Seireitei, the outer Commercial Street.
This was a Commercial Street serving ordinary members, also known as the civilian Commercial Street. Compared with the shops in the Noble District at the center of Seireitei, the goods sold here were all inexpensive. Many Soul Reapers and their families came here to buy their daily necessities.
However, the once-noisy street now seemed unusually quiet. Customers and shopkeepers alike stared respectfully at a figure in the street.
She was a gentle, serene woman with black hair tied into a braid that hung in front of her. She wore a Shinigami uniform. If that had been all, she would not have caused such a reaction from everyone present. The reason they were so quiet was because...
Over her Shinigami uniform, she wore a pure-white haori. A large "4" was emblazoned across its back.
That was a Captain's Haori.
And this figure, who looked incomparably gentle and wore an approachable smile, was none other than the captain of the Fourth Division—Unohana Retsu!
Normally, captains and Lieutenant Captains rarely appeared on this street. Even a Lieutenant Captain's salary was enough to let them shop in the Noble District without feeling the strain, so they naturally had no need to come here to buy inferior products.
Of course...
It was not that no Lieutenant Captains ever came here. A few who spent money lavishly appeared here quite often.
Unohana Retsu did not feel displeased by the gazes around her. She merely smiled gently, then turned to look at the figure standing frozen behind her and asked, "What's wrong, Isane?"
"Ah~? Ah~~"
The frozen figure was Kotetsu Isane. She was staring somewhat blankly at a distant alley. Only when her captain called out to her did she come back to herself. Hesitantly, she said, "I... think I saw someone