Siwei Yan scratched his hair irritably and strode out of the Ninth Division Squad Barracks. Following the river beside Runlin An, he headed west toward the Seireitei.
His destination was the Forest of Swords—or, more precisely, the Second Division Squad Barracks adjacent to it.
Given the current situation, he could no longer leisurely bask in the sun and calculate his drinking money.
The last time he had earned the title of "Soul Society's Most Beautiful Zanpakutō," it had drawn the prying eyes and challenges of plenty of bored people. Now, for no apparent reason, he had gained the title of "most beautiful young nobleman" as well...
This is practically roasting me over a fire!
Yan Si knew perfectly well that he was not of Nobles birth.
Even though he had climbed to the position of Fifth Seat in the Ninth Division, in the eyes of those arrogant Nobles lords, he was nothing more than a slightly stronger "senior servant."
A non-Nobles carrying a title like "young nobleman of Soul Society," which clearly sounded like it belonged to the upper class?
Anyone could guess how many narrow-minded Nobles would be displeased and feel insulted.
Of course, with Captain-General Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni standing like a mountain over them, the Nobles did not dare cause trouble openly within the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
But that absolutely did not mean they would not resort to underhanded methods! The private soldiers those Nobles secretly kept, despite being forbidden from doing so, were no weaklings.
His Reiatsu had not even stabilized at vice-captain level yet. No matter how much combat experience he had, he could not withstand people tripping him up and attacking him in secret!
He had to start a new book as soon as possible! Only by constantly growing stronger could he face these troubles with confidence.
But before that... he wondered whether that guy had finished the thing he had asked him to make.
As his thoughts churned, he arrived before a Squad Barracks with a grim style and stringent security.
Its towering walls and concealed sentry posts all proclaimed the special nature of this place.
This was the Second Division Squad Barracks, which oversaw the Stealth Force.
The two division members standing guard at the entrance had clearly heard the recent rumors as well.
When they saw Yan Si approaching, their eyes immediately focused on him. They looked him over for a long while before exchanging glances and muttering quietly:
"Tch, isn't he just a little fairer, with slightly melancholy eyes and a somewhat bookish air..."
"Exactly. What's so impressive about that? I don't think he's even better-looking than me!"
Siwei Yan had no interest whatsoever in offering "smiling service" to the judgments of random passersby who were not his fans.
He completely ignored the whispers of the two guards and walked straight in with a blank expression.
The Second Division and Ninth Division often worked together because their duties were connected.
The Second Division handled assassination, interrogation, investigation, and execution, while the Ninth Division oversaw prisons.
Simply put, the Second Division was the secret police that caught people, while the Ninth Division was the detention center that locked them up.
As a result, the members of the two divisions were fairly familiar with one another.
Yan Si made his way deeper into the Second Division Squad Barracks with practiced ease, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over the shadows beneath the walls and the corners under the eaves.
As expected, even a "man of the hour" like me can't avoid being watched the entire time here...
He paid no attention to those hidden gazes. Following the corridor, he headed straight for a secluded corner of the Squad Barracks and eventually stopped before a plain, somewhat shabby-looking door.
"Knock, knock, knock."
He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
A flurry of hurried noises immediately came from inside, accompanied by the sound of something being knocked over.
A few seconds later, the door was pulled open with a clatter.
A young man appeared in the doorway, his messy hair resembling a bird's nest, heavy bags beneath his eyes, and his Shinigami uniform wrinkled and stained with unidentified grime.
It was Urahara Kisuke.
"Oh! Isn't this Brother Yan Si? What brings you here?" Urahara Kisuke piled on a smile and instinctively wanted to invite Yan Si inside.
But after glancing back at the mountain of clutter in the room, the scattered parts, and the empty snack bags, he awkwardly withdrew his hand and gave an embarrassed laugh.
Yan Si tugged at the corner of his mouth. Too lazy for small talk, he went straight to the point. "Urahara, is the thing I asked you to make finished?"
He deliberately stressed his tone as a reminder. "That was a full forty thousand kan! You pounded your chest and guaranteed there wouldn't be any problems. Don't tell me it still isn't done."
Urahara Kisuke's body visibly stiffened for an instant.
He turned his head with difficulty, his eyes beginning to wander as he avoided meeting Yan Si's gaze.
"Don't... don't tell me it isn't finished?" Yan Si's gaze instantly turned cold. "It's already been ten days! What exactly did you promise me back then?"
The Urahara Kisuke before him was still an obscure, ordinary division member of the Second Division.
Yan Si had originally thought that this scientific genius had given up on the Twelfth Division and chosen the Second Division because of Yoruichi Shihōin.
Yet after getting to know him, he discovered that Urahara Kisuke had not known Yoruichi at all before this!
The reason he was in the Second Division was simple: when he graduated, none of the other divisions wanted him. His grades were decent, so the academy had forcibly assigned him here.
Making a scientific genius spend every day learning interrogation and assassination techniques—it was easy to imagine how miserable his life had been.
It was only after Yan Si recommended him to Yoruichi, allowing Urahara to shift toward developing interrogation tools and special equipment, that he got this tiny "research lab" and was spared from having to go out on missions.
But the Second Division obviously would not allocate much funding to such a "non-mainstream" project, leaving Urahara Kisuke poor as a church mouse.
Yan Si even suspected that this guy had diverted his forty thousand kan in research funding toward some strange personal hobby!
"Brother Yan Si! Don't worry! I made it!" Sensing the chill in Yan Si's voice, Urahara Kisuke hurriedly swore to heaven and earth.
He pointed to a corner of the room covered by a huge black cloth. "It's right there! The effect you requested is absolutely no problem!"
Yan Si followed the direction of his finger, walked over, and lifted the black cloth with a swish.
A machine with a... highly abstract design appeared before him.
It looked like a huge, rusted iron barrel, with only two lonely buttons on top. It was filled with Urahara-style crude practicality.
"If it's finished, why were you hemming and hawing just now?" Yan Si frowned. An ugly appearance did not matter as long as it worked.
Urahara Kisuke hurried over to introduce it:
"This Spirit Particle Isolation Device absolutely meets your requirements! Once activated, it can form a barrier roughly the size of this room that completely prevents spiritual power from leaking out! Even if there's thunder and rain inside, no trace of Reiatsu fluctuations can be detected outside!"
Yan Si nodded in satisfaction. A space the size of one room was enough.
"Fine, then I'll take this with me." With that, he moved to lift the heavy "iron barrel."
"Wait! Brother Yan Si! Please wait!" Urahara Kisuke hurriedly stopped him, an even more awkward and distressed expression appearing on his face.
"The function isn't a problem, but... this machine can't be moved."
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