"I can't pretend I didn't hear that you're inventing your own techniques."
Arata suddenly turned his head. Unohana Retsu, who had just left moments ago, was already standing right behind him and he hadn't even sensed her presence.
Judge, someone's using cheat codes for Shunpo!
"Captain Unohana, didn't you say we had a thirty-minute break before continuing the training?"
It had been less than ten minutes. How had she returned so quickly?
"But I never said I wouldn't come back earlier, did I?" she replied calmly, with that gentle smile of hers, as she stepped casually in front of Arata and observed him carefully.
Her gaze lingered on his tense torso before returning to meet his eyes.
"Besides… what made you think that hiding your abilities from me was the right decision, Arata-kun?"
Although her words sounded as if she were speaking about arranging flowers, Arata felt an enormous spiritual pressure descend upon him, cold like a blade against his skin.
The confidence he had built by rapidly advancing to the level of an officer seemed meaningless before the first generation Kenpachi — Unohana Yachiru.
He took a deep breath, trying to steady his heartbeat. There was no point in hiding anymore.
He quickly gathered his thoughts and replied, "I wasn't trying to hide anything. I only developed that technique recently, and I haven't perfected it yet, so I didn't use it earlier."
He lowered his gaze, shame creeping into his voice over his lack of honesty.
"All right."
Unohana silently walked to the opposite end of the dojo. In her hand, barely noticeable, her Zanpakutō - Minazuki, was already drawn.
She held it casually across her body, yet even in that relaxed stance, an aura of threat emanated from her. It was as if the entire room had become quieter, colder.
"Let me see your sword, Arata-kun."
"Use all your strength. Show me what you've developed. There's no need to hold back."
The moment she said those words, her gaze sharpened, her eyes deep, almost colorless, piercing. As if they could see straight through his soul.
Arata swallowed hard. If her judgment wasn't satisfied, he would be broken, inside and out, until nothing was left of him.
Without further hesitation, he gripped his wooden sword tightly. Almost half of his reiatsu condensed and flowed into the weapon.
Zuuuuuum!
Purple-black spiritual pressure erupted from his hand and spread along the blade's surface, like ink boiling over fire.
"Captain Unohana, prepare yourself!"
"Dark Flame Slash!"
In an instant, a wave of spiritual energy separated from the blade, condensed into a sharp, crescent-shaped slash, radiating fiery spiritual pressure as it cut through space toward Unohana at incredible speed.
Unohana merely raised her sword slightly, watching the incoming attack as though it were a flower swaying in the wind.
Clang!
Two spiritual pressures collided with a deafening crash, but Unohana swung Minazuki with one hand and deflected the attack to the side.
Boom!
An explosion echoed through the dojo. The stone wall, reinforced to withstand attacks from officers, was sliced perfectly clean, as though cut by a hot knife.
A faint purple-black flame of reiatsu still lingered along the cut, emitting a soft, eerie sizzling sound.
Unohana remained motionless, but her eyes widened slightly.
She wasn't looking at Arata, she was looking at the crack in the wall.
In her expression appeared something… indistinct. Confused. Nostalgic?
As a master of kendo, she immediately understood: this was no ordinary technique.
This strike wasn't merely spiritual pressure compressed into shape, it was a form of spiritual control that combined all aspects of basic swordsmanship, reiatsu manipulation, and even a touch of Hadō energy.
It resembled Katen Kyōkotsu's technique, but with a different essence.
The Path of Reiatsu in the Form of a Sword.
Unohana silently repeated the phrase in her mind.
However, what disturbed her more wasn't the technical aspect. Within the traces of reiatsu, she sensed something she hadn't expected.
Something ancient.
Something malevolent.
Something… that sought to destroy and erase everything from existence.
After a while, the lingering spiritual pressure in the cut finally faded, and Unohana Retsu's thoughts returned to the present.
She lowered her gaze and spoke softly, "The speed and strength are impressive. It seems Arata-kun has truly mastered an exceptional technique."
"If this continues… it's not impossible for you to become a captain one day."
Unohana's words were serious. It wasn't casual praise, but a carefully measured evaluation.
From a captain's perspective, this level wouldn't stand out in the later stages of a war, but for someone who hadn't even graduated from the Shin'ō Academy yet, it was already far beyond the limits of expectation.
In other words, what old man Yamamoto once said about Kensei Muguruma, that he might one day rival Yhwach, had a similar tone. Although the comparison was wildly exaggerated, when such words were spoken, they expressed pure faith in someone's potential.
Unohana wasn't speaking to flatter. It was a sincere, thoughtful judgment.
In just a few days, Arata had gone from a barely passable kendo student to someone possessing spiritual pressure at an officer's level, with nearly perfect swordsmanship and on top of that, he had developed an entirely new form of combat on his own.
That wasn't merely rare. It was unprecedented.
Gin Ichimaru and Byakuya Kuchiki, considered the most gifted in recent years, couldn't compare to him.
Even she herself, Unohana Retsu, if she were to be completely honest, hadn't been so technically refined at that age.
"…"
Arata, having used nearly all his reiatsu to perform the Dark Flame Slash, was now breathing heavily. He was exhausted and didn't know how to respond.
If he acted humble now, it might seem insincere.
If he showed pride, it might seem arrogant.
In a moment like this, silence was the best choice.
Silence is golden.
Perhaps because of that inner focus, he didn't immediately notice that something had changed in Captain Unohana's appearance.
Her long black braids, which had previously hung across her chest, were now undone.
Her hair flowed freely down her shoulders and back. Compared to her usual gentle, sisterly demeanor, she now looked more like a cold-blooded warrior.
Wait… when did she remove the seal? How did I not even sense it?
No… my Zanpakutō hasn't even awakened, how did she suddenly become this threatening?
But the truth soon revealed that it wasn't any release of power at all.
Unohana had simply returned Minazuki to its sheath and calmly approached him. Her face was gentle, her smile warm, yet still dangerous.
"Since you've reached this level," she said quietly, "it's time for your sword training to move to the next stage."
"From now on, I'll teach you more detailed knowledge, the kind passed down only among captains."
She paused briefly.
"More precisely… we'll be teaching each other," she corrected herself with a tone almost cheerful, as if she eagerly awaited the next challenge.
"Can I refuse?" Arata's legs trembled; he wasn't sure if it was from exhaustion or from the presence of the woman before him.
"Even if you did, it's too late," she said with a widening smile. "Don't worry, Arata-kun, as long as I'm here, you won't die."
From her sleeve, she drew a small vial filled with blue liquid, a high-purity spiritual elixir often used in Kaidō recovery techniques and pressed it to Arata's lips.
Of course I won't die… but I'll wish I had!
Arata wanted to protest, but in the end, he lowered his head. Resistance was meaningless.
I have to believe that the bloodline of the Soul King can withstand this woman…
"Since you can't escape… then give it your all and enjoy it."
With those words, Arata took the vial and drank it all.