She is the First Generation Kenpachi, the Yachiryu who claimed to have mastered every school of swordsmanship in the world.
For Unohana Retsu, there are only two things she cannot resist:
One is battle.The other is kendo.
The sword just now was both battle and the ultimate in kendo.
That's why she was obsessed, almost addicted.An unprecedented, ultimate kendo duel.This was the highest pleasure she could experience.
"That sword just now..."
"Eight swords in one."
Before Unohana could even finish her question, Ran Yan had already spoken the answer she most wanted to hear.
"Eight swords in one?"
"Amazing..."
"To surpass my Yachiryu style, which took me thousands of years to perfect and includes every known sword school in Soul Society—by yourself?"
Unohana Retsu murmured, her fingers tightening slightly as she repeated the phrase.
After a moment, she stood up from her half-kneeling position, her footing steady despite her condition.
"I must admit...""In terms of kendo alone, I have never seen a Shinigami stronger than you."
"Including myself. Including even the Captain-Commander."
Her words came with a sigh of both defeat and satisfaction. She smiled, soft but bright, clearly intoxicated—not from pain, but from the sheer beauty of the sword technique she had just faced.
"Ran Yan Sōsuke,""I, Unohana Retsu—no, Yachiryu—First Generation Kenpachi...am willing to call you the strongest."
It was no small praise.
In her long life, Unohana had encountered many powerful enemies.
She had lost before.To Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, she lost by Zanpakutō ability.To Zaraki Kenpachi at his peak, she lost by sheer spiritual pressure.
But never had she lost in kendo—until tonight.
[Your Kendo is overjoyed to have earned the title of "Strongest Sword in Soul Society." It has gained sudden inspiration and awakened a new technique: "Kendo – Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect."]
Ran Yan did not respond with joy. He only smiled lightly.
He wasn't here for titles.
His attention was fully drawn by the system notification—Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect—that was the only thing that truly mattered to him.
Aizen, watching from nearby, also smiled faintly.He knew Ran Yan too well.
To others, being called "the strongest" might be an honor.To Ran Yan?It was simply expected.
His pursuit wasn't just the strongest in kendo.It was mastery in everything—kendo, Kidō, Hakuda, Shunpo, Reiatsu, Zanpakutō.
A perfect hexagon.
"You don't seem happy."
Unohana Retsu tilted her head curiously.
"Would you be happy about something that's merely obvious?"
Ran Yan replied, calm and firm.
Unohana's gaze sharpened.
"So that's it. You're not aiming for the peak of kendo alone... you're not limited to it."
For the first time in centuries, she looked at someone younger not with pity or expectation—but awe.
This man wasn't seeking to stand at the top of one mountain.He was planning to flatten them all.
"That last sword... it wasn't your ultimate, was it?"
"There's something even greater behind it."
Unohana turned and looked up toward the sky, where the Kidō barrier had long been broken, and the first rays of dawn had begun to appear.
"But tonight, I suppose... this is as far as we go."
"Such a shame... I wanted to see what lies beyond."
"People would die."Ran Yan's reply was cold and quiet.
"A fitting death," Unohana Retsu said without hesitation."A Kenpachi should die with a blade through their heart, smiling at the top of the world."
"But not yet."
"When the time comes, I will honor your wish."
"As the strongest woman in Soul Society, the first Kenpachi... you're worthy of a proper send-off by my hand."
Unohana's eyes burned. She didn't flinch—she smiled.
"I'll be waiting, Ran Yan Sōsuke."
Then she turned to Aizen Sōsuke.
"There's one more thing," she said.
"I was defeated tonight. But I cannot give you the title of Kenpachi, nor the Eleventh Division."
"Because I've already lost it. A long time ago... to someone else."
Her tone, for once, was heavy with regret.