Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

This is a war.

The captains' meeting, which had been forced to be suspended not long ago due to the "invasion of the traveler," was urgently convened again after sunset.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni did not engage in any further discussion, but instead issued two imperial edicts directly.

The first thing was that the Seireitei immediately entered a state of highest alert, and all senior officers, including the vice-captain, were required to keep their Zanpakuto at all times within the Seireitei.

This order signifies that there are no longer any absolutely safe zones within the Seireitei, and battles could erupt at any moment in any corner.

Most importantly, the Captain-Commander grants all Captain-level Shinigami the privilege of "fully unleashing" their Zanpakuto during battles against Ryoka.

The issuance of this order itself carries extremely heavy significance.

It has always been an unwritten rule within the Seireitei that captains are restricted from using Bankai.

Because everyone knows that once the power of multiple Bankai is fully unleashed on this land, the resulting aftershocks will be enough to turn Seireitei itself into ruins.

Limiting Bankai is the restraint that the "Guardians" have over their own power.

At this moment, the captain himself dispelled this restraint.

This was to demonstrate to all lurking enemies the Gotei 13's determination to protect the Seireitei.

This was also to make it clear to certain people that any attempt to undermine the laws of the Seireitei would be met with ruthless crushing.

It signifies both the importance attached to it and serves as a deterrent to others lurking in the shadows.

.........

But all this chaos had nothing to do with Sasuke.

At this moment, he was still pondering what to do next. He was unsure of the significance of chakra in Aizen's heart, nor whether Aizen's promise could be taken seriously.

If possible, it would be best to rescue Rukia in the next few days, since the captains' attention is currently focused on Ichigo and his group.

Once Rukia is rescued, his promise to Yoruichi will be fulfilled, and even if Aizen captures her again, it will be none of his business.

Just as he was deep in thought, a series of unhurried footsteps came from the depths of the team barracks corridor.

Sasuke's eyes flickered slightly, and he slowly raised his head.

She was a gentle woman wearing a fourth division captain's haori, with her long black hair braided into a huge braid in front of her chest.

Her face wore a warm, spring-like smile that made people unconsciously lower their guard at first glance.

Fourth Division Captain, Retsu Unohana.

"Oh my, isn't this Sasuke, the sixth seat?"

The moment she saw Sasuke, Retsu Unohana stopped in her tracks, her eyes curving into gentle crescents. "We didn't have a chance to catch up after the last captain's meeting. Your body seems to be much stronger than before."

Her voice was soft, as if she were exchanging the most ordinary pleasantries with a junior she hadn't seen in a long time.

But Sasuke did not respond immediately.

His relationship with Captain Unohana is quite complicated.

Sasuke still remembers the scene when she "guided" him because he couldn't learn the Returning Dao.

Beneath that seemingly gentle spiritual pressure lies a bottomless terror.

"Captain Unohana".

Sasuke nodded slightly as a gesture of respect, but his voice remained calm. "You've come here to treat Madarame, haven't you?"

"Yes, it's all taken care of."

Unohana Retsu's smile remained unchanged. "Although Madarame's injuries look serious, they are all superficial wounds and have not affected his body. As expected of the Eleventh Division's captain."

She paused, then changed the subject, her gentle eyes subtly sweeping over Sasuke.

"But you, Sasuke-kun."

Unohana Retsu's voice held a hint of probing, "According to what you said at the captains' meeting, you had a very fierce battle with Captain Zaraki?"

"And he even unleashed his Zanpakuto during the battle, right?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he calmly nodded.

"Yes."

Upon receiving a positive reply, Unohana Retsu's face revealed a complex and indescribable emotion, a mixture of relief and, perhaps, a deeper sense of...guilt.

She didn't say anything more, slowly walked forward, and stopped in front of Sasuke.

She raised her hand and gently brushed Sasuke's still-healing wounds with her slender, fair fingertips.

"Sasuke-kun, you always seem to like getting yourself all bruised and battered."

Her voice carried a hint of heartbreaking regret, "I remember, you were like this when you first came to the Eleventh Division."

"Back then, you looked like just a kid, but you were crazier than anyone else on the team."

"Your eyes are very similar to Kenpachi's."

Sasuke's breath hitched at that moment, and his brows furrowed sharply.

"what do you want to say in the end?"

"nothing."

Unohana gently shook her head. "I just wanted to say something to you in my own name..."

She bowed slightly to Sasuke, her movements elegant and solemn.

"Thank you."

This unexpected thank you surprised Sasuke slightly.

"You helped him break free of a shackle that had bound him for hundreds of years."

Unohana straightened up, as if relieved, but her voice also carried a hint of guilt, "I should have been the one to untie him."

Sasuke's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"I don't understand you."

"hehe......"

Unohana let out a soft laugh. Instead of explaining directly, she turned her gaze to the distant sky, as if she were recalling something.

"Did you know, Sasuke-kun, a long, long time ago, the title 'Kenpachi' didn't originally belong to Zaraki?"

"It belongs to me."

Sasuke's pupils suddenly contracted. He knew that the name Kenpachi could be inherited, but he never thought that the captain of the medical squad in front of him would be the first Kenpachi.

"Back then, I hadn't given myself the name 'Retsu' yet. Everyone in Soul Society called me..."

Unohana slowly turned her head to the side, her gentle face still bearing the same smile.

But behind that smile lies a darkness so profound that even mountains of corpses and seas of blood would pale in comparison.

"There are eight thousand flowers of Mao."

The name exploded in Sasuke's mind as he stared intently at the woman before him.

Yachiru...

This name...

Sasuke's gaze involuntarily drifted to the image of the innocent, pink-haired little girl who always perched on Kenpachi Zaraki's shoulder.

It turned out to be the case.

"It seems you've already thought of that."

Unohana looked at the subtle changes in Sasuke's expression and smiled gently. "That's right, the little one who's always by Zaraki's side, her name is taken from me."

"Why?" Sasuke's voice was a little hoarse.

"because......"

The smile on Unohana's face was gradually replaced by a touch of sadness. "That's the only compensation I can make for that child."

Her thoughts seemed to drift back hundreds of years to the most chaotic time in Rukongai.

We returned to that scene where corpses littered the ground, and only one child stood proudly, holding a shallow weapon he had picked up from a dead body.

"When I first met him, he was a child who didn't even have a name."

Unohana's voice was very soft, "But the purest and most extreme 'fighting spirit' he possessed was something I had never seen in my entire life."

"I fought him to the death."

"That was the first time in my life that I experienced the pure 'joy' that battle brought."

She paused, her voice filled with self-reproach, "But it was also during that battle that I discovered something very sad."

"That child wanted to fight me, his only 'opponent,' for a longer time, and to not lose this 'pleasure'..."

Unohana's eyes filled with immense pain.

"He subconsciously sealed away his power."

"They weakened themselves to the point of being 'on par' with me."

Sasuke's heart sank when he heard those words.

Kenpachi Zaraki's power during that battle was actually far from being fully reserved?!

"From that day on, he lost the ability to hear the sound of his own sword, and he also lost the possibility of reaching a higher realm."

Unohana's voice was filled with unbearable guilt, "And all of this started because of me."

“I took away his only possibility, but I could no longer give him the same ‘pleasure’, so I chose to leave and become a ‘physician’.”

That heavy emotion was clearly conveyed through Unohana's words.

Sasuke remained silent, but he understood why Retsu Unohana was so concerned about this matter.

"I'm curious."

Retsu Unohana's gaze refocused on Sasuke, filled with inquiry. "How did you do it? How did you get him to break free of those shackles?"

This question reminded Sasuke of the end of that battle.

He looked into Retsu Unohana's expectant eyes and finally spoke.