"Mm..." Retsu Unohana closed her arms around him. "So small."
Her arms had no strength in them, so Muten Natsu did not dare struggle. He could only follow her movements and lean against her.
Well... even when Retsu Unohana did have strength, he had never thought of struggling.
Perhaps because she was so weak, Retsu Unohana's body felt as soft as a sweet, fragrant marshmallow.
Muten Natsu was a little unused to it. After shifting slightly, he realized that because he had shrunk, what had already been very, very, very big now seemed even bigger.
Retsu Unohana leaned close to the hair by Muten Natsu's ear. "How did you end up like this?"
"It's a side effect of Bankai..." Muten Natsu's ear tickled. Retsu Unohana's gentle breath quickly calmed his unsettled heart. "Meiki is a little special..." Muten Natsu briefly explained the ability and side effects of his Bankai. "During the restructuring process, some Reishi is inevitably lost. Compared to losing limbs, the impact of my body shrinking is a little smaller. With Myōki's help, I should recover before long."
Retsu Unohana blinked. "So you'll recover."
Muten Natsu grew suspicious. Why did it feel like there was a hint of regret in Retsu Unohana-sensei's tone?
Retsu Unohana stroked Muten Natsu's head, pinched his cheek, then pried open his fingers and pressed their palms together to compare sizes. "It feels like we're back at the very beginning."
Muten Natsu realized belatedly, "So you used to do this kind of thing while I was asleep?"
"You were allowed to sneak into my room..." Retsu Unohana caught Muten Natsu's little hand. "But I'm not allowed to do anything to you?"
Muten Natsu said, "...Go on."
"Back then, I often thought..." Retsu Unohana played with Muten Natsu's tiny palm. "It felt like I could crush it in an instant."
Muten Natsu fell silent.
Retsu Unohana held him a little tighter. "But you slept so soundly that I couldn't bear to disturb you."
Good sleep helped extend one's lifespan.
"And you?" Retsu Unohana's soft whisper sounded by Muten Natsu's ear. "Why didn't you kill me?"
Retsu Unohana had already prepared herself to die.
The tip of Muten Natsu's blade had already pierced her body.
But Muten Natsu had been holding the blade in his left hand.
At the last moment, Muten Natsu withdrew Myōki into his own body and saved Retsu Unohana's life.
"Was my acting not convincing enough?" Retsu Unohana thought back. "I should have done it like you did back then..." She lowered her voice and imitated Muten Natsu's tone. "Feel your frustration... feel your regret... and then meet the end of your life in fear..."
Aaaaaah!
Muten Natsu's brain was trembling.
The shame of having that embarrassing, overdramatic moment dragged back up by someone else made him want to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
"Don't... No... Back then was a special case..." Muten Natsu buried his face in Retsu Unohana's chest like an ostrich. "Stop talking."
"If it wasn't a problem with my acting..." Retsu Unohana pressed, "Then when did you notice?"
"From the moment I absorbed your power," Muten Natsu answered softly. "For Soul Essence Stealing to absorb power, it has to erase the soul within the Soul Essence. Unless... the other person gives it willingly."
Muten Natsu had recovered his power in the World of the Living precisely because Rukia Kuchiki had willingly given it to him.
The process of absorbing Retsu Unohana's power had gone far too smoothly.
So smoothly that Muten Natsu could not possibly ignore what was hidden within it... Retsu Unohana's intentions.
"What I said... wasn't entirely a lie." Retsu Unohana's voice sounded distant. "When I first saw you, it was indeed because of the power you displayed that I paid special attention to you. I had prepared myself long ago. Once you were strong enough, I would entrust everything to you in a battle that left no regrets."
"When I first snuck into your room, I only wanted a good night's sleep." Muten Natsu hugged Retsu Unohana, his small body sinking into her arms. "As for now... people's feelings change."
Retsu Unohana gently stroked Muten Natsu's soft hair. "What do you want to do now?"
"Mm..." Muten Natsu thought for a moment. "Get a good night's sleep?"
"That hasn't changed, has it?"
Muten Natsu shifted around until he found the most comfortable position. "It has changed..."
"No acting spoiled. Answer me properly." Retsu Unohana lightly pinched his earlobe. "I truly want to know the answer. After all, I had already prepared myself to die, but now I'm alive. From your answer, I may be able to understand what I should do from here on."
Muten Natsu raised his head. "Get a good night's sleep."
"You..." The corners of Retsu Unohana's lips lifted, and she lowered her head to place a gentle kiss on Muten Natsu's forehead. "Sleep."
Muten Natsu closed his eyes. "I don't want you to leave me."
"I know." Retsu Unohana reached out and gently patted Muten Natsu. "Sleep now~ Sleep now~ my beloved baby~"
Her ethereal voice echoed through the hospital room and drifted outside.
Kenpachi Zaraki, who had been standing silently outside the door for a long time, moved his single eye slightly. In the end, he did not push open the door. He turned and left.
"Ah, Captain Zaraki!" Isane Kotetsu spotted Kenpachi Zaraki. "Are you here to visit Captain Unohana?"
Kenpachi Zaraki walked past without any reaction, then suddenly stopped. "She isn't Retsu Unohana."
Isane Kotetsu did not understand. "Huh?"
"She hasn't been for decades." After saying that, Kenpachi Zaraki ignored the wounds still bleeding on his body and strode away.
"What was that about..." Isane Kotetsu was completely confused. Then she suddenly noticed that Yachiru Kusajishi, who was clinging to Kenpachi Zaraki's back, was not as lively as usual either. She was unusually quiet. "Strange..."
As she approached the hospital room and heard the faint singing coming from inside, a warm smile appeared on Isane Kotetsu's face.
Thank goodness. It was just like before.
...
"The verdict shall be announced!"
In the courtroom deep underground, one of the six judges declared loudly:
"Former 5th Division Captain Sōsuke Aizen is to be imprisoned in Muken, the Eighth Prison at the deepest level of the underground prison, and sentenced to eighteen thousand years!"
"Is that so?" In the vast octagonal chamber, Sōsuke Aizen sat at the lowest point, bound to a chair by layer upon layer of black bands. Almost every part of his body was covered in pitch-black restraints, leaving only his left eye, mouth, and nose exposed. "You people think you are worthy of judging me? How... absurd."
"How dare you!"
"You traitor!"
Shouts rang out one after another.
"We spared your life, and you still dare speak so insolently!"
"Bind his eyes and mouth as well!"
"Increase the sentence to twenty thousand years!"
Black bandages rose one after another, coiling around Sōsuke Aizen's body before tightening violently, binding him into a black mummy.
Thanks to Muten Natsu, the sealing technology in the Council Chamber had advanced by leaps and bounds.
...
"You bastards!" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto glared at the four Captains before him. "You actually lost your Captain's Haori! If it had only been damaged, that would be one thing, but you lost it! And you are all acting as though it does not matter!"
"Captain-Commander..." Byakuya Kuchiki said calmly, "There is no need to worry. I will cover the cost of such a cheap Haori."
"Who is worried about that?" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto roared. "And it is not some cheap thing either, you bastard!"
"All of you, listen!" The old man slammed his cane down. "Do not think that just because you won, nothing else matters. What exactly do you take a Captain's Haori for?"
Kenpachi Zaraki frowned. "Something that gets in the way?"
Byakuya Kuchiki raised an eyebrow. "A cheap thing?"
Shunsui Kyōraku gave an obedient smile. "Stylish?"
A vein bulged on Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's forehead.
Suì-Fēng stood straight and answered solemnly, "The Captain's Haori is the symbol of a Captain's status. It is both honor and responsibility..."
At least one of them had given a proper answer.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto nodded in satisfaction, then shot the other three a glare, signaling for them to listen carefully.
"Most importantly..." Suì-Fēng's face flushed with excitement. "The Captain's Haori is the tool required for Yoruichi-sama's secret Hohō, the Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shihō, Utsusemi! This Hohō..."
Bloodshot veins spread through Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's eyes. "You bunch of bastards!"
Even from outside the door, Jūshirō Ukitake could feel Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's rage.
Unlike the smile on Jūshirō Ukitake's face, the two 3rd Seats of the 13th Division, Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki, were terrified.
"The Captain-Commander's voice..." Even Sentarō Kotsubaki, who was usually loud, lowered his voice. "He sounds full of energy."
Kiyone Kotetsu nodded hard. "Yeah, yeah..."
Jūshirō Ukitake chuckled. "Although he lost his left hand, his stamina seems to have recovered."
"So..." Because her older sister Isane Kotetsu was in the 4th Division, Kiyone Kotetsu knew that Orihime Inoue had recently healed many of the wounded. "Why not let Orihime treat him?"
"Because she is human. In the Captain-Commander's eyes, protecting the balance of the Three Worlds is the duty of the Shinigami. Humans do not need to interfere or shoulder missions they were never meant to bear." Jūshirō Ukitake sighed. "Bearing the consequences of failure is also a Shinigami's duty. It should not be erased by human hands."
Kiyone Kotetsu could not understand. "But Orihime is helping in the 4th Division, and the Captain-Commander hasn't forbidden it."
Jūshirō Ukitake answered patiently, "Protecting his squad members and sparing them from pain is also the Captain-Commander's responsibility. So he can turn a blind eye to Inoue-san treating other Shinigami, but he himself will not accept Inoue-san's treatment..."
He paused. There were other thoughts in his heart that he did not say aloud.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was simply too powerful. So powerful that even without using his full strength, he had nearly destroyed several cities because of Sōsuke Aizen's scheme.
Although Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had worked hard to become stronger in order to maintain the balance of the Three Worlds, he had now become so strong that his very strength could affect that balance.
During the battle in the World of the Living, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had not dared to release his Bankai at all.
Sōsuke Aizen would have destroyed Karakura Town and caused one hundred thousand people to die unjustly.
But if Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had released his Bankai in the World of the Living, Karakura Town would not have been the only place destroyed, and the dead would have far exceeded one hundred thousand.
So in Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's view, losing his left hand and having his strength decline might make it easier for him to maintain the balance of the Three Worlds.
In addition, he had probably also begun thinking of stepping down and making way for someone worthy.
The strongest Shinigami in a thousand years was praise when spoken of a Shinigami. But for a teacher, and for an old man, it sounded somewhat sad.
In all those long years, no Shinigami with both the power and character to surpass him had ever appeared.
If he weakened a little faster, perhaps the younger generation would be able to catch up sooner.
Jūshirō Ukitake was not sure whether Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto felt tired, but as his student, Jūshirō Ukitake sincerely hoped Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto could lay down his heavy burden and rest properly.
Unfortunately...
"Knowing he is still this energetic puts me at ease." Jūshirō Ukitake lowered his eyes. "After all, in Soul Society, there is still no Shinigami who can replace him."
Sensing their Captain's strange mood, Sentarō Kotsubaki and Kiyone Kotetsu looked at each other. Neither of them spoke.
"Speaking of positions..." Jūshirō Ukitake raised his head. "There is something I'd like to discuss with you."
"Just give us the order!" Sentarō Kotsubaki patted his chest. "I'll definitely get it done!"
"What kind of answer is that? Add 'us' to it!" Kiyone Kotetsu protested. "I can do it too, you know!"
"I said this is a discussion..." Jūshirō Ukitake waved his hand, signaling for them not to be so tense, though he himself looked somewhat nervous. "I've thought about it for a long time, and I plan to appoint Rukia as Lieutenant. What do you think?"
The Lieutenant of the 13th Division had originally been Kaien Shiba. After his death, neither Sentarō Kotsubaki nor Kiyone Kotetsu felt their abilities could compare to Kaien Shiba's, so neither of them had any intention of becoming Lieutenant.
If even they, the 3rd Seats, felt that way, there was no need to mention the other squad members.
The position of Lieutenant in the 13th Division had remained vacant until now.
Jūshirō Ukitake had begun considering the idea after hearing that Rukia Kuchiki had achieved an initial Bankai.
In terms of strength, Rukia Kuchiki was absolutely qualified.
In terms of ability, even when Rukia Kuchiki had been in the 4th Division, she had often handled all kinds of paperwork.
In terms of personality, because Jūshirō Ukitake was in poor health, Rukia Kuchiki and Muten Natsu had often come to help deliver medicine when they were young. One could say the 13th Division had watched them grow up, so naturally there would be no objections.
In terms of status, even as an adopted child, Rukia Kuchiki was still a noble.
Although Rukia Kuchiki basically never used the privileges of nobility, everyone knew perfectly well how much the Kuchiki Clan looked after her.
If the Kuchiki Clan had not specifically come to them and made it clear that they did not want Rukia Kuchiki involved in battles that were too dangerous, Rukia Kuchiki would have become a Seated Officer long ago.