Retsu Unohana's Swordsmanship

Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Retsu Unohana smiled. "Well? Now you know how powerful a Captain-level fighter is, don't you? Can your plan still go ahead smoothly?"

Retsu had originally thought Ten would ask her for help so he could carry out his plan smoothly, but...

"Yeah, Captain-level fighters really are strong, but the plan can still go ahead smoothly. It'll just be a little troublesome." As Ten spoke, he glanced at his Zanpakuto.

Retsu looked a little surprised. "Is it your Zanpakuto's ability?"

"Yeah, that's a big part of it. The other small part is the Hollow..."

"All right, I understand." Retsu interrupted Ten. "Even though I can prevent word from leaking out while I'm nearby, it's better to say less about your body from now on."

She took Ten's hand and led him out of the house, asking gently, "Little Ten, do you know why Mommy studied medicine?"

Ten was startled. He did know why Retsu had studied medicine. Retsu, the First Kenpachi, had studied countless schools of swordsmanship and claimed there was no style she did not know, so she called herself Yachiru. This was also where Yachiru Kusajishi's name came from. Retsu had founded the 11th Division as well.

As for why she studied medicine, while she was killing criminals in Rukongai in the hope of finding an opponent who could defeat her, she met Kenpachi Zaraki and was defeated by his swordsmanship. Feeling unable to make further progress in swordsmanship, Retsu turned to medicine to improve herself so that she could fight Kenpachi.

Retsu found it a little strange to see Ten lost in thought. After all, he hadn't even been born when Kenpachi defeated her. So why did Ten look as though he knew something?

"What's wrong, Little Ten?" Retsu asked.

Ten changed the subject. "Nothing. Why did you study medicine, Mommy?"

Retsu knew Ten was hiding something from her, but she didn't mind. She slowly said, "I used to call myself Yachiru and claimed there was no style of swordsmanship I didn't know, but even so, someone defeated me. I studied medicine to become stronger."

Retsu spoke casually, but Ten knew how powerful she was. Kenpachi was the title given to the strongest Soul Reaper in Soul Society, and Retsu had been the First Kenpachi. That alone showed how powerful she was.

"Come on, Little Ten. Mommy will teach you swordsmanship to make you stronger, so your plan can go even more smoothly." As she spoke, Retsu released her Zanpakuto, Minazuki,

Then pulled Ten onto Minazuki with her. But something Ten said shocked her...

"Mommy, you said you learned so many styles of swordsmanship. Why don't you combine them, simplify them, and turn them into your own style?"

At once,

Retsu froze.

Ten knew his suggestion had opened a new path for Retsu's swordsmanship. After all, the world of Soul Reapers had no concept of those three great realms: seeing a mountain as a mountain, seeing a mountain as something other than a mountain, and seeing a mountain as a mountain again. But to help Retsu advance and keep her from being killed by Kenpachi, Ten had taken the risk of saying it anyway.

"Little Ten! I'm sorry! Mommy wants to be alone for a while. I'll teach you swordsmanship later." Retsu was a little embarrassed. After all, she'd changed her mind right after promising to teach her son swordsmanship. She even forgot, or perhaps didn't want, to ask how Ten had managed to say something that sounded like he was giving her guidance.

"Mm. All right! I happen to have something to do, Mommy, so I'll go now." Ten knew what was going on and hurried away. Otherwise, if Retsu asked, he would have a hard time answering.

After Ten left, Retsu climbed onto Minazuki and flew toward a distant mountain.

Mommy won't lose to Kenpachi Zaraki this time, will she? If so, she won't be killed by Kenpachi with hardly any resistance in exchange for releasing his self-imposed seal, and she won't regret that matter of Kenpachi sealing himself away. Ten smiled to himself.

To help Retsu grow stronger, Ten had risked making that suggestion with his heart in his throat. Fortunately, Retsu hadn't asked him about it, placing a great deal of trust in him.

On an uninhabited mountain

A gentle, compassionate woman with a distinctive long braid hanging over her chest stood poised on the mountaintop, a picture of a traditional Japanese beauty. After thinking for a while, she slowly began to swing the Zanpakuto in her hand. Her movements seemed to follow a pattern, but on closer inspection, they didn't seem to follow any pattern at all. It looked terribly awkward. This was Retsu Unohana, combining styles to create a style of swordsmanship uniquely her own.

Retsu wanted to create her own style of swordsmanship quickly, perfect it, and teach it to Ten before Retsu's plan began, so that Ten's plan could proceed more smoothly.

Thinking of his plan made Ten a little impatient. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with it, but once it began, it had to be completed in an extremely short time. Ten wouldn't even have a full night.

Then, after the plan was carried out, all sorts of consequences would follow, forcing Ten to leave Soul Society. He wouldn't even be able to stay in the World of the Living; he would have to go to Hueco Mundo to avoid the consequences of killing so many captains.

After that, he would have to wait until the story began before he could return to Soul Society. Between defecting from Soul Society and the beginning of the story, Ten wouldn't dare show himself there carelessly.

That meant he would have to wait at least a hundred years to see anything in Soul Society again. Leaving everything else aside, just the thought of being separated from Retsu for nearly a hundred years made his heart clench.

Even so, Ten decided to carry out the plan. He silently steeled himself and gripped his Zanpakuto tightly. As soon as Shin'ō Academy's future captains graduated, he could put the plan into action. Then his strength could increase dramatically.

And so the night passed, different people occupied by different thoughts,

And Ten began a new day.

At Shin'ō Academy,

Ten watched Tessai Tsukabishi drone on at the lectern, bored and drowsy. There were no other students sitting near him, not only because of his fearsome reputation, but also because of his fight with the Twelfth Division captain the day before. The others were afraid of bringing trouble on themselves. After all, even nobles wouldn't dare casually offend a Captain-level figure.

The class outside was the same one as yesterday, but the teacher had changed. The Twelfth Division captain had plenty of duties and couldn't teach them all the time. Generally, it was good if she came to teach them for a little while once a month.

"Hadō number twenty: Shōtenkyū!"

It was Hiyori Sarugaki's voice.

Ten frowned deeply. Yesterday's fight had partly been incidental, and partly an attempt to gauge the approximate strength of a Captain-level fighter. Now that the test was over, there was no point in fighting again. He couldn't kill her, and if he didn't kill her, he couldn't improve his strength. In the end, it would be a waste of effort, and if things went badly, it might even cause problems for his plan. That would be worse.

But the trouble had come to him, and he didn't want to dodge it. He prepared to move aside, but quickly stopped.

"Sōkatsui!"

Hearing Yoruichi's voice, Ten smiled inwardly and slowly relaxed.

Ignoring the two fighting outside, Ten knew Hiyori Sarugaki had absolutely no chance of beating Yoruichi. Hiyori was inferior to Yoruichi in every respect.

What Ten hadn't expected was that, with the trouble outside taken care of, trouble would come looking for him in his own class.

"All right, that's all for today. I've taught everyone Kidō, one of the four arts of swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, Kidō, and movement. You can practice on your own now, and if there's anything you don't understand, you can come to me." Tessai's words delighted Retsu Unohana, who thought she could go home early, but...

"Teacher, we haven't had any practical experience with our Kidō. Why don't you take us outside and let us try it out?" Shinji Hirako suggested to Tessai with his trademark toothy grin.

"Well... all right!" Tessai was persuaded, but he didn't know this gave Shinji a reason to stir up trouble. And sure enough...

"Ten Unohana, I hear you're very good at Kidō. I hope you'll give me some pointers," Shinji said with a smile.

Ten was speechless. He had fought Hiyori Sarugaki, and now one of her future friends had jumped out at him. Was this a fated encounter?

Ten hadn't intended to agree, but then—

"Yeah, yeah, give us some pointers!" Love Aikawa stepped forward to support Shinji, and so did Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi.

That made Ten furious. Damn it, they were just looking for trouble!

"Fine! But I don't have time to give you pointers one at a time. Come at me together." Ten decided to make his move after all.