Crack.
As if a barrier constraining the soul's upper limit had shattered, a sound like breaking glass resonated from within his body, fracturing evenly.
It was like a rebirth, shedding an old shell. The spiritual power stored within his body was completely renewed, giving Naraku Sora the illusion that he had metamorphosed into an entirely new species.
Although his Reiatsu was still at the tenth rank, a qualitative transformation had occurred.
The power of the Hollow and his own Reiryoku had merged more perfectly. The two entangled with one another, indistinguishable, as if this was the power he had been born with.
Despite being only a 2% mixture, under this marvelous chemical reaction, it exerted an amplification effect of nearly 100%.
Naraku Sora looked down. The muscles on his arms were knotted like coiling dragons. As he clenched his fist, a scalp-tingling creaking sound erupted.
'What power!'
The increase in growth potential brought an all-encompassing amplification, as well as a change in his latent potential.
Even if he didn't rely on his cheat ability now, Naraku Sora could still rise to the level of a Captain in the future. This was the confidence brought about by his elevated growth potential.
"This is... I really hit the jackpot."
Naraku Sora grinned. His stark white teeth were particularly striking under the lights, resembling a slumbering beast gradually waking up, radiating a wild and arrogant ferocity to the outside world.
He was looking forward to his future more and more now.
Perhaps in the near future, he really could stand above the heavens.
Inside the prison cells, the sinners trembled as they watched the young man outside, unable to understand what had happened to him.
That intense sense of oppression gave them the illusion of suffocation.
It was like facing a natural predator!
...
...
"Argh! Lady Warden, not there!"
In the prison squad barracks, within Shutara's private research laboratory, Naraku Sora let out a shameful howl, twisting on the examination table like a fish out of water.
Shutara Senjumaru glanced at him exasperatedly and scolded, "You were quite spirited when you smashed the holding cell door earlier. Why are you acting like a trash fish now? Isn't it just that I took off your clothes?"
"This is a Reiryoku needle. I only need to insert it into the Hakusui position to analyze the composition of your spiritual power."
"Rest assured, I know what I am doing."
As she spoke, ignoring a certain someone's screams, the woman forcibly inserted a long needle, resembling a python probe, into Naraku Sora's abdomen.
Normally, this degree of damage would directly cause a Soul Reaper to lose their spiritual power, completely reducing them to mediocrity.
But somehow, through whatever method Shutara Senjumaru used, the python needle—no, as the Reiryoku needle was inserted, Naraku Sora felt nothing at all.
He now lay on the examination table like a dead fish, looking with despair at the thick reddish needle sticking out of the center of his abdomen, allowing the other party to manipulate him.
This was what happened when one lived under another's roof.
Especially since Shutara Senjumaru had promised to give him certain compensation after the research concluded.
It had better be something substantial, not just some verbal reward.
A screen of Reishi unfolded directly in front of the examination table, and a string of dizzying numerical formulas popped up continuously.
Immediately following were a bunch of incomprehensible terms like Reishi wavelength and Balance III.
Her slender fingers spread lightly, and materialized Reishi drifted from her fingertips. Under Shutara Senjumaru's manipulation, it was woven into threads, outlining one pattern after another.
She seemed to be deducing some kind of possibility.
Staring at the constantly changing patterns, Naraku Sora's eyes glazed over; he only felt his brain itching.
After a moment, Shutara Senjumaru narrowed her eyes slightly, revealing a puzzled expression, and whispered softly, "It is completely different from my calculations?"
"Is the degree of Hollowfication insufficient? Or is there some other secret I do not know?"
"What exactly is missing?"
Soul Reapers and Hollows are both composed of Reishi; the essential difference lies in the soul.
Hollowfication, in a sense, can be summarized as one type of soul accommodating fragments of another type of soul, thereby breaking the original shackles and achieving a certain degree of breakthrough.
This practice is extremely dangerous.
It is not that there have been no Hollowfied Soul Reapers in history, but without exception, their rationality was swallowed by the tyranny derived within their souls, and they completely degenerated into Hollows that had lost their nature.
There had never been an existence like Naraku Sora.
As a researcher, Shutara Senjumaru naturally could not avoid touching upon this field, even though it was an extremely serious taboo matter in Soul Society.
But curiosity is often one of the greatest driving forces behind scientific development.
"I need more detailed data."
Shutara Senjumaru waved her sleeve. The moment the thick red Reiryoku needle flew out, the Kidō restraints on Naraku Sora's body also fell off completely.
The boy performed a kip-up, leaping off the examination table, and donned his Shihakushō with lightning speed, afraid that a certain woman would take advantage of him.
"What is the rush? You will have to take it off again later anyway."
"?"
'When I type a question mark, it's not because I have a problem, it's because you have a problem.'
Originally it was just a guess, but now he could be sure.
This woman was just lusting after his body!
Shutara Senjumaru waved her sleeves again, and the various high-tech instruments in the laboratory sank into the walls or the floor.
In the blink of an eye, the enormous room became empty.
"Mere observation cannot yield the desired answer, but as far as I know, when a Soul Reaper is in combat..."
At this point, Naraku Sora suddenly noticed that Shutara Senjumaru's smile carried a few more hints of danger, like a flower with thorns.
"Reiatsu produces violent fluctuations, and spiritual power undergoes varying degrees of change."
Shutara Senjumaru's red lips parted slightly. Standing in place, a faint pressure diffused from around her, gradually covering the entire laboratory.
"Give it your all. Let me witness your limits."
Naraku Sora paused for a moment. After a brief silence, he revealed a similarly dangerous smile and nodded gently.
"Alright."
Although he knew the gap between him and Shutara Senjumaru was despairingly wide, he also wanted to see exactly where his limits lay.
He wanted to know exactly how much amplification the increase in growth potential had brought.
The boy grinned, raised his arm, and tightly gripped the Zanpakutō he had pulled from the side.
The next moment, the duel began!
Cold sword light bloomed like moonlight, letting out a deafening roar toward the most supreme existence in the Soul Society.
Rip!
The sound of tearing flesh erupted. The blade slashed straight through the outer haori, and bright red blood sprayed out, along with fragments of bone and internal organs.
In just an instant, the figure before him was completely dismembered!
The gruesome sight even caused Naraku Sora to freeze for a moment.
'Am I already strong to this degree?'
Just then, a soft voice came from behind him, the tone carrying a hint of helplessness:
"Silly boy, how long do you intend to stare at that woven illusion?"
Naraku Sora's breathing came to a sudden halt.