Restricted Death

Chapter 144 Not Pure
Rukongai seems to be the most suitable place, far away from Seireitei. Shin can go there at will, and if something happens there, it will be too late by the time the Thirteen Divisions find out.

However, after careful consideration, Xin did not go.

He can't just ignore everything; he has to consider the consequences of doing so.

The Thirteenth Team would never allow it; the Captain has already made it clear to them.

As evening approached, Retsu Unohana returned home and ran into Shin, who was walking out of his office.

"team leader."

Xin bowed slightly and greeted him.

By this time, most of the members of the Fourth Division had left, including Isane.

Unohana Retsu's gaze lingered on Shin for a long time before she suddenly said, "I really wasn't wrong about you."

"What do you mean by that, Captain?" Xin asked calmly.

"nothing."

Retsu Unohana knew that Shin wouldn't come, just as she had said before, Shin wasn't a pure person.

If it were Zaraki, and he could understand that meaning, he wouldn't have believed in such a practice.

But why should I go...?

Retsu Unohana felt that her emotions were no longer stable, perhaps never had been. The gentle and dignified captain of the Fourth Division was never her.

So how much does this child know about himself...?

"Captain," Xin called again.

Unohana Retsu's eyes were like clear water as she quietly looked at him.

In the past, Shin was always the first to leave after work. Tonight, he was actually waiting for Retsu Unohana. He only came out of the office after sensing her spiritual pressure.

“What you want is not the same as what I want,” Xin said slowly.

Unohana Retsu's gaze flickered slightly, and she simply said, "Is that so?"

“I’ve already said what I am, Captain, and please don’t think of me as someone like you.”

"..."

Retsu Unohana did not answer. She stared at the letter for a long time, then sighed softly, "I see. That's truly a pity."

Xin chuckled and said, "Did I disappoint you because I didn't do what you wanted?"

Unohana Retsu didn't reply again.

Shin continued, "It's not entirely because of the Captain-Commander. If the Captain were to seek death here, I wouldn't want to fight him."

"..."

Retsu Unohana withdrew her gaze from him and headed towards her office.

Xin watched her departing figure and the slowly closing door before leaving the barracks.

The following week, the appointment for the First Division was not announced. It seemed that something had happened regarding Shin's upcoming appointment as the captain of the Tenth Division.

Xin wasn't in a hurry. At this stage, a week, a month, or a year made no difference.

When Shiba Kaien had some free time, he came to visit him for drinks, and the two sat and chatted in an izakaya (Japanese pub).

Haiyan suddenly asked Xin why he didn't choose to fight for the captain's position back then.

"Didn't I already give you the reason?" Xin said with a smile, holding a wine glass in one hand.

"I have a feeling you're not telling the truth," Shiba Kaien said.

What truth do you want to hear?

Shiba Kaien shrugged. "If there's another reason, you might as well tell me."

The letter looked at him for a moment, then shook his head.

Why always care about what other people think?

"You bastard," Shiba Kaien laughed and scolded, then said, "If you had competed with me for the position of captain of the Third Division back then, I really wouldn't have been confident that I could have beaten you."

“The two of us will not become rivals,” Xin said.

Shiba Kaien clinked glasses with Shin and asked, "You really haven't learned Bankai?" "No."

Shin has already unlocked over 50% of his Zanpakuto, but he still hasn't reached the threshold of Bankai.

Normally, with very few exceptions, a Shinigami whose spiritual pressure reaches level three Reiju should also have learned Bankai.

However, Shin was not like that. Not only that, but unlike Ichigo in the original work, he had never seen the personification of his Zanpakuto. It seemed that his Zanpakuto was simply two swords that only brought him power.

“I’m really curious what your Bankai will be,” said Kaien Shiba.

"What kind of ability could it be?" Shin chuckled. "I am a Zanpakuto of the Daoist school, so my Bankai is naturally a power to heal people."

After thinking about it for a moment, Shiba Kaien nodded in agreement.

"pity."

"What's a pity?"

"If your sword hadn't been converted to the Daoist style, you would be even stronger."

Xin looked at him with a smile: "Am I not strong enough?"

"..."

Shiba Kaien pursed his lips.

After a few rounds of drinks, Xin suddenly drew his katana from his waist, looked at the unadorned sword, and let out a long sigh for no apparent reason.

"What are you doing?" Shiba Kaien was startled by his action.

"nothing."

Xin just smiled and said, "I suddenly feel that I am not like a swordsman at all now. My sword has not improved in a long time."

Shiba Kaien looked at him with a strange expression.

The letter continued, “I am not pure enough.”

"..."

"Are you having a drunken fit?" Shiba Kaien sneered.

Xin looked at him and asked, "Aren't you curious about why my swordsmanship is so strong?"

"I'm not curious." Shiba Kaien thought he was showing off.

Xin, however, seemed not to hear him and continued speaking to himself: "I actually had a very long dream. In the dream, I was a great swordsman, invincible, and countless people were defeated by me."

"Oh, okay," Shiba Kaien replied perfunctorily.

"In my dream, I was obsessed with the way of the sword, and I only thought about how to become stronger. I constantly honed my skills. I was exceptionally talented, and all my efforts turned into growth in the way of the sword."

Shiba Kaien couldn't take it anymore and said, "You bastard..."

Xin grinned and said, "I know you don't believe me and think I'm talking nonsense."

"..."

"Sometimes I think I might be crazy. I'm constantly practicing and training, but my swordsmanship hasn't improved at all."

Shiba Kaien wanted to say something sarcastic, but seeing the wistful look on Shin's face, he stopped talking.

Xin sheathed his knife and picked up his wine glass.

"Fortunately, I am already strong enough. If I were to become even stronger, I'm afraid I might find it difficult to find an opponent."

"..."

Shiba Kaien's lips twitched, barely suppressing the urge to throw the wine in this guy's face.

Xin finished the wine in his glass and fell silent as he looked at the empty glass.

Retsu Unohana was the first Kenpachi and one of the top swordsmen in Soul Society. A few days ago, when he learned that Unohana had gone to Rukongai, he felt no urge to fight her.

All he could think about were the system's rewards and his various concerns in reality.

He is not pure.

Xin didn't even know when he had changed.

(End of this chapter)