— — — — — —
8th Division
Kyoraku Shunsui glanced eastward before turning his gaze to the tall man lying on the ground in front of him—defeated and restrained.
It was Chad (Yasutora Sado), one of the so-called intruders.
After binding Chad with a kido spell, Shunsui gently pressed his sheathed sword against Chad's chin, smiling as he spoke.
"Sorry about the rough treatment, young man. I know it's a bit forward, but there's something I'd really like to ask you."
Chad remained silent, saying nothing in response.
Shunsui wasn't surprised.
This man—who came at him alone and without any killing intent—wasn't strong enough to pose a real threat, but Shunsui couldn't help but admire the guy's courage. A real man, in his eyes.
And a man like this? Definitely the kind who cares deeply about his friends.
With that in mind, Shunsui flashed a soft grin.
"Are you sure this is the smart move? All captains in the Seireitei have now been given permission to release their zanpakuto. Meaning people like me will be actively hunting down your friends."
"If you don't cooperate… well, they might get killed."
"On the other hand, if you're willing to talk, I might be persuaded to go easy on them."
"Seriously? Now you're just threatening him?" Shunsui's lieutenant, Ise Nanao, muttered disapprovingly from the side.
After all, the moment the intruders were declared enemies, they were essentially placed on the Seireitei's "kill-on-sight" list.
To then try and bargain with one of them for intel? It was honestly a little tasteless.
Shunsui shot her a sidelong glance and gave her a wink, teasingly.
"Aw, come on, Nanao-chan~ I mean it this time."
She didn't respond—just stood silently, arms crossed.
Meanwhile, Chad, who had been struggling with the decision internally—especially after witnessing firsthand the sheer power Shunsui possessed—finally gave in. Worry for his comrades weighed heavily on him.
"…What do you want to know?" he said, voice low and heavy.
Shunsui lowered the brim of his straw hat and chuckled.
"Your group's objective, the members involved, and their abilities."
"I'll only tell you our objective," Chad replied bluntly.
Shunsui narrowed his eyes, but nodded.
"Alright. Fair enough."
Chad spoke slowly, each word grounded in conviction.
"We came to the Soul Society… to save a friend—Rukia Kuchiki—who's been sentenced to execution."
"What?!" Nanao was stunned. "That's why you broke into the Seireitei? And even killed a captain?!"
"Killed… a captain?" Chad blinked in confusion. "That can't be right. Our plan was to avoid combat with captains at all costs. If any of my friends ran into one, they were supposed to retreat immediately."
"Don't give me that crap—" Nanao started, but Shunsui raised a hand, gently stopping her.
"That's enough, Nanao."
She hesitated, then sighed and stepped back.
Shunsui, now serious, looked Chad over carefully and murmured, "Man… I've got a bad feeling about all this. And I really don't want to be right."
Rukia Kuchiki…?
A chill ran down his spine.
The adopted daughter of the Kuchiki clan was being executed for giving her powers to a human. That alone had left a sour taste in Shunsui's mouth.
But now these so-called "invaders" had come just to save her?
This wasn't some random act of rebellion—this was a rescue mission.
And yet, somehow… a captain had still ended up dead.
There was no way this was all just coincidence. Someone else was using this chaos to move in the shadows.
As Shunsui pieced things together, two overwhelming Reiatsu suddenly erupted from the direction of the Senzaikyū.
He immediately turned his head.
"…Captain Kuchiki? And the other one… the intruder who took down Zaraki?"
Eyes narrowing, Shunsui refocused on Chad.
"Among your group, who's the strongest? This is important—please answer. Is it a Quincy?"
Chad hesitated before finally replying, vaguely.
"The Quincy is strong… but there's someone even stronger. Though even he knows better than to face a captain head-on."
"…I figured as much." Shunsui sighed heavily.
Then, turning to Nanao, he gave his next orders.
"Nanao, heal this guy and send him to the 4th Division for treatment. After that, stay here and hold down the fort—I'm going to check on Captain Unohana."
"But—"
Before she could finish, Shunsui was already gone in a flash step.
Nanao let out a long, exasperated sigh.
"That old perv… always leaves me with the cleanup."
— — —
4th Division District.
Shunsui appeared atop a ruined house, its roof split clean in half. He scanned the area, taking in the wreckage.
"…Judging by the damage, someone went all the way to Bankai, huh?"
A grim expression settled on his face.
For Unohana Retsu—one of the oldest and deadliest Shinigami—to have been forced to release her Bankai?
That meant the enemy was dangerous. Potentially on par with Captain Yamamoto himself.
"…Unohana's reiatsu is still there, but the enemy's is gone. She's alive, but barely. Must've been a brutal win."
Shunsui locked onto her Reiatsu and used Shunpo several times, arriving at what looked like a giant crater—the heart of the battle.
At the edge of the pit, he looked down and froze.
At the center, Unohana lay collapsed on the ground, her long hair in disarray. Her shihakushō was draped over her body like a blanket, barely rising and falling with each breath.
Shff shff shff—
A few more quick steps, and Shunsui knelt beside her.
Seeing that her clothes were still mostly intact, he let out a small sigh of relief and gave a sheepish grin.
"Still breathing, huh? Can't believe someone actually pushed you this far, Captain Unohana."
He trailed off mid-sentence—blood was seeping from underneath her uniform. A lot of it.
"…Her clothes are fine, so… how is she bleeding this much?" he muttered, eyes wide.
The sheer volume of blood… It looked like someone had sliced her clean in half.
"…Oh. Itz yu." Unohana's voice rasped from beneath the cloth. She turned her head slowly toward him.
"..."
"Give me a second. My vocal cords still need a bit more healing."
Shunsui stayed quiet, watching her closely. Once she seemed stable enough, he asked softly: "You lost?"
"…Yeah." Her voice had regained some strength—and to his surprise, she was smiling.
"How?" he asked immediately.
"He was faster. Stronger. Reacted quicker. Recovered faster. His reiatsu completely overwhelmed mine. Of course I lost."
Unohana's face was pale, but some color was slowly returning as she continued treating herself with kido.
"You're joking. You had to have gone Bankai, right?"
Shunsui looked genuinely stunned.
Unohana's Bankai—Minazuki—was a terrifying ability. Anything her blade touched melted into blood, which not only damaged the enemy but also healed her at the same time.
Paired with her mastery of over 8,000 styles of swordsmanship?
There were probably only two people in Soul Society who could match her in a fair fight: Yamamoto and Zaraki—post-release.
And now?
Lying flat on her back, Unohana let out a dry, bitter chuckle.
"My Bankai… couldn't even break through his defense."
Shunsui opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Not even Unohana's Bankai could get through?
Was this guy's ability… absolute defense?
As Shunsui fell into stunned silence, Unohana actually started smiling more.
She began humming a little tune, her tone light, almost… satisfied.
"My blade might've created a monster. One that devours everything."
Shunsui lowered his hat again, voice heavy.
"…What do you mean?"
Her smile turned downright cheerful.
"He came to me because he wanted to sharpen his swordsmanship. That's it."
"…He's insane," Shunsui muttered.
A man strong enough to challenge Unohana—on purpose—just to refine his swordsmanship? And she, in return, was smiling after nearly being cut to death?
"You two should get married and stop scaring the rest of us…"
Still, knowing a lunatic like that had set his sights on Soul Society made Shunsui shudder. He couldn't help but ask: "Does he have any weaknesses?"
"Huh? Something like that actually exists?"
Unohana sounded genuinely confused.
'Don't ask me! I didn't fight him! Damn it' Shunsui cursed silently.
Even after fighting him, Unohana couldn't find a weakness? This was going to be hell.
"Maybe women?" she suddenly said, uncertain.
"…What?"
Unohana smiled weakly.
"Before we fought, he confessed to me. Then after he thought I had died… he gave me a proper outfit to wear. Don't you think… that's kind of romantic?"
Shunsui's eye twitched.
"Sure. Real romantic."
Yeah, right. If this counts as romance, who the hell would dare get married anymore?
He forced a grin.
"I'll report everything to the Captain. You'll probably need to submit a written report later too."
"Mm…"
Unohana gave a soft nod and finally let herself rest, her breathing evening out.
With that, Shunsui vanished with a flash step, found 4th Division's vice-captain Kotetsu Isane, and asked her to treat Unohana—and maybe call a psychiatrist while she was at it.
Then he rushed straight toward the 1st Division.
If even Unohana lost...
There was only one person left who might be able to stop that monster.
Yamamoto Genryūsai.
And if he had to get involved, then yeah… the Soul Society was in serious trouble.
.
.
.