The operating room's incandescent surgical lights came on, casting a cold white glow over the stainless steel instrument tray.
Maggie stood beside it, stiff and awkward as she introduced the supplies on the shelves.
"Retsu, over here are the hemostats, tissue scissors, and sutures in various sizes. The sterilization cabinet is on the left. It holds autoclaved surgical gowns and gloves."
Retsu Unohana listened quietly, her slender fingers gliding over the cold metal instruments. Compared with the reishi tools powered by Kaido in the Soul Society, these little mass-produced gadgets seemed cumbersome and primitive.
She picked up a No. 10 scalpel and lightly rubbed the pad of her finger along the side of its blade.
"The edge is ground at too blunt an angle," Retsu Unohana said gently.
"It can cut through skin and fat without trouble, but it will cause unnecessary tearing when it encounters ligaments or calcified periosteum. When you treat penetrating wounds and debride the necrotic tissue around their edges, using a blade like this will prolong the operation."
Maggie froze for a moment. Whenever she watched Yang Ming operate, the blade moved so smoothly in his hand that it never even paused. She had never considered the angle of its edge.
"Doctor Yang says lives are cheap in the East End, so there's no need to be too precise," Maggie answered quietly.
"Crude tools demand greater skill from the person using them." Retsu Unohana set down the scalpel and turned toward the nearby wardrobe. "Where are the white coats?"
Maggie hurriedly took a brand-new white coat from the wardrobe and handed it to her.
Retsu Unohana unfastened the Zanpakuto at her waist, wrapped it and its sheath securely in a sterile white cloth, and placed it on the bottom shelf of a nearby trolley. Then she