“Kōga Kuchiki Seal Incident…”
Yanagawa’s gaze lingered on this record.
Information showed that Kōga Kuchiki, son-in-law of Ginrei Kuchiki—grandfather of the current Squad 6 Captain, Byakuya Kuchiki—was sealed in Karakura Town in the World of the Living by the joint efforts of Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Ginrei Kuchiki after killing three colleagues.
The record ended there—concise, cold, and in the standard format of official files.
But Yanagawa’s brows furrowed slightly.
“To kill three colleagues, it required Captain-Commander Yamamoto to personally take action and join forces with the head of the Kuchiki Clan, the leader of the Four Great Noble Families, to seal him?”
“This record is too evasive, perhaps even trying to hide something.”
Based on his understanding of an existence like Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, ordinary internal murders, even those involving nobles, would never easily move the Captain-Commander to personally intervene and perform a sealing.
Unless the matter committed by this Kōga Kuchiki, or the power or threat he represented, was serious enough to shake the foundations of Seireitei.
Or perhaps it touched upon some taboo that could never be made public.
The charge of “killing three colleagues” was likely just the tip of the iceberg, the most insignificant part visible on the surface.
“To make Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Ginrei Kuchiki join forces…
what this involves is likely far more than a simple murder.”
Yanagawa silently noted this doubt.
The Kuchiki Clan, the head of the Four Great Noble Families, and the truth covered up in collaboration with the Captain-Commander…
these waters were much deeper than they appeared.
Continuing to browse, the chapter on the Quincy carried a more grand, yet also more cruel, “inevitability.”
Since the birth of the Quincy, Soul Society had for many years tried to appeal to the Quincy to hand over the handling of Hollow to the Shinigami.
The Quincy refused to accept this situation.
As time passed and the number of Quincy increased, the cycle of souls became more unstable.
This forced the Shinigami to eliminate the Quincy to maintain the balance of the world, and the remaining small number of Quincy were also strictly monitored.
To “maintain the balance of the world.”
Yanagawa chewed on these words.
This was undoubtedly an explanation standing on the side of Soul Society and the Shinigami, full of necessity and legitimacy.
The Quincy’s method of completely eradicating Hollow disrupted the cycle of souls and threatened the stability of the three worlds, so they had to be eliminated.
Logically, it seemed unassailable, but between the lines, it revealed the cold determination of genocide and the victor’s one-sided writing of history.
Next, a record of an event closer to the present and with more profound influence caught all his attention.
It even had a direct connection to the Kidō Corps where he was currently located.
“Former Captain Kisuke Urahara Hollowfication Incident.”
Core figures: Former Squad 12 Captain and Chief of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, former Captain Kisuke Urahara, who led dangerous “Hollowfication” experiments.
Direct participants/victims: Including Squad 5 Captain Shinji Hirako, Squad 12 Lieutenant Hiyori Sarugaki, Squad 8 Lieutenant Lisa Yadōmaru, Lieutenant Kidō Chief Hachigen Ushōda, Squad 9 Captain Kensei Muguruma, Squad 9 Lieutenant Mashiro Kuna, Squad 7 Captain Love Aikawa, Squad 3 Captain Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi…
This list was shocking, encompassing nearly one-third of the Gotei 13’s high-level combat power at the time, including several captains!
Great Kidō Chief Tessai Tsukabishi and Lieutenant Kidō Chief Hachigen Ushōda were both involved in this matter, and both later went missing.
Event classification: Experiment went out of control, causing multiple captains and lieutenants to undergo Hollowfication, viewed as a major betrayal and threat to Soul Society. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Subsequent development: Former Captain Kisuke Urahara was sentenced to a heavy penalty.
At a critical moment, the head of the Shihōin Clan, the then-Squad 2 Captain and Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō, Yoruichi Shihōin, openly broke into Central 46, forcibly rescued former Captain Kisuke Urahara, and the two defected together, their whereabouts unknown.
The other Hollowfication victims also all went missing.
Yanagawa read these pieces of information, ripples rising in his heart.
He had heard whispers of this matter when he joined the Kidō Corps, but the details were so horrifying, and the implications so widespread, that it exceeded his imagination.
Former Captain Kisuke Urahara…
a figure who could move so many Captain-level figures to participate in his dangerous experiments.
And in the end, a figure who could make the head of one of the Four Great Noble Families, a dignified Squad 2 Captain, risk defecting from Soul Society to save him…
he was by no means a simple genius or madman.
“Letting the Great Kidō Chief and the Lieutenant Kidō Chief both get involved, leaving the Kidō Corps leaderless; involving nearly half of the Captain- and Lieutenant-level high-ranking officials; and ending with the head of one of the Four Great Noble Families hijacking a prison and defecting…”
Yanagawa quickly reviewed it in his mind.
“Central 46’s final handling of this matter seemed swift and decisive, but the disappearance of many key figures…”
“And the true motives behind the incident, the specific content of the experiments, and the detailed process of how they went out of control are all vague and unclear in the records.”
“This is by no means a simple ‘experimental accident’ or ‘personal ambition.’ The forces and secrets involved behind it are likely beyond imagination.”
It was a pity that almost all the parties involved were missing or out of contact, so there was no way to start an in-depth investigation.
Yanagawa temporarily sealed this huge mystery, but the name of former Captain Kisuke Urahara, and the dangerous and advanced wisdom he represented, had been deeply imprinted in his mind.
He continued to browse other technical records related to former Captain Kisuke Urahara.
The legacy left by this former Chief of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute was quite rich, with various whimsical ideas and inventions that were dazzling.
Suddenly, a brief description of an invention, like a bolt of lightning cutting through the darkness, instantly illuminated Yanagawa’s thoughts.
“Tenshintai.
Inventor: Former Captain Kisuke Urahara.
Original design purpose: Through special construction and Reishi excitation, temporarily materialize the Zanpakutō spirit of a Shinigami into reality, forcing it to engage in high-density, physical communication and combat with the wielder.
“Theoretical utility: Greatly shortens the time required for a Shinigami to comprehend and master Shikai, and even reach the threshold of Bankai.
“Note: This technology has extremely high requirements for the user’s spiritual power, mental strength, and compatibility with the Zanpakutō, and carries the risk of backlash.
Specific manufacturing technology has been listed as a controlled item.”
Materializing the Zanpakutō spirit?
Yanagawa’s gaze locked firmly on these lines of description, and the thoughts in his mind were like a lake into which a stone had been thrown, suddenly stirred into ripples!
The mystery of Hyōrinmaru’s “twins” lay in the fact that the Zanpakutō itself had an incomprehensible duplication.
Existing investigations, whether questioning the parties involved or checking history, were all circling at the human level.
But what if one could communicate directly with the core of the problem, the Zanpakutō Hyōrinmaru itself?
Suppose one could reproduce or improve former Captain Kisuke Urahara’s Tenshintai technology, not to assist in cultivation, but to “summon” the Zanpakutō spirit of Hyōrinmaru? Read this novel at novelping dot com for the best experience.
Let that—or those two?—Zanpakutō, known as the strongest ice-type, personally “speak” and explain why it chose two masters at the same time?
Or, at the very least, discover the truth from its materialized form and performance?
Once this thought arose, it spread in Yanagawa’s heart like a wildfire.
Compared to blind guessing, talking directly to Hyōrinmaru was undoubtedly a more direct and essential approach!
Although it was technically difficult and risky!
“Captain Isshin Shiba.”
Yanagawa suddenly spoke, his voice sounding exceptionally clear in the silent corridor.
“Hm?
What is it?
Did you find something?”
Isshin Shiba, who was boringly counting the glowing compartments on the wall, immediately leaned over.
Yanagawa pointed to the record about Tenshintai and quickly and clearly stated his idea:
“…If we can manage to reproduce or understand this technology and apply it to Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Sōjirō Kusaka’s Hyōrinmaru, perhaps we can bypass all intermediate links and seek answers directly from Hyōrinmaru itself.”
Isshin listened, his eyes widening, the boredom on his face wiped away, replaced by intense astonishment, which then turned into strong interest and approval.
He slapped his thigh:
“Yanagawa!
How does your brain work?
To actually think of this move!
Letting the Zanpakutō come out and explain itself!”
He rubbed his hands excitedly:
“However, this is something that guy, former Captain Kisuke Urahara, came up with.
The technology definitely isn’t simple, and it’s been restricted.
Where are we going to get it?
The Shinigami Research and Development Institute?
That madman, Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, isn’t easy to deal with.”
Yanagawa’s gaze calmed down, and he quickly weighed the options in his mind.
“The Shinigami Research and Development Institute is the only way.
But before that, we need more information on former Captain Kisuke Urahara’s other related research.”
“Makes sense!” Isshin nodded vigorously.
Walking out of the Great Spirit Book Corridor, next, it was time to meet that Squad 12 Captain, Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, known as the “mad scientist.”
To have designs on Tenshintai, the Shinigami Research and Development Institute was a hurdle that could not be bypassed no matter what.