A Battle at Full Power (Part 4)

Yamada Kiyonosuke descended from the sky, shouting his incantation before landing—a Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō. Six glowing rods of light slammed into Higashi Shuuichi's body, locking him firmly in place, exhausted and unable to move after the brutal battle.

"Higashi Shuuichi! What do you think you're doing?! You dared to use a Hadō above level 90 against the Captain?!"

Yamada's face was cold as stone, his Zanpakutō pressed against Shuuichi's neck.

"That was a tactical decision. Kurohitsugi isn't enough to injure the Captain."

Shuuichi frowned, meeting Yamada's gaze.

Right now, his spiritual power was completely drained. There was no way he could break out of Rikujōkōrō on his own.

"That's not an excuse! Even so, you're still forbidden to release your Zanpakutō in Soul Society without the Captain-Commander's permission! Have you forgotten that?!"

Yamada's eyes darted toward Heisha, still embedded in the ground not far away.

He knew better than anyone what prohibitions weighed on Shuuichi's shoulders.

Silence.

Shuuichi couldn't argue. Yamada wasn't wrong. Technically, the rule stood—though in practice, all it usually took was a single captain's approval for him to release his Zanpakutō, and the Captain-Commander would turn a blind eye afterward.

But if Yamada insisted on sticking to the letter of the law... well, Shuuichi was at fault.

Satisfied by Shuuichi's silence, Yamada sneered.

"I don't care what your reason is. Cancel Kurohitsugi—now!"

At that, Shuuichi rolled his eyes internally.

So after all that posturing, all Yamada really cared about was getting Unohana out of the coffin.

Was this what they called "panic out of care"?

Please.

Unohana wasn't someone a simple Kurohitsugi could restrain. If that spell could hold her, Shuuichi would believe pigs could fly.

"I've never heard of Kurohitsugi being cancelable... but I don't think you'll need my help."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Shuuichi didn't answer—he just gestured with his eyes.

Yamada turned to look behind him—and saw it.

The Kurohitsugi Shuuichi had cast with all his remaining power... now glowing with fractures.

Then it shattered—shards of darkened light bursting outward—followed by an eruption of overwhelming reiatsu.

From the ruin stepped a transformed Unohana Retsu—long hair flowing, presence changed entirely.

"What is that...?"

At that moment, nearly every Shinigami in Seireitei felt it.

"That reiatsu... it's coming from the 4th Division. Don't tell me... did Baraggan, the ruler of Hueco Mundo, invade?! This is bad!"

Some more seasoned seated officers immediately began preparing for an emergency response.

But just as they were mobilizing, their respective captains appeared—stopping them.

Some of those captains knew the truth of Unohana's power.

Others had received direct orders from the Captain-Commander: do not interfere with whatever was happening in the 4th Division.

Among those concerned officers, a bespectacled Shinigami pushed up his glasses with a faint smirk.

"So this is your true strength... Unohana Retsu…"

He didn't know for sure—but to him, it didn't really matter.

At the center of that storm, Yamada Kiyonosuke stood frozen—staring at the unscathed figure of Unohana, stepping forth from ruin.

As expected from his captain. Kurohitsugi? Not even worth mentioning.

At that moment, Yamada seemed to forget the sheer panic he'd been in only seconds earlier.

"Captain!"

He bowed, eyes shining.

But Unohana didn't even glance at him. Her eyes locked onto Shuuichi, still pinned by the Bakudō, unable to move.

"Is that all you've got?"

Destroying Kurohitsugi was no effort at all with her reiatsu released.

But now, her blood was up—she wanted a real fight. And seeing Shuuichi like this? Incredibly disappointing.

"That's all I've got…"

Shuuichi gave a bitter smile.

His shoulders tried to shrug but couldn't even twitch.

"Too weak."

She vanished and reappeared in front of him. Three slashes—Rikujōkōrō shattered.

That should have ended it.

Shuuichi thought so. The battle had run its course. He hadn't hurt her, but he'd achieved his objective: forcing Unohana to release her full spiritual pressure, as Aizen had requested.

But in the next breath, Unohana had already crossed to where his Zanpakutō lay, lifted it with one slash, and sent it flying back to him.

He caught it, barely.

"Captain, what's the meaning of this…?"

"Your reiatsu may be depleted. But you've still got stamina, don't you? Show me your swordsmanship."

Shuuichi: What the hell? Are you insane?

Yamada: Captain! I'm available too!

The thoughts of the only other two present were instantaneous.

Shuuichi had barely practiced swordsmanship under Aizen. His training focused on Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kidō.

Now Unohana wanted to spar with blades?

That was like asking an elementary schooler to go twelve rounds with a world champion boxer.

Could he just surrender?

He wanted to. He really wanted to.

But then he saw her eyes—brimming with a bloodlust that had nowhere to go.

Fine.

"If that's your wish, Captain... then I'll take the first move."

It didn't matter whether he could win—his fighting spirit had to be convincing.

And then—well, there was nothing more to say.

He attacked.

He got cut down.

Tried to flee.

Got cut down again.

Eventually surrendered.

It was one-sided, brutal, boring.

Even Yamada—who had stuck around to watch—couldn't stomach it and walked out halfway through.

What? Heal Shuuichi?

Not a chance.

The so-called "duel" devolved into a farce, and only ended when Captain-Commander Yamamoto himself arrived—marking its conclusion with the sight of Higashi Shuuichi bloodied and broken on the ground.