Unohana vs. Imperial Princess (Part One)

When Unohana's Kidō barrier fully rose and completely sealed off the white space, Liu Hao and Imperial Princess finally cast aside all reservations and unleashed their Reiatsu in full.

In that instant, Isane Kotetsu felt an indescribable pressure.

Two currents of gold-red Reiatsu, alike in origin yet utterly different, surged, collided, and intertwined inside the barrier like erupting volcanoes. Their magnitude was not merely immense; their "quality" had reached a terrifying height. Every wisp of Reiatsu carried imperial majesty, and every fluctuation bore the arrogance of one looking down upon all living beings.

"Th-this can't be..." Isane Kotetsu murmured, her face pale. "I never imagined Fifth Seat Liu Hao's Reiatsu could be this powerful... Isn't it stronger than some captains'?"

As lieutenant of the Fourth Division, she had encountered every Captain-level Soul Reaper in the Gotei 13. Each captain's Reiatsu had its own character: Captain-Commander Yamamoto's was as scorching as the sun, Captain Kyōraku's as profound as the sea, Captain Ukitake's as gentle as water, and Captain Zaraki's as savage as a beast...

But the Reiatsu Liu Hao released now was unlike that of any captain.

It was not merely power, but a suppression of... rank. Like an emperor facing his subjects, or a god facing mortals.

Unohana stood quietly at the edge of the barrier, her ever-gentle eyes now flashing with a blade-sharp light. She stared intently at the battle inside, her lips moving as she spoke too softly for anyone else to hear:

"The 'quality' of this Reiatsu has already surpassed that of an ordinary Captain-level fighter... It seems your claim that you could 'please me' was no empty boast."

Her gaze settled on Liu Hao, watching him fight fiercely with Imperial Princess, watching the Imperial Sword burning with gold-red flames in his hand, watching the wounds on his body continually heal and reappear.

"But... just how far can your Zanjutsu go?"

Hearing Unohana's murmur, Isane Kotetsu instinctively turned to look at her. What she saw made her heart tighten.

She had never seen her captain wear such an expression.

In Unohana's eyes burned a light of almost greedy excitement. It was not her usual gentle, healing, accepting gaze, but the fervor of a hunter who had found her prey, a warrior who had met a powerful enemy, an artist who had discovered the perfect material.

The light was so intense it seemed ready to spill from her eyes. Isane Kotetsu could even feel the Reiatsu around Unohana climbing bit by bit, gradually changing from its usual gentle restraint to something sharp, cold, and aggressive.

The pressure of the Reiatsu made it difficult for Isane Kotetsu to breathe. She forced out the words, her voice trembling slightly. "C-captain..."

That soft call was like a pebble cast onto a tranquil lake.

Unohana jolted, and the fervent light in her eyes vanished in an instant. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, she had returned to her usual gentle, composed manner.

Only deep in her eyes had that excitement yet to fade completely.

"I'm sorry, Isane." Unohana's voice was as gentle as ever, but it had acquired a barely perceptible rasp. "I lost my composure."

Isane Kotetsu shook her head. "It's all right, Captain. It's just that, just now, you..."

"A longing I haven't felt in a long time was awakened, that's all." Unohana cut her off, turning her gaze back to the two fighting fiercely inside the barrier, her tone carrying a distant wistfulness. "Ever since my battle with Kenpachi Zaraki when he was a boy, I haven't met another opponent who made me crave battle so much."

Her lips curved into a smile, carrying the aloof pride and loneliness of a swordswoman who had lived a thousand years. "Now, another person who can ignite my desire to fight has appeared before me... awakening my long-dormant heart once again."

Isane Kotetsu stared at Unohana. She had followed her captain for years and had seen her tenderness when treating the wounded, her meticulousness when handling division affairs, and her composure when dealing with the other captains... But she had never seen such a pure desire for battle shining in her captain's eyes.

"It seems that kid wasn't just talking when he said he could 'please me,'" Unohana said softly. "He can't do it with his current strength, but I think... he should be able to soon."

Isane Kotetsu's heart sank slightly. After a moment's hesitation, she asked the question anyway. "Captain, do you intend to... pass the name 'Kenpachi' on to him?"

The question brought Unohana to silence.

After a long while, she slowly spoke, her voice carrying complex emotions. "The name Kenpachi..."

She shook her head. "Forget it. Just as Fifth Seat Liu Hao said, that so-called title of 'strongest Soul Reaper in Soul Society' hardly makes one the true 'strongest.' After all, the Captain-Commander is the undisputed strongest, and above him, there is the Royal Guard, the Zero Division."

She paused, her tone growing more profound. "Besides, who knows whether other unknown powerhouses are hidden in the corners of Soul Society? The word 'strongest' has only ever been relative."

Hearing this, Isane Kotetsu felt her anxiety ease a little. But Unohana's next words made her heart rise again.

"But when I meet an opponent like this..." Unohana's gaze remained fixed on Liu Hao inside the barrier, excitement flashing in her eyes once more. "It's hard to hold anything back in a real fight. A battle to the death is inevitable."

Isane Kotetsu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found herself at a loss for words.

She didn't understand. She didn't understand why her captain was so obsessed with battle, why anyone would consider a fight to the death "pleasurable," or what it felt like to fight an evenly matched opponent to her heart's content.

But she had heard stories of the past from the Fourth Division's older members.

Before Unohana met Kenpachi Zaraki, before she became the Fourth Division Captain, before she learned Kaidō, she had been the "greatest criminal in history," a name that struck fear throughout Soul Society. Back then, she fought for pleasure and lived by killing, searching all over Soul Society for powerful opponents to challenge. The souls who had fallen beneath her sword were beyond counting.

The woman called "Yachiru Unohana" and the gentle, healing Fourth Division Captain before her seemed like two entirely different people.

But Isane Kotetsu understood now... that "Yachiru" had never disappeared.

She had merely lain dormant deep within Unohana's soul, waiting for an opponent who could awaken her.

And now, that opponent seemed to have appeared.

Inside the barrier, the battle between Liu Hao and Imperial Princess had entered its final stage.

Both retreated at once, putting dozens of zhang between them. They faced each other and slowly raised the Imperial Swords in their hands.

Gold-red Reiatsu gathered, compressed, and solidified along the blades. At first it was only a faint glow, but it grew brighter and brighter, finally transforming into a radiant five-colored light. Gold, cyan, blue, red, and yellow—the colors of the Five Phases flowed and mingled across the blades, giving off a heart-stopping fluctuation.

Liu Hao was in terrible shape. His uniform had long since been reduced to strips of cloth in the fight, and wounds of all sizes covered his body. Although the Imperial Sword's healing ability constantly repaired his injuries, it could not dispel the exhaustion that had sunk into his bones.

Imperial Princess was in much better condition by comparison. The Five-Colored Immortal Garment she wore remained bright and beautiful, without a speck of dust. Her long hair fluttered in the churning Reiatsu, and her breathtaking face bore an air of proud majesty.

The contrast between them was stark: one was utterly disheveled, the other composed and graceful. Anyone could see that Liu Hao was at an absolute disadvantage in this fight.

But that did not stop either of them from raising their Reiatsu to the limit.

"Imperial Sword..." Liu Hao growled, gripping his sword in both hands and raising it over his head.

"Peerless!" Imperial Princess spoke at the same time, her voice as cold as ice.

Both swung their swords at once.

Two five-colored, crescent-shaped sword beams sprang from their respective blades, tracing brilliant paths through the air as they flew toward each other.

Space twisted slightly wherever the sword beams passed, and a low hum sounded in the air. It was not a sound, but a tremor in space caused by the violent fluctuations of Reiatsu.

More astonishing still, as the sword beams flew out, ripples appeared in the space behind both fighters at the same time.

Wave after wave spread outward, like a pebble dropped into a still lake. From the center of those ripples, weapons slowly emerged, one after another.

They were no ordinary weapons.

There were spears burning with fire, short swords wreathed in flowing water, heavy hammers encased in rock, bows and arrows entwined with vines, throwing knives gleaming with metallic light... The power of the Five Phases took the form of weapons of every kind, packed so densely that they filled the sky.

Like an army of living beings, they locked onto their targets the moment they appeared and shot toward the opposing side.

The sword beams and the swarms of weapons met in midair.

The two five-colored sword beams were the first to collide.

They did not explode or shatter like ordinary slashes. The instant they touched, they began to "grapple" like two ferocious beasts. Their edges pressed and scraped against each other, sending dazzling sparks flying. The powers of the Five Phases clashed fiercely at the point of contact: metal overcame wood, wood overcame earth, earth overcame water, water overcame fire, and fire overcame metal. The cycle of mutual generation and suppression played out wildly within that tiny space.

The swarms of weapons close behind also collided fiercely in midair.

Flaming spears stabbed at water-wreathed short swords, the short swords slashed at rock-encased hammers, the hammers smashed toward metallic throwing knives, and the knives shot at vine-entwined bows and arrows... Every collision sent spiritual light of a different color bursting forth, and every clash stirred violent fluctuations.

The weapons did not immediately vanish after colliding. The moment they broke apart, they became colored motes of Reiryoku and flew toward the two grappling sword beams as though drawn to them.

The motes merged into the sword beams, and the beams began to change.

Rather than growing larger from absorbing the Reiryoku, they began to compress and solidify. Their five-colored light grew brighter and purer, until they became two nearly solid, crystal-like masses of sword-shaped energy.

When the compression reached its limit, a strange change occurred.

The point where the two sword beams met began to "swell."

At first it was only a tiny point of light. Then it rapidly expanded into a sphere several feet across. The sphere continued to grow: one zhang, two zhang, five zhang, ten zhang...

It expanded soundlessly, swallowing everything around it—the shattered weapons, the churning Reiatsu, and even space itself.

When the sphere reached its limit, twenty zhang in diameter, it abruptly "contracted."

It did not explode or break apart, but collapsed inward like a black hole. All the energy, matter, and Reiatsu it had swallowed were compressed into an infinitely small point.

Then—

"Hmm..."

A low tremor, seemingly coming from the depths of the soul.

The sphere of light vanished.

It did not vanish in an explosion. It was "annihilated," as though it had never existed.

Everything within thirty zhang of the sphere's former position—the ground, the air, the lingering Reiatsu, even the "traces" of space itself—disappeared.

The area became pure "nothingness." There was no color, no sound, no matter. Even light twisted and vanished there.

The bizarre sight lasted for about three breaths.

Then space began to repair itself. The void was filled, the ground re-formed, and everything returned to normal, as though the terrifying annihilation had been nothing but an illusion.

But Liu Hao and Imperial Princess both knew it was no illusion.

The instant space recovered, both moved at once.

They charged at each other like arrows loosed from bows. Their Imperial Swords crossed in midair, and gold-red light burst forth once more.

"Clang!"

This collision was fiercer than any before it.

Liu Hao was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string. He traced an arc through the air and slammed heavily into the ground, gouging out a deep crater and sending broken stones flying.

"Pfft..." He spat out a large mouthful of blood, his face turning as pale as paper.

Imperial Princess landed slowly, the Imperial Sword in her hand angled toward the ground. Looking at Liu Hao in the crater, she let a faint, satisfied smile appear on her beautiful face.

"It seems you've lost, my king."

In the crater, Liu Hao struggled to prop up his upper body and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a bitter smile on his face. "Yes... I lost."

"Still, not bad." There was a hint of approval in Imperial Princess's tone. "You didn't pass out after a clash like that. You're a little stronger than I imagined."

With that, she suddenly turned her head, her gaze passing through the barrier to settle on Unohana outside.

"You've watched long enough." Imperial Princess's cool voice sounded both inside and outside the barrier. "Come in and talk."

Unohana's pupils contracted slightly.

She had not expected the barrier she had erected to be incapable of blocking Imperial Princess's perception. Still less had she expected Imperial Princess to invite her in.

But she did not hesitate.

"Isane, stay outside," Unohana said to Isane Kotetsu. She then stepped forward, passing through the barrier wall as though melting into the surface of water, and entered the white space.

Isane Kotetsu wanted to follow, but found the barrier blocking her way. She could only watch the scene inside anxiously.

Unohana entered the space and stood before Imperial Princess. They faced each other: one was Soul Society's First Kenpachi, the other the materialized incarnation of a Zanpakuto. Their utterly different auras collided soundlessly in the space.

"Are you Fifth Seat Liu Hao's Zanpakuto?" Unohana spoke first, studying Imperial Princess.

"You could say that." Imperial Princess's answer carried a certain cryptic meaning. "Retsu Unohana, the First Kenpachi, who called herself Yachiru Unohana..."

Her gold-red eyes narrowed slightly, her tone appraising and provocative:

"I wonder how strong you are?"

Unohana's eyes narrowed as well. She did not answer, but the aura around her began to change.

Her gentle, healing Reiatsu gradually withdrew, replaced by an aura that was cold, sharp, and full of killing intent. It was so ancient, so pure, as though it came from a thousand years ago, from that era of blood and swords.

Imperial Princess smiled.

Her smile held both pride and excitement.

She raised a hand, and the Imperial Sword in Liu Hao's hand flew out of the crater of its own accord and landed in hers. The two Imperial Swords became one in her grasp, transforming into a more complete and majestic Eight-Sided Chinese Sword.

The dragon pattern on the blade came fully to life, swimming along its spine, a terrifying light flashing in the dragon's eyes.

"Come." Imperial Princess held the sword across her body. "Let me test the strength of Soul Society's 'greatest criminal.'"

The instant she finished speaking, she released her Reiatsu.

It was vaster and more terrifying than the Reiatsu she had released while fighting Liu Hao. Gold-red light soared skyward, sending violent ripples across the top of the barrier. Space trembled, the ground cracked, and the entire white space seemed to groan.

Unohana did not retreat.

She too released her Reiatsu.

It was a deep-purple aura, like an abyss. Unlike Imperial Princess's overbearing, majestic Reiatsu, it was deeper and more dangerous, as though it could swallow all light, all sound, and all life.

The two currents of Reiatsu collided in the space.

There was no sound, yet it was more terrifying than any sound could have been. Where the Reiatsu met, space began to twist and tear, exposing the pitch-black void behind it. The ground shattered under the pressure of the two forces, rose into the air, and turned to dust.

Watching from outside the barrier, Isane Kotetsu went deathly pale. She had never seen her captain release such terrifying Reiatsu—no, she had never even imagined her captain possessed such fearsome strength.

Liu Hao, who had been flung into the distance, was pushed into several rolls by the shock wave from the colliding Reiatsu. He barely came to a stop after crashing into the barrier wall.

When the collision of Reiatsu reached a certain critical point, both moved at once.

There was no testing, no holding back. They struck with their full strength from the start.

Unohana's Zanpakuto and Imperial Princess's Imperial Sword collided in a thousandth of a second.

"Clang!"

A deafening crash erupted inside the barrier. The shock wave from the point of impact spread outward in a ring, destroying everything within thirty zhang.

But that was only the beginning.

The two figures moved through the space at high speed, flashes of their blades weaving into a net of death. Every collision sent dazzling sparks flying, and every clash stirred violent fluctuations of Reiatsu.

The flashes of their blades churned wildly before them, moving so fast that even their afterimages began to overlap and blur. Outside the barrier, Isane Kotetsu could see only two blurred masses of light flickering through the space, colliding, separating, and colliding again.

Ten times, twenty times, thirty times...

At last, on the forty-seventh collision, their blades locked tightly together, and they began a contest of pure strength.

Excitement flashed in Unohana's eyes, while Imperial Princess's lips curved proudly. Their strength was evenly matched; neither could overpower the other.

After three breaths of stalemate, both exerted force at once and sprang backward.

But as they retreated, three short swords, thin as cicada wings, slipped silently from Unohana's left sleeve. With a flick of her wrist, the swords became three cold streaks of light, shooting at Imperial Princess's vital points from uncanny angles.

The hidden-weapon technique was fast, precise, ruthless, and utterly without warning. An ordinary opponent would likely have had their vital points pierced before they even had time to react.

But Imperial Princess was no ordinary opponent.

She did not even look at the three short swords, merely sweeping her left hand casually to her side.

Ripples appeared once more in the space behind her. Three flaming spears emerged from them, precisely intercepting the three short swords.

"Clink, clink, clink!"

The short swords and spears collided with clear, ringing sounds. At the moment of impact, the short swords were knocked away, and the spears dissolved into flames.

Both landed at the same time, touched their toes to the ground, and charged at each other again.

Their blades collided again, their flashes churning once more.

This time, as their blades clashed, Unohana raised her left hand again. Five smaller, thinner, almost transparent throwing knives were held between her fingers.

Imperial Princess raised her left hand at the same time. In the space around it, the tips of five short swords wreathed in flowing water slowly emerged.

The blades in their right hands collided fiercely as the hidden weapons and summoned swords shot out from their left hands at the same time.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Five nearly overlapping sounds cut through the air. The throwing knives and short swords crossed paths, collided, and bounced apart. The impact of their collision was dispersed by the Reiatsu both women released at the same time.

They retreated and separated again, putting twenty zhang between them.

The gravity on Unohana's face grew more pronounced. She looked at Imperial Princess and slowly said, "I never imagined... that a materialized Zanpakuto could be this strong."

Imperial Princess angled the Imperial Sword toward the ground, her lips curving proudly. "Strong? My foolish king hasn't fully awakened yet, after all, so my strength is limited too. Being able to exchange blows with you like this is already fairly good."

She spoke casually, but her words carried a bone-chilling arrogance.

Unohana's eyes narrowed to slits, and the gentle smile vanished completely from her face, replaced by cold killing intent. "Is that so? Your strength is limited, and that's why you can exchange blows with me?"

Her voice was soft, yet the temperature throughout the space suddenly plummeted.

The Imperial Princess nodded without a care. "Isn't it?"

Her gaze swept over Liu Hao as he struggled to his feet in the distance, then returned to Unohana. "What, do you want to use Bankai?"

A hint of provocation entered the Imperial Princess's tone. "Even if you use Bankai, you'll still have a hard time beating me. Although my foolish king is somewhat tired at the moment, my power hasn't diminished because of his weakness..."

She paused, her gold-red eyes fixed on Unohana:

"Haven't you noticed?"