Retsu Unohana's eyes grew brighter. The way she looked at Nara Dan had changed completely.
She had long been stuck in place, despite being the pinnacle of Soul Reaper swordsmanship and the unprecedented master of Yachiru for a thousand years.
She was confident that her swordsmanship had no equal, past or future, yet she had also reached the limits of what a Soul Reaper could achieve.
She had thought Nara Dan's so-called new Swordsmanship was just Zanjutsu with a different name,
but what he had shown her had set her blood racing.
It was a system built entirely around Swordsmanship and Zanjutsu, a way to enhance the very nature of one's power. It was almost comparable to the revolutionary creation of the Zanpakutō.
Soul Reaper history could be divided into the time before Zanpakutō and the time after.
Before Zanpakutō were invented, Soul Reapers had always been limited in power and suppressed by Hollows and Quincy.
Only after Zanpakutō were invented did Soul Reapers pull decisively ahead of other professions, gaining an overwhelming advantage.
Not only could Soul Reapers accelerate the growth of their Spiritual Pressure through the growth of their Zanpakutō, they could also gain all kinds of almost cheat-like abilities by releasing them.
That was why Yhwach later sought to restrict Soul Reaper Bankai.
In their normal state, Soul Reapers did not have an overwhelming advantage. That only came with Bankai.
Some Soul Reaper Bankai abilities were so unreasonable that they could even surpass Spiritual Pressure and combat technique.
Ryūjin Jakka, for example.
The Swordsmanship power Nara Dan had demonstrated today was already every bit as effective in battle as Shikai—and perhaps even more so.
Let's see.
Nara Dan, how many more surprises can you bring me?
Meanwhile, the other captains skilled in Zanjutsu had seen Nara Dan's