Meeting Retsu Unohana's Mind / The Curiosity of Kisuke Urahara, the "Mad Scientist"
Retsu Unohana said no more, merely giving a soft chuckle.
"Dozens?"
"That number is a little beyond what I imagined, too."
"Still, I believe you, Ichimaru."
She raised her head, her gaze somewhat fervent.
"After all, you saw that boy fight with your own eyes, didn't you?"
Ichimaru smiled but did not reply.
The division members, on the other hand, could no longer hold back.
"A dozen or so would be one thing, but dozens... That's impossible, no matter how you look at it!"
"Ichimaru, you must have been so nervous that you saw it wrong."
"Exactly! Even Captain Kiganjō has never slain that many Gillians in one go!"
"The only reason he hasn't slain that many Gillians is that he's never run into that many!"
"..."
As she listened to the noisy argument, Retsu Unohana suddenly spoke.
"After something like this, Captain Urahara will surely send people to investigate."
"When they do, we'll certainly be able to find out how many Hollows were purified."
Her tone was utterly certain!
Surely not!
Was Captain Unohana really that confident in the boy's strength?!
For a moment, everyone looked at one another, almost afraid to respond.
Kiyōnosuke Yamada frowned and thought in puzzlement:
The captain doesn't seem to be joking. She really does think highly of that boy. Did I miss something?
After a long while, someone finally exclaimed,
"If that boy really did purify them all..."
"Just how strong is he?"
"If I had half his talent, I could join a combat division too."
"Do you think he could be as strong as Captain Genryūsai?"
Hearing the question, everyone turned to look at Retsu Unohana.
Wearing the gentle smile of a Yamato nadeshiko, the woman replied mildly,
"There's no point comparing them."
"Everyone, it would be best to find the injured as quickly as possible."
"...U-understood!"
With that, the Fourth Division members hurriedly dispersed to search for the wounded.
Meanwhile, Kyōsuke Kuchiki smiled and took the initiative to approach Sōsuke Aizen.
His face was full of concern. "Lieutenant Aizen, you're a Soul Reaper I hold in high regard, so I'm telling this only to you."
"I don't think this attack was an accident!"
Aizen's gaze was filled with genuine concern; he looked every bit the good-natured man with no connection to the matter.
"Kuchiki, why do you think that?"
Kyōsuke Kuchiki spoke with some self-reproach.
"Under ordinary circumstances, an Adjuchas could never have appeared."
"The Kuchiki Clan must be too conspicuous."
"This is the glory our clan must bear, but it is also our sin."
"This isn't your fault. You don't need to blame yourself. Despite such a dangerous situation, not a single person was killed or wounded."
"That was all thanks to your efforts, Kuchiki!"
"In the end, I, the lieutenant, accomplished nothing... Hehe, it really is embarrassing."
His tone was deeply apologetic, and there was unmistakable self-reproach on his face.
Chapter 30: Meeting Retsu Unohana's Mind
Watching Aizen's flawless performance left Kyōsuke Kuchiki speechless again and again.
To be honest, if he had a choice, he really wouldn't have sought Aizen out.
There was no other reason for it: acting was simply a pain!
If he had awakened more of the Eight Extraordinary Skills, he wouldn't have had to go to all this trouble.
The man had come to his door with the microphone and stage ready. Surely he had to play along.
Ordinary methods wouldn't fool this man, though, because Aizen was too clever.
For instance, if Kyōsuke Kuchiki played dumb here and acted as though he knew nothing of the conspiracy, Aizen would grow suspicious of him in minutes.
But combining his earlier analysis with his knowledge of the plot, Kyōsuke Kuchiki knew that Aizen was actually very conceited.
Aizen had always been quite pleased with his own acting and abilities.
Even the best actor needed an appreciative audience, and Aizen was no exception.
Kyōsuke Kuchiki even suspected that, in the future, Aizen could never bear to deliver the killing blow to Gin Ichimaru because the boy was such a sweet talker.
So Kyōsuke Kuchiki had taken the initiative to seek Aizen out and play along with his performance, putting on a little act of "I suspect I'm the mole."
The person you had harmed would rather suspect himself than suspect you.
To the mastermind behind the scenes, that was the greatest recognition.
The next second, Kyōsuke Kuchiki reached out at just the right moment and patted Aizen on the shoulder.
"Lieutenant Aizen, there's no need to be like that."
"You got here in such a short time—that was already very fast!"
"Besides, no one died, right?"
"That Adjuchas was completely purified, and none of the Gillians were left either."
"Isn't that right?"
Strictly speaking, Kyōsuke Kuchiki's gesture was somewhat improper.
After all, their positions were different: Aizen was a lieutenant, while Kyōsuke Kuchiki was only a Soul Reaper trainee.
But it was also a recognition of Aizen's acting, imperceptibly bringing the two closer.
"Handling these matters is my duty."
Sure enough, Sōsuke Aizen pushed up his glasses and spoke with a smile, in excellent spirits.
"Kuchiki, you did very well this time. One could even say your work was perfect."
"I'll report this matter truthfully to Captain-Commander Yamamoto."
"With such outstanding achievements, I'm sure many people will want to invite you into their divisions."
"If possible, please do give the Fifth Division another thought."
"Thank you. I will."
Hearing Kyōsuke Kuchiki's faultless answer, Sōsuke Aizen's smile grew even more perfect.
"I'll go see whether Captain Unohana needs any help."
"See you later, Kuchiki."
With that, he turned and left. The moment he passed out of Kyōsuke Kuchiki's sight, his expression became somewhat inscrutable.
The Adjuchas he had spent so long preparing was naturally no ordinary specimen.
This one was a "work" he had prepared especially, with its ability to summon and control Gillians greatly enhanced.
Controlling dozens of Gillians had been no problem.
But what he hadn't expected was that he had completely misjudged Kyōsuke Kuchiki's strength!
Even with so many Hollows gathered together, they hadn't managed to hold him up for more than a few minutes!
What was more, his talent for Kidō surpassed even Aizen's, and he had burned those Gillians to nothing.
The only Adjuchas had even been purified by the boy right in front of him.
Now, to say nothing of Soul Reaper souls, he hadn't even collected data on the Adjuchas itself!
"...I was careless after all."
Sōsuke Aizen drew a deep breath, his usually gentle expression turning somewhat gloomy.
Still, there was no need to dwell on it any longer.
The next time Kyōsuke Kuchiki was present, he would be more careful.
Deep in thought, Sōsuke Aizen quickened his Shunpo a little and went on playing the diligent, good-natured lieutenant.
With members of two divisions on hand, the follow-up work proceeded very quickly.
They gathered the wounded and suspended the Konsō training.
Kyōsuke Kuchiki saw the wounded as well.
He sensed that their Reiatsu had clearly changed.
The vitality they had arrived with was gone. All that remained was fear: fear of Hollows, fear of battle.
From then on, these people could only bid farewell to the combat ranks.
By contrast, the Soul Reapers who had held their ground and not immediately fled had no such problem.
Kyōsuke Kuchiki glanced at Retsu Unohana, whose expression was calm and gentle.
Those Soul Reapers who had been scared out of their wits would probably have to turn to her.
Noticing Kyōsuke Kuchiki's somewhat searching gaze, Retsu Unohana sent him a smile.
Unlike before, it was a thoroughly feminine smile, full of allure and charm.
It meant roughly: Heh, man, you've caught my attention!
Don't be fooled. Women will only affect my proficiency with the Eight Extraordinary Skills.
Having brought this suffering on himself, Kyōsuke Kuchiki repeatedly declared he couldn't take it.
After the great battle, he had actually relaxed a little, enough to forget what a charming yet dangerous witch Retsu Unohana was.
If he got closely involved with her, it would be luck in love if he had the strength, and a romantic calamity if he didn't.
In the end, Kyōsuke Kuchiki still didn't know whether his unintentional meeting of minds with big sister Retsu Unohana was a good thing or a bad thing.
Chapter 31: The Curiosity of Kisuke Urahara, the "Mad Scientist"
Guided by a Hell Butterfly, the group passed through the Senkaimon and returned to Soul Society.
The sight of the familiar Seireitei stirred some emotion in Kyōsuke Kuchiki.
For a moment, he felt that the place was unchanged, but the people were not.
Who could have imagined that so many unexpected things would happen during what had seemed like an ordinary Konsō training exercise?
But when he saw that his proficiency in the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art had reached a full 95%, Kyōsuke Kuchiki's mood improved considerably.
Never mind—more unexpected turns like that would be welcome!
Perhaps to obtain the report as quickly as possible, Kisuke Urahara, captain of the Twelfth Division and director of the Research and Development Institute, was waiting beside the Senkaimon.