“The Kōga Kuchiki Sealing Incident…” Yanagawa’s gaze lingered on the entry.
According to the records, Kōga Kuchiki—the son-in-law of Ginrei Kuchiki, grandfather to the current Squad 6 Captain, Byakuya Kuchiki—had murdered three of his fellow Soul Reapers.
In the end, he was sealed away in Karakura Town in the World of the Living through the combined might of Head Captain Yamamoto and Ginrei Kuchiki.
The report ended there.
It was terse, clinical, and strictly conformed to the standard format of official archives.
Yet, it left Yanagawa deeply suspicious.
*Murdering three comrades required Head Captain Yamamoto to intervene in person alongside the head of the Kuchiki Clan, one of the Great Noble Houses?*
*This account glosses over far too much.
If anything, it practically screams cover-up.*
From what he knew of Head Captain Yamamoto, an ordinary internal homicide—even one involving nobility—could never warrant the Head Captain personally taking the field to enforce a seal.
Unless whatever this “Kōga Kuchiki” did, or the sheer threat his power posed, was severe enough to shake the very foundations of the Seireitei.
Or perhaps he had breached an unspeakable taboo that could never be exposed to the light of day.
The charge of “murdering three comrades” was most likely just the negligible tip of a submerged iceberg.
*For Head Captain Yamamoto and Ginrei Kuchiki to join forces…
there has to be far more to this than mere murder.*
Yanagawa made a silent mental note of the discrepancy.
The Kuchiki Clan, one of the Great Noble Houses, conspiring with the Head Captain to conceal the truth…
The waters here ran far deeper than they appeared on the surface.
Browsing further, the section regarding the Quincy carried an even grander, yet far more brutal sense of “inevitability.”
Ever since the emergence of the Quincy, the Soul Society had spent years appealing to them to leave the disposal of Hollows to Soul Reapers.
The Quincy refused to comply.
As time marched on and their numbers swelled, the cycle of souls grew increasingly unstable.
To maintain the balance of the worlds, the Soul Reapers were forced to eradicate them, leaving the few remaining survivors under strict surveillance.
“To maintain the balance of the worlds.” Yanagawa turned the phrase over in his mind.
It was undeniably an explanation framed strictly from the perspective of the Soul Society and the Soul Reapers—draped in necessity and righteousness.
The Quincy method of utterly erasing Hollows disrupted the soul cycle and endangered the stability of the three realms; therefore, they had to be purged.
The logic seemed airtight, yet between the lines bled the chilling resolve of genocide and the one-sided history authored solely by the victors.
Next, a record of an event far closer to the present day—and carrying even more profound consequences—seized his full attention.
What was more, it bore a direct connection to his own Kidō Corps.
“The Kisuke Urahara Hollowfication Incident.”
*Key Figure: Former Squad 12 Captain and Director of the Research and Development Bureau, Kisuke Urahara.
Spearheaded dangerous “Hollowfication” experiments.*
*Direct Participants/Victims: Squad 5 Captain Shinji Hirako, Squad 12 Lieutenant Hiyori Sarugaki, Squad 8 Lieutenant Lisa Yadōmaru, Vice Kidō Chief Hachigen Ushōda, Squad 9 Captain Kensei Muguruma, Squad 9 Lieutenant Mashiro Kuna, Squad 7 Captain Love Aikawa, Squad 3 Captain Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi…*
The roster was staggering.
It encompassed over a third of the Gotei 13’s high-ranking battle strength at the time, including multiple captains!
Grand Kidō Chief Tessai Tsukabishi and Vice Kidō Chief Hachigen Ushōda were both implicated in the affair, after which both vanished.
*Incident Classification: The experiment spiraled out of control, causing multiple captains and lieutenants to undergo Hollowfication.
Ruled an act of grave treason against the Soul Society.*
*Aftermath: Kisuke Urahara sentenced to severe punishment.*
*At the critical juncture, Yoruichi Shihōin—Head of the Shihōin Clan, then-Captain of Squad 2 and Commander-in-Chief of the Stealth Force—brazenly stormed Central 46, rescuing Urahara by force.
The two defected together, their current whereabouts unknown.*
*All remaining Hollowfication victims also vanished without a trace.*
Reading through the dossier, Yanagawa felt ripples of shock stir in his chest.
He had heard whispers of the scandal when he first joined the Kidō Corps, but seeing the terrifying details and its sprawling reach laid bare was beyond anything he had imagined.
Kisuke Urahara…
A man capable of drawing so many captain-level figures into a perilous experiment.
A man who could drive the head of one of the Great Noble Houses—the esteemed Captain of Squad 2, no less—to commit outright treason against the Soul Society just to save him…
Such a figure could not be dismissed as a mere genius or an ordinary madman.
*Ensnaring both the Grand and Vice Kidō Chiefs, leaving the Kidō Corps leaderless; implicating nearly half of the captain- and lieutenant-level brass; and ending with the head of a Great Noble Clan orchestrating a jailbreak and defecting…*
Yanagawa swiftly reviewed the facts in his mind.
*Central 46’s final handling appeared swift and decisive, yet so many key figures simply vanished.*
*The true motives behind the incident, the exact nature of the experiments, and the detailed sequence of how it spiraled out of control are all glaringly vague in the official records.*
*This can’t be chalked up to a simple “lab accident” or “individual ambition.” The forces and secrets tangled beneath the surface must be beyond imagination.*
Regrettably, nearly every key figure involved was missing or unreachable; there was simply no angle from which to launch a deeper investigation.
Yanagawa shelved the massive enigma for now, but the name Kisuke Urahara—and the dangerous, transcendent intellect it represented—was indelibly burned into his mind.
He continued browsing the other technical archives connected to Urahara.
The former Bureau Director had left behind a lavish legacy; the dizzying array of ingenious concepts and eccentric inventions left one breathless.
Suddenly, a brief summary of a particular invention struck Yanagawa’s thoughts like a bolt of lightning cutting through the dark.
[Tenshintai.
Inventor: Kisuke Urahara.
Original Design Purpose: Through a specialized construct and reishi stimulation, temporarily materializes the true form of a Soul Reaper’s Zanpakuto spirit into reality, compelling a physical dialogue and combat with its wielder.]
[Theoretical Application: Drastically shortens the time required for a Soul Reaper to achieve Bankai.]
[Notes: Imposes exceptionally high demands on the user’s spiritual power, mental fortitude, and synchronization with their Zanpakuto.
Carries a risk of severe backlash.
Manufacturing schematics are currently classified as restricted.]
*Materialize the Zanpakuto’s spirit?*
Yanagawa’s gaze locked onto those few lines.
Thoughts rippled across his mind like stones skipping across a glassy lake.
The root of the “Twin Hyōrinmaru” anomaly lay in an inexplicable duplication of the Zanpakuto itself.
Their current investigation—whether interrogating the boys or combing through history—was running in circles purely on the human level.
*What if we could speak directly to the core of the problem—the Zanpakuto Hyōrinmaru itself?*
*What if I replicated or refined Urahara’s Tenshintai technology—not for training, but to summon Hyōrinmaru’s true form?*
To have that blade—or those two blades?—hailed as the greatest ice-snow Zanpakuto, speak for itself and explain why it chose two masters at once?
Or at least uncover the truth from its materialized state and behavior?
The moment the thought took root, it spread through Yanagawa’s mind like wildfire.
Compared to blind speculation, communing directly with Hyōrinmaru was undeniably the most direct and essential path forward!
Even if it posed technical hurdles and inherent risks!
“Captain Shiba,” Yanagawa spoke up, his voice cutting clearly through the hushed gallery.
“Hm?
What’s up?
Find something good?” Isshin Shiba, who had been passing the time counting the glowing alcoves along the walls, trotted over immediately.
Yanagawa pointed to the passage on the Tenshintai and laid out his concept with brisk clarity.
“…If we can find a way to replicate or adapt this technology and apply it to Hitsugaya’s and Kusakabe’s Hyōrinmaru, we might be able to bypass every intermediary and demand answers straight from Hyōrinmaru itself.”
Isshin’s eyes widened steadily as he listened.
His boredom vanished in an instant, replaced first by profound shock, then by surging excitement and approval.
He slapped his thigh with a resounding crack.
“Yanagawa!
What kind of brain do you have in that head of yours?!
To actually think of this…
having the Zanpakuto come out and explain itself!”
He rubbed his hands together eagerly.
“Still, that’s Kisuke Urahara’s handiwork.
The tech definitely won’t be simple, and it’s heavily classified.
Where are we gonna get our hands on it?
The Department of Research and Development?
That lunatic Mayuri Kurotsuchi is a nightmare to deal with.”
Yanagawa’s expression settled into cool composure as he weighed their options.
Once they stepped out of the Great Spirit Book Gallery, their next move was set: paying a visit to the Squad 12 Captain known as the Mad Scientist—Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
If they wanted to get their hands on a Tenshintai, navigating the Research and Development Bureau was a hurdle they could not avoid.