"Everyone, I think Sosuke Aizen is conducting Hollowfication experiments!" Makiya said in a serious tone.
In the newly opened underground space, a two-story wooden courtyard sat on the desolate wasteland. Makiya, Yoruichi Shihoin, Kisuke Uhara, and Shinji Hirako sat together around machines with strange designs.
"Hey, hey, that's a pretty serious accusation. Do you have any evidence, Makiya?" Wearing a yellow training suit and a captain's haori, Yoruichi Shihoin picked up a large bowl and finished the ramen soup in one gulp. "Uhara, another bowl."
"Just put the bowl on the platform and press the button yourself. It's a fully automatic machine, so why do you insist on calling me over?" Kisuke Uhara looked miserable and complained incessantly, but his body was very honest. He put down his chopsticks, took the large bowl from Yoruichi's hand, got up, and walked over to a huge machine nearby to operate it.
The machine emitted a series of hums. Makiya felt complex Reishi fluctuations inside the machine. A few seconds later, the platform rose, and a steaming bowl of ramen was placed on it.
"Here."
"Ah, thanks!" Yoruichi took the bowl, swirled her chopsticks around, picked up a large clump of ramen, and stuffed it into her mouth. She chewed while looking at Makiya. "Makiya, why aren't you saying anything?"
Because her mouth was full of food, Yoruichi's voice was a bit distorted.
"Aren't we supposed to be meeting in secret to discuss important matters?" Makiya grabbed a sauce-covered chicken leg and took a big bite. "How did this turn into a dinner party?"
'Mmm, this chicken leg tastes really good!'
"What does it matter? Just think of it as helping Uhara test his new technology." Yoruichi waved her hand and quickly finished the food in front of her. "This machine is said to use technology from the former 12th Division Captain, Kirio Hikifune, right, Uhara?"
"It's not that exaggerated." Uhara was humble, but his expression was very proud. "Senior Kirio Hikifune's soul-essence cuisine can not only recover injuries quickly but also improve strength. Mine is far from that."
"Don't stray from the topic." Shinji Hirako sipped from a bowl of soup, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Although I also feel something is wrong with Aizen, I haven't found any suspicious movements. That kid is often by my side for monitoring, so he has no time to pull any tricks."
"Is that so?" Makiya threw away the chicken bone, his tone noncommittal. "Aizen's Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu—its Shikai effect might not be as simple as refracting light to create illusions as he says."
"You mean we've all been hypnotized by Aizen?" Kisuke Uhara pondered. "Come to think of it, everyone seems to have seen Aizen's Shikai."
"Exactly." Makiya nodded. "Aizen uses Kyoka Suigetsu to hypnotize everyone. To the Seireitei, he and his subordinates are completely invisible. They can do whatever they want, fitting the description of an 'invisible enemy'."
Makiya raised a finger, and a bright red flame flickered at his fingertip. "If I couldn't sense the flow of Reishi in the air, I would have been successfully ambushed by him long ago."
"But to hypnotize so many captains, vice-captains, and seated officers at once, how strong would Aizen's Reiatsu have to be?" Shinji Hirako rubbed his chin and thought about it, but still felt it was unlikely.
Soul Reapers who can become captain-level powerhouses all possess strong self-confidence. Shinji didn't believe Aizen could completely control him.
His Zanpakuto, Sakanade, was also a hypnosis-type. Because of this, Shinji understood the difficulty of hypnotizing the entire Gotei 13 even more clearly. How could there be a Soul Reaper in the Soul Society who could achieve this?
After discussing for a while, Kisuke Uhara took several medicine bottles from his coat and handed them to everyone.
"What is this?" Shinji Hirako held the bottle up against the sun. The translucent blue liquid shimmered with a fluorescent glow, looking very beautiful.
"I haven't had time to name it yet, so let's call it a Neutralizer." Kisuke Uhara turned to look at Makiya. "Thanks to Makiya's help during this time, my understanding of Hollowfication has deepened. This Neutralizer is the latest result."
Makiya shook the medicine bottle in his hand. He felt a faint scent of Hollow inside. "So, what is the effect of this Neutralizer?"
Kisuke Uhara's expression gradually became serious. "Regardless of whether the invisible enemy is Aizen or not, the opponent has been acting in secret and could attack investigating Soul Reapers at any time. The Neutralizer can greatly alleviate the speed at which Hollow power erodes the soul, reduce the pain caused, and allow captain-level Soul Reapers to release their Shikai when attacked."
"This is good stuff." Yoruichi tucked the bottle behind her and asked the key question. "How is the production of this thing?"
"I've already reported it to the Head Captain. Within a week, I can provide a bottle for every person in the Seireitei." Kisuke Uhara was quite proud. The Department of Research and Development was something he had built up against various pressures. With the former 12th Division Captain's achievements before him, he also longed to prove himself.
The Neutralizer was just an appetizer. With Makiya's help, the research progress on the Hogyoku had accelerated significantly. Kisuke Uhara was confident. This was a major invention that could allow Soul Reapers to break through their limits. It might even attract the attention of the Zero Division.
After talking for a while, Shinji Hirako left in a hurry, intending to go back and continue monitoring Aizen.
Even if Aizen's Reiatsu was indeed incredibly powerful, Shinji was confident he could take down Aizen at a critical moment. A Soul Reaper's battle is not just about Reiatsu; intelligence is a very important factor. Shinji believed that with Sakanade, he would never lose.
Confidence is a good thing, and confident people are more likely to succeed. But everything has a limit. Overconfidence is arrogance, and Shinji Hirako would eventually pay for his own arrogance.
Yoruichi was still gorging herself, eating the amount of five people alone and still not satisfied. Her small cherry mouth kept swallowing as if it were a bottomless abyss.
Makiya and Uhara watched from the side, dumbfounded. After eating so much, Yoruichi's lower abdomen was still perfectly flat.
Finally, after eating enough for twenty people, Yoruichi let out a very unladylike burp, wrapped her captain's haori around her, and curled into a ball to nap.
"She's basically a cat!" Makiya marveled.
"Who can say otherwise?" Kisuke Uhara rubbed his hands, a smile on his face as he approached Makiya. "Makiya, you should be free today, right?"
"Don't say it, I get it. Let's go." Makiya interrupted Uhara and walked straight into the wasteland. After so many collaborations, he was already intimately familiar with the locations of the research facilities Uhara had built here.
The two were in a mutually beneficial relationship. Uhara would also use his connections to introduce Makiya to strong people worth fighting. Not all strong people joined the Gotei 13 to become Soul Reapers; there were also souls with extraordinary talent in other parts of the Soul Society.
Soul Reapers don't have a strong sense of time. As the days passed, the case of the Rukongai souls' Hollowfication and disappearance was delayed again and again, with no progress in the investigation.
Besides Aizen disguising himself too well and acting flawlessly, it was also related to someone slacking off all day.
Shunsui Kyoraku's slacking finally aroused the Head Captain's dissatisfaction. The old man ordered a change, and the 9th Division took over the follow-up investigation.
As for Shunsui Kyoraku, he was punished by having to spar with Makiya three times. When the Head Captain's order and the [Mugen] pass were delivered to Makiya, he was completely stunned.
"Oh no, I've become a whetstone!"
This was Makiya's first thought.
The Head Captain couldn't stand Shunsui Kyoraku's lazy behavior and intended to use Makiya to sharpen Shunsui's blade.
However, the Head Captain's order played right into Makiya's hands; he couldn't have asked for more.
Shunsui Kyoraku's full name is Shunsui Jiro Souzosuke Kyoraku. He is from a high-ranking noble family and is one of the most senior captains. He possesses a special rule-based Zanpakuto called [Katen Kyokotsu]. Makiya had always been interested in his Reiatsu, and he didn't expect the Head Captain to deliver the opportunity right to him.
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