The Ninth Division's back courtyard was quiet.
Yan Si lay in a reclining chair beneath a tree, eyes closed and hands folded over his stomach, breathing softly and slowly.
As the man in charge of logistics and guarding the home front, he did have plenty of free time when no enemies appeared.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell across his face in shifting patches.
Whenever a breeze passed, the leaves rustled and the patches of light swayed with them.
Yan Si was one of the few people who knew the most about this incident involving Kuchiki Kyōka becoming a Visored.
Another was Aizen.
Even Kuchiki Kyōka himself probably had no idea what exactly had happened.
Who had undone the seal, or why he had gained a Hollow's power.
So Yan Si could lie there without a care, enjoying this rare stretch of leisure.
His mind, however, was not idle.
He was thinking about the Consumable Soul Jades Kurotsuchi Mayuri was making. That fellow had thumped his chest and guaranteed that these Soul Jades would be highly effective and perfectly safe.
Since neither repeated use nor the Soul Jades' own evolution needed to be considered, many side effects could actually be reduced.
But someone still had to test the waters.
He certainly couldn't experiment on his own people.
Yoruichi, Gin, Rangiku, Byakuya, Kensei, and Kyunnan Shiro-he couldn't put any of them at risk.
He needed an outsider.
But he couldn't just give someone power for nothing, either.
What if...
I give Hirako Shinji one to try?
The corners of Yan Si's mouth lifted slightly.
That fellow's spiritual pressure was close to the first level. With a Soul Jade, he might shoot straight to the upper limit of first-level spiritual pressure.
Besides, Hirako had spent all these years coming over to