Even in the midst of Seireitei, the Captain the Seireitei hone their skills every day, unwilling to grovel before others.
No one can forget the existence of the dark forces in Hueco Mundo. Although that person has not made any moves for decades, the Expeditionary Force sent to Hueco Mundo to kill Hollows in the last ten years or so have suffered heavy losses.
In the end, they simply stopped sending them to Hueco Mundo and instead placed the Expeditionary Force in the more challenging districts 78, 79, and 80 of Rukongai.
At this time, the Expeditionary Force had become First Division. Their Captain was a young man named Amagai Shūsuke, and Yama-jii valued his talent and character highly.
He was just waiting to hone himself to become stronger, so he could become a hidden pawn to be used at any time... But what he didn't know was that this pawn had developed its own will and concealed its true purpose...
The Gotei 13 Twelfth Division. Since the new Captain Kisuke Urahara, established the Research and Development Institute, the Gotei 13's control over the Soul Society and the World of the Living has been increasing dramatically.
Previously, there was only a vague sense of the appearance of the illusory in a certain place and the disappearance of the soul. Now, it is simply managed in a grid-like manner to narrow down the range of the illusory existence and carry out targeted elimination.
Inside the Squad Barracks of the Thirteenth Division, two men sat facing each other.
"Captain Ukitake, I've already said it, how could I possibly be qualified for such an important position! There are so many talented people out there, we can't find a replacement for the Captain of the Tenth Division, but there are several who could be the Vice-Captain!"
Kaien, sitting upright, handed a cup of tea to Ukitake, along with a series of comical excuses such as "I can't do it, don't bother me."
He just wanted to do his job well, be a couch potato, and gradually let the Shiba Clan fade from the public eye. Even if he lost his status Great Noble, it didn't matter, as long as his family was safe and sound.
Her father's departure made Kaien grow up...
"Kaien, don't think I don't know. You're just worried that being busy with work will interfere with your date with Du."
Kaien's concerns left Ukitake feeling helpless, and he directly pointed out one of Kaien's worries.
Kaien scratched her neck awkwardly and said, "We young people definitely need more free time!"
"I just can't do anything with you. If you were the Vice-Captain, why don't you just have everyone else be 'Vice-Captains'? That way you'd all spend more time together!"
Ukitake let out a long breath; the 'Vice-Captain' he mentioned was the Third Seat.
Kaien raised an eyebrow; this was clearly an irresistible temptation, and she really didn't want to refuse him!
Forget about being conscientious or not, the main thing is that I like this job...
However, after thinking it over, Kaien said he would consider it. The phrase "the taller the tree, the more the wind blows" was very suitable for the Shiba Clan at present. His sister, Kūkaku Shiba, had her arm cut off by a villain, which was the reason why Kaien joined the Gotei 13.
She doesn't need anything else; Kaien only wants the power to protect her family.
At this time, after finishing his work each day, or when he was not on duty, he would stay near his home to avoid being targeted by petty thieves.
Twelfth Division, Research and Development Institute.
The most idle Fifth Division Captain, Shinji Hirako, came to visit. When he has no missions, his routine is to train for three days and rest for one day. He happened to be at the Research and Development Institute today to buy some new gadgets.
Behind him followed a man none other than the refined and gentle Aizen...
"Excuse me, I'm coming in!"
Having already obtained permission, Hirako came over and opened the main hall door of the Research and Development Institute, only to be greeted by a pair of stilts.
Hirako, who was prepared, turned his head slightly and let it fly towards Aizen behind him. Aizen even used Shunpo to dodge slightly... With a thud, the owner of the two feet crashed into a solid pillar.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Hirako, you Hirako, how dare you dodge? I'll kill you!" Hiyori, dressed in a white lab coat and looking like a researcher, yelled while clutching her head.
"Stop spouting nonsense, you idiot Hiyori. I'm the Captain. Just give the order, Sōsuke can take care of you." Hirako glanced at her with a grin, then turned and walked into the Research and Development Institute.
"Captain, you flatter me too much. I'm not good at fighting... Only he knows the truth." Aizen became modest upon hearing this, as if he really couldn't fight.
"Really, this isn't a market. I need peace and quiet. If you want to make noise, please go outside."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi was carrying a transparent Container jar containing a hollow head, which was quite terrifying.
By this time, Nie had already been serving as the deputy director of the Research and Development Institute for more than eight years, and he was the highest-ranking person there besides Urahara.
Even considering the entire Twelfth Division, he is the Third Seat... which is essentially the second-in-command, because he will not obey Hiyori.
Upon seeing what was inside the jar Hirako exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, hey, Mr. Mayuri, is that a hollow head?! It's dangerous!"
Mayuri Kurotsuchi put the jar down, her eyes darting around. "Don't be alarmed. The fact that it's here means it was approved by the Central 46. Kisuke Urahara personally applied for it recently."
"The reason..." Mayuri Kurotsuchi paused for a moment, glanced at the Vice-Captain of the Fifth Division, and then continued, "It's all because of the incident decades ago when your Captain was 'Hollowfication,' and afterwards, the 'Hollowfication' Seigen Kyōshiba appeared in Rukongai, colluding with that guy known as the 'strongest traitor.'"
Hearing this, Hirako's expression calmed down, but Mayuri Kurotsuchi continued speaking.
"Therefore, after the Research and Development Institute was established, we were ultimately ordered to develop an antidote to counteract this Captain-level Hollowfication..."
"Wow, this topic is so interesting! If I could meet that 'ultimate traitor,' I'd love to thank him in person!"
When he got excited, Mayuri Kurotsuchi let out the same terrifying laugh as King Frieza.
After listening carefully to his explanation, Aizen smiled slightly to himself: 'So, you're openly researching Hollowfication? I wonder if you can surprise me!'
The research was originally conducted by the Fourth Division and the Kidō Corps, but there was no progress. It wasn't until the Research and Development Institute was established and made some achievements that the Central 46 was ordered to take over the research.
However, human experimentation is strictly prohibited, and even this virtual experiment was only approved after Urahara had to plead his case extensively.
The mere mention of Seigen and Zero instantly dampened Hirako's spirits. After casually instructing Aizen to purchase the rights, he turned and went outside for some fresh air.
Urahara remained secluded in his private research lab, not coming out to greet anyone. A long sign hung on the door of the room, which read, "No disturbance allowed..."
Hirako felt good in this peaceful era, but whenever he thought of the grotesque appearance of Genji after he was in his Hollowfication Seigen, he would feel a sense of panic, always feeling that one day it might be his turn...
When the Fifth Division wasn't on missions, Hirako would train diligently, changing his schedule from three days of training and five days of rest to three days of training and one day of rest. He wanted to become strong enough to fight Zero one-on-one, then defeat Zero, trample him to the ground, and ask, "Why did you Hollowfication your Seigen?"
The carefree days passed in a flash. The Soul Reaper's daily life of chopping down Ragged Hollows, drinking, and listening to music was gone forever with the transmission of the monitoring report on Rukongai.
101 years before the story begins, an incident of souls disappearing occurred in Rukongai.
The number of people who disappeared was large, not just one or two, but the entire village of residents vanished, leaving only their clothes on the ground.
When the news reached Urahara, a month had already passed. In this timeline, Urahara did not learn of the situation from meeting Hirako and the Hirako, but rather Yoruichi proactively sent someone to tell him.
After learning that 'the Pluses are more like living beings who cannot maintain their physical form,' Urahara stayed up all night to create a Container that could hold the disintegrated Reishi... a specially made Gigai.
In the past, Aizen was always very careful when conducting Hollowfication Experiments. He would first have Hollows driven to attack villages to cover his tracks, and then abduct some of the scattered Pluses for his experiments.
That way, even if someone goes missing, they'll assume they died from hunger and won't suspect anything else.
Now, Aizen and his subordinates are openly surrounding a village, throwing out Hollowfication materials that can spread infectious diseases, hoping that unexpected events will occur in the village so he can study them.
Because of Aizen's group's clandestine audacity, the oblivious Seireitei finally discovered the situation and dispatched an advance team to investigate...
"Oh dear, how slow-witted! Over a thousand souls have vanished this month! And you only just noticed." Gin scoffed at the ten Seireitei Soul Reaper.
"Gin, forgive them! After all, the Seireitei is like an old man in his twilight years; it's normal for them to be slow to react." Aizen had a faint smile on his lips; this was within his expectations.
If things weren't this bizarre, what would it matter if a few hundred or a thousand Pluses died? As long as it didn't threaten the Seireitei, those old-fashioned fools wouldn't care...
The ten advance team members discovered a white liquid in a village. After touching it slightly, they found that the substance was still alive and not dead.
"Lord Aizen, do you need me to help them? It seems touching them isn't having any effect."
"Go ahead, be careful not to cut their clothes."
"Yes."
Gin, who had offered his opinion, chuckled and accepted Aizen's order, then Shunpo get there.
In the blink of an eye, the ten advance team members had small cuts on their faces, necks, and wrists, none of which were fatal.
However, the living white substance on the ground came to life, leaping up like serpents and rushing towards the various wounds on the advance team, burrowing inside...
This contagious material can easily enter the mouth and nose of those without Reiryoku, causing their bodies to collapse and die; however, it seems that it cannot easily infect those with Reiryoku, requiring them to have minor wounds.