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[Crossover] Ch 28: Ryo Vs. Unohana
🕑 Added 2025-05-19 23:31:55 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
The road was blocked.
Unohana Retsu didn't seem the least bit surprised. She simply smiled and glanced around.
"This feeling… a barrier? Looks like they're trying to stop me from calling for help."
"Eh?!" Kotetsu Isane, who had already pressed the emergency beacon, froze.
Blocked? Her call for backup got intercepted? That meant it was just the two of them—two medics—facing off against a dangerous intruder?
They were so screwed.
Just then, the figure still wearing Uryu Ishida's appearance—Ryo—adjusted his glasses and calmly said:
"Captain of Division Four, Retsu Unohana. You came here alone to lure me out, didn't you?"
"WHAT?" Isane gasped.
So this wasn't some setup ordered by Division One—they weren't being used as bait?
Wait, her own captain volunteered to be the bait?!
'Captain, you're really screwing me over here! You're a healer, not a frontline fighter!'
Unohana didn't argue. She just kept smiling as she looked at Ryo.
"Still hiding behind that face, Ryo Yagami—Tenth Seat?"
"Captain?" Isane blinked in confusion, staring at Unohana. "That guy clearly looks like someone else... right?"
Clap, clap, clap.
Ryo slowly applauded, then took off his glasses, his voice turning cold:
"Honestly, I was planning to drop the disguise soon anyway… but I didn't expect you to see through it so quickly."
He lowered his tone.
"As expected of the first Kenpachi… Yachiru Unohana. Your instincts are something else."
The name Yachiru made Unohana's eyes briefly widen, though her smile never wavered.
"Wait, first Kenpachi? That's the founder of Division Eleven, right?" Isane was completely lost now.
Her gentle, healing-focused captain… the founder of the all-slash-no-thought Division Eleven?
That had to be a joke, right?
But—Unohana didn't deny it.
"Isane, fall back. One kilometer. The farther the better," Unohana said as she slowly drew her Zanpakutō.
"Yes, ma'am!" Isane spun around and sprinted away without hesitation.
Seeing that, Ryo turned to Orihime.
"You too. Get out of here."
"O-Okay…"
Orihime hesitated, realizing her whole role here was just to confirm Ryo's identity. She turned and bolted.
'Still didn't get to see his real face…' she thought as she ran.
Letting her go without interference, Unohana continued smiling as she said:
"So, how long are you going to keep up that appearance?"
"Impatient, aren't you?"
Ryo pulled out a pocket watch. When he saw the number 6, he gave a small smirk.
He pocketed the watch, then casually drew his Zanpakutō.
"By the way, how exactly did you figure me out?"
Unohana answered with an amused smile:
"Just a hunch."
"From the moment we met, I sensed how dangerous you were. Then came the intrusions. Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi was killed in Division Five's territory. That alone raised flags."
"At that time, only two people had the power to take him down in that area—you or Captain Aizen."
"And Aizen? He's obviously not the culprit. Which left you."
"Of course, in the chaos, you didn't stand out much. That was clever."
She glanced in the direction Orihime had run off.
"But I didn't expect you to be working with the intruders."
"Now that I've figured out who you are… it's only natural you'd want to eliminate me."
Ryo said with a sigh. "Which explains why you made this move to lure me out, right?"
"Women's intuition is... terrifying."
Before he even finished speaking, he was suddenly behind Unohana—blade thrusting straight for her right eye.
"Let's see it then—your Kenpachi swordsmanship!!"
Unohana parried the thrust with a flick of her blade, then twisted her wrist and brought her Zanpakutō down toward Ryo's neck.
Clang!
The blade met nothing but air—Ryo's body flickered and split apart.
"A decoy?" Unohana muttered.
From behind, Ryo swung again, blade aimed at her back.
Clang!
She blocked it again.
But before she could deflect it, Ryo's right hand blurred—dozens, maybe hundreds of slashes cut through the air like a storm, targeting all of Unohana's vital points.
Instead of retreating, Unohana closed the distance—parrying and weaving in dangerously close.
Steel clashed with steel in a furious storm.
Then, with a sudden upward slash, Ryo tore through the front of Unohana's shihakushō.
But she wasn't done either—her empty left hand suddenly produced a short blade and stabbed toward Ryo's face.
In the blink of an eye, both fighters retreated twenty meters, standing off once more.
Ryo touched his cheek, watching Unohana warily.
She glanced down at her trembling left hand… then looked back at Ryo's untouched face, frowning slightly.
"Even a concentrated Reiryoku thrust couldn't break your skin… and that speed earlier…"
"You're not really a Shinigami, are you?"
This… was bad.
Unohana felt the weight of the situation.
She could tell—Ryo was a complete novice in swordsmanship. He had almost no experience in actual combat.
And still, he was matching her.
Why? Because he was just that fast. Ridiculously fast. Faster than any Shinigami she'd ever seen—even she could barely keep track of his movements.
Pure speed alone… not even Yoruichi Shihōin, the Flash Goddess herself, might be able to compete.
And that absurdly tough body…?
She couldn't see any path to victory.
Relying on technique?
Her swordsmanship focused on swift, lethal precision. But against someone that fast? Landing a fatal strike was nearly impossible.
As for raw Reiatsu—he hadn't shown much of it yet, but based on this fight, he definitely wasn't lacking.
So that only left...
"This makes the third time, I think."
Unohana slowly sheathed her sword.
Then, she reached up and began to untie the braided bun over her chest, revealing the blade-shaped scar on her collarbone.
Her entire aura shifted in an instant—from graceful healer to bloodthirsty warrior.
She took hold of her Zanpakutō again, narrowing her eyes at Ryo.
"In all these years, you're only the third man who's ever pushed me to go all out."
"Oh? I should be honored then."
Ryo raised an eyebrow, then grinned as he gripped his blade tighter.
"In that case—if I survive this… how about we go out sometime?"
Unohana raised an eyebrow, her tone softening slightly again: "A confession through combat?"
"Surprisingly… I kinda like it."
She smiled as she lowered her blade.
"...Bankai. Minazuki."
A torrent of crimson blood erupted, swallowing everything around her.
The Reishi barrier sealing the area shattered like glass beneath the pressure of her full release.
In that instant, a hole was blasted into the sky above Seireitei by her raging spiritual energy.
---
Elsewheres…
"W-What the hell?!" At the Senzaikyu, Captain Byakuya Kuchiki instinctively clenched his fists.
...
High above Seireitei, Ichigo Kurosaki shot into the sky, shouting, "Rukiaaaaaa!!"
...
In Division One's main hall, Yamamoto turned southward, frowning.
...
In Division Four's medical ward, Kenpachi Zaraki gritted his teeth, trying—and failing—to grip his sword. He let out a furious roar.
"Damn it! Of all times—I can't fight now?!"
...
In the Division Five patrol sector... Aizen Sōsuke adjusted his glasses with a faint smile.
...
All across Seireitei, the captains turned toward the direction of Division Four, eyes wide in disbelief.
---
And finally—
At Division Eight's barracks, Shunsui Kyōraku, who'd just flattened another rogue intruder, looked eastward in shock.
"That Reiatsu... She's actually going all out?"
After double-checking, confirming that this was truly Unohana at full power, Shunsui lowered his hat and muttered:
"…Looks like this just got a whole lot more complicated."
.
.
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