The Deaths of Two Captains and a Safe Escape from Soul Society

"The Fifth Division Captain and the Captain of the Seventh Division went to fight Ten Unohana without authorization."

Retsu Unohana smiled, but all the captains could see was a roaring demon's face behind her. Although she had known about this for some time, she still couldn't help turning dark as she listened to the report.

Yamamoto said to Retsu Unohana, "Aren't you going to take a look, Captain Unohana?"

Yamamoto had intended for Retsu Unohana to save Ten Unohana, but she said, "It's all right. It's time he took responsibility for himself."

Hearing that, Yamamoto dropped the subject and opened the meeting. "The Tenth Division Captain was killed by Ten Unohana."

"Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz." Retsu Unohana grew anxious as she listened to the words in her ears, but she knew her task was to hold up the captains present...

And so, time slowly passed.

Meanwhile, on Ten Unohana's side.

Outside the Space-Time Barrier.

After healing his injuries, Ten Unohana began absorbing everything the three captains had contributed to him, slowly increasing his strength.

At last, Retsu Unohana could stall no longer. Yamamoto also sensed that something was amiss; so much time had passed without any news.

So all the captains except Yamamoto set out for Rukongai.

Ten Unohana smiled at the eight captains before him and said, "Should I say I'm honored? This is the first time in Soul Society's history that eight captains have been sent out for a single person."

Despite his words, Ten Unohana drew his own Zanpakuto, which looked like a work of art.

Retsu Unohana said coldly, "Everyone, don't hold back on my account. Attack!"

With that, she was the first to attack with all her strength. Seeing her do so, the other captains stopped holding back and struck with their full power.

"Bewitching relic, bloom! Poppy Scythe!!!"

Ten Unohana smiled as he watched the terrifying attacks before him—everything was proceeding according to plan.

"I am slaughter, come forth! Blade of Slaughter!!!"

Boom!

"Hiss—"

Feeling the souls and Reiatsu pouring into him, Ten Unohana drew a sharp breath.

The captains were stunned as they looked at the Captain of the Ninth Division and the 11th Division Captain. The former had been pierced by Ten Unohana's Blade of Slaughter, and the latter by the Poppy Scythe.

And in the brief moment the captains stood stunned, the Captain of the Ninth Division and the 11th Division Captain were drained into nothingness by the two weapons, vanishing from the world.

"This is...?"

"Stop attacking. It absorbs and reflects attacks."

"Hmph!" A stern, aged voice rang out...

"Captain-Commander."

"Lord Captain-Commander."

"Old man."

"You can't even deal with a child," Yamamoto said sternly, though he knew they could hardly be blamed.

"Ten Unohana, do you admit your crimes?"

Ten Unohana did not answer Yamamoto's question. He simply seized the time to recover and increase his strength.

Yamamoto paid Ten Unohana's behavior no mind.

He merely threw a boxlike object in front of Ten Unohana's chest.

Ten Unohana smiled and said, "Heh heh, it seems I'm still one step ahead of you, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni!"

Ignoring the box in front of his chest, Ten Unohana hurled his Zanpakuto with all his might into the Space-Time Barrier some distance away.

"Don't you dare!" Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai shouted, releasing his own Zanpakuto at the same time.

"Ryūjin Jakka."

But it was already too late. Inside the Space-Time Barrier,

A woman in yellow phoenix robes appeared. She was Shasha, the Blade of Slaughter's sword spirit. As soon as she emerged, Shasha pressed a hand to the ground and activated the Space-Time Barrier.

Ryūjin Jakka struck empty air. Meanwhile, Ten Unohana smiled at Retsu Unohana. Then strips of cloth covered in Reiatsu wrapped around his entire body, and he was placed inside a box.

A single tear slowly fell from Retsu Unohana's eye.

"Ten Unohana!!!" Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai shouted, but Ten Unohana could no longer hear him...

The next day.

Seireitei was furious.

A major event shook Soul Society. Ten Unohana, Retsu Unohana's adopted son and the demon who had slaughtered two entire districts of Rukongai, had been sealed in Soul Society's Muken, The Jail, after killing six captains in total: the Third Division Captain, Fifth Division Captain, Tenth Division Captain, Captain of the Seventh Division, Captain of the Ninth Division, and 11th Division Captain.

Countless people demanded that Ten Unohana be executed with the Sōkyoku, but Soul Society responded that it would show him mercy and forgive him.

But those in the know understood that it wasn't that Soul Society wouldn't execute Ten Unohana, but that it couldn't kill him. In the end, Ten Unohana had escaped, and the sealing had failed. Although he was still sealed, killing Ten Unohana while he was sealed would not kill him, because his Zanpakuto had escaped.

That meant simply executing Ten Unohana would be useless.

It would be unwise to offend Retsu Unohana by carrying out an execution for that purpose, especially since it wouldn't actually kill Ten Unohana. With this in mind, Yamamoto promptly submitted a report to the Central 46 Chambers, preventing the Central 46 from executing him...

As for why they didn't pursue Ten Unohana's Zanpakuto to bring him to judgment once and for all?

Hueco Mundo.

A vasto lorde's territory.

A Space-Time Barrier suddenly appeared. Inside it was a woman in phoenix robes, holding a beautiful Zanpakuto and a scythe.

This was the Blade of Slaughter, who had escaped Soul Society. Shasha smiled and said, "We finally got away. We almost didn't make it out. I really didn't expect Yamamoto to come in the end, but Soul Society won't dare pursue us now. A vasto lorde's territory isn't so easy to enter."

"All right, hurry and let Master out!" At some point, a woman in blood-red clothing who looked just like Shasha had appeared behind her. She was Ginhime, the Poppy Scythe.

Shasha nodded and gave the Poppy Scythe to Ginhime.

"Roar—"

Ten Unohana appeared, but a white Hollow mask with blood-red markings had appeared on his face.

"I didn't expect a Hollow's killing intent to be so strong," Ten Unohana said, forcibly suppressing the killing intent in his heart.

Part of Ten Unohana's consciousness had been sealed, so the Hollow's bloodlust had begun to affect him.

Shasha said unconcernedly, "Don't worry, Master. As you slaughter, my ability can absorb the people you kill and feed their essence back to you. Although it won't show in you because of the seal, everything will be resolved once it's undone. Until then, Master, you only need to complete your Hollowfication."

Ginhime, the Poppy Scythe, said excitedly, "Master has already developed my Blood Moon. It can freely connect the real world to the Zanpakuto world, absorbing attacks and releasing the attacks it has absorbed. As long as you develop my Blood Sea's ability too, Master, your strength will increase again."

The Shikai of Ten Unohana's Zanpakuto was finally clear. His Zanpakuto was named the Blade of Slaughter, but it consisted of two parts. It was a Dual Shikai Zanpakuto, the likes of which had never appeared in Soul Society. It consisted of a sword and a scythe, connected by a silver chain. He could release either weapon at will, but if he released only one, he could use only that weapon's abilities. For example, if he released the Poppy Scythe, he could use only the Poppy Scythe's abilities.

However, when both were released, either weapon could freely use the abilities. For example, if both the Blade of Slaughter and the Poppy Scythe were released, the Poppy Scythe could use the abilities of both the sword and the scythe.

Of course, Soul Society already knew most of these abilities. The one thing it didn't know was that Ten Unohana had lied to them, saying that the state after releasing both Shikai was his Bankai. In truth, Ten Unohana had not yet achieved Bankai...

"A Soul Reaper?" Outside the Space-Time Barrier,

A female Hollow with turquoise hair, golden-brown eyes, and rose-red sunburn-like markings on her face looked at the Space-Time Barrier. Her mask sat on top of her head and was shaped like a bighorn sheep's skull.

Ten Unohana was a little surprised to see the Hollow outside. He truly hadn't expected the vasto lorde-class Menos Grande he had chosen outside Soul Society to be this person: Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, the No. 3 Arrancar who could switch between a little girl and a mature woman.

Ten Unohana put away his Zanpakuto, and Shasha and Ginhime entered the Zanpakuto world. He slowly walked out of the Space-Time Barrier.

"Hm?! A Soul Reaper?" Nelliel tensed and held her Zanpakuto as she saw a foot step out.

"Heh heh. A Soul Reaper? Maybe?" Ten Unohana put away the Space-Time Barrier and spoke self-mockingly.

"Huh? Wow!"

Nel made an unintelligible sound, then said with stars seemingly sparkling in her eyes, "A combination of a Soul Reaper and a Hollow?? That's so cool!!"

Ten Unohana felt a little awkward. Why is Nel as a mature woman just like Nel as a little girl? Wasn't she supposed to be really dependable in her mature form?

But whatever the case, Ten Unohana had no intention of staying here long, so he merely gave her a warning. "Are you Elu Nel? Then watch out for a Hollow named Nnoitra. He'll kill everyone around you, and you too."

With that, Ten Unohana made to leave. After all, Elu Nel was still covered by her mask now, and her pretty face couldn't be seen at all.

"Hey, who are you? How do you know my name? And what exactly did you mean by that? Can you explain? Hey, hey, hey!"

Ignoring Nel's shouts, Ten Unohana hurried toward the Forest of Menos. He could feel his killing intent about to spill over and needed to vent it quickly.

But he couldn't go on a slaughter in Nel's domain. This was also the only Menos Grande domain where slaughter was forbidden. Because Nel disliked slaughter, that strange rule existed. Thus, if Ten Unohana wanted to increase his strength, he could only leave Nel's territory and go to the Forest of Menos. The great hordes of Gillians there were the elixir for increasing his strength.

Watching Ten Unohana leave in a hurry, Nel said in puzzlement, "What on earth was that about? A strange appearance, strange Reiatsu, and strange words. What a strange person."

Though Nel said that, she still committed the name "Nnoitra" that Ten Unohana had mentioned to memory.