The broad, ancient Japanese room. Two people seated cross-legged across a tea table on tatami mats. The painting of a tiger and demon slaughtering each other in the woods. The faint steam rising from the tea.
Together, they formed a picture of absolute stillness.
Yet the will to fight, the intent to kill, the sparks of clashing blades, and the vivid scene of an exhilarating death match were all hidden within the thoughts of the two seated figures.
If this truly were an old silent film, the audience would already sense that blood was about to spill. And yet, the deathly silence, deep as an abyssal pool, was difficult to break.
In the end, what shattered that perfect stillness was nothing more than a leaf drifting down on the wind and falling into the water.
At that moment, the water boiled. Steam surged forth, and a sharp whistle escaped the kettle's spout.
Ripples spread. Absolute stillness became absolute motion, and the painting finally gained sound.
The mist was sliced apart. The ethereal fragrance of tea took on the scent of blood. Killing intent and battle intent collided, throwing off blinding sparks.
Amid the ring of steel and the kettle's shriek, Luke and Retsu Unohana slid backward, leaving long gouges across the tatami.
Unohana glanced at Luke, then at the bloodless Zanpakuto in her hand. An eerie smile curled across her lips.
Her pale hand swept across her chest, and her waterfall of black hair spilled loose. Most of it fell forward, creating a deeply unnatural impression.
The sunset streamed through the paper windows, flooding the Japanese room and painting the woman's porcelain face in crimson.
With her hair unbound, that strange smile on her face, and the blood-red light staining her features, she looked like an evil spirit that had crawled out of hell.
Across from her, the man's Asauchi rested at his side, its tip lowered. His taut body resembled a tiger descending the mountain.
"That little device Captain Hikifune developed is rather impressive," Unohana said with a smile. "It lets me administer Luke's final assessment without holding back."
Luke's mind was focused to the limit. This was what he and Sosuke had long suspected: the final trial would pit him against a captain with both sides restricted to the same Spiritual Pressure.
But because his opponent was Unohana, the difficulty had risen by several levels.
For Luke, this was the nightmare of all nightmares—and the ecstasy of all ecstasies.
A grin spread across his face, exposing a row of white teeth. "If I defeat you, I can graduate. Is that right?"
"Defeat me?"
Unohana raised one hand to cover her face, concealing her faintly crazed expression. Her voice trembled slightly. "Luke... why must you insist on graduating early?"
As if asking and answering herself, her voice drifted from behind her hand.
"Because then I cannot help but become your examiner... Because then I cannot help but pick this fruit before it ripens."
As she spoke, her delicate hand slowly lowered, revealing a face warped by exhilaration. No one would have imagined that Retsu Unohana, normally so gentle and beautiful, possessed such a side.
Her eyes locked onto Luke. She spread her arms wide.
"Come. Entertain me!"
In the next instant, the wind swept Unohana's long hair back. A spray of blood burst from her ash-cherry haori, droplets streaking past her excited eyes.
Luke passed by Unohana in a blur. Behind him lay a chain of footprints embedded deep in the tatami. He slowly turned, his hair slightly disheveled from the explosive charge, his eyes blazing with battle intent.
"Teacher, after all the times you have cut me down... are you satisfied with my strike?"
Luke had not expected to wound Unohana. He had assumed that even with her Spiritual Pressure suppressed, her physical toughness would remain intact.
But apparently, the Spiritual Pressure restriction device here was anything but ordinary. It had genuinely reduced Unohana to Rank 16 Spiritual Might and stripped away the protection that high Spiritual Pressure provided to her body.
Kirio Hikifune could not possibly have designed this thing for academy students to spar with. It was far more likely some kind of tactical device for trapping and killing enemies.
Unohana stood with her back to Luke, a mad smile on her once-gentle face. As she turned, her pale hand brushed across her shoulder, and the wound healed in an instant.
"That is exactly how it should be."
Unohana was exhilarated. The pain she had not tasted in so long only further awakened her ferocity.
By now, the Captain-Commander's words had been cast entirely from her mind. Two beasts had met on a narrow path through the wilderness. There was no chance either would leave unharmed.
As their killing intent and battle intent reached their peak, both figures vanished from the Japanese room at nearly the same time.
Clang—
The Asauchi collided with Minazuki, igniting a blinding flash in the dim room. By that light, their eyes met, killing intent overflowing between them.
It was as if a storm had erupted indoors. In an instant, they exchanged dozens of strikes.
The tatami caved in and shattered, exposing the pine floorboards beneath. Blood blossoms and scraps of cloth danced together in the air.
After one exchange, the force of their collision sent both of them retreating. When their bodies became clear again, Unohana's haori was mostly intact, while Luke's martial arts uniform had been shredded beyond recognition.
Luke grabbed one corner of the ruined garment, tore the scraps from his upper body, and casually tossed them onto the floor, exposing his lean, muscular torso.
Numerous small wounds covered his upper body. They had not been caused by direct slashes, but by invisible blades.
Unohana's sword strikes were monstrously powerful. Even when her blade did not touch him, invisible sword force extended from its edge, shredding his clothing and slicing his skin.
"Oh? You have already trained your Kaidō to this level?"
Unohana looked at the wounds on Luke's body as they gradually closed, clearly surprised. He was not raising his hands and bathing each wound in Kaidō's glow. From the outside, there was no obvious healing light at all.
Luke's injuries were only superficial, but continued blood loss would still be detrimental in battle. He needed to heal them at least a little.
"You never said I had to use Kaidō through my hands, did you? Once you understand the principle, directly repairing the body is a more practical combat method, isn't it?"
That was the new application of Kaidō Luke had developed after giving it considerable thought.
The principle of Kaidō was simply manipulating Reishi to repair the body. Soul Reapers used their hands because hands were the most frequently used and flexible part of the body, allowing for finer control.
But as long as his control was precise enough—and he could split his focus—he could directly manipulate threads of Reishi to mend his wounds.
Of course, this was still a technique he had only recently developed. He was not proficient with it yet, and for now, it could heal only superficial injuries. For severe wounds, he would still need to use his hands.
"Hahaha..."
Unohana let out a beautiful yet eerie laugh. "Luke, you truly are a genius. But Kaidō at that level cannot save you."
Luke did not dispute it. He knew Unohana was high on the thrill of battle now. She would most likely show him no mercy during this assessment.
If he lost, Unohana in this state would absolutely kill him.
He did not know exactly what it took to pass this trial. But he could not afford to lose.
Defeat meant death.
The scent of death pressed down on him. Luke could not stop trembling—not from fear, but from excitement.
Even with her Spiritual Pressure sealed away, Unohana was still the strongest opponent he had ever faced in his life.
This was nothing like the Captain-Commander's instruction. This was a genuine fight to the death—the kind of battle Luke had always craved.
The person standing before him was the kind of opponent he had spent his entire life praying to the heavens for, yet had never encountered.
How could he not be excited?
An assessment? A mission?
None of that mattered.
Right now, he wanted only to enjoy this fight to the death.
Boom—
In the next instant, Luke moved. The tatami behind him flipped violently upward as he charged forward at extreme speed, his blade striking with divine swiftness.
Faster. Heavier. Deadlier.
He cut down from above, but Unohana blocked the strike and guided his blade aside.
Then Unohana stepped forward, entering Luke's inner range, and drove a palm toward his chest.
Just as she thought she had him, she witnessed something strange. Luke pulled one hand back beneath his chest while his other elbow crashed down, trapping Unohana's wrist and preventing her palm strike from landing with full force.
Two hands!?
Unohana was startled. Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw the Asauchi falling beside Luke.
He had discarded his sword at a moment like this!?
Yet she had to admit that Luke's judgment had been correct. If that palm strike had landed cleanly, it would have badly damaged his heart. Then she could close in and finish the battle with a single downward stroke.
The force of Unohana's palm sent Luke sliding backward. As he retreated, he stomped hard on the edge of the tatami, flipping that section upward. It struck the hilt of the Asauchi as the sword spun through the air, changing its trajectory just enough for it to fall perfectly back into his hand.
Unohana did not pursue after that exchange. Her eyes merely shone, as if she had discovered a priceless treasure.
Watching the man charge at her once more, she suddenly understood.
Ah. He is free.
His unconstrained battle instincts were like a master painter wielding brush and ink with wild abandon, every stroke a finishing touch.
Boom—
After another direct clash, Unohana drifted lightly backward while Luke was hurled into the wall by the recoil.
Unohana looked at Luke as though admiring a flawless jade masterpiece. She marveled. She thrilled. Yet she also felt a measure of regret.
Regret that such a delicious fruit was destined to be consumed by her too soon.
Even Kirio Hikifune's device could not completely suppress her Spiritual Pressure. Luke's previous attack should have shattered her wrist on instinct alone, but her spiritual body had once possessed an extremely high density. Though her surface strength had been suppressed, the toughness of her bones and muscles had not vanished.
Therefore, Luke's strike had failed to achieve its intended effect.
At most, the Spiritual Pressure restriction device allowed Luke to cut open her skin. Cutting deep into her muscles was still difficult.
By now, her blood was running hot. Immersed in the pleasure of battle, she could no longer turn back.
Only if Luke truly defeated her in this fight would she regain her senses.
But that was impossible.
She could see through every one of Luke's moves. She possessed more than a thousand years of experience in killing battles. And in terms of Spiritual Pressure, she still held a slight advantage over him.
Kirio Hikifune's device was not that precise. In ranked terms, it had only suppressed her to the peak of Rank 16 Spiritual Might, while Luke's Rank 16 Spiritual Might was merely above average.
She held almost every advantage in this death match. Luke appeared to have no possibility of victory at all.
She looked toward the young man stepping out of the dent in the wall, gazing at his body covered in sword wounds, and sighed at what seemed to be an inevitable conclusion.
————
Two more chapters will be posted at noon.
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