[T/N: 🎊 HAPPY NEW YEAR chaps! 🎊 May this year be Healthy and Productive for you! Enjoy~]
Ding! Ding! Ding!
In the wide open area beneath the Sokyoku Hill, a series of Zanpakuto collision sounds rang out.
And after the clashes of blade against blade, there came the sounds of bodies colliding with one another.
After a long while, the surging aftershocks finally settled completely, leaving only quiet, faint light in the room.
Unohana leaned sideways, a captivating flush of red spreading from her cheeks to the roots of her ears, adding a touch of worldly allure to her face that was always as gentle as water.
She undid her iconic braid, and a black waterfall like flowing ink instantly spilled down, draping over her shoulders. A few slightly damp strands of hair clung to the smooth side of her neck, forming a breathtaking black and white contrast with the snow white collar of her Shihakusho.
"Today the Captain-Commander kept us behind and talked about the matter of the traitor."
While tidying her drifting beautiful hair, Unohana gathered it strand by strand in front of her chest. Her voice carried a hint of tingling intoxication.
Having gone out with the Hueco Mundo expedition team for half a year, she had not experienced such a satisfying battle for six months.
Whether it was the collisions during the fight or the pleasure afterward, both pushed her happiness to its peak.
"As arrogant as ever. If it weren't for wanting to flush out the traitor who was very likely to appear, the Captain-Commander probably wouldn't have sent this lineup to Hueco Mundo," Rosse shook his head.
Although with the current strength of the Gotei 13, as long as Captain-Commander Yamamoto didn't personally take action, any lineup would be fine.
But knowing full well that Hueco Mundo had three top-tier combatants, the strength of this expedition team could hardly be called powerful.
"The Captain-Commander probably didn't expect that this accident would actually bring along the traitor."
After arranging her hair, Unohana nestled herself into Rosse's embrace, a gentle smile hanging on her face.
"Then I should really congratulate you, the newly appointed 4th Espada of the Hollow King's Palace, Unohana Retsu."
Rosse's palm gently stroked Unohana's skin as he offered his belated congratulations.
After Kyoraku Shunsui left at the end, Unohana hadn't merely bluffed Harribel and the others.
She had gone all out and fought Ulquiorra.
The final result ended in Unohana's victory.
From that moment on, Unohana became the new 4th Espada, matching the squad number she held among the captains.
And the original 4th Espada, Ulquiorra, was shifted back by one rank.
At the same time, among the Espada, the 7th Espada, Tierucci, voluntarily stepped down and was removed from the rankings, while Sung-Sun and Ishida Ryuken each moved back one rank.
As for this result, none of the people involved in the ranking changes raised any objections.
Hueco Mundo was originally a place where the strong reigned supreme. With the strength Unohana displayed at full power, neither Sung-Sun nor Ishida Ryuken felt they had any chance of winning against her.
"When I found out you were the Hollow King back then, I was really quite surprised."
Unohana's voice was lazy and soft. Her eyes flickered as she gazed at Rosse, as if savoring some memory.
At the same time, her hands completed the final step of weaving.
She gathered her long hair, deep as night, back in front of her chest and meticulously braided it. As the braid gradually took shape, the snow white skin below her collarbone, marked with the number "4," was inch by inch swallowed by the braid's shadow until it was completely hidden.
After finishing all this, she lightly brushed the braid to the front, as if nothing had happened, and returned to being the dignified Fourth Division captain.
"But in the end, you still chose me instead of choosing Soul Society," Rosse said with a smile.
"Choosing you means choosing a new future. I couldn't reject that kind of temptation."
Unohana stroked the Zanpakuto beside her, a trace of satisfaction in her words.
She didn't choose Rosse because of romantic feelings. That kind of thing had never existed in her life.
Her reason for choosing Rosse was simple. With Rosse, she saw a different kind of future.
For a thousand years, her strength had stagnated for a thousand years.
Yet in Rosse's hands, her strength had actually increased.
Now, judging purely by spiritual pressure, after receiving Rosse's help, she had already firmly stepped into the SS-level threshold.
If they were compared purely on raw strength, she was even stronger than Harribel, whom Rosse had carefully trained.
After all, compared to her years of existence, Harribel was still far too young.
Even in Hueco Mundo, where slaughter was commonplace, the battles Harribel had experienced did not even amount to a fraction of Unohana's.
It was just that she didn't want the spotlight and had no interest in rankings, so she only challenged Ulquiorra based on preference.
Rosse didn't reply. He merely tightened his embrace around Unohana slightly.
He would respond to all expectations placed on him. Wasn't that only natural?
"After that, you guys should have roughly discussed the situation in the Captain-Commander's office, right?", Rosse asked with a smile.
"Kyoraku Shunsui's actions have always been very cautious, and he's also been keeping an eye on the movements of the other Shinigami. So in their view, the reason we were targeted by three top-tier Hollows must have been an intelligence leak," Unohana spoke softly, her gaze calm and unruffled.
If the initial assumption was wrong, how could the conclusion ever be right.
From the moment they entered Hueco Mundo, the Hollow King's Palace already had full control over all their movements.
When to launch an attack was entirely up to when Rosse felt like attacking.
"So what was their guess?"
Rosse asked with interest. To make them suspicious according to his script, he had meticulously prepared for quite some time.
"As you expected, the suspect is Sui Feng. Before we were attacked, Sui Feng happened to leave alone with her team for a period of time, and during that time she also let an Adjuchas Arrancar escape," Unohana smiled faintly.
That Adjuchas Arrancar was of course not deliberately let go by Sui Feng. It was simply that with her strength, she had no way of keeping it there.
If this situation were swapped with Komamura Sajin or Tosen Kaname, the result would have been exactly the same.
It was just that from the very beginning, the one Rosse chose was Sui Feng.
Since she was already at odds with him, she might as well endure a little extra trouble.
What he enjoyed most was watching his enemies fall step by step into despair, only to be completely broken by him in the end.
"And the motive? Did Kyoraku Shunsui give any interesting speculation?", Rosse asked with a smile.
"Kyoraku's guess was that it stemmed from what happened a hundred years ago. Because the person Sui Feng deeply respected, Yoruichi Shihoin, betrayed Soul Society, it twisted Sui Feng psychologically, and she ultimately chose to side with the Hollows," Unohana answered with a smiling expression.
She didn't really care about these conspiracies and schemes.
To be honest, she had existed longer than the Gotei 13 itself, so she naturally felt nothing about such things.
If Rosse couldn't bring her pleasure and help her grow, she wouldn't have any special feelings toward him either.
"An interesting guess. Then over the time to come, I'll slowly make this theory a reality."
Rosse chuckled softly, setting the tone for Sui Feng's eventual fate.
[T/N: Harribel is No.1, Lilynette No.2, Neliel is No.3, Unohana is No.4, Ulquiorra is No.5, Sung-Sun is No.6, Ishida Ryuken is No. 7, No. 8 is Kurosaki Masaki, 9th is Candice Catnipp and Grimmjow is No.10th.]
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