Affront

Killing intent!

Almost tangible and utterly pure killing intent—killing intent so pure it existed solely to kill—charged straight into Chiba Makoto's mind, nearly blanking his consciousness for an instant. Then... as if some instinct had been provoked and awakened, bloodshot veins began to spread around Makoto's eyes.

But in just an instant, Makoto forcibly suppressed that instinct and spoke in a panicked tone.

"Te... Teacher, what's wrong?"

Interrupted by Makoto, Unohana Retsu seemed to snap out of her stress response. Her expression, which had been on the verge of breaking down, swiftly returned to normal, and the Blood-colored Reiatsu spilling from her vanished at once, as though everything just now had merely been an illusion.

"Oh dear, oh dear, Makoto, I'm sorry. I remembered some rather unpleasant memories."

"Whew..."

Makoto let out a long breath and said, "Teacher, you scared me to death. For a moment, I even had the illusion that you'd cut me down."

"It wasn't entirely an illusion..."

Unohana Retsu spoke with a smiling expression, making Makoto's heart tighten.

"Makoto, why would you think of saying something like fighting me to the death? Provoking your teacher like that really was completely beyond her expectations."

"Because..."

Makoto scratched his head, looking like a sunny young man who did not know what to do, and said, "That was the most offensive thing I could think of to say to Teacher. Drawing my blade against the teacher I admire and revere most would probably greatly disappoint the teacher to whom I owe so much, causing intense emotional fluctuations, right?"

"I see..."

Unohana Retsu raised a hand and stroked Makoto's head, saying gently, "Makoto, don't worry. Teacher believes you will become the finest disciple, so even if you occasionally offend Teacher, Teacher won't blame you."

Of... offend?

Teacher, are we talking about the same thing here?

Makoto hurriedly lowered his head. Though he understood that Unohana Retsu was most likely referring to fighting to the death, he felt that if this topic continued any further, things would start taking a rather strange turn. He might end up becoming a traitorous disciple reviled by all.

Unohana Retsu continued gently rubbing Makoto's hair before finally turning around, once more presenting her back to him.

Only then did Makoto relax. Yet his gaze could not help falling upon Teacher Unohana's seemingly defenseless back ahead of him. He could even clearly see the snow-white, delicate skin at the back of Teacher Unohana's neck.

One slash, and blood would probably spray for quite a while, wouldn't it?

Makoto then pushed up his glasses and could not help licking his lips as he savored the sensation from moments ago of constantly teetering on the edge between life and death.

That moment just now... really was exhilarating...

If I'd hesitated for even a moment longer and failed to warn Teacher Unohana, she might really have instinctively attacked me...

Within his inner world, Makoto had been slaughtered countless times by All Things in Nature, madly performing Thomas flares on the edge between life and death.

But in reality, that feeling was undoubtedly far more intense than it had been in his inner world—so intense that Makoto had nearly failed to restrain his body's instinctive impulse.

At that thought, Makoto's heartbeat could not help quickening, and his entire body reacted in certain ways.

It hardened!

It hardened!!

The hand gripping his Zanpakuto hardened!!!

No... that's not right!

In the next moment, Makoto's eyes narrowed. He instantly realized that something seemed wrong with his state. His desire for battle seemed to have grown considerably.

Had he been affected by the killing intent Teacher Unohana had erupted with just now?

Or had certain instincts formed without him realizing during the long Bankai trial with All Things in Nature?

With that thought, Makoto took a deep breath and tried placing his finger into the viscous liquid in the bottle, which had already returned to white.

A dot of crimson... spread completely through the bottle in the blink of an eye, as if it contained the thickest possible blood plasma.

Sure enough, something's wrong with my mental state...

Makoto swiftly withdrew his finger and capped the bottle again. A trace of contemplation showed in his gaze behind his glasses.

Could Teacher Unohana have drugged me?

Had Teacher Unohana brought me out this time not to investigate the missing souls at all, but to subject me to some sort of workplace bullying?

But almost as soon as the thought arose, Makoto dismissed that absurd guess and shifted the focus of his suspicion back to Zanpakuto - All Things in Nature.

At that moment, Makoto could not help questioning All Things in Nature's purpose in persistently fighting him every night.

A Zanpakuto's prototype was born alongside the formation of the soul, and afterward, the soul's will, emotions, and thoughts would all influence the Zanpakuto's eventual form and power...

Then why had All Things in Nature mentioned "the wrong Bankai" and "true power"?

Makoto narrowed his eyes and recalled every detail of his conversations and battles with All Things in Nature in his inner world last night. Combining them with the information Unohana Retsu had revealed, he began thinking carefully.

A Zanpakuto possesses its own distinct thoughts and emotions, just like the Zanpakuto Zangetsu in Kurosaki Ichigo's hands in the future. It resisted teaching Kurosaki Ichigo the "Final Getsuga Tensho" because that conflicted with Zangetsu's own desire to protect Kurosaki Ichigo.

In other words, there must be some problem with me now, so All Things in Nature believes that the "Bankai" I form in this state will be wrong, and thus it has developed a reluctance to accept it...

Then... what is true power? All Things in Nature said it had mentioned it countless times, and even asked whether I was deliberately ignoring it, but it clearly had never said it...

And even when All Things in Nature fought me, all it used was the ability to command countless trees. Could my understanding be wrong? If All Things in Nature had done anything strange, other than its frenzied battles and that ridiculous way of addressing people...

Just as Makoto could not help snickering at that last point, his expression froze slightly, and he murmured, "Battle? -chan?? Could this... be what All Things in Nature has been trying to tell me all along?"

Just then, Unohana Retsu's voice rang out, and Minazuki's flying altitude began rapidly descending.

"Makoto, we're here."

Coming back to his senses, Makoto leaned forward slightly and looked below. What met his eyes was a stretch of dilapidated houses, with three Soul Reapers of the Tenth Division already waiting below in Shinigami uniforms.

As Makoto followed Unohana Retsu down to the ground, a smell that seemed to mingle decay and medicinal herbs drifted into his nose.