CH 46: YACHIRU UNOHANA (1)

*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*

"Damn, this training is really hell."

Laying down on the hard ground, a bloodied Gojo breathed roughly while complaining. 

From head to toe, there was no part of his body that wasn't covered in blood. 

But strangely, there was no part of his body that was wounded. 

Standing not far from him, Unohana smiled, 

"Get up. It's only your 50th 'death'. After all–you were born ready, right?" 

Looking down on him, she tightened the grip of her sword and stabbed Gojo. 

"Oh!" 

Thankfully, Gojo already knew that she would do something like this and managed to avoid her hit. 

Standing up, Gojo gave another look at Unohana. 

He was sure that if the members of the 4th division were to see the current Unohana as her unbound hair flew behind her, they would piss themselves in fright. 

"So, ready for your 51st?" 

'Man, what kind of situation did I put myself in?' 

---

[One day ago] 

After Gojo gave his consent, Unohana stood up and brought him to a place under her office. 

From what she said, she used the two months to create this place. 

The underground was rather vast, there few lamps floating in the air and illuminating the zone. 

Gojo took off his blindfold as he wished to admire the place and he was surprised.

No matter how Gojo looked at it, this was a huge training ground and he really wondered how she created it.

The moment he entered the zone, he immediately felt as if all his senses were cut off. 

It was a special barrier placed by Unohana after a few weeks of preparation. 

It seemed that she had been sure that he would accept. 

Once they were in the center of the room, Unohana began to explain. 

"You have two objectives. One is learning the self-healing techniques that I have created, and the second one is to reach the Shikai level. Which one do you want to begin with?"

"Shikai."

The project Limitless was a long-term one. Even his ancestors took decades to create it.

Though Gojo was sure that he was even more of a genius than his ancestor, this still wasn't something that could be done in a hurry.

If so, learning Shikai was the best option.

"I see. Then--"

<>

Faster than he could think, almost as a reflex, Gojo moved backward at full throttle.

Despite this, 

*Drip *Drip*

"How?"

He had been barely able to react.

The Six eyes allowed him to alter his perception of time so that one instant, in reality, could change into one minute for him.

Despite this, the sword had moved so fast that he could only dodge by reflex more than anything.

Even then, a large wound going from his left hip to his right shoulder was opened and bled profusely.

He had no doubt, 

'If I had been any slower, I would have died.'

Looking up, he could see Unohana sheathing her sword in its scabbard before moving her hand toward her braids, 

"You know, long, long ago. The Soul Society wasn't as peaceful as it is now. Fighting and killing were commonplace. Ah! It was truly a blissful period."

As she said that, a smile full of happiness bloomed on her face. 

"During those times, the one who quelled the chaos was the captain commander as well as twelve others. We were the first captains--we were also all criminals. Hahaha! Don't you find it funny? A bunch of criminals hailed as heroes, protectors of the soul society. The height of irony."

She laughed for a short while letting down her long and beautiful black hair.

The moment she did so, the very aura around her seemed to change.

If before, the one standing in front of him was a benevolent saint.

Now, it was as if he was standing in front of a bloodthirsty Shura.

He also caught the sight of a small scar in the middle of her chest.

"In those times, I called myself Yachiru."

"Yachiru?."

"Indeed. Yachi as in Countless and Ru as in Styles."

Placing her hand once again on the hilt of her sword, the corners of her lips raised in a devilish smile.

"I am the best sword user in the whole Seireitei. I polished my arts again and again and learned all possible styles to deal with all situations and learned how to kill in hundreds of different ways, and— that's what I will teach you. After all, how could you be worthy of your Shikai if you don't even know how to wield your sword?"

"I see."

<>

Immediately red and black lightning surrounded Gojo, distorting the very atmosphere.

"Ready?" Unohana asked with a child like glee, "Then–die."

The world in Gojo's vision was cut into two.

----

[Present Time]

"You are really good. I thought that you would have died about 300 or so times by day one. But to think it only happened 50 times."

"Haha. Your way of giving compliments is really weird."

"The most impressive thing, though, is your control over your energy."

Unohana was truly surprised about what Gojo had shown her.

Even though she did not use her Shikai or Bankai, the fact that Gojo was slowly adapting to her sword was not a simple feat.

What more, she could feel that his energy reserves had barely diminished since the start of this training. She guessed that either of those had to do with those eyes of his. But,

"Your stamina is too low."

She could also see that his concentration was degrading too fast. It seemed that those eyes sapped his mental strength faster than normal.

"Hey! Don't say it in such a way. I would like to let you know that I have matchless stamina."

"What do you mean….Oh!"

Unohana tilted her head in incomprehension for a short while before the light of understanding filled her eyes.

She couldn't help but chuckle, "Are you teasing an old woman like me?"

Even though she had never had a relationship with a man, she wasn't a shy maiden that would blush just because of some light teasing. Such a thing was too common in the army.

Using the opportunity to catch his breath, Gojo smiled, "What do you mean old? Mature women have the best charms."

"Fufufu. Few people would be in a teasing mood after facing death so many times in one day."

"Heh, what can I say? I am just built differently."

Even though Unohana did not particularly care, there was no woman who would hate having her appearance praised. Even more so if the one doing so was a handsome fellow.

Still, now wasn't the time for that.

"I think we did enough for today. Now that we fought for an entire day, I have managed to get a grasp of your current skill level. Stay here, Isane will bring you food and a change of clothes. We will continue tomorrow. Trust me, at the end of this training, you will be a new man."

On those words, she turned around and began to walk away.

If initially, this had just been a whim for her, now, she was fully committed. 

Unohana believed in one thing, 

When a strong person meets another strong person, they should only be used to either kill or nurture that person.

As he was now, Gojo was still far from a strong person in her eyes.

But she could feel it. Her instincts were screaming at her.

This young man had the potential to become the strongest.

if it was so, she did not mind dying under his blade.

After all, if he could kill her, then he would surely be able to wash away her greatest sin.

---

(AN: What I hated the most in bleach was the power system. Initially, Bankai needed ten years of careful training. But behold. I have created a technique to learn in three days. Awesome, right? Like Ichigo in two weeks, went from not even knowing Shikai and being beaten by a Byakuya who only had 20% of his strength, to learning Bankai and fighting Equally with Byakuya at full power. If shit like that only happened with Ichigo, I could say okay. He is the mc. But that happens to everyone. Shinigami are supposed to have a natural limit. That's one of the reasons why Aizen created Hogyoku. But it seems like this limit doesn't apply to people Ichigo is close to.)