Chapter 168 The Awakened Power
No one expected that the battle would evolve in this way.

Xia Mu ravaged Geng Mu again and again.

He knocked his opponent down again and again. Everyone thought that Gengmu would never get up again after falling to the ground. However, he repeatedly defied expectations and struggled to stand up again.

Every time Gengmu stood up, he was stronger than before.

There is still no fighting skills to speak of.

But anyone with a discerning eye could see that he swung his sword faster and with greater force.

However, there is one fact that cannot be changed.

That is, under Xia Mu's repeated attacks, Geng Mu suffered extremely serious injuries.

Almost every time Xia Mu struck the sword, he did so with the intention of killing Zaraki.

Although he didn't strike at his vital points, the knife kept hitting Zangmu without any retraction.

The blood kept flowing.

Gradually, even though Zaraki's will remained, his body was no longer strong enough to support him in such a battle.

Fortunately, Xia Mu had anticipated this and informed someone in advance.

Another blow knocked Zaraki down, and Natsuki looked at Unohana Retsu.

"Sister Lie."

"Really, I was just planning to come and watch the show." Unohana Retsu sighed, but still stepped forward, released his Zanpakuto, and performed Kaido at the same time to help Zaraki heal his wounds.

Although I have always had expectations for Zaraki since many years ago.

But Unohana Retsu also noticed that the current Zaraki had not recovered to his original powerful state.

Of course she knew why.

As a young boy, Zaraki was far too powerful.

He is also a person who likes to fight.

In order to enjoy the pleasure of fighting, when facing a weak enemy, he instinctively suppressed his own strength and fought the enemy on equal terms.

For so many years, Zaraki has been living in Rukongai.

Rukongai is not as good as Seireitei. Although many strong people were born there over the long years, they are ultimately not as good as Seireitei.

Zaraki has been fighting those weak guys in Rukongai, how can he become stronger?
On the contrary, because of the environment they are in, they suppress their own strength and become weaker and weaker.

Of course, if we trace everything back, we can only trace back to the instigator.

It must be her.

It was because she was not strong enough back then and could not allow Geng Mu to fight to his satisfaction, so she chose to seal herself.

After so many years, Unohana Retsu has even done it.

He plans to give up everything he has and let Zaraki fight to his heart's content. However, it will take many battles to restore Zaraki, who is in a self-sealed state, to his full strength.

So she worked hard to learn medicine.

It is to be able to heal Gengmu's injuries in time during the battle.

This allows Zaraki to remain in combat mode until he recovers to his peak.

As for what he should do if Gengmu recovers to his peak state?
Unohana Retsu doesn't care about herself.

As long as she could see the other party's extremely powerful posture again and experience the kind of battle until death again, even if she really died, it would be a happy thing for her.

No, not after she had secretly made up her mind but before she actually did these things.

Natsuki suddenly intervened and chose to fight with Zaraki.

Unohana Retsu didn't know what Natsuki knew.

She silently healed Zaraki's wounds and stepped aside.

Natsuki looked at Zaraki and said, "Can you stand up? If you can, then, continue!"

Zaraki stood up again.

Even after Unohana Retsu's treatment, his injuries were not completely healed, but were only reduced from serious to minor injuries. However, this no longer affected his fighting ability.

He said nothing.

Choose to swing the sword and fight Xia Mu.

Xia Mu also always maintained a fighting posture.

He also wielded his Zanpakutō and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Zaraki.

"He seems to have become stronger?"

One of the soldiers rubbed his eyes, thinking he had seen it wrong, and couldn't help showing a look of horror.

Some officials who had noticed that something was wrong with Gengmu also looked solemn.

They were becoming more and more interested in Saraki.

Even so, many people can become stronger during battle.

But most of them have experienced a battle, reviewed and summarized it after the battle, and absorbed the experience and lessons, so that they will be stronger when fighting next time.

As a result, this guy became stronger at a speed visible to the naked eye during the battle.

After being injured so badly, even with the treatment by Captain Unohana, his body should have become weaker, but in the end, he became even stronger than when he was in good condition before.

What’s going on with this guy?

Also, had the captain already seen this?
"This is interesting!"

Sensing that Zaraki was getting stronger, Xia Mu said in his heart.

His spiritual pressure exploded, and it increased by another half point.

Even though Zaraki became stronger than before after falling down and standing up again, Natsuki was always half a point stronger than him.

It was this half point that became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Zaraki fell down again.

Even though Unohana Retsu had been standing by and given Zaraki timely treatment, he was able to prevent him from dying.

But human physical strength has its limits.

After a long battle, Gengmu lost a lot of blood.

Finally, when he struggled to stand up again, he failed and fell into coma.

"That's about it for today."

"After all, more haste makes waste."

Xia Mu put away his sword and took back the spiritual pressure he had released. The powerful sense of oppression also dissipated. He said a few words, which brought today's battle to an end.

However, when Unohana Retsu heard the second half of the sentence, she knew that it was directed at her.

Unohana Retsu looked at Xia Mu deeply and said nothing more.

……

A battle maniac arrived in the 11th Division.

Soon this news spread like wildfire and was known by many Shinigami of the Gotei 13.

Since the Grim Reaper has a long life, apart from fighting with the Hollows, he must find some ways to entertain himself in the remaining time.

Although cultivation is a way to kill time.

But it is obviously impossible to spend all the time on cultivation.

It can be said that all the gods of death have their own personal hobbies.

For example, the captain-general Yamamoto, who looks extremely serious, likes to secretly roast sweet potatoes with Ryujin Jakka. His vice-captain, Chojiro Suzuki, is similar to the Chinese people. Whenever he has free time, he likes to have a cup of afternoon tea.

Needless to say, Unohana Retsu likes to arrange flowers in her spare time.

Kyoraku Shunsui likes to drink and occasionally writes romance novels under a pen name in the Seireitei Communication Collection.

There is also a group of death gods whose hobbies are listening to gossip and spreading rumors.

Perhaps it was because when Zaraki challenged Natsuki, the scene was grand enough. It was carried out according to the Kenpachi succession ceremony. The battle was witnessed by a captain and two hundred soldiers. Even though Zaraki was defeated in the end, the opponent's name was spread because of this.

What is even more amazing is...

After Zaraki was defeated, Natsuki did not kill him. Instead, he took him in and actively recruited him into the 11th Division.

After joining the 11th Division, Zaraki quickly adapted to the environment like a fish in water. Every day he was either fighting with the members of the 11th Division or sparring with them.

This is not a big deal.

The most important thing is that the captain of the 11th Division, Kenpachi Natsuki, seems to value this reckless man from Rukongai very much, and he even takes time out from time to time to fight with Zaraki.

Of course, every battle ended with Zaraki being defeated.

But every time Zeraki gets back up, he becomes stronger.

In the fourth squad.

It is said that Natsuki, who has a keen eye for talent, did not fight with Zaraki in the squad, but came here in a very rare occasion.

Generally, the Shinigami who come to the Fourth Division are injured and need treatment and recuperation here.

Of course Natsuki was not injured, but this did not affect his coming here to reminisce with Unohana Retsu.

"Come to think of it, it seems like I haven't been here for a long time."

Xia Mu glanced at the surrounding environment and sighed.

"You haven't been here since you learned all of my killing techniques." Unohana Retsu stated the truth.

"That's indeed been a long time." Xia Mu thought about it. In the blink of an eye, it was already many years ago when he followed Unohana Retsu to learn the art of killing.

At that time, he was only the vice-captain of the 11th Division, and did not even bear the title of Kenpachi.

"Sister Lie asked me to come here, it shouldn't just be to reminisce about the past."

Xia Mu looked at Unohana Retsu in front of him and spoke lightly.

Once upon a time, Natsuki was just a fledgling reaper, and Unohana Retsu was an old senior who had been the captain for who knows how many years. She gave Natsuki a lot of guidance and taught him powerful slashing techniques. She was a good teacher and a good sister on Natsuki's growth path.

And now, Natsuki has grown up and has the qualifications and ability to have an equal conversation with Unohana Retsu.

Of course, time is unforgiving.

It is only because the lifespan of the gods of death is so long that time has left no traces on their bodies or faces.

"If it was just an ordinary challenger, you defeated him and kept your title of Kenpachi, that would have been enough. But after recruiting Zaraki to join the 11th Division, you still chose to fight him from time to time, repeatedly forcing him into desperate situations."

"I'm curious, what do you know?"

Unohana Retsu looked at Xia Mu inquiringly.

She actually asked a similar question many, many years ago.

At that time, Xia Mu's answer was that he knew through some channels that the first generation Kenpachi's name was Unohana Yachiryu. He thought that was the limit of what Xia Mu knew, but from Xia Mu's special attitude towards Zaraki, it was obviously not the case. "Sister Lie once told me that Yachiryu was dead. I have always been concerned about this matter."

"How did the first generation Kenpachi, Yachiryu, who was once extremely powerful, die?"

"Finally, I found the answer."

"She died in a battle in Rukongai."

As he spoke, Xia Mu looked at the area below Unohana Retsu's throat.

Unohana Retsu's hairstyle was very strange. She did not let the two braids hang behind her head, but hung them in front of her body, tangling them together, which just covered her collarbone and concealed some marks.

Unohana Retsu felt Natsuki's gaze, raised his hand, and gently touched the location of the scar. Finally, he met Natsuki's gaze and told Natsuki the truth frankly, "Zaraki is the one who killed Yachiryu."

She and Xia Mu had a close relationship. Xia Mu obviously knew a lot of things, so she didn't hide it. She told him about the past in a low voice.

"No wonder Sister Lie gave up the title of Kenpachi and transferred from the 11th Division to the 4th Division."

After listening to Unohana Retsu's story of the past, Xia Mu sighed again.

"A boy with no name or surname, who used the name of the Zaraki district as his own name, was able to rely on his instincts to inflict heavy damage on Kenpachi, who was once known as the strongest swordsman. It is really hard to imagine what kind of potential and powerful strength is hidden in him."

Listening to Xia Mu's words, Unohana Retsu's eyes showed a hint of discomfort again, "I can see that he likes fighting very much and enjoys the pleasure brought by fighting. I thought I could satisfy him, but in that battle that year, I found that I was too weak and could not make him feel the real pleasure at all."

"In order to please me, he even instinctively suppressed his own powerful strength."

"He has become weak because of me."

"So, it is my duty to restore him to that powerful state again."

"All these years, I have been waiting for him to come to the Soul Society..."

Xia Mu suddenly spoke up, interrupting Unohana Retsu's words, "Leave this matter to me!"

Unohana Retsu looked at Natsuki in confusion.

"Since you have already stepped down from the position of Kenpachi, you should just stay quietly in the Fourth Division. Leave the matter of restoring Zaraki to his original form and making him stronger again to me."

"I roughly know why you, Sister Lie, are learning medical skills. In order to enjoy fighting, Geng Mu instinctively suppressed his own strength. If you want to awaken his power, you can only let him experience multiple near-death battles. Every time he is close to death, it will awaken his fighting instinct and make him stronger. The role of medical skills is to allow him to stand up again and again on the brink of death."

"Let me take care of this matter."

"Sister Lie, you once taught me the art of beheading. To me, you are like a mentor. You want to make up for the mistakes you made back then, and I also want to repay your kindness. In return, let me return you a restored Zaraki to his prime."

Natsuki didn't give Unohana Retsu any reason to refuse.

In just a few words, the matter was settled.

Unohana Retsu wanted to say something else, but facing Natsuki's determined gaze, he ultimately didn't say it.

……

"Stand up, what does your appearance mean?"

"Don't you like fighting?"

"If you like fighting, stand up!"

In the 11th Division, Natsuki continued to train Saraki.

In the Thousand Year Blood War arc, Unohana Retsu sacrificed himself to help Zaraki awaken his sealed power, allowing him to master the release of his Zanpakutō. Although Zaraki was indeed very powerful after mastering the release of his Zanpakutō.

But honestly, in Xia Mu's opinion, this plot is actually very stupid.

First of all, after awakening his Zanpakuto, Zaraki’s battle record is just so-so.

If Unohana Retsu were still alive, the role he played might have been even greater.

First of all, Unohana Retsu’s combat power is extraordinary, she is at the super captain level. Secondly, she is also a top-notch doctor. If she is alive, she can treat more wounded people.

As a result, such a comprehensive talent was ruined.

Of course, this was Unohana Retsu's own choice in the original work, and Natsuki couldn't say anything.

But it's different now.

Xia Mu personally lives in this world, and Unohana Retsu has taught him. This favor is so great that he naturally cannot sit idly by and watch Unohana Retsu die like that.

A long time ago, Xia Mu secretly analyzed Geng Mu's situation.

Zaraki is naturally strong and enjoys the thrill of battle. He doesn't really care about improving his own strength because he is already very strong.

He is a guy who becomes stronger when facing a stronger opponent.

Likewise, it will become weak when it encounters a weak opponent.

In order to enjoy the battle, he instinctively suppressed his own strength. This was also the reason why he instinctively sealed himself after the battle with Unohana Retsu that year.

He was so powerful at that time.

The opponents he encountered were simply unable to withstand his attacks. In this situation, it was of course difficult for him to enjoy that feeling of joy.

After fighting with Unohana Retsu, Zaraki continued to wander in Rukongai.

Although the Saraki district was chaotic, he was able to enjoy the battle there.

But things like slaughtering ants are unlikely to help Zaraki improve.

Instead, it will allow him to further seal his own power.

Natsuki also had some guesses as to why Kusaka Yachiryu, Zanpakuto's Zanpakuto, appeared in front of Zaraki.

Or maybe its Zanpakuto saw that its master had been wandering for so many years and was very lonely, so it took the initiative to appear in front of its master and accompany him.

Either that or it was because Zaraki was constantly sealing himself, and the power of the seals was just too much.

This made it increasingly difficult for him to hear the call of his Zanpakutō to its master. If this continued, Zaraki might completely lose the possibility of releasing his Zanpakutō.

In order to avoid this possibility, Yachiru appeared next to Zaraki.

He wants to help Zaraki master the power of Zanpakuto in his own way.

All in all, the current Zaraki has become very weak due to staying in Rukongai for a long time.

He needs to go through a battle between life and death before he can unleash the sealed power in his body.

This is actually a way for the world to become stronger.

In the original work, Ichigo Kurosaki's chain was destroyed by Byakuya Kuchiki. In order to restore the power of the god of death, Kisuke Urahara cut off his causal chains and made him struggle on the edge of becoming a hollow, so as to regain the power of the god of death.

Every life-and-death battle makes it stronger.

The same is true of how Ishida Uryuu restored his Quincy power.

First, let yourself go through a special state and put yourself into an extreme state. Only in this state, by stimulating a certain part of the heart, can you regain strength.

In the original work, Kenpachi Zaraki experienced many battles.

But there are only a few real life-and-death battles.

At that time, the Thousand Year Bloody War had already broken out, and in order to awaken Zaraki, Unohana Retsu could only use the most extreme method.

Knocked Gengmu down again and again, and made him stand up again and again.

Now, with Xia Mu, this is not necessary at all.

He has plenty of time and he is strong enough.

As long as they continue to torture Zang Mu and beat him to the brink of death, the sealed power in Zang Mu's body will naturally be released.

Zaraki paid no attention to Natsuki's mocking remarks.

He just endured everything silently, and then, the fighting spirit in his heart became stronger and stronger. With a strong belief, he fell down and stood up again, and launched an attack on Xia Mu.

This period of time can be said to be the happiest time in his life.

When he was in Rukongai, he kept looking for strong people to fight.

But those guys were no match for him.

If he hadn't learned about the Soul Society and Kenpachi from Ikkaku Madarame, he wouldn't have come here.

As it turned out, he made the right choice.

If he had known that entering the Soul Society and becoming a god of death would allow him to enjoy such an exhilarating battle, he would have come a long time ago.

Except for the initial battle.

Currently, there were no soldiers watching the battle between Natsuki and Zaraki.

Of course, the absence of team members watching does not mean there will be no spectators.

Next to the training ground, a small figure stood there.

She was extremely quiet, and looked at Zaraki, who was covered in blood but fighting hard, with a gentle expression.

This figure is Kusaka Hachiryu.

Zaraki is a person who doesn't want to think about anything except fighting, but Kusaka Yachiru is different. She can see what Natsuki is intending.

With Natsuki's constant training, Zaraki became stronger and stronger.

Perhaps it won’t be long before you can clearly hear your own voice and master that power.

"Thank you!"

Kusaka Hachiryu whispered something to Xia Mu.

Another day of fighting is over.

Zaraki didn't know how many times he had been forced into a desperate situation.

Xia Mu stopped only after he was completely unconscious.

After that, after Gengmu recuperated for a few days, his injuries were almost healed.

Natsuki started fighting with Zaraki again.

This daily routine lasted for a long time.

It seems that Natsuki is the only one who is abusing Gengki unilaterally, but in fact, it is not the case. Natsuki has also repeatedly released the suppression of his own power, only because Gengki is getting stronger and stronger in the process.

This means that the seal on Zaraki has begun to be released.

Until this day.

When Natsuki released his Zanpakuto for the first time, he dealt a very heavy blow to Zaraki.

Saraki was lying on the ground.

He wanted to stand up and defeat Xia Mu.

It seemed that because of his firm belief and the long period of fighting, his power had awakened to a certain extent.

A voice he had never heard before appeared in his ears.

Zaraki said instinctively, "Devour it, Yasai!"

An even greater spiritual pressure erupted instantly, and the members of the 11th Division, who were used to the fight between their captain and Zaraki, were shocked after sensing this spiritual pressure.

(End of this chapter)