I'm really not the number one slacker in Soul Society.

This was a secret code he had agreed upon when he chatted with Liuyue a while ago when he had nothing to do. Since she couldn't speak into Mizhen's head at any time like the traditional old man with the ring, they would use this method when they needed to contact each other due to problems.

There was no place to use sword Zen at the moment, so Mizhen's eyes lit up (optical), and he glared at Ryugetsu with his mental beacon!

And so, he remained standing in place, immersing his mind in his own mental space.

Once inside, Mima asked directly, "What's wrong?"

Sitting on the bed with a deep and thoughtful expression, Liu Yue squinted and said, "I smell the scent of my kind."

"what?"

"Same kind? What same kind?"

"What am I?" Ryugetsu sighed, answering his own question: "Zanpakuto, what do you think my kind is?"

"...Aren't Zanpakuto all over the Seireitei?" Yama frowned. "Is there something special about this one?"

“Yes.” Liu Yue nodded. “This kind can move.”

"It moves?" Mi Zhen was puzzled at first, then quickly realized something, "A sword spirit materializing?"

In the entire Soul Society, there are only two Zanpakuto that have become sentient in normal times: Muramasa and Nosara—and this is Rukongai, so you don't need to guess who they are!

"Probably. Would you like to go check on it, Master?"

“Of course,” Mima nodded. “And the location?”

Liu Yue raised her finger and gestured behind her: "Turn right from here into the suburbs."

"OK, received."

Mizhen immediately disconnected from the mental world, then turned around and said, "I'll go check it out right now."

Let's put the black market aside for now.

He was still more interested in the future Kenpachi.

If he could meet him, he would want to befriend that ultimate brute from the kitchen knife team, and also try out a few interesting things.

Chapter 84: "Zaraki" and "Kusa-shika"

After skillfully navigating the intricate alleyways, Mizhen left the town and quickly arrived at the suburbs that Liuyue had mentioned.

He had been here several times before and was quite familiar with the terrain. As soon as he arrived, he immediately turned his spiritual pressure perception to the maximum and then sensed a strange spiritual pressure at the edge of the forest. It didn't seem strong in terms of numerical value, but it could make people feel a needle-like threat for no reason.

He stepped up and soon spotted a small figure sleeping under the tree.

It was a little girl who looked to be under ten years old, wearing a tattered white dress, with a frizzy bob that had a unique pale pink hue. She was sleeping soundly just a second ago, but when Mizhen walked to the grass ten meters away from her, she quickly opened her eyes.

"Hmm...Am I asleep?"

The little girl blinked in confusion, then looked at Mizhen and raised her hand, asking, "Big sister, did you need something?"

"Um……"

Mizhen took two steps forward, squatted down, and her expression showed a mixture of hesitation and confusion: "You look... very special?"

"Special? What do you mean?"

"Do you have a 'name'?" Mima didn't answer, but continued to ask, emphasizing the word "name".

“Yes.” She stood up, put her hands on her hips and said proudly, “My name is Yachiru, Yachiru from Kusajiro Ward.”

"Yachiru?"

Mizhen narrowed her eyes, and after a moment, nodded in sudden realization: "I know, so you are..."

Suddenly, a "foreign object" appeared in Mima's spiritual pressure perception.

It was like a fireball covered in spikes, scorching hot and sharp, like a hungry beast ready to devour its prey. If an ordinary lower-level soul or even a death god were standing here, they would probably be too frightened to move just by sensing this spiritual pressure.

"Eight Thousand Flows!"

A rough shout came from the other end of the meadow.

Soon, a tall, thin man, over two meters tall with extremely broad shoulders, walked over from that direction carrying a knife.

Upon seeing him, Yachiru, who was standing under the tree, immediately ran over, climbed onto the man's shoulders as if she knew the way well, and grabbed his ears, pulling them hard: "Ken! You told me to wait for you here, but I waited until I fell asleep and you still haven't come back!"

"That Hollow was really tough, so I played with it a bit more..."

At this moment, before he was given the name Kenpachi, Zaraki glanced sideways and casually offered an explanation, then scratched his messy hair and asked, "On the contrary, what are you doing?"

"Chatting with that older sister!"

Yachiru pointed at Mima and said in a clear voice.

Mima smiled and waved to them.

"Hmm?" Zaraki slung the serrated blade over his shoulder and looked at Mima with some confusion. "And who are you?"

But Mima didn't answer him. Instead, she looked at him and Yachiru with a strange gaze, and then suddenly laughed: "So that's how it is. I've learned something new."

"What are you talking about?" Genki clicked his tongue impatiently. "I'm asking who you are."

“Just an insignificant nobody,” Mi Zhen laughed. “But I’ve heard of you a long time ago.”

"what?"

A look of irritation, typical of a brute, appeared on Zaraki's face: "Speak like a human being."

“I was also curious about what the person who injured Unohana looked like.” Mima tilted his head and said, “He didn’t seem to have anything special about him.”

"..."

Zaraki's expression suddenly froze.

The next instant, a fierce spiritual pressure, like that of a demon, suddenly exploded in this deserted suburb. A nearly materialized golden light rose from Zaraki's body like flames. Then, he raised his Zanpakuto and pointed it at Yama, asking each word clearly, "Who exactly are you?"

"Didn't I tell you? You're just an insignificant nobody." Mima raised his hand to tug at his collar, which had been ruffled by the spiritual pressure storm, and sighed with some disappointment. "I thought you were a monster stronger than the first Kenpachi, but it turns out you're only this good?"

"Just how bad is it...?"

With a swift movement, Zaraki charged forward with the powerful, sweeping motions of a bull, raising his sword and slashing down at Yama's head: "Try feeling it with your own body!"

A powerful and heavy strike—specifically, one that could easily kill a Hollow.

"..."

Can not be done.

It only looks intimidating.

Simply put, the power of this strike is roughly equivalent to Kensei's Bankai.

It's not that it's weak, but its power isn't as great as one might imagine.

...After frying fish in Rukongai for so many years, just how far has this guy sealed himself away?

"that's all?"

Mi Zhen sighed and casually met the attack with one hand (pointing to the seven or eight layers of the Sky-Breaking Defense).

Then, there was a loud bang.

Mima gripped the blade of Zaraki tightly in his hand.

"What……"

Zaraki stared in shock, while Mima gave him a smile.

—Good heavens, one basic attack shattered four layers of my defense. Only an idiot would try to fight this kind of reckless person head-on.

Although what he just said seemed... well, it was definitely a provocation.

But this is precisely one way to get along with Zaraki—after all, you can't really persuade this kind of reckless person with words. If you want to get closer to him, you have to rely on your knife, which is the so-called "we're good friends after we've fought" kind of thing. So rather than waiting for him to take the initiative to attack, it's better for him to take the initiative and at least gain some verbal advantage.

Moreover, he was very curious—besides "sacrificing Retsu Unohana", was there any other way to "unseal" this man?

For example... putting him in a situation where he can only be attacked unilaterally?

“I felt it.” Mima released her grip and shrugged. “It certainly doesn’t look like much…”

As it turns out, there are risks involved in being a riddle teller.

Before he could finish speaking, Zaraki raised his hand and slashed again without hesitation. This strike was even more powerful and stronger than the previous one, at least reaching the level of Kensei Yagura.

Fortunately, it didn't exceed his reaction time.

There was no time to unleash the Severing Void, and even if he hastily stacked five or six layers, it probably wouldn't be effective. So, Mi Zhen immediately pressed down on the hilt of his sword, silently chanted "Surge," and moved to the side at a speed 2.6 times faster than normal, narrowly dodging the edge of the slash.

Compared to a slash, this strike was more like forcefully slamming the blade down, instantly creating a large crater in the soft soil, as if a bomb had been buried there!

"Interrupting others is not a good habit."

"Who cares about you!"

With a roar, Zaraki twisted his wrist, pulled the sunflower out of the ground, and slashed upwards at an angle.

Then the blade pierced straight through Mima's body, missing its target.

"How come..."

"Slaying Wheel".

Mizhen flicked his finger and unleashed a circular demonic slash.

It struck Zaraki's upper arm in the blink of an eye, and after being mostly neutralized by the spiritual pressure on his body, it tore open a wound that was neither too big nor too small.

This was originally intended to be used in conjunction with sword techniques, but after Yama's improvements, it can now be launched even with bare hands.

Taking this opportunity, Mima used Shunpo to step back a little, casually drew Ryugetsu from its sheath, and pointed it at Zaraki, saying, "Are you angry because I mentioned Unohana? I really don't understand what you guys who are crazy for battle are thinking."

"That kind of thing doesn't matter at all!"

"what?"

With a triumphant shout, Zaraki's spiritual pressure surged once more. He charged forward, sword in hand, and roared, "All I know is..."

After setting up six layers of air-cutting in front of Liuyue, Mima pushed "Surge" to its limit, then casually swung his sword, colliding violently with the Nosara sword in Zaraki's hand.

The Sixfold Void Severing Technique broke through five layers in an instant. The immense wind pressure generated by the two strikes sliced ​​through the grass and trees on the ground like sharp blades. The radiance of the spiritual pressure shone like the sun, plowing deep furrows into the earth.

"—Now there's an opponent worth killing!"

This is troublesome... The power of this strike is more than twice that of the first one. If it continues to increase like this, Mi Zhen's swordsmanship level is not enough to withstand it.