Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 203 Kenpachi Zaraki Forced to Defend

It turns out that even after Kenpachi Zaraki completely controlled the situation with his spiritual pressure, Natsumi's spiritual pressure was not crushed.

Instead of being overwhelmed, he steadily increased his spiritual pressure, emerging step by step from Kenpachi Zaraki's spiritual pressure tidal wave.

Afterwards, Xia Zuo's spiritual pressure continued to increase at a steady rate until he was on par with Kenpachi Zaraki, at which point it suddenly stopped increasing, demonstrating his extraordinary strength and self-control.

In the contest of spiritual pressure, Natsume actually won against Kenpachi Zaraki.

This made the Shinigami in charge of the Shinigami Academy of Spiritual Arts turn pale. Hiding one's strength is nothing special. Although it is not a common phenomenon among students, there are still dozens of them in each year.

But hiding one's strength to this extent is going too far.

This noble grim reaper carefully recalled Xia Zuo's information: third place among this year's graduates, third place among the sixth-year students, third place among the fifth-year students, and third place among the fourth-year students—

Well, so this guy was controlling his score from the very beginning. But after graduating and joining the 11th Division, he displayed the strength of a top five seat officer in less than a minute.

This is blatant provocation!

But this noble Grim Reaper was helpless. The Shinigami Academy and the 11th Division were incomparable; his status was probably not even as high as that of a formal Seat Officer.

In other words, once Xia Zuo's position as the chief official is officially confirmed, he can be given orders.

Even with their noble status, they were still powerless against Xia Zuo.

Unless Xia Zuo is assigned to the Sixth Division and surrounded by noble members, the nobles who are not in the division can only rage in vain. Actually, there is another way to resolve his humiliation, which is to challenge Xia Zuo as a Shinigami according to the rules of the Soul Society.

On the arena of life and death, as pure death gods, they determined life and death, victory and defeat, under the witness of the Spirit King.

Once the headmaster kills Xia Zuo, the humiliation he suffered will naturally disappear.

But seeing how Xia Zuo and the 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki were evenly matched, how could the headmaster have any courage left to challenge them?

As is well known, Kenpachi Zaraki's spiritual pressure is terrifyingly strong, and he severely lacks self-control.

To protect the Soul Society from destruction and to prevent his teammates from being accidentally killed, Kenpachi Zaraki voluntarily seals his spiritual pressure.

Even so, he still possesses a spiritual pressure that is strong enough to rival that of the other captains.

Being able to stand shoulder to shoulder with someone like Kenpachi proves that Xia Zuo's strength is at the level of a mere seated officer, without any fancy moves, and is even close to that of a vice-captain.

If the headmaster of the Shinigami Academy possessed such strength, as a nobleman, he would surely be recommended as the vice-captain of a certain squad and wield enormous power. How could he possibly act so arrogantly in a small academy?

If he were to challenge Xia Zuo, the result would inevitably be death.

Sensing his spiritual pressure being subtly suppressed, Kenpachi Zaraki's eyes reddened with excitement. He laughed loudly, "That was fantastic! Natsume, after this battle, you'll be my fourth seat!"

As he spoke, he followed Horiuchi Hisaburo's sword technique, raised his long sword high, stepped forward, and slashed down with great force. The blade carried a crazy gust of wind as it slashed down with overwhelming momentum.

Xia Zuo dared not try to catch up with Kenpachi Zaraki by attacking first.

After swinging his longsword, this madman didn't even consider withdrawing his defense. Even if he was stabbed by the enemy first, it wouldn't change his mind about exchanging blows with the enemy.

This guy is so reckless that you can't treat him like a swordsman.

Xia Zuo used the "Spear-Breaking Style" of the Dugu Nine Swords to deal with Jian Ba, first blocking to save his life and remain invincible, and then looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

However, Kenpachi Zaraki's attacks were relentless. His height of about 2 meters, his wild and unrestrained posture, his gradually turning ferocious smile, and his rampant bloodthirsty aura put increasing pressure on Xia Zuo.

This is the result of a mixture of beastly aura and frantically suppressed spiritual pressure, a unique power attribute of Kenpachi Zaraki.

He wielded his long Zanpakuto, its blade riddled with serrated edges, and the force of the impact against Xia Zuo's sword grew ever stronger.

Xia Zuo could only use both hands to wield the sword and parry. His movements seemed slow, but in fact, he swung the asatsuchi longsword with incredible speed, accurately blocking every slash from Kenpachi Zaraki.

Seeing that Xia Zuo had taken his attack with all his might, Kenpachi Zaraki revealed a satisfied grin: "Good, good, very good. You really deserve the position of the 11th Division Commander."

"Xia Zuo, what's your full name?"

Xia Zuo replied, half-laughing and half-crying, "Captain Zaraki, I am a commoner from Rukongai, and my name is Xia Zuo."

Kenpachi Zaraki seemed to recall that he also came from Rukongai, and his eyes showed a hint of familiarity. However, he still raised his long sword again: "Hmm, Natsume, fight me to your heart's content, let me see where your limits are?"

Xia Zuo asked gently, "Captain, how do you plan to find out my limits?"

Kenpachi Zaraki laughed wildly: "Of course, it's to let me cut you down!"

Before he could finish speaking, Kenpachi Zaraki had already swung his raised sword at Natsume.

The serrated longsword, carrying a fierce and powerful aura, slashed down with a whoosh. Xia Zuo could only raise the sword in his hand and parry it upwards with all his might.

This time, he released his spiritual pressure, because the opponent's terrifying spiritual pressure had attached itself to the longsword.

If he cannot respond in kind, not only will his asauchi sword be broken, but he himself will inevitably be killed by Kenpachi Zaraki.

boom--!

The two Zanpakuto, carrying spiritual pressures of completely different natures, collided. Instead of a metallic clanging sound, they erupted with a roar of colliding air currents, the resulting gusts even lifting the stone slabs off the plaza.

Natsume and Kenpachi Zaraki were locked in a stalemate, gritting their teeth and testing their strength, neither willing to back down even a step.

Kenpachi Zaraki burst into another fit of maniacal laughter: "Hahahaha, you're definitely stronger than me! If you hadn't attacked from above, I would have been sent flying!"

That's what he said, but Kenpachi kept pressing down hard, completely ignoring the creaking sound of his asakusa sword.

His excitement intensified, and the smile on his face grew even more intense and ferocious.

Xia Zuo felt the pressure on his hands increasing, realizing that Kenpachi Zaraki was being affected by his emotions, and his fighting spirit was constantly improving.

This can't go on any longer!

Xia Zuo flipped the blade, aligning the side of the sword with the opponent's blade, and then tilted the blade at an angle to form a triangle with his body, thus disarming Kenpachi Zaraki's long sword.

Then reverse the longsword again, drawing a circular trajectory.

This time, it was his turn to slash at Kenpachi Zaraki from above.

clang--!

Sparks flew as the two Zanpakuto clashed in mid-air, and Kenpachi was finally forced back a step by Natsume.

Startled, Kenpachi Zaraki looked at the long sword in his hand, bewildered as to why he had retreated.

"Ah! I see, the power in your blade is wrong. It's a very interesting way of using it; you're even using my power against yourself."

Kenpachi Zaraki, relying on his beast-like intuition, saw through the core techniques of the Dugu Nine Swords and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

In contrast, Xia Zuo's expression was quite grim. He had just sensed the deadly danger posed by Kenpachi Zaraki and had involuntarily used immense power and his most powerful sword techniques to deal with it.

He had no choice but to do this because this battle had gotten Kenpachi Zaraki hyped up, and if he didn't go all out—he would die!

Not to mention that Xia Zuo's heart was changed by the baptism of devouring Xia Zuo and the Heavenly Tribulation Xia Zuo, even when he was playing the game of concealing his abilities, he would still go all out in this situation.

The principle of not letting Aizen discover them must be abandoned when one's life is threatened!

When a person dies, that means there's nothing left.

In the Soul Society, Shaza is just a Shinigami graduate who hasn't officially joined the team yet. If he were killed by Kenpachi Zaraki, would the Captain-Commander make Captain Kenpachi pay with his life?

Xia Zuo's heart sank like a deep well, all his worries and thoughts sinking to the bottom like dust. All that remained in his heart was Kenpachi Zaraki's long sword.

With a flick of his wrist, the asatsuchi longsword transformed into countless afterimages as he launched an attack on Kenpachi Zaraki.

The core principle of the Dugu Nine Swords is to force the enemy to fight at your own pace through attacks, thereby gaining absolute initiative in the battle.

Only by constantly forcing the enemy to defend themselves can you influence their actions to your own advantage.

Kenpachi Zaraki refused to give up the counterattack because they hadn't hit his true vital points!

The berserk Kenpachi Zaraki has a high tolerance for damage. Even if he is hacked to pieces, he will not lose his ability to fight. In fact, like a berserker, the more he is injured, the stronger he becomes.

Therefore, Kenpachi never cared about whether he was injured, but Xia Zuo discovered that he cared a lot about whether he could hold a sword and continue fighting.

Therefore, Xia Zuo's long sword moved nimbly, the tip of the blade never leaving Zaraki Kenpachi's right shoulder socket, elbow, wrist and thumb, forcing him to parry and dodge repeatedly.

If his right hand joint is attacked, he naturally cannot hold the sword. Without the long sword in his hand, how can Kenpachi Zaraki continue the fight?

Of the four major skills of the Shinigami (Bleach): swordsmanship, kung fu, and kōdō, Kenpachi Zaraki only knows swordsmanship and Shunpo (flash step). He is completely ignorant of Hakuda (white-handed fighting) and Kidō (demon arts). Without his Zanpakutō, he is completely unable to fight.

Kenpachi Zaraki can accept dying in battle, but he cannot accept being unable to fight while alive, despite possessing immense power.

Therefore, when Xia Zuo focused his attacks on his wrists, thumbs, elbows, and shoulders, Kenpachi Zaraki was very passive and even tried to use his left hand to take the damage instead of his right.

Having found Kenpachi Zaraki's true weakness, the battle between Natsume and Kenpachi shifted from offense to defense.

Since Naruto and Sasuke fused to create the Swift Release Kekkei Genkai, the ones who benefited the least were Shinigami Sasuke and Tenma Sasuke.

The reason is simple: these two don't even have bodies, so how could they enjoy the benefits of the Emperor Engine?

Especially Shinigami Shaza, in Soul Society, the essence of Shinigami and Ryuun is the transformation of souls into spirit particles, and their speed depends only on the strength and characteristics of the soul.

Because Death God Xia Zuo never had an advantage in speed, he was extremely grateful to Xiao Ao Xia Zuo for sharing the Dugu Nine Swords.

As Xia Zuo gained the upper hand through proactive attacks, his understanding of the Dugu Nine Swords deepened rapidly, his attacks became increasingly continuous, and his suppression of Kenpachi Zaraki became more and more stable.

Even with Kenpachi's repeated howls, he couldn't change his passive situation.

Ultimately, Kenpachi Zaraki unleashed a spiritual pressure far exceeding his limits. The golden spiritual pressure reformed in the air, forming a ferocious skull-like aura.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xia Zuo unleashed his spiritual pressure.

This is a stack of 14 souls, influenced by the essence of the Heavenly Demon Xia Zuo, shaped by the Hokage Xia Zuo, whose life level was enhanced by the Heavenly Tribulation Xia Zuo, and whose souls were cleansed by the Devouring Xia Zuo, together creating a vast and eerie spiritual pressure.

Xia Zuo's spiritual pressure formed a towering tree in the air.

The two sides have regained the upper hand.

Captain Kyoraku Shunsui of the Eighth Division couldn't help but exclaim, "What a beautiful tree! Its vitality is so expansive and magnificent that it is truly astonishing."

"This year's graduates are really good. Even if there's only one Grim Reaper, Xia Zuo, it would be enough."

Fourth Division Captain Retsu Unohana agreed, "Natsuzo has such great strength right after graduation; he definitely has the potential to be a captain."

None of the captains stepped in to stop the fight, because they all knew that Kenpachi Zaraki was a madman and couldn't be calmed down.

The battle continued. Kenpachi Zaraki was giving it his all without removing his blindfold, but he was still unable to overpower Natsumi in terms of spiritual pressure.

His beast-like instincts for attacking swordsmanship were utterly insignificant compared to the "Nine Swords of Dugu," the highest form of swordsmanship passed down and summarized by generations of Chinese swordsmen.

Because his psychological weakness was exploited, Kenpachi was completely under Xia Zuo's control.

When Kenpachi Zaraki's counterattack was interrupted, he had no choice but to try to dodge and block with great frustration. Every movement looked so clumsy, and even revealed a strong sense of reluctance.

The team captains watching from the sidelines were stunned.

This is incredibly rare. Kenpachi Zaraki, the sword fanatic, has actually been forced to defend himself by another Shinigami. This is truly unbelievable.

Kyoraku Shunsui was so surprised that he forgot to drink his sake, muttering to himself, "How could this be? Before, when this guy was pinned to the ground and beaten by the old man, even when he was burned to a crisp, he would still attack relentlessly."

None of the team captains expected this to happen.

The captains did not interfere when Kenpachi Zaraki and Natsumi unleashed their spiritual pressure, not because they thought Kenpachi would be suppressed, but because Kenpachi was not actually unleashing his full power.

As long as Kenpachi Zaraki doesn't remove his blindfold, it's equivalent to the other captains not using their Bankai, so they can't be considered to be fighting seriously.

If Kenpachi doesn't go all out, even if Xia Zuo is defeated, he will at most be torn to pieces.

As long as the body is relatively intact and still warm, Captain Retsu Unohana can pull him back from the dead.

Therefore, none of the captains stopped the fight; instead, they happily watched the spectacle.

Surprisingly, Kenpachi was suppressed by the graduate, and now no one is willing to intervene.

Kyoraku Shunsui even used demonic techniques to subdue Ukitake Jushiro, who was there to watch the spectacle.

Kenpachi Zaraki was forced to defend!

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