A Technology Capable of Changing the Soul Society's Landscape!

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, Ichiro headed straight for the warehouse behind the barracks. All the data required for this experiment was already in his possession or etched into his mind, so there was no need to return to his quarters. Besides, he would have to be incredibly reckless to keep this stuff in his room.

To put it mildly, if these things were discovered, it would mean death!

Even if his captain thought highly of him, it wouldn't change a thing.

Of course, being caught and voluntarily revealing it were two entirely different matters.

For instance, the supplies prepared in the warehouse and the two "materials" were the best proof of that.

"Tsk. It's rare for the captain to trust me this much, so without further ado, let's get to work!" Looking at the supplies before him, Ichiro rested his left hand on his Zanpakuto and whispered, "Just wait, world. It won't be long now."

While Ichiro was immersed in his research, Urahara and Yoruichi had begun their own training on the other side.

The campus ambush had made them clearly realize the insufficiency of their own strength. Admittedly, their current power was already quite impressive when looking at the Seireitei as a whole.

At the very least, they had already surpassed eighty percent of the Soul Reapers; for their age, they were undisputed geniuses!

But, precisely because they were geniuses, they were unwilling to settle.

What did eighty percent matter?

They wanted to be among the top ten percent!

Or even the top one percent!

So, after confirming that Ichiro was fine, both of them took leave to engage in grueling training.

Urahara was intensifying his research into the Tenshintai, a portable tool for Bankai, while Yoruichi approached her family for the first time, asking for their assistance in developing Shunko!

She had realized that honor and pride were all illusions. In this day and age, the title of "genius" wasn't worth mentioning; only those who survived were geniuses, while the dead were nothing more than fools.

However, a week into their training, a notebook was delivered to Yoruichi and Urahara at the Shihoin estate.

"Did Ichiro send this?" Yoruichi sat down next to Urahara, leaning over to look at the envelope in his hands.

"Yeah, it came from Squad 4. We don't have any contact with them other than through Ichiro, and it has his seal on it." Urahara glanced at Yoruichi, forcing himself to suppress his restless heart.

He didn't know why, but even though they had shared more intimate moments in the past, he suddenly caught a faint, alluring fragrance from her that felt incredibly tempting.

"A seal? How come I don't see one?" As she spoke, Yoruichi curiously reached out to touch the flap of the envelope. With a soft "zzt," a miniature barrier instantly expanded, protecting the letter.

"Hiss~" Yoruichi blew on her finger, staring at the envelope in amazement. "Ichiro's progress in Kido is getting a bit fast! This Kido seal is both quick and subtle."

"Is your hand okay?"

"I'm fine, it wasn't very powerful."

"That's good. Ichiro's talent for Kido has always been like that; I wouldn't be surprised by anything he does. Besides, he's been focusing on his research, so let's see what he sent."

Urahara casually dispelled the barrier and took out a notebook. He began to read it intently, the starlight in his eyes flickering, which slightly distracted Yoruichi. She quickly looked away, however.

After steadying her heartbeat, Yoruichi stole a glance at Urahara. Seeing him still absorbed in the notes without noticing her reaction, she felt a sense of relief mixed with a strange, inexplicable disappointment.

Adjusting her mood, Yoruichi asked, "What's written in there? It has you so excited."

"Do you remember the two elements of Zanpakuto liberation that Ichiro discussed with us before?" Urahara's excited gaze remained on the notebook, though he spared some attention to talk to Yoruichi.

"I remember. The connection of Reiatsu and the leap in Zanpakuto abilities. I recall him saying he wanted to artificially create these two. Does what's in there have to do with that?" Yoruichi was surprised, even shocked!

"Yes, that guy is a monster! He's already achieved both! Not to mention the Mimicry Zanpakuto—although the technical difficulty is high, it's a bit of a chicken rib for us. It might be useful for you, but we can't make it in the short term. The important thing is the other technology: the Mimicry Shikai!"

"Mimicry Shikai? What's the use of that? Haven't you and I already achieved Shikai?"

"No, no, that's not how it works. Remember what we said? The reason Reiatsu leaps after Shikai is mainly because a circuit is built between the Soul Reaper and the Zanpakuto. The Zanpakuto's Reiatsu and the Soul Reaper's Reiatsu fuse, causing that leap. The fusion rate corresponds to the magnitude of the increase."

"That's not right, is it?" Yoruichi looked at Urahara, puzzled. "According to that theory, wouldn't that mean there are no permanent-type Shikai Zanpakuto? No matter how high the compatibility, the Zanpakuto and the Soul Reaper are two different entities; they can't fully fuse."

"True, we considered that, but there are too few examples of permanent-type Zanpakuto, and we don't have enough data. So that theory is based on ordinary Zanpakuto, and that's not the point."

"Then what is?"

"You know that a Soul Reaper's Reiatsu rises rapidly for a period after completing Shikai, right?"

"Yes. According to your theory, it should be because a circuit channel is built between the Soul Reaper and the Zanpakuto. Even if the Zanpakuto isn't released, the circuit remains. Then, like two bottles of water, the one with the higher level flows into the lower one until they are equal. That's why Reiatsu levels rise rapidly after achieving Shikai and Bankai."

"Exactly. Although we lack data on Bankai, it's likely the same. That's why the Mimicry Shikai is the most significant for us!"

"Why? Could it allow us to rapidly increase our Reiatsu just like a Zanpakuto?" Yoruichi had just said it offhandedly, but to her surprise, Urahara stared at her intently. "No way. It really can?"

"Yes! That's it! That's why I said that guy Ichiro is a monster! The principle of the Mimicry Shikai is to simulate a Zanpakuto to reconstruct one's own spiritual power source, then build a circuit in the same way. Since this spiritual power source doesn't have its own consciousness like a Zanpakuto, the moment it's constructed, the Mimicry Shikai is completed, and the 'water pressure' transfer begins!"

"This... is this possible?"

"It is! And it's highly feasible! Ichiro has already roughly written out the construction formula for the spiritual power source. He just has other things to do and no time to verify it, so he left it to us to experiment and perfect. It has to be us; it requires many special materials that ordinary people can't get. Some of them are hard to come by even for a captain of Squad 4."

"Mimicry Zanpakuto... Mimicry Shikai... That guy really trusts us, handing these two things over to us nobles."

"Because he's Ichiro. A weirdo, so nothing he does is surprising."

"So, what are you going to do with this? Once the higher-ups find out about these two technologies, the world is going to change."

Urahara fell silent. The original Zanpakuto system was relatively fair because it depended on talent and luck; as long as you had a Zanpakuto, everyone had a chance to rise.

But these two technologies Ichiro invented were different. Whether it was the Mimicry Shikai or the Mimicry Zanpakuto, they lacked self-awareness. In other words, talent wasn't as important anymore. What mattered was resources.

And in the Soul Society, who controlled the most resources?

The nobles!