Area healing?
Restoring spiritual power?
Instantly, the scar across Kenpachi Zaraki’s face twitched slightly.
The look in his eyes when he stared at Makoto Senju changed completely, glowing with a subtle, predatory light.
Precisely because Kenpachi’s brain was made mostly of muscle, he understood even better what such an ability meant for Squad 11.
If Yumichika’s description wasn’t wrong, and Makoto’s healing ability was potent enough, then as long as Squad 11 was equipped with “Makoto Senju,” they could enjoy the pure pleasure of battle and slaughter to their heart’s content.
When slaughtering enemies or sparring with his squad members…
he could let loose a bit more!
Kenpachi licked his lips, his beast-like eyes locked onto Makoto as he commanded, “Brat, release your Zanpakuto!” At that moment, nearly all eyes in the hall were drawn over, mostly envious and jealous glances from the fellow graduates landing on Makoto.
Gaining the attention and favor of a squad captain was a dream come true for an ordinary graduate.
It usually meant high regard from the captain, as well as status and authority after joining the squad.
However, what seemed like good fortune to ordinary graduates felt exceptionally bad to Makoto.
Kenpachi really had his sights set on him!
“Captain Zaraki, the regulations of the grand hall forbid releasing a Zanpakuto without due cause,” Makoto explained.
The scar on Kenpachi’s face twitched as he flashed a beast-like grin, slowly raising the notched, jagged Zanpakuto in his hand.
Then…
Pfft!
Under everyone’s stunned gazes, the Zanpakuto in Kenpachi’s hand wasn’t aimed at Makoto—he plunged it directly into his own torso.
A large spray of blood splattered across the floor.
“Now it’s not without due cause…” Kenpachi looked as if nothing had happened, casually pulling the Zanpakuto out from his body, allowing fresh blood to pour out.
Tilting his head slightly, he ordered: “Draw your blade and heal me.
Otherwise, I’ll cut you into pieces and let you heal yourself.” The corner of Makoto’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.
This battle-maniac beast was truly ruthless!
He hadn’t left Makoto any room to refuse at all.
The moment he refused, Kenpachi would undoubtedly swing his blade without hesitation.
At this thought, Makoto couldn’t help looking toward Seinosuke Yamada, the Lieutenant of Squad 4, who was standing in a corner of the hall.
He was a cold, aloof male Soul Reaper, as well as the older brother of Makoto’s junior, Hanataro Yamada.
Long before the graduation ceremony began, Makoto had communicated with Seinosuke through Hanataro, expressing his desire to join Squad 4, and Seinosuke had already agreed to his application.
However, Seinosuke currently acted as if he hadn’t noticed Makoto’s gaze, standing like an outsider, completely indifferent to Kenpachi snatching away his prospective squad member.
‘Is it my value?’ ‘Looks like my past performance hasn’t shown enough value, so Seinosuke has no intention of stepping in?’ ‘Even though my Kaido marks at the Shin’o Spiritual Arts Academy were outstanding, it’s far from enough to justify offending the Captain of Squad 11.’ Makoto’s thoughts spun rapidly.
He realized that under these circumstances, relying on himself alone gave him zero standing to refuse Kenpachi.
Although squad selection usually emphasized a mutual choice, that depended entirely on who the other party was!
Facing Kenpachi’s coercion, a mere graduate of the Shin’o Spiritual Arts Academy had no choice but to submit.
Any resistance would only look laughable.
‘The simplest way to get out of Kenpachi’s sights right now is to gain greater attention from Squad 4 and prove my worth to them…’ As for feigning average healing results?
Ikkaku and Yumichika had experienced his healing countless times; he would be exposed instantly!
With that thought, Makoto slowly drew the Zanpakuto at his waist and recited the release chant: “Boundless vitality, Shinra Bansho!” Instantly, the form of Makoto’s Zanpakuto underwent a subtle shift.
Beyond the blade and hilt growing longer to make slashes more effective, tiny emerald-green sprouts suddenly erupted from the floor centered around Makoto.
Then, with a shift of Makoto’s intent, a small sapling by his foot extended rapidly like a vine, creeping toward the wound on Kenpachi’s abdomen.
“Continuous Vitality.” The next instant, flowers bloomed atop the vine-like sapling, absorbing Reishi from the surrounding air.
The tip touching Kenpachi’s abdominal wound glowed with a vibrant green light.
Kenpachi’s expression shifted as he felt a warm sensation spread through his abdomen.
The wound was repairing itself at an astounding speed, and even a small amount of spiritual power was being replenished into his body.
While Kenpachi was lost in surprise, a flash of apprehension and hesitation crossed Makoto’s slightly lowered eyes, which instantly turned into firm resolve.
The next moment, at the tip of the vine touching Kenpachi’s wound, a single special Reishi particle—only slightly larger than ordinary Reishi—was silently injected into Kenpachi’s body.
As Kenpachi’s wound finished repairing, that special Reishi particle completely fused into Kenpachi.
No one noticed this subtle act.
Not even Kenpachi himself felt anything unusual.
After all, a single Reishi particle was far too tiny, much smaller than even the cells composing a Gigai.
Without special instruments, it was impossible to observe changes in individual Reishi particles directly.
As the wound was completely healed, a faint smile appeared on Makoto’s face.
Success!
As expected, even a captain-level Soul Reaper couldn’t detect the planting of a “Forest Seed.” Originally, Makoto’s plan had been to lie low in Squad 4 for decades or a century, slowly coming into contact with captain-level Soul Reapers before finding an opportunity to plant “Forest Seeds.” He hadn’t expected Kenpachi to voluntarily let himself be healed just to test Makoto’s ability.
Although Makoto had been over ninety percent confident he wouldn’t be discovered, the risk had still been real.
If Kenpachi had noticed, Seireitei might have sentenced Makoto for a grave crime.
However, this opportunity was simply too rare!
An opportunity to heal a captain-level Soul Reaper didn’t come along every day.
Especially since Soul Society hadn’t seen large-scale conflict for hundreds of years, injuries among captain-level Soul Reapers were exceptionally rare.
Otherwise, relying solely on the “Forest Seeds” spread across more than half the students at the Shin’o Spiritual Arts Academy was gradually failing to satisfy Makoto’s growing needs.