17 Seireitei

"Phew... At long last... Seireitei!!"

Muyang burst into tears the moment he laid his eyes on the orderly streets of Seireitei.

Due to his suspicion of Zaraki, he decided to stick around to see if he could find something out of Zaraki, which was the beginning of his misery.

At first, since they both were stuck with their injuries, he was merely annoyed at Zaraki because of his personality. Even so, the two eventually got along to some extent. However, once they recovered from their injuries, Zaraki kept pestering him for a fight. They would fight until they were black-and-blue and fought again once they've recovered. This cycle repeated for one year, upon recalling that year never failed to bring Muyang to tears.

In the end, Muyang couldn't find out anything and simply sparred with Zaraki for a whole year.

Even though he has learned a lot under Kimura Kazuya's care, he realized that he still had ways to go when it came to actual battle during his times with Zaraki. It was during the one year with Zaraki that helped him in actual battle. He could feel his strength amplifying with each battle with Zaraki, and now after one year, he was confident that he would be able to stand on equal ground with Captains as long as they didn't use Bankai.

However, just as Muyang grew stronger significantly because of Zaraki, Zaraki also grew stronger because of him, and at a faster rate than Muyang too. So, after realizing that he couldn't learn anything else from Zaraki, he decided to leave Zaraki District and headed for Seireitei before Zaraki became even stronger than him.

"I would've lost to him if we sparred a few more times. Running while I'm still winning, as expected of yours truly!" Muyang mumbled when he recalled his days with Zaraki.

"But really, though, what's the deal with that guys? It's like he has bottomless potential. Is he a Legendary Super Saiyan????"

Kimura Kazuya thought as he walked into Seireitei, completely unaware of the stares from everybody around him as they were trying to guess whether he was bold or just a complete fool.

The sound of a heavy object cutting through the air snapped Muyang back to his senses. Upon realizing it was directed at him, he instinctively drew his Zanpakuto and launched a shockwave through to repel the attack and sheathed it right after. What happened afterwards was the spectator gasping one after another.

Upon leveling his gaze, he saw a gigantic man with an intimidating face standing in front of him.

"What???? He destroyed Danzōmaru's weapon with one blow!!"

"Has there always been a man that strong in Rukongai?"

"So strong!! Unbelievable! Anyone knows that guy?"

"He may be from a District around here."

"Like Zaraki District?"

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Muyang immediately became the topic among the bystanders. After all, that was their first time seeing someone defeated the guard of the Black Ridge Gate. Seireitei has always been the place that everyone admired. So, a lot of people had mixed feelings about Shinigami, they idolized them and envied them at the same time.

"Hey, who are you? Why did you attack me all of a sudden without saying a word?" Muyang said, but he noticed the man in front of him seemed kind of afraid.

"I··i··i·······"

Seeing the man's terrified look, Muyang began to wonder why would a person as intimidating as him so afraid of him that he couldn't say a word.

"Good grief, you're something else."

"Since when did he....?" Muyang was startled when he heard the lazy voice coming from behind. He realized that an average Captain wouldn't be able to do this. Upon turning around, a bright color entered his view.

It was a middle-aged man with thin facial hair around his mount and his cheeks, wearing a Sugegasa straw hat and a pink, flowered lady's kimono draped across the man's shoulder and over his Captain's uniform.

"Kyōraku!!!" Muyang blurted out in surprise.

"Huh??" Kyōraku' was stunned, "Do you know me?"

"You insolent! How dare you call the Captain's name so casually!" A cursing was heard behind Kyōraku.

Muyang was sweating like crazy. He actually dug his grave once again by saying unnecessary things, and Kyōraku was not like a simple-minded Zaraki.

"Lisa-chan, no need to be so angry about it!"

"But, Captain!!!" A shy voice earlier said.

Kimura couldn't believe that he met both Kyōraku and Lisa, his Lieutenant.

"It's rude of him to call you without honorifics, Captain Kyōraku!"

"Say, do you know me?"

"That's… I heard about you from some people. The Captain who wears flowery robes."

"Captain, it seems your bad reputation has spread even to Rukongai."

"Is that so?" Kyōraku seemed a little skeptical, but he didn't pry any further.

"C-Captain Kyōraku!" A trembling voice suddenly interrupted.

"Ah, it's you, Danzōmaru." Kyōraku turned around and looked at Danzōmaru, who was standing rigidly on the side. "What's with the commotion? I happened to pass by and saw what happened. Did this young man do anything wrong?"

"Passing by? Aren't you going to the bar to have some drink, Captain?" Lisa's exasperated voice immediately retorted.

Kyōraku laughed embarrassedly and waved his hand: "Lisa-chan, you shouldn't badmouth your Captain in front of others, you know. That makes it hard for me to leave."

Danzomaru glanced at Muyang with a hint of fear and said: "He entered Seireitei without having the pass."

"Ah, come to think of it, I haven't quite caught your name yet."

"It's rude of me. My name is Kimura Muyang."

"Kimura, was it?" it was like something came to Kyōraku's mind, "Well, Mr. Kimura, what business do you have in Seireitei?"

The look on Kyōraku's eyes suddenly changed as he held his straw hat.

"I'm sorry, I don't know that I must have a pass to enter." Muyang said as he scratched his head, and then he added, "Actually, I plan to go to Shin'ō Academy."

"Shin'ō?" Kyōraku clearly doubted Muyang's words. Although he did not know the extent of Muyang's strength, considering he could launch a shock wave and destroy Danzomaru's Zanpakuto in one blow, he should be at least as strong as a Lieutenant. Why bother going to Shin'ō Academy? This thought crossed Kyōraku's mind, but he didn't show it in his face.

"You're pretty strong as you are. Why do you want to go to Shin'ō? You should be able to join Gotei 13 in your current state."

"Really??" After hearing Kyōraku's acknowledgment, Muyang couldn't contain his excitement. Unlike Zaraki, who was still young, even this senior Captain acknowledged his strength. However...

"Well, I've never had any proper training as a Shinigami, so I figured I should go to Shin'ō Academy."

"I see." After pondering for a while, Kyōraku then said, "I'll take you to see old man Yamamoto. In any case, whether you want to join Gotei 13 directly or go to Shin'ō, you'll have to get old man Yamamoto's approval first."

"Captain-Commander Yamamoto!???" Muyang almost forgot to breathe because he was nervous that he was about to meet the Captain-Commander himself!

"Follow me." Kyōraku led the way to 1st Division without giving Muyang a chance to think.

"Wait for me." Seeing that Kyōraku had left, Muyang quickly turned around and glanced at Danzōmaru, who was still standing there. Seeing Danzomaru's broken sword, Muyang apologetically said: "I don't know there is such a thing as a pass to enter. I'm sorry for destroying your weapon. I'll be sure to pay you back next time."

Muyang then immediately used Shunpo to catch up with Kyōraku.