Time flew.
In the endless cycle of wounding → healing, three long hours passed before Bai Chen even realized it.
CLANG—!!
When Unohana Retsu swung her blade for the final time, Bai Chen was no longer a "willing target."
He turned—
and struck back.
Sparks burst. Steel-like impact rang through the dojo.
Between the two curved wooden blades, blood-red light flared, and even the clashes themselves carried blood malice.
Unohana stared at him, and the cold in her eyes slowly receded—clarity returning, along with something far more complicated.
"…Unbelievable."
"In just three hours…"
"You actually did it."
She looked at Bai Chen like he was something beyond common sense—like a miracle that shouldn't exist.
Bai Chen exhaled, lowering his blade slightly. His voice carried genuine gratitude.
"It's because you truly went all-out with me."
"If you hadn't poured everything into it—if you hadn't shown me everything without holding back…"
"Captain Unohana…"
"I could never have mastered Yachiru-Style Swordsmanship so easily in just three hours."
Now that she had fully stepped out of the "First Kenpachi" state and returned to the gentle Fourth Division captain, Bai Chen's respect felt even heavier.
He wasn't just praising her.
He was thanking her.
Because after today, he wasn't merely "some talented rookie."
He had become—
the only student Unohana Retsu had personally taught in a thousand years.
Their relationship had shifted.
Not coworkers. Not superior and subordinate.
Something closer. Tighter.
Unohana sheathed her wooden blade. Her smile returned—warm, soft, and strangely soothing, like a calm wind that erased fatigue.
"Bai Chen, you're being too polite."
"In those three hours…"
"I felt a joy I haven't felt in many years."
"If anything…"
"I should be the one thanking you."
Then she stepped aside, leaving the center space open.
"Now—use everything you gained."
"Show me your results."
Bai Chen nodded.
"I'll test it with the simplest strike."
"Iai."
"I want to see how much my sword power increases after perfectly fusing blood malice."
He tightened his grip.
Without releasing any spiritual pressure—
his presence alone surged.
BOOM—!
A wind-like sword aura detonated around his body and slammed up into the Spirit Stone roof. The dojo shook hard.
Unohana's eyes narrowed with satisfaction.
"Good."
"Your 'presence' is already flawless."
"Now let me see your 'technique.'"
At the peak—
Bai Chen spoke, steady and confident.
"Yachiru-Style Swordsmanship…"
In that instant, the sword aura around him turned deep crimson, like living blood.
It wasn't as vast or monstrous as Unohana's yet—this was his first attempt.
But even so, it was already frighteningly refined.
Unohana's eyes shimmered with admiration.
"First time controlling blood malice…"
"…and you've reached this level already?"
Before she could even finish processing it—
Bai Chen's shout cut through the air.
"Sword Art—Iai Severance!"
He raised the curved wooden blade overhead.
Blood malice coiled along the edge.
Then he swung down at empty air—
and a terrifying sword pressure erupted, shaped into a blood-red crescent that smashed straight into the Killing Stone barrier.
BOOOOM—!!!
The air detonated.
Spirit particles exploded.
The impact didn't just shake the dojo—
it blew through the suppressions and restraints, shattering the runic seals and punching a hole clean through the roof, sending a pillar of red pressure roaring into the sky.
Unohana retreated instantly to avoid the blast—yet her face still shifted into open shock.
"…What?!"
"The dojo… got blown apart?"
"And that was just a basic Iai?!"
Outside, the Fourth Division immediately panicked as the roar drew everyone in.
"How is the roof gone?!"
"What happened in there?!"
"That pressure—it doesn't feel like Captain Unohana's!"
Tigeru Jiyūin (Isane) covered her mouth, eyes wide. Beside her, Iemura Yasochika could only give a bitter smile.
"'Swordmaster'…"
"Kind of feels worthless now, huh…?"
Three hours.
That was all.
For most people, even thirty years wouldn't be enough to step past that threshold—yet Bai Chen had basically touched it casually.
With the dojo's suppressions destroyed, the spar had to end here.
Unohana walked up, smiling gently again.
"Bai Chen…"
"Today was perfect."
"These three hours weren't just sparring."
"They were… a rare kind of shared understanding."
Her tone made it clear—what happened today mattered to her too.
Bai Chen bowed.
"Captain Unohana… thank you."
"It's an honor to learn the Yachiru Sword Style of the First Kenpachi."
Then he frowned slightly, honestly disappointed.
"The only regret…"
"I still didn't break into 'true sword master' completely."
"My mindset still needs time to settle."
Unohana shook her head softly, reassuring him.
"Don't be discouraged."
"We still have our next appointment."
"When your heart is ready…"
"We'll continue what was interrupted today."
Bai Chen straightened, eyes firm.
"I understand."
"The day I break through… won't be far."
He returned the wooden blade and calmed his breathing.
Then Unohana's expression shifted—subtle, but serious.
"Bai Chen."
"Just now… I felt something."
"Your soul fluctuated."
"Your spiritual pressure and presence became unstable for a moment."
"…Did absorbing blood malice awaken something?"
Bai Chen froze.
She caught that?
He had underestimated her—again.
He sighed, then decided not to hide it.
"Captain Unohana… your concern means a lot."
"But this isn't something you can help with."
Unohana frowned.
"Why not?"
Bai Chen met her eyes and spoke plainly.
"Because…"
"Due to absorbing blood malice…"
"In my inner soul space—the zanpakutō spirit world…"
"the second hidden blade spirit…"
…is about to awaken."
His eyes lit with heat, like a fuse catching fire.
Because deep in that inner space—
the statue at the Valley of the End—
Uchiha Madara—
was showing clear signs of revival.
And Bai Chen had a powerful certainty:
If he assumed the proper "enter-the-soul" stance right now and pulled his consciousness inward…
he would immediately meet that second spirit.
Which meant only one thing—
the timing was ripe.
The Six Paths Madara template was about to awaken.
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