"Taking care of some business?" To an outsider, such a phrase probably sounded as casual as taking a sip of water. But to Ayasegawa Yumichika and Madarame Ikkaku, it felt incredibly oppressive, because the two of them were apparently the "business" Kōe needed to take care of.
"Two top-tier fighters of Squad 11, yet you were easily pinned down by a single Arrancar. One of you even almost died! Aren’t you two going to give me an explanation?"
Kōe’s expression was relatively calm, but he made no attempt to hide the displeasure in his voice.
"It was..."
"It was my fault for insisting on fighting him alone and refusing to let Yumichika step in." Ikkaku interrupted Yumichika just in time, continuing his explanation. "As for my defeat... I overestimated my own abilities and caused trouble for everyone."
Kōe raised a hand to cut Ikkaku off. There was absolutely no need to listen to this kind of talk. "How much longer are you going to hide it?"
"Huh?" Madarame hesitated, his gaze darting away. It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard clearly; it was precisely because he heard it perfectly that he felt a surge of fear. He was terrified that Kōe already knew his secret.
"I asked how much longer you plan to hide the fact that you’ve achieved Bankai!" Kōe’s temper flared instantly as he slammed his palm onto the table with a loud bang. "Is unlocking Bankai something to be ashamed of? Or does using your Bankai kill you? Getting beaten so badly you couldn’t even release it—you idiot!"
"How could I possibly..."
"’How could I possibly have Bankai?’ Let me finish that sentence for you!" Kōe pointed at Madarame Ikkaku and cursed furiously. "A man who offers his neck to the slaughter without even drawing his blade is disgraceful! And even now, you don’t show a shred of remorse or reflection. You’re useless! A bastard!"
"Even if you could fool me, can you fool yourself?! Answer me, Madarame Ikkaku!"
Faced with Kōe’s interrogation, Ikkaku clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. Was he willing to accept such an ’intentional’ loss? Of course he wasn’t. But more than his unwillingness to lose, he was unwilling to leave Squad 11.
He looked up and forced a stiff smile. "I’d love to trick myself into believing I have Bankai, but I just don’t."
Before he could finish speaking, Kōe threw a direct punch. Ikkaku didn’t dodge or resist, allowing the blow to land squarely on his face. His body jerked violently before he collapsed onto the floor.
"Ikkaku!"
"Stay right there!" Kōe barked, stopping Yumichika in his tracks. Dropping to one knee, he grabbed Ikkaku by the collar and snarled, "Are you looking down on me right now? Do you think I’m just bluffing? Or do you believe that as long as you don’t admit it, I can’t do anything about it? Fine, I’ll lay it all out so you can die with a clear understanding."
"You used to guide Renji’s training. That’s no secret in the Seireitei. But both you and Renji are the types who rely on exceptional combat instincts. Tactics? There’s no way you could teach him something like that. Therefore, the only thing you could guide him in was how to get stronger."
"Getting stronger is a vague concept. But what exactly could you teach Renji? Zanjutsu? Kidō? I’m afraid neither of those things have a set form in your squad. Taking that into account, what else is left for you to teach? Thinking it over, the only thing left is experience."
"I’m not looking down on you, but you don’t have that much more experience than Renji. Even when he was fresh out of the academy and transferred from Squad 5, it was the same. If it were purely combat experience, he definitely would have found an opportunity to seek guidance from Zaraki. The problem is, he didn’t."
"So, what is the one area of experience where you absolutely surpass Renji, and even surpass Zaraki? Your Zanpakutō! There is no other possibility. And the only thing that would keep him training with you right up until he left Squad 11 is the experience of something he didn’t possess himself—Bankai!"
It was a near-perfect deduction. Standing to the side, Yumichika couldn’t help but swallow hard. He hadn’t expected that Kōe, who outwardly showed such disdain for Renji, actually understood him so thoroughly in secret.
And immediately after, Kōe revealed another fact that shocked both him and Ikkaku.
"When a training maniac suddenly takes an interest in guiding someone else’s practice, anyone familiar with you would realize something was off. Because of that, I’m not the only one who figured out you’ve achieved Bankai. Iba, the man you consider a deserter, knows it very well. In his eyes, you’re probably an absolute fool!"
Ikkaku was dumbfounded. He stared up at Kōe, who let out a cold sneer. "What? Do you think he has no right to mock you? Let me tell you, you are indeed an absolute fool!"
"Why do you think so many captains never teach others how to train for Bankai? Because there is no such thing as a ’training method’ for Bankai. Every Zanpakutō is different. Bankai, which requires subjugating the spirit and forcing it into materialization, is exactly the same. It can only be achieved through one’s own trials. Teaching someone? I’d say you were misleading him!"
"No, I was trying to help Abarai!" Ikkaku panicked slightly.
"You wanted to help? If you had spent more time practicing your Bankai after unlocking it, you couldn’t possibly be ignorant of this fact. But where did you spend all your time? You spent it figuring out how to turn yourself into a piece of trash! You haven’t gotten any stronger in all this time. Did you think there was nothing left to strive for once you achieved Bankai?!"
"No, I just... I just didn’t want to leave Squad 11!" Ikkaku squeezed his eyes shut and roared, as if venting all his pent-up emotions. "I crave battle, but more than that, I crave fighting in Squad 11, under my captain! Fighting under him until I die in battle—there is no other place I belong!"
Bankai and the rank of Captain. At some point, the two had become synonymous in the minds of most Gotei 13 members. At the very least, to Ikkaku—whose brain only processed eating, sleeping, and fighting—the two were exactly the same.
But unlike the majority who yearned to wear the captain’s haori, he had no desire to become a captain. In fact, one could even say he feared it.
Especially after the defection of Aizen and the other two. Although Kōe had filled the vacancy as Captain of Squad 5, the captain seats for Squad 3 and Squad 9 remained empty, desperately needing someone to step up.
Because of this, Renji had even sought him out specifically, wanting to recommend him for a captaincy, but Ikkaku had decisively refused.
Rather than being a captain, he wanted to stay in Squad 11, remaining under Zaraki Kenpachi, the man who had first made him realize his true self. Repaying a debt? More accurately, it was a sense of belonging. There were plenty of strong fighters who could defeat Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika, but the only strong fighter they could truly pledge themselves to was Zaraki Kenpachi.
Kōe suddenly fell silent. As if deflating, he chuckled and shook his head, releasing his grip. "Calling you a fool is giving you too much credit." Patting Ikkaku on the head, Kōe laughed. "You win. I can’t even find the words to describe you anymore. Staying under Zaraki until you die in battle? With such a ridiculous excuse, you might as well just admit you’re arrogant."
"Mr. Chōzuka..." Ayasegawa Yumichika suddenly spoke up, his tone dead serious. "That wasn’t funny at all. Please take back what you just said."
"Wasn’t it funny? No, that is absolutely the funniest thing I’ve heard in two hundred years."
Kōe poked Ikkaku’s head, smiling at Yumichika. "This guy actually thinks people would beg him to become a captain? There’s a story in the World of the Living about a frog in a well. I never thought I’d get to see one with my own eyes."
"It’s just too hilarious. Ha... ha... ha..."
Except, at this moment, Kōe’s laughter was somewhat cold...
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