An Unexpected Opponent

"So strong..." Lin Nan leaned on his Zanpakuto, supporting his injured left leg. A powerful wave of dizziness swept through his mind, and his consciousness quickly began to fade.

"I couldn't hit her no matter what... My head's spinning... Did I lose too much blood...?"

"Three strikes... I'm... still alive. I won..." He forced himself to speak to Unohana in a weak voice.

Unohana watched him coldly without saying a word.

She hadn't truly put her full strength into that last strike, but it had still been enough to sever a Rukongai resident's limbs. Yet the white-haired boy had only gained two more shallow cuts, each barely an inch deep.

Could his spirit body really be that strong?!

She regretted not giving it her all, but the thought also struck her as ridiculous. As a Kenpachi, did she really need to use her full strength to cut down a Rukongai resident?

Behind Unohana, Nakata Ryunosuke looked at Lin Nan, who was swaying on his feet, and shook his head slightly.

It was rare for the captain to be in the mood for a proper fight, and she hadn't started by cutting off his hands and feet. He hadn't expected Lin Nan to be unable to satisfy her after all!

Even if he'd won, so what? He'd been wounded in so many places by Unohana Kenpachi. It would be hard for him to survive the night.

Just as everyone, Lin Nan included, thought Unohana was about to finish him off, a voice suddenly came from outside the temporary division barracks.

"Sorry to interrupt. Is Captain Unohana here? I'm a member of the 8th Division. I heard a Rukongai resident named Lin Nan was brought here." A handsome Soul Reaper walked into the barracks as he spoke. "I've come on my captain's orders to take him—"

Only halfway through his sentence did he notice Unohana standing in the courtyard with her sword in hand, and Lin Nan covered in blood. He couldn't help but startle and stammer, "Ah? This..."

Unohana was still in battle mode. A few drops of blood stained her face as her cold gaze fell on the Soul Reaper. "You're here to take him back? Sorry, he's not available right now. But you'll be able to carry him away soon enough."

The 8th Division member looked horrified and troubled. "But Captain Unohana, I was ordered to bring him back alive..."

Unohana's face was icy. She raised her long sword and pointed it at his face, saying nothing.

A faint killing intent swept over him. The 8th Division member felt as if he'd fallen into an ice cellar. He opened his mouth, but couldn't think of what to say. "I... I..."

Just then, a lazy, gentle woman's voice came from outside. "Honestly, Sister Unohana, you're bullying my squad members again. You're not going to cut down one of my people too, are you?"

A pretty figure entered the temporary barracks. The golden Zanpakuto at her waist caught the sunlight, reflecting a brilliant gleam.

The wind gently lifted her snow-white captain's haori. Against its orange lining, her slender black kimono only made her tall, voluptuous figure seem even more pronounced.

Her dark hair was neatly braided into a long plait. A pair of oversized black-rimmed glasses framed her palm-sized face, making her beautiful, limpid eyes all the harder to ignore.

"C-Captain Katori?" It took Nakata great effort to keep his gaze from straying toward her ample curves. "What brings you here?"

Katori Batsunsai was the founding captain of the 8th Division and one of the only two female captains in the Court Guard Squad.

Katori's bright eyes swept over Nakata's face before turning to Unohana. She feigned indignation. "If I hadn't come in person, not only would the person I'm looking for be done for, but my squad member would probably have gotten a thrashing from Sister Retsu too..."

Her eyes brimmed with innocence and grievance. "Sister Retsu, there were three of us sisters at the beginning, and now only you and I are left. I came all this way to ask you for someone. Surely you can't bear to cut me down too?"

Unohana looked at Katori, her expression softening a little. "You're here to cause me trouble again. He's just a commoner. What do you want him for?"

Without waiting for an answer, she cut in with a teasing jab. "Don't tell me you saw a handsome face and wanted to sneak him back to your barracks to flirt with him?"

Katori had just put on a pitiful look. At Unohana's words, she trembled with indignation, but then her eyes shifted, and she nodded like a pecking chicken. "Sister Retsu knows me so well. You saw right through me at a glance. I can't hide anything from you..."

Even though Unohana and Katori were as close as sisters, she couldn't help frowning at Katori's deliberately affected, squeaky voice.

That brat was obviously putting it on just to annoy her and take the man away.

Unohana pointed to the heaps of corpses nearby. "I hope you're not too late. If I've already cut him down, you can pick him up yourself."

Katori looked at the corpses scattered across the ground, her brows drawing together. With an exaggeratedly woeful expression, she lamented in a sweet voice, "What? No way! The residents told me he'd just been brought here, so I rushed over right away. Sister Retsu, are you really that quick to strike now...?"

Unohana got goosebumps from Katori's increasingly affected voice and snapped, "Talk normally!"

Katori immediately fell silent and pouted at Unohana's cold face. "Hmph! So where's the person I came to find?"

"Can't you see the very bloody person standing right in front of me?"

Only then did Katori turn around with an exaggerated look of surprise and glance at Lin Nan, who was already looking dazed.

"Huh? It really is him? That's awful. He actually managed to cross swords with Sister Retsu—wait, he's pretty handsome—he's lost so much blood. Is he going to die?! That's awful, Sister Retsu, you actually crossed swords with him!"

Unohana Retsu lightly shook her sword, flicking off the blood, and pursed her lips. "Hard to say whether he'll die, but he's already lasted three strikes."

Katori Batsunsai put on an exaggeratedly regretful expression. "What? A commoner who lasts three strikes against you is as good as dead, isn't he?"

As if to prove her point, Lin Nan swayed twice and fell face-first to the ground.

At the sight, Katori immediately turned around. Her pretty face scrunched up as she pretended to scold Unohana. "Hmph! You really did kill him! He was such a handsome man, and now you owe me..."

Unohana raised her sword toward the sky and said coolly, "Saito used to take the blame for you. Now you're on your own. You know what to do..."

"Sorry for the trouble, Sister Retsu. I'll be going!"

Katori immediately turned around, ready to haul up the unconscious Lin Nan and make a getaway with her squad member.

While the farce continued, Lin Nan, collapsed on the ground, suddenly let out a deep sigh.

Everyone was still some distance away from him. He was lying face-down on the ground. And yet the sigh seemed to ignore the distance, reaching everyone's ears like a whisper from death.

"Heh..."

Before the sound had even faded, Lin Nan suddenly shuddered. He planted both feet firmly against the ground and kicked off hard.

"Thud!"

A tremendous, dull boom rang out as he shot forward like a cannonball, parallel to the ground, straight at Unohana. In an instant, he was right in front of her!

Unohana's pupils contracted. She hurriedly raised her sword to defend herself. But as she faced Lin Nan's unfocused, bloodshot eyes, she felt as if she'd plunged into the depths of the sea. Her arms were unbearably heavy, and she couldn't lift them!

Lin Nan's Zanpakuto was already raised high. He brought it down hard, aiming straight for Unohana's forehead!

The blade split the air in two, its piercing whistle drowning out every other sound.

"Whoosh!"

For an instant, Unohana nearly lost herself. She'd only just managed to raise her sword in front of her face. There was no time to defend herself.

Was this what death felt like? Was she about to die?

In the blink of an eye, another Zanpakuto appeared from the side, swinging upward to meet Lin Nan's blade!

Katori was standing between them, but she could no longer stop Lin Nan. All she could do was strike from the side to blunt his attack.

"Clang!"

The crossed blades finally slowed Lin Nan's sword by a fraction and knocked it toward Unohana's shoulder.

The pressure on Unohana's arms suddenly eased. She hurriedly raised her sword to counter, but she was still too late...

Even with two Captain-level swords blocking him, Lin Nan's attack wasn't fully stopped. His blade cut into her shoulder, and blood sprayed into the air!

It all happened in an instant. Apart from the two captains, no one else had even seen what happened.

That strike had set off alarm bells in Unohana and Katori's instincts.

For that instant, Lin Nan had seemed less like a Rukongai resident and more like an extremely dangerous, utterly crazed beast!

What would he do next?

The two women tightened their grips on their swords, keeping their full attention on Lin Nan as they prepared for another attack.

But Lin Nan swayed twice, fell to the ground, and lost consciousness completely.

The surprise hadn't yet left Katori's eyes. She looked toward Unohana with concern. "Sister Retsu, are you all right?"

Unohana let out a breath of relief and stared down at Lin Nan. "I'm fine. You stopped most of the force. It's just a flesh wound. Take him away..."

Katori looked over Unohana's injury with concern and, after confirming it wasn't serious, nodded. She and her squad member carried the unconscious Lin Nan out of the temporary barracks.

Nakata, standing behind Unohana, hurried forward and asked, "Captain, are you all right? Are you really going to let Captain Katori take him away?"

Unohana shook her head. Flesh wounds like this were nothing new to her.

She smiled calmly, as if recalling a fond memory. "She's the only little sister I have left. Let her have her way."

"But..."

"Nakata, put your sword away." Unohana cut him off, sheathing her sword. Her expression was utterly serious.

She gazed in the direction Katori had gone and said calmly, "A minor wound like this is nothing. We agreed that three strikes would decide the match. I was the one who failed to keep my word."

Nakata sighed. "That kid's sure lucky. He lost, but the captain still let him live..."

A few drops of blood stained Unohana's fair face. She smiled faintly and turned to leave. "I hope he lives long enough for me to see him again... By the way, we've received orders from the Captain-Commander. Next month, we'll leave Rust Face and move on to another district. Pass the word along."

"Yes, Captain! And where are we headed?"

"I haven't decided yet. We'll see when the time comes."

"Yes!" Nakata picked up his sword and took his leave.

Once the courtyard was empty, Unohana stopped and murmured to herself, "He was the loser? Nakata really doesn't understand anything."

"Though I didn't put my full strength into cutting him down, that boy's strength, reflexes, and spirit-body toughness already surpass those of most people!"

As she spoke, she looked down at the wound on her shoulder. "With swordsmanship talent like his, given time, he might really surpass me in swordsmanship!"

"What an unexpected opponent!" A hint of wicked amusement appeared on Unohana's blood-speckled face. "He already has such potential. The Zaraki Kenpachi he spoke of must be even more formidable..."

"Then next month, I'll go take a look at Zaraki District!"