Return to the World of the Living

The World of the Living,

Inside a villa belonging to the Uten Group, a silver chain suddenly twisted.

Before long, Ten Unohana slowly appeared in the room, the silver chain in his hand. He sighed softly. Hisana's final action had taken him by surprise.

Ten Unohana hadn't expected it. He had only given Hisana and her sister a meal, so why had Hisana...

But Ten Unohana had lived two lives without ever knowing the taste of hunger. The kind of hunger that could kill a person could also drive them to despair. The fact that people in ancient times had exchanged children to eat showed just how terrifying hunger could be. Ten Unohana had given Hisana a secure livelihood, and he had given her more than just food.

Moreover, many people in Rukongai had seen how Ten Unohana treated Hisana and knew she had found herself a Soul Reaper to rely on. That was a big deal in Rukongai, so many people had sought to build connections with her, solving her problem of hunger.

Hisana and her sister had taken it to heart.

In the end—

Ten Unohana let out a long breath. "It looks like I'll have to speed up the fusion of my Soul Reaper and Hollow powers, break the seal sooner, and save Hisana."

With that, Ten Unohana slowly walked out...

"Big Brother Ten?! Did you succeed?" Yoruichi asked.

"Ten, you're back," Lisa Yadōmaru said.

"Ten, you came back without even telling me. Ah! I'm so sad! Ten, you saw my body and won't take responsibility." Mashiro Kuna was still rolling around on the floor as she spoke. Fortunately, the floor was clean, and then...

"Mashiro, I saw them again! Sky blue." At Ten Unohana's words, Mashiro Kuna immediately jumped to her feet and threw herself at him. "Ten, you're a pervert! You looked at me and still won't take responsibility."

Ten Unohana replied stiffly, like a robot, "Who'd be interested in looking at a kid who hasn't even finished growing?"

Just as Mashiro Kuna was about to retort,

Masaki appeared, accompanied by Katagiri, the maid who never left her side.

"I heard you went to retrieve your Soul Reaper powers. It looks like you succeeded! Congratulations." For some reason, Masaki sounded dejected.

Ten Unohana stopped fooling around and asked Masaki, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy that I got my Soul Reaper powers back?"

Masaki answered frankly, "Yes. Because the stronger you become, the more Quincy will die at your hands."

Ten Unohana casually wound the silver chain around his arm and replied, "All right. I promise I won't kill them anymore as long as they stop bothering me. Besides, my power has dropped sharply now. Only the fused power of my Soul Reaper and Hollow sides can pass through the silver chain to me. The separate Hollow and Soul Reaper energies can only reach me after they fuse inside the seal. So I'm very weak right now. Over the next ten-odd years, my power will slowly rise until I return to Soul Society and break the seal completely. Then—I'll be—invincible!!"

Ten Unohana deliberately revealed this information to see how Masaki would react.

And Ten Unohana was very satisfied with her reaction—

"I'll teach you properly how to win my heart, but you mustn't kill Quincy indiscriminately."

"I don't need you to teach me how to pursue you. Forget it, I forgive you. As for the Quincy, I promise, but you need to understand that if they come and provoke me, that's not covered. Oh, in other words, if they come looking for trouble, I don't mind—killing them!!" Ten Unohana said, looking at Masaki.

Just then,

The maid Katagiri stepped forward. "Don't count on it! Young Master Ishida will kill you!"

"Katagiri!" Masaki shouted, stopping her maid.

Then she turned to Ten Unohana. "I'm sorry. I'll talk to her."

Ten Unohana waved a hand. "Do as you like. The conditions are there, anyway. I won't go back on my word just because of what she said."

Then Ten Unohana smiled at the other women. "All right, let's go out for a stroll. We've been worn out for so long, and now things have finally quieted down. The sky is blue, and the water is clear again."

His reaction left the women speechless. Why was Ten Unohana so different in battle, outside battle, and when dealing with women?

But just as they were thinking that,

Bang! Ten Unohana opened the door, and a figure rushed in from outside, sending a slipper flying at him...

The smile vanished from Ten Unohana's face. He shifted slightly, dodged the attack, then aimed at the figure's head and slammed it down.

Boom—

Sand and stones flew.

Ten Unohana said coldly, "I remember telling you, didn't I?! You're not allowed to wear those flip-flops anymore, and you're not allowed to be so brash either. I don't like the way you express your feelings. If you don't want to change, go to the Visored!"

The women hurried forward.

"Big Brother Ten, don't be angry."

"That's right! Hiyori will change soon."

"Mm-hmm. Look, Hiyori's already changed her hairstyle to the single ponytail you mentioned."

As Ten Unohana listened to the women comfort him, his cold expression slowly softened. "All right. I just don't like girls like that. As long as Hiyori stops behaving this way, it'll be fine."

"Mm, mm. Let's go shopping!!"

Watching Ten Unohana leave,

Masaki said to Katagiri, "Don't let the Ishida Family know about this!"

Katagiri stared at Masaki in shock. "Miss Masaki, how could you? No, I won't believe it anymore. I'm going to tell the young master about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Ignoring Masaki's desperate attempts to stop her,

She hurried away...

Masaki chased after her. Watching Katagiri disappear into the distance, she stood there and sighed. "Forget it. I've done all I can for the Quincy family. If they want to stake the dignity of the Quincy, then let them..."

With that, she walked dejectedly back into the house...

Sensing what was happening in the villa, Ten Unohana's lips curled up slightly...

"Ten, what is it?"

"Nothing! Let's go!"

Ten Unohana continued strolling leisurely through the streets, seemingly unconcerned about Katagiri going to report.

"Ten, I'm so tired. Don't walk anymore. I'm hungry, I'm hungry!" Mashiro Kuna clamored.

And Mashiro Kuna's eyes were fixed on a sign—

"Cheap!"

"Fast!"

"Safe!"

"We

do anything!

Unagiya"

Ten Unohana looked at the sign and smiled. "All right, let's go in and eat something!"

"Hello, welcome! Cheap, fast, and safe, this is Unagiya!" a little girl's clear voice called out.

"Oh? Little girl, are you here all alone?" Ten Unohana asked with a smile.

The little girl said loudly, "My name is Ikumi Unagiya, and I'm here all by myself!"

"Oh—so you run the shop all by yourself!!"

"I told you, my name is Ikumi Unagiya! And what's wrong with me running the shop by myself?" As she spoke, the little girl actually burst into tears.

Ten Unohana was taken aback. He bent down and picked her up. "What's wrong, little girl?!"

"My name is Ikumi Unagiya."

"All right, Ikumi, tell me why you're crying."

"Mommy, Mommy!" Ikumi Unagiya cried, pointing to a photograph in the middle of the room. It was a black-and-white photograph. A photograph like that, placed there at a time like this, could only mean one thing—someone had just died.

"Then, Little Ikumi, how about coming to live with me? I'll be with you."

"Mommy said I'm not allowed to be with men. Men all have bad thoughts about me."

"Hahahahaha!" A burst of laughter came from behind Ten Unohana, making his face redden slightly.

He coughed and said, "What about the big sisters behind me? How about living with them?!"

"Okay!"

Ikumi Unagiya's immediate agreement made Yoruichi and the other women burst into laughter again.

Ten Unohana said irritably, "All right, we can't eat here. Let's go back!!"

Ten Unohana was actually quite happy. Although the little girl in front of him wasn't much to look at, judging by her appearance in the anime and the way girls changed as they grew up, Ikumi Unagiya would definitely be beautiful in the future.

"You're back!" Masaki said, looking at Ten Unohana.

Ten Unohana nodded, and Masaki said awkwardly, "Um, Katagiri..."

"I already know about that. You don't need to say it!" Ten Unohana interrupted.

Masaki gave an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry about that!"

Ten Unohana said, "It's fine. It has nothing to do with you, but when the Quincy of the Ishida Family come, I won't show them any mercy!"

Masaki said softly, "Oh, I see!"

Ten Unohana said firmly, "Yes, that's how it is. I've already made a concession."

Masaki nodded and said nothing.

After all this time, Hiyori also slowly spoke up, cautiously. "Ten, just now I..."

Ten Unohana looked at the high heels Hiyori was wearing, nodded, and smiled. "That's much better!"

"Ten Unohana, hand over Masaki, or else..."

Shouts rang out from outside.

Yoruichi looked at Ten Unohana. "Big Brother Ten, should we join in too??"

Ten Unohana shook his head. "There's no need to make such a fuss. Even with my power reduced this much, not just anyone can walk all over me! Besides, if you get hurt, it pains me."

"Soul Reaper, hand over Miss Masaki."

"Miss Masaki, come out quickly! Young Master Ishida has come to save you."

Listening to the voices outside, Ten Unohana frowned. "Yammering on and on. How annoying!!"

With that, he slowly walked outside. Behind him, the women followed worriedly. After all, Ten Unohana had now lost a great deal of power.