Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Several figures landed in the street. The woman at their head crouched to inspect the fallen squad members, then shook her head. "They went farther ahead. There may still be survivors."
She wore a captain's haori lined with soft gray-pink fabric. Gentle and serene in appearance, she had long black hair parted down the middle, braided and draped over her chest.
After rising to her feet, she looked into the distance with a faint sigh. "This place is as chaotic as ever."
The young Fourth Division Soul Reapers behind her did not understand what she meant. Why did their captain sound so familiar with this outermost district of Rukongai?
But the woman offered no further explanation and simply led them onward at speed.
As the Gotei 13's medical support division, the Fourth Division rarely left its barracks. Their captain, Retsu Unohana, usually remained behind to treat critically wounded patients sent over by the other divisions.
This time, she had only just completed a special mission and was on her way back when she intercepted a distress call from Fifth Division members.
When Unohana and her squad leaped onto a rooftop, she abruptly stopped. Looking down at the scene below, a ripple passed through her eyes.
The other squad members were equally surprised. The distress signal had cut off several minutes ago, and they had assumed they would arrive only to collect bodies.
Chasing down the rebels would not be the Fourth Division's responsibility. That work would be handed over to divisions better suited for combat, such as the Second Division or Eleventh Division.
But the scene before them made little sense. Every rebel described in the report was already lying in a pool of blood. The only person still standing was not a Fifth Division Soul Reaper, but a drifter holding an Asauchi.
Ten rebel corpses lay scattered across the street. At the center stood a man in ragged clothes, running the Asauchi along the side of his face to scrape away the last trace of stubble.
What kind of person calmly shaved in the middle of a pile of corpses?
Beneath the blazing sun, the ruggedly handsome man sheathed his blade. He looked up at the figures on the roof and gave them what he believed was a friendly smile.
For some reason, every Fourth Division member felt a chill crawl down her spine. The scene was simply too strange.
Unohana jumped down. Her spotless white haori spread like butterfly wings, and she landed without a sound. Wearing a warm smile, she regarded Luke through narrowed eyes.
Luke's smile gradually faded beneath her gaze. For the first time in a long while, he felt a genuine threat of death.
It was not like having a gun pressed to his head. This was tangible killing intent—the suffocating pressure of a living being crushing down on him with absolute strength.
Yes. This was the power he had been seeking. This was the world he had been seeking.
Those rebels, lacking both skill and strength, had only given him a light warm-up. They had not let him experience the joy of real combat.
Yet the disappointment barely lasted before the woman before him dispelled it. He had only just arrived in this world. Who knew how many mountains still lay ahead of him, how many thrilling battles awaited?
Just as Endspace had said, he would face challenges unlike anything he had ever known.
"What is your name?"
As Unohana spoke, the murderous atmosphere vanished. Now, the smile on her face looked genuinely gentle.
"Luke."
Luke answered simply. He had no intention of making up some fake name just to fit in here.
From the pressure she gave off, along with her appearance and attire, he could more or less confirm that she was Retsu Unohana—Yachiru Unohana—the captain of the Fourth Division from the original story.
That also gave him a rough idea of where he was in the timeline. Since Unohana was already the Fourth Division captain, Yhwach must have already entered his long slumber.
As for exactly how long before the main story began this was, he would need more information to determine that.
"Luke, did you kill these people?" Unohana asked, glancing at the bodies on the ground.
"Those guys killed the Soul Reapers. I was only defending myself."
Luke answered honestly. He did not want any misunderstandings. He craved all-out battle, but he was not looking to die—especially not after finally reaching somewhere this interesting.
Unohana nodded, accepting Luke's answer with surprising ease. She did not seem at all shocked that a drifter had cut down ten rebels who even ordinary Gotei 13 members could not handle.
"Would you like to join the Gotei 13?"
The squad members behind Unohana were taken aback. They had not expected their captain to invite Luke, much less invite him to join the Gotei 13 rather than specifically recruiting him for the Fourth Division.
If their captain had recognized Luke's talent, shouldn't she have invited him into their division?
"The Gotei 13?"
Luke paused. He had not expected the first phase of his main quest to become this easy. It seemed all he needed to do was nod.
"If you're willing," Unohana said with a smile. "Of course, by the rules, you must first study at Shin'o Academy. You can join the Gotei 13 after you graduate."
Luke pretended to consider it, then nodded.
He now understood the mission's broad difficulty range. If Endspace had a god's-eye view, then the route he was currently taking was actually the easy one.
After fighting them, he had realized that the ten rebels' overall attributes were lower than his own, and their combat skills were not even worth mentioning. He had slaughtered all ten without so much as staining his clothes.
In contrast, leaving this area and crossing Rukongai alone would have exposed him to far more unexpected dangers. And if he followed the normal route, there was no guarantee Shin'o Academy would even accept him.
With Unohana's recommendation, though, admission was guaranteed.
"Then let's go. We're heading back anyway."
As she spoke, Unohana glanced at the Asauchi in Luke's hand. "Keep that Asauchi."
The squad members were not surprised by Unohana's decision. An Asauchi was simply a Zanpakuto that had yet to acknowledge an owner.
Before its wielder called forth its true name and released Shikai, an Asauchi possessed no special abilities. It was merely a sharper-than-average sword.
When a Soul Reaper died, their Zanpakuto would usually return to its original state and become an Asauchi again. At that point, another person could bond with it anew. Naturally, there were exceptions, but that was a matter for another time.
For that reason, the Seireitei typically recovered ownerless Asauchi, redistributed them to Shin'o Academy students, and let them develop them anew. As long as the blades remained within the Seireitei's system, no one made a fuss over them.
Now that Luke had acquired this Asauchi, he would not be issued another one when he enrolled.
Luke hung the Asauchi at his waist and followed Unohana's group. What happened here was no longer their concern; another division would handle the aftermath.
Still, excitement surged within him. As a martial artist, he was deeply interested in every kind of supernatural combat technique this world had to offer.
Compared to the rewards promised by the contract after completing his mission, he was even more eager to learn the skills available directly within this world.
And the Asauchi he had just obtained was, in a sense, equipment that could become nothing less than divine.
Now that you've made it this far, why not add the story to your library? (^▽^)
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