Unohana Retsu, as she was now, was even colder than Aizen—if not by much, then by something sharper.
When Bai Chen met her gaze head-on, the only things he could feel in those blood-red eyes were endless killing intent… and an overwhelming hunger for battle.
Which meant one thing—
From here on out, there would only be swinging blades and spilling blood.
And only by doing that… could the "First Kenpachi" Unohana be satisfied.
"Bai Chen…"
"In your eyes, I sensed a hint of hesitation."
"That is not the look you should have when facing Yachiru-Style Swordsmanship."
With chilling indifference, Unohana raised her curved wooden sword and pointed its tip at Bai Chen from afar.
Then she spoke, cold enough to make a person's spine tighten.
"Do you know?"
"If you want to quickly control the blood malice in Yachiru-Style Swordsmanship…"
"There is a fast-track method."
Her voice carried a dangerous kind of temptation—half warning, half goading.
"A fast-track method?"
Bai Chen's eyelid twitched.
He couldn't deny it—his heart stirred.
For him, the most desirable path was always the same:
Get stronger fast.
And that was exactly how he'd lived these past months.
So if there truly was a shortcut…
even if it demanded a price, he wouldn't flinch.
"That's right."
"Normally, you can adapt through long hours of cutting and parrying—immersing yourself and gradually becoming accustomed to the malice until you fully master it."
"But for you… that method is too slow."
Even in her cold state, Unohana remained rational—and in her own way, she was acknowledging Bai Chen's absurd talent.
"However…"
"If you abandon parrying and blocking…"
"If you keep taking wounds and bleeding—letting the blood malice enter your body directly through your injuries…"
Unohana narrowed her eyes, her gaze filled with unmistakable expectation.
"As long as you can stay standing…"
"As long as you don't die to my blade…"
"Then within three days…"
"Bai Chen… you will definitely seize control of the blood malice."
She stated it plainly.
And that "shortcut," stripped down to its essence, was basically suicide.
No defense.
No blocks.
No parries.
Trade pain and blood for the malice invading your body.
To an ordinary soul, it was impossible.
They would be hacked down before the "learning" could even begin.
But Bai Chen wasn't ordinary.
"That's it?"
To Unohana's surprise, Bai Chen didn't retreat.
He didn't refuse.
He looked… unconcerned.
"That's all?"
He spoke lightly, almost lazily.
"Captain Unohana…"
"If it's that simple…"
"Then go ahead—swing however you like."
"During this process, I won't lift my sword."
"I won't block or parry. Not once."
His words sounded arrogant.
His calm expression clashed sharply against the gravity of Unohana's warning.
Even with her cold emotions, she was caught off guard.
"Bai Chen…"
"…Are you serious?"
"Of course."
Bai Chen shrugged.
"Captain Unohana, you're forgetting something."
"My Sealless Healing…"
"is superior even to Kaido."
"Honestly—if you don't swing fast enough…"
"your strikes might not even keep up with my wounds closing."
He said it like a joke.
But it landed like a slap.
A clean, perfect provocation.
Unohana's eyes went colder.
"Ridiculous."
"There is a limit to how far you can look down on someone."
"In your mind, are my strikes really that harmless?"
Her angry voice hadn't even fully traveled through the air—
and her body had already vanished.
Yachiru-Style Swordsmanship: Moon Shadow Slash!
She reappeared behind him—same opening, same cruelty.
The curved wooden blade drew a blood-colored arc like a moon's shadow, slashing down diagonally across Bai Chen's back.
SHHK—!
Flesh split.
In the empty dojo, the sound was brutally clear.
As Unohana wanted, Bai Chen's shihakushō tore, and a shocking red gash opened across his back.
And the blood malice immediately poured in through that wound, invading his body.
"This is the price of arrogance."
Unohana's blood-red eyes held no pity.
Only anger.
Only killing intent.
Bai Chen, however, still looked calm.
He even found it… not enough.
"A price?"
"Captain Unohana… forgive me, but this doesn't even qualify as a flesh wound."
"Watch closely."
"This is 'Sealless Healing.'"
He didn't move.
He didn't chant.
He simply willed it—
and a powerful life force surged.
A green flash swept over his back.
Unohana's expression cracked.
"…That fast?!"
In a blink, the wound vanished.
Smooth, flawless skin returned—almost like a newborn's.
The only difference was that a faint, eerie red glow lingered on the surface…
the proof that the blood malice had been absorbed.
"See?"
Bai Chen spoke lightly, still facing away as he felt the malice settling into him.
"Maybe you think I'm getting cocky."
"But I'm just telling the truth."
"And besides…"
"What you're holding is only a replica wooden blade."
"It's not your real zanpakutō."
The meaning was obvious:
Hit harder. Hit more.
After a brief pause, Bai Chen's confidence grew even clearer—
He truly believed he could keep absorbing the malice without leaving a single lasting scar.
Unohana exhaled—then gave a low, amused laugh.
"…I see."
"Looks like the shallow one… is me."
Her gaze at Bai Chen's back turned complicated.
She'd known he had an absurd healing ability.
But seeing it with her own eyes—
she finally understood how terrifying "Sealless Healing" really was.
With a skill like that…
Bai Chen really could absorb blood malice endlessly.
"Bai Chen…"
"I'm changing the plan."
"Three days is far too long for you."
As she spoke, Unohana raised the blade again, killing intent condensing to its peak.
"Three hours."
"I'll use the sharpest, most relentless slashes…"
"to push the malice inside you to full saturation—within the shortest time possible."
And then—
she struck.
A heavy, brutal slash carved another deep red wound across Bai Chen's back.
Immediately—
Sealless Healing activated.
Wound closed. Skin reborn. Malice absorbed.
"Again!"
Bai Chen's voice carried excitement—almost anticipation.
"Captain Unohana…"
"I hope you'll hold nothing back."
"While you're cutting me…"
"show me every technique of Yachiru-Style Swordsmanship."
He wasn't just trying to fuse blood malice into himself.
He wanted every move.
Every lesson.
Every kill-method inside that sword path.
"As you wish."
Unohana's eyes sharpened.
She swung again—this time with a new technique.
And from that moment on—
slash, wound, heal.
slash, wound, heal.
Each time Sealless Healing triggered, the blood malice merged deeper into Bai Chen—going from a foreign intrusion…
to something that began to feel like part of him.
And with the boost of his ultimate physique—
that fusion accelerated violently.
By the third hour…
Unohana realized something, and her eyes widened:
The malice contained in her sword techniques—
no longer worked on Bai Chen at all.
Which meant—
Through the most savage, direct method possible…
Bai Chen had mastered blood malice in less than half a day.
Not only that—
learning under Unohana, he had also absorbed the patterns and essence of Yachiru-Style Swordsmanship itself.
His blade skill surged.
Exploded.
And finally—
it touched the threshold of a true sword master.
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