Unohana swiftly healed her wound but chose not to erase the scar completely. She said, "You've passed the examination. You can officially graduate from Shin'ō Academy now."
As she approached Ren, she picked up his severed arm and remarked, "Let me handle this. Your Kaido isn't quite there yet."
With practised ease, she reattached his arm, using her advanced Kaido techniques to aid in its recovery. Within moments, Ren's arm was as good as new. Testing it with a few movements, he found no lingering issues.
"Thank you, Unohana-sensei, for your mercy," he said sincerely.
"Oh?" Unohana tilted her head with a faint smile. "I didn't hold back. That final exchange—you truly won."
As she tied her hair back into its usual style, her gaze swept over the chaotic state of the room. With a sigh, she muttered to herself about the inevitable scolding she'd face for the mess. She had expected the fight to end quickly, but it had spiralled into this level of destruction.
"When I was injured earlier, you didn't press your advantage, did you?" Ren chuckled, flashing a toothy grin. "If you had pursued me relentlessly then, I probably wouldn't have lasted long enough to achieve Shikai."
While he had mentioned to Aizen before that he was grasping the principles of Shikai, he hadn't been entirely confident in successfully releasing it. In the end, he had acted on instinct, gambling everything—and narrowly succeeded.
His strategy wasn't born from recklessness but necessity. Entering resonance before mastering his Shikai could have meant losing consciousness entirely, a mistake that would have cost him his life.
Thus, he had initially opted to face Unohana without using Shikai. However, their clash revealed an undeniable truth: without Shikai, his chances of victory were infinitesimal.
"A win is a win," Unohana replied firmly as she adjusted her uniform. Her calm yet sharp demeanour was once again that of the gentle and beautiful Captain of Squad Four. "And besides, have you forgotten something?"
"Forgotten?" Ren tilted his head in confusion.
"This is my examination room," she said with a serene smile, "not my hunting ground."
Her words caused Ren to freeze in his tracks. "Wait….Unohana-sensei, what was the passing condition for this exam, anyway?"
Her smile grew slightly mischievous. "Oh, didn't I say? All you needed to do to pass was survive against me for ten minutes."
Ren: ???
You didn't say that!
He replayed the fight in his mind. Thinking back, Unohana had indeed ceased her attacks just before he achieved Shikai.
At the time, he had assumed she was merely intrigued by his sudden changes and wanted to see how things would unfold.
But when he calculated the time, it became clear: by the moment he had unlocked his Shikai, he had already passed. Her lack of aggression wasn't restraint—it was because he had already satisfied the test conditions.
Yet, instead of stopping there, he had gone on to unleash his Shikai and engage her in a climactic duel, even pushing for a final decisive clash.
"Not only did you pass," Unohana added with a radiant smile, "but I'm personally giving you full marks. Rest assured, you'll officially join the Gotei 13 as a Squad member tomorrow."
She walked toward the door, slid it open, and departed the examination hall, leaving behind a bewildered Ren staring after her.
The test had been simple in concept: survive for ten minutes against a Captain-level opponent. The Commander-General himself had set this as the benchmark.
However, Unohana had to admit, she had gotten carried away. If Ren hadn't revealed his Shikai and displayed such potential, she might very well have 'accidentally' killed him in an overlong battle.
Watching her retreat, Ren looked down at the tattered remains of his uniform—the last thing preserving his modesty—and let out a long sigh of relief.
Just as Unohana disappeared from view, the sound of the End Space prompt echoed in his mind, informing him that his main mission had been completed.
Ren had earned the right to return. With only two days remaining in his assigned three-month duration, he could linger in the Bleach world for a short while before being forcibly recalled.
Looking down at Shūkonrasetsu—his Zanpakutō—he noticed the blade's appearance had shifted, even after reverting from its released state. Having evolved from a standard Asauchi, it now bore distinctive characteristics unique to his soul.
The once plain silver blade was now adorned with vine-like engravings, and its once-white hilt had darkened into a shade of violet-black. Its aura carried a mysterious and dangerous quality.
Inspecting it with the EndSpace identification function revealed new details about his weapon:
Shūkonrasetsu [囚魂羅刹]
Origin: Bleach (Derived World #401118)
Rarity: Rare
Type: Sword
Durability: 60/60
Sharpness: 20
Toughness: 20
Details:
Crafted by Explorer #40440404 from an Asauchi, Shūkonrasetsu has been forged into a personalized Zanpakutō. It is soul-bound and cannot be sold, traded, or activated by others.
Weapon Skill 1 (Passive): Soul Nourishment
Skill Description: Killing enemies with Shūkonrasetsu allows it to absorb a small portion of their soul energy to enhance its growth. Alternatively, the wielder can feed their own soul energy to accelerate its development significantly. (Warning: Extremely dangerous)
Current Growth Progress: 0%
Weapon Skill 2 (Active): Shikai
Skill Description: When Shikai is released, it continuously drains the wielder's soul energy, manifesting Shūkonrasetsu's true form.
Shikai Special Ability:
All combat stats temporarily increase by 2. Reflex speed is significantly enhanced. The blade's sharpness and toughness are improved.
Inflicts an Erosion Effect: affected enemies suffer reduced natural recovery by 10% and take damage equal to 10% of the attack's maximum damage per second for 5 seconds. Effects on the same wound stack.
Cooldown: None
Rating: 100+ (Range: 30–100)
Evaluation: Within your heart, a Demon God is imprisoned.
The weapon had truly become his own, evolving into a growth-type primary weapon. Its stats had undergone a significant leap, and its Shikai effects were powerful and straightforward—an embodiment of raw strength and ruthlessness.
The 10% healing suppression effect might seem modest at first glance, but it's a game-changer against enemies with strong regenerative abilities. For instance, during his duel with Unohana, Ren noticed her Kaido healing speed was visibly impacted by the effect.
Coupled with the erosion damage from Prison Demon, which dealt an additional 50% damage over time with each strike, the synergy was devastating.
What made the erosion effect even more potent was the absence of a cooldown. In prolonged battles, this feature allowed him to stack damage relentlessly, creating a compounding effect that would push enemies past their threshold, leading to a catastrophic bleed-out.
During his fight with Unohana, the arena's spiritual pressure suppression prevented Ren from fully utilizing the "+2" bonus to all attributes in Shikai form.
It capped his spiritual pressure at the "16th Rank" equivalent, limiting his potential. In a freer state, he could unleash far greater power.
As for the EndSpace evaluation system, his observations over the past few months had given him some insights into the equipment quality tiers:
Broken: Essentially junk, rated 0.
Gray-White: Basic items, scored between 1–10.
Excellent: Mid-tier gear, scored between 11–30.
Rare: Higher-tier equipment, with a wider scoring range.
His Shūkonrasetsu was classified as Rare, and it had achieved the maximum score within that tier. For a rookie Explorer, it was undoubtedly an outstanding weapon.
After inspecting Shūkonrasetsu's stats, Ren stepped out of the examination hall. Waiting for him outside was a familiar figure—Aizen, holding a fresh set of clothes.
Aizen's presence was as composed and elegant as always. Noticing Ren's dishevelled state, he offered a small smile and handed over the folded garments.