The Terrifying Unohana

Chiba Makoto nodded seriously and answered firmly. "Yes, Teacher. I understand. There are no abilities that are truly weak, only weak hearts."

At his words, Unohana Retsu's eyes brightened slightly. For some reason, she felt that the boy standing before her radiated a warm yet steadfast light.

Such a gentle yet resilient heart? No wonder his Zanpakuto has healing-type abilities...

Unohana Retsu thought to herself, and her gaze toward Chiba Makoto grew even gentler.

Although they had only known each other for a short time, the impression Chiba Makoto gave Unohana Retsu was completely different from that of other Soul Reapers.

He was not obsessed with power and slaughter, nor would he be shaken by the strength or weakness of his Zanpakuto's abilities. He cherished life, was gentle and steadfast, and had none of the bad habits supposedly common among "geniuses."

For a moment, Unohana Retsu became increasingly satisfied with her new disciple. A thought occurred to her, and she asked, "Makoto, would you mind showing me your Zanpakuto's abilities? A wood-type Zanpakuto with healing-oriented abilities is rare even in the history of Soul Society."

Hearing this, Chiba Makoto's heart tightened slightly, but he still forced himself to remain calm as he released his Zanpakuto.

"Endless vitality, All Things in Nature!"

As the release command rang out, blades of green grass sprouted from the ground around Chiba Makoto, radiating tenacious vitality and lush greenery.

Unohana Retsu's gentle, crescent-shaped eyes opened slightly as she examined every detail of Chiba Makoto's released Zanpakuto. She even crouched down, reached out, pinched a blade of grass, and tugged at it hard.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Unohana Retsu made a faintly puzzled sound.

Contrary to her expectation that it would be fragile, even after exerting a little force, she failed to pull the blade of grass from the ground.

"It's quite resilient," Unohana Retsu commented.

Chiba Makoto's expression stiffened slightly. He had never expected Unohana Retsu, whose standards should have been sky-high, to notice the toughness of the seemingly ordinary grass itself.

However, although Chiba Makoto was deliberately using an incorrect release command and keeping All Things in Nature only partially released, the grass was still fundamentally a part of All Things in Nature. He could not make it truly fragile.

Meeting Unohana Retsu's probing gaze, Chiba Makoto scratched his head as if embarrassed, seeming reluctant to discuss it further. "Teacher, it's grass, after all. Its vitality and resilience are the only things worth mentioning."

"Mm."

Unohana Retsu responded noncommittally, then asked, "Makoto, is your Zanpakuto's ability simply to manipulate this grass to heal others?"

"That's right."

Chiba Makoto nodded and naturally gave the answer he had prepared long ago.

"To be precise, I can consume Reiryoku to control the growth and extension of this grass. Then, the grass absorbs Reishi from the air and transfers it to others, healing them and replenishing their Reiryoku and vitality."

After a pause, Chiba Makoto spoke somewhat helplessly.

"At present, it seems limited by my understanding of Kaido, Medical Skills, and the structure of souls and spirit bodies. So for now, this Reishi can only heal relatively minor injuries. For more serious injuries, it can probably only stabilize them temporarily."

Upon hearing this, Unohana Retsu rubbed her smooth, fair chin as though she had fallen into thought.

After a moment, Unohana Retsu spoke while considering her words. "Makoto, have you ever considered making All Things in Nature operate in reverse, drawing Reishi and Reiryoku from your enemies? And the resilience of this grass is quite remarkable. If enough of it entangles someone, even a Vice-Captain-level Soul Reaper would likely be left scrambling and unable to break free for a while. In that case, All Things in Nature could display considerable restraining power..."

"Mm, and taking it a step further..."

Unohana Retsu's expression froze. A strange glint seemed to appear in her eyes as she stared fixedly at Chiba Makoto and murmured, "If this ability could be further applied entirely to oneself, then it would mean endlessly drawing Reishi from the air to replenish battle losses and injuries, allowing one to enjoy slaughter and combat forever..."

As she spoke, Unohana Retsu seemed to trigger some instinct. Her gentle features became somewhat terrifying, and she even unconsciously licked her rosy lips.

"Gulp..."

However, the next moment, Unohana Retsu was interrupted from that strange state by the sound of Chiba Makoto swallowing. She turned to see his slightly pale, shocked face.

Unohana Retsu froze, then said apologetically, "Sorry, Makoto. I suddenly remembered something unpleasant. I didn't scare you, did I?"

"It's fine, Teacher."

Chiba Makoto shook his head, but his still-pale face was hardly convincing. This added a trace of guilt to Unohana Retsu's expression, and she stopped her earlier speculation about the Zanpakuto - All Things in Nature.

In truth, Chiba Makoto really had been frightened!

In that instant, Chiba Makoto seemed to see mountains of corpses and seas of blood around Unohana Retsu, with endless blood constantly seeping forth and terrifying killing intent crashing straight into his heart.

More importantly, the way Unohana Retsu had looked at Chiba Makoto in that moment... was more like she was looking at some indestructible toy? Or a punching bag that could not be cut apart?

For a moment, Chiba Makoto could not help doubting his choice. Joining the healing-focused Fourth Division should clearly have been the best option, so why... did his circumstances somehow seem to have become incomparably dangerous?

What truly alarmed Chiba Makoto was the conclusion Unohana Retsu had reached in that brief moment. She had practically summed up most of the Shikai abilities of his Zanpakuto - All Things in Nature.

This woman was terrifying!

Worthy of being a Soul Reaper who had stood for a thousand years, worthy of being the First Kenpachi, and worthy of being the woman whose Kaido and Medical Skills stood at the pinnacle of Soul Society!

Both were captain-level Soul Reapers, yet Zaraki Kenpachi had only imagined using him as a "healer" for area-wide recovery. After observing him up close, Unohana Retsu had been able to infer the true abilities of All Things in Nature on a far deeper level.

Originally intending to offer Chiba Makoto some guidance on his Zanpakuto's abilities and give her disciple more confidence and motivation, Unohana Retsu noticed that something was off with him. Considerately, she did not continue discussing All Things in Nature's abilities, instead speaking as though joking. "Makoto, you have the potential to awaken Bankai. If you truly awaken Bankai, then the position of Lieutenant of the Fourth Division will be yours in the future. And... I will personally teach you Zanjutsu. How about it?"