The war was over, but the Fourth Division had only grown busier.
There were simply too many wounded, and the medical teams had only been able to perform emergency procedures on the battlefield.
After the war ended, the injured had to be transferred back to the Fourth Division's hospital in Seireitei for continued treatment.
Even Nanatsuki had been pulled in by Unohana Retsu to help out.
Up until now, his reputation hadn't extended beyond the Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy.
But ever since he was invited by the Kaido Advanced Class instructor to give a lecture, every teacher in the academy had come to know that Katori Nanatsuki was a swordsmanship instructor with extremely high Kaido proficiency.
Before this war, most of the members of Squad 13 had never even heard of his name.
But now things were different. During his time on the medical frontlines, he'd treated injuries for over a hundred Shinigami—some of them on the brink of death. Even Captain Nobutsuna Shigyō had been rescued by him.
With his exceptional Kaido skills, Nanatsuki had completely won over the hearts of the Fourth Division.
He now had a growing fan club of fangirls and fanboys among its members, and some of them had even marked him as their "admiration" tier in the Status Interface.
"Sensei! This patient's condition has worsened!" Hoshino Rie called out urgently.
"The wound's infected. Excise the necrotic tissue first, then cleanse the area," Nanatsuki replied, turning his head to assess the situation and offering guidance to his student.
Hoshino Rie followed his instructions. With the aid of Kaido healing, the patient's condition soon stabilized.
"Sensei, you're amazing—you pinpointed the issue so quickly!" she said, wiping the sweat from her brow. The patient's condition had been so critical it made her nervous.
"More practice, more observation. Once you gain experience, you'll start to see it too," Nanatsuki encouraged her.
This was a rare opportunity for hands-on practice, so Nanatsuki had brought Hoshino Rie over as a medical assistant to help her gain field experience.
And it was clearly paying off. After this period of intense work, her Kaido skills had become increasingly proficient—surpassing her fellow graduates and standing toe-to-toe with many of the Fourth Division's official Shinigami.
And as it turned out, training Hoshino Rie had also triggered a Training mission:
[Guide disciple Hoshino Rie through Kaido practical training (Complete)]
After finishing up treatment for another patient, Nanatsuki said to her, "Rie, keep an eye on these patients for me. I'm going to check in on Captain Nobutsuna Shigyō in the intensive care unit—he should be waking up soon."
Nanatsuki left the emergency ward and headed to the ICU.
During a rare free moment, he reviewed the rewards from two Training missions.
[Disciple Shihoin Yoruichi completed battlefield training. Rewards issued.]
[Reward received: 10,000 General Ability EXP]
[Reward received: Bankai Training Doll]
[Disciple Hoshino Rie completed Kaido practical training. Rewards issued.]
[Reward received: 10,000 General Ability EXP]
[Reward received: Collapse Formula]
This time's rewards included "Bankai Training Doll"!
"Bankai Training Doll" was a shortcut to training toward Bankai.
Normally, even if a Shinigami had the Reiatsu necessary to begin training for Bankai, they'd still need years—sometimes over a decade—of Training to actually achieve it.
But the Bankai Training Dolldrastically reduced that time.
It was a humanoid puppet. By stabbing one's Zanpakutō into it, the spirit of the blade could be forcibly manifested.
If the manifested Zanpakutō was defeated within three days, the user would gain Bankai.
Nanatsuki then turned his attention to the other reward: "Collapse" was a sedative that worked on spiritual bodies. The lower one's Reiatsu, the less resistance they'd have against its effects.
He was satisfied with both rewards. Though not immediately useful, he was sure they'd come in handy someday.
He entered the intensive care unit, where Unohana Retsu was also present.
This unit was reserved for patients needing the closest observation, so she frequently dropped by to check on them.
"Katori-kun, I really must thank you. Without your help these past few days, I wouldn't have managed," she said with a smile.
"You flatter me, Captain Unohana. I only did what I could," Nanatsuki replied gently. "Captain Nobutsuna should be waking up soon, right?"
"You're right. I just checked on him. He's already showing signs of regaining consciousness," Unohana nodded, then added with a sigh, "Your medical skills are already on par with mine, Katori-kun. I really do wish you'd stay with the Fourth Division."
"Apologies, but once I wrap up things here, I'll need to return to the Academy to teach," Nanatsuki said, scratching his head. There was no way he could stay in the Fourth permanently—classes would be starting soon.
Truthfully, he preferred being a teacher. After all, the teaching rewards were quite generous.
Unohana could only sigh in disappointment. "The doors of the Fourth Division will always be open to you. If you ever grow tired of teaching, you're welcome back anytime."
Just as they expected, Nobutsuna Shigyō began to wake up.
"Still alive, huh..." His voice was hoarse and low.
"Heh—guess I'm getting old. Got taken down by a Quincy of all people..."
He recalled the last moments before losing consciousness and asked, "Unohana, was it you who saved me?"
"Captain Nobutsuna, you're finally awake. But no—it wasn't me," Unohana gently shook her head and pointed at Nanatsuki. "It was Katori-kun who saved you."
A flicker of surprise crossed Nobutsuna's eyes. "Kid, I remember you… you trained under Katori Batsu'unsai, right? I didn't expect you to be this skilled in Kaido."
He was fully aware of the severity of his injuries. He'd been on the verge of death. Any less skill in Kaido and he would've been a lost cause.
"Unohana, don't tell me you snatched one of her disciples," he chuckled.
Nanatsuki was surprised by how chatty Nobutsuna was.
He'd heard that Nobutsuna and Katori Batsu'unsai didn't have the best relationship, so they'd never really interacted.
With his gloomy demeanor, Nanatsuki had assumed the man would be hard to talk to.
"I did think about it…" Unohana said with a soft smile. "But seeing the way Batsu'unsai treasures him, I couldn't bring myself to take her heir. I only taught him a bit of Kaido."
"But truthfully..." she added, "Katori-kun's Kaido skills are mostly thanks to his own efforts. I can't take credit."
"Young folks these days are something else!" Nobutsuna continued, then asked, "How's Asada Mitsuya? After I went down, there was no way he could handle that Quincy on his own."
Nobutsuna had no descendants or official disciples. Asada Mitsuya, his hand-picked vice-captain, was the closest thing to a successor—so he cared deeply about him.
"Vice-Captain Asada... died while assisting Captain Kuyashiki Kenpachi in taking down the Quincy who gravely wounded you," Nanatsuki said solemnly.
Nobutsuna paused. A brief sadness flashed across his shadowed face.
Silence fell over the ICU.