Hope for Squad 4's Rise!

Ichiro smiled. He knew it. Given the Captain's character, her first thought upon learning of this would never be to forge a powerful weapon. Ichiro pulled the booklet he had compiled last night from his robes and handed it to her.

"Captain, everything you wanted is in here. I've summarized the various healing-type Mimicry Zanpakuto that can currently be forged. I've already made a sample of each, but they weren't convenient to carry, so I didn't bring them with me."

Ichiro understood the simple truths of reciprocating kindness and repaying a drop of favor with a gushing spring.

To be fair, Captain Unohana truly valued Ichiro from the bottom of her heart. Even if she initially valued his talent, she had put in genuine effort, not only teaching him everything she knew but also helping him find an even stronger mentor for guidance.

Ichiro kept these things in his heart. Captain Unohana had two lifelong wishes: one was to die in battle, and the other was to save more people.

Ichiro could not fulfill the former—in fact, he might even have to go against her will—but he could certainly fulfill the latter.

The previous spiritual power recovery potions and healing potions were just appetizers; this was the real deal!

Combat-type Mimicry Zanpakuto didn't actually have much of a future. Don't let Ichiro's claims about the broad prospects of his Flame Sparrow fool you; he was the creator, so could it really be the same?

It still came back to the same point: a Soul Reaper's battle was a battle of spiritual pressure, not a battle of Zanpakuto!

Therefore, a good blade couldn't change much.

But healing types were different.

As mentioned before, in the current Squad 4, fewer than a hundred people could truly utilize Kaido for healing!

Most of the other members remained at the level of merely knowing how to use Kaido—that is, converting spiritual power into life force. When it came to advanced healing, they were essentially blind. Aside from those with natural genius, the rest needed a massive amount of time to accumulate experience and study.

After all, no matter how mystical it seemed, this was still medicine.

"Urging others to study medicine is a death sentence!"

That wasn't just a joke.

But healing-type Zanpakuto were different. How to put it? Aside from Kido-type, many Zanpakuto were quite counter-intuitive and leaned toward rule-based abilities.

For example, the Shikai ability of Hanataro's Zanpakuto in the original story was to absorb injuries and release them as attacks once a limit was reached. Now, a question arises.

The term "absorbing injuries" sounds simple, but in reality, it isn't scientific at all!

Those four short words conceptualized the phenomenon of "injury," then simply extracted and absorbed it. Once the patient no longer possessed the concept of an injury, they naturally recovered. That isn't medicine.

Of course, this was just Ichiro's speculation based on the description of Hanataro's Zanpakuto; he didn't know the specifics. Perhaps it was a more scientific ability, but in the current Squad 4, Ichiro could find concrete examples!

There were individual seated officers who couldn't use Kaido to heal—meaning their medical skills were insufficient—yet they could perform healing work thanks to the abilities of their Zanpakuto. This was irrational.

At the same time, this irrationality was the charm of the Zanpakuto. If every member of Squad 4 were equipped with a Mimicry Zanpakuto, the medical capabilities of Squad 4 would be absolutely heaven-defying!

Captain Unohana looked at the booklet Ichiro handed her and fell silent; the weight of it was heavy.

Ultimately, however, the Captain slowly took the booklet. She couldn't refuse; to the Seireitei, this was an epoch-making discovery!

After taking the booklet, to Ichiro's surprise, Captain Unohana slowly bent down and bowed. Yet, when she straightened up, she was startled to see Ichiro standing to the side, looking terrified and dodging the gesture.

"Captain, that's too much! You'll shorten my lifespan!"

The Captain laughed freely and shook her head. "You little rascal, you haven't told anyone else about this, have you?"

"No, you're the first to know. Don't worry, I'm not stupid."

"Heh, that's true." Ichiro's trust warmed the Captain's heart. "For now, don't spread word of this. Until you have the strength to protect yourself, no one can know. Fortunately, you're smart enough not to have stood out too much. Even if you made a bit of a splash this time, it's only once; the impact is minor and can be suppressed."

The Captain muttered a few words, then looked up at Ichiro. "I won't say anything more; I believe you know what to do. Keep attending the academy as usual, but don't go asking your teachers for more; they can't teach you anything anyway, and it would only expose your progress. I'll rearrange your instructors. You aren't the type to care about empty fame, right? Any objections?"

Ichiro shrugged and said casually, "I don't mind. Fame is optional; as long as I can keep doing research, I'm fine. If I wanted fame, I would have graduated long ago."

Hearing this, the Captain nodded. It was the truth; Ichiro's strength had long since met the criteria for early graduation.

"Alright then. Rest assured, with me here, you won't be shortchanged! This is important; I need to go discuss it with the Head Captain. You stay here and practice your swordsmanship. Practice each of the nine basic sword forms taught at the academy five thousand times. I'll check when I return. That is all."

Clang. Ichiro's expression froze instantly. The Flame Sparrow dropped from his hand to the ground. He stared at the Captain's retreating back, dumbfounded, and only reacted just before she disappeared, shouting, "Captain! Weren't you satisfied? Why do I still have to practice?"

The Captain, back turned to Ichiro, curled the corners of her mouth upward and said gently without looking back, "Yes, I am satisfied. But I never said that being satisfied meant you could stop practicing swordsmanship."

Ichiro: "..."

Kiyonosuke watched Ichiro turn a shade of gray, holding back his laughter as he leaned against a pillar. He "kindly" reminded him, "Nine basic forms, five thousand times each. If each form takes one second, that's over twelve hours. The task is quite arduous, Ichiro-kun. Ganbatte!"

Ichiro rolled his eyes at the "kindly" Kiyonosuke, sighed, picked up the Flame Sparrow, sheathed it, and then drew his sword again to begin practicing "swordsmanship" in earnest. This sight made Kiyonosuke's brows twitch.

"Are you really a third-year student?"

Even though he had only just become a third-year, this level of "swordsmanship" was unbelievable, wasn't it?

Ichiro didn't answer, just practiced silently. He knew how terrible his swordsmanship was.

Kiyonosuke sighed, walked over, and called for Ichiro to stop. "Hold on a second. It seems the Captain was blinded by your powerful Kido talent. Hell, how did you manage to achieve Shikai with such rotten swordsmanship? Is your Zanpakuto that foolish and easy to coax?"

Thinking of the swordsmanship and sword-zen he had practiced for so long to achieve his own Shikai, Kiyonosuke sighed again. The gap between people was even bigger than the gap between people and dogs!

"Don't follow the Captain's requirements for now. First, get your form standard; the arc of this deformation is way too wide!" While complaining, Kiyonosuke reached out to correct Ichiro's posture. "Very good, hold it right there."

Just as Kiyonosuke was protecting and guiding Ichiro's swordsmanship practice, on the other side, the Head Captain set down the booklet with a grave expression.

Thanks to White Dog Bark and Drifting Sail for the monthly tickets!