Squad 1 Barracks.
Sasakibe Chōjirō hurried down the corridor with a stack of files in his arms, preparing to present the documents Kyōraku Shunsui had processed recently for Yamamoto's review.
Although he highly approved of Kyōraku Shunsui's abilities, it was better to double-check some of the finer details.
After all, the current Squad 1 was different from before.
Not only did they have to handle the Gotei 13's squad duties, but they also had to take over the responsibilities of the Central 46.
Despite the significantly heavier workload, Sasakibe Chōjirō enjoyed it.
Letting those parasites in the Central 46 handle the entire Soul Society's judicial system would only make things worse, and the residents' living conditions would deteriorate.
Even though Squad 1 hadn't been in charge of judicial work for long, the overall atmosphere was improving, and this was clearly visible.
When he visited the Rukongai previously, he saw genuine smiles that were almost never seen in the past.
Just this alone made all their past hard work worth it.
"Chōjirō."
Yamamoto's voice came from inside the room, and Sasakibe quickly hurried in with the files.
"Lord Genryūsai, these are all the files Captain Kyōraku has processed recently, as well as the intelligence regarding the Quincies you mentioned earlier."
"I specifically retrieved the latter from the Great Spirit Book Gallery."
"The Tsunayashiro family was very cooperative with this, even taking the initiative to help us search."
Yamamoto held a brush, writing very earnestly.
His recent life in Hueco Mundo had been a bit too stimulating, so he needed to calm himself down through calligraphy.
Only after the final stroke fell did Yamamoto slowly speak:
"For that boy Shunsui's work, you only need to pull out the parts concerning the nobles. As for the Gotei 13 matters, I trust he can handle them well."
"Yes."
Sasakibe seemed to have expected this. He separated a stack of documents from the top and placed them on the desk.
Yamamoto briefly flipped through them.
Overall, it matched his understanding of Kyōraku Shunsui's handling style, with only minor flaws in the details.
However, this was because Kyōraku Shunsui hadn't completely changed his mindset yet, still placing the nobles in a relatively high position and handling them a bit too cautiously.
After making a few simple annotations, Yamamoto focused his attention on the intelligence regarding the Quincies.
Before long, he looked up at Sasakibe beside him.
"Chōjirō, what do you think about the Quincy faction?"
After thinking for a few seconds, Sasakibe Chōjirō answered seriously:
"Quincies are different from us Soul Reapers. The Hollows they kill disappear completely, which goes against the Reishi circulation between the three realms."
"If this continues in the long run, it will definitely break the balance between the three realms and Hell, leading to an unpredictable disaster."
Following the previous chaos in Hell, the Soul Society had increased its research on Hell.
Now, not only Squad 12 and the Department of Research and Development, but even the lowest-ranking Soul Reapers could chat about some intelligence regarding Hell.
However, the matter concerning the Quincies had never been made public.
Only a small number of people knew about it.
In Yamamoto's view, without absolute certainty of victory, making it public prematurely would only cause panic.
"To the three realms, such an existence is no different from an active volcano that could erupt at any moment."
Sasakibe Chōjirō looked worried. "For the sake of the balance of the three realms, I believe we should completely exterminate the Quincy faction."
Yamamoto gave Sasakibe a somewhat surprised look.
He hadn't expected this old man who had followed him for thousands of years to have such radical thoughts.
But on second thought, this seemed to be a logical mindset.
As a Soul Reaper who had personally experienced the war back then, it was normal for Sasakibe to be more vigilant against Quincies.
"I can understand your thoughts."
Yamamoto put down his teacup and nodded slightly.
"Although it might be a bit sudden to say this, I can tell you that during the time I was away, we found a way to deal with the Quincies."
Hearing this, Sasakibe Chōjirō froze for a moment.
He pulled out a sheet from the massive pile of intelligence files, placed it on top, and pointed out:
"According to the intelligence provided by the Quincies in the World of the Living, there is one point worth noting—"
"The reason Quincies take it upon themselves to annihilate Hollows is that the powers of the two races counter each other. If one side becomes too strong, it will completely overwhelm the other."
"Of course, there might be other reasons, but those remain unknown."
Sasakibe paused slightly.
He naturally knew this point; he just wasn't quite sure why Yamamoto would bring it up at this time. *Could it be that the Menos Grande would assist them in dealing with the Quincies?*
*What a joke.*
They should thank the heavens that those creatures, who acted purely on instinct, didn't invade the Soul Society to cause trouble during its unrest.
How could Menos Grande possibly be used for their own purposes?
Seeming to see through Sasakibe's thoughts, Yamamoto shook his head.
As someone who had experienced it firsthand, even now, he found it somewhat hard to accept.
The dignified Prison Warden of the Shino Prison, the one who created the new Gotei 13, a Soul Reaper as pure as could be, had suddenly transformed into the new king of Hueco Mundo.
No matter who it was, this would be hard to believe.
Even though Yamamoto was used to Naraku Sora's heaven-defying operations, he was still so shocked by what he saw and heard in Hueco Mundo that he couldn't eat roasted sweet potatoes for several days.
It was only now that he had barely accepted this fact.
Ultimately, it was just that the ingrained concepts from thousands of years were hard to change.
"Don't be frightened by what I'm about to tell you."
Sasakibe gave Yamamoto a strange look, not understanding why Lord Genryūsai would say such a thing.
Having experienced countless life-and-death situations over thousands of years, was there anything left worth fearing?
"That boy Sora took over Las Noches and became the new King of Hueco Mundo."
"?"
"I was invited to Hueco Mundo a few days ago and underwent a taboo surgery regarding souls."
"?"
"To promote communication between the two worlds, I brought back a group of Arrancars."
"?"
Sasakibe's pupils quaked, his face full of astonishment.
He seriously suspected that either he had gone deaf or Yamamoto had gone mad.
Why would he suddenly start talking nonsense out of nowhere?
*Could it be that during this outing, the master and disciple had a passionate brawl, and as a result, Lord Genryūsai accidentally lost to Naraku Sora, found it hard to accept, and suffered a mental breakdown?*
Just as Sasakibe was trying to force himself to believe Yamamoto's words, a powerful Reiatsu suddenly erupted in the courtyard outside.
Immediately after, the tracking Kidō Kakushitsuijaku descended, locking onto their location.
In the next second, a very disheveled figure appeared in the corridor.
Seeing Yamamoto, Hirako Shinji looked as if he had seen a savior, and his whole demeanor perked up considerably.
Gasping for breath, he said:
"Head Captain, Naraku Sora has betrayed us!"
"And my Lieutenant, Aizen Sōsuke! They are secretly colluding with Hueco Mundo, researching taboo subjects, using their colleagues as test subjects, and conducting unbridled modifications!"
Sasakibe Chōjirō's expression instantly turned serious as he said deeply:
"Captain Hirako, do you have proof of what you're saying?"
"Slandering a colleague without evidence will get you locked up in the Shino Prison."
Hearing the words 'Shino Prison', Hirako Shinji couldn't help but shudder, instinctively recalling his previous ordeal.
Although his injuries had mostly healed, the blade that had pierced deep into his internal organs still made him feel a dull ache.
*Damn it!*
"Of course I do!"
Hirako Shinji directly began to expose himself: "I am the victim! Aizen Sōsuke, along with Urahara Kisuke, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, and an unknown Arrancar Menos Grande, performed a Hollowfication modification on me."
"Hollowfication is... damn it, why am I talking so much? I'll just show you."
As soon as he finished speaking, under Sasakibe's shocked gaze, Hirako Shinji erupted with a Reiatsu that completely didn't belong to a Soul Reaper.
Materialized light shrouded his figure like sludge.
An armor-like white bone mask attached itself to Hirako Shinji's face, drastically changing his aura.
An uncontrollable, tyrannical presence surged wildly within the room.
He thought this move would stun the Captain and Lieutenant of Squad 1, but when Hirako Shinji looked at Yamamoto, he didn't see any surprise.
On the contrary, Yamamoto frowned, seemingly a bit dissatisfied.
However, Lieutenant Sasakibe beside him looked utterly shocked, playing along perfectly.
Just as Hirako Shinji was feeling confused, Yamamoto slowly spoke:
"Captain Hirako, why does your Hollowfication look..."
"...so weak?"
Hirako Shinji: "?"
*Is this a matter of being weak or not?*
*Seeing me in this state, shouldn't you be shocked?*
"No need to be confused; I naturally have my reasons for saying this."
"So-called Hollowfication shouldn't be limited to just this."
Under Hirako Shinji's terrified gaze, Yamamoto raised his hand and gently pressed it against his aged face.
Swirling ripples rapidly gathered, forming a white bone mask interwoven with black and red.
Hirako Shinji gasped, unable to suppress the terror in his heart any longer. Even his voice cracked.
"Head Captain, you..."
Yamamoto shook his head in disappointment, and an overlapping voice that sounded like an electronic synthesizer echoed in the room:
"This is true Hollowfication!"
Staring at those golden eyes, Hirako Shinji's pupils shrank. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, experiencing a bone-piercing chill.
*Has the sky of the Soul Society finally fallen?*
"Sōsuke, I told you it would definitely work!"
In the laboratory, Naraku Sora looked incredibly smug.
Beside him, Aizen was staring intently at the changes in various data and charts on the screen.
Although most of his energy was focused on research, sparing a tenth of his attention to humor someone was still very easy.
"One success doesn't prove anything."
"It might just be that Hirako Shinji's soul is highly compatible with Hollows, which is why the Resurrección experiment could be completed."
Hearing this, Naraku Sora raised an eyebrow.
"Speaking of which, there shouldn't be anyone in the world more compatible than me, right?"
Aizen's fingers, which were typing on the keyboard, couldn't help but pause. The image of a certain someone's Hollowfied state instinctively surfaced in his mind.
"Precisely because you are too compatible, unpredictable results might occur."
"Until we have absolute certainty, I will never agree to let you undergo the Resurrección experiment."
"Before that, we can make more preparations."
Naraku Sora instinctively asked, "Prepare what?"
Aizen stopped what he was doing, turned his head, and said seriously:
"More test subjects."