Chapter 861: Chapter 862: Ethan’s Zanpakutō
Yoruichi looked at Ethan speechlessly. She had not expected him to answer so directly, which made everything she had prepared useless.
The atmosphere became awkward for a moment. Fortunately, Ethan quickly broke the silence and invited her into the squad barracks for tea.
"Tea? How about some alcohol?"
"Probably not."
"Tch. Seriously, you don’t even keep any drinks around?"
"No."
"Are you even a man?"
"What does that have to do with being a man?"
The Fourth Division’s headquarters were spacious and the scenery was beautiful. Walking through the grounds, ignoring the occasional injured person and hurried medical staff, it felt almost like a scenic retreat.
Seeing how pleasant the surroundings were, Yoruichi changed her mind and decided to take a proper look around the Fourth Division headquarters.
"I heard you became a seated officer?"
"Yeah. Tenth Seat."
Yoruichi pursed her lips. She knew Ethan’s strength. After settling into the Second Division, she also had a clear understanding of what level a seated officer should have.
In her view, in a division like the Fourth, where overall combat strength was not particularly high, Ethan could easily have secured a higher seat.
"Only Tenth Seat? If you don’t work harder, Kisuke will surpass you soon."
Ethan was speechless. He did not even want this Tenth Seat position. If possible, he would rather remain an unknown member and spend his days peacefully in the Fourth Division.
Unfortunately, his talent was too obvious. As soon as he joined the Fourth Division, Captain Unohana Retsu had taken notice of him.
Sometimes he wondered if he should have kept a lower profile at the academy, like he did in the Naruto world, so no one would have paid attention to him.
"Has Kisuke not become a seated officer yet?"
"That guy spends all his energy on strange experiments. He hasn’t even finished his training."
Just like Ethan, Yoruichi and Urahara Kisuke had to undergo additional training after officially joining the Gotei 13.
Compared to other divisions, the entry training for the Second and Fourth Divisions was the most complicated. This was due to the unique nature of those two divisions. In contrast, most other divisions required much less additional training.
For example, the Eleventh Division only required you to be able to fight. The necessary knowledge had already been taught at the academy. When there were no battles, they simply focused on honing their combat skills.
Divisions like the Eighth and Ninth involved specialized knowledge, but there was no urgency for newcomers to master everything immediately. They could learn gradually while working.
The Second and Fourth Divisions were different. Because of their nature, newly graduated recruits could not immediately become qualified members. They had to undergo specialized training first. Otherwise, they would not even be able to perform the most basic tasks.
Because of this, Ethan, Yoruichi, and Kisuke had very little free time after graduation. It was only recently, after Yoruichi had fully integrated into the Second Division, that she had the time to visit Ethan.
She did not know that Ethan had actually been quite free, spending most of his time sparring with Unohana Retsu. He simply had not gone to find her and Kisuke because he had forgotten what he had said back then.
"By the way, I heard you’ve been fighting people from the Eleventh Division lately? I thought I might get to watch something interesting."
"Too bad. They didn’t show up today."
Yoruichi was not Ethan. After a brief thought, she understood why no one from the Eleventh Division had come today.
"That’s fine. I probably didn’t miss the best part anyway."
"..."
Those fools from the Eleventh Division would never give up. Next time, they would definitely send someone stronger. Maybe another seated officer, perhaps even the lieutenant. It was not impossible for the captain to show up either.
"By the way, if you defeat the current Kenpachi, according to the Gotei 13’s tradition, wouldn’t you become the Captain of the Eleventh Division?"
Yoruichi suddenly slapped Ethan hard on the back, making him stagger. She clearly used too much force on purpose.
"Not bad. You might be the first among us three to become a captain."
"Stop joking. I have absolutely no interest in being the Captain of the Eleventh Division."
Yoruichi seemed to have discovered something amusing. She covered her mouth and looked at Ethan sideways with a strange smile.
"Listen to you. It sounds like if you wanted to be a captain, you could choose whichever division you liked."
Most ordinary Shinigami did not even dare to dream about becoming a captain. Even fewer would dare to talk about becoming the Captain of the Eleventh Division, the strongest combat division.
Yet the man in front of her spoke as if he were rejecting an undesirable position. If word got out, it would cause almost as much of a stir as him beating up Eleventh Division members.
"I don’t want to change my name to Ethan Kenpachi."
More importantly, he felt that the Eleventh Division was full of lunatics. If he stayed in that environment for too long, he might eventually become one himself.
"Hahaha. Ethan Kenpachi. That actually sounds good."
"..."
They chatted casually as they walked and soon arrived near a relatively secluded grove.
"This place is nice."
Yoruichi looked around and suddenly began stretching.
Seeing her movements, Ethan felt his eyelids twitch. Something troublesome was about to happen.
"You’re not planning to spar with me here, are you?"
"You’re free anyway. And you said you would show me your Zanpakutō."
Ethan rubbed his temples and began thinking of excuses.
"Kisuke isn’t here. Wouldn’t it be unfair to leave him out? How about I show you both next time when you’re together?"
Yoruichi waved her hand dismissively.
"I’ll tell him afterward. That guy won’t care about something like this."
"..."
Seeing her attitude, Ethan knew he could not avoid this today. He began considering how to display his Zanpakutō.
The sword at his waist, though called a Zanpakutō, was actually a manifestation of part of his power. In simple terms, it allowed him to channel some of his inherent strength.
How should he demonstrate it? After thinking for a while, he realized the simplest way was to just fabricate an ability and present it as such.
"Ready?"
"I’m just showing you my Zanpakutō. There’s no need to fight, right?"
"It’s clearer in a fight. Besides, I’ve been in a bad mood lately. Fighting you will help."
"That’s the real reason, isn’t it?"
"It’s all the same."
After a few preparatory movements, Yoruichi suddenly drew the short sword at her waist and thrust it toward Ethan.
The future Flash Goddess Yoruichi would not even carry a Zanpakutō. But for now, she still wore hers at her side. In its sealed form, her Zanpakutō was a short sword, ideal for making full use of her speed and agility.
Ethan sighed and drew his own blade. As it left the scabbard, a gust of wind burst forth. Yoruichi, who was charging forward, felt the strong wind and narrowed her eyes slightly.
Immediately after, she heard the sound of a blade cutting through the air. Sensing danger, she was slightly surprised.
"From that distance... His sword shouldn’t be that long..."
She raised her short sword to block the strike. At the same time, she noticed that Ethan’s hands were empty. Yet she had clearly blocked a slash. Though his hands looked empty, he was clearly holding something.
"An invisible sword?"
No. It was more than that.
Yoruichi retreated a few steps to create distance and reexamined Ethan’s stance and the space between them.
His posture resembled Jōdan-no-kamae, specifically a variation where the tip pointed toward the opponent’s right hand. Right now, his blade was angled toward her, his hands raised beside his face.
In truth, she was overthinking it. Ethan had simply struck a random pose. He had already decided how to present his Zanpakutō.
"So this is your Zanpakutō? An invisible blade. And judging by the length... is it an odachi?"
An odachi, also called a nodachi, generally referred to a tachi longer than five shaku. Of course, Ethan would not confirm it so easily.
"Who knows? Maybe it’s a spear. Or an axe. Maybe even a giant hammer."
"..."
Yoruichi pursed her lips. With his posture, it was obviously not a spear or an axe. Still, an invisible weapon with uncertain length was troublesome.
"You have a Zanpakutō like this and you joined the Fourth Division? What a waste."
Ethan’s face darkened. What did she mean by that? Did she think his sword was only suitable for assassination or stealth? This was supposed to be a weapon worthy of a knight.
Before he could argue, Yoruichi vanished.
"Can you try something different? Every time it’s Shunpo behind me."
Twisting his body, Ethan slashed diagonally. Yoruichi blocked it precisely and used the blade to adjust her position.
"Your weapon is too long. You can’t swing properly from that angle..."
The biggest weakness of long weapons was close combat. With Ethan’s twisted posture, there were even more blind spots. If she chose the right angle, she could avoid being cut.
Just as she felt confident in her judgment, she noticed that Ethan had not made any further movements. He looked at her with a strange smile and spoke softly:
"Lie down, Sad Glee Breeze..."
(To be continued.)
