X772
Over the past two years, Kurosaki and Laxus trained side by side without ever slackening. The regimen was harsh, day after day, and their bodies hardened under constant tempering. As they grew older, their height climbed quickly too. Compared to others their age, they were already unusually tall, standing out wherever they went.
Laxus's Dragon Slayer Magic progressed rapidly through relentless practice. However, he followed Makarov's advice and stopped using it in public. Kurosaki did not know Makarov's exact reasoning, but he suspected it was meant to protect Laxus.
Dragon Slayer lacrima was extremely rare. And if Selene, the Dragon God, was out there searching for Dragon Slayer lacrima, then exposing it would invite danger. Once people learned what Laxus carried, trouble could find him.
During these same two years, Kurosaki's growth crossed from "improving" into "transforming."
He successfully unlocked the first captain's power in full. Captain of the 4th Division, Retsu Unohana, including her Shikai form and a large portion of her hidden combat foundation.
He also unlocked all of Unohana's sword arts.
Kurosaki's proficiency with Unohana's ability had reached 85%. He could completely control her swordsmanship, her Shikai, and most of her hidden power. Next, he would gradually work toward the even more terrifying level, Bankai.
At this point, even Kurosaki had to admit it.
The "weak to strong" sequence the system presented had been wrong.
The corrected core sequence, from "superficially weaker" to stronger, was:
4th Division Captain Retsu Unohana (first Kenpachi, focused on healing and close combat)
12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi (technology and utility-oriented)
8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyoraku
13th Division Captain Jushiro Ukitake
3rd Division Captain Gin Ichimaru
10th Division Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya
7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura
9th Division Captain Kaname Tosen
6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki
5th Division Captain Sosuke Aizen
2nd Division Captain Soi Fon
1st Division Captain Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto (strongest)
Kurosaki already possessed Unohana's base abilities.
On top of that, he had unlocked her complete swordsmanship.
As the first Kenpachi, Unohana had reached extreme heights in both healing and close combat. Her combat power far surpassed every mage in Fairy Tail. Her Shikai alone could crush S-Class mages with ease, and her Bankai would be near-invincible in this world.
Unohana, both the 4th Division Captain and the first Kenpachi, was unquestionably a peak close-range swordmaster among the Gotei 13. Her core combat power revolved around "top-level sword arts, spiritual pressure control, and healing."
On the surface, because the 4th Division handled medical work, she left people with a gentle impression. In reality, she was nearly unmatched in close combat. Most of her hidden strength was concentrated in swordsmanship and spiritual pressure, placing her in the upper-middle tier among captains by raw combat. Her strength far exceeded what Kurosaki would later unlock from Mayuri.
...
Minazuki, Shikai, fully mastered
Unohana's Shikai was a biological-type Zanpakuto. Its blade was more curved than a typical Zanpakuto, and after Kurosaki unlocked it, he could activate Shikai freely at will.
Once Shikai activated, Minazuki transformed into a massive, flat, single-eyed creature resembling a manta ray.
This form carried both healing and offense to an extreme.
Healing
Once an injured person, whether another person or Kurosaki himself, was swallowed by Minazuki, they would be healed instantly. Even if Dragon Slayer Magic pierced a vital point and caused magic power collapse, the damage could be repaired completely in a single second.
This healing speed and effect vastly exceeded every healing spell currently known in Fairy Tail's world. It could even repair damage to a mage's magic core.
Offense
Minazuki could carry Kurosaki and his companions in flight, and it could release high-density spiritual pressure shockwaves.
One shockwave could shatter dozens of low-tier mages in a single strike. Meanwhile, the creature's surface carried a reishi shield that could negate all magic below S-Class. Even if Laxus unleashed Dragon Slayer lightning at full power, it could not leave a scratch on that shield.
If Shikai were released at full output, Minazuki's spiritual pressure could cover the entire Fairy Tail guildhall. The shockwave could fling the guild building itself, while the healing could simultaneously restore every ally. In offensive terms, it could overwhelm any S-Class mage without resistance.
...
Minazuki, Bankai, Minazuki, not yet unlocked
Unohana's Bankai was the concentrated embodiment of her close-combat peak.
When released, blood would seep across a wide area from the blade and the environment itself. The sword would transform into a blood-like blade that could extend and bend freely, creating a scene that was both brutal and intimidating.
By Bleach's setting, Minazuki's core effect was "slashing equals dissolution." Anything cut by the blood blade, whether magic, mage, or building, would melt directly into blood.
At the same time, the Bankai imposed an overwhelming mental terror, forcing enemies into a hallucination of themselves reduced to skeletons, crushing their will to fight.
More terrifying still, in Bankai, Unohana's sword power doubled, and her spiritual pressure density could dominate even the Ten Wizard Saints. Once released, the blood blade's range could blanket the entire Magnolia district. In front of that dissolving force, no one could resist.
In other words, "Bankai equals invincibility in the Fairy Tail world."
...
Hidden strength, mostly unlocked, including complete swordsmanship
Complete sword arts
As the first Kenpachi, Unohana's sword system was extremely broad. It included unarmed sword arts, one-sword style, two-sword style, Shunpo-combined cutting arts, and spiritual pressure slashes.
Even without a sword, she could cut down magical attacks using palm strikes infused with spiritual pressure. In one-sword style, she could cleave through mountains. In two-sword style, she could defeat dozens of S-Class mages at once.
With Shunpo combined, she could achieve a state where the sword strike had not yet arrived, but the blade wind had already wounded the enemy.
Even compared to Erza, Fairy Tail's future strongest close-combat specialist, her swordsmanship would look like a child playing in front of Unohana.
Spiritual pressure self-healing
Even after taking Dragon Slayer Magic head-on, Unohana could rapidly repair her body. In severe, near-death states, she could recover fighting capability in seconds, dozens of times faster than Fairy Tail's top healing spells.
Precision spiritual pressure control
She could compress spiritual pressure into hair-thin light blades, or expand it into powerful wide-area attacks. Her spiritual pressure purity far exceeded a mage's magic power. Even a thread of it could suppress low-tier mages.
The first Kenpachi's killing intent
Unohana's sword carried a terrifying killing intent. Once released, it could paralyze fear into every mage in Fairy Tail, including Makarov himself. With killing intent layered on top, her sword power doubled again, displaying the dignity and weight of the first Kenpachi.
...
With Unohana's spiritual pressure reinforcing him, Kurosaki also completed his own reishi strengthening.
His physical durability had become absurd, surpassing any armor in Fairy Tail's world. In every battle he had experienced so far, he had never encountered an attack capable of breaking his defense. Even a high-grade monster's full-force strike would leave nothing but a faint pale mark.
Even Erza's famed Adamantine Armor would be useless against Kurosaki's current defense.
This was because Unohana's spiritual pressure could form an invisible barrier, and when combined with Kurosaki's reishi strengthening, it created layered protection.
This protection resisted physical force and also blocked magical corrosion.
On Ishgar, there was no detailed power scale below S-Class. Usually, any mage with real ability gained some local reputation, while S-Class simply became more famous. Even so, the gap between S-Class mages could be enormous.
In Kurosaki's eyes, many "S-Class" mages across various guilds were famous but hollow. Against Unohana's Shikai, they would have no chance at all, and that was without even mentioning the future Bankai.
As for the other Gotei 13 captains, many of them had Shikai that could crush Unohana's Shikai with ease. The difference in combat power was as vast as heaven and earth.
...
During this time, Cana Alberona arrived at Fairy Tail exactly as expected. Her purpose was to find her father, Gildarts.
Cana was only six years old, and she had not awakened magic yet. She also had no formal training. But considering she had just lost her mother, Makarov ultimately allowed her to join.
Gildarts returned briefly, spoke only a few words with Cana, then left again for another job.
He didn't recognize her.
And Cana couldn't bring herself to reveal the truth.
In that moment, Makarov unintentionally played the role of "obstacle," standing beside them and repeatedly urging Gildarts to hurry up and leave for the mission.
After that day, Cana often looked quietly sad. Both Kurosaki and Laxus noticed it immediately.