They all looked at the smiling face of Unohana, her iconic closed eyelids giving nothing away.
No one knew what to say.
No one knew what was happening.
She…
Unohana?
The woman who had said no to billionaires of this world.
The woman who had rejected countless powerful heroes who desired her.
The woman who had refused the number one hero of Africa, the number three hero of Belgium, the number two hero of the USA, and the number two hero of Japan.
Unohana—the very Unohana—had said no to marriage proposals from the strongest of the strong races.
And yet… her interest lay in this man, right here. Something was clearly wrong with the world.
Isane, her daughter, was the most shocked. "M-Mother… is he… is he the one you've been looking for? I… I can't believe it… a real stepfather… t-this is impossible… I-I can't believe it."
Unohana looked at her daughter calmly. "Isane… I thought you wanted a father figure?"
Isane blinked in disbelief. "Well… I did say that, but… why him? You don't even know him. You just met him yesterday… "And he's much younger than you."
"So, you're saying I'm old?" Unohana teased, raising an eyebrow.
"N-no! I-I was just worried about you, Mother," Isane stammered.
Unohana chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. Her motherly voice softened the tease. "Come now, I'm just joking. No need to act so flustered."
The response left them all dumbstruck. Their mouths twitched in disbelief.
"Mother… don't ever… ever joke about that," Isane said sharply. "I almost had a heart attack."
"Joke?" Unohana asked, tilting her head.
Yoruichi chimed in. "About the husband thing?"
Every girl nodded in agreement. They didn't want to believe it, not even once—but that wasn't a joke.
Unohana tilted her head slowly. "What? I wasn't joking about that part. I was joking about not harming him." She said it as if it were the most logical thing in the world.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeh!"
Everyone gasped.
They wanted to ask more—why, how, and what the hell was happening—but a deep voice interrupted them.
"Oh—why so noisy? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep here?"
It was him. The man sitting on the ground.
They all went silent and turned to look at him.
He stood, moving in a strange, almost careless way. "Hmm… why so dark? Is it still night? No… I can feel sunlight above. Am I buried alive? That's no good—I have to cook breakfast."
The ladies stared, unsure what to make of him. Was he really crazy?
"I gotta hurry… leave this place."
"Hey, mister soil, please put me up! I'm in a hurry!" His voice echoed through the void.
Now everyone truly thought he was some kind of fool.
But then the ground trembled again.
They all struggled to maintain balance as the platform beneath them shook violently.
"Brace yourselves, we're about to go up," Unohana said.
She, Mabui, Gion, and Yoruichi—far more experienced—immediately used their powers to stabilize themselves as the subtle shifts in the ground threatened to throw them off.
Konan scanned the surroundings while keeping her eyes fixed on the man.
Black Maria shot a strand of spider silk for balance.
Nejire, Monet, Isane, and Soi Fon followed suit, anchoring themselves with their abilities.
The man remained standing, seemingly unbothered. His deep voice cut through the trembling air.
"Oh… what was the keyword again? Ah… Doton? No one cares, mister Earth. Send me up."
Then—
KAAAAAAA-RaaaaaaaaaAG!
CRAAAAAA-AAAAAA-AAAAACK—
The very platform beneath them shot upward, the sinkhole filling with a massive surge of earth and rock.
They all froze, staring at him in awe. The mentors were calm, but the second years were wide-eyed, speechless.
"W-what power…" Nejire gritted her teeth as the force of the rising land nearly bowled her over.
"This is unbelievable! How much energy does this require?" Black Maria exclaimed, forcing herself to stay upright.
Monet transformed into snow to avoid impact, her body shimmering in the void.
Konan coated her feet with chakra, stable yet clearly fascinated by the man.
Isane clung to her mother, trembling.
Soi Fon balanced herself using her spiritual awareness.
And all of them looked at the man—the one who simply stood, head lowered, unmoved by the cataclysm around him.
Then—
DUUUuuuuuuuUNG—
BAAAAAaaaGaaaaaaaaam—
Light from outside the sinkhole flooded the chamber.
THUUUuuuud—
The sinkhole was sealed once more, covered by land as if nothing had ever happened. No gaping abyss. No darkness. Just solid, unbroken earth.
Finally, the six girls exhaled.
"This crazy man," Soi Fon muttered, clenching her fists.
"A monster," whispered Monet, re-forming into her human body, smiling with excitement.
"A tough man , I want him" said Black Maria.
Nejire licked sweat from her brow. "The land… just swooshed up like that?"
Konan shook her head. "That's chakra authority—a ninjutsu cast directly through the earth."
"A chakra" the others asked, bewildered.
"Yes," Mabui said. "And for him to do it casually, without seals, without an incantation… that means he possesses a strong Authority, costing massive energy. And yet… he's still standing there, like nothing happened."
They all stared at him, hearts pounding.
"That means he's part of the 2% of men who've received this great Authority," Soi Fon murmured.
"N-no, sister wants him," she added under her breath, eyes wide.
"Exactly," Black Maria said, licking her lips. "That's the kind of man worthy of me."
Gion remained silent, deep in thought.
Isane, still holding her mother, whispered, "Is that why, Mother… you chose him?"
Unohana looked down at her daughter. "Isane, you need more training. You can't even sense his aura yet."
Isane tilted her head, bewildered.
Konan began to move toward the man, taking the first deliberate step.
The girls tensed, eyes wide. At konan.
Konan slowly approaches Maki.
Maki the felt something, he then slowly lift his head.
( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉBut then Yoruichi shouted.
"Not good! Konan, dodge!"