Retsu Unohana (Seireitou)

"We simply came here to heal everyone's injuries. We have no desire to fight you. So long as you do not raise a hand to us, we will not interfere with you. However, should you choose to interfere in our work here, what will happen to you will not be our responsibility. Our job here is not to draw blood, but to stop its flow."

- Unohana's warning to the Exequias.


 * "Genuine elegance." - Tite Kubo

Yachiru Unohana (卯ノ花やちる, Unohana Yachiru), otherwise more commonly known as Retsu (烈, "Sorcerer/Witch"), is the current Captain of the Fourth Division in the Gotei 13. She is also recognized by her real name as the first Kenpachi. Unohana is one of the oldest and most experienced captains, and is the Soul Society's best healer. Her lieutenant is Sayune Yukihara.

Appearance
Unohana has the appearance of a very youthful woman with blue eyes and black hair. She wears the standard Shinigami captain uniform apart from using an obi instead of the normal sash. Her hair is long and is always worn as a large braid in front. Over 100 years ago, she didn't have the large braid.

Unlike most Shinigami who carries their Zanpakutō in their sash, Unohana has a large string attached to the sheath of her Zanpakutō and carries it over her shoulder, or has her lieutenant Sayune Yukihara carry it for her, whenever they are together on the battlefield. When engaging in actual combat, Unohana unravels her braid and allows her hair to flow loosely behind her back.

Personality
Unohana has a gentle and warm personality that augments her appearance. Unohana is a soft-spoken, polite, and caring woman who uses honorifics when addressing everyone, including her subordinates and the enemy. She rarely shows any signs of panic or distress, and has a great sense of duty, shown in the times that she orders Hanatarō Yamada's imprisonment and Isane Kotetsu's chasing of Renji Abarai when he runs away with Rukia Kuchiki. With her grace and kind manners, she lets others know quietly that while she may be soft, she is not to be taken lightly.

Despite her gentle nature, several members of the Eleventh Division and even her fellow Captains fear her. According to the former Captains of the Fifth and Seventh Divisions respectively, she can be very frightening as the look on their faces implied they would never want to get on her bad side (they noted that being destroyed by Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Bankai would be a preferable fate). This is, at first, played as a sort of comic relief, with Unohana revealing her ability to frighten anybody by closing her eyes and forming a soft gentle smile which belies the dark ominous fear hidden in her words, causing every single person whom she would speak to, even the fearless Kenpachi Zaraki, to follow whatever command she would "ask" of them to do. It is later revealed that this sense of fear instilled into those around her is from her past as the first Kenpachi, a title held by the strongest Shinigami. In alignment to this side of her, Unohana's gentle expression changes drastically into a chilling callous glare. Suiting this look, Unohana herself is uncaring and cold, able to kill an enemy or even an ally in cold blood without a second thought and without remorse whatsoever. This was shown during her role in the Quincy genocide.

Unohana likes strong flavored food, preferring it to bland tasting dishes. In her free time, she climbs mountains throughout Rukongai, during these excursions, she collects medicinal herbs. Once a month, she holds an Ikebana class for the members of her division. Unohana is also the President of the Ikebana Club (Flower Arranging Society.)

History
Although not much is revealed about her past, it is said that she has been a captain for at least 200 years; along with fellow captains Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Jūshirō Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku. It is stated that the four of them have been Captains of the Gotei 13 for at least 200 years as of 110 years ago before the current time. This makes her one of the oldest captains among the Gotei 13, despite her rather youthful appearance. Ukitake also refers to her as "Senpai" denoting her seniority to both him and Shunsui. At some point in the past, Unohana was the first Kenpachi, being known then as "Yachiru Unohana". Whether before, during, or after this time in her life, Unohana was taught medical techniques by Tenjirō Kirinji. She later abandoned her name as Yachiru at the same time she passed on the Kenpachi title and took on the name "Retsu".

Approximately 110 years ago, Unohana was present for a promotion ceremony, that took place at the 1st Division Headquarters, along with the rest of the assembled captains. She witnessed the arrival of the newly appointed Captain of the 12th Division, Kisuke Urahara. Her lieutenant at this time was Seinosuke Yamada. Nine years later, Unohana was present at a emergency meeting called by Captain-Commander Yamamoto where he decided to create a investigation team to locate the missing 9th Division squad members. When he gave out orders, Yamamoto ordered Unohana to prepare the relief stations for casualties, but Unohana interrupted him and asked if it wouldn't be better for her to tend to the wounded there. Yamamoto plainly told her that he couldn't send healers out without knowing what the situation was like.

Powers & Abilities
Master Healer: Unohana is by far the most knowledgeable on health related matters in all of Soul Society. She is known to be highly proficient in conventional healing techniques as well as herbal healing. Her knowledge of anatomy is high enough that upon examination of Aizen's "dead body", she concluded it was not Aizen or even real. She also seems to be able to heal more than just Shinigami, evident when she heals Yasutora Sado, a human, and Gantenbainne Mosqueda, an Arrancar.

Immense Spiritual Power: As one of the oldest Captains in the Gotei 13, it is safe to assume that Unohana has tremendous spiritual power.

Flash Steps Expert: Unohana is proficient enough in this skill to be of the average level of speed possessed by a Captain.

Keen Intellect: Along with her general skill of healing, she is able to detect the smallest details. This helps her in her mastery of healing. She can detect anomalies and problems lesser healers wouldn't. She can tell by a simple look what type of medical attention if any is needed. She also a powerful analyst with great attention to detail, able to quickly determine how to counteract any ailments in a person. Her powers of perception were also able to deduce that Aizen's elaborate illusion of a corpse doll wasn't real, but even more so that Aizen was perpetuating a much larger scheme.

Kidō Master
Kidō Master: As the former head of the Fourth Division, Unohana is known for her skills in the healing branch of Kidō. During her time as Head of the Seijin Medical Division, Unohana took time to refine her Kidō skills and develop powerful healing Kidō; some of which, were considered impossible feats, such as replacing lungs and important body parts.
 * Mugaihara (無害原, Harmless Horizen): Unique to Unohana alone, it turns her spiritual pressure range into a field where no harm can be done. What this means is that while within this Kidō's range, nothing can cause harm. No opponent may create a wound on another, as all attempts of attack are negated and rendered useless. Because of its absolute negation of harm, it was nicknamed the "cease-fire" Kidō.

Zanjutsu Master
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Although she has never been seen in battle, it is known that her personal speciality is sword fighting, including her particular mastery in the kendō style of fighting. She is more than capable of fighting on even ground with Sōsuke Aizen.

Zanpakutō
Minazuki redirects here. For the manifested spirit that appears in the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc see Minazuki (spirit). Minazuki (肉雫唼, "Purify the Flesh"); In sealed form, Minazuki is slightly longer than an ordinary katana, and resembles a nodachi. The guard has an oval shape and the handle is red. Instead of tying it to her obi, Unohana carries her Zanpakutō over her shoulder by a rope strap or lets Isane carry it for her.


 * Shikai: Its release command is unknown. When released in Shikai form, Minazuki will start to morph, turning into a green like gas substance before taking a solid shape of a giant, green, one eyed Manta Ray like creature with the capability to fly. Minazuki can act as transportation and will change back into the green gas substance before returning to it's sword form when it's duty has been fulfilled.
 * Shikai Special Ability: It is large enough to transport many people on its back (at least a dozen, based on its size when compared to those riding it). It seems to act on verbal orders and when landing it has the ability to somehow create a pair of bird like legs. Minazuki's main aspect is its ability to heal. When the wounded are placed within Minazuki's mouth, they are swallowed and stored inside it's stomach. Minazuki's stomach acids are strong healing medicines and ointments which gradually soak over the wounded, curing their injuries. Currently it has shown to be able to carry at least five people within it's stomach. When Unohana gives the word, Minazuki will regurgitate the people back out of its mouth.
 * Jōka Byōki (浄化病気, Purifying Ailment): By reverting Minazuki back into sword form, Unohana can engage in melee combat. Mizazuki's true power is then revealed, as it allows Unohana to "purify" the physical body of her opponents. In her own words, Minazuki reverts something back to its most purest form, which can be considered to be the moment of birth. Whenever Minazuki strikes a limb of an opponent, that particular limb loses its muscle mass and reverts to being nothing more than a small infant's limb. While it doesn't literally transform the limb into that of an infant's in terms of physical appearance, it does cause the limb's muscle mass to downgrade entirely in quality. The extents of this technique haven't been revealed, as this technique has only been used once thus far.


 * Bankai: Not Yet Revealed

Quotes

 * "While it is good to be energetic, please remain quiet inside the hospital. As long as you are still inside this building, your lives are in our hands. Please do not forget that."
 * (To Shinji Hirako) "The act of saving a comrade in need should require no thanks."

Behind the Scenes
The content found on this page is based off of canon Retsu Unohana, in order to expand on the character and to add fan content to it.