Chapter 7: Bankai: Minazuki! |
Unohana was genuinely taken aback by Yeruashi's words, but Kotetsu couldn't contain her irritation. "Are you completely insane?" she barked. "There is a limit to how much arrogance one can tolerate!"
Based on Yeruashi's earlier comments, it was clear he knew exactly who Unohana was. While he might not have fully grasped the true terror a Captain of the 4th Division could unleash, he certainly understood that he had been challenged by a high-ranking officer of the Gotei 13.
To dare engage a Captain of the Gotei 13 with a common kitchen knife...
Arrogant! He was insufferably arrogant!
Not even the most fearsome monsters known today could compare to Unohana. The slightest mistake, a mere heartbeat's hesitation, would be enough for her Zanpakuto to claim their head in an instant.
From Kotetsu's perspective, such conceit was a direct insult to her Captain's honor.
But just as Kotetsu's fury peaked and she opened her mouth to lash out, Unohana raised a hand to silence her.
"Kotetsu, do not interfere," Unohana said calmly.
Unlike her subordinate, Unohana felt no anger at Yeruashi's seemingly boastful remarks. Monsters were fundamentally different from Shinigami. They lacked weapons like Zanpakuto and often relied on sheer physical prowess to match their supernatural foes. Viewed through that lens, his choice of a kitchen knife wasn't entirely absurd.
The modern Unohana was not easily provoked, and there was little point in anger now. If Yeruashi proved to be nothing more than a loudmouthed weakling seeking to insult her, he wouldn't survive a single strike from her Zanpakuto—not with a mere kitchen knife.
"Lilith."
"Understood."
Standing behind Yeruashi, Lilith reached out toward the dazed Hisana. In a flash, both figures vanished.
As they disappeared, the aura surrounding Unohana shifted violently, as if a seal restraining some nightmare demon had been torn away. The elegant, welcoming older sister vanished, replaced by a chilling presence that seemed to breathe the very air of the deepest hells.
Whoosh!
Unohana slashed her Zanpakuto toward Yeruashi. The earth and air groaned, trembling under the crushing weight of her terrifying Reiatsu.
Even Lieutenant Kotetsu, who had retreated dozens of yards, felt the staggering pressure of that sudden spiritual eruption.
"What a fool!" Kotetsu exclaimed irritably, her teeth gritted as if a mountain had been dropped onto her shoulders.
Judging by that overwhelming burst of Reiatsu, Unohana had no intention of being merciful or testing the waters. Yeruashi would lose his head in a heartbeat if he lacked the strength to parry. Such was the price of arrogance and provocation.
Reiatsu, or spiritual pressure, was the primary measure of a Shinigami's power. Every Shinigami had a natural ceiling for their spiritual growth that no amount of training could shatter. Typically, a Lieutenant's Reiatsu density during Shikai was around 200,000 Reishi, while a Captain's density reached approximately 1,000,000 Reishi when releasing their Bankai.
Yet Unohana's Reiatsu density—ranking her among the strongest in the Soul Society, surpassed only by the Captain-Commander and the Zero Division—exceeded a million even in her base state!
In other words, her spiritual pressure while suppressed was comparable to that of an average Captain in their full Bankai release.
Even a standard Captain of the Gotei 13 would find it difficult to withstand a direct blow from her without releasing their own Bankai.
Among monsters, there were no known entities capable of standing against a Captain once their Bankai was unleashed.
The man was already dead.
It was the cost of his overbearing pride.
"Sigh..."
Kotetsu shook her head, having already envisioned the grim conclusion of this clash.
But in the next second, she froze, unable to process the scene unfolding before her eyes.
Clink!
The sharp ring of metal striking metal echoed through the clearing.
Yeruashi, who had been watching Unohana's approach with eerie calm, smoothly raised his right hand. In his grip was that perfectly ordinary-looking kitchen knife.
The result was staggering.
The Zanpakuto in Unohana's hand ground to a complete halt, unable to advance even a fraction of an inch against the edge of that kitchen blade!
Yeruashi had successfully parried the strike of one of the strongest Shinigami with nothing but a common utensil.
"That's impossible!" Kotetsu screamed in disbelief.
How could a simple kitchen knife withstand a Zanpakuto infused with Captain Unohana's terrifying spiritual pressure?
"..."
Unohana herself was stunned, but the surprise was immediately eclipsed by a surging wave of battle intent.
'This young man is truly formidable!'
Boom!
A torrent of violent Reiatsu erupted from Unohana's body.
In an instant, the spiritual pressure blanketed a massive area, sweeping across numerous streets of the Rukongai.
Countless souls collapsed to the ground, slipping into unconsciousness, unable to endure the crushing weight of her spiritual might.
Several miles away, Lilith stood holding the infant Rukia, with a terrified Hisana cowering just behind her.
A crimson glow bloomed in Lilith's eyes, and a shimmering barrier snapped into existence around them, shielding them from the expanding wave of Unohana's Reiatsu.
Though the barrier protected Hisana from the pressure, she could still see the world around Unohana warping and trembling.
It was a physical distortion of the Reishi itself, caused by the sheer magnitude of Unohana's spirit energy.
"..."
Hisana felt as though she were losing her grip on reality.
At that moment, Unohana pushed her spiritual pressure to its absolute limit and unleashed a savage strike toward Yeruashi.
This time, she didn't rely on raw power alone; she funneled her legendary mastery of Kendo into the blow.
In the distant past, Unohana had dueled countless masters across the Soul Society, weaving their techniques into a singular, devastating art: the Style of Eight Thousand Flows.
Thus was born the ultimate form of swordsmanship, a synthesis of every style the Soul Society had ever known.
With a sharp flick of her wrist, a blood-red arc of energy tore through the air toward Yeruashi, carrying the full weight of her concentrated Reiatsu and the pinnacle of Shinigami swordsmanship.
Yet Yeruashi remained perfectly composed in the face of her ferocious assault.
Ting!
With another fluid, effortless motion, he brought the kitchen knife up to meet the incoming blow.
He looked like a tiny skiff about to be swallowed by a monstrous tidal wave, yet his small blade sliced through the massive wall of spiritual energy like a hot wire through butter, coming to rest firmly against her Zanpakuto's edge.
"How... how is this possible?!" Kotetsu's jaw dropped. She couldn't fathom that anyone could parry Unohana's focused strike with a mere kitchen utensil.
At that moment, it wasn't just Kotetsu who was shaken; Unohana herself felt the weight of the impossible.
Yeruashi had done nothing but passively defend, but every single movement of that knife was burned into her mind.
It wasn't about spiritual pressure or raw physical strength anymore. This was pure Kendo.
While Yeruashi’s ability to resist her Reiatsu was surprising, it wasn't unprecedented for high-level monsters. What truly shook her was the surgical precision with which he struck. He had placed that simple kitchen blade exactly at the weakest point of her attack.
She felt as though this young man was reading her technique like an open book.
Never in all her centuries had she experienced such a thing.
Even Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai surpassed her in raw power, but not in the art of the sword. She was the undisputed master of Kendo in the entire Soul Society!
And yet... her pinnacle technique had been effortlessly dismantled by a kitchen knife. It felt as though a true grandmaster was toyed with a clumsy novice, mocking her every move.
Their skill levels weren't just disparate; they existed in entirely different realms!
"!!!"
Unohana snapped out of her trance and lunged at Yeruashi, her Zanpakuto becoming a blur of violent motion.
Her strikes were erratic and fluid, shifting perfectly between a dozen different disciplines of the sword.
But.
As she strained every nerve to break past his defense, a chill ran down her spine. No matter which style she employed, her opponent met every thrust and slash at its most vulnerable point, ruthlessly disrupting her rhythm and preventing her from chaining her attacks together.
It was an infuriating sensation—like having a desperate itch in a place she couldn't reach, or having every sneeze stifled just as it was about to burst forth.
For Unohana, combat was the very purpose of existence. Every clash with a worthy foe brought her an primal satisfaction, tapping into the most basic instincts of survival and conquest.
But this fight offered no such pleasure. Instead, she felt stifled and trapped. It was like being a man watching a sultry beauty dance while his hands and feet were bound tightly in chains.
Clang!
Another collision. Yeruashi’s knife parried her blade once more, but this time, he allowed his edge to slide down her steel, a shower of sparks flying between them.
The knife glided smoothly toward her hilt, neutralizing her momentum entirely. Then, with a sudden, violent twist, he hooked the tip of his blade under her guard and flicked upward.
Ping!
Her movements had been completely exposed and interrupted at the most critical juncture. Not only was her offensive broken, but she found herself unable to maintain a solid grip on her weapon.
In one swift motion, the Zanpakuto was wrenched from Unohana's hands. It spun through the air several times before plunging into the earth a few yards away.
Simultaneously, Unohana flashed back using Shunpo. Despite her lightning-fast reaction, a thin line opened on her shoulder, and a spurt of blood stained the pristine white of her Captain's haori.
Yeruashi didn't press the advantage. He simply stood there, relaxed, still holding that ordinary kitchen knife exactly as he had at the start of the fight.
Unohana stepped back to her weapon and gripped the hilt, drawing it smoothly from the ground. She lowered her head, her face hidden from view. "I have always taken pride in mastering every style of Kendo," she whispered softly. "But it seems I have been far too arrogant all these years. I never imagined I would encounter an opponent such as this..."
Yeruashi's ability to effortlessly read and dismantle her every move meant his mastery of the sword was in a league of its own.
Now she understood why he saw no point in using a proper sword against her. Her Kendo simply didn't warrant his serious attention.
Yeruashi offered a gentle smile. "The path of the sword is infinite," he said calmly. "Even I cannot see its end yet. The world is truly much vaster than you imagine."
Unohana slowly raised her head. There wasn't a trace of disappointment in her eyes. She lived for the battle itself, not for the pursuit of mastery or enlightenment. Whether it was Kendo or healing techniques, everything was merely a tool used to wring the maximum enjoyment from a fight.
And Yeruashi was exactly that... the ultimate opponent she had spent lifetimes searching for.
Unohana raised her Zanpakuto before her and released a titanic wave of Reiatsu that swallowed the heavens and the earth. The wound on her shoulder vanished instantly, and a dark, viscous crimson fluid began to ooze from the blade.
In the blink of an eye, the world around them was transformed into a bloody hellscape.
"Bankai..."
"Minazuki!"
A spiritual pressure far more potent than anything before enveloped the area. The ground beneath her feet spiderwebbed with cracks, unable to withstand the crushing weight of her released power.
The entire 78th District—no, the whole southern region of the Rukongai—shuddered.
...
Within the Chambers of the Central 46, Yamamoto Genryusai, who was inspecting the underground halls, snapped his head toward the southern Rukongai.
Sosuke Aizen, somewhere near the Seireitei, turned his gaze in the same direction.
Shinji Hirako, Ginrei Kuchiki, Yoruichi Shihoin...
At that moment, nearly every Captain of the Gotei 13 present in the Soul Society turned toward the outskirts of the southern Rukongai, their thoughts aligned.
"That Reiatsu..."
"It's Captain Unohana's Bankai!"
The release of Unohana's Bankai instantly seized the attention of almost every Shinigami in the Soul Society!
The terrifying burst of energy triggered violent fluctuations in the surrounding Reishi.
Whoosh!
Gusts of wind and visible ripples of power radiated from Unohana's form.
Even Lieutenant Kotetsu couldn't stand under such immense pressure. Her legs were driven nearly knee-deep into the dirt, her back bowed as if bearing the weight of a massive boulder. Despite serving as Unohana's subordinate, she had almost never witnessed her Captain's Bankai.
"I never thought I'd see the Captain's Bankai in a place like this..."
"That man, he..."
Kotetsu strained to turn her head, glancing at Yeruashi. He was still there, standing with unshakable confidence and calm before her Captain.