The Unforgiven from Shinigami
Seireitei.
Inside the General Infirmary.
Kenpachi Zaraki had a dream he hadn't had in a long time. He dreamt of that bloody world, where not a single leaf had fallen from the twisted, gnarled trees.
In the winter of the North Rukongai's Zaraki District Ward, only human blood is warm.
He leaned against a large tree, his palms, shoulders, and the knife covered in steaming blood.
I remember back then, his knife was just as sharp and smooth as everyone else's, without a single nick or nick.
He was dreaming, then suddenly realized it was a dream, and then he woke up.
A little girl with short, pink, ear-covering hair stood on a stool. " Ken-chan."
" Yachiru "
He called out, then twisted his neck and looked around.
Yachiru Kusajishi smiled and said, "This is a ward in the General Infirmary. Unohana saved you."
Kenpachi Zaraki said with a hint of disappointment, "Is that so? We let her see our pathetic side."
" Ken-chan has always been handsome."
"How can a loser be considered handsome?"
Kenpachi Zaraki wasn't the kind of blindly arrogant fool; he understood that final blow.
If it weren't for Old Man Yama's intervention, I would have absolutely no chance of surviving.
" Ken-chan didn't lose!"
Yachiru Kusajishi shouted angrily.
Kenpachi Zaraki didn't quite understand why she was angry, and said in a deep voice, "Idiot, if you lose, you have to admit it."
"You clearly didn't lose! Shiro-chan used Bankai, which is essentially Zanpakuto with a person."
Yachiru Kusajishi, in her haste, raised both hands, then put them on her hips and proudly announced, "In that case, it's two against one, Ken-chan, you didn't lose at all."
"Ha." Kenpachi Zaraki was amused by the child's logic.
Yachiru Kusajishi angrily clenched her fist and said, "Don't laugh!"
Kenpachi Zaraki let the small Riot Games hit his face, his eyes filled with contemplation. " Bankai... Zanpakuto."
He has always believed that Zanpakuto are tools for fighting, not those who claim to fight alongside their Zanpakuto.
They're all a bunch of weaklings.
True powerhouses don't need Shikai or Bankai.
If he persists in this idea and doesn't learn Shikai and Bankai, he will surely be defeated in his next battle with Shiraishi.
To learn Shikai, one must know the name of the Zanpakuto.
Kenpachi Zaraki looked at the Zanpakuto placed beside the bed, its hilt wrapped in bandages, and its scabbard also wrapped in bandages. " Yachiru, do you remember when I named you?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Yachiru Kusajishi smiled and said, "Of course I remember! I even remember the few clouds that drifted across the sky back then."
"Oh, I see. Me too."
Kenpachi Zaraki laboriously raised his hand, grasped the Zanpakuto beside the bed, and drew the sword from its sheath.
"S- Ken-chan?" Yachiru Kusajishi's eyes widened, a bewildered expression on her face. Could it be that she was about to commit seppuku?
"Don't speak yet."
Kenpachi Zaraki stopped her from continuing, muttering, "That nameless pain has been forgotten by me for a long time."
Everyone around me was calling each other's names, but I wasn't...
His hazy eyes sharpened as he looked at the dented Zanpakuto in his hand and said, "Hey, you might have your own thoughts, but next you must tell me your name!"
The knife is still the same knife.
Out of place against the white ceiling, the incessant chirping of cicadas outside the trees seemed to mock someone's wild ideas.
Kenpachi Zaraki, holding his sword, shifted from anticipation to disappointment in his eyes, a self-deprecating smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Tsk, still not good enough."
Yachiru Kusajishi simply watched him quietly.
"Hateful."
Kenpachi Zaraki covered his face with his hands. In his previous duel with Azashiro, he could be explained away by the fact that he hadn't removed his eyepatch, which led to his defeat.
This time, even after removing his blindfold and unringing the bell, he was still utterly defeated. "I want to become stronger!"
He stared at the knife and let out a painful scream.
This is a feeling I haven't had in a long time.
He had developed a habit of suppressing his Reiatsu and weakening himself to fight others, all to ensure he could enjoy the thrill of battle.
But was that really a battle?
No way.
The kind of battle he craved wasn't some fake one; it was a battle that could threaten his life, one he had to fight with all his might.
Now, such an opponent is right in front of us.
But he was too weak.
"You will become stronger, Ken-chan."
Yachiru Kusajishi clenched her little Riot Games, cheering him on.
"We'll find Old Man Yama later. No, he's too busy right now and might not have time to teach. As for swordsmanship, Ikkaku and the others should all know it. Let's start with swordsmanship."
Kenpachi Zaraki rallied, changed his attitude, abandoned his contempt for swordsmanship, and learned every technique that could make him stronger.
He aims to surpass Shiraishi in the next battle.
Yachiru Kusajishi said with a smile, "Let's get stronger together. I know, Ken-chan is the strongest Shinigami."
"Now is not the time to lie here."
Kenpachi Zaraki threw back the covers, pulled the needles from his hand, sheathed his sword, grabbed it, and jumped off the bed. " Yachiru, let's go."
"Hi." Yachiru Kusajishi jumped onto his shoulder again and lay down.
Kenpachi Zaraki sneaked out of the window.
Outside the ward.
Retsu Unohana leaned against the wall, silent, her lowered eyes shrouded in shadow.
She heard it.
The subtle Reiatsu emanating from Zaraki upon his awakening did not escape her perception, and she rushed outside immediately.
They were originally going to go in, but they overheard Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi talking.
She wasn't trying to eavesdrop; she just felt the atmosphere wasn't right to intrude, which is why she stayed outside.
"Do you want to become stronger?" Retsu Unohana said, slipping her hand under her thick braid and touching the scar just below her collarbone.
That scene resurfaced in my mind.
The boy back then didn't Bankai or Shikai; he only had a Zanpakuto that he had stolen from somewhere.
With instincts sharper than any wild beast and an unparalleled, ferocious Reiatsu, she exerted an insurmountable pressure on the First Kenpachi.
It was truly as powerful as a ghost or god.
So much so that when she saw Kenpachi Zaraki again, she even doubted whether she had mistaken him for someone else.
The adult Zaraki than half as weak as he was as a boy; the difference was like that between an infant and a giant.
This is her sin.
If she had truly possessed the power to defeat the boy at that time, she wouldn't have made him fear that he would never have another opponent, thus sealing away his power.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have become so weak.
An idea flashed through Retsu Unohana's mind.
Perhaps, she could teach Kenpachi Zaraki kendo.
"Huh, Captain Unohana, what are you doing here?"
Isane Kotetsu's words interrupted her thoughts, "Oh, it's Isane. You can take your medicine back. Captain Zaraki has already left."
"Oh, with such a serious injury, how can he recover without resting for ten days to two weeks?"
"He's fine. Oh, by the way, if... never mind, it's nothing, you can go back now."