Hasumi Ren stood at the entrance of the barracks, looking at Urahara Kisuke's secretive demeanor, gently rubbing his fingertips together.
*Has the Spirit Spring project made progress?*
*This is definitely worth paying attention to, but there wouldn't be some kind of trick, would there...*
*Given how Urahara Kisuke had acted previously, he had to keep his guard up.*
"So, what does Third Seat Urahara mean?"
Urahara Kisuke let out a laugh before his expression returned to a serious one.
"It's not just the Spirit Spring itself; the experimental results on those plants and animals are quite good too."
"So, Ren, shouldn't you follow your usual habit and come inspect the current progress?"
"And by the way, there's also this..."
Urahara Kisuke rubbed his fingers together, his meaning couldn't be more obvious.
Ren understood immediately and gave a slight nod.
*So he's here to ask for money.*
*Calculating the time, it's about due. This much is reasonable.*
Coincidentally, he was also very interested in the spring water's current output.
"Please wait a moment, Third Seat Urahara. I will be right with you after I give some instructions regarding the Division's affairs."
A moment later, after arranging the various tasks, Ren returned to Urahara Kisuke.
"Let's go."
Urahara smiled and followed, the two walking side by side along the stone-paved roads of the Seireitei.
Along the way, the two engaged in casual, intermittent conversation.
After entering the Second Division, looking at the familiar surroundings, it wasn't long before the suspension bridge leading to the Maggot's Nest appeared in their line of sight.
The two stepped onto the suspension bridge, the iron chains swaying.
Ren held onto the iron chains, his gaze looking toward the isolated island in the distance as he suddenly changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, Third Seat Urahara, are there any further clues regarding the Shinigami disappearance case in the Rukongai from last time?"
Urahara paused, the smile on his face fading slightly. He raised a hand to scratch his head, a trace of helplessness in his tone.
"This matter is much more complicated than expected. Captain Yoruichi had me keep an eye on the movements of the noble families. But after investigating back and forth, I've only caught some small fry; I can't touch the core at all."
Seeing that Urahara Kisuke was unwilling to talk much about it, Ren understood in his heart.
After the last mission, he knew this case involved a great deal. Urahara's words were half-true and half-false; he had definitely found out something but simply didn't want to say more.
He didn't press the issue. After all, there were some things where asking was useless.
The suspension bridge beneath their feet gradually came to an end, and the black iron gates of the Maggot's Nest stood before them, its cold metallic luster gleaming with a chill in the morning light.
The guard stationed at the entrance immediately opened the iron gates upon seeing Urahara, bowing to let them pass.
The two headed downward along the path, making their way toward Urahara Kisuke's secret laboratory.
"Speaking of which, I forgot to ask."
Urahara suddenly spoke, breaking the surrounding silence.
"What level has your Kaido reached in the Fourth Division now?"
"Last time I heard Tsukabishi Tessai say that your double incantation practice in the Kido Corps was going well, so I imagine your Kaido isn't bad either."
"It's going fairly smoothly. Now that I serve as the Fourth Seat of the Fourth Division, Captain Unohana has already allowed me to independently handle organ repair procedures for severely injured patients."
Ren replied lightly, his tone calm, as if he were merely stating an ordinary matter.
Urahara Kisuke paused his steps, his eyes widening slightly, his face filled with a seemingly genuine look of surprise.
"Fourth Seat... Ren, this progress of yours is a bit frightening."
"Captain Unohana certainly values you. How long have you even been in the Fourth Division, yet you've already taken the position of Fourth Seat?"
"I'm still far behind you, Third Seat Urahara, so please stop teasing me."
Ren remained indifferent, stepping forward to continue onward.
"Let's go. I really want to see exactly what kind of results you've produced."
Urahara snapped back to reality and smiled as he followed.
Passing through that hidden secret door, the familiar secret laboratory appeared before their eyes, but compared to last time, it had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
This laboratory had expanded by several times its previous size. The surrounding experimental tables were filled with various kinds of glassware, containing spiritual liquids and herbs of all colors.
On the cultivation racks in the corner sat rows of crystal-clear glass bottles, nurturing unknown spiritual plants whose leaves emitted a faint fluorescence under the nourishment of spiritual pressure.
And in the center of the laboratory was the Spirit Spring.
The small pool that used to be barely two meters square had now expanded into a spring pool spanning four or five meters.
The spring water within glowed with a warm, gentle light. Curling white mist rose from the surface, mixing with a rich aura of spiritual power that slowly circulated in the air.
A faint barrier was set up around the spring pool, continuously gathering the scattered reishi from the surroundings into the spring water, making the spiritual pressure within the water increasingly mellow and rich.
Large patches of fragments floated above the Spirit Spring. Ren suddenly noticed that every single fragment retained the exact color it had when it first appeared, without any sense of gradually fading over time.
He guessed that perhaps thanks to the special nature of this spring water, the duration these fragments existed was far longer than the fragments he usually saw.
*This is truly... a massive surprise.*
In the clearing beside the spring pool, the plump chickens and pigs from before had also undergone significant changes.
Several large roosters with beautifully glossy feathers paced by the spring, their necks raised slightly, actually emitting a faint spiritual pressure from their bodies.
Meanwhile, on the fruit and vegetable plants growing in the soil around the spring pool, plump, heavy fruits hung from the branches, gleaming with an enticing luster.
"How is it? Not bad, right?"
Urahara watched Ren walk to the edge of the spring pool and gaze down, then began his introduction.
"I've re-modified the spirit-gathering barrier and optimized the concentration of spiritual pressure this spring water can contain. Now, the spirit-gathering efficiency of this hot spring is more than five times what it was before."
Ren walked to the edge of the spring pool and looked down. The spiritual power fragments in the pool water were densely packed, several times richer than in the past.
Those fragments glowed with a warm light, slowly bobbing in the water. Once Ren drew near, the fragments were slowly absorbed into his body.
Instantly, a rich surge of spiritual pressure flooded into his body, and system notification sounds rang out in his mind one after another.
Looking at the numbers on the system panel, a flash of pleasant surprise crossed Ren's eyes.
*The progress to breaking through to the Fifth Class is already over halfway.*
*The enhancement effect of this Spirit Spring is indeed as astonishing as I expected.*
*In the past, I would have had to run back and forth between the Fourth Division and the Kido Corps for over a month to accumulate this much Spiritual Power experience.*
*Now, just taking a single trip here has yielded such a harvest.*
*This guy Urahara really knows his stuff.*
"You've certainly put a lot of effort into these improvements."
"Naturally."
Urahara chuckled lightly, walking over to a nearby experimental table and raising a hand to fiddle with the bottles and jars on it.
"These ingredients cultivated through the Spirit Spring not only taste good, but they can also replenish spiritual pressure."
"If mass-produced, whether supplied to the Gotei 13 or sold to the noble families, it would be an extremely considerable source of income."
Ren nodded slightly, his gaze falling into the spring pool.
*Spiritual power fragments are slowly condensing again.*
As he turned to observe the surrounding animals, the corner of his eye caught sight of Urahara, while fiddling with the bottles and jars, seemingly casually placing a small vial of reagent on the edge of the experimental table, mixing it in with the other containers.
The bottle had an ordinary label stuck to it and looked completely unremarkable, but the faint fluctuations emitting from the bottle made Ren's heart stir slightly.
That fluctuation was extremely similar to the strange sensation he had felt during the mission in the East Rukongai last time.
Urahara's fingertips paused lightly on that vial of reagent, then he picked up another bottle of spiritual liquid as if nothing had happened, though the corner of his eye secretly kept watch on Ren's reaction.
This vial of reagent was something he had specially modified for today's test.
It was much purer than the bottle from last time, with a higher concentration of Hollow spiritual pressure.
He wanted to know whether, during the test in the East Rukongai last time, Ren was truly completely oblivious, or if he had known all along but simply didn't want to expose it.
What he wanted to know even more was exactly how much Ren understood about the Hollow spiritual pressure within his own body.
Ren's gaze lingered briefly on those bottles and jars before casually shifting away, as if it were just a random glance, not showing the slightest abnormality.
Subsequently, Ren looked up at Urahara, a faint smile on his face.
"Third Seat Urahara, the effects of this Spirit Spring far exceed expectations. Next, we can discuss our follow-up cooperation."
Urahara looked at Ren's ordinary expression, the probing look in his eyes fading into the darkness.
"Mhm, of course."