Chapter 224
“Ah?”
Hearing Kaelith’s shout, Hirako Shinji wore a puzzled expression.
Wait, besides , soone else is hiding there?
He followed Kaelith’s line of sight and flared his reiatsu perception.
Yet he sensed nothing at all.
He was about to conclude that Kaelith had made a mistake—that no one else was there—when a figure slowly erged from the alley.
A white haori…
Long braids bound at her chest…
Seeing who it was, Hirako’s eyes went wide.
Captain of the Fourth Division—Unohana Retsu!
So this venerable senior is here?
No, that’s not the question…
The real issue was that she’d been this close, and he hadn’t noticed her at all.
He had heard the rumors that she might not be so gentle in truth—that there was sothing fearso about her—but he hadn’t expected it to be this extre.
Then another thought struck him:
If Unohana’s ability to hide her reiatsu was so high that he couldn’t sense her at all, how on earth had Kaelith realized she was there?
Hirako’s gaze toward Kaelith turned… complicated.
Not long ago, during a casual afternoon chat, Aizen had ntioned that Kaelith was a “true genius.”
Hirako, who had seen countless “geniuses” in the million-plus year history of the Soul Society, paid that little mind.
He himself had been called one, back when he was younger.
But now… Hirako Shinji suddenly felt Kaelith might be even more impressive than he’d thought.
While he mulled it over, Unohana Retsu drew closer, her calm face carrying a faint smile.
“Yu-kun, surely you weren’t about to address in so… discourteous way just now?”
Kaelith blinked, feigning confusion.
“What do you an, Hana-nee? I’m not sure I follow.”
Hearing Kaelith’s casual use of “Hana-nee,” Unohana’s mouth curved slightly, as if satisfied.
In truth, while she appeared composed on the outside, she was quietly astonished. She understood better than anyone how deeply she had masked her presence.
Even Yamamoto’s two beloved pupils likely couldn’t detect her at such close range.
Yet Kaelith had casually discovered her—without even looking in her direction—and had known it was her.
Just how strong was his perception?
“Hana-nee, about this Kiganjō fellow—what do you think?
How about letting him inherit the Kenpachi title?”
Her attention refocused at Kaelith’s question.
She looked at the huge, dim-witted Kiganjō just a short distance away, and suddenly her eyes widened.
In that instant, the very colors of the world seed to drain. A dark, oppressive aura spread out, wrapping Kiganjō in layers of suffocating dread—like a giant invisible hand plunging him into frigid depths.
He let out a strangled cry, legs collapsing beneath him in sheer terror.
Staring at Unohana, his lips moved wordlessly in shock. Bile, tinged yellowish-green, spewed from his mouth.
“Aaah—aaahh!!”
Ignoring the pain, Kiganjō tossed aside his spiked club. On all fours, he scuttled backward, scrambling to flee.
Kaelith watched, feeling his horizons broaden.
Unohana had used nothing but pure killing intent to break a brute like Kiganjō.
He could imagine that in the days to co, Kiganjō would be too shaken to fight anyone again. Even standing on the sidelines near such a thing felt like wading through a sea of corpses, ghostly faces clawing to drag you under.
So this was one of the oldest captains in the Gotei 13, a warrior who had once fought alongside the old man Yamamoto himself.
Watching the terrified Kiganjō vanish into the distance, Kaelith felt a curious clarity.
Humans—by nature—are prone to compromise.
Like when shopping: you might set out determined to buy a particular product, but on the way, see a diocre substitute that “kind of works,” and impulsively settle for it. Later, you regret it—too late.
Kiganjō was that substitute: sothing you’d buy, only to kick yourself afterward.
Kaelith’s real target, however, was clear. He needed to find the man he truly wanted.
Zaraki Kenpachi.
…
Unohana withdrew her gaze from Kiganjō and turned to Kaelith.
“Yu-kun… how much do you know?”
She showed not the slightest concern for Kiganjō fleeing in panic. She focused directly on Kaelith with her question.
Yet Kaelith was genuinely confused.
“…Know about what?”
Unohana watched his eyes for a mont. Then she gently nodded.
“Forgive . I must have overthought.”
From Kaelith’s clear gaze, she sensed no subterfuge at all. Though this boy could be rather unpredictable at tis, he was truly Yamamoto’s disciple—a man who wouldn’t spin secret plots.
As for that “boy in the Zaraki District” from centuries ago… Kaelith must’ve just caught a rumor that piqued his interest. Thinking it over, maybe that was for the best.
If Kaelith managed to find that certain boy from hundreds of years ago, well… it would fulfill one of her lingering wishes.
The mory of that day rose in her mind, a sense of nostalgia.
Back then—she, the first Kenpachi, had t a child in North Rukongai’s District 80: “Zaraki.”
That child had used a wild, brutal sword style to defeat her, leaving a scar across her chest.
Her heart beat faintly faster at the thought of eting that boy again.
But then, her gaze drifted to Kaelith nearby.
Now that she really thought about it…
He, too, was a bestial fighter, relying on raw instinct. How would he fare against that boy from Zaraki?
In that instant, Unohana felt a flicker of surprise.
Where once she’d regarded that boy as a unique, peerless existence, Kaelith’s star seed to be rising alongside him.
Kaelith…
Yamamoto’s disciple had an ever-growing air of mystery.
Feeling a swirl of conflicting emotions, Unohana bid Kaelith farewell and hastened away.
She left so quickly because she feared if she lingered, she might challenge him to a duel.
Should she unleash the sword intent she’d protected for centuries—ant for that other person—on Kaelith, she’d betray her own resolve.
That… just wouldn’t do.
But… could she really say that for sure?
Leaping through the skies, the swordswoman felt her heart waver for the first ti in centuries.
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