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Originally Posted by Sabaku Kyu
About Yamamoto's quote-- I still think the full conversation implies he was saying he was strongest. He asks Aizen how it's possible that he's remained the commander for 1000 years, the answer being that in that time, there hasn't been a single shinigami born that was stronger than him. Meaning that if there existed a stronger shinigami during that time, they would be worthy of his seat. He's justifying his position with being the strongest. His words don't mean as much if there's someone stronger, just having happened to been born before he became commander.
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You're interpretation could very well be correct. But if it is, then allow me to suggest another possibility. What if Yamamoto had made that statement having only factored Unohana and Zaraki's power as it was during that 1000 year time span? I mean as things stood, Unohana's strength may have been regarded as a non-factor to Yamamoto due to her vow not to participate in battle during his 1000 year reign as CC (A vow she clearly kept even during the most dire crisis). And he may not have factored in Zaraki's power due to the fact that the bulk of his strength was clearly hidden away during the course of those thousand years. So even though Yamamoto likely knew about Zaraki's maximum potential, he knew he was still stronger than Zaraki in his current state.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sabaku Kyu
As for the title Kenpachi, obviously the Kenpachis that came between Unohana and Zaraki weren't as strong as those two. So it has become something of a formal title and not a literal statement of being the absolute strongest shinigami. And it seems like the name applies to a specific type of warrior--someone who has insatiable love of intense battle and violence plus a fighting style based purely on overwhelming physical power/swordsmanship. It's not just about overall fighting strength.
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Fair enough. Even though we know next to nothing about most of the former Kenpachi's (and even though the novel speaks of a former Kenpachi that was implied to have been stronger than Yamamoto), I won't try and debate the possibility of how strong they might've been due solely to the above canon claim (from Yamamoto) we're discussing.