The Great Spirit Book Gallery

Whoosh!

Without another word, the two generations of Kenpachi vanished into the sea of blood. A moment later, the deafening clash of blades thundered through the red world!

Sure enough, after Retsu Unohana had cast off her shackles, her fighting style had undergone a complete transformation.

There was no longer any defense or probing in her swordsmanship. Every slash and every move was filled with aggression and the madness of mutual destruction!

Moreover, as Xuanxin struggled to defend himself, he keenly sensed that Sister Hana's storm of sword strikes seemed to contain a hint of... "resentment"?

It was precisely this beating, tinged with personal feelings, that had Xuanxin inwardly lamenting his plight.

The dark red blood of Minazuki possessed the ability to continuously break down any flesh it touched.

Before long, Xuanxin's body was covered in wounds deep enough to expose bone, while Retsu Unohana herself was also being eroded by the blood.

But her masterful Kaidō could heal her perfectly at the very instant her flesh was broken down!

This way of fighting, melting away and regenerating at the same time, was as despair-inducing as a perpetual motion machine.

Xuanxin could barely maintain his bodily functions by relying on his Zanpakuto's ability to sustain itself through battle.

But in this absolute battle of attrition, relying solely on his Zanpakuto's ability was clearly not quite enough.

Clearly, Retsu Unohana was still holding back against him. She had not activated Minazuki at full power, instead keeping the intensity of the fight at a suitable threshold.

This woman is a complete battle maniac...

Xuanxin gasped for breath as he watched Retsu Unohana grow fiercer the longer she fought. He knew that if they continued this battle of attrition at this pace, she would wear him to death in this sea of blood sooner or later.

Then I have to take a gamble!

Xuanxin's gaze sharpened instantly. He leaped dozens of meters backward, opening up an extremely dangerous distance between them.

Then, without holding anything back, he compressed all the Reiatsu in his body onto the blade in his hand!

It was the strongest strike he could currently deliver, infused with every last bit of his spirit and energy!

Sensing the terrifying Reiatsu across from her, powerful enough to cut through anything, rising rapidly, Retsu Unohana showed no panic. Instead, an unprecedented brilliance burst forth in her eyes!

That was right. This was what she wanted to see! This was the ultimate power befitting a Kenpachi!

"Come on, Xuanxin!"

Retsu Unohana let out an excited cry. Rather than dodge, she madly drove all the dark red blood around her into a roaring blood dragon and met Xuanxin's world-splitting slash head-on!

"Rumble—!!!"

Their Reiatsu, each embodying destructive power at its peak, collided in the enclosed underground space with the ferocity of an exploding supernova!

In an instant, a massive, terrifying pillar of Reiatsu, mingling golden light and crimson blood, blasted straight through the ground of the Fourth Division and soared skyward like a colossal sword reaching to the heavens!

The violent tremors shook the entire Seireitei. Even the clouds in the sky were pierced by the pillar of light, forming an enormous vortex!

The sudden, earth-shattering disturbance instantly alerted all the Soul Reapers nearby. Large numbers of squad members drew their Zanpakuto in alarm and rushed toward the center of the eruption.

However, when the crowd broke through layer upon layer of rubble and reached the underground training hall, which had been transformed into a massive crater,

what met their eyes was an extraordinarily bizarre sight, shocking enough to make many of their jaws drop to the ground.

At the center of the ruins, which looked as though they had been ravaged by the apocalypse,

the usually imposing Kenpachi Shihoin lay covered in blood, his Reiatsu nearly exhausted. He gasped for breath, without even the strength to lift a finger.

And most unbelievably of all... Xuanxin's head was resting "peacefully" on Captain Retsu Unohana's lap!

Although Retsu Unohana's uniform had been somewhat torn by the blast, and her long black hair hung loose over her shoulders,

her face wore a look of... pleasure that came from the depths of her soul.

Her slender, delicate hands glowed green as she gently stroked Xuanxin's cheeks, treating his injuries.

Clearly, in the final blow that had decided the battle, Xuanxin's all-out strike had come very close to completely disrupting Retsu Unohana's Bankai.

Of course, Xuanxin also knew full well that the main reason for that was that Sister Hana had deliberately held back.

"Ahem... Sister Hana, wasn't today's training... a little too intense?" Xuanxin complained weakly.

Retsu Unohana looked down at him, her smile more genuine and radiant than ever:

"Who told you to make me wait an entire month? But I'm very satisfied with your performance."

Before Xuanxin could fully recover on her lap, however, an awkward cough suddenly came from the edge of the ruins.

"Ahem! Captain Unohana, Captain Xuanxin."

Vice-Captain Sasakibe stood at the edge of the rubble, looking at the two people in the crater as he spoke, doing his best to maintain a serious tone:

"His Excellency the Captain-Commander has ordered both captains... to report to him at the First Division immediately!"

On hearing Sasakibe's message, Retsu Unohana showed no alarm. She did not even raise her eyes, simply continuing to smile as she gently combed her fingers through Xuanxin's disheveled silver hair and replied softly:

"Understood. We'll be there shortly."

After using her exceptional Kaidō to quickly pull Xuanxin back from the brink of death and heal all his external injuries,

Retsu Unohana simply braided her loose hair again, returning to her gentle, graceful appearance. Then the two of them headed for the First Division.

Inside the First Division's great assembly hall.

When Xuanxin and Retsu Unohana entered, Yoruichi Shihōin had already received notice and had been waiting there for some time.

Seeing Xuanxin's battered state, Yoruichi frowned and was about to ask what had happened, only to be interrupted by an angry roar from the seat of honor.

"Do you two think the Seireitei is the wilderness of Rukongai?! You released a Bankai without permission in the Fourth Division's jurisdiction and destroyed the entire underground facility along with half a city block! Do you have any regard for the Gotei 13's rules at all?!"

Captain-Commander Yamamoto brandished his cane, bristling and glaring as he thundered at the two generations of Kenpachi standing before him.

Under the Captain-Commander's verbal barrage, Xuanxin naturally kept his head down and obediently listened to the scolding.

Beside him, Retsu Unohana maintained her flawless, demure demeanor. Head slightly bowed, she nodded repeatedly in agreement with the Captain-Commander's reprimand, her attitude equally proper.

Yet Yoruichi, standing to the side, inadvertently caught a detail with her sharp, catlike golden eyes that made the hairs all over her body stand on end!

Although Retsu Unohana was listening to Old Man Yamamoto's scolding, she had not taken her eyes off Xuanxin for a single second, watching him from the corners of her narrow eyes!

Moreover, the look in her eyes was not an elder's appreciation for a junior, nor a senior's affection for a junior. It was... possessive, even somewhat obsessive!

The instant Yoruichi saw that look, the alarm in her head went off with a deafening roar!

She knew that look all too well! Wasn't it the very same look she had worn when she wanted to claim Xuanxin entirely for herself back then?!

Oh no, someone's trying to steal him! Someone's trying to steal him!!

Yoruichi's mind erupted into turmoil, her sense of danger instantly rising to its highest level!

And as an "old fox" who had lived for over a thousand years, Retsu Unohana naturally noticed the sudden wariness in Yoruichi's gaze.

She said nothing more and made no attempt to avoid it.

She merely turned her head slightly and met Yoruichi's murderous stare, a gentle smile curving her lips.

Then she bowed slightly to Captain-Commander Yamamoto once more and calmly left the First Division's assembly hall.

Yoruichi was left standing there, gnashing her teeth in frustration but unable to do anything about it.

Seeing that this silent "shura field" had finally ended, Captain-Commander Yamamoto could not be bothered to concern himself with the entanglements between these young people.

He cleared his throat and rapped the floor hard, drawing Xuanxin and Yoruichi's attention back to him.

"All right, that's enough of this farce. I called you here for a serious matter."

Captain-Commander Yamamoto's gaze instantly turned grave, and his imposing presence once again enveloped the entire hall:

"The time to enter the Great Spirit Book Gallery has been set. Tomorrow, you two will come with me!"

Chapter 54: The Great Spirit Book Gallery

After leaving the First Division, Xuanxin and Yoruichi returned side by side to the Shihoin Clan's main residence.

But from the moment they stepped through the door, Xuanxin felt a gaze fixed on him.

Xuanxin sat on the floor of the veranda and picked up a cup of tea. Just as he was about to bring it to his lips, he felt that gaze again.

He smiled helplessly, set down the cup, and turned his head.

Yoruichi sat cross-legged less than two feet from him, arms folded and golden eyes narrowed slightly as she stared unblinkingly at his face.

Her gaze was full of scrutiny, suspicion, and a powerful hint of possessiveness.

Yoruichi had been staring at him like this all the way home. Xuanxin touched his cheek, unsure whether to laugh or cry, and asked in confusion:

"Yoruichi... you've been staring at me like that ever since we left the First Division. Is there something strange on my face?"

Hearing Xuanxin's question, Yoruichi did not look away. Instead, she suddenly leaned closer.

Her handsome face almost touched the tip of Xuanxin's nose, and her warm breath brushed against his chin.

Then, like a tigress patrolling her territory, Yoruichi sniffed solemnly around Xuanxin's collar and shoulders.

She abruptly drew back half a step and planted her hands on her hips. A dangerous light flickered in her golden eyes as she stared at Xuanxin like an interrogator questioning a criminal:

"Talk! Tell me the truth! What exactly is going on between you and Captain Unohana?!"

"Huh? What do you mean, what's going on?"

Xuanxin was momentarily taken aback. Then he scratched his silver-white hair in confusion and said blankly:

"Nothing's going on. She was a little angry because I skipped lessons for a month, so things got a little out of hand this time, and I accidentally wrecked her basement. Nothing else happened??"

Xuanxin's face, full of "sincerity" and "innocence," and the utterly unguarded look in his eyes made Yoruichi's demeanor, which had been taut as a drawn bow, suddenly slacken.

This blockhead... he really didn't notice anything at all!

Yoruichi sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead.

Of course she knew the two had only been fighting. But the possessive look Retsu Unohana had given Xuanxin at the First Division was definitely not the way an ordinary senior looked at a junior!

Yet as she looked at this "idiot," who was as dense as a thousand-year-old lump of mystic iron when it came to romance, Yoruichi knew that even if she spelled it out, he would probably think she was joking.

Forget it. Why get angry with a blockhead? I'd be better off spending that time figuring out how to deal with that woman.

With that thought, Yoruichi waved a hand helplessly and sat back down on the floor. Still uneasy, she reached out and jabbed Xuanxin hard in the chest with a finger, warning him fiercely:

"I'm warning you, Xuanxin! You're mine now! Don't go flirting around with other women, and especially stay away from that woman in the Fourth Division. Do you hear me?!"

Xuanxin was utterly baffled by this sudden warning to keep away from her "food," but seeing that Yoruichi was about to bristle, he wisely nodded repeatedly:

"All right, all right, I'll listen to you. I'll be more careful from now on, much more careful."

"Hmph~ that's more like it."

Only after getting Xuanxin's promise did Yoruichi give a satisfied snort and bring the one-sided interrogation to an end.

Early the next morning, Xuanxin and Yoruichi washed up and headed to the First Division together.

The two had completely different attitudes toward their upcoming visit to the Great Spirit Book Gallery.

As the current head of the Shihoin Clan, Yoruichi actually had little interest in the weighty history of the Soul Society or its tedious political secrets.