I'm Invincible Now! / Unohana: "I Don't Believe It."

And just like that, the prototype Shinigami Uniform was born.

Besides the standard Shinigami Uniform, there was the Captain's Haori worn by each captain. It was a pure white cloak with an uneven hem that resembled bird feathers, hence its name!

It had no practical use, but it looked cool!

Imagine thirteen captains in Shinigami Uniforms and Captain's Haori, moving freely through an army and taking enemy commanders' heads as easily as reaching into a bag. What a sight that would be!

Yamabuki Chidori had prepared one for himself, too. But instead of a squad number, the back of his haori bore the character for "strategist." He was the real deal!

Should he get a feather fan to go with it? He could wave it while facing the enemy and watch their warships turn to ash amid casual laughter! "Cool" wouldn't begin to cover it.

All right, that was going too far. Ahem!

Soon, thanks to Shūtara Senjumaru's efforts, Soul Society's first Shinigami Uniform and Captain's Haori were finished. Yamabuki Chidori took them straight to the Captain Commander.

Yamamoto was delighted. With a wave of his hand, he allocated a substantial sum to produce Shinigami Uniforms.

The Captain Commander was already wearing the Captain's Haori Yamabuki Chidori had brought him.

After handling his squad's affairs, Yamabuki Chidori returned to the underground training ground at home. At its center were two hot springs: replicas of Bone Hell and Blood Pool Hell.

Yamabuki Chidori had discovered that his talent extended beyond combat. He learned far faster than most people, too. After analyzing the formulas for the two springs, he quickly recreated them.

He truly was a Child of Destiny.

A note on Retsu Unohana's abilities

Unohana would appear soon, so here was a note on her abilities.

There were currently two prevailing theories about her Bankai.

First: excessive healing caused cellular necrosis, which was why Kenpachi Zaraki instantly became a skeleton. Another theory held that his transformation was the awakening of his own power—Nozarashi, the bones exposed in the wilderness.

Second: a rule-based ability, Causal Acceleration.

Birth was the "cause"; death, decay, and becoming bones were the "effect." Kajōtenketsu accelerated that process.

If so, her Shikai might not simply heal. It might also use Causal Acceleration.

For example, if someone had a small cut on their hand, its eventual outcome would be healing.

But during the Blood War, Rukia, Byakuya, and Renji were gravely injured, with death as the likely outcome. Using her Shikai on them might have hastened their deaths. That could have exceeded Unohana's healing limits, forcing them to be sent to the Zero Division.

So I personally lean toward the second theory. What do you think? Leave a comment and discuss it.

If no one objects, Unohana will appear in the next day or two, and her Bankai will have the rule-based ability Causal Acceleration.

Of course, that's just my opinion. Take it or leave it. If you disagree, go with your own interpretation. Blame Kubo for not explaining such a cool ability properly. Hmph!

I'm Invincible!

Everything was ready.

Now Yamabuki Chidori had to figure out how to perfect his Perfect Sanctification.

It was an ability that could save his life at a critical moment. He could never reveal it unless he had no other choice.

Besides, his Perfect Sanctification was still incomplete. How could he tolerate being left utterly wrecked every time he used it?

That was why he had shamelessly gone to Tenjirō Kirinji and stolen the Blood Pond and Bone Hell: to keep refining it.

Yamabuki Chidori stripped off his clothes, closed his eyes, and began devouring the surrounding Reishi. Soul Society's Reishi density was lower than Hueco Mundo's, but far higher than the World of the Living's. Before long, he felt he had reached his limit.

Taking in any more would exceed what he could control. Quantity would become quality, dealing tremendous damage to his body.

"A little at a time! Don't rush!" Yamabuki Chidori slowed his absorption of Reishi. But a tearing pain soon struck his back, blood gushed out, and a pair of wings of light emerged. He had entered Perfect Sanctification again.

That power beyond mortal limits descended upon him once more.

This time, he paid closer attention to the changes inside him. Every cell brimmed with power, but once that power reached a certain point, the cells began to suffer damage. He could endure it briefly. Back in Hueco Mundo, he had chased Baraggan and slashed at him for an hour, leaving his body on the verge of collapse. Now, the damage had only just begun.

He hurriedly released Perfect Sanctification. Blood immediately poured from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and he toppled over. Without a word, he jumped into the Bone Pool and began repairing the damage.

This time, his injuries were minor. He recovered fully within minutes.

Apparently, the strain depended heavily on how long he maintained Perfect Sanctification.

Could prolonged training strengthen his cells, allowing them to contain more power?

Just as a person's muscles gradually grew stronger through exercise.

But the human body could not grow stronger without limit. Once it reached a certain point, no amount of effort would bring further improvement. That was its biological limit.

Shinigami, Quincy, and Hollows each had their own limits.

Yamabuki Chidori trained himself this way, but his cells soon reached their limit.

He could maintain Perfect Sanctification for barely thirty seconds. Beyond that, the overload would cause his cells to break down!

"Am I destined to be a thirty-second man for the rest of my life?" Yamabuki Chidori stared at the two hot springs in frustration. Thirty seconds was practically useless.

"So this is what they call a limit?" Yamabuki Chidori began to understand why Aizen had chosen the Hogyoku to break past his own. It was unbearable to see so much road ahead when his body could go no farther.

It was like sitting before a table laden with delicacies and feeling full after eating less than a thousandth of them. Your eyes told you to keep eating, but your stomach warned that another bite might kill you.

It was torture!

The next day, Yamabuki Chidori arrived at the Gotei 13 dining hall with dark circles under his eyes and stared at the cup in front of him.

After thinking all night, he had found a solution: increase his Reiatsu by any means necessary.

A Shinigami's body was made of Reishi. In theory, if their Reiatsu was strong enough, there was no limit to how strong their body could become.

If he had Xue Lan's Reiatsu and combined it with Perfect Sanctification, he would even dare flick Yhwach on the forehead twice.

But since his Reiatsu had reached Captain-level, its growth had gradually slowed.

"Brother Yamabuki, what's on your mind? Don't you like today's food? If you don't want it, can I have it?" Chōjirō Sasakibe quietly reached over with his chopsticks. Yamabuki Chidori caught him and gave him two sharp flicks on the forehead.

"You dare steal food right from under my nose? You're getting bolder!" Yamabuki Chidori laughed. "Here's a question. See this cup? How would you fit this whole pot of tea into it?"

The pot held enough tea to fill three cups to the brim. Yamabuki Chidori had thought it was a difficult problem, but Chōjirō Sasakibe solved it in the simplest possible way.

He fetched three cups.

Then he filled them one by one.

"Is that a riddle? Trying to test me again?" Chōjirō Sasakibe asked with a smile.

Yamabuki Chidori could not smile. He stared at the three cups, his expression turning grave.

Holy shit!

So that's another way to solve it!

No need to fret over smashing the cup or buying a bigger one!

Why not just get more cups of the same size?

Yamabuki Chidori clapped Chōjirō Sasakibe hard on the shoulder. "You really are a little genius! Ask the Captain Commander for some time off for me. Tell him I have something to handle and I'll be back this afternoon."

Yamabuki Chidori turned and headed back to his basement.

What Chōjirō Sasakibe had done reminded him of an old problem.

Years ago, basic cell phones had tiny memories, only a few kilobytes. But people wanted to listen to music and read novels, and a few kilobytes were nowhere near enough. So they invented memory cards.

The small ones held hundreds of megabytes; the large ones, more than ten gigabytes. Back then, that was plenty for music and novels.

Why not install a "memory card" in his own body?

If his body could not withstand Perfect Sanctification's side effects, he could make the "memory card" bear the burden instead. That would solve the problem perfectly!

After a moment's thought, Yamabuki Chidori drew his Zanpakuto.

A Zanpakuto's true function was something like a conduit: it drew out a Shinigami's innate abilities. In other words, Yamabuki Chidori's own ability was spatial manipulation, and Perfect Sanctification greatly amplified it.

Yamabuki Chidori grinned. There was a way.

He held out his Zanpakuto and tried to create two miniature spaces. It worked.

He concentrated all the Reishi he had absorbed inside them. Since he had created both spaces with his own power, the Reishi within them was also part of his body. Once its concentration reached a certain point, Yamabuki Chidori activated Perfect Sanctification again.

Exactly as he had expected!

This time, the two miniature spaces bore the strain of Perfect Sanctification instead of his body. As long as he devoted a small portion of his Reiatsu to keeping them intact, he could maintain Perfect Sanctification indefinitely!

"Hahahaha! I'm invincible! Hahahahaha!"

Unohana: "I Don't Believe It."

Spring was in full bloom. A warm breeze brushed against the skin, tender shoots rose from the grass, and little wildflowers along the path were budding. A faint fragrance drifted through the air.

The sound of a babbling stream came from the distance.

A young woman's fair feet rested in the cool water as she hummed a carefree tune.

Unohana had taken her time on the road and had finally reached Rukongai, not far from Seireitei.

With her feet in the stream, it felt as though the water had washed away all her weariness. Unohana gazed at the beautiful scene with a gentle expression, in excellent spirits.

Just then, two men carrying firewood passed by. At the sight before them, their faces twisted with terror. They cried out, abandoned their wood, and fled!

Unohana tilted her head slightly. They were only ordinary woodcutters, so she paid them no mind.

Behind her lay corpses packed together and piled into a small mountain. Every one of them had died from a single blow. She had needed no second strike.

Their blood had soaked deep into the soil. The flowers and grass here would surely grow beautifully next year!

At the thought, Unohana smiled tenderly.

She had taken considerable trouble to keep the stream clean.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm!" Unohana resumed her cheerful tune. Soon, however, someone else arrived.

It was a gaunt young man with a gloomy face. The bloody scene did not frighten him in the slightest; he only sighed.

Why do I always end up stumbling into these things?

Unohana turned and asked softly, "Have you come to kill me?"

"No. I'm just an ordinary passerby. I don't want to get dragged into this mess. Goodbye!" The young man promptly walked away without looking back.

Unohana suddenly flicked her hand, sending a concealed dart at the back of his head. He spun around, pressed his palms together, and caught it firmly between them.

"You're so pretty, but your personality is awful. What a terrifying woman!" Though the young man called her terrifying, a different light had appeared in his eyes.

Unohana lifted her feet from the stream and stepped onto the soft grass.

"You're strong. What's your name?" Unohana asked.

She also noticed the sword at his waist.

The young man said helplessly, "The scariest thing in the world is getting tangled up with an unreasonable woman! But I suppose telling you my name won't hurt. I'm Shijima Chiru, just a good-for-nothing drifting through life!"

Before he finished speaking, a blade flashed down from above.

Shijima Chiru instantly drew his sword and raised it to meet hers. The blades collided, and an irresistible force drove him to one knee.

"Hey... are you really a woman? Is there a gorilla hiding inside you?" Shijima Chiru delivered the insult with a perfectly straight face.

A moment later, he could no longer speak. He realized she was overpowering both his hands with just one of hers.

A hint of surprise entered Unohana's eyes.

It had been a long time since anyone had blocked one of her strikes!

She twisted and drove her foot into Shijima Chiru's abdomen.

"Ugh!" Shijima Chiru flew backward. He could feel that his ribs had broken.

"Wait, wait, wait! I'm just a passerby! Why did you suddenly draw your sword on me? We've never had a grudge. Can't you just let me go?" Shijima Chiru cried in panic.

What met him instead was a sword flash that seemed to split heaven and earth!

Shijima Chiru's pupils contracted. Never in his life had he seen a sword move so fast. He retreated in an instant, but he could not outrun that ghostly flash. Blood sprayed into the air as the blade pierced Obana Danjirou's shoulder.

"I let it go because you're a woman! But if you insist on pushing me..." Shijima Chiru's gloomy expression vanished, replaced by an icy glare!

His uninjured arm swept out, sending two throwing darts straight at her.