Reforging the Soul

The cold, Ice Rain slapped haphazardly against my face.

In a daze, Byakuya seemed to hear a familiar voice. Before he could react, the Reishi in front of him was enveloped by rain and turned into a crystal-clear ice bead.

"No time for sentimentality, Kuchiki."

Byakuya Kuchiki finally remembered who the voice belonged to: the Decimo Boss, with whom he had been having pleasant conversations recently. He had come to the World of the Living this time to customize the Decimo's preferred home decor.

Byakuya turned around and, just as he expected, saw the Decimo's gentle smile through the broken window. Beside the Decimo stood Rukia Kuchiki, who was crying her eyes out.

A blush crept onto Byakuya's face. How long had they been here?

He suddenly remembered that when he was talking to Hisana earlier, Hisana's eyes seemed to have suddenly gone blank for a moment, and she firmly believed what he had told Rukia.

Could it be that the Decimo and Rukia were already standing behind him from the moment Hisana appeared? Then Rukia must have witnessed all of his scheming behavior while interacting with Hisana?

The image of the older brother that he had painstakingly maintained for many years collapsed at this moment.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and bring your wife's Reishi out! Time is of the essence, the mission is urgent, hurry!"

A thumping sound came from the side. Turning his head, he saw Tsuna hanging on the side of the cockpit, patting it incessantly, urging Byakuya to act.

Byakuya didn't know how to express his complex feelings, so he could only transform into a spirit, tuck the ice orb into his robes, and step out of the Ferris wheel.

It was only then that Byakuya realized that it wasn't just Tsuna and his two friends on the Ferris wheel's frame; Toshiro's entire mission team had also been there.

Especially Rangiku's expression of covering her mouth and snickering, Byakuya could already guess that his embarrassing moment would soon spread throughout the entire Soul Society.

Oh well, so be it. At least Hisana's Reishi is still with him. Byakuya came to his senses and felt a slight warmth from the coldness in his arms.

"Why are you all gathered here?" After trying to console himself, Byakuya reverted to his icy demeanor. As long as he forgot quickly enough, he wouldn't be the one losing face.

"Big brother..." Rukia desperately wanted to say something, but couldn't get the words out. The scene she had just witnessed made her truly realize how much Byakuya loved her sister.

As the Decimo Gently patted Rukia's shoulder to comfort her, he said to Byakuya, "I came for Mrs. Kuchiki's Reishi. Head of the Kuchiki family, would you like to give it a try? To truly bring Mrs. Kuchiki back? Consider it a gift for my stay at the Kuchiki Clan."

"You mean resurrection?" Byakuya's pupils dilated in shock. He immediately thought of what he had done with the Decimo. "Modified Soul? That's not the real Hisana."

Despite the tempting offer, Byakuya rejected the Decimo's suggestion. What difference would it make if Hisana remained inside a Reigai, or even a puppet?

"Modified Soul is certainly not enough. What if we add an artificial soul?" The Decimo smiled confidently. "The two masters are ready. Make your decision."

"I believe you!" Byakuya said decisively. That's how the Decimo's words always made people entrust them with their complete trust without them even realizing it.

"Then let's set off."

The Decimo nodded to Rukia, Rukia wiped away her tears with one hand and used her Zanpakuto to open the Senkaimon connecting the World of the Living and Soul Society with the other.

The Senkaimon opened directly towards the entrance of the Squad 12. The Decimo, Byakuya, Rukia, Tsuna filed in, while Toshiro and the others needed to go to the First Division first to report their mission.

The Squad 12 was very busy, with each member doing what they were supposed to do. No one was there to entertain the Decimo and his group, and the Decimo didn't care. He led a few people straight to a secret room.

Upon entering the secret room, various instruments flashed their lights, and the Vice-Captain, and former captain of the Squad 12 were already waiting there.

"We'll have to trouble you now, Captain Kurotsuchi, Manager Urahara," the Decimo said, taking the lead.

"Let me be frank from the start: preserving memories by Modified Soul and then resurrecting it by importing it into an artificial soul is theoretically feasible, but don't get your hopes up. The materials are too scarce, and the success rate is too low," Kurotsuchi Mayuri said bluntly from the outset.

"Well, you never know until you try, right?" Urahara said, covering his face with his fan.

"Also, this guy's presence is making me unhappy, which will lower the success rate by another ten percent." Kurotsuchi Mayuri pointed at Urahara with undisguised anger.

If it weren't for the Decimo's request, Kurotsuchi Mayuri would never have participated in the same experiment as Urahara Kisuke. For the two of them, there was only a relationship of surpassing and being surpassed.

Of course, this was Kurotsuchi Mayuri's own idea; Urahara Kisuke didn't care. In fact, he was quite happy when Tsuna approached him in place of the Decimo.

Before Byakuya arrived, Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Urahara Kisuke had already combined their artificial soul and artificial Soul King technology to create a blank individual.

What needs to be done now is to use the Reishi - Modified Soul technology to preserve the memories within the portion of Reishi belonging to Hisana, and then import those memories into the new soul.

"Byakuya, take out the Decimo's frozen Reishi," Tsuna said.

Byakuya carefully held the ice orb in his palm, then stared intently at Tsuna. "Were you the one who orchestrated everything that happened today?"

Tsuna appeared several times, deliberately guiding Byakuya and Akina's interactions. Especially when they finally defeated the Valley of Screams, even though Byakuya didn't need to go to the World of the Living with Akina, Tsuna's words influenced him to take Akina alone on the Ferris wheel.

At that time, Byakuya was completely focused on Akina and the part of Hisana's memories on her body, and didn't think too much about it. He was easily manipulated by Tsuna's words.

Tsuna his hands behind his head, Tsuna said nonchalantly, "It's the Decimo's idea; I'm just the executor."

He wasn't afraid at all that Byakuya might have different emotions. Although Byakuya's actions were guided by him, they were actually Byakuya's own inner choices. Tsuna had just accelerated the process of the outcome.

"The two masters said they need Mrs. Kuchiki's purest memories, and the bond you built with her through the Thought Bead. I believe that in her final moments, she will definitely let you see Mrs. Kuchiki one last time," the Decimo said calmly.

The memories of Akina gradually faded from people's minds. It wasn't that the Decimo was heartless; even the Decimo had forgotten the girl's name and could only use the Thought Bead to represent it.

"So, are these memories unique to Hisana?" Byakuya asked, looking at the ice orb.

"No, the memories in the Thought Bead are too mixed. In order to make Mrs. Kuchiki manifest, the memories of other people are still mixed in," the Decimo said.

"The Decimo, is it? Forgive my bluntness," Kurotsuchi Mayuri said bluntly, "The number of Reishi needed to Modified Soul is indeed not large, but a single Reishi is definitely not enough, not to mention that it will be divided again."

"Give up. This experiment is impossible to complete. Don't waste my time," Kurotsuchi Mayuri concluded directly.

"Don't worry, Captain Kurotsuchi. I've already told the Decimo about the difficulties of the experiment, and Decimo said he'll solve it." Urahara looked on with amusement.

"That's right, leave it to us." The Decimo said, "Tsuna, I'll need your cooperation and to operate according to my instructions."

"The Reishi within the ice bead are extremely fragile; once unsealed, they will immediately disappear into the air, so it is essential to maintain the state of its Reishi."

"I will use gentle Sky Flame to harmonize the environment in the laboratory and stabilize the state of the Reishi. Tsuna, you will use flames of other attributes to gradually transform the Reishi into materials usable in the experiment."

"I understand, I'll follow your orders." Tsuna readily agreed, drawing his Zanpakuto, a symbol of the Bleach's power, ready to act at any moment.

"Master Kuchiki, you'll soon need to pinpoint Madam's memories from several or even dozens of fragments. The sooner the better."

"I don't know what kind of memories will appear, so you have to judge for yourself. This is very important. The faster you go, the less Reishi energy you will consume."

"I understand!" Byakuya nodded solemnly, his mind already frantically recalling every moment he spent with Hisana.

"Finally, it's your turn, masters. I will entrust you with enough of Mrs. Kuchiki's Reishi. As for the preservation of her memories and the fusion of her soul, please take good care of them."

"Don't worry, we won't make mistakes in our area of expertise." Urahara put away his fan, along with his nonchalant expression; he was serious now.

Kurotsuchi Mayuri did not reply. Instead, he led Nemu Kurotsuchi to the device used to Modified Soul, demonstrating his response through action.

Rukia quietly crouched in a corner. Because of her sister Hisana's resurrection, she had to be present, but she couldn't allow herself to hinder the experiment. She could only minimize her presence as much as possible.

"It seems everyone is ready, so let's begin."

The Decimo had already put on his Great Void Gauntlet. With a flick of his finger, and under the manipulation of spiritual pressure, an ice orb flew to Tsuna's front.

He simultaneously ignited orange flames in both hands, and an orange wave quietly spread throughout the laboratory. Everyone felt as if they were enveloped by some kind of power, and the somewhat uneasy atmosphere calmed down at this moment.

The Decimo quietly sensed the changes in the Sky Flame within the room. The orange fluctuations gradually became transparent and invisible. His harmonization was complete. Within the Sky Flame, everything would be contained, and all things would maintain their original form.

"Tsuna, use the Sun Attribute to melt the ice orb, and use the sunlight to infuse the Reishi with energy to maintain Reishi Activation."

Under the Decimo's command, Tsuna switched to his Sun Attribute Shikai, holding ice pillars in his hands, with a faint yellow light shining in his palms, using the warm sunlight to melt the cold ice as the Decimo intended.