Chapter 42: Mountains of Corpses and Seas of Blood

After their skirmish in Zaraki District, Sasakibe Chōjirō ran up, still wide-eyed.
“Brother Yamabuki, I didn’t know I was this strong!”

Haruto folded his arms. “You think one lucky win over a street thug makes you powerful? Keep your vision broader, Chōjirō. Strength means nothing if you can’t survive what lies ahead.”

With that, he led his four-man squad deeper into Kusajishi District.

But the moment they entered, silence swallowed them.

The noisy chaos of Rukongai was gone. No drunks shouting, no blades clashing. Only the caws of distant crows.

Haruto stiffened. “Stay sharp. Something’s wrong.”

The recruits exchanged nervous looks, gripping their Zanpakutō. Even Chōjirō whispered, “Brother Yamabuki… what’s happening?”

Haruto silenced him with a raised hand. His eyes tracked the crows overhead. They circled, then drifted toward the far edge of the district.

“Follow them,” Haruto ordered.

The five followed—and then froze in horror.

Corpses.

Not dozens. Not hundreds. Thousands. Piled into a grotesque mountain, the stench of blood choking the air.

Sasakibe Chōjirō collapsed to his knees, vomiting. The other three recruits staggered back, faces ashen.

Haruto, despite the bile in his throat, forced himself forward. His eyes widened.

Mixed among the Rukongai dead were the shattered remains of Menos Grande… and even Adjuchas-class Hollows.

All of them cleaved cleanly in one stroke.

Haruto broke into a cold sweat. I can kill a Hollow now, sure. But an Adjuchas? With one strike? Impossible. Even at my level, I wouldn’t scratch it.

Only one man in the Gotei could do this—Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni himself.

But these weren’t Yamamoto’s flames. These were sword cuts—precise, merciless.

“Brother Yamabuki!” Chōjirō’s trembling voice called him over. “Here—this one’s a Shinigami!”

Haruto hurried closer. Among the bodies lay a noble in ornate robes. A Central 46 official. Slain instantly, blade through the chest.

Haruto’s fists clenched. Even Central 46? Killed like livestock… what kind of monster—

“Instructor,” one recruit whispered, voice cracking. “What do we do? What if it’s still here… watching us?”

Haruto forced his voice steady. “We leave. Now. Report this to the captains. This isn’t something we can handle.”

The squad fled. None dared look back.

But when they vanished from sight, movement stirred in the corpse mountain.

A woman rose slowly from the sea of blood. Her long black hair clung wetly to her shoulders, her blade dripping scarlet. Her eyes were lifeless, yet sharp enough to slice the world.

She had been watching. She had chosen not to act—not because she couldn’t, but because the five were beneath her notice.

With languid grace, she lifted her sword, wiping the gore away.

“I thought nobles would be stronger,” she murmured. “But even Central 46 dies like ordinary insects. How boring.”

Her reflection in the steel stared back—empty, ruthless.

“Seireitei,” she whispered, lips curving into a smile. “Surely, there are worthier opponents there.”

The woman stepped forward. Every footfall dripped with the weight of countless corpses.

This was the first glimpse of Unohana Retsu—once known as Yachiru Unohana, the First Kenpachi, the “demon” of Soul Society’s earliest days.

Meanwhile, Haruto and his squad stumbled out of Kusajishi, finally reaching safety among the living.

Only then did Haruto allow himself a shaky breath.

He knew he had just brushed against something monstrous—something beyond him. Beyond even most captains.

He waved off the recruits’ questions. “Don’t ask me—I’m not omniscient. Leave this to the Captain-Commander.”

He needed food, something to distract himself from the chill in his bones. A nearby manor caught his eye, unusually fine for Rukongai.

“That building…” Haruto mused. “Who could build such a place out here?”

A recruit whispered, “That’s the Shiba Clan estate, one of the Five Great Noble Houses. They’ve always lived among the commoners… a disgrace, some say.”

The recruit fell silent under Haruto’s glare.

And then Haruto spotted movement. The Shiba patriarch was escorting guests outside—guests Haruto recognized immediately.

The legendary Unohana sisters.

And in that moment, Haruto realized: his life was about to get far more complicated.