The Captain-Commander's Demand

Retsu Unohana walked through the Seireitei, Isane's urging in her ears giving her quite a headache. Those idiots from the Eleventh Division had gotten into fights again, creating extra work for her. Not long ago, an outstanding member of the Fourth Division had also been poached by that damned Central Pharmaceutical Institute, an institution in the Seireitei that specialized in treating nobles and only allowed nobles to receive treatment or enter.

That string of irritating, dreary matters had put Sister Hana in a very bad mood. Sister Hana was in a very bad mood. Sister Hana wanted to chop someone up. But Sister Hana had promised the old man she would not chop people up. Sister Hana was a woman of her word, so she could only take a walk to vent the overwhelming killing intent in her heart.

However, Sister Hana found that walking did not lessen the resentment in her heart. Instead, it only made her temper flare more and more. Just as she was about to go chop someone up directly, Sister Hana spotted a figure that caught her attention.

He was a youth who looked to be only around twenty, dressed in the uniform of the Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy. There was nothing particularly strange about that; after all, many noble families had homes in the Seireitei, and Shibatarō did not dare stop nobles. If that were all, Sister Hana would not have given Asano Kiyoshi a second glance.

But Sister Hana sensed spiritual pressure from Asano Kiyoshi that seemed capable of burning everything away. It was spiritual pressure unique to the Captain-Commander.

Yet the youth before her carried the Captain-Commander's spiritual pressure. That made the situation worth pondering.

The last person who possessed the Captain-Commander's spiritual pressure was the only man who could bring her joy. Unohana knew that the Captain-Commander had trained that man because he possessed strength bordering on the bizarre. Training him was meant to stabilize Soul Society's rule; whether emotionally or in terms of strength, the Captain-Commander needed to restrain him and keep him under watch.

In truth, this approach was already exceedingly merciful for the Captain-Commander. If it had been him a thousand years ago, he likely would have erased Kenpachi Zaraki at once.

But the youth before her was different from Kenpachi Zaraki. His spiritual pressure was very weak, which proved that the Captain-Commander valued his potential. Taking that thought further, could the Captain-Commander intend to cultivate this youth as his successor?

Jushiro Ukitake was frail and sickly, while Shunsui had the temperament of an idle cloud and wild crane. Unless something major happened, it would be difficult to change that disposition. To put it bluntly, as long as Head Captain Yamamoto was alive, Shunsui had a pillar supporting him. As long as that pillar stood, he would never truly grow up.

Under such circumstances, it was not hard to understand why the elderly Captain-Commander would want to find an heir.

Kenpachi Zaraki's brain made it impossible for him to be a leader, while the person before her had a great chance of truly being raised by the Captain-Commander as his successor.

And to become the Captain-Commander, beyond possessing an exceptional mind, there was an even more important requirement...

The strength to crush every captain!

Looking at the youth before her, Unohana seemed to see another man who could bring her joy!

Thus, she took the initiative to speak to the youth and offered to walk him there.

Asano Kiyoshi looked at Unohana and accepted her proposal with a smile. After all, he had no power to refuse in the first place.

Along the way, Unohana did not say a word, but Asano felt an incomparably terrifying presence floating around him. It was as if a vicious ghost from hell were gently breathing into his ear, that cold and violent aura nearly freezing his blood solid.

After walking the whole way in trepidation, they finally arrived behind the First Squad barracks. Asano Kiyoshi spoke to Unohana, who wore a gentle smile.

"Um, Captain Unohana, thank you very much for your help!"

Unohana looked at Asano Kiyoshi and nodded slightly before saying with a smile, "It's nothing. I'm very much looking forward to your future. Very much."

With that, Unohana gave Asano Kiyoshi a deep look, then left just before the Captain-Commander emerged.

Thinking of the look in Unohana's eyes before she left, Asano Kiyoshi felt a faint bitterness in his heart. Then, he slightly invoked the Scroll's power toward Unohana's departing back, preparing to check her attributes.

After the Scroll churned and shifted, Unohana's information appeared upon it:

Name: Retsu Unohana

Zanpakuto: Minazuki

Slash: ???

White: ???

Demon: ???

Step: ???

Spirit: ???

Overall Rating: ??? (The Host is too weak to provide sufficient spiritual pressure for inspection. This inspection has failed; no spiritual pressure will be deducted.)

Looking at the string of question marks on the Scroll, Asano Kiyoshi's mouth twitched silently. Still, it was as he had expected. At present, he simply could not inspect the attributes of people who were too powerful. At the same time, no spiritual pressure would be deducted. Well, he had learned that from Teacher Ukitake.

After Unohana left, the figure of an old man appeared behind Asano Kiyoshi. Looking at him, he spoke in an even tone. "Come with me. This will be your training ground for the next period of time."

Hearing the Captain-Commander's words, Asano Kiyoshi's expression became solemn and serious. He understood what the Captain-Commander meant, and he knew how much weight those words carried.

After entering the room, Asano Kiyoshi instinctively looked around. It resembled a traditional Japanese Kendo Hall, with dense slash marks everywhere. Every slash mark retained a heart-palpitating aura.

The Captain-Commander stopped walking then, and his aged yet imposing voice rang out.

"The top graduate of every class is permitted to enter the Great Spirit Book Gallery for three days. Although the Tsunayashiro Family is responsible for the Great Spirit Book Gallery's daily management, entering it requires approval from more than three votes of the Central 46 Chambers and the Gold Seal Noble Conference. The Gold Seal Noble Conference is composed of the Five Great Noble Clans and upper nobles. It answers only to the Five Great Noble Clans and is mentioned in the official novels."

"The Tsunayashiro Family has always been searching for something in the Great Spirit Book Gallery. This time, they sent their most outstanding member, Tsunayashiro Kojiro, into the Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy. Their purpose is likely the thing inside the Great Spirit Book Gallery. I do not care what they wish to obtain, but I do not want them to obtain that item. So, do you understand what I mean?"

As he said this, the Captain-Commander turned to look at Asano Kiyoshi. His gaze held gentleness, expectation, and anticipation, like a pie chart.

Asano Kiyoshi naturally understood what the Captain-Commander meant. He immediately straightened his body and said to him, "I will obtain a place to enter the Great Spirit Art Corridor!"