"By the way, the 'Kin' you used this time and the 'Amenominaka' from last time—whose Zanpakutō abilities are those? I've never seen them before."
Retsu Unohana fell into thought, memories flooding her mind.
In all the centuries she had lived, she had never encountered Zanpakutō abilities with such overwhelming power. Someone capable of wielding that kind of strength wouldn't go unnoticed.
Could they be from hidden figures operating in the shadows, too afraid to reveal themselves? If that were the case, they couldn't be ignored. If those abilities belonged to an enemy, being caught off guard could be disastrous.
She gave herself credit for her caution and nodded slightly as she snapped back to the moment.
But instead of a Zanpakutō, what filled her vision now was the face of a man leaning in close.
Any ordinary girl might've blushed and backed away.
But Retsu Unohana didn't flinch. Calmly, she placed a light kiss on Masatsuki Aozaki's lips.
"You little troublemaker, ready to talk now?" Her voice was warm, laced with teasing.
Masatsuki smiled faintly and took her soft hand in his. Despite all her years of sword training, her hands remained smooth and fair, without a trace of calluses.
"Alright, alright. I'll tell you the truth. Those two swords weren't inherited or found anywhere—I created them myself."
Unohana blinked, clearly surprised.
Gripping his hand tightly, she asked with disbelief,
"You've learned how to forge Zanpakutō?"
Resting her chin in thought, she couldn't help but admire Masatsuki's talent. To master the art of forging Zanpakutō—a skill no one else had ever managed—was truly astonishing.
But as that thought crossed her mind, she let out a discontented hum, remembering the one who had taught Masatsuki.
"That guy didn't corrupt you, did he?" she asked, brows furrowed.
Unohana had met Ōetsu Nimaiya once before—he had come to escort Tenjirō Kirinji back to the Royal Realm. He gave off an unruly, unserious air that didn't exactly inspire confidence.
"He corrupted me? Please. I'm the one who has to keep him in check."
Masatsuki thought to himself, fully aware of his own capabilities.
A guy who just fooled around with swords? He'd seen way weirder.
Masatsuki Aozaki couldn't help but think of Harribel. He cleared his throat with two quick coughs, then put on a deliberately mysterious expression and said,
"It's not just about forging Zanpakutō. One day in the future, I might be able to create more than that—worlds, futures... who knows?"
"Is that so?"
Retsu Unohana looked at him suspiciously.
Creating a world? Wasn't that no different from being a god?
No, even the gods of legend came after the world's creation. To have that kind of power would make someone not just a god, but the god of gods—the supreme creator.
A domineering creator god falling in love with a nearly two-thousand-year-old woman like her? That was even more ridiculous than the plots Shunsui Kyōraku came up with for his trashy romance novels.
"Then create a world for me and let's see it," Unohana said casually.
Masatsuki let out another awkward cough and quickly tried to explain.
"Ahem... didn't I say 'someday'? Not today."
"I've only just realized I might have that ability. I'm still figuring it out. For now, I can only manage little things like Zanpakutō."
He tried to save a bit of face, but it wasn't working.
Unohana narrowed her eyes and shot him a sharp look, clearly questioning whether he was just playing around. Her expression exuded silent pressure, like a warning not to mess with her.
Masatsuki felt a chill run down his spine and instantly sensed trouble brewing for the night.
Trying to compose himself, he continued,
"Actually, I've got an idea."
Unohana said nothing, just quietly watched him, waiting for what came next.
"You know I still have the souls of the original captains."
Masatsuki took a deep breath and finally voiced the thought that had been weighing on him.
"I've been trying to bring them back—let them live again within the Three Worlds."
At that, Unohana's eyes sharpened. She looked directly at Masatsuki and asked, slightly breathless,
"So? Have you succeeded?"
Even if she could drive a blade through someone's chest in battle without hesitation, they had once been comrades she could entrust her life to. To say there were no feelings left at all would be a lie.
That's just how people are. The older you get, the more the things you used to overlook begin to matter.
"Not yet. But I won't give up," Masatsuki replied earnestly.
After a long silence, Unohana tilted her head and smiled softly.
"I believe in you."
Her gentle voice made Masatsuki stop in his tracks. He turned back to look at her.
Seeing that warm expression on Unohana's face made his heart race.
With a grin, ignoring the stares of passersby, he scooped up the usually composed and elegant older woman in a princess carry—just this once, she showed a touch of bashfulness.
...
Back at the underground lab, Masatsuki handed Unohana over to Aura Michibane. Then, transforming into his light form, he left the Aozaki estate and headed straight for the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.
Inside, Mayuri Kurotsuchi was still buried in research, as busy as ever.
Though the war was over, Masatsuki Aozaki's demands on him hadn't stopped—not since the day he'd been dragged out of the Nest of Maggots.
And now that Masatsuki's power had grown even more overwhelming, quitting simply wasn't an option.
There were a thousand ways Masatsuki could kill him without anyone even noticing.
A thousand!
Not even the Head Captain could protect him from that kind of death!
So what used to be a collaborative partnership now felt more like one-sided exploitation.
Not that Mayuri minded, honestly. For someone like him, whether it was exploitation or not didn't matter. As long as it fed his thirst for discovery, it was worth it.
Right now, the research subject Mayuri most wanted to get his hands on... was Masatsuki Aozaki himself.
A being that defied all logic—letting him roam free was a waste. What Mayuri really wanted was to dissect him thoroughly.
And with Masatsuki's regeneration abilities, it wasn't like it would do permanent damage.
But even so, Mayuri wouldn't dare bring it up.
Crossing Masatsuki's bottom line would be a death sentence. Mayuri was well aware of the difference between a full stomach and being force-fed to death.
So he settled for the next best thing—listening to Masatsuki's whims and digging up new research topics.
Like that time Masatsuki had him run tests on disrupting Auswählen.
Fighting the legendary King of the Quincy... now that had been fun.
Mayuri glanced at Masatsuki and let out a laugh so eerie it could make children cry.
"As expected of Captain Aozaki. You really stole the spotlight this time."
"If it weren't for you, Captain, Soul Society's history might have ended already."
This wasn't just Soul Society's problem—it was a crisis for all Three Worlds. No one could afford to stand aside.
Especially not someone like Mayuri. For a mad scientist, being thrown into Hell would be a fate worse than death. No research, no data—he might as well just have his soul obliterated.
That was why he was so eager to collaborate with Kisuke Urahara on studying Hell.
Masatsuki narrowed his eyes.
"You didn't call me here just to flatter me, did you?"
"Of course not. Here—this is what you asked for."
With that, Mayuri opened a drawer and pulled out a vial of medicine and a stack of documents, handing them over to Masatsuki.