"That's a lot of power coming from the top of Sougyoku Hill! I know Yamamoto's up there, but I don't recognize the power at all," Kenpachi said, lying down in his office within the Eleventh Squad's barracks.

"I don't know who's there, Ken-chan, I don't recognize it either," his little, pink haired vice-captain said while sitting on top of Kenpachi, looking out the window.

"That's Kenkou, the kid you kicked out earlier today just cuz he was asking you a question," Ikkaku said, leaning against the post of the doorway. "Besides, I thought you couldn't feel reiatsu, Captain?"

"Heh! You don't need to 'sense' this kid's reiatsu—it's massive! I can't wait till the old man finishes training this kid! Kicking his ass will be so much fun!" Kenpachi said smiling out at Sougyoku Hill.

"HA! Not if I get to him first, Captain!" Ikkaku left the room and walked off to the training area.

A year of brutal training has gone by and Kenkou was now eight years old. He stood, facing Yamamoto on the top of Sougyoku Hill. The wind blew atop the Hill with warm tones that felt of the previous summer. October was a good month to be training outside: leaves changing to the deep oranges, browns, and reds to show the year's progression. The season didn't show itself as they trained, for the forest that took up half of the cliff was forever petrified without any leaves on the branches.

"Go," Yamamoto commanded.

He flash stepped behind Kenkou, but Kenkou quickly countered and flashed to the left of his master. Yamamoto attempted to strike his apprentice, but his hand phased through Kenkou's 'body' and Yamamoto looked in amazement. As soon as he realized that Kenkou wasn't there, Kenkou flashed above Yamamoto and appeared in a one-handed handstand on Yamamoto's head with his legs in a v-shape in the air. "You've finally mastered all forms for flash steps, Kenkou, but you didn't need to be so flamboyant about it…"

"I was just having some fun!" Kenkou leaped off of Yamamoto's head and landed in front of him, smiling.

"Now that you can catch your target, you'll now learn how to hit it. Now, strike me," Yamamoto commanded. Kenkou flashed behind Yamamoto and proceeded to chop his neck with his right hand, but Yamamoto blocked it and thrust a back kick into Kenkou's stomach. Kenkou stepped back, but didn't reel in pain.

"What was that for? You said to hit you!"

"I did, but I didn't say that I wouldn't fight back…"

"Oh, you sneaky man…" Kenkou ran at Yamamoto this time, and prepped for a left haymaker as he ran. Moving this slowly, huh? Let's see what you've got, Yamamoto thought. Kenkou pulled his left fist back a little more and was about to come down on Yamamoto's head, but he flashed to Yamamoto's right, then above him, and finally in the same place he first flash stepped from and landed a right roundhouse into Yamamoto's torso. Yamamoto tried to block it, but he was too late and the kick landed square and caused him to skid on his feet 30 feet to his right. "Good hit, my apprentice, but how's your leg feeling?" Yamamoto smirked as he looked at Kenkou from a distance.

"What do you…YAH!" Kenkou grabbed his shin in pain and dropped to the floor.

"A hard body produces that kind of kick back. Besides, your body isn't used striking anything, just in taking the hits. You'll get used to it."

"This sucks, master!"

"Suck it up, child! I have no patience for this!" Kenkou got up and readied himself in an attack position. Kenkou flashed in front of Yamamoto and threw a right hook—blocked—a left front kick—blocked—and the fight continued with back and forth between the two fighters. "Dulled the pain a little, I see. You know, you'll have to hit me harder if you plan to penetrate my defense. Keep going," Yamamoto commented as the fight progressed.

Elsewhere, Renji was back from some real world duties and as he laid down to rest in the Sixth Squad's barracks, he felt Kenkou and Yamamoto's reiatsus clashing against one another. "There's definitely a fight going on this time. And Kenkou has improved in his energy control a lot in the last three years. It's gone up just a little, but his control is on par with any vice-captain. It's only a matter of time when his control and reiatsu level are equal," Renji said to himself aloud.

"He is a remarkable human, but he's a human nonetheless. He will never achieve Bankai, and he will never be a captain," Byakuya interrupted.

"I beg to differ, Captain. Kenkou has a ton of potential and if you're feeling the fight correctly, he's twice as strong as Yamamoto in this stage of being a Soul Reaper."

"He still does not possess his zanpakutou and he's three years into his intensive training, Renji."

"When any of us went through formal training, none of us found our zanpakutou until our twentieth year of training, Captain."

"You are from one of the seventy-eightieth district of the Rukongai; you're a special exception. I found out about my Senbonzakura after ten years of training."

"Heh, I still think that if you faced him on the same level that he's training for right now, he'd wipe the floor with you." Renji smiled and put his hands behind his head as he lay on his back.

"You assume too much, Renji. I'll take you up on that. If he invites me to fight him, I'll only match his level. If he obtains Bankai by the time I face him, it'll be no holds barred. Would you like to wager anything?"

"Heh, you surprise me every chance you get, Captain. If Kenkou wins, I don't have to do paperwork or clean the barracks for a year."

"And if I win?"

"If you win, I'll face every hollow I come across with my kidou only AND I'll scrub your office clean every night with a toothbrush—and all of that in a year—deal?"

"Prepare to have this blow up in your face, Renji. I refuse to allow some human to overpower me." Byakuya walked over to Renji and they shook hands while Renji was still on the floor. "And by the way, that mission you just got back from? There's tons of paper work for you to do on it waiting for you in my office."

"Damn it, damn it, damn it…." Renji stomped away to Byakuya's office and snatched the paper work off of his desk so he could complete it in his room.