Souls Scattered Everywhere

Entering the Squad 12, Kurotsuchi Mayuri was not surprised by the chaotic scene. Captain-Commander Yamamoto had only allowed him to leave Soul Society for a few days on the condition of increasing next year's funding.

With the captains of the Squad 12 absent, the divisions were naturally thrown into chaos by invading elements.

However, Kurotsuchi Mayuri was not worried about his research results at all. When he received Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's order, he had already backed up all the results. He even backed up his own brain to prevent any consequences that he could not control.

Kurotsuchi Mayuri casually opened a hidden device, tapped the piano-like keys with both hands for a while, and then a faint smile appeared on his face.

As expected, Inaba Kagerōza couldn't access the core research results of his Squad 12, so he could rest assured. If it were Urahara Kisuke, he wouldn't dare to leave the Squad 12 so easily.

I easily shut down the equipment. It's time to go find my foolish subordinates. Scientific research requires a lot of manpower. With the squad in such a mess, it's no surprise that something happened to them.

As he walked toward the squad's dormitory, he noticed that one of the doors was covered with various restrictions that looked very familiar. Kurotsuchi Mayuri immediately recognized them as the work of his imposter.

Very well, this little imposter dares to challenge the real deal's strength. Before he knew it, Kurotsuchi Mayuri was controlled by these problems he had created for himself, forgetting his original purpose for coming to the Squad 12.

With a swift and Zanpakuto strike, Toshiro sheathed his Zanpakuto and entered the Squad 12. As Kurotsuchi Mayuri's bodyguard, his work ethic was beyond question.

After scanning the chaotic Squad 12, Toshiro didn't find Kurotsuchi Mayuri, so he simply walked towards the stairs in the corner.

Based on his experience, the more important things are usually buried underground. In Toshiro's opinion, Kurotsuchi Mayuri must have gone to visit those more important laboratories.

To no surprise, Kurotsuchi Mayuri was sulking with Toshiro, and he was even less likely to look for Kurotsuchi Mayuri in the direction of the dormitory.

The passage below seemed to have been deliberately left for him. The further down he went, the more doubts Toshiro had. But considering that Kurotsuchi Mayuri cleared the way first, he stopped worrying about it.

Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri is very meticulous; this is Toshiro's preconceived notion of Kurotsuchi Mayuri. He may not like him, but he doesn't deny his excellence.

As he walked along, passing some closed rooms, Toshiro reached the innermost laboratory. The laboratory door was wide open, and he stepped inside.

Kurotsuchi Mayuri isn't here? Toshiro frowned. His judgment was wrong. Without even taking in the lab, Toshiro immediately turned to leave, hoping Kurotsuchi Mayuri wouldn't run into any trouble.

The slightly hurried footsteps were a little loud. As soon as he stepped out, the entire laboratory was lit up, and a large screen appeared behind Toshiro, emitting an unfamiliar voice.

"Captain Kurotsuchi, you're finally back?"

This was clearly a pre-recorded video. The person who arrived wasn't Kurotsuchi Mayuri Toshiro Hitsugaya, but Toshiro turned around and realized that this was their target for returning to Soul Society: Inaba Kagerōza.

"It's a pity, my laboratory is no longer here, but the equipment you left behind can still be put to good use," Inaba continued.

Upon hearing this, Toshiro realized that the laboratory was filled with enormous nutrient tanks capable of holding human bodies, and inside those tanks lay countless Bleach, some he knew and some he didn't.

Beside the jar were the Reigai, arranged in various poses, and next to these Reigai were some broken, strangely shaped red pills.

Are those all Modified Soul? No, they must be defective products, Toshiro quickly concluded, because on a device connected to these jars, perfectly round Modified Soul were being ejected into a box.

If one Modified Soul represents the entirety of this soul, then considering the mountain of boxes and the numerous defective products scattered around, this laboratory is practically a dumping ground for broken souls.

What exactly is Inaba up to? How much has he exploited Soul Society? How many Modified Soul has he created, and in such a way that he doesn't care about the success rate?

"You must be furious, Captain Kurotsuchi. You're so focused on the success rate of your experiments, and now you see me using your equipment like this, recklessly creating Modified Soul. You probably want to kill me right now, don't you?"

"But no matter how angry you are, it's useless. I will make your equipment work to its last drop of power, and your experimental funds will turn into sharp blades to destroy you and Soul Society together!"

The image on the screen disappeared, and the entire laboratory began to operate at overcapacity. Heat rapidly accumulated, and the equipment creaked and groaned. Inaba was squeezing the laboratory to its last reserves of capacity, intending to destroy it completely.

This is really troublesome. Mayuri Kurotsuchi can't Kurotsuchi Mayuri, and Toshiro has no idea how to stop these crazy devices.

With his Zanpakuto in his hand, Toshiro plunged it into the ground, and Frostflower began to spread from him. However, these devices did not seem to work as Toshiro had hoped.

In the rapidly cooling environment, the equipment's operating efficiency seemed to have increased slightly, and the Modified Soul was being revealed faster and faster.

Toshiro gripped his Zanpakuto tightly. He was indeed not good at dealing with this situation. He figured Kurotsuchi Mayuri wouldn't care about the loss of these instruments.

Without hesitating for less than a second, Toshiro made his decision. As he drew his Zanpakuto, the box filled with Modified Soul suddenly emitted a burst of light and disappeared from the laboratory.

Is it like this again? Combining the two Modified Soul he just severed, Toshiro could already guess that Inaba was collecting Modified Soul.

But Toshiro couldn't care less about that now; he had to stop the equipment that was still spitting out Modified Soul.

"Sitting upright amidst the frosty sky! Ice..."

Just as Toshiro was about to resolve his current predicament with a single strike, a voice, though seemingly casual, remained authoritative and stopped him.

"Please wait a moment, Captain of the Sun Division!"

The next moment, the Decimo and Byakuya Kuchiki appeared behind Toshiro, having rushed to catch up. If Toshiro were to strike with his sword, the laboratory would likely be destroyed.

"Are you Sawada Tsunayoshi's Zanpakuto?" Toshiro asked the Decimo after glancing at Byakuya.

Byakuya nodded slightly, acknowledging Toshiro's guess. The Decimo then explained, "This laboratory will have further uses, so please show mercy."

"It doesn't matter, but these devices don't seem like they can be stopped easily." Toshiro Zanpakuto, put his hands in his pockets, and walked aside to watch the show.

Leave it to me.

The Decimo smiled gently, flipped his palm, and a swallow and Akita appeared in his palm. They leaped out of Decimo palm, and the two animals immediately returned to their normal size.

"Jiro, Kojirō, please quiet this place down."

Akita Inujiro immediately barked, while Akita Kojirō flew in circles around the laboratory. With their efforts, Rain Flame quickly filled the entire laboratory.

The Sedation properties took effect, and the equipment, which was almost at the point of collapse, gradually calmed down. The Decimo gradually increased the concentration of the Rain Flame and then Hardening them, covering the entire surface of the laboratory with a layer of ice-like substance.

These ice layers, Hardening from Rain Flame, maintained their Sedation effect; time seemed to freeze in the laboratory, and everything remained still.

"Wouldn't it be better to just destroy it?" Toshiro asked, puzzled. He was getting a headache watching the Decimo's series of actions.

"The technology for Modified Soul will still be useful afterward, so it's best to preserve the equipment and data for now," the Decimo explained.

Toshiro glanced at Byakuya again, and seeing that Byakuya did not deny it, he stopped dwelling on the matter. He pointed to the scattered remnants of souls on the ground and said...

"Inaba is frantically creating Modified Soul; who knows what other schemes he's plotting?"

Toshiro quickly shared what he had seen and heard in the laboratory with the two of them. The Decimo and Byakuya exchanged a glance, becoming even more certain of their previous guesses.

"Captain Hitsugaya, you didn't notice the communication? Urahara Kisuke suspects that Inaba Kagerōza is planning to use Captain-Commander Yamamoto's Zanka no Tachi to destroy Soul Society." Byakuya Kuchiki also told Toshiro the contents of the communication.

"This is impossible! These imposters can't even use my complete form from the past, how could they possibly use Captain-Commander Yamamoto's Zanka no Tachi?"

Toshiro immediately denied it, saying that the fake Toshiro couldn't even complete his adult form, let alone wield the devastating power of the Zanka no Tachi.

"We initially thought so too, but after arriving here, we can guess a thing or two," the Decimo said. "Inaba Kagerōza might be trying to trade quantity for quality."

"Quantity for quality?" Toshiro immediately thought of Inaba's frantic production of Modified Soul, "Using Modified Soul to build up spiritual pressure?"

"That's right, we saw traces of your actions outside the Squad 12. If I'm not mistaken, there were no Modified Soul left near those Reigai, right?" the Decimo asked.

"Yes, no wonder that replica attacked Isshin- senpai." Toshiro finally understood why the fake's final Ryūsō no Kogetsu was aimed at the fake Isshin.

"The same result was found on Captain-Commander Yamamoto's side; no Modified Soul fragments were lost from the Fake Jirō," Byakuya Kuchiki added.

"So the Modified Soul all ended up in Inaba's hands," Toshiro asserted.

"It's not just the Modified Soul; the Captain-Commander's copy isn't in the First Division either. If nothing unexpected happens, the two of them should be together now," Byakuya analyzed.

"Inaba Kagerōza's location is very important. Who can find him?" the Decimo asked.

"Where 'Captain Kurotsuchi?" Byakuya asked Toshiro.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him since I came in."

"Find Kurotsuchi Mayuri and restart the dormant power of the Squad 12. Only researchers like them can understand the researchers' thought process," the Decimo decided decisively.