"Captain Kyoya, don't forget, you are the Captain of the 11th Division of the Gotei 13!" Yamamoto said gravely, "Protecting the Seireitei is also your duty!"
"Exactly." Kyoya blinked, looking innocently at Yamamoto. "You said that third seat Kuchiki might be a threat to the Seireitei, so I've expelled third seat Kuchiki from the Seireitei. Now that third seat Kuchiki is no longer in the Seireitei, how can he pose a threat to it? Isn't this me protecting the Seireitei?"
"..." Yamamoto was left speechless by Kyoya's reasoning.
What kind of joke was this? The ability of Koga's Zanpakuto was an absolute counter to most Shinigami.
They didn't dare to put such a person in an important position, but they also didn't dare to let him go. Who knew if a resentful Koga might be swayed by others with ill intentions toward the Seireitei and stab them in the back at a critical moment?
If that happened, Koga's existence would undoubtedly bring catastrophic disaster to the Seireitei!
But these words were spoken by Kyoya, so what could they do? With Koga nearby, neither Ginrei nor Yamamoto could use their Zanpakuto.
On Kyoya's side, however, there was no such restriction. With one side strengthened and the other weakened, it might be an exaggeration to say that Kyoya and Koga together could overthrow the Seireitei, but it was no exaggeration to say they could cause even more severe consequences than the Hollowfication incident decades ago.
Although the Captains of the Gotei 13 were the pillars that maintained the stability of the Seireitei, the ones who truly upheld the peace and order of the Seireitei were the ordinary Shinigami members of the Gotei 13.
Without them maintaining the Seireitei's order day after day, year after year, the Seireitei would have long descended into chaos given the behavior of its nobles.
The Gotei 13 had lost six Captains for decades, and even now, four Captain's positions remained vacant, yet the Seireitei had not been greatly affected.
However, Kyoya and Koga could impact every Shinigami in the Seireitei who possessed a Zanpakuto. If too many lower-ranking members were killed or injured, control over the Seireitei would be lost.
This was something neither Ginrei nor Yamamoto wanted to see.
"Captain Kyoya, are you threatening me?" The Reiatsu around Yamamoto surged like a volcano on the verge of eruption, scorching and distorting the air around him. Ginrei, standing beside him, had to step back and cover his body with his own Reiatsu to resist the suddenly intensifying heat. "Do you know what happened to the last person who threatened me?"
"Haha..." Kyoya laughed at Yamamoto's threat, "Captain-Commander, if I remember correctly, the last person who threatened you was the Kasumioji Clan, right? They used the Bakkoto to control your disciple, Kisaragi Shin'etsu. If it weren't for me, you might have had to kill your own disciple with your own hands. As I recall, you didn't really do much to the Kasumioji Clan either, did you?"
"Hmph!" Yamamoto snorted, "Does the Kasumioji Clan still exist now?"
"Captain-Commander, that's not very fair of you." Kyoya waved his hand, "If I hadn't used some methods behind the scenes to expose certain things about the Kasumioji Clan, could you have really done anything to them? You'd probably have had to grit your teeth and swallow your anger in secret, right?"
Kyoya wasn't talking nonsense. In the original work, Yamamoto, unable to pin anything on the Kasumioji Clan, couldn't take action against them.
Even a hundred years later, when the main story begins, and with the intervention of the protagonist, Ichigo, evidence of the Kasumioji Clan manufacturing Bakkoto is exposed, only a butler of the Kasumioji Clan ends up taking the fall, while the noble status of the Kasumioji Clan remains unaffected.
"Taking credit for my achievements and then boasting about it in front of me..." At this point, Kyoya's lips curled into a smile, his eyes filled with mockery that made Yamamoto's brow twitch.
As someone who experienced the incident, Yamamoto knew Kyoya wasn't wrong. If Kyoya hadn't arrived in time to sever Shin'etsu's hand and destroy the Bakkoto before Shin'etsu was drained dry, Shin'etsu would likely be dead by now.
In that case, Yamamoto wouldn't have been able to do anything to the Kasumioji Clan. Shin'etsu was both a victim and a key witness. Now that Kyoya had put it so bluntly, how could Yamamoto still maintain his authority in front of him?
"Captain Kyoya..."
"Ah-"
Just as Ginrei started to speak, a powerful slash suddenly cut through the air beside him. The gust of wind it brought made Ginrei's hair flutter violently. A hundred-meter-long trench appeared on the ground next to him, as if a slight deviation would have cut him in half.
"Let's get straight to the point, Captain Kuchiki, Captain-Commander..." At some point, Kyoya had already conjured a golden light sword in his hand, pointing it at Ginrei and Yamamoto. The earlier slash was clearly Kyoya's warning to them.
"I will definitely protect Koga. The only difference is whether you agree to let Koga transfer to my 11th Division and become the leader of our Rukongai's branch office, or we fight here, and in the end, I'll still take Koga out of the Seireitei and directly station him in the Rukongai."
Silence!
Hearing Kyoya's words, both Yamamoto and Ginrei were momentarily speechless.
Should they say that Kyoya truly lived up to being the Captain of the 11th Division?
Everything was decided by combat?
Yamamoto gave Kyoya a heavy look.
From Kyoya's eyes, Yamamoto could sense that Kyoya seemed eager to fight him. This, Yamamoto could understand.
Geniuses, especially once-in-a-millennium 'geniuses' like Kyoya, were all exceptionally self-centered existences.
Yamamoto himself was a 'genius'.
During his growth, he naturally went through an arrogant phase of 'I am the greatest in the world'. It was only after being taught a lesson by the Hollow King from Hueco Mundo that Yamamoto understood the principle that 'there is always someone better' and became much more humble.
Kyoya had grown to his current level in just a few decades, so how could he not have pride?
As the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years, it was only natural for Kyoya to want to challenge him.
In fact, Yamamoto even suspected that Kyoya's condition of saving Koga was just a side task, while his main goal was to provoke a fight with him!
Even Yamamoto couldn't help but admire Kyoya's strategy.
It seemed Kyoya was well aware of the gap in their strength. Thus, he used Koga's ability to seal his Zanpakuto and limit his power. In his current state, fighting Kyoya wouldn't pose much of a threat to him.
'So, should I fight?'
After only a moment's hesitation, Yamamoto made his decision.
'Fight!'
Not only would he fight, but he would also make sure Kyoya understood just how vast the difference in their strength truly was.
Otherwise, in the long run, as Kyoya grew stronger and stronger, the arrogance that came with that power would inevitably become uncontainable, and he would likely turn into a lawless individual.
"Step back, Ginrei."
Once he made his decision, Yamamoto naturally didn't hesitate.
Ginrei was taken aback for a moment but ultimately stepped back.
Kyoya's lips curled into a smile, and his mood lifted, "Koga, you should step back too. Even if other Captains come to watch, you don't need to do anything. Of course, if anyone tries to attack you while I'm fighting the Captain-Commander, feel free to fight back! I'll take responsibility for whatever happens!"
"Yes, Captain Kyoya."
Koga bowed to Kyoya in thanks before retreating several dozen meters.
"Then, I look forward to learning from you, Captain-Commander!"
"..."
Kyoya's voice echoed as his figure appeared right in front of Yamamoto, his light sword slashing down toward him.
The golden light sword clashed with the Zanpakuto, sparks exploding from the impact.
The tremendous force caused both Kyoya and Yamamoto to freeze momentarily from the collision.
In the next instant-
Boom!
The ground where Yamamoto stood shattered violently, as if struck by a meteor, forming a massive crater.
"Rumble, rumble, rumble-"
Invisible energy erupted from the ground, and shattered rocks were sent flying by the explosive force, whistling through the air.
Kyoya's hair and Yamamoto's beard were whipped about by the wind pressure from the outburst. The shattered rocks, upon meeting their hair and beards, were instantly crushed by the Reiatsu covering their bodies.
Clang!
Boom!
Clang!
Boom!
Next, Kyoya's figure and Yamamoto's figure constantly shifted.
In the eyes of Ginrei and Koga, the area ahead seemed filled with the images of Kyoya and Yamamoto.
Every time their figures appeared, Ama no Murakumo and Ryujin Jakka would collide, unleashing immense power that destroyed everything around them.
Craters like those from meteor impacts appeared one after another before Ginrei and Koga, marking the traces of the battle between Kyoya and Yamamoto.
Clang, clang, clang…
The violent wind pressure swept through like blades.
Despite both Ginrei and Koga being Captain-level Shinigami, under the aftershocks of Kyoya and Yamamoto's battle, they had no choice but to continuously retreat to avoid being harmed by the shockwaves from the fight.
"Hahahaha-"
Kyoya laughed wildly.
Since becoming the Captain of the 11th Division, he hadn't fought at full strength in a long time.
Even his battles with Zaraki couldn't get Kyoya excited. But now, fighting with Yamamoto thrilled him to no end.
In terms of Reiatsu, there was still a significant gap between Kyoya and Yamamoto.
Yamamoto hadn't released his Zanpakuto, while Kyoya, because he hadn't yet defeated and subjugated Borsalino again, was in his Shikai State, further narrowing the gap in Reiatsu between him and Yamamoto.
Additionally, Kyoya's physical prowess and bloodline compensated for his shortcomings in this area. The battle between Kyoya and Yamamoto was more of a contest in swordsmanship.
As the [World's Greatest Swordsman], Kyoya's sword skills were top-tier.
Yamamoto, as the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years, though his swordsmanship might not match Unohana's, aside from her, few could compare to him in this regard.
For a time, Kyoya and Yamamoto were locked in an intense battle, their violent Reiatsus clashing and scattering the clouds in the sky.
…
'This Reiatsu... it's Kyoya!'
In the 11th Division, Zaraki suddenly looked up, grabbed the Zanpakuto by his bed, and with a 'boom', he kicked down the wall, rushing swiftly in the direction of Kyoya's Reiatsu.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom-
Amidst a series of rumbles, Zaraki charged recklessly, smashing through houses and walls in a straight line, all to reach the battlefield in the shortest time possible.
"Ken-chan, wait for me!"
At this moment, Yachiru's voice rang out behind Zaraki.
Unlike Zaraki, Yachiru was as light as a butterfly. Though she started after Zaraki, with every flash of her figure, the distance between them shorten significantly.
In terms of speed, Yachiru was noticeably faster than Zaraki.
"Hurry up, Yachiru! If you delay my fight, I won't forgive you!"
Hearing Yachiru's voice, Zaraki's tone wasn't exactly pleasant, but his speed unconsciously slowed down a bit.
"Ha, I caught up!"
Yachiru used Shunpo to land on Zaraki's shoulder, grabbing his Shihakusho with both hands, hanging like an accessory as Zaraki sprinted at high speed.
"That guy, finding such an opponent and not telling me..."
"Exactly, exactly! Let's go steal Captain Kyoya's enemy!"
"Go for it, Ken-chan!"
"Go, go, go!"
"This way, this way!"
Yachiru chattered like a little bird by Zaraki's ear, casually pointing in a direction for Zaraki to follow.
…
"This is... Captain-Commander and Captain Kyoya's Reiatsu? Why are they fighting?"
In the 8th Division, Kyoraku sighed.
These two, in Kyoraku Shunsui's view, were both very difficult to handle. One was his teacher, unwavering and decisive, while the other was a super genius he couldn't quite figure out, a strong individual with the potential to reach Yamamoto's level in the future.