IW: Chapter 166 - Aizen: His caution far surpasses mine!
"Just kidding, speaking of which, your luck with women has made Shunsui envious for a long time."
Unohana Retsu glossed over her previous remark. Some things are best said once; dwelling on them isn't charming.
In fact, it was only after spending a long time with Bai Ye that Unohana Retsu realized her own personality seemed to have changed a little.
"I haven't had any relationships with any women."
What's there to be envious about?
A trace of a dark line flashed in Bai Ye's eyes. While luck with women was one thing, being surrounded by too many women wasn't necessarily a good thing.
He wasn't the type who wanted many women around him. Perhaps his counterpart in the Human World would like it?
He actually preferred others not to notice him; if he wanted to stay low-key, the fewer people who noticed him, the better.
"Then they'll probably be very disappointed."
"Actually, there's nothing to be disappointed about. They don't understand me. Perhaps they only like the surface, and once they understand me, they won't like me anymore."
"So you want to change that?"
Somewhat unexpected.
She hadn't expected Bai Ye to dislike being sought after. Was that why he stopped coming to flower arranging classes?
Unohana Retsu seemed to understand that he wasn't someone who liked to show off.
Was that also why he disliked fighting?
Although Bai Ye's spiritual pressure felt very strong now, his disinclination to fight, his preference for self-training, or his willingness to help others with healing at the Fourth Division barracks, all seemed consistent with his current actions.
"I really don't like it much; I prefer to be alone."
Compared to being in everyone's sight, he preferred that no one noticed him.
If only he had Kato Megumi's talent.
"So it seems they were all wrong when they guessed you liked men!"
"That Shunsui fellow, right?"
Only that unprincipled person would guess that.
Perhaps Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara, who hadn't defected from the Soul Society, were also involved.
Anyway, among those captains and lieutenants, only a few were gossips.
"I didn't say who it was!"
Although Bai Ye had guessed correctly, Unohana Retsu wouldn't admit it.
"By the way, you might have an overseas mission later."
As expected!
Bai Ye finally understood why Unohana Retsu had sought him out.
It seemed he couldn't avoid it after all?
Although generally, the Fourth Division didn't have many external missions.
After all, they were just doctors, responsible for healing, while fighting was the business of other divisions.
However, the Fourth Division wasn't always confined to the barracks; sometimes they did perform external missions.
And Bai Ye had never participated in an external mission since joining the Fourth Division.
"Leaving the Soul Society?"
"Yes, recently there have been many Menos Grande and some strange things appearing in the Human World, so the Captain-Commander has ordered an investigation."
"I go to investigate?"
Bai Ye was numb.
He was a doctor, why did he have to go investigate?
Had the old man Yamamoto been Captain-Commander for too long, causing his brain to turn to mush?
"You're leading the team, but you don't need to fight."
"A small team?"
"Yes."
No need to think about it.
Aizen made his move.
Bai Ye didn't believe that the Menos Grande and strange things in the Human World weren't put there by Aizen. It seemed Aizen couldn't hold back anymore, and his plan was likely to begin soon.
Therefore, he needed to thoroughly test the strength and everything else of various individuals in the Soul Society.
This also seemed to fit Aizen's character perfectly.
With himself leading the team, Aizen would then arrange one or two Menos Grande or some other chaotic things to be thrown at their small team.
If he was weak, Aizen wouldn't worry and would arrange for the Hollow to eliminate him. If he was strong, Aizen would target him and begin another plan.
Speaking of which, he really needed to meet Aizen.
"So, Captain Unohana, you called me just to tell me this? Couldn't you have just said it back at the barracks?"
Having understood this point, Bai Ye didn't try to evade.
He knew very well that he couldn't escape this time.
In fact, not just Aizen, but everyone else probably wanted to see his strength. Perhaps the old man also had this idea. Since graduating, Bai Ye had never made a move, and he had always been a lieutenant.
Although the Fourth Division itself was not a combat division, since he was a lieutenant, his strength certainly couldn't be weak to a certain extent.
"You guessed it, didn't you?"
Unohana Retsu looked at Bai Ye's expression and understood in her heart; Bai Ye had most likely grasped the meaning.
"Yes."
"So, this time I came to you not only to tell you this, but also because I don't want my lieutenant to die on this mission." She finished, looking seriously at Bai Ye: "So, let me test your strength!"
She hadn't made a move in a long time. Originally, her idea was to not make a move if possible, but Bai Ye's situation made Unohana Retsu realize that she had to understand Bai Ye's strength.
She had no strength requirements for the people in her division, but this time Bai Ye had to go out on a mission, so she had to test him, because even if others had no strength requirements for them, Unohana Retsu at least roughly knew, but only Bai Ye himself was completely unaware.
"Should I feel honored then?"
A wry smile flashed across Bai Ye's face. He hadn't expected his first opponent to be the First Kenpachi.
Speaking of which, could he not fight?
Just as Bai Ye was about to utter that sentence, he saw Unohana Retsu had already drawn her Zanpakuto.
"No one will come here. Let me test you!"
"…"
It seemed there was no escaping it.
Unohana Retsu in combat mode was like a different person; her tone was no longer as gentle as before.
"Then I won't hold back!"
With that, Bai Ye's Zanpakuto directly struck at Unohana Retsu.
"Good power, and very fast too. It seems you've put effort into your swordsmanship."
Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, Kido.
These are the four most basic abilities of a Shinigami.
Whether it was Shunpo or sword attacks, Unohana Retsu felt that Bai Ye had practiced them well.
But...
He couldn't compare to the legendary genius from back then!
Unohana Retsu frowned, always feeling that Bai Ye's strength shouldn't be limited to this.
Several consecutive attacks gave her the impression that Bai Ye's strength was only at the lieutenant level.
"Captain Unohana, I feel like I'm pretty much at my limit!"
After saying that, Bai Ye estimated in his heart that he had probably only revealed lieutenant-level strength.
He had to stay low-key!
He absolutely couldn't expose his true strength or abilities.
"Use your Zanpakuto's ability, then?"
Unohana Retsu nodded, not pressing further. Although Bai Ye was somewhat underwhelming compared to the rumors, she didn't say much, as his strength was sufficient.
She would see his Zanpakuto's ability first.
"Okay, Captain Unohana, my Zanpakuto is a lightning-type Zanpakuto; it can control lightning."
Lightning type, huh?
"Shine, Rumble!"
After using the Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability, Bai Ye surprisingly discovered that there were three sneaky people hiding here!
Damn it!
Captain Unohana, didn't you say there was no one here?
If he hadn't just been thinking about activating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in conjunction with Observation Haki as his Zanpakuto ability, he wouldn't have noticed them.
However, since those three guys were watching, Bai Ye didn't mind letting them think his Zanpakuto's ability was lightning-based.
Anyway, he had planned to expose this ability from the start.
As for his other abilities, he would try not to expose them for now.
And damn it, he had even been thinking earlier that if Aizen invited him later, he would temporarily make contact.
He hadn't expected that as soon as he left the Fourth Division with Unohana Retsu, those three sneaky guys would follow.
On the Zanpakuto, lightning snakes flashed, and the destructive aura piqued Unohana Retsu's interest somewhat.
"Is your Zanpakuto similar to Toushiro's?"
"Yes, but the abilities are slightly different."
"Then I'll be a bit more serious now!"
"Hey, hey, hey, Captain Unohana, are you trying to kill me?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Bai Ye's body was cut in half by Unohana Retsu.
And Bai Ye, who was originally in two halves, could still speak, which surprised her somewhat. Raising the sword in her hand, she also asked curiously, "I gave you time to react just now, but you had no intention of dodging, so I cut down. However, I am quite confident in my strength."
In her previous battle with Bai Ye, she had noticed the speed of Bai Ye's combat reflexes.
So, when she drew her sword, she also gave Bai Ye time to react.
And Bai Ye could definitely have dodged if he wanted to, but Bai Ye had no intention of dodging, so she cut down.
She could control her strength, and if she really injured Bai Ye, she would stop immediately.
Now it seemed Bai Ye was just trying to show off his ability.
"So, this is your ability?"
"That's right. My ability is that as long as I hold Rumble, it can help me elementalize my body, and anyone cut by Rumble will be paralyzed. At the same time, I can control small currents to shock people.
Rumble also gives me some speed boosts, but I must hold it. Once it's not in my hand, I can't use this ability!"
"Is that so?"
Unohana Retsu nodded, mentally assigning a ranking to Bai Ye's ability.
This Zanpakuto seemed very strong.
The ability to elementalize was already quite good, and it also had the partial ability to enhance Hakuda and lightning.
It was just a bit of a shame that the sword needed to be held in hand.
"Then it seems I don't need to worry about my lieutenant dying on this mission!"
Unohana Retsu had been very worried about Bai Ye before, but now she didn't need to worry. At least this elementalization gave Bai Ye the ability to protect himself.
Moreover, this time Bai Ye wasn't going on the mission alone, and he wasn't part of the combat ranks.
"Let's go, I'll gather some medicinal herbs for you."
"Hey, hey, hey, Captain Unohana, are you cursing me?"
Listening to Unohana Retsu's words, a dark line couldn't help but flash in Bai Ye's eyes.
Good heavens, what did that mean?
Did it mean he would get injured on this mission to the Human World?
"I'm not, no. I really hope you, little Bai Ye, come back unharmed, because if you come back injured, I'll be very troubled!"
"Troubled about what?"
"…"
Hey!
Say something!
Seeing Unohana Retsu seemingly having no intention of continuing, Bai Ye complained inwardly.
She did it on purpose!
Unohana Retsu was definitely doing it on purpose!
And she had said earlier that she didn't care about what he said, but now it seemed she was deliberately retaliating for those past words, right?
And that mysterious smile… Sure enough, the Captain Unohana he used to know was gone, or rather, the Captain Unohana he saw before him seemed to never have existed at all.
Shaking his head, Bai Ye casually glanced in Aizen and the others' direction, then followed Unohana Retsu and left.
Anyway, his ability had already been 'exposed' to Aizen and them.
What they did next was none of his business.
Moreover, he was very curious if Aizen would continue to pay attention to him after he exposed his abilities and threat level.
After all, Aizen didn't know his abilities before and always thought he was very strong, but now that Bai Ye had revealed everything himself, that shouldn't be the case anymore, right?
"Lord Aizen, he doesn't seem as strong as we imagined."
After Bai Ye and Unohana Retsu left, Aizen and the others also chose not to follow. Tōsen Kaname looked at the place where Bai Ye and Unohana Retsu had fought earlier. They had all seen Bai Ye's ability just now; of course, he couldn't see it, but he could sense it.
"Indeed, but his ability seems quite troublesome."
Ichimaru Gin felt that the combat power Bai Ye had just displayed was only at the lieutenant level.
But when he enrolled, the legend of Bai Ye had always existed.
He was known as a genius rarely seen in a hundred years.
But his own strength had already surpassed him by too much.
"Who knows?"
Aizen smiled, looking in the direction Bai Ye had left, and had some calculations in his mind.
"So, Lord Aizen, you think he's hiding his strength?"
But he shouldn't have exposed it just now.
Bai Ye had no need to hide his strength, or was he trying to hide it from Unohana Retsu?
"We'll know by testing him. After all, it's normal for him not to reveal his full strength without experiencing life-or-death situations. Besides, who told you that what your eyes see and your ears hear is necessarily true?"
Your five senses can deceive you!
Aizen didn't believe that Bai Ye was as he appeared now; the spiritual pressure he had unleashed back then had even surprised him, a captain.
How could his strength not only have not improved over so many years, but instead declined?
So he decided to continue with the previous test. If Bai Ye knew this, he would definitely curse; indeed, a cunning person, they thought alike!
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