Character Profile: Retsu Unohana

Retsu Unohana is the Captain of Squad 4. She is a very soft-spoken, polite and caring woman. She wears the standard Soul Reaper's uniform with long sleeves, and wears her hair in a long black braid to the front of her neck, rather than the back. She uses honorifics when addressing everyone, including her subordinates, and rarely shows panic or distress. Shunsui Kyoraku and Jushiro Ukitake treat her as their senior, implying that she has been a captain longer than either of them.

As the head of the 4th division, she is usually tasked with healing others, commonly treating the most severe injuries. Though she is always polite to her patients, anyone who tries to leave her care before they are discharged are promptly scared into submission merely by her presence.

Unohana's zanpakto's name is Minazuki. In its sealed form, Minazuki is slightly longer than an ordinary katana, and resembles a nodachi. Instead of tying it to her obi, Unohana carries her zanpakto over her shoulder by a rope strap or lets her Lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu carry it for her. When unsealed, the entire sword transforms into a giant, one eyed manta ray. It has the ability to heal people by swallowing them. When Unohana reseals Minazuki, it disolves into green mist and reforms into the sheath of her zanpakto. She is never seen performing the actual release, so her zanpakto's command is unknown.

In episode 61, Unohana tells Isane after Gin and Aizen leave, to perform a kido to search for their location. After that is done, she then tells Isane to perform another kido to get the message out to everyone in Soul Society.