BLEACH: UNOHANA RETSU IS MY WIFE

After facing a formidable enemy, everyone looked utterly exhausted...

"Everyone, carry the bodies back in an orderly fashion. It's time to rest now~"

Descending from the sky, Araki—the infamously "heartless" captain of the Soul Society—landed in front of the shinigami, wearing a beaming smile.

"Finally, we can rest..."

The 11th Division shinigami were so moved they nearly burst into tears.

Clearly, everyone felt Captain Araki's deep "concern" for them...

"Move the bodies!"

At once, the shinigami began hauling the remains of the fallen Hollows toward the edge of the Hollow Forest.

"Captain Araki, where were you when the Hollows attacked earlier?"

Just as Araki stood watching the 11th Division at work, Shijima Chigiri approached, expressionless as ever.

"Hmm? What did you say just now? The wind's been howling so loudly I didn't quite catch that..."

Araki turned toward him with a light smile, casually draping his right arm over Shijima's shoulder.

Gudong~

Shijima's eyes dropped to Araki's left hand—which was now slowly stroking the hilt of his Zanpakutō. A cold bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

"Ah, it's... it's nothing important, really. Please, don't trouble yourself, Captain Araki..."

He tried to stay calm, but the sight of that hand made his heart lurch.

"Are you nervous?"

Araki's smile didn't fade. He kept his arm around Shijima's shoulder, like a friendly ghost.

"I'm not nervous. You're here... what would I have to be nervous about, right, Captain Araki?"

Shijima's mind raced as he spoke, correcting himself mid-sentence.

"Strange... your face is pale. You sure you're not nervous?"

The smile stayed warm, gentle—even fatherly—but the grip on his shoulder didn't loosen.

"...I'm really not nervous."

Shijima kept his eyes fixed on Araki's left hand, still wrapped around the hilt.

"So what did you ask me again?"

"Nothing! Really, I didn't ask anything."

He barely stopped himself from blurting out another denial.

"Ah, well..." Araki leaned in, his voice barely above a whisper. "I was actually off protecting the hot springs. I figured the Hollows might go there..."

"Hot... springs?"

Shijima blinked. Hollows? Interested in hot springs?

And if Araki was off guarding hot springs... then what the hell was Kumenai Entetsu doing? Building sandcastles?

"Actually..." Araki continued, "I've started to suspect we have a Hollow spy among us."

"Ugh..."

Shijima's heart skipped a beat. The air around them suddenly felt suffocating.

"You think... it might be you?"

Araki's voice was low, measured, but it struck like a thunderclap.

"Of course not..."

Shijima felt a cold chill kiss the back of his neck.

"I think it could be..."

Araki whispered.

Gudong...

Shijima's heartbeat thundered in his ears. His breath grew shallow. Was this really happening? Was his life about to end right here?

"Haha! Just kidding. Look how pale you've gotten. There's no way you're a spy, right?"

Araki chuckled and suddenly let him go, as if none of it had ever happened.

"Y-yeah... a joke... totally a joke..."

Shijima nearly collapsed. His knees were weak. Araki's tone changed faster than a Hollow's mood swing.

"But..." Araki said again, just as Shijima dared to breathe, "Do you think the spy... might be me?"

"Impossible! You're the captain of the Hueco Mundo Subjugation Force! There's no way! Even if there were a problem, it'd be the team's fault, not yours!"

Shijima straightened up like he was reciting scripture.

Araki's smile softened again.

"Relax. I'm not joking now. You're sharp, Shijima. Keep an eye on the others. If something strange happens... I trust you'll notice."

"...I don't believe anyone on our team is a spy."

Shijima's voice was firmer than ever.

"You really think so?"

Araki's voice was unreadable.

"I do."

More conviction this time.

"Hmm..."

Araki said nothing more. He released Shijima's shoulder and turned back toward the team.

"Oi! Why aren't you thanking Captain Araki already?!"

Nichikatsu walked over and jabbed Shijima in the back with the hilt of his sword.

"T-Thank you, Captain Araki!"

At that moment, Shijima suddenly understood—and gave Araki a quiet thank-you.

"...Well."

Araki said nothing more, simply striding forward.

"Idiot."

Watching Araki walk away, Nichikatsu also stepped forward slowly. Before leaving, he didn't forget to scoff at Shijima as "stupid." Inwardly, though, Nichikatsu sighed: "Do you really think others can't see what's happening? Have you ever seen a Hollow that would just let a Shinigami go without devouring them? Some truths are best left unspoken. Words like those will one day get you killed without even realizing why."

Indeed, the old are the wisest...

Kyakuya Palace

"Your Majesty Baraggan, we have failed your expectations… we've been defeated…"

The Adjuchas knelt low before Baraggan Louisenbairn, heads bowed, not daring to meet the eyes of their notoriously temperamental king.

"You fought well~"

"Very good. I'm quite pleased…"

To everyone's surprise, Baraggan didn't rebuke them—not a single word of scorn. In fact, he seemed happy.

"...Huh?!"

The Adjuchas were stunned. They had already braced themselves for death. Since when had their Majesty become so gentle? Usually, this was the part where Baraggan flew into a rage, crushed them into ash, and stormed the battlefield to personally annihilate the insolent Shinigami…

"Now then," Baraggan continued calmly, "toss all the Hollow corpses you've collected into that pool. Once the liquid forms—soak in it."

"We obey His Majesty!"

None dared question him. In the eyes of the Adjuchas, Baraggan's word was law—fate itself.

"Gurgle…"

As the corpses splashed into the Evolution Pool, emerald-green bubbles began to rise and churn.

"Ugh…"

Though the viscous pool looked strange, the injured Hollows dove in one after another.

"Huh?!"

Moments later, their eyes widened in astonishment.

"What is it?" Baraggan narrowed his eyes.

"It feels... incredible. My body—it's overflowing with power!"

"My bottleneck… the one I've been stuck at for decades… it's loosening!"

The Hollows let out groans of comfort as their fatigue vanished and their spiritual energy surged. What truly amazed them was that the corpses fueling the pool were mostly Gillians. That meant—with this pool—they no longer needed to fight and devour those of equal strength to evolve. As long as there were enough Gillians, they could grow stronger with little risk.

While Gillians had far less spiritual pressure than a fellow Adjuchas, they were plentiful, safer prey—and most importantly, didn't fight back as much.

"Amazing…"

Baraggan's eyes narrowed. Honestly, he felt a tinge of envy. When I was an Adjuchas, I had no such luxury. My evolution to Vasto Lorde came only through pain, war… and the power of age itself.

Meanwhile — on the edge of the Hollow Forest

The Shinigami warriors, now bathing in hot springs, shared none of the Adjuchas' tension. After fending off the Hollow ambush, they were full of cheer, their injuries easing as they sang and soaked in the warm water.

Though Shinigami couldn't absorb raw Reiryoku like Hollows, the hot spring helped strengthen their spirit bodies, allowing them to draw in more spiritual particles. As a result, their container expanded—boosting their spiritual power gradually.

This was the key difference between the two springs.

For Hollows, the Evolution Pool poured Reiryoku directly into them—like filling a vessel with water.

For Shinigami, the Hot Spring enlarged the vessel itself—helping them absorb more on their own.

Eventually, once the spring waters and evolution fluids were exhausted, a shared thought arose among both groups:

"It's time to hunt Gillians."

And in response, the Gillians collectively cried: "ROOOOAAARRR!!"

…Though frankly, as mindless beasts, they lacked the intelligence to actually protest.

According to the infamous theory of "If you can't complain, you probably don't mind," a joint Gillian-hunting operation was soon launched by the recovering Adjuchas and Gotei 11 shinigami alike.

Whether such an act was "too cruel" is debatable.

But Professor Araki—legendary Hollow researcher and author of the best-selling compendium "One Hundred Ways for a Gillian to Die"—had this to say:

> "Gillian are emotionless creatures. They don't understand cruelty. As for pain, let me quote my idol, Portgas D. Ace:

>

> 'Gillian… feel no pain. So swing your blade boldly!'"

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