Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Urahara Kisuke’s Curiosity
(T/N: Second Chapter!)
Aizen Sōsuke didn’t ask about the Reishi data. Since his teacher didn’t bring it up, he simply pretended not to know and buried the doubt deep inside his heart.
"You’ve worked hard, Sōsuke. I’ll deliver the Reishi Detection Device to the Twelfth Division right away," Nanatsuki said, putting the device away.
"Teacher, I’ve hit a snag in my research recently."
Aizen Sōsuke walked over to a flowerpot filled with soil.
"What kind of problem?"
’I found some fungal-type Hollows among the bones of that ancient Menos you brought back. I was curious about this form of Reishi life, so I tried to transplant them.’
Nanatsuki stepped over to the pot and saw several white mushrooms growing inside. Each mushroom had a small, bone-like structure on top of its cap—that was their Hollow mask.
As Nanatsuki leaned in, the mushrooms pulled their tiny feet out of the dirt and retreated backward.
Nanatsuki asked, "They look well-formed. So what’s the issue?"
Aizen Sōsuke explained, "I found these small fungal Hollows in the sediment stuck between the bones."
"But recently, many of them have withered and died, so I tried moving them to soil."
"However, even after the transplant, they don’t live long. It seems the soil in Soul Society doesn’t have the nutrients needed to sustain them."
"Teacher, what’s the difference between the sands of Hueco Mundo and the sands here in Soul Society?"
Aizen Sōsuke had never been to Hueco Mundo, and there wasn’t much written about it in books, so he was quite curious.
Nanatsuki replied, "Hueco Mundo, like Soul Society, has a high Reishi concentration. But its atmosphere and geological layers are infused with Hollow-type Reishi, remnants of Hollows that have died and decomposed."
"I see. So Hueco Mundo’s air and terrain contain residual Hollow Reishi." Aizen Sōsuke slowly nodded, quickly putting the pieces together. "It seems these fungal Hollows need to absorb Hollow Reishi from the soil to survive. The little Hollow Reishi in the sediment I collected from the bones has already been depleted, which is probably why so many of them starved to death."
Nanatsuki asked, "Are these fungal Hollows useful enough to warrant all this effort?"
Aizen responded, "I developed a Hollow-Reishi catalyst to accelerate growth. Its main ingredient is extracted from these fungi."
Their experiments on turning Shinigami Reishi bodies into Hollow-Reishi bodies had hit a wall. Hollow energy was too powerful—and too invasive—while their artificially created Shinigami Reishi bodies were too fragile to resist Hollowfication.
So they shifted their research direction—trying to Shinigamify Hollow-Reishi bodies instead.
They would first create a Hollow-Reishi body, then infuse it with Shinigami Reiatsu.
Since Shinigami Reiatsu is gentler and less invasive, this method might yield a hybrid of Shinigami and Hollow power.
By feeding and dissecting the dividing Hollow they caught in the Forest of Menos, they had a steady supply of materials for Hollow-Reishi body production.
"So you’ve improved the growth catalyst again, Sōsuke. You really are a gifted researcher."
"Only thanks to your teaching, Teacher."
"I should be heading to Hueco Mundo after returning from the Twelfth Division. Why don’t you come with me? You can collect whatever type of soil you need there," Nanatsuki suggested after thinking for a moment.
"Then I’ll go prepare the sampling tools," Aizen Sōsuke nodded gently. He had never been to Hueco Mundo and was eager to see it for himself.
Nanatsuki left the lab with the Reishi Detection Device and headed to the Twelfth Division.
He used the Denreishinki to contact Urahara Kisuke. "Urahara, are you in the squad right now? The upgraded Reishi Detection Device is ready."
Urahara Kisuke’s voice came through the Denreishinki shortly after: "Oh? It’s Nanatsuki-kun! Come to the captain’s lab—I’m waiting at the door."
Nanatsuki made his way to Hikifune Kirio’s lab and found Urahara Kisuke waiting at the entrance.
Urahara Kisuke’s face was unshaven, and dark circles hung beneath his eyes.
"You work fast, huh? I’ve done a bit of optimization on my end too. After all, Kyōraku-taichō and Ukitake-taichō are pushing hard!" He yawned and continued, "What kind of upgrades did you make?"
Due to the incident involving the Gate of Hell in Rukongai, other divisions had been helping inspect spiritual remains, so Urahara wasn’t as overloaded. Still, he hadn’t been idle—he had also improved the Reishi Detection Device.
Nanatsuki explained, "I mainly upgraded the sampling module. It can now directly analyze ambient Reishi in the air and cross-check it with the database."
Urahara’s eyes lit up. "Looks like our upgrades don’t overlap! I focused on increasing the comparison speed for the data. Sampling was going to be my next step."
Urahara tested the device Nanatsuki had brought and praised it: "Nanatsuki-kun, your tech skills are impressive! You already implemented this feature?"
He patted Nanatsuki on the shoulder and smiled. "We really are in sync! No feature conflict at all—totally compatible. That means we can now pinpoint where a spiritual remnant has been, and the data comparison will be much faster."
"Well, you might be a little disappointed," Nanatsuki replied with a smile. "The one who’s in sync with you is my disciple—Aizen Sōsuke."
"Huh? Your disciple?" Urahara blinked in surprise. "You sly dog—your disciple is this skilled already? Wait a minute—aren’t you a swordsmanship instructor?"
"These days, I teach a bit of everything," Nanatsuki shrugged.
"Aizen Sōsuke, huh? Doesn’t ring a bell. He’s not in the Twelfth Division, is he? A talent like that is wasted outside of a research unit." Urahara scratched his chin, trying to recall anything about Aizen Sōsuke, but drew a blank.
"He hasn’t enrolled in the Spiritual Arts Academy yet. I took him in from Rukongai. He’s got talent—he’ll be entering the academy this year," Nanatsuki explained with a smile.
"Not even a Shinigami yet, huh? Impressive. We’ve got to get him into the Twelfth Division someday!" Urahara memorized the name Aizen Sōsuke, already planning to recruit him after graduation.
According to Captain Hikifune, she would be stepping down from her position as captain of the Twelfth Division within the next two years.
Urahara Kisuke was very interested in succeeding her—and had plans to turn the Twelfth into a full-fledged technology division.
But he hadn’t unlocked his Shikai yet. He wasn’t strong enough to become a captain just yet—he needed more time.
What he didn’t know was that the man standing beside him, Katori Nanatsuki, was also aiming for that captain’s seat.