Bleach: From the moment I was invited by Squad Zero

In the days that followed, Yanagawa would go to the kendo dojo of the Fourth Division almost every day.

The sound of wooden swords clashing together became the most constant melody in the museum.

During each sparring session, Liu Chuan eagerly absorbed the essence of swordsmanship, and his progress was rapid.

From initially struggling to hold on, to gradually being able to occasionally counterattack, to being able to withstand Unohana Retsu's unpredictable attacks for longer periods of time, and even beginning to comprehend her own sword techniques.

In this increasingly fierce confrontation, the soul of the first Kenpachi, which had long been shrouded in the guise of a gentle healer, seemed to be gradually awakened by Retsu Unohana.

Her sword strokes became increasingly sharp and unpredictable, and the calm, watery light in her eyes would occasionally gleam during the clash of exquisite moves.

A long-lost sense of joy and fervor, purely born from the battle itself, flickered within it.

That feeling wasn't the desire to kill, but rather the excitement of a climber encountering an opponent on a treacherous peak.

In this dojo where there were only two of them, she seemed to briefly shed her duties as the captain of the Fourth Division and once again touch the shadow of herself who once stood at the pinnacle of swordsmanship in Soul Society, known as "Yachiru".

Until one day, after a particularly exhilarating sparring session, the two stood facing each other.

Unohana Retsu did not sheathe her sword immediately as usual; instead, she lightly twirled the sword, the wooden blade pointing diagonally at the ground.

Her gaze fell upon the setting sun outside the window, and her usual gentle smile held a hint of reminiscence and relief that seemed to have transcended a long period of time.

"Yanagawa-kun," she suddenly spoke, her voice softer than usual.

"Didn't you always want to know why I gave up swordsmanship and turned to studying kamikaze instead?"

Liu Chuan paused slightly as he was about to sheathe his sword.

He looked up at Retsu Unohana. The sparring sessions he had been doing had made him deeply appreciate Unohana's love for swordsmanship. The pure joy she felt while immersed in battle was genuine.

This made the question in his mind grow stronger—how could someone who was born for the sword and enjoyed fighting be willing to give up everything to become a doctor who saves lives?

"Yes." Liu Chuan sheathed his sword, his gaze honest. "I am indeed very puzzled. Given the captain's skill and passion in swordsmanship, it is hard to imagine that he would voluntarily give it up."

"Heh..." Unohana Retsu chuckled softly, her laughter carrying a faint, complex emotion.

She turned around to face Liuchuan, her gaze becoming distant, as if piercing through the dojo walls and returning to a distant past.

"Many years ago, in pursuit of a stronger opponent."

She narrated slowly, her voice calm, yet carrying a heavy, almost fatalistic tone.

"So, I went to the most chaotic 'Zaraki Ward,' and then... by chance, I met him, Kenpachi Zaraki."

Yanagawa's pupils contracted slightly. Kenpachi Zaraki, the current captain of the 11th Division, was a man with messy hair, a scar on his eye, and a fighting style as wild as a beast.

When Yanagawa visited the Eleventh Division before, he had close contact with him, but...

"Captain Zaraki is indeed very strong," Yanagawa frowned slightly, raising the question that had troubled him for a long time.

"But if I may be so bold, through these days of sparring, I can sense that, given Captain Zaraki's swordsmanship and strength at his peak, he should... be no match for you."

This was a rational judgment he made based on his personal experience of Retsu Unohana's strength.

While Kenpachi Zaraki is strong now, he doesn't seem to have reached the level where he could defeat the original Kenpachi.

Unohana Retsu was not surprised by Yanagawa's keen observation. She nodded, her expression turning into a deeper, more complex emotion.

"Your intuition is very accurate, Yanagawa-kun," she confirmed softly.

"But... in the end, I lost that duel."

She paused, then revealed the shocking secret, her tone carrying a sigh of disbelief coupled with an undeniable conviction:

"Later I discovered that Kenpachi Zaraki, that man... was pursuing the pleasure of fighting, and in order to make the fighting last longer."

To prevent the battle from ending prematurely due to a disparity in strength, he subconsciously imposed countless shackles on himself, sealing his power to its absolute limit!

Liu Chuan's breath hitched. Self-sealing? Limiting his power for fun?

"That defeat was not just a loss in swordsmanship, but a complete negation and reshaping of the path I had pursued in the past."

Retsu Unohana's gaze deepened and hardened. "I realize that it's pointless to just try to defeat him while he's sealed away. I need to wait, I need to prepare."

She looked at Liu Chuan, her eyes brimming with the compassion of a healer and the resolve of a swordsman:

"So I began to learn the Way, not to save lives, but so that... one day, when that moment comes."

"I can use this ultimate technique of returning to the Dao to help him break the seal that even he himself cannot control! Let him regain his true self!"

Her voice, though soft, carried a martyr-like resolve:

"Then, have a showdown with him where both of you are at your peak, with no holding back!"

Even if the ending is that I ultimately die by his sword—this will be the inescapable fate of "Kenpachi," the final period I draw for that unfinished battle.

The dojo was completely silent. Liu Chuan listened quietly, and all the mysteries suddenly became clear at that moment.

The retirement of the first Kenpachi, the meticulous study of the Dao, the loneliness and expectation hidden deep in his eyes... everything has an answer.

It was a grand finale, preordained and prepared for only one person, paid for with their life.

"So," Liu Chuan turned his gaze back, his tone regaining its usual calm, "when exactly is this 'moment'? Did the captain anticipate it?"

Upon hearing this, Unohana Retsu gently shook her head: "No one can predict exactly when, but what is certain is..."

Only when the Soul Society faces an unprecedented crisis, a true life-or-death situation, when even the wise men of the Central 46 feel they cannot protect themselves and are at their wits' end, will the Soul Society truly find a way out.

They had no choice but to agree to release Kenpachi Zaraki's seal and unleash the power they couldn't control to save him in this emergency.

She paused, a sharp, insightful glint flashing in her eyes:

"Because they were also deeply afraid... afraid of Kenpachi Zaraki, who had fully regained his power and was completely free from all constraints."

That power was beyond their control.

In their eyes, a monster that doesn't obey orders and is capable of disrupting the existing power balance may be no less dangerous than an external enemy.

Therefore, they would never agree unless they were at their wits' end and could barely save themselves.

“…………”