The Other Possibility of the Zanpakuto! (Seeking various things!)

"Head Captain, are we interfering too much in the affairs of the Zero Division? They are, after all, directly under the royal family."

"Do not worry. They are clever enough; no one can truly meddle in the power structure of the Zero Division. I am merely giving them a nudge."

"A nudge?" Captain Unohana looked at the Head Captain with confusion, not quite understanding.

"Hmm, what do you think of this invention, the Mimicry Zanpakuto?"

"It is worthy of being recorded in history. Head Captain, are you implying...?" The captain looked at him with some surprise.

"Indeed. If I don't nudge them, how will they ever apply for Ichiro's qualification? There is no such thing as a thief who steals for a thousand days, let alone a thousand days of guarding against one. Do not underestimate the enemy's intelligence, but do not overestimate it either. Only by becoming a candidate for the Zero Division can we completely sever the designs of those nobles. As for whether Ichiro goes to the Zero Division or stays in the Thirteenth Division in the future... Heh, didn't he already give you the answer the moment he handed this thing to you?"

"." Captain Unohana fell silent, then sighed. "No wonder you are the Head Captain."

What a dirty mind.

The Head Captain smiled and said nothing.

Compared to the smooth progress on Captain Unohana's side, Kiyonosuke, who was accompanying Ichiro for sword practice, was on the verge of a breakdown. Having lived for hundreds of years, he had never seen someone so clumsy!

When practicing individual sword moves, he was perfectly standard, but the moment he linked them together, it looked like he was just waving a stick around at random!

He had never seen such a foolish person!

"Ichiro, why don't you just give up on sword practice?"

"." "I already gave up, but the Captain told me to practice."

"."

"."

The two stared at each other in silence, then sighed in unison.

However, Ichiro did not give up. Although he felt no improvement after a whole morning of sword practice, he persisted. If asked why, it was because he trusted his Captain!

Time slipped away slowly during Ichiro's training. Although his sword sequences were not smooth, the sheer volume of his practice meant that his individual moves were starting to look decent.

Even so, it was nearly ten o'clock at night by the time Ichiro finished his five thousand basic sword strikes.

"Clap, clap~"

As Ichiro finished, gentle applause came from the side. He turned his head to find the Captain standing by a pillar, clapping softly.

"Not bad, you finished all five thousand. Continue practicing the basic moves every day from now on, but we can reduce the volume; five hundred a day is enough. Oh, and this doesn't count toward those two hours."

"." Although Ichiro still couldn't understand why the Captain insisted on him learning swordsmanship when he had no talent for it, he chose to trust her because of her constant guidance!

So, even though it didn't sound very reasonable, Ichiro nodded with a bitter face.

Sheathing his Zanpakuto, Ichiro walked toward the Captain and asked, "Captain, how is the matter with the Mimicry Zanpakuto going? Do you need any help?"

"Not for now. Just focus on improving your strength. By the way, how do you plan to develop your Flame Sparrow? I need to see if I should adjust your sword training."

"Flame Sparrow? I don't think so. I'm leaning toward developing Flame Sparrow in the direction of Kido, pushing the fire's capabilities to the limit. That way, it aligns with my current research. If I were to use fire to assist my swordsmanship, I would have to spend extra energy, which I feel isn't worth it."

The Captain pondered for a moment and nodded. "That makes sense. I understand. It's getting late, so stay at the division to rest tonight. You have to get up early for sword practice tomorrow."

With that, she turned to leave, but Ichiro called out to her.

"Captain, er, there's something I want to tell you. I'd like you to help me ask for leave. I have some research that will take a while, and I'd like to borrow a place in the division."

"Research? Very well. How long do you need?"

"Conservatively, a month."

"That long?" Captain Unohana looked at Ichiro with surprise, then asked, "Fine. Do you need any other help?"

Ichiro shook his head quickly. "No, just lend me that empty warehouse at the back of the division. And... please, other than you, don't let anyone else inside!"

"Is that appropriate?" The Captain frowned. "A secret is only a secret if one person knows it; if a second person knows, it is no longer a secret."

"It's fine, I trust you, Captain. Besides, this research is, how should I put it... a bit problematic. If I don't tell you in advance, it might cause unnecessary misunderstandings later, and I don't want to make things difficult for you."

The Captain watched Ichiro quietly for a long time before turning to leave, leaving only one sentence behind: "Fine, I will make sure no one goes in. I will deliver the food myself."

"Er..." Ichiro was stunned and quickly jogged to catch up. "Captain, you don't need to worry about food. My ability can create food."

"Don't talk nonsense. Put all your energy into your research!"

"Actually, it's not really necessary."

"Hmm?"

"Oh, I understand."

In the early hours of the morning, after dealing with the wounds of several critical patients, the Captain finally found some time to properly... return to her office to handle paperwork.

Back in the office, just as the Captain was about to sit down, she noticed a document placed on her desk. Looking at the familiar Kido barrier on it, she smiled.

"This kid, didn't I tell him it wasn't necessary?" The Captain casually dispelled the Kido barrier and opened the document. However, she had only read the opening lines before her smile vanished.

By the time she finished reading the entire contents, the Captain's brows were tightly locked.

She closed her eyes, seemingly lost in thought as several striking words from the document drifted through her mind. After a moment, she let out a deep breath, opened her eyes, and reached a decision.

"Whoosh~"

A ball of flame suddenly erupted in her slender hand, which was tightly clutching the document, burning it until nothing remained. Through the searing heat of the flames, a few words could still be vaguely discerned.

Alchemy.

Human Transmutation.

Another possibility for a Zanpakuto.