Shiraishi did not try to stop Kūkaku Shiba, even though he knew that if he spoke, Kukaku would definitely stay.
It's not like we'll never see each other again in this lifetime, it's just that we don't spend a lot of time together.
He chose to respect Kūkaku Shiba's wishes and got thoroughly drunk.
When he woke up, he looked at the empty cave and felt a mix of emotions. He thought he should face reality first and not think about how great Kūkaku was. Konghe wasn't there, and thinking about those things would only hurt his health.
Shiraishi stood up, stretched, and silently calculated what the date was and how long until July 1st.
That was the day he and Sōya Azashiro had agreed to meet. If nothing unexpected happened, that person probably hadn't come up with a good way to cut off the conversion of humans into Void beings.
His entry into Hueco Mundo is a foregone conclusion.
Hunting scattered Hollows these days is clearly inefficient; it would be better to focus on Bankai training and strengthen oneself.
The rewards of hunting in Hueco Mundo will be even greater.
Unable to continue indulging in the pleasures of life, Shiraishi patted his face, neatly put on his folded T-shirt and work pants, and reached out to grasp Infinity.
Without the trouble of the first time, he only needed to calm his mind and naturally immerse himself in his own mental world.
It was a world without sun or moon, yet still as bright as day.
The rugged mountain range stretched for over ten kilometers. Infinity stood at the highest point, still dressed casually, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, glancing sideways at him and saying, "Do you still want to try?"
"How could I possibly give up?" Shiraishi replied.
Infinity spat out the grass he was holding in his mouth, raised his right hand, and replaced Shiraishi's clothes with a jet-black flight suit.
The training for Bankai consists of two steps. The first is to materialize it, allowing one's Zanpakuto to appear in the Soul Society, rather than simply in one's own mental world.
Generally speaking, it takes more than ten years of training to reach that level, with the exception of special magical tools for those Tenshintai.
Once the concrete practice is achieved, one can move on to the second step: submission.
To Zanpakuto and force it to reveal its true name through methods including but not limited to combat.
The specific method depends on the Zanpakuto's personality; some prefer direct, head-on combat, while others don't need it.
The way to subdue the Infinity is to play hide-and-seek.
In her words, if Shiraishi truly cared about her, he could find her hiding place among the dense caves of the mountains while wingsuit flying.
Shiraishi found it very troublesome.
He's never done wingsuit flying before. In reality, people who can do this kind of extreme sport are either rich or livestreamers who challenge limits.
He is neither.
I can only watch many streamers' wingsuit flying from an outsider's perspective, and I have also personally witnessed a streamer die while doing it.
Wingsuit flying is among the most dangerous extreme sports.
Flight speed depends on wind speed.
A single misstep can lead to instant elimination upon landing.
"Good luck," Infinity said, then disappeared from the mountaintop and hid in a cave to wait.
Shiraishi stood on the mountaintop; the wind was strong.
The mountains below were devoid of vegetation, consisting entirely of rock, and the sharp edges of the cave entrance gleamed with a razor-sharp luster.
Those dark, gaping holes resembled the open mouths of giant beasts, waiting for their prey to fall in.
Shiraishi took a deep breath and leaped down the mountain. His limbs were slightly spread out, and his body did not fall rapidly, as if an invisible hand was supporting him forward.
The wind whistled in my ears.
His gaze swept across the cave entrance at the foot of the mountain, his eyes getting closer and closer to the ground, the hard rocks seeming like they would pierce his body at any moment.
Smack
This is not an illusion.
Shiraishi rolled twice on the ground, then propped himself up with his hands, looking completely bewildered. He couldn't understand why others could fly so far while he couldn't even fly a kilometer.
That wingsuit must be fake.
He glanced down; his wrecked wingsuit was now intact. "Alright, let's continue."
People walked back.
He wondered if Bankai could be upgraded through hero level... No, he shook his head to dismiss the thought. External forces could be used, but they couldn't create an absolute dependency.
In that case, it's not him using external force, but rather external force using him.
"Keep a calm mindset; don't compare yourself to people who seem to have cheat codes."
He muttered to himself.
If a hundred attempts don't work, try a thousand, ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand. As long as he persists and doesn't give up, one day he'll be able to fly from beginning to end and pull out the Infinity hidden inside.
With this high fighting spirit, he continued his Bankai training.
At the same time.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi at the Research and Development Institute begins her 12437th experiment.
He pressed the door switch and instructed, " Nemu, record all the data from now on."
"Yes, Mayuri." Nemu Kurotsuchi responded, holding a pen in her right hand and a notebook in her left, her deep green eyes gazing ahead.
There was a fenced-off open space, separated from the rooms here by specially made glass. Over there, thousands of different smells, ranging from pungent to faint to moderate, were placed.
The iron gate on one side opened, and a large Bowel-Hunting Dog, as big as an ox and with fur that was almost bright red, ran out.
It sniffed with its enormous nose, unaffected by the complex mingled scents, rushed to the sock on the ground, picked it up, and returned to its original doghouse.
Nemu Kurotsuchi noted the time. "Foot odor, one millisecond."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi pressed the switch button again to change the scent.
"Sweet flavor, one millisecond." "Chili powder flavor, one millisecond." "Lemon flavor, one millisecond."
Nemu Kurotsuchi reported out data one by one, and after nearly a hundred tests, she found all of them in about one millisecond.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi was satisfied. For finding someone, this level of speed and sense of smell was sufficient. He grinned, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth, and said, "Let's proceed to the next Reiatsu resistance experiment."
Nemu Kurotsuchi put away her notebook and said, "I'll go find Captain Zaraki."
Why bring that wild beast over?
"Testing the Bowel-Hunting Dog's ability to withstand Reiatsu."
"..." Mayuri Kurotsuchi didn't move, but Captain's Haori floated up, his Reiatsu radiating throughout the observation room. "You think my Reiatsu is weak?"
" Mayuri- sama, if I may be so bold, your power doesn't lie in Reiatsu. It would be better to let the captains who focus on Reiatsu test it."
Nemu Kurotsuchi spoke calmly.
"Tch," Mayuri Kurotsuchi shook his head, withdrawing his Reiatsu. He was a rational person, and although he was very unhappy to be told that, he had to admit that Nemu was right.
"Honestly, you've become more opinionated since you came back from working with that guy."
He muttered something, his prejudice against Shiraishi growing stronger. He was supposed to guide Nemu Kurotsuchi to evolve beyond the limits of artificial souls, but that kid had interfered.
Evolution is a good thing, but evolution that is not under his control is somewhat unsettling.
"Yes, Shiraishi had a great influence on me. He taught me many things and helped me grow, for example..."
"Shut up, I don't want to hear about that guy. Go and call that beast, Zaraki, over here."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi interrupted her long-winded speech, constantly Shiraishi Shiraishi always wanting to share those boring things.
He didn't want to hear a word.
"Yes," Nemu Kurotsuchi's eyes showed a hint of disappointment; she really wanted to resolve the conflict between Mayuri- sama and Shiraishi.
But for some reason, the more she tried to say good things about Shiraishi, the worse Mayuri's attitude became, as if he only heard her flaws, not her virtues.
She put away her notebook and pen, trying to ignore the questions, and ran out of the observation room.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi pressed the switch to expel the odors from the laboratory. Just as it was almost empty, the door was kicked open violently, Kenpachi Zaraki strode in, shouting, "Kuro, I heard you have a way to find Shiraishi's whereabouts?"
"It's still an experiment. Go in and release your Reiatsu."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi glanced back.
Yachiru Kusajishi, perched on his shoulder, laughed loudly, "What a strange hairstyle and face!"
"Shut up, brat," Mayuri Kurotsuchi retorted irritably, not expecting these mediocre people to understand the genius's style.
Kenpachi Zaraki had no interest in the changes to his hairstyle and face, and strode towards the side door to enter the laboratory.
The door behind him closed, the door in front opened, Bowel-Hunting Dog cautiously stepped out, baring its teeth and letting out a defiant growl.
Kenpachi Zaraki's body erupted with golden Reiatsu, Mayuri Kurotsuchi outside the glass to feel a tightness in his chest.
The modified Bowel-Hunting Dog remained unmoved, maintaining its bared teeth posture as it slowly circled around, looking for an opportunity to pounce.
"Interesting." Kenpachi Zaraki gripped the hilt of his sword.
" Zaraki, this is our hope in finding Shiraishi."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi quickly spoke up to stop him.