BLEACH : THE NINTH KENPACHI

Even after many years had passed...

Even though Zaraki had grown from the wild boy he once was...

Unohana Retsu recognized him immediately.

From the moment their eyes met, the memory resurfaced—vivid and undeniable.

Ever since the day she was wounded by the boy named Zaraki, she had carried deep regret.

She was too weak.

She had seen the raw, violent desire for combat in that child's eyes, yet she couldn't fulfill it. Her own limitations meant Zaraki couldn't experience the fight he truly yearned for. It was a failure she could not forgive herself for.

What haunted her more was what happened after.

When she sought him again, hoping for a rematch, she discovered something chilling.

Zaraki had subconsciously sealed himself.

Because of her weakness, the boy instinctively suppressed his own power to match her level.

Zaraki—the one with limitless potential, born to fight—had dulled his blade for her sake.

He could have grown into the strongest Shinigami of all time.

But because of her, he had been stunted.

She never forgot that. She never forgave herself.

And so, to atone—and to one day give Zaraki the battle he deserved—Unohana Retsu sought to become stronger. Not by embracing violence, but by learning the healing arts.

She studied Kaidō—the healing branch of Kidō—under Tenjirō Kirinji of the Royal Guard's Kirinden. She did not learn it to save others, but to extend fights. To heal herself and her opponent—especially Zaraki—so they could fight longer, harder.

She relinquished the name Kenpachi.

After the original captain of the Fourth Division fell in battle, she volunteered to transfer to the healing corps and became its new leader.

In her eyes, she no longer deserved the title of Kenpachi.

There can only be one true Kenpachi... and that is Zaraki.

For centuries, she quietly honed her Kaidō, all while waiting—waiting for Zaraki to reach Seireitei.

She knew he would.

Someone like Zaraki could never remain in Rukongai forever. Sooner or later, the hunger for greater battles would draw him to the heart of Soul Society.

And on that day—perhaps—she could fight him again.

To fight Zaraki...

Would be to please him.

And in pleasing Zaraki...

She would please herself.

Yet what she had not anticipated was how Zaraki would arrive.

Not as a rogue.

But as a recruit brought in by Gosuke Shigure.

So… you've come after all, she thought as her gaze fell on him.

And as she pondered this, Zaraki saw Unohana Retsu clearly for the first time.

He was momentarily stunned.

Memories flooded back—the deep wound she left, the joy he felt during that brief but intense battle. She had been the first and only one to make him feel alive in a fight. No one since had given him that.

"So it's you," he muttered.

The realization stirred something in him. In all the long years since their battle in Rukongai, Zaraki had never found a worthy rival. No one gave him the same thrill.

And now—so soon after arriving in Seireitei—he had crossed paths with her again.

Instinctively, his hand moved toward his blade.

But he didn't draw it.

Something held him back.

Seeing the tension between them, Gosuke Shigure immediately sensed the weight of their shared past. He had long suspected something between them, but now it was obvious.

To defuse the moment, he spoke up.

"Captain Unohana. It's been a long time."

Unohana's eyes reluctantly shifted from Zaraki to Gosuke. She nodded slightly.

"Captain Gosuke. Indeed, it has."

She studied him calmly. "To what do I owe the visit? You don't appear injured."

Her voice was soft, but her meaning was clear.

She hadn't missed how intense the air had become.

She remembered Gosuke well. She was the one who had personally evaluated him during his captain's qualification trial.

Even then, she had sensed it—his strength was real.

If things had been different, he could have been a Kenpachi himself.

But what struck her most during that battle was his style—an ancient form of swordsmanship long thought extinct.

The memory of that style lingered in her thoughts. It stirred something old, something buried.

Gosuke bowed slightly and replied, "I've come to ask for your help with a personal matter."

"Oh?" Unohana's eyes sparkled with interest.

She waited silently for him to elaborate.

Gosuke gestured toward the figure beside him. "This is Zaraki. A warrior I personally recruited from Rukongai."

"Zaraki…" Unohana's tone was unreadable, though she already knew the name. Still, she tilted her head, feigning mild curiosity. "The Gotei rarely recruits directly from Rukongai anymore. With the Spiritual Arts Academy now fully developed, most Shinigami are trained and groomed from within. Few see the need to scour Rukongai for talent."

"Why did you go looking there, Captain Gosuke?"

Unohana asked it casually, but the question was layered.

Because the truth was—she had once done the same.

Almost 800 years ago, after the war against the Quincy and the formation of the Gotei 13, she had gone into Rukongai herself. Back then, she was the First Kenpachi, leading the newly formed Eleventh Division. She had gone to recruit the strongest.

That was when she found him.

A boy, standing atop a pile of corpses.

The moment he saw her, he attacked. No hesitation. No words.

Under normal circumstances, an untrained child's strike wouldn't have touched her.

But his blade landed.

It carved into her with shocking force. The scar it left never faded.

Their battle that day had thrilled her.

But it also opened her eyes.

She was too weak. She had enjoyed the fight, but Zaraki hadn't. And that was unacceptable.

As Gosuke spoke now, those memories stirred again—for the second time in minutes.

Zaraki had left an indelible mark on her soul.

"I know the Academy produces capable Shinigami," Gosuke said, "but the Eleventh Division is a combat force. Its duty is to lead the frontlines. And no matter how well-trained the Academy graduates are, they often lack real battlefield experience."

He paused, then added, "Rukongai—especially the outer districts—is different. Out there, survival demands constant battle. Just finding water can cost you your life. Souls born in that crucible are hardened, forged through blood."

He turned slightly toward Zaraki.

"And sometimes, one of those souls is a diamond in the rough."

"Zaraki is such a diamond."

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