Even after so many years, after Zaraki had grown from the wild, blood-stained boy he once was, Unohana recognized him instantly.
The moment her eyes fell upon him, the memory of that battle came flooding back: the sight of a child drenched in blood, his blade trembling with pure, unrestrained joy.
Ever since that day, since she was wounded by Zaraki, Unohana had been burdened by one emotion: regret.
'I was too weak.'
She had seen that overwhelming desire to fight burning in Zaraki's eyes even back then. But because of her own weakness, she had failed to grant him the satisfaction of a true battle. To her, that failure was unforgivable.
And what made the wound deeper was what came afterward, when she sought him again, hoping to fight once more, she discovered that Zaraki had subconsciously sealed away his own power, lowering himself to match her level.
All because of her.
The child who had been born for battle, whose strength was boundless, had, because of her weakness, learned to restrain himself.
He should have become one of the strongest shinigami in history.
Instead, he buried his fangs.
The realization had tormented her for centuries.
And so, to atone, to ensure that one day he could fight freely again, Unohana dedicated herself to the mastery of Kaidō, the healing branch of Kidō. She learned it directly from Kirinji Tenjiro. But her reason for studying healing was not compassion.
It was selfish.
She wanted to heal herself and Zaraki, so that neither of them would ever die before the battle was truly over.
Later, she willingly cast aside the name "Kenpachi". When the First Generation captain of the Fourth Division fell in battle, she transferred to that squad and became its new captain.
She told others it was out of repentance.
But in truth, she simply believed she no longer deserved the title of Kenpachi.
Because there could be only one true Kenpachi, Zaraki.
Over the centuries, she honed her Kaidō and waited patiently, silently, for the day he would appear in Seireitei again.
A soul like Zaraki's could never remain in Rukongai forever. He would tire of that stagnant world sooner or later.
He would hunger for stronger opponents.
He would come.
And when that day arrived, she would finally be able to fight him again, and let him enjoy the thrill of battle that she once denied him.
To please Zaraki was to please herself.
However, even for Unohana, fate had its surprises.
She had never expected Zaraki to enter Seireitei under someone else's guidance, following Gosuke Shigure of all people, and to appear before her like this.
'Do you want to fight me again?' she thought, as her fingers paused over the stem of a flower.
As Unohana's thoughts swirled, Zaraki's gaze met hers.
For a brief, breathless moment, both were frozen in time.
He, too, recognized her instantly.
"So it's you…" Zaraki's low voice rumbled through the air.
Images flashed through his mind, the same quiet woman standing amidst corpses, her blade gleaming with blood. She had been the first person in his life to make him feel the joy of combat.
And in all the long, endless years that followed, no one else ever made him feel that way again.
He had searched for that same exhilaration in countless fights, but it had never returned.
Until now.
He hadn't expected that so soon after entering Seireitei, he would meet her again, the one who had given him that scar and that unforgettable battle.
His instincts screamed to draw his sword. His hand twitched toward the hilt.
But somehow… he stopped himself.
Across from him, Unohana stood just as still. Her eyes, for all their calm, flickered with faint emotion.
Gosuke Shigure noticed immediately. He knew that the two shared a history, and the tension between them told him their motives.
Before things escalated, Shigure stepped forward. "Captain Unohana," he said lightly, breaking the silence, "it's been quite some time."
At his voice, Unohana's sharp gaze softened again. She turned toward him with a faint smile. "Captain Gosuke," she said gently, "is there something you require from the Fourth Division today?"
Her smile deepened slightly. "You don't seem injured, so I assume it's not treatment."
Despite her calmness, her eyes still lingered on Zaraki, flickering with something between memory and curiosity.
Shigure, unbothered, smiled back. "You could say it's a personal matter, Captain Unohana."
"Oh?" she replied, intrigued. "Now I'm curious."
Her eyes, those deep, tranquil eyes, narrowed slightly in interest as she folded her hands before her, waiting for his explanation.
Shigure gestured to the towering figure behind him. "His name is Zaraki." he said. "He's a strong soul I recruited personally from Rukongai."
Unohana's brows lifted slightly. "Recruited?" she echoed, amusement flickering in her voice. "That's not something we hear often these days."
She tilted her head slightly, studying him. "With the establishment of the Shinō Academy, nearly every shinigami is trained there now. Few captains bother to recruit souls directly from Rukongai anymore. What made you do it?"
Her tone was calm, but Shigure could tell she was testing him.
And in that moment, she was also thinking back, far, far back.
Eight hundred years ago.
After the bloody war with the quincy had ended and Seireitei was rebuilt, the first Gotei 13 was formed.
Back then, Unohana had been the First Kenpachi — the founder of the Eleventh Division.
And just like Shigure now, she too had ventured into Rukongai, searching for the strong.
She remembered it clearly: the endless corpses, the scent of blood, and that lone boy standing among them, Zaraki.
When he saw her, he hadn't hesitated. He had swung his blade without a word.
Ordinary children might tremble before a shinigami's power. But that boy had been fearless, even joyful.
Unohana could have easily dodged that crude, unrefined slash, but she hadn't.
His blade had cut her deeply, leaving a scar that still marked her body.
That wound had been her punishment, and her greatest joy.
Even now, as she looked at Zaraki, the memory of that battle stirred within her, filling her chest with the same long-buried exhilaration.
She realized that Gosuke Shigure's words had brought those memories back to life once more, memories she had buried beneath centuries of calm smiles and gentle gestures.
Twice now, within mere minutes, she had remembered the past she tried to forget.
Zaraki truly was unforgettable.
Meanwhile, Shigure continued speaking, his voice steady.
"Although most shinigami today come from the Shinō Academy, Captain Unohana, you know as well as I do that my Eleventh Division is different. We are the front line of battle. We are soldiers."
"The shinigami who graduate from the Academy are certainly capable," he went on, "but they lack something essential, real experience. They've never fought for their lives. They've never killed for a sip of water."
His tone hardened. "But in Rukongai, it's different. Especially in the outer districts. There, survival itself is war. Those souls live by the blade every day. That kind of existence forges true strength."
He looked at Zaraki, then back at Unohana. "And among those souls, the ones born with shinigami potential are the rarest kind of treasure — unrefined gems."
He smiled faintly. "Zaraki is the rough stone I found in Rukongai."
*****
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✓ Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!
✓ Naruto: Senmei Asahi
✓ Naruto: Uchiha's Intelligence Dealer
✓ Naruto: The Fifth Hokage Is Naruto's Uncle
✓ Naruto: Who Made Him a Ninja?
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✓ To Love-Ru: Spoiler Route [R-18]
✓ Naruto: The Accidental Incubus [R-18]