Retsu Unohana

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Several figures landed on the street. The woman at their head bent down to examine the condition of the squad members, then shook her head. "They're farther ahead. There may still be survivors."

The woman who spoke wore a haori lined with Gray Cherry Haori, her appearance gentle and serene. Her long black hair was parted down the middle, braided, and draped in front of her.

After straightening, she looked into the distance with a faint note of sentiment in her voice. "This place really is as chaotic as ever."

The young Fourth Division Shinigami following behind her did not understand what she meant. Why did their Captain seem so familiar with this outermost part of Rukongai District?

Yet the woman said nothing further and merely led them onward at a run.

As the medical support force of the Gotei 13, the Fourth Division rarely deployed under Captain Unohana. More often, she remained at the barracks, tending to severely wounded patients sent over from the other divisions.

This time, she had just finished a special mission and was on her way back when she encountered a distress call from Fifth Division members.

When Unohana led several squad members onto a rooftop, she came to a stop. As she looked at the scene below, a trace of emotion stirred in her eyes.

The other squad members looked surprised. The distress signal had cut off several minutes ago, and they had assumed they would most likely be arriving only to collect corpses.

The subsequent pursuit of the Rebels was not the Fourth Division's duty. That would be handled by divisions more suited to combat, such as the Second Division or Eleventh Division.

But the situation before them was difficult to comprehend. The Rebels mentioned in the report were all lying in pools of blood. The one still standing was not a Fifth Division member, but a refugee holding an Asauchi.

On the street, ten Rebel corpses lay scattered in every direction. The man standing amid them wore ragged clothes, and the Asauchi in his hand slid past his cheek, shaving away the last trace of stubble.

What kind of person stood calmly amid a pile of corpses and shaved?

Under the blazing sun, the ruggedly handsome man sheathed his blade, raised his head toward the figures on the rooftop, and offered what he considered a friendly smile.

In that instant, the Fourth Division members all felt an inexplicable chill. The scene was simply too bizarre.

Unohana leaped down, her pristine white haori spreading like butterfly wings. She landed soundlessly, a warm smile on her face as she narrowed her eyes at Lu Li.

Lu Li's smile gradually faded under her gaze. For the first time in a long while, he felt a genuine threat of death.

It was not the feeling of guns and cannons aimed at his head, but tangible killing intent—the suffocating sensation of a living being crushing down on him with absolute power.

Yes, this was the power he sought. This was the world he sought.

Those Rebels, whose techniques and strength were both beneath notice, had merely served as a brief warm-up. They had not allowed him to experience the joy of fighting and slaughter.

But that disappointment did not last long before the woman before him dispelled it. He had only just arrived in this world. Who knew how many mountains still awaited his ascent? There had to be countless interesting battles ahead.

Just as End Space had said, he would encounter challenges unlike any before.

"What is your name?"

As Unohana spoke, the grim atmosphere vanished. The smile on her face now looked genuinely gentle.

"Lu Li."

Lu Li answered simply. He had no intention of adopting a false Japanese name to fit in with the people here.

From the pressure she exerted on him, along with her appearance and attire, he could roughly determine that she was Retsu Unohana, the Fourth Division Captain from the original work—Yachiru.

He could also roughly infer the point in the timeline. Since Unohana was already the Fourth Division Captain, that meant Yhwach had already fallen into slumber.

As for exactly how long it was before the main story began, he would need more information to determine that.

"Lu Li, was it? Did you kill these people?"

Unohana looked at the bodies on the ground and asked.

"The Shinigami were killed by these people. I was only defending myself."

Lu Li answered honestly. He did not want any misunderstandings. He craved unrestrained battle, but he had no desire to die—especially now that he had finally arrived in such an interesting place.

Unohana nodded, readily accepting Lu Li's answer. She did not seem surprised that a refugee could kill ten Rebels whom even ordinary Gotei 13 members could not handle.

"Would you like to join the Gotei 13?"

The squad members behind Unohana were somewhat surprised. They had not expected their Captain to invite Lu Li, and she was not inviting him to join the Fourth Division. She had said the Gotei 13.

If the Captain had taken a liking to Lu Li's talent, then she should have invited him into the Fourth Division, shouldn't she?

"The Gotei 13?"

Lu Li paused. He had not expected the first stage of his Main Quest to be completed so easily. It seemed that all he needed to do now was nod.

"As long as you're willing."

Unohana nodded with a smile. "Of course, according to the rules, you must first enter the True Spirit Arts Academy for training. You can only join the Gotei 13 after graduating."

Lu Li pretended to consider it, then nodded.

He roughly understood how the mission's difficulty rating worked. If End Space had a god's-eye view, then the route he was taking to complete the mission was actually the easy route.

After actual combat, he had discovered that the ten Rebels' overall attributes were lower than his own, and their fighting skills were not even worth mentioning. He had killed all ten without so much as dirtying his clothes.

If he had left this area and traveled through Rukongai District alone, the chances of encountering unforeseen trouble would have been much greater. Besides, if he had followed the normal process, whether the True Spirit Arts Academy would even accept him remained uncertain.

With Unohana's recommendation, enrollment would definitely not be a problem.

"Then let's go. We happen to be heading back."

As Unohana spoke, she glanced at the Asauchi in Lu Li's hand. "You can keep that Asauchi."

The squad members were not surprised by Unohana's arrangement for the Asauchi. An Asauchi was, by nature, a Zanpakuto that had yet to "recognize its owner."

Before a Master called its true name and released its Shikai, an Asauchi possessed no unusual abilities of its own. It was merely a somewhat sharper sword.

After a Shinigami died, their Zanpakuto would usually "reset to factory settings" and revert to an Asauchi. At that point, it could be "bound" again by someone else. (Of course, there were exceptions, but those would not be discussed for now.)

Therefore, Seireitei generally recycled ownerless Asauchi, issuing them to True Spirit Arts Academy students for redevelopment. As long as an Asauchi continued circulating within Seireitei's system, no one would specifically question it.

Now that Lu Li had obtained this Asauchi, he would not be issued another one upon enrollment.

Lu Li hung the Asauchi at his waist and followed Retsu Unohana and the others. What happened here afterward no longer had anything to do with them; another squad would naturally handle it.

He simply felt somewhat excited inside. As a martial arts expert, he was deeply interested in all kinds of extraordinary combat techniques in this world.

Compared to the return rewards described in the contract for completing missions, he was more eager for the techniques he could directly learn within this world.

And the Asauchi he had just acquired was, in a sense, equipment that could practically be called a divine artifact.

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