Inside the spacious and brightly lit laboratory of Las Noches.
A figure was stored inside a cylindrical glass container, bobbing up and down in the viscous blue-green liquid.
Ulquiorra stood nearby, reporting the intelligence he had gathered in the World of the Living piece by piece.
"With Ishida Sōken's cooperation, I locked onto the target's Reiatsu. When I found him, he was using a special ability to drain the power of another Fullbringer."
"The target is very strong, surpassing even most Soul Reaper Captains."
Pausing for a moment, Ulquiorra thought about it and added, "Before Hollowfication, that is."
"According to supplementary intelligence, the target's name is confirmed to be Ginjō Kūgo. The core of his ability is a necklace, which manifests by transforming into a large cross-shaped two-handed sword capable of releasing energy attacks similar to sword pressure—"
It was only then that Naraku Sora, standing to the side, finally realized who exactly was inside the glass tank.
He looked at Ginjō Kūgo's contorted features with some surprise, sizing him up before clicking his tongue in amazement.
If he remembered correctly, in the original timeline, this was the twisted Fullbringer who nearly played Ichigo to the point of a mental breakdown.
Although he was the one who taught Ichigo Fullbring, his true goal was to steal Ichigo's power.
His intentions were never good from the start.
But he was still a boss who almost completely broke Ichigo's defenses, and he just went down like this?
Then again, how many people targeted by an even bigger boss like Aizen ever met a good end?
It could only be said that there was a gap even between bosses.
However, there was another problem. If this guy was gone, who would fill the gap for Ichigo's Fullbring in the future?
Wait, no. With a butterfly like himself flapping its wings around, whether Ichigo would even be born was still a question.
In the original timeline, there weren't nearly this many disasters.
Still, he couldn't let his guard down.
Even something as absurd as the Hell Rebellion had happened, so what else was impossible?
If Aizen ever had a sudden whim to create a worthy opponent, Ichigo might just be born after all.
Speaking of which, after experiencing so much, the original timeline had long since been thrown into chaos.
The only thing certain right now was that the day of Yhwach's complete awakening was not far off.
Kyōraku Shunsui had also been unable to locate the Wandenreich's base hidden within the shadows.
For all they knew, those Quincies might have already relocated to the Rukongai or the World of the Living.
The only thing they could do right now was to strengthen every possible force they could, so that when the day of war arrived, they could give Yhwach a massive surprise.
Just like right now.
Aizen earnestly observed the state of the material inside the container, while Kurotsuchi Mayuri stood beside him, fully engrossed in calculating the relevant data.
Urahara Kisuke and Szayelaporro Grantz were respectively injecting unknown substances into the glass container.
Each had a clear division of labor, methodically advancing the progress of the experiment.
Extracting a Spirit King fragment was delicate work; the slightest misstep could ruin everything.
For this purpose, Aizen specifically brought out the Hōgyoku.
The moment that blue-purple gemstone appeared in the laboratory, it instantly erupted with an intense pressure, recklessly washing over everything in the vicinity and causing the container to let out a teeth-grinding creak.
Under the slightly tense gazes of the group, the Hōgyoku bloomed with several rays of light that landed on Ginjō Kūgo's body.
There was no massive commotion, nor was there any nerve-shattering agony.
As easily as picking a potato out of a bowl, the light drew out a fragment radiating with Reishi from Ginjō Kūgo's chest.
After losing the fragment, Ginjō Kūgo did not lose his power; the aura around his body merely weakened a little.
"Is this the Spirit King fragment from inside a Fullbringer?"
"In terms of size, it seems much larger than the ones we collected before."
Urahara Kisuke leaned in, curiously observing the shape of the fragment.
It was impossible to tell which specific body part it was. The only certainty was that it contained enough power to alter the vast majority of things in existence.
Clearly, years of research experience were completely useless when it came to something as miraculous as a Spirit King fragment.
To be fair, after abandoning the light for the dark, even though he was constantly subjected to someone's brutal exploitation, the treatment he received in terms of research was absolutely stellar.
He certainly wouldn't see Spirit King fragments back in Squad 2.
But having said that, he still had to resist when necessary.
Otherwise, this guy would just find every possible way to exploit him again.
Case in point: he clearly still had work at the Department of Research and Development, yet in the blink of an eye, he had been dragged to Hueco Mundo as a drafted laborer.
Segunda Etapa was clearly developed by Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Szayelaporro. What did that have to do with him, Urahara Kisuke?!
Just thinking about it sent a chill down his spine.
"Extremely abundant energy."
Mayuri leaned in to observe and analyzed, "Its vitality is unusually vigorous. It doesn't seem like a dead object at all."
"It perfectly meets the experimental requirements."
"However, in terms of quantity, it still seems to be lacking a bit."
Aizen nodded. "Ginjō Kūgo is not the only Fullbringer in the World of the Living."
Hearing this, Mayuri stretched his mouth into a bizarre smile. "Then there's no problem. We can begin the new experiment."
"Who's first?"
Everyone turned their gazes toward Naraku Sora, who had been slacking off on the side. He pondered for a few seconds before saying, "Let's go by the Espada rankings."
"Let Starrk and Lilynette try it first."
Before long, the two arrived in the laboratory. After Mayuri detailed the process for achieving Segunda Etapa, Lilynette's eyes immediately lit up.
"An increase in strength? By about how much?"
"Will I be able to beat Sora?"
Mayuri curled his lips. "You're being a bit too delusional. Even if all the Espada achieved Segunda Etapa, you still wouldn't be able to defeat Lord Naraku."
"However, it will make you a bit more resistant to beatings."
"Let's do it!"
Lilynette excitedly made the final decision, showing absolutely no intention of asking for Starrk's consent.
Looking at Lilynette, who was completely immersed in her fantasies, Starrk couldn't help but feel a bit of despair.
Ever since joining Las Noches, perhaps due to the bad influence of those around her, this child had been completely spoiled rotten.
Even though she had no real strength before releasing her Zanpakutō, she still dared to challenge the other Arrancars.
Now that she had a chance to get stronger, wouldn't she go and challenge Naraku Sora?
That absolutely could not happen!
Under the joint operation of four top-tier scientists, the experiment to implant the Spirit King fragment went very smoothly, taking less than half an hour to complete entirely.
Thus, at Sora's urging, Starrk initiated his Segunda Etapa.
The commotion was massive, with a Reiatsu scale several times more exaggerated than Ulquiorra's.
It could only be said that he truly lived up to his status as a Vasto Lorde-class Menos who had naturally become an Arrancar.
His new appearance after the Segunda Etapa was also incredibly cool, without losing a single ounce of his imposing aura.
His overall color scheme was primarily blue, with two black orbs embedded in his chest and abdomen respectively, looking remarkably like the Hōgyoku.
His original flintlock pistols had transformed into blasters brimming with a futuristic, high-tech aesthetic. A casual Gran Rey Cero from them could obliterate a small mountain.
The power was exceptionally astonishing.
On the other hand, the Segunda Etapa led by Lilynette completely inverted that style.
The blasters completely transformed into floating cannons, using Starrk's will as their core to automatically track and attack enemies.
There was absolutely no need to think about combat details; just having a mind full of blasting things to pieces was enough.
As for Lilynette herself, she transformed into a long-haired, mature woman with a cold and arrogant temperament. Her curvaceous figure was covered in bone armor, and she wielded a cross-shaped longsword.
Blazing Reiatsu brewed over her body, causing the surrounding air to let out overwhelmed wails.
"Ho, this is exactly what I wanted!"
Although her visual style had changed to that of a mature woman, her essence hadn't changed at all. The moment she opened her mouth, she completely ruined the mood.
Having obtained her new form, Lilynette excitedly called out to Ulquiorra and went outside Las Noches to test her power.
The remaining people began preparing for the second Spirit King fragment implantation.
This particular Spirit King fragment was surprisingly durable.
During the continuous experimental process, Aizen also discovered something interesting.
That was, the procedure for the Segunda Etapa experiment aligned surprisingly well with his envisioned Hōgyoku fusion.
And this meant that if there were enough Spirit King fragments...
Not only could the risks be minimized, but the required time could also be greatly shortened.
"Sora, it's time to mobilize the power of the Quincies."
After helping Baraggan complete his surgery, Aizen found Naraku Sora and voiced his thoughts.
"The shortage of Spirit King fragments is even greater than I previously anticipated."
After listening to Aizen's explanation, Sora raised an eyebrow.
His good brother had never hidden the matter of the Hōgyoku fusion from him.
It was just that, in his memory, there didn't seem to be that many Fullbringers. Even if they scoured and brought them all back, it likely wouldn't be enough.
It looked like they had to think of another way.
Aizen seemed to have realized this as well, frowning slightly.
If there was anywhere else in the world with a large amount of Spirit King fragments, it would only be the Soul King Palace.
The last time they ascended to the Soul King Palace, Hyōsube Ichibē used a special method to extract the Right Arm of the Spirit King from Ukitake Jūshirō's body.
Although he claimed it was to return the item to its rightful owner, however—
Just as they had guessed before, even though the Zero Division and the Gotei 13 belonged to the same faction, the attitude of their leader, Hyōsube Ichibē, was far too bizarre.
Even though Aizen prided himself on having a certain understanding of human nature and could often guess what others were thinking, trying to fathom the thoughts of a creature that had lived for millions of years was still a bit too much of a stretch.
Rather than taking the risk of ascending to the Soul King Palace, it would be better to slowly search across the three realms.
Furthermore, for non-Zero Division members, traveling to the Soul King Palace was an almost impossible feat.
Aizen shook his head, temporarily abandoning the idea.
However, right at that moment, Sora's eyes suddenly lit up. "I know where to look for Spirit King fragments!"
Aizen looked over, a bad premonition suddenly welling up in his heart.
"If we're talking about where in the world has the most fragments, it absolutely has to be the Soul King Palace."
Sora raised his arm and struck a pose to show off his strength. His muscles instantly erupted with a sound like a bowstring being pulled taut, making one's scalp tingle just hearing it.
Urahara Kisuke leaned over curiously from the side. "Then here comes the question: how does Lord Naraku plan to travel to the Soul King Palace?"
Sora's face was full of confidence as he grinned. "I have my own brilliant plan!"