The Gentle Captain

For a moment, the entire venue's atmosphere became suffocating.

The spiritual pressure leaking invisibly from Zaraki Kenpachi grew increasingly violent and savage, as if he might bare his beastly fangs at any moment and tear the seemingly gentle and kind Captain Unohana to pieces.

Perhaps because of the difference in their appearances, perhaps out of an instinctive sympathy for the weak, or perhaps because their own weakness made them sympathetic, many graduates instinctively began to worry about Captain Unohana.

Even so, Captain Unohana's expression remained unchanged from beginning to end. A gentle smile rested on her face as she looked kindly at Zaraki Kenpachi.

Just as the atmosphere became increasingly tense—

"Hmph!"

Zaraki Kenpachi gave a cold snort, slung his serrated Zanpakuto over his shoulder, and said unhappily, "Leave this brat to your Fourth Division for now!"

For a moment, as those words rang out, the many graduates witnessing the scene... instinctively wondered if they had misheard.

What?!

That lunatic Zaraki Kenpachi... had actually backed down???

Then Zaraki Kenpachi tilted his head slightly, rolled his eyes toward Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika beside him, and said—

"I'll leave recruiting newcomers to you two. Find me a good batch of rookies who can take a beating."

"Yes, Boss Zaraki."

Having just snapped out of their daze, Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika hurriedly answered.

With that, Zaraki Kenpachi, looking somewhat bored, headed toward the doors of the venue. He passed Captain Unohana without even looking back and left the venue directly.

Captain Unohana's smile remained as gentle and kind as ever. She showed neither the slightest displeasure at Zaraki Kenpachi's seemingly rude behavior nor any hint of triumph.

"Everyone..."

While the many graduates were still somewhat stunned, Captain Unohana raised a hand in greeting and said with a smiling expression—

"If you're interested in Kaido or Medical Skills, the Fourth Division would be very happy to welcome you."

In an instant, this formed a stark contrast with Zaraki Kenpachi's brutal display. In Captain Unohana's gentle words, quite a few graduates felt as though they were about to fall for her.

Captain Unohana did not seem inclined to linger. After sweeping her gentle gaze over them, she turned and left the venue as well, as if she had merely happened to pass by.

"Captain Unohana is so gentle..."

"Even though she's a captain, she actually thinks so highly of us?"

"Being Captain Unohana's subordinate sounds like it would be quite a happy thing."

"But the Fourth Division handles healing. That sounds a little boring..."

The next moment, wave after wave of discussion erupted throughout the venue.

It had to be said that Captain Unohana's beautiful and gentle image had sent her standing in the hearts of these graduates soaring. Many graduates had begun to waver in their choice of division.

However, human nature, in a sense, also included instinctive pursuits such as battle, killing, and excitement. After gaining power beyond the ordinary, there were very few Shinigami willing to use that power solely for healing.

The Fourth Division was, after all, a division responsible for healing. Although it opened its doors to Shin'ō Academy graduates every year, very few graduates were willing to join the Fourth Division.

Moreover, even after the two captains had left, quite a few graduates still felt lingering fear and kept guessing why Zaraki Kenpachi had yielded.

Only Chiba Makoto had shown no concern from beginning to end. After all, having retained a considerable portion of his memories from his previous life, he understood quite well just how terrifying Unohana Retsu was.

If anyone truly treated that seemingly gentle and beautiful woman as a harmless little lamb that anyone could bully, they would absolutely die!

'Unohana Retsu, originally named Unohana Yachiru, was an unprecedented great villain in the history of the Soul Society. She mastered more than eight thousand schools of Zanjutsu, then joined the Thirteen Divisions and became the First Kenpachi...'

As information about Unohana Retsu flashed through Chiba Makoto's mind, he could not help licking his lips.

No, no, no. Too dangerous!

Chiba Makoto's gaze swiftly cleared. For now, that idea was far too dangerous and uncertain.

Unlike a muscle-bound beast like Zaraki Kenpachi, after Unohana Retsu cultivated herself and became the healing-focused captain of the Fourth Division, her understanding of spiritual bodies ranked among the very best in the entire Soul Society. What was more, that woman was so terrifying that she could detect flaws in Aizen Sōsuke's "Kyōka Suigetsu" through knowledge, experience, and intuition alone.

Too difficult!

No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible.

If he could achieve that level, then even if he could not swagger through the entire Soul Society, at the very least no one would dare make a sound against him even if he skipped and hopped around.

And given how dangerous that terrifying woman was, if she sensed hostility from him after he revealed it, that would be a truly life-threatening danger.

Perhaps the monsters and dangers hidden throughout the Soul Society were each more terrifying than the last. And supposedly, after Aizen Sōsuke's rebellion, a King of the Quincy possessing "All Things in Nature" would appear as well.

Unfortunately, Chiba Makoto had not looked deeply into information about that so-called King of the Quincy in his previous life. He had only occasionally heard related rumors.

'What a world full of danger...'

Chiba Makoto sighed inwardly.

If this had been a peaceful world, Chiba Makoto might have chosen to enjoy his new life quietly and steadily, just as he had done as a doctor in his previous life.

But in this exceedingly dangerous world, he had no power to protect himself and lived in the ruined Rukongai.

Even setting aside the harsh environment and scarce supplies, there were Hollow attacks from time to time, the collateral shockwaves accidentally leaked during battles between powerful individuals, and even the possibility that Aizen Sōsuke might begin secretly slaughtering people in Rukongai on a massive scale to collect souls at any time.

Therefore, Chiba Makoto understood that if he wanted to survive in the Soul Society, rather than living precariously and waiting to die at any moment, he might as well proactively join the Thirteen Divisions and become a Shinigami.

However, there was still plenty of time...

At the very least, it was still far too early for the "true protagonist, Ichigo," to be born. At this point in time, when Zaraki Kenpachi had only just become captain of the Eleventh Division, even Ichigo's great-grandmother was probably not yet born.

At the very least, Chiba Makoto still had around a hundred years to develop!