Swish—swish—swish—
Several figures landed on the street. The woman in the lead crouched to check on a fallen squad member, then shook her head.
"They went further ahead. There might still be survivors."
The woman wore a haori lined with pale cherry-gray. Her appearance was gentle and serene, with long black hair parted in the middle and braided into a plait that hung over her shoulder.
After rising, she looked into the distance and remarked with a hint of melancholy,
"This place really is as chaotic as ever."
The younger Fourth Division Soul Reapers behind her looked puzzled—why did their captain seem so familiar with the outermost district of Rukongai?
But the woman said nothing more, simply leading her team onward.
As the medical support unit of the Gotei 13, the Fourth Division rarely saw its captain—Unohana—out in the field. She usually stayed within their barracks, overseeing the treatment of severely wounded soldiers from all divisions.
This time, she had just finished a special mission and was on her way back when she unexpectedly encountered a distress call from a Fifth Division squad.
When Unohana and a few squad members landed atop a rooftop, she came to a halt. Her eyes wavered slightly at the sight below.
The others showed mild surprise—after all, the distress signal had gone silent several minutes ago. They'd assumed they were just coming to collect the bodies.
Pursuing and eliminating the rebels wasn't Fourth Division's responsibility. That task fell to more combat-oriented divisions, like the Second or Eleventh.
But the scene below was nothing like what they expected.
The rebels mentioned in the intel were all lying dead in pools of blood. And the one still standing wasn't a Fifth Division Soul Reaper—but a vagrant, holding a zanpakutō.
On the street lay ten rebel corpses, strewn haphazardly. At the center stood a man in ragged clothing, dragging the blade of his zanpakutō across his face to shave off the last of his stubble.
Who the hell calmly shaves in the middle of a pile of corpses?
Under the scorching sun, the man's face was rugged and handsome. After finishing, he sheathed his sword and looked up at the figures on the rooftop with what he believed was a friendly smile.
In that instant, several Fourth Division members felt an inexplicable chill. The scene was simply too surreal.
Unohana leapt down. Her white haori spread like butterfly wings. She landed soundlessly, her face adorned with a gentle smile, eyes squinting slightly as she looked at Hao.
That smile froze on Hao's face.
For the first time in a long while, he truly felt the threat of death.
It wasn't the cold threat of guns or blades at his neck—it was real killing intent. The suffocating pressure of a living being crushing him with overwhelming strength.
This.
This was what he had been seeking.
This was the world he longed for.
Those weak rebels, with their crude techniques and pitiful power, had barely served as a warm-up. There was no true thrill in fighting them.
But this woman—she shattered that disappointment the moment she appeared. He had only just arrived in this world. How many more peaks would he have to scale? How many thrilling battles awaited?
Just like the Terminal Space had said—he would face challenges unlike anything he'd ever known.
"What's your name?"
When Unohana finally spoke, the deadly aura disappeared. Her smile now seemed purely gentle and sincere.
"Hao."
He answered simply.
He had no intention of using a fake name to blend in with local customs.
Judging by the pressure she gave off—and her appearance and attire—he could roughly confirm that she was Retsu Unohana, the Captain of the Fourth Division in the original story (also known as Yachiru Unohana).
Hao could now roughly determine the timeline he was in. Since Unohana was already the captain of the Fourth Division, that meant Yhwach must have already entered his slumber.
As for exactly how long before the start of the original story this was—he'd need more intel to know for sure.
"Hao, did you kill these people?"
Unohana looked down at the corpses and asked calmly.
"The Soul Reapers were killed by those guys. I just acted in self-defense."
Hao answered honestly. He didn't want any misunderstandings. While he craved combat, he wasn't looking to die—especially not now, when he'd finally made it to such an interesting world.
Unohana nodded, easily accepting his answer. She didn't seem the least bit surprised that a vagrant had managed to take down ten rebels that even regular Gotei squad members couldn't handle.
"Would you like to join the Gotei 13?"
The squad members following Unohana were visibly surprised. They hadn't expected their captain to extend an invitation—let alone one that wasn't just for the Fourth Division, but for the Gotei 13 as a whole.
If Captain Unohana had taken a liking to Hao's potential, shouldn't she be recruiting him into their own division?
"The Gotei 13?"
Hao was caught off guard. He hadn't expected the first stage of his main mission to be completed so easily. From the looks of it, all he had to do now was nod.
"Only if you're willing,"
Unohana said with a gentle smile.
"Of course, according to protocol, you'll need to enroll in the Shinō Academy first. Once you graduate, then you can join the Gotei 13."
Hao pretended to think for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
He had a clearer idea now of what that wide difficulty range for this mission really meant. If the Terminal Space had a god's-eye view, then the path he was currently on was probably the easy route.
After all, in actual combat, those ten rebels had lower overall stats than him—and their technique was pitiful in comparison. He'd killed them without even getting his clothes dirty.
In contrast, if he had left this area and wandered the Rukongai on his own, the chances of unexpected danger would have been far higher. Not to mention, following the normal process, there was no guarantee the Shinō Academy would even accept him.
But now, with Unohana's personal recommendation, enrollment was all but guaranteed.
"Then let's head out. We're on our way back anyway."
Unohana glanced at the zanpakutō in Hao's hand.
"You can keep that Asauchi."
None of the nearby squad members were surprised by this. Asauchi, after all, were simply unbound zanpakutō—blades without a soul imprint.
Until a Soul Reaper drew out its true name and achieved Shikai, an Asauchi had no special abilities. It was simply a sharp sword.
When a Soul Reaper died, their zanpakutō usually reset itself, reverting to an Asauchi. At that point, it could be "rebound" to another user. (Though, admittedly, there were exceptions to this rule.)
That's why the Seireitei typically recycled unbound Asauchi—reissuing them to students at the Shinō Academy to forge their own bonds. As long as the Asauchi stayed within the Seireitei's system, no one would question its origin.
Now that Hao had claimed this one, the academy wouldn't issue him another.
He fastened the Asauchi to his waist and followed behind Unohana and her team. Their job here was done—other squads would come to handle the aftermath.
Internally, Hao was filled with excitement. As a martial artist, he was deeply intrigued by the supernatural combat techniques this world had to offer.
Compared to the rewards promised in his contract for completing missions, he was even more eager to learn the skills this world had to offer—right here and now.
And the Asauchi he'd just obtained—
in some ways, it was already a weapon worthy of being called a divine tool.