and skillfully carried the blood-soaked Zaraki Kenpachi away.
Looking at the battered but unyielding Zaraki Kenpachi, the squad members couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"Captain Zaraki sure is brave."
"Come on, Captain Zaraki is the Kenpachi. Of course he's super brave, okay?"
"How many people have you seen who dare to provoke the Prison Warden like that?"
"To be fair, that's true."
Amidst the crowd, the shock on Urahara Kisuke's face lingered for a long time.
Zaraki Kenpachi's miserable defeat was to be expected.
Naraku Sora being a monster wasn't anything new, but what he couldn't understand was that this guy seemed to have grown even stronger than before.
After standing in place and thinking for a few seconds, Urahara Kisuke's eyes gradually became resolute.
*I can't let things continue like this.*
As if he had figured something out, he turned and walked toward his laboratory.
Inside the training ground, Naraku Sora watched his retreating back, a delighted smile curling on his lips.
Mount Koifushi, Secret Base.
Upon receiving Aizen's notification, Naraku Sora arrived at a newly opened laboratory.
"Although you don't understand the underlying principles, given that you possess this ability yourself, I thought it necessary for you to participate."
Aizen stood in front of the console, operating it with practiced ease.
A container rose from the floor, filled with a viscous liquid and a familiar figure.
It was the third-generation Captain of Squad 10, Kuroda Ryōsuke, whom Naraku Sora had previously fished out of Muken.
Because he had been imprisoned in Muken for so many years, his Reiatsu had decayed to an extremely low level.
It couldn't even compare to an ordinary Lieutenant.
Precisely because of this, Aizen had selected him as the subject for their first experiment.
As high-density liquid Reishi was injected, Kuroda Ryōsuke suddenly jolted awake from his coma. His eyes were wide open and bloodshot, and his expression looked exceptionally hideous.
Aizen kept a close eye on the fluctuating parameters on the screen. When the values reached the preset threshold, a faintly glowing gemstone was placed on Kuroda Ryōsuke's forehead.
*Sizzle—*
His flesh split open. Bizarrely, not a single drop of blood seeped out, as if it had all been absorbed.
As the gemstone sank in, Kuroda Ryōsuke's struggles came to an abrupt halt, like a bug encased in amber.
However, this state didn't last long. Just a few seconds later, a deafening roar echoed throughout the laboratory.