Five Shinigami—each hailed as the strongest of their respective eras—stood facing one another.
The tension was suffocating; none of them made the first move.
"So," Unohana Retsu, Captain of Squad Four, asked gently, "care to explain why you two are here?"
Her tone was soft, but her smile—warm and graceful—hid something dangerous.
This was the woman known as the "ideal wife," the dream of every admirer of mature beauty, and also the first Kenpachi in history.
She looked at Jisei Kenpachi, who should have been sealed away in Muken, and Kuyashiki Kenpachi, who by all rights should have died by Jisei's hand.
"Well, you could say I… crawled my way out of Hell?" Kuyashiki replied, forcing a laugh.
"Special operation. No comment," Jisei said curtly, his expression unreadable.
"Oh~ so one of you clawed his way out of Hell, and the other's on a top-secret mission?"
Unohana's tone remained sweet, but her expression slowly shifted—her kind smile freezing into a cold, predatory mask.
The temperature in the air seemed to drop.
"Knew we couldn't fool her," Kuyashiki muttered nervously.
He could feel the killing intent radiating from the woman who had once been the strongest Kenpachi of them all.
Then, suddenly, Unohana chuckled lightly. "Haha… fine, I'll believe you both—for now."
"But then, what brings you two here?" she asked, turning toward Wazuke Kenpachi and Zaraki Kenpachi.
"I saw Captain Zaraki charge out of his division straight for Squad Two," Wazuke said with a calm smile. "I got curious what had him so worked up—so I followed."
A flawless lie. Smooth, polite, impossible to question.
"Oh my, so Captain Wazuke came out of concern for Captain Zaraki? How sweet~" Unohana said, her eyes glinting.
"Then… what about you, Captain Zaraki? Why did you come?"
Her gaze lingered on him—a gaze filled with both affection and something far darker.
"Isn't it obvious?" Zaraki barked, grinning. "I came to fight!"
Unohana's lips curved upward like a blooming flower after the rain. "Truly… such a pure soul."
"Yep! Kenny's always pure!" Yachiru chimed from Zaraki's back, nodding enthusiastically.
"Well then," Unohana whispered, drawing her Zanpakutō with slow, deliberate grace, "why don't you… play with me for a while?"
Her blade gleamed like moonlight on fresh snow—cold and deadly. Even among Kenpachi, few had seen such an aura.
Kuyashiki's brow dampened with sweat. Just drawing her sword changes the air itself… terrifying.
"Who cares who it is!" Zaraki roared, laughing maniacally. "As long as I get to fight!"
He leapt high, bringing his blade down with monstrous strength—
CLANG!
The sound of steel meeting steel echoed across the barracks.
The First Kenpachi, Unohana Retsu, clashed with the Eleventh Kenpachi, Zaraki Kenpachi.
To call it a "battle" would be misleading.
It was a slaughter—Unohana's strikes rained down like a storm, elegant and merciless.
One cut.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Each slash bloomed crimson across Zaraki's body, painting him in blood.
"When I first met you," Unohana murmured between strikes, "I suspected as much… and I was right."
"Tell me, boy—why have you grown so weak?"
Her sword pressed him back relentlessly. A few drops of Zaraki's blood splattered her cheek.
She licked them away with her tongue, expression darkening. "Unsatisfying."
"Weak?" Zaraki froze, trembling slightly. Faint, buried memories stirred within him.
Meanwhile—
"Heh… since Captain Unohana's already started, I won't hold back either," Wazuke Kenpachi said, his fake smile fading into pure hatred.
"Impostor… go back to Hell!"
His reiatsu flared violently.
"Hadō #91 — Senju Kōten Taihō!"
He unleashed the spell without even an incantation.
A feat worthy of his title as Grand Kidō Chief.
"You… used Hadō #91 without chanting?" Kuyashiki gasped. "Impossible!"
"Surprised?" Wazuke laughed. "I'm not the same weakling you remember!"
But before his attack could land—
"Bakudō #81 — Dankū!"
Jisei Kenpachi intercepted it effortlessly, blocking the massive spell with one hand.
"What—?!" Wazuke's confidence shattered.
"You really can't understand words, can you?" Jisei muttered, his voice cold and aristocratic.
His spiritual pressure spiked violently—
the entire area trembled.
"Hadō #96 — Ittō Kasō!"
Flames roared skyward, consuming everything. The artificial lake evaporated in an instant, the ground scorched black.
And yet Jisei stood unscathed, his calm gaze unbroken.
"Hey, hey…" a teasing voice echoed through the smoke.
"Jisei maybe don't go blowing up the entire division? Sougo's gonna be mad about his lake"
A tall man stepped from the haze—wearing a hawk-shaped mask.
He caught Jisei's burning blade with one hand.
"…You," Jisei said quietly.
"Oh? The mask's bothering you?" The man chuckled. "Fine."
He swiped his hand across his face, revealing savage, beastlike features beneath.
It was Kuyashiki Kenpachi—now hollowfied.
"You okay, Wazuke?" he asked, glancing back.
"Mind your own business!" Wazuke snapped, blushing furiously before vanishing into the shadows.
Kuyashiki sighed. "Like a rebellious son…"
He turned back to Jisei. "So, what now? Shall we finish the fight we left unfinished two hundred years ago?"
"…No," Jisei said firmly. "I came to stop you from fighting, not join in."
The irony was thick—considering he'd just obliterated half the division.
Kuyashiki chuckled. "Then I guess we're on the same side."
His gaze drifted to the bloodied figures of Zaraki and Unohana.
Unohana knelt beside Zaraki's battered form, running her delicate fingers across his chest.
Her smile was tender—almost loving. "Don't worry. I'll heal you… again and again… until you remember the strength you've forgotten."
If the scene weren't so drenched in blood, it might almost look romantic.
"…I'll take him with me," she said softly, smiling at Kuyashiki.
He froze. "Uh… be my guest."
"And don't worry~" she added sweetly. "I won't tell anyone about you two sneaking into Squad Two… if you don't tell anyone I drew my blade today."
With that, Unohana departed atop her manta-like creature, carrying Zaraki and Yachiru away.
Kuyashiki watched her go, exhaling deeply. "Finally… that goddess of death is gone."
Jisei vanished soon after, his form fading into mist.
Left alone amid the destruction, Kuyashiki stared blankly at the scorched landscape—no lake, no forest, no mountains. Just ruin.
"…You've got to be kidding me. I have to clean this up alone?"
Sighing, he released his Zanpakutō. "Eat away, Gakuro Corridor."
The blade's power stirred, sweeping away the debris—but the lake was beyond repair.
A few hours later, when Sougo returned with Marechiyo Ōmaeda, he froze.
"My forest… my mountain… my lake?!"
The once-beautiful Squad Two compound looked like it had survived a war.
Not long after, a new sign appeared outside the gate—painted in bold, unmistakable calligraphy:
"KENPACHI AND DOGS NOT ALLOWED."