At the instant the blood-red blade came down, Nobu's white blade suddenly slid in like a fish swimming against the current, meeting hers silently without the clang of steel. Unohana Retsu's pupils shrank abruptly—she clearly saw that white short-sword slipping impossibly through the gap near the sword guard. Sparks burst forth at the blades' contact, drawing twisted trails in the bloody mist.
Ka!
Unohana twisted her wrist elegantly, breaking their locked blades. The instant she withdrew, her sweeping strike was precisely blocked by the crimson blade. One red, one white; one long, one short—together weaving an intricate web of blades, carving spiral-shaped tunnels through the churning swamp of blood.
Suddenly, the white blade left Nobu's grip, spinning downward to pierce the blood swamp. Unohana instinctively glanced at the sinking sword, but at that very moment, the red blade in Nobu's right hand burst forth with a radiance even more sinister than the blood beneath their feet. Higan's blade arced upward, trailing afterimages, perfectly mirroring the trajectory of the white blade he'd just discarded.
Shua!
Unohana's toes kicked off the waves of blood, spinning away to retreat. She stared down at the cross-shaped wound blooming fresh on her left arm, the smile on her lips growing more radiant.
She swung her Zanpakutō again, and its bloody blade abruptly elongated. Nobu pivoted away from the sweeping shadow, only to realize the scattered blood droplets had condensed mid-air into needle-like blades, raining down in a violent storm.
Facing that tempestuous assault, Nobu didn't dodge. He charged forward instead, meeting blade against blade.
Ding!
The collision erupted with enough reiatsu to throw the blood swamp below into waves. Both combatants retreated simultaneously, and from behind the raised crimson sword, Nobu caught sight of Unohana's dark hair wildly scattered in the air.
Boom!
The space itself suddenly trembled, startling Nobu into thinking the reishi barrier might collapse—but quickly realized the trembling came from the blood beneath. Within the crimson dome, everything shook violently; the blood swamp itself seemed on the verge of boiling.
Unohana swung her Zanpakutō sharply, and the blood at her feet condensed into an arc-shaped blade, flying straight toward him.
Nobu gripped both blades, shattering it—but immediately, torrents of blood surged upward around him, waves over ten meters high crashing toward him relentlessly.
Facing this sight, Nobu had no choice but to continuously evade. The entire space had long been saturated by Unohana Retsu's Bankai; the blood writhing like a living entity now awakened, roaring and screaming, eager to devour him whole.
Unohana's reiatsu erupted overwhelmingly. Amid Nobu's constant evasion, his white blade suddenly scraped across the red blade's surface, the sparks ignited into flames by the passing sword energy—forming a thin line of fire in an instant.
Fire?
Unohana's eyes narrowed sharply. She hadn't seen Nobu perform any Kidō incantations, yet the sword energy now blazed into countless fire-dragons, howling forth to collide with the bloody waves.
"[Garuda En]!"
Boom!
Intense heat washed over everything; the blood wave vaporized upon contact, exploding into a red-and-white steam cloud. Staring through the mist, Unohana felt an instinctive chill despite the heat, immediately attempting a Shunpō to dodge—but the crescent-shaped sword energy slicing through the steam was faster!
Shua!
Blood splattered. Despite her best efforts, a half-inch wound opened on her neck.
"Hiss—"
Above her neck, Unohana suddenly felt as if everything had frozen, an indescribable agony gnawing at her nerves. Unlike previous wounds, this pain pierced straight into her very soul!
Her pupils widened involuntarily. Kidō healing reishi rushed rapidly to mend the wound at her neck.
If she'd moved a fraction slower just now, her head would've rolled clean off.
Another near brush with death.
Unohana's eyes trembled slightly, her breathing noticeably heavier.
How many times had she already faced that sword energy? She genuinely wondered—how exactly was Nobu creating sword strikes of such intensity?
And the flames from before—what was that attack? Could it be his Zanpakutō's ability?
Through the lingering steam and bloody mist, Nobu charged again. Unohana flicked her blood-red sword, swiftly parrying his initial dual-blade strike before abruptly shifting into an overhead slash.
But her sudden aggression left her wide open. Nobu's reaction was swifter still, plunging both blades straight into her chest.
One red, one white—both swords pierced Unohana's body simultaneously. Yet Nobu's expression shifted slightly, for despite being impaled, Unohana's movements hadn't faltered in the slightest. Her eyes blazed brighter, black hair wildly flying, a madness overtaking her as she brought her bloodied blade violently down onto his collarbone!
Puchi!
Her blade bit deeply into bone, backed by tremendous strength and crushing reiatsu. Nobu's body swayed under the impact, nearly forcing him to his knees.
She hadn't dodged or blocked earlier, clearly intending this from the start. Her reckless gamble brought them face-to-face in a sudden deadlock at close quarters.
She continued to press her blade downward ruthlessly, as if determined to split Nobu's body in two.
Nobu clearly felt the tremors in Unohana's arm. Her parted clothing revealed an old scar at her collarbone, now freshly stained by her own blood into a sinister, grotesque totem.
"Hehe…"
Unohana let out an eerie laugh. Nobu twisted the blades embedded in her flesh, churning her insides.
"Does it hurt, Taichō?" Nobu asked, lips curling.
Unohana gave no answer. Her left hand again conjured a blood-crystal spear, ignoring the gaping wounds in her own body—this time aiming straight at Nobu's head.
Seeing this, Nobu abruptly withdrew the white blade from her body to block the lethal spear thrust.
Blood poured freely from Unohana's wounds, yet her expression grew even more unrestrained. "Are you so afraid of dying?"
Nobu pressed his white blade against hers, halting her attempt to deepen his injury, then withdrew the red blade, retreating several meters away.
But Unohana instantly surged forward in pursuit.
Her blade's descending trajectory collapsed into countless fine threads in Nobu's vision. He dodged sideways, the white blade arcing upward like a cold crescent. Unohana leaned back so far her body nearly bent in half; as the blade-wind brushed past her chin, Nobu's red blade struck like a viper toward her heart.
Unohana didn't defend—her sword came down, aiming straight at Nobu's skull.
Ding!
Forced to defend, Nobu met her blade head-on. The collision's resulting reiatsu burst formed a semicircle of blood around them.
Nobu's eyes reflected her expression, twisted in excitement.
His gaze darkened slightly.
She was completely fighting without care for her life. The confidence behind this reckless style likely stemmed from her overwhelming reiatsu and healing abilities.
Yet Nobu's own reiatsu was nearing its limits; he hadn't even had time to repair his recent wounds.
After evading repeatedly, he finally managed some distance.
Exhaling sharply, Nobu's eyes settled on Unohana nearby, noticing the stab wounds he'd inflicted were now cloaked in healing reishi, and her earlier injuries had already fully vanished without even leaving scars.
"Your Kaidō is impressive, Taichō. But why heal only the new wounds?"
Unohana didn't reply immediately. She knew Nobu was referring to the old scar at her collarbone.
When she'd gotten that scar, she'd not yet studied Kaidō. Removing it now would be easy—but she'd kept it as a reminder during her monotonous days.
Unohana lightly lifted her blood-stained blade.
"Do you wish to know?"
Nobu suddenly let out a deep sigh, shaking the twin blades in his hands before calmly sliding them into their sheaths.
Of course, he knew very well where that old scar had come from—it was precisely that scar which transformed the infamous villain known as "Yachiru" into who she was now.
No need to ask questions he already knew the answer to; he felt he had spoken too much.
"Forget it. I don't really care anyway."
Seeing Nobu abruptly sheath his swords, Unohana narrowed her eyes slightly, suspiciously observing the vigorous reiatsu still radiating from him—it hardly looked as though he intended to surrender or end the battle.
Yet Nobu walked slowly away, approaching the Asauchi he'd earlier stabbed into the ground. As he pulled it free, the pair of blades at his waist vanished quietly.
The reishi barrier high above swiftly shrank back onto his body, instantly healing the gaping wound at his collarbone.
Holding the Asauchi upright, Nobu murmured—perhaps to Unohana, perhaps only to himself.
"Well, now punishment really is unavoidable."
The instant the reishi barrier ceased suppressing it, the torrential reiatsu Unohana Retsu had accumulated burst forth, breaking free in an instant. Her Bankai surged outward, overwhelming the Kidō barrier around the hidden space after only a brief resistance.
This is...
Unohana froze for a moment. For Nobu to suddenly do something like this, there could only be one explanation—his reiatsu was utterly exhausted, forcing him to dissolve the barrier holding back their spiritual pressures.
She had just begun to enjoy the thrill of their battle, hardly wanting interference from outside. Unohana inwardly wondered if perhaps she'd pushed him too hard.
Had the people outside already begun searching for them? Even if they hadn't started yet, sensing her reiatsu would immediately bring them running.
After all, their current location was directly beneath Sōkyoku Hill!
As Unohana pondered, Nobu suddenly raised the blade, lunging toward her once more.
The plain Asauchi traced an unremarkably straight line through the air. Just an ordinary slash—Unohana instinctively raised her blade to block, but astonishingly, Nobu's sword slipped effortlessly past hers.
Her pupils shrank sharply into tiny points.
"[Mahoraga]!"
Shua!
Blood blossomed upward violently. Unohana's inner shihakushō shredded open, splitting from chest to abdomen, leaving behind a narrow, vicious wound several dozen centimeters in length.
What's happening? Did I fail to see his sword's path clearly?
Impossible—he wasn't that fast…
Such questions flashed like lightning through Unohana's mind. Ignoring the severity of her new injury, she reacted instantly, slashing horizontally toward Nobu's neck.
Yet at the moment the blood-red blade almost touched Nobu, he had already readjusted his grip. The Asauchi was now pointed directly at Unohana's heart—
Pu!
The Asauchi pierced straight through Unohana's chest. Meanwhile, her blade pressed tightly against Nobu's neck, unable to advance even a millimeter further.
Neither had dodged the other's attack.
The flickering reishi shield covering Nobu's body finally collapsed completely.
Unohana's eyes trembled minutely. Her body staggered, taking a few steps backward, her blade merely scraping a shallow cut against Nobu's neck as she retreated.
She seemed momentarily dazed, staring deeply at Nobu. Blood suddenly surged from her mouth, and she murmured indistinctly:
"Well done."
With her heart pierced, even her mastery of Kaidō couldn't prevent instant loss of combat ability. Her body swayed, attempting briefly to hold herself upright with her sword, but it lasted less than a second. Finally, she fell backward, hitting the ground like a kite whose string had snapped.
Her body collapsed quietly, almost anticlimactically.
"Hah—"
The moment Unohana hit the ground, her breathing suddenly grew rapid and ragged, her body going rigid, trembling uncontrollably.
Blood spattered across her face, her breath rattling at an alarming frequency as her immense reiatsu rapidly drained away like a deflating balloon.
Her gaze fixed blankly on the sky above, restored to its original appearance after her Bankai dispersed. In this instant, it was unclear what she might be thinking.
Nobu, straining desperately to maintain consciousness, approached her slowly, dropping to one knee by her side. Looking down at her face, he finally saw an expression—a blend of pain, but also something like relief.
"Taichō… do you wish to die?"
Unohana's eyes moved slowly, locking onto his face. Her gaze now held a rare and vivid clarity. Nobu had seen gentleness in those eyes before, and cold indifference too—but what lay in them now was something complex he couldn't quite define.
Yet, there was no fear.
Nobu pressed his palm against her chest. Unohana's haori was tattered, the shihakushō beneath completely torn open. Her pale skin was a tapestry of blood, healing scars and fresh wounds interwoven chaotically.
He transferred the last bit of reiatsu he could muster into her body.
Shua-shua-shua—
Suddenly, several figures appeared atop the rocky wall surrounding this hidden space.
The searchers had finally arrived.
Nobu had no time to glance upward. With every last shred of his concentration, he poured the ability of his Zanpakutō into healing her wounds.
Unohana's injuries were far beyond severe; with his current reiatsu reserves, complete healing was impossible. At best, he could only stop the bleeding.
Slowly, the look in Unohana's eyes turned calm and serene once more. Her blood-streaked face showed no distinct emotion. Yet, as she gazed at Nobu's face, inches from her own, she suddenly raised her Zanpakutō, pressing its edge firmly against his neck.
This time, Nobu had no ability left to block damage. Just the slightest pressure broke the skin.
Decapitating him would likely be effortless now.
"Stop right there!"
A distant roar echoed as figures rushed downward into the pit.
Unohana hesitated, blade unmoving. She clearly felt the weak trickle of reishi Nobu was desperately channeling into her. His healing was slow, deliberate—as if each particle of reiatsu he shared was unspeakably precious.
Perhaps he was so utterly spent that even this minimal act required his total focus.
Nobu suddenly felt himself engulfed by an overwhelmingly terrifying reiatsu. Without the protection of his Zanpakutō's ability, this immense pressure crashed over him relentlessly. His vision darkened immediately, no longer conscious of the blade still pressed against his neck as he collapsed forward.
"..."
Fortunately, at the last possible moment, Unohana withdrew her sword.