Soul Society's Central Underground Prison, Lowest Level, Muken!
Unlike the upper levels, the lowest area was a vast space, not divided into separate sections.
At this very moment, however, this space was covered in traces of battle, with the faint scent of gunpowder still lingering.
Ishikawa slowly awoke from the time-reversal induced lethargy. He first checked his physical condition, and after realizing that the spiritual body condensed using the Dangai's time density had once again dispersed, he propped himself up and looked towards a spot not far from where he lay. What met his eyes was a figure with long, flowing hair, seen from behind.
As if hearing a sound, the figure slowly turned around.
"What did you do?"
This figure was none other than Unohana.
At this moment, Unohana's shinigami uniform was soaked with blood, and there was a large tear across the chest of her shinigami uniform, severing it.
But looking through the blood-soaked tear, what met the eye was not a wound, but fair skin.
Meeting Unohana's cold gaze, Ishikawa did not reply. Instead, he subconsciously glanced at the system interface in his mind, then sighed inwardly.
As expected, it wasn't that easy?
"I merely did as you wished and brought about a conclusion."
Ishikawa said, standing up from the ground, his thoughts already drifting elsewhere.
Although he had long considered doing this, knowing it might be difficult to increase Unohana's favorability, Ishikawa couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he saw no progress.
He didn't have much time left.
If Unohana was not an option, then he would have to find a way through others.
Current Experience Points: 846,400.
Looking at the unchanged experience points, several figures immediately appeared in Ishikawa's mind. Who should he seek out next?
Soi Fon, Cirucci, Harribel, Nel, Kotetsu Isane…
Figure after figure flashed through Ishikawa's mind.
To be honest, Ishikawa had always been somewhat hesitant about increasing others' romantic affection for him.
There were two reasons:
One was…
He had no idea how to increase others' romantic affection for him. Even after decades of hard practice in "socializing—" Ishikawa still couldn't grasp their thoughts. Most of those whose favorability towards him exceeded 60 points had inexplicably increased through daily interactions.
And the other reason was…
He couldn't decrease it!!
For three years, Ishikawa had been trying various methods to lower the favorability of those whose affection for him exceeded 60 points back below 60, as he had initially envisioned.
As a result, what Ishikawa had always thought would be a simple matter had yielded no results despite three years of effort.
It wasn't entirely without effect; at least, some Seated Officers, ordinary Squad Members, and some Arrancar from Las Noches had unknowingly returned to below 60 points.
But Soi Fon, Kotetsu Isane, and Cirucci,no matter how hard Ishikawa tried, their romantic affection showed no decrease whatsoever.
In fact, it had the opposite effect; for some reason, it even increased…
[Kotetsu Isane, Current Romantic Affection: 70]
[Soi Fon, Current Romantic Affection: 65]
[Cirucci, Current Romantic Affection: 63]
Over these three years, Ishikawa's rapid breakthrough was entirely thanks to the help of these three.
In three years, these three alone provided Ishikawa with nearly 1.3 million experience points.
Although Cirucci's romantic affection increased the least among the three, only one point in three years, that one point could provide Ishikawa with a staggering 320,000 experience points, which was three times Soi Fon's and six times Isane's…
Of the 840,000 experience points Ishikawa currently possessed, 320,000 came from Cirucci a few days ago when Ishikawa invaded Wandenreich.
The rest were also obtained a few days ago, with Harribel and Nel accounting for the majority.
[Harribel Favorability +1, gained 33,800 experience points, Current Favorability: 54]
[Nel Favorability +1, gained 14,000 experience points, Current Favorability: 49]
While the experience points provided by Nel had increased significantly compared to three years ago, they did not exceed Ishikawa's expectations.
However, Harribel's progress in strength truly made Ishikawa feel somewhat absurd!
Because if Harribel's favorability were to break through 60 points, she could provide him with a staggering 338,000 experience points at once, meaning her current strength had already surpassed Cirucci, who was the first to undergo his modification.
This even made Ishikawa doubt whether the system's judgment was wrong.
One must know that while this value was still quite far from the 480,000 experience points per point of romantic affection that Ishikawa estimated Unohana would provide after breaking 60 points of favorability, her current strength had already reached an extremely terrifying level.
Originally, Ishikawa intended to use this opportunity to see if he could increase Unohana's favorability.
Because if Unohana's favorability towards him could break through 60 points, then he could avoid a lot of trouble… Currently, just the romantic affection of Cirucci and the other two was already making Ishikawa somewhat overwhelmed. When facing their gentle gazes, he always felt a strange sense of fear.
So Ishikawa wanted to minimize and avoid others' favorability towards him breaking through 60 points.
But now it seemed…
If he couldn't obtain "quality—" he could only try to win by quantity.
Ishikawa scrolled through the favorability interface. Most of those whose favorability towards him reached 60 points could be directly excluded, such as Ise Nanao, Rangiku, Rukia, etc…
As a long-lived race, Shinigami's impressions of people are actually very difficult to change. In other words, some people, no matter how Ishikawa… uh… enticed them, would not develop any romantic affection for him.
While relationships might improve, it wouldn't be romantic affection, but rather feelings akin to family or close friends.
For example, Kukaku had always only seen him as a brother, a close one… And Rangiku treated him as a confidante with whom she could discuss anything…
Ishikawa looked around and found that not many people were likely to have their favorability towards him break through 60 points.
Among the Arrancar, there were Harribel and Nel; among the Visored, there was Lisa; and among the Shinigami Vice-Captains, there was only one, Isane's younger sister, Kotetsu Kiyone.
These four were only potentially able to break through. Ishikawa had no idea how to change their impressions of him.
As for the method he used with Soi Fon back then, it was actually more due to Ishikawa's decades-long interaction with Soi Fon. The confession merely served to change a deeply ingrained impression.
Moreover, this method was probably only effective on Captain Soi Fon and could only be used once.
Among the four, Kiyone was the only one whose favorability towards him had reached its maximum value. Normally, she would be the most likely candidate for a breakthrough.
But among the four, the one Ishikawa least wanted to increase… was Kiyone's favorability towards him!
Because every time he had such a thought, Isane's gaze towards him would involuntarily appear in his mind.
Although the current situation was critical enough that Ishikawa needed to resort to any means to gain experience points, he still wanted to avoid doing anything that would make Isane sad.
Still not enough!!
Ishikawa frowned, completely immersed in his own world, even forgetting that there were others present.
Unohana looked at the frowning Ishikawa, her gaze somewhat cold.
She had lost!
There was no doubt about it; she had even lost in Zanjutsu, her most proficient skill.
The battle process had also given her an unprecedented sense of pleasure.
The opponent was different from Zaraki. When fighting Zaraki, the feeling she experienced was… like her own child fighting her!
But fighting this young man in front of her, the feeling she got was…
Herself!
Fighting him felt like fighting another version of herself, one that could continue to grow!
This young man displayed Zanjutsu that was incredibly pure, almost identical to her own, just as she had anticipated when training him three years ago. It was just that the speed at which this monster was unearthed was far shorter than she had imagined.
Therefore, in this fight, she experienced an unprecedented sense of exhilaration and release.
The process was so beautiful, even the moment of death was no exception.
But now, that beauty was utterly shattered!
Because…
She was standing here!
"Why."
Her voice carried no emotional fluctuation, no doubt, no anger, just like a cold machine.
"Huh?"
Ishikawa came back to his senses. When he saw Unohana in front of him, he remembered that he probably shouldn't be thinking about increasing anyone's favorability right now, especially since his spiritual body had dispersed again, and Unohana Retsu had the full capability to kill him at this very moment…
Thinking of this, Ishikawa hastily dispelled the thoughts in his mind and changed tack, saying:
"Because I have already won."
Ishikawa paused: "And I won with your Zanjutsu!"
Unohana said nothing, merely looking at Ishikawa.
To fulfill one's mission and depart with joy is an incredibly fortunate thing.
This was also her millennium-long persistence.
But now, it was utterly shattered and trampled underfoot by this young man whom she held in such high regard.
This made Unohana tighten her grip on her Zanpakuto.
"You ask me why, is it because only one Zaraki can exist in the same era?"
Ishikawa's voice came again, and his words made Unohana frown slightly.
"Regarding the matter between you and Zaraki, I learned the details from Captain Commander. In your view, dying by Zaraki's hand, truly passing on the name 'Zaraki' that should have been inherited a thousand years ago, is your mission and duty, and the sin you've always spoken of."
"And fighting me is not atonement, nor is it a legacy, but an escape."
"To have me bear your sin and continue to fulfill your duty."
Unohana looked at Ishikawa, her gaze unchanged, because whether it was legacy or escape, the initiator of this battle was Ishikawa!
He chose to prevent her from fulfilling her duty and mission;
He also chose to bring about a conclusion with her at this time;
It could be said that this battle unfolded precisely because Ishikawa knew what she was thinking.
But in the end, he made her…
"Did you misunderstand something?"
Ishikawa looked at Unohana's chest, but seeing the expanse of fair skin, he immediately averted his gaze and continued:
"Unohana is already dead. You stand here not because my final strike held back, or because I healed you, but because of actual death."
Ishikawa paused, then added: "You died by the blade of 'Unohana'!"
"If you don't believe me, you can look at your arm."
Arm?
Unohana frowned, lowering her head to look at her arm. When she pushed up her long sleeve, what met her eyes were patterns that resembled wounds.
This is?
"My commission fee!"
Ishikawa met Unohana's gaze and chuckled: "This is probably the most unprofitable commission I've ever taken."
Oken~!
In Unohana's perpetually colorless eyes, a hint of unusual emotion flickered at this moment.
"Whether it was the first Zaraki, or the great villain of Soul Society history, unprecedented and unrepeated, who once claimed to master all schools and sword styles, and took the name 'Yachiru' for herself, Unohana."
"Both have already died in the battle just now."
"Yachiru and Zaraki, these two titles, now belong to me… Hmm, since I defeated Yachiru, calling myself 'Zaraki' Ishikawa Kyuchiru sounds pretty good, at least it won't get confused with little Yachiru."
Ishikawa's tone became serious here:
"There's no doubt that I killed Unohana. I think you're also very clear about this. And the corpse I revived with the Oken is merely the Fourth Division Captain — Unohana — who is gentle, composed, calm and collected in any situation, talented and beautiful, and brings a sense of security to her subordinates, in the eyes of others."
"However…"
Ishikawa changed his tone: "The resurrection of Unohana is somewhat different from the Squad Zero you remember. Although I received the commission fee from Captain Commander, the Squad Zero is forged by combining the Oken and the Soul King's power, which binds their lives to their respective palaces. As long as their palaces exist, they are immortal."
"But Unohana is different. To revive Unohana, I did not use the Soul King's power. Instead, I used my own power, combined with an analysis of Yhwach's Almighty, and then, using the 'Oken' as a catalyst, I revived you and bound you to my own life. In other words… if I die in the upcoming battles, then you will naturally also die."
"But if I do not die, then you are immortal!"
Upon hearing this, the unusual emotion in Unohana's eyes grew even more intense.
Because Ishikawa, at this moment, had achieved what Aizen could not: creating the existence of the Squad Zero and creating life with his own spiritual power.
One must understand that this was absolutely impossible to achieve, even with the King's Key in hand.
Because every Zero Squad Member is a new life recreated with the King's Key and the power of the Soul King!
Aizen's former idea was also to achieve this with the power of the Soul King.
But Ishikawa…
Combined with the King's Key, he truly used his own spiritual power and strength to achieve what only the Soul King could, creating a life named 'Unohana Retsu'.
This was beyond what a Shinigami could do!
At this moment, she finally understood why the Squad Zero would be hostile towards Ishikawa.
What this young man in front of her had done truly threatened the foundation of the world!
Putting that aside, Ishikawa's words, 'Unohana is dead,' were not empty, but a real event.
The current her was just a new life created by him and given the name 'Unohana'.
But…
This new life of hers carried everything of Unohana.
This still made Unohana feel difficult to accept!
Looking at Unohana's fluctuating expression, Ishikawa couldn't help but feel a little helpless.
Nearly a thousand years of persistence had driven Unohana to an extreme, somewhat like a 'demonic possession' in the martial arts novels of his previous life. Dying at Zaraki's hands and passing on the name 'Zaraki' had become her obsession, and there was no possibility of changing this in the slightest.
His fight with her, as he had said before, was a form of escape.
But this escape was only possible because the object was him, someone almost identical to her, allowing her to escape!
Ishikawa did not deny this point.
Because the foundation of his Zanjutsu was built by Unohana, the system's deduction also extended and built upon the foundation created by Unohana Retsu. The formed Ishikawa was another 'Unohana Retsu', and surpassed 'Yachiru' to become the 'Kyuchiru' in his words.
But no matter what, 'Unohana' must die!
"Why?"
The same three words, but not the previous dead silence, but confusion.
Unohana looked at Ishikawa, she didn't understand why Ishikawa would go to such lengths, even expending the incredibly precious King's Key on herself… Although she was also very curious about what kind of request could make Captain Commander give the King's Key as a commission to Ishikawa!
"Because you are alive…"
Ishikawa turned his head, meeting Unohana's gaze, making himself focus as much as possible on Unohana Retsu's face, and continued: "You are more important to me!"
Although Unohana didn't provide him with experience points this time, it wasn't completely impossible for her to continue improving.
But if Unohana died, then there would truly be no possibility whatsoever.
And in this world, the only woman who could provide him with 'enough experience points to break through any barrier' was Unohana!
Of course…
Besides that, from an emotional perspective, from an experiential perspective, from a memory perspective… Ishikawa also did not wish for Unohana to die.
It wasn't any impure thoughts.
He simply didn't want…
His captain, who had healed him countless times, to die;
His teacher, who had instructed him in Zanjutsu, to die;
His friend, who had arranged flowers with him at the Floral Arrangement Society, to die;
His colleague, with whom he spent day and night, to die;
Although her ability to provide him with experience points was the main reason, there were countless secondary reasons why he didn't want 'Unohana Retsu' to disappear.
"I am very clear that your death is extremely important to Zaraki's awakening, and I am even clearer that you yourself have been waiting to fulfill your mission, waiting to atone for your sins, waiting for your own death…"
Ishikawa looked directly into Unohana's eyes, his gaze filled only with seriousness and earnestness, without the slightest evasion:
"But all of this…"
"What does it matter to me?!"
"I just want Unohana to live."
"Only with Unohana alive can I have more possibilities."
"Only with Unohana alive can I see hope for victory in the battles to come."
"You can think I'm selfish, or that I'm using you, but I need you to live."
"Although your life is bound to mine, for you, only if I live can you exist."
"But for me, only if you live…"
"Can I continue to live!!"
"So even if it means killing Unohana, who is extremely important for Zaraki's awakening, trampling on her persistence, crushing her mission, preventing her from atoning, preventing her from breaking free from her shackles…"
"I will use any means necessary to keep 'Unohana' alive!"
"Because…"
Ishikawa paused, looking directly into Unohana's eyes, and emphasized again:
"Your being alive is more important to me!"
At this moment, Ishikawa spoke his truest thoughts without any concealment, although in his opinion, his words might lead people to associate with the secret of his strength, and even to the existence of the system.
But Ishikawa still chose to tell the truth.
Meeting Ishikawa's incredibly sincere gaze, Unohana Retsu's expression was somewhat dazed, and vaguely, a young man who had trembled before her appeared in her mind.
And that young man, despite his fear, did not retreat but took a step towards her!
That's right!
Her past evaluation of that young man also surged into her mind.
Captain Unohana…
Director Unohana…
President Unohana…
Unohana…
Scene after scene, title after title, memory after memory surged from her mind.
Thinking carefully, although he trembled before her, no matter where she saw him, that young man would always suppress his fear, constantly approach her, and try every possible way to talk to her.
Although it was only for a few short decades, this young man constantly appeared before her, approaching her in various places.
Diligently treating people at the Comprehensive Relief Station, tirelessly working at the Womens Soul Reaper Association, solemnly learning her hobby of flower arrangement…
(I am not like Zaraki!)
That deadpan sentence from three years ago.
And the promise to kill 'me'.
All of these…
Gradually overlapped with the young man in front of her, finally turning into a resolute and utterly unrefutable statement:
"I just want Unohana to live!"
He called her by her name; this was the first time.
—It felt like an eternity!
Ishikawa looked at the dazed Unohana, frowning slightly, somewhat unable to understand Unohana's reaction.
To be honest, after saying those words, he already felt a little regretful.
Because if Aizen had heard them, he would undoubtedly gain a lot of information from them, and even deduce that his strengthening was related to his female friends.
Ishikawa did not want anyone to know about the system's existence; even a guess would be extremely dangerous for him.
However, at this moment, he could no longer afford to think about such things.
Ishikawa glanced at the dazed Unohana, then at her delicate, unscarred collarbone, then averted his gaze, took off his black work jacket and placed it aside, and walked out of Muken.
Since Unohana's favorability couldn't be increased, Ishikawa had to work on others, as Yhwach hadn't given him much time.
To shorten the recovery time of his spiritual body and greatly enhance his strength, he needed a large amount of experience points!
Without looking at Unohana again, Ishikawa walked directly out of Muken.
He had said everything he needed to say. If Unohana was still acting like she was possessed, he had no better solution.
Creak—!
The gate slowly opened, and the light that shone in illuminated the pitch-black Muken.
And outside the gate, two rows of people stood.
These people…
Were precisely the captains of the Gotei 13!
Seeing Ishikawa walk out, everyone turned their gaze to him, their expressions complex.
Immediately…
One person walked out from behind the two rows of queues, came before Ishikawa, and bowed, handing him a haori.
Looking at Chōjirō Sasakibe in front of him, Ishikawa couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
He had forgotten…
That to get the commission he wanted, he had taken on an extremely troublesome request.
However, so be it!
Reaching out to take the haori, Ishikawa didn't hesitate too much and directly put on the haori with the character 'one' (one) written on its back.
Seeing this, the captains, arranged in two columns, couldn't help but straighten their postures.
Commission content:
Become the Gotei 13's Interim Commander!
Ishikawa stood outside the gate, looking at the ten captains before him, and amidst their complex gazes, he took a step forward.
However…
As soon as this step landed, Ishikawa felt the surrounding gazes change, becoming even more complex.
And their sight also shifted from him to behind him.
There, a figure slowly walked out.
With a gentle smile, a head of dark, slightly disheveled black long hair cascaded down like a waterfall.
Her upper body was clad in a black work uniform, and her voluptuous figure made the originally loose black uniform swell and fill out.
Without the familiar braid, her slightly disheveled black long hair hung casually in front of her, revealing her delicate collarbone.
The figure walked out of the darkness and finally stopped in the light!
Gentle and elegant.
That is, if one ignored the slightly disheveled long hair and the black work uniform that was so familiar to everyone.
Everyone's gaze shifted back and forth between Ishikawa and Unohana Retsu, and the same thought couldn't help but surface in their minds:
Wasn't this a battle where only one could survive?
Soi Fon frowned tightly, looking at the black work uniform on Unohana.
As if sensing her gaze, Unohana gave her a slight smile, which made Soi Fon's expression even more complex.
This scene made the gazes of the surrounding people even more peculiar.
However, Ishikawa, as the person involved, was completely unaware of all this.
Because…
[Unohana Favorability +1, gained 4000 experience points, current Favorability: 19]
[… ]
[Unohana Favorability +1, gained 8000 experience points, current Favorability: 29]
[… ]
[Unohana Favorability +1, gained 16000 experience points, current Favorability: 39]
[… gained 32000 experience points… Favorability: 49]
[… gained 64000 experience points… Favorability: 60]
[… ]
[… ]
[… ]
[Unohana Love Value +1, gained 640000 experience points, current Love Value: 70]
Stunned!
Ishikawa, who had originally put on the haori and looked dignified and serious, was now completely dazed as if he had gone foolish.
Current Experience Points:
—8,450,400!!
One person…
Just one person provided him with a total of 7,604,000 experience points, which made Ishikawa feel like he was dreaming.
And…
What on earth happened?
Ishikawa's heart was now filled with ecstasy, confusion, and also…
Unease!
He had to know that his initial goal was merely to try and see if he could raise Unohana's favorability towards him to max, at most breaking through to 61 and gaining an additional 480,000 experience points as estimated.
However…
For some reason, Unohana's strength seemed to have changed, from the original 3000 experience points at 18 favorability to 4000 experience points at 19 favorability.
Gaining more experience points was certainly a good thing.
But the value of 70 made Ishikawa's mood extremely complicated. He had been avoiding contact with Kotetsu Isane, who had the highest love value for him.
This…
Gulp~
Ishikawa couldn't help but swallow, his heart filled with unease.
He didn't know why…
He seemed to vaguely see a terrifying future where he was in the Soul King Palace, replacing the Soul King.