Chapter 460 - 460: Aizen’s Headache—Another Monster From Rukongai

"Ken-chan!"

Yachiru looked toward Kenpachi and called out anxiously.

"He's not dead."

Seeing how worried she was, Cyrus turned back toward Kenpachi and raised one hand.

The humanoid figure made of flame collapsed into a mass of fire before condensing in Cyrus's palm, once again forming a long sword.

Compared to before, the blade had already changed slightly.

Its edge now carried a faint reddish tint.

The transformation looked almost identical to what En had gone through in its earliest days.

Cyrus sheathed Enya and walked over to Kenpachi.

The man was completely charred and unconscious, but his breathing remained steady.

His injuries looked horrific, yet for someone like Kenpachi, they weren't actually that serious.

Of course, Cyrus had hit him a little harder than necessary.

He bent down, grabbed Kenpachi by one ankle, then looked toward the still-stunned Yachiru.

"Come on. Let's get him back for treatment."

"Oh! Okay!"

Yachiru hurried after him on her short legs.

Then she stared at the way Cyrus was dragging Kenpachi toward Seireitei by one leg.

Kenpachi's face was pressed against the ground the entire way, scraping through dirt and gravel.

Yachiru had a strong suspicion Cyrus was doing it on purpose.

'Is this because Ken-chan picked a fight with him?'

When they finally reached Seireitei, the guards stationed at the gate nearly had their eyes pop out of their heads at the sight of Cyrus dragging Kenpachi behind him.

They hurriedly opened the gates.

But once the entrance was clear, Cyrus found quite a crowd waiting on the other side.

Shunsui Kyōraku stood there with his hands tucked into his sleeves, his straw hat resting low over his head.

Jūshirō Ukitake was beside him, covering his mouth as he coughed softly.

Kaname Tosen stood with his eyes covered.

Byakuya Kuchiki waited with his hands behind his back.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi was there as well, wearing that bizarre mask-like makeup of his.

And behind the other captains stood Aizen.

Naturally, plenty of ordinary Shinigami had gathered nearby too.

The moment everyone saw Cyrus walk through the gate dragging a thoroughly blackened Kenpachi by one ankle, their expressions froze.

Aizen's surprise might have been acting.

Everyone else's definitely wasn't.

Kenpachi might not know Bankai, but no one would ever call him weak among the captains.

He was the kind of fighter who grew stronger the longer a battle continued, and his obsession with combat made him an opponent few people willingly challenged.

Every captain present understood just how troublesome Kenpachi could be.

And now some complete stranger had dragged him back by the leg like a sack of garbage.

"Well, well."

Shunsui pressed down the brim of his hat.

"What a terrifying young man."

"Is he a Shinigami?"

Ukitake lowered the hand covering his mouth, genuine confusion in his voice.

Cyrus was holding a Zanpakutō, but he certainly wasn't dressed like a Shinigami.

At the very least, he clearly wasn't an officially appointed one.

Still, someone walking into Seireitei this openly had to have been registered somehow.

Thinking that, Ukitake glanced toward the other captains.

He found only shock, confusion, and disbelief on their faces.

Aizen had also arranged an appropriately stunned expression, though internally he was fighting the urge to rub his forehead.

'This man really cannot stay quiet.'

At this point, keeping Cyrus low-profile was no longer even remotely possible.

And if that was the case, concealing everything else would become more difficult as well.

'I need to accelerate the plan.'

Aizen made the decision almost immediately.

"Hey, Aizen."

Just as he was thinking that, Cyrus suddenly spoke in front of everyone.

"This one isn't my fault. I was just out for a walk and this idiot insisted on fighting me."

Whoosh!

Every Shinigami present turned toward Aizen at once.

Aizen's body stiffened for the briefest moment.

Then he gave a helpless smile.

"Well, I had hoped to keep him hidden for a while longer."

He sighed theatrically.

"But I suppose that's impossible now."

Aizen looked around at the other captains.

"Everyone, he's someone I intend to bring into the Fifth Division, so I hope none of you try to steal him away."

His smile became warmer.

"After all, it took me quite a bit of effort to discover a talent like this."

"Oh?"

Shunsui looked genuinely surprised.

"A newcomer?"

A newcomer who had defeated Zaraki Kenpachi?

By the usual rules, that would already make him eligible to replace Kenpachi as captain of the Eleventh Division.

Except this man clearly hadn't even formally become a Shinigami yet.

Something like this had practically never happened before.

Even Kenpachi himself had spent some time learning under the old man before officially becoming a Shinigami, and only afterward had he defeated the previous Kenpachi and taken the captaincy.

Now another monster like that had appeared.

"Those are burns."

Byakuya looked at Kenpachi and spoke calmly.

The others turned their attention toward him as well.

The burns were obvious, but Kenpachi's body was clearly abnormal even by Shinigami standards.

During the relatively short trip back, injuries that had looked severe earlier were already healing noticeably.

Cyrus had held back, after all.

"Since all of you are here, I'll leave him with you."

Cyrus released Kenpachi's ankle.

His gaze swept across the gathered captains, then he flashed them a broad smile and turned to leave.

After only a few steps, however, he stopped.

Then he turned toward Aizen.

"Uh…"

Cyrus scratched his cheek.

"I don't really know my way around this place."

He looked directly at him.

"Aizen, mind showing me the way?"

Aizen smiled apologetically at the other captains, then quickly caught up with Cyrus.

The two left together.

Everyone who remained exchanged looks.

"Where did Captain Aizen even find another monster like that?"

Once Cyrus was out of earshot, Shunsui stopped lowering his voice.

At this point, he was mostly interested in gossip.

"That looked even worse than when Zaraki first showed up."

"Maybe he found him in Rukongai too."

A voice suddenly came from nearby.

"Not long ago, during another round of spiritual aptitude testing in Rukongai, three other promising candidates were discovered. All of them showed unusually good potential."

Everyone turned toward the speaker.

Soi Fon had appeared without anyone noticing.

"Even you didn't know about this, Captain Soi Fon?"

Shunsui asked curiously.

The other captains looked toward her as well.

After all, Soi Fon oversaw assassination, covert operations, and intelligence gathering.

If Captain Aizen had discovered some extraordinary prodigy, surely she should have heard something about it.

"I received a report not long ago."

Soi Fon's voice was cold.

"And when this man went to have his Shihakushō made, he apparently had a minor confrontation with that woman."

So she did know something.

"But I had no idea he was this strong."

Her gaze sharpened.

"This is not a minor matter."

"A person with strength like this doesn't simply appear from nowhere."

"That is worth investigating."

Ukitake nodded repeatedly, then turned toward Tosen.

"Wouldn't you agree, Captain Tosen?"

"It isn't especially unusual."

Tosen answered calmly.

"Rukongai hides plenty of powerful people."

"Zaraki Kenpachi came from there."

He paused.

"So did I."

"That's true."

Shunsui nodded.

"But this still feels a little different."

He leapt down beside the unconscious Kenpachi and looked toward Yachiru.

"Little Yachiru."

Shunsui smiled.

"What exactly happened out there?"