Chapter 49: Recovery and Unohana - Bleach: This Captain Is an Uchiha

"Hiss... It hurts!"

Uchiha Yato clutched the pristine white bedsheet, tears nearly bursting from his eyes.

"Captain Unohana, please be gentler..."

"Bear with it. Or you can scream if you like." The beautiful woman in a white haori smiled gently. "I'll be quick."

"...Never mind, Captain Unohana. Please give me my Soul-Cutter Sword. I'll just bite down on the hilt."

"You boys always love showing off how tough you are."

Retsu Unohana shook her head with an amused smile, her hands never pausing as an extremely thin blade repeatedly pierced Yato's body.

The fascia and flesh were separated, the sharp tip reaching all the way to his bones. Yet the most terrifying and unbearable part was Retsu Unohana's Reiatsu invading his body.

Beads of sweat rolled down Unohana's fair face. Clearly, this was an exceedingly delicate operation, and it took no small toll on her as well.

"One-Sword Cremation is a forbidden technique not merely because it requires sacrificing a limb to activate. It is also because its flames can burn Reiatsu!"

"The decayed Reiatsu and necrotic tissue must both be excised."

"You are fortunate, Third Seat Yato. In today's Gotei 13, I am probably the only one who can perform this operation."

"However, you must rest and recuperate for the next month. If you cannot stay idle, practice Sword Zen... There, it's done."

Retsu Unohana finished the operation and stopped moving. She placed a hand against Yato's chest, checking her patient's vital signs.

The bedsheet beneath the young man had long since been dyed red with blood. He lay weakly upon it without moving, utterly exhausted in both body and mind.

Several medical officers from the 4th Division filed in, wiping down Uchiha Yato's body with warm water, changing the sheets, and pouring a great deal of medicine into his mouth.

"Finish this medicine, then sleep for a few more days. You'll be able to get out of bed and walk again."

"Thank you so much, Captain Unohana. I owe it all to you."

"Oh my, it's nothing. As the medical center, our 4th Division should naturally be guided by compassion. However..."

Retsu Unohana waved her subordinates away, bent down, and smiled with such a gentle, virtuous air.

"Yato-kun, why did you always avoid the 4th Division before?"

The young man grimaced and forced himself to answer.

"There are too many outstanding female Soul Reapers in the 4th Division. I was afraid I'd get caught up in it all. You know, at my age, I should be making the most of my youth to strive for Third-Class Reiatsu..."

"Is that so?" Unohana stroked her braid and leaned a little closer. "I thought your captain was the one who wouldn't let you come."

"Captain Unohana, why would you think that...?"

"Because she was afraid I would cut you down."

Unohana was still smiling. As an old Soul Reaper who had lived for a thousand years, time had left a mature charm upon her face, gentle and refined.

"I used to enjoy 'playing' with Saitō Immortal. Captain Hikifune believed that, since you also possess a Multi-Stage Release Soul-Cutter Sword, you would draw my attention."

Uchiha Yato gave a foolish chuckle, pretending not to understand.

"However, your Captain Hikifune has underestimated me far too much." The 4th Division captain abruptly changed the subject and cleared her throat. "I have long since cultivated my character and devoted myself to healing the sick and saving the wounded. Cutting people down is not something a compassionate healer should do."

Yato nodded like a pecking chicken, not daring to offer the slightest objection.

"Besides, Third Seat Yato, there is something even more important..." Retsu Unohana patted his head as if teasing a child. "Plucking a flower before it has fully bloomed would be far too wasteful, wouldn't it?"

After saying that, she left with a smile, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

Only Yato remained in the infirmary, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Please come get me soon, Captain Hikifune. It really feels like someone in the 4th Division wants to cut me down...

For the next half month, Uchiha Yato stayed at the 4th Division's Seated Officer convalescent facility, undergoing rehabilitation training with the help of the medical officers.

The 4th Division valued benevolence. It was chiefly responsible for emergency treatment and medical care for the wounded, as well as Seireitei's daily cleaning duties. It also repaired damaged Soul Reaper uniforms. From the nature of its assignments alone, it was clear that this division had a mild and approachable atmosphere.

Uchiha Yato was quite comfortable there. Aside from a certain deceptively sweet captain occasionally coming by to frighten him under the name of "mental resilience therapy," it was practically more pleasant than staying in the 12th Division.

During that time, quite a few people came to visit him.

The most frequent visitor was Byakuya Kuchiki. As Yato's former classmate and roommate of two years, he came nearly every other night, never empty-handed. Medicinal herbs and supplements treasured by the nobility piled up on Yato's bedside table like a small mountain.

Kirio Hikifune and Hiyori Sarugaki came three or four times. For a busy captain and vice-captain, that was already no easy feat.

The Seated Officers and Soul Reapers of the 12th Division also occasionally came bearing gifts. Their words were extremely measured and cautious, since Uchiha Yato was the Third Seat—a proper high-ranking Seated Officer, a major superior.

The rest were Soul Reapers Yato had met over the past half year. They were mere acquaintances, and their visits were simply matters of courtesy and social obligation.

Kaien Shiba did not come even once—his injuries were worse than Yato's, and he was still lying in the ward next door, unable to get up. He even had to be fed.

On the day Yato was able to walk again, he even hobbled over on crutches to visit Kaien Shiba. There, he found a beautiful young woman taking care of Kaien's daily needs.

That was probably Kaien Shiba's future wife, Miyako Shiba.

It was worth mentioning that Zaraki had vanished without a trace. Nowhere in Seireitei could that man, as savage as a beast, be seen.

Uchiha Yato specifically asked the Soul Reapers of the 4th Division about him. According to them, after escaping danger in Zaraki District that day, the man had regained consciousness, carried off a pink-haired little girl on his back, and left. There had not been the slightest hint of listlessness in him; instead, he had seemed viciously excited.

Yato understood. Zaraki probably had not gotten enough of the fight and had gone looking for stronger opponents to trade blows with.

As for Zaraki's safety... the young man had not worried about it in the slightest.

That was the future Kenpachi, after all!

Day by day, Yato's discharge date drew nearer. His body steadily recovered, and his Reiatsu grew back like flesh and blood.

That day, Uchiha Yato lay on his hospital bed as usual, legs crossed as he read the newspaper.

The paper was called Seireitei News, an official publication issued by the Ninth Division that recorded major and minor events throughout Soul Society. It even had matchmaking advertisements tucked away in the corners, making it quite popular.

The door creaked open. Uchiha Yato glanced at the medical officer in pink and casually asked in surprise, "Hm? Isn't it a little early for my medicine change today?"

What answered him was not a woman's soft voice, but a mellow male chuckle.

"Yato-kun, I'm sorry I only came to see you today."

The young man's pupils suddenly contracted. He put down the newspaper and looked toward the handsome vice-captain standing by the door.

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Recovery and Unohana