Nanatsuki and her disciples had settled near the Kurosaki Clinic. Several of the Quincy disciples still had considerable room for growth, so a stable environment was necessary for their continued training.
Kurosaki Mei, upon learning that Nanatsuki intended to stay, warmly welcomed her "relative." She even funded the acquisition of property and housing on their behalf.
"Sensei, I've completed my Blut Vene!"
Blue lines glowed across Meninas's body—her veins now fully infused with the spirit-threaded armor.
"Excellent," Nanatsuki praised with a nod. "Now it's time to begin training your Blut Arterie."
With the completion of her Blut Vene, a system prompt followed:
[Disciple Meninas McAllon has completed Blut Vene training. Reward calculated.]
[Reward acquired: 20,000 General Ability EXP]
Nanatsuki's four Quincy disciples—Meninas, Liltotto, Bambietta, and Candice—were all considered prodigious even by Wandenreich standards. Each had now completed their Blut Vene, netting Nanatsuki a total of 80,000 General Ability EXP.
Combined with the 90,000 EXP from teaching sword techniques to his Hollow disciples and the 200,000 from assisting Starrk and Ulquiorra's evolution, Nanatsuki had amassed a staggering 370,000 EXP.
Leveling up Reiatsu again would cost roughly 500,000 EXP—still a significant gap.
After some thought, he decided to invest in his Hollow powers instead.
Hollowfication boosted Reiatsu as well.
By upgrading his Hollow abilities, he could increase both the magnitude and duration of the amplification.
With a single thought, he funneled 368,000 EXP into Hollowfication.
[Hollowfication Lv.87 (18,000/50,000)]
In one go, his Hollowfication jumped from level 56 to 87.
The improvement was massive, though Nanatsuki couldn't test it just yet—his focus remained on assisting Meninas with her Blut Arterie training.
For Quincy, proper guidance could make all the difference.
Nanatsuki's knowledge of Reishi techniques far exceeded most Quincy. His understanding of the human body and soul was unparalleled.
Thanks to this, he had developed a streamlined training method for Blut techniques.
Using his Reiatsu, Nanatsuki could guide Meninas, letting her experience the sensation of Blut Arterie in advance.
Without this, there was no way his disciples could have mastered Blut Vene so quickly.
After all, Blut wasn't something ordinary Quincy could learn easily.
To master it was to enter the realm of elite Quincy—capable of battling Lieutenant-class Shinigami or even Menos-class Hollows alone.
Nanatsuki's method allowed his disciples to rapidly acquire this crucial technique.
"I'm ready~"
Meninas sat cross-legged before him, hands resting obediently on her knees.
"Relax. Focus on the feeling of my Reiatsu."
Nanatsuki pressed gently against her major artery, allowing his Reishi to flow into her system.
Blut Arterie and Blut Vene were applied to two separate blood vessel systems. Typically, Quincy would embed Blut Arterie in the arteries, and Blut Vene in the veins.
Meninas didn't resist the influx of Reishi. She let it flood her body.
Blue lines began to surface across her skin—signs that her arteries were being saturated.
Soon, her skin flushed red.
Even though Nanatsuki carefully regulated the flow, Meninas still struggled to endure the density of his Reiatsu. Some Reishi inevitably leaked out.
Nanatsuki kept his spiritual awareness finely tuned to her condition.
The arteries linked directly to the heart. Any misstep could result in serious injury.
Even if Meninas didn't reject his Reishi, guiding foreign energy through another person's body was nowhere near as simple as controlling one's own.
Had Nanatsuki not been a Kaido expert, thoroughly familiar with anatomy, this level of precision would've been impossible.
It was likely that no other Quincy alive could replicate this auxiliary training technique.
Moments later, her body was filled to capacity with his Reishi.
"Blut Arterie should last for about half an hour. Pay close attention to the sensation," Nanatsuki advised, withdrawing his hand. "Whatever you do, don't try to switch back to Blut Vene during this period."
Right now, Meninas's Blut Arterie was active—but the Reishi in her arteries wasn't her own. If she attempted to switch forms now, the conflicting energies would destabilize everything.
"Got it! I'll be careful!" Meninas nodded firmly and resumed meditating, focusing inward.
Nanatsuki's method couldn't grant instant mastery. It would take a few more sessions before she could wield Blut Arterie independently.
Having completed her guidance, Nanatsuki turned his focus back to his main body.
He had just jumped thirty-one levels in Hollowfication—he was eager to test the results.
Soon after, he arrived at the Sekkiseki lab.
He was heading toward the training ground when he ran into Aizen Sōsuke, who was moving experimental equipment.
"Sōsuke, are these Hollows you evolved using the Hōgyoku?"
Nanatsuki noticed the stasis pods. Each one contained a fully evolved Arrancar.
"Your insight is as sharp as ever, Sensei." Aizen paused and nodded. "Yes, these were all advanced using the Hōgyoku."
After obtaining the Hōgyoku from Urahara Kisuke, Aizen had wasted no time pushing it to its limits—producing a batch of Arrancar.
"You planning to dispose of them?" Nanatsuki asked, rubbing his chin.
"I was thinking of releasing them into the Forest of Menos. Just to observe."
"I've taken in a few Hollow disciples in Las Noches. Don't harm them," Nanatsuki warned.
"Besides Nel, Sensei took in more Hollow disciples? Understood—I'll leave them alone." Aizen showed a knowing smile.
Back when Nanatsuki had accepted Nel as a disciple, Aizen had suspected his teacher was planning to use her to influence Las Noches from the shadows. It seemed that plan had come to fruition.
Aizen packed the pods into a Reishi storage pocket and exited the lab.
Nanatsuki made his way to the Sekkiseki training hall.
The hall's design cut off all external sensory detection—perfect for testing Hollow abilities without drawing attention from the Shinigami Research and Development Bureau.
With a breath, Nanatsuki activated his power.
His Reiatsu surged.
Unlike the Visored, Nanatsuki didn't need to make a dramatic gesture—no swiping his hand across his face.
That habit of theirs, he figured, was just for show.
A mask formed over his face in an instant.
His Reiatsu erupted.
He hadn't even adapted to the spike in spiritual pressure before the overflow became visible—raw spiritual winds whipping around him like a storm.