Kenpachi slowly opened his eyes and found four people curiously peering down at him.
Each face wore the exact same expression: "Oh! You're awake!"
Kenpachi took a moment to adjust.
"Taichō!" Ikkaku and Yumichika called out in surprise and relief.
"What the hell are you yelling for? I'm not dead," Kenpachi growled, clearly annoyed.
Ikkaku just grinned, his bald head wrapped in gauze. "That brat doctor's something else! Got you healed up so fast!"
That was when Kenpachi finally noticed—there was an intruder among them. Standing there… was Kurosaki Ichigo!
"You were the one who treated me? Where am I?" Kenpachi looked confused. Wasn't it this guy who cut me down?
So how was he the one healing him now?
"We're in Squad Four right now, Kenny!" Yachiru chirped.
Kenpachi furrowed his brow and stared at Ichigo, who wore a rather unwilling look.
"Don't look at me like that. You think I wanted to treat you?" Ichigo replied bluntly.
Ikkaku and Yumichika exchanged a look. Damn, so our taichō actually knows this doctor?
"What are you doing here?" Kenpachi snapped.
Ichigo straightened his white coat with a smirk. "I'm the disciple of Unohana Retsu, the captain of Squad Four. Of course I'm working here as a doctor."
At that, Kenpachi's pupils shrank. "You're her disciple? Well, that explains a lot."
Clearly, Kenpachi misunderstood something...
After all, a thousand years ago, both he and Unohana thought they lost their battle against each other.
Kenpachi was the one who fell, but Unohana believed her win was unfair—he'd held back.
That fight had ended in a double defeat.
Unohana never got stronger again, while Kenpachi sealed his own power, becoming pathetically weak.
Now, looking at Ichigo, Kenpachi suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.
"All right, you're fine now. You'll be discharged this afternoon," Ichigo said, jotting something in his notebook without even looking up.
Kenpachi touched his chest and found the cross-shaped wound completely gone—as if it had never existed.
He stared after Ichigo, his expression complex.
Yachiru climbed up onto his shoulder and whispered, "Kenny, we owe Ichigo one now, huh?"
Kenpachi grinned viciously. "Then let's repay the favor!"
Ikkaku and Yumichika were even more confused now.
"Whatever you plan to do, taichō, we're with you!" the two said in unison, pledging their loyalty.
"Nope!" Yachiru interrupted, wagging a finger. "Baldy, you guys aren't fully healed yet. Rest up properly!"
Ikkaku groaned. "Damn, should've asked that doctor to treat us too…"
Yumichika nodded in agreement.
After healing a few more injured souls, Ichigo returned to Unohana's home.
Sitting by her flower garden, he sipped tea and sighed, "Phew! Finally done!"
Just then, a black cat dropped down beside him.
"So carefree, Ichigo. How'd you end up as a Squad Four doctor?" Yoruichi asked in her feline form.
Ichigo looked at her and chuckled. "It's undercover work. Gotta do something that fits my cover, right?"
But Yoruichi's face turned serious. "Well, looks like you won't be so carefree for much longer. I just got word—Rukia's execution date has changed again. She's scheduled to be executed in three days."
Ichigo didn't panic. Instead, he smiled. "Someone's getting impatient. Not even willing to wait the twenty days anymore."
Yoruichi gave him a suspicious glance. "What are you planning?"
Ichigo looked her straight in the eye and said honestly, "Not much. Just gonna walk into Sōkyoku Hill on the day and take her out."
Yoruichi narrowed her eyes. Her gut told her Ichigo was hiding something.
But before she could press further, a gentle voice called out.
"Oh my, I wasn't aware a stray cat had wandered into my home," came the soft voice.
Unohana had returned!
Yoruichi was startled. As expected of the original Kenpachi—Unohana Retsu!
If she hadn't spoken, Yoruichi wouldn't have noticed her presence at all.
"You're back, Unohana-san. How did it go?" Ichigo asked.
Unohana gave a soft smile. "Everything went well. But to proceed with our plan, we'll need some help from this black cat."
She turned her eyes to Yoruichi.
Yoruichi's heart sank a bit but nodded. "As expected of Unohana-senpai... you figured out who I am."
Unohana didn't confirm or deny. She wasn't about to admit she'd overheard their conversation.
After all, who would think a black cat was a person?
Her silence only added to her mystery.
"What do you need me to do?" Yoruichi asked.
Unohana calmly sat beside Ichigo, like a wife serving tea to a guest, and offered Yoruichi a cup.
"It's not about what you'll do, it's what you have, specifically the divine armament of the Shihōin Clan."
She then looked at Ichigo and said, "You might not know, but this little black cat is actually the former head of the Shihōin Clan, one of the Four Great Noble Families—equal in rank to the Kuchiki Clan."
Ichigo didn't seem surprised or betrayed. Yoruichi had always been honest with him in her own way.
Yoruichi, however, felt a heaviness in her heart.
Still, she nodded. "All right."
Unohana's eyes glinted. "Also, I'd like you to help us by taking down one of the captains during the operation."
"Wait a—" Yoruichi started to object.
"Just listen," Unohana said sweetly. "The target is... Soifon, captain of Squad Two. You can definitely handle her, right?"
Her smile only deepened.
(End of Chapter)
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