CH 71: SHIBA (2)
"So, how exactly did we get here?"
Currently, the sun hung high in the sky while two shinigami faced each other.
"Hahaha! Don't mind the small details. I just thought that since you want to become captain. I need to at least ascertain your skills, right?"
Even though the two of them were talking nonchalantly, a subtle feeling of tension could be felt gradually growing between them,
"Heh, is that so? Don't complain if everything in this zone gets razed to the ground."
Gojo shrugged and warned Isshin lightly. It wasn't like this place was close to his home. So he did not really care what happened to it.
"Nah, don't worry. I just want a simple exchange of blows. You see, I think that the best way to understand someone is through the way they fight."
Isshin calmly dismissed those worries. He understood how destructive fights at their level could be. Erasing an entire city wouldn't even be that complicated, and that would just be the collateral damage.
"... I see."
"You must think I am a meathead, right?"
"Not really. The personality of a warrior is indeed reflected in the way he fights. Well then, how about this. Only Shikai and no Kido above 30."
Of course, in the hands of a captain, even a low-level Kido could show tremendous might, but once again, this wasn't his home.
But for Isshin, something else in this sentence caught his attention.
He widened his eyes at the implications of the words uttered by Gojo,
"You… Have you already reached that level? You awakened your Bankai?"
This would change many things.
"Hehe...let's say it's my little secret. Well then, shall we begin?"
Gojo didn't wish for it to be known that he reached the Bankai.
Because technically, he didn't. At the very least, he refused to say that he had reached a level when he was still unable to properly and perfectly control it.
A little farther, about five kilometers away, Rangiku observed the two shinigami with Nemu standing next to her. she couldn't help but smile wryly as she remembered how this situation came to be.
...
The party had been quite successful.
Even though some of them had been awkward at first, they rapidly warmed to each other and joked together.
Even Nemu, though she stayed silent until the end, could be seen trying to smile from time to time.
But like all good things, the end was slowly coming
Shinigami were generally not rowdy.
At least as long as they were not doing something that particularly interested them, they could even be quite lethargic.
This was what happened when you lived hundreds of years in the same place, seeing the same people every day.
People like Zaraki were no exception since aside from fighting, he would sleep most of the time.
But just as they were about to put an end and separate, Isshin had suddenly asked Gojo if the rumors about him wishing to become captain were true.
Once Gojo answered in affirmation, Isshin expressed that he was willing to support and give his vote to Gojo since he did not particularly like Gin.
Even though Rangiku liked Gojo, Gin was also her childhood friend. So she had been quite bitter.
Even so, she understood where her captain was coming from and could not blame him. Gin was simply too secretive. Even her, as his one and only friend, could not say that she really understood him. Much less strangers who knew nothing of him.
Shaking her head, she looked at the woman next to her,
"Who do you think will win?"
Nemu on the other hand tilted her head slightly before answering calmly,
"I believe that Satoru Gojo is stronger."
"Oh? You seem to have quite the trust in him."
It was rather surprising. After all, no matter how popular Gojo was, the difference between a captain and anyone else at a lower rank was quite wide.
It was even more so for people like Isshin who could be considered to be one of the top-level captains.
Inwardly, she also wondered what kind of relationship Nemu had with Gojo.
Nemu Kurotsuchi was truly an enigma for the other vice-captains.
They did not know where she came from and no one had ever seen her use her zanpakuto. What's more, she was pretty recluse and did not mingle with the others.
Rangiku had always wished to talk to her because of the melancholy she could see on her face.
So she had been pretty surprised when she saw Nemu with Gojo.
She had been friends with Gojo for five years, and though she couldn't say that she knew him very well, she knew that he did not like women with heavy baggage.
He never connected too deeply with anyone and always kept a wall tightly around his heart.
Even if he could be seen laughing or joking around, you could never really understand what he was thinking.
Sometimes she even wondered if he could feel anything at all,
"Well, let's see the fight."
They weren't the only ones observing the fight. Both Kaien and captain Ukitake were also observing the situation, though they were far closer.
As for Miyako, she had opted to stay and take care of the house.
As for her curiosity about his relationship with Nemu, she could simply ask him later.
---
Back to Gojo, he smiled and asked,
"Let me be clear. If we get punished later, I will put all the blame on you."
Isshin laughed loudly as he unheated his sword,
"No worries. Only fights between captains or vice-captains are forbidden. Officially, you are neither, at least for now. Now then, shall we go?"
"Very well — Through heaven and earth, we alone are the honored ones, Tengoku no Kogo!"
"Hahaha! This is it." Laughing, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Burn! Engetsu!"[1]
[1]: Engetsu= scathing moon.
Trivia: Zangetsu= slaying moon.
[AN: Isshin is low-key one of the most under-rated shinigami. The guy fought against Aizen who had Hogyoku in him(though not fully fused) to a standstill and this Isshin was far weaker than he was twenty years ago since he had lost most of his shinigami power to save his wife from White. Guy didn't even use his Bankai nor shikai and we know he can fuse with his zanpakuto like Ichigo final getsuga form. Like, the guy literally sent Aizen flying with a flick of his fingers(though Aizen didn't get wounded)]