22

Ren had arrived at the 1st division barracks in no time. He had escorted Kojuro there and to the council's chambers several times before making his way to the lieutenant conference many times over the past 30 years when he was a lieutenant.

'Looks like I rushed a bit. I'm here a little early. Guess I can walk around a bit until it is time for the meeting to start.'

Ren began making his way to the first division's training field. As he walked, he attracted the attention of all the other shinigami. Even the most serious shinigami could not help but gossip with others when they saw his appearance.

"I can't believe it. Two shinigami captains emerged on the same day because of him."

"Not just that, he killed the other captain even more easily than new Kenpachi did."

"To think that the 11th division had someone capable of killing a captain with only their shikai. That is almost unheard of."

"Wait! He did not use bankai?"

"No. Both were in shikai the whole time. When the former captain tried to activate his bankai, Captain Ren killed him immediately."

"So does that mean Captain Ren does not know bankai?"

"It might. From how it sounds, it seems like Ren was afraid of letting Captain Okuda unleashing his bankai."

"With the difference in strength in their shikai forms, I'm not sure that Captain Okuda's bankai would have made him win."

"Whether he would have won or not if Captain Okuda used his bankai was not the point."

"Oh. Then what is it?"

"It means that Captain Ren would be the first person since the Gotei 13 was founded who has gotten the position of captain without having mastered bankai."

As soon as these words were said, the entire group of shinigami was silenced. None of them had ever thought of it like this. Most shinigami were just talking about how powerful Ren was or how vicious he was. No one considered that Ren might lack a bankai all together.

And with this single sentence, it was spread all over the first division in minutes. And all of Soul Society within an hour. All the shinigami were talking about the new captain who might not even know bankai and would definitely be the strongest if he did.

There were also many who wanted to defend the new Kenpachi but after hearing about how she had barely won against the previous Kenpachi, few could truly defend. Many said that the wrong person inherited the title of Kenpachi.

Without him knowing, this is how Ren would soon become the enemy of all the future captains of the 11th division. But that is a story for the future.

By the time the Captain's Council's meeting began, everyone was curious about which of the two new captains were stronger. Even some of the captains and lieutenants present.

When Ren swaggered into the council room, he gained the attention of the people already present. Of all the divisions, only 4 had arrived. These were the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and lastly 8th since Ren had arrived.

'Wow. These captains never learn about punctuality in the hundreds of years before canon even starts.'

Ren walked over to his seat but he could feel a gaze that burned as hot as the sun on him. Ren did not even look at Yamamoto to know it was him. Ren also knew why.

He had seen the episode in the anime where the old man was upset at Byakuya and Zaraki for losing their haori. He felt they were very sacred and did not like drastic changes to them or when captains lost them. And since Ren had dyed his blood-red, it was definitely on the drastic change side.

'I'm sure your student would have died his pink instead of wearing a kimono over it if he was not so afraid of you. As for me, I don't give a damn. Not like you can punish me over this.'

Ren nodded toward Captain Unohana and Captain Kyōraku as well as their lieutenants. The current captain Kyōraku was not the same as the series but instead his older brother who would die eventually.

Behind them were Seinosuke Yamada who was Unohana's lieutenant and Mei Ise who was Captain Kyōraku's wife and lieutenant. Ren got along well with Mei but did not like Seinosuke too much. Their personalities were too similar which caused the pair to have conflicts but he still respected the man as a competent lieutenant.

The 4th division was the same as it had always been, the division of medics. But because Yoruichi had not yet become captain and combined the 2nd division with the Onmitsukidō, the division was focused more on anti-quincy matters.

Ren took his seat alone. He had not brought a lieutenant because he had relieved the previous lieutenant of their position. Not just the lieutenant but all officers who were ranked between and 2-11 from his division were demoted while the rest of the officers were removed from their officer positions altogether. Ren was planning to restructure his entire division.

The captains slowly trickled in with their lieutenants and within 20 minutes, everyone was present. Yamamoto stood up and slammed his cane/stick on the ground. With this, the first battle Ren would enter as a Captain had begun.