I'm in Bleach, starting with Unlimited Blade Works.

Of course, if Haruko had preferred to die rather than stay by Erin's side back then, that would have been a different story.

Erin sat on the floor of the city lord's hall with Haruko in his arms, both enjoying each other's warmth and feeling each other's heartbeats.

Neither of them said anything, yet it was as if they had said everything.

On the third day, the evil spirit's spiritual pressure finally dissipated completely, and Erin and Haruko opened their eyes.

"Let's go, Erin."

The sunlight streaming into the hall from the main entrance caused Erin's eyes to momentarily dazzle. The girl standing in the sunlight, reaching out her hands to him, was just like she had back then...

"Okay, let's go, Haruko!"

Chapter 96 First Encounter with Aizen

"Sa——"

The white captain's haori fluttered in the wind on Erin's body.

Six years after Erin was dismissed, Erin once again donned the captain's haori.

However, compared to before, Erin no longer has two star-binding shackles on her head, and the red wind-flower brocade around her neck, which could be worth several houses, is no longer there.

At the same time, the "six" behind it was replaced with "eleven".

Erin, who had been the captain of the Sixth Division representing "order," had become the captain of the Eleventh Division representing "battle." Erin had no idea what this meant.

However, he knew one thing.

If he wants to protect Haruko well during these turbulent two hundred years, he needs to let some people know his strength.

If they really provoke me, then even the Spirit King's will won't work on me.

Stepping onto the high platform, Erin turned to look at the Grim Reapers below, their eyes filled with burning fighting spirit, and slowly began to speak.

"From today onwards, I will become the ninth Kenpachi of the Eleventh Division, Kenpachi Erin!"

"The Eleventh Division is a combat division."

"If there is a battle, I will lead the charge and will not stop to wait for you."

"If you stop moving forward, one day you won't even be able to see the captain's haori behind me!"

"If you want to follow me, then fight with all your might, slaughter your enemies, and advance!"

"fighting!"

"fighting!"

"fighting!"

The Eleventh Division is the combat division among the Gotei 13, and its members have the strongest average strength of all the divisions.

There is no such thing as team affairs in the Eleventh Division.

Every day, all they need to do is eliminate the Hollows that have descended upon various parts of Rukongai in Soul Society, based on the information provided by the 12th Division.

As Erin said on the day he took office as captain, he would not stop to wait for the members of the Eleventh Division whenever a battle broke out.

Those who are faster can even pick up some leftovers.

Those who were slower arrived at the battlefield only to find the battle already over.

It was precisely because of Erin's ferocious killing efficiency that the Eleventh Division experienced a surge in Shunpo training.

Which of the Shinigami who joined the Eleventh Division wasn't a fanatical fighter?

For them, a battle that ends before they even reach the battlefield is the greatest humiliation.

And so, after some time, while the strength of the Eleventh Division members in other aspects was hard to say, their progress in Shunpo (the instant step technique) was remarkable.

In terms of speed, he's not even slower than the executioners in the Second Division where Erin once served.

After all, if they couldn't get to the battlefield before Captain Erin killed all the enemies, then their only purpose would be to do the shameful job of cleaning up the battlefield.

Of course, Erin has always done a good job of controlling the battle situation in order to maintain the fighting spirit of the Eleventh Division members.

In every battle, Erin would adjust his killing efficiency based on the speed of his teammates.

Basically, from initially killing 90% of the Hollows before the team members arrived at the battlefield, to gradually reducing the number of Hollows killed to 80% and then 70% after noticing the team members' progress in Shunpo.

Of course, no matter how few, Erin would always maintain the number of Hollows killed at over 50%.

He said he wouldn't stop to wait for the team members; while that statement wasn't entirely true, it wasn't entirely false either.

He will dedicate some time to training those who can keep up with the pace, helping them become stronger.

Those who can't keep up should work hard to catch up with the group behind them before accepting their guidance!

Under such healthy competition, the Eleventh Division has indeed produced a number of talented individuals.

First, there's the Third Seat, Oni Ichijo. His strength is arguably the strongest member of the Eleventh Division besides Erin.

After catching up in his Shunpo training, the number of Hollows he killed each time was second only to Erin.

Then there is another one named Ichinose Masaki. Although his strength is not as good as the third seat Oni Genjo and the vice-captain Gosuke, his mastery of Shunpo is superior to the two of them.

Every time, he was the first to arrive at the battlefield, and his number of Hollows killed was among the top five.

After several such encounters, with Erin as a witness, Onigenjo defeated Gosuke and became the new vice-captain of the Eleventh Division.

Meanwhile, Ichinose Maki successfully defeated the sixth seat of the 11th Division and became the new sixth seat.

……

At the Shinigami Academy, a group of students were excitedly discussing the star characters of the Gotei 13.

As trainees for the Shinigami (Death Gods), students at the Shinigami Academy receive invitations to join the various divisions of the Gotei 13.

Some exceptionally talented and powerful students even receive multiple invitations.

In such a situation, an outstanding star captain or member can influence the choice of which squad the trainee should join.

Therefore, every now and then, the Shinigami in the Gotei 13 would tell the students about some of the things that happened in their squads or the battles, so that the students of the Shinigami Academy of Shinigami would have a certain understanding of the functions and characters of each squad of the Gotei 13.

This plays a decisive role in helping them choose which squad to join after graduation.

In the past two years, the most prominent figure has undoubtedly been the newly appointed captain of the Eleventh Division, Kenpachi Erin.

According to the Eleventh Division members who teach slashing techniques and Shunpo at the Shinigami Academy, everyone knows that the recruitment standards for the Eleventh Division members have been raised significantly since Kenpachi took office.

Previously, as long as one's spiritual pressure was up to par and their swordsmanship met the requirements, one could receive an invitation to join the Eleventh Division. Now, the Eleventh Division won't even give a second glance to someone who doesn't meet the Shunpo requirements.

There's no way around it. Based on the personality that Kenpachi Erin of the Eleventh Division has shown so far, someone who isn't good at Shunpo wouldn't even get a chance to clean up the battlefield. Are we going to let them be just decorative figures in the Eleventh Division?

On the training field, Haruko Kuchiki, dressed in a white student uniform, listened to her classmates talking about the new captain of the Eleventh Division.

After returning to Soul Society, Haruko enrolled in the Shinigami Academy to study, hoping to reach the point where she could be by Erin's side as soon as possible.

Logically speaking, given Haruko Kuchiki's status, she shouldn't need to study at the Shinigami Academy.

After all, what Byakuya Kuchiki and Erin possessed was far more advanced than what was taught at the Shinigami Academy.

But there was no way around it; besides being the 28th head of the Kuchiki family, Byakuya Kuchiki was also the captain of the 6th Division.

He leaves early and returns late every day, so the time he can spend teaching Haruko is very limited.

As for Erin, the two have not met since entering Soul Society.

In Haruko Kuchiki's words, she wanted to use her longing for Erin to motivate herself to train harder.

Therefore, for Haruko, the best place to train is indeed the Shinigami Academy.

Anyway, if there's anything she doesn't understand, she can go back to the Kuchiki family and ask Erin or Kuchiki Byakuya.

At the academy, Haruko Kuchiki hears her classmates talking about Erin almost every day. She knows that Erin is telling her in his own way that he will always be by her side.

Otherwise, given Erin's lazy nature, how could he be as enthusiastic about fighting as the team members said?

……

Recently, the number of Hollows entering the Soul Society's Rukongai from Hueco Mundo has not decreased, but they are now more widely dispersed.

This forced the Eleventh Division to split into several squads to patrol the Rukongai.

This thrilled the Eleventh Division members who either frequently had to clean the floor or never even had a chance to sweep it.

After a year, they can finally be put to use!

Because the locations of the Hollows are so scattered, even Erin has to travel around.

Unfortunately, the Hollows in Hueco Mundo have been acting erratically lately. Even Erin could only rush to the scene after sensing the spatial fluctuations in the Black Cavity.

This situation is highly abnormal.

But there's nothing we can do. Even though everyone knows that the Hollows from Hueco Mundo wouldn't just appear anywhere in Soul Society for no reason, and that these Hollows are a means for Hueco Mundo to put into Soul Society to interfere with the Shinigami.

However, the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force found nothing new about Hueco Mundo, and the captains in the Seireitei could only remain vigilant.

Of course, as a combat squad, the Eleventh Division spent most of the year in Rukongai.

They are either fighting or on their way to fighting.

"His..."

In Rukongai, the sky of the 72nd ward was suddenly torn open, and several Hollows fell from the black opening.

"Oh!"

"Boom bang bang..."

After the four phantoms crashed to the ground, they raised their heads and let out joyful roars.

"hold head high……"

"Tsk."

However, the roars of the four Hollows had barely begun when they were interrupted by a disdainful snort.

The roar that was clearly weak was louder, but that slight sneer was like a sharp blade, cutting the roar in half.

"laugh!"

Blood splattered...

After easily killing the four Hollows, Erin continued to stroll around Rukongai.