Kurotsuchi Mayuri lazily raised his head, trailing his shackled hands, his tone thick with mockery.
Urahara stood before the iron bars of the cell, his gaze piercing through the narrow gaps. Standing at the threshold and looking at Mayuri, his expression held only a calculated certainty.
"Mayuri, I need your help."
Mayuri's eyes narrowed slightly. He stared at Urahara as if inspecting a completely novel specimen.
"Help? Kisuke Urahara, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Rising to his feet, he sauntered over to the iron bars and tilted his head to look at Urahara. "I'm merely a prisoner locked away by you people. Why should I help you? Begone, you tedious fool."
Mayuri sat back down on his stone chair and turned his head away, refusing to look at Kisuke Urahara any longer.
"This request is different. It concerns the safety of the Soul Society. I have... discovered a pocket of space hidden within the shadows."
Mayuri's body stiffened abruptly. His casual demeanor vanished in an instant as he slowly raised his head. "...What did you say?"
A space within the shadows?
The Soul Society strictly prohibited all unofficial research into spatial dimensions. Conducting unauthorized exploration of unknown spaces was a severe felony punishable by imprisonment.
Mayuri narrowed his eyes, sizing Kisuke Urahara up and down in a sinister tone. "You're conducting unauthorized research into spatial technology?" He repeated the phrase, as if chewing over the flavor of the words. "That is a capital offense against the laws of the Soul Society. Just telling me about it is enough to get you thrown in here to sit alongside me."
He paused, taking a step forward until his face was practically pressed against the iron bars. "What, aren't you afraid I'll report you? Or has this matter escalated to the point where you must pursue it even at the cost of your own punishment?"
Urahara remained silent, merely offering a slight nod.
Mayuri's grin widened. "How thoroughly entertaining. Do tell. What could possibly drive you to such lengths? If the tale amuses me, perhaps I might consider lending a hand."
Kisuke Urahara fell silent, his expression darkening slightly as his loose bangs shadowed his eyes.
"I discovered a space hidden within the very shadows of the Seireitei. An external force is lurking inside, plotting something in secret. I need to find a way to breach that dimension to uncover their true identities and motives."
As Mayuri listened, the glint in his eyes grew increasingly brilliant. "So, you want me to help you decipher their spatial technology?"
"Precisely." Urahara looked up, meeting his gaze. "Within the entire Seireitei right now, you are the only one capable of keeping pace with my analytical speed."
Mayuri went still for a moment. He stared at Urahara, a complex wave of emotion flitting across his eyes. Then, the corners of his mouth curled upward as his grating laughter echoed through the desolate cell.
"Kuhuhu... Kisuke Urahara, even you have a day like this." Mayuri laughed with unbridled glee. "Seeing you humble yourself like this is truly delightful."
Urahara said nothing. He simply stood his ground, waiting for Mayuri to exhaust his laughter.
Mayuri finally stifled his laughter, his expression sobering significantly. "But if this is a major crisis threatening the Seireitei, wouldn't it be simpler to report it to the authorities? The Central 46 would likely grant you leniency. Or is this matter not what you claim at all, but driven entirely by your personal agenda? Approaching me in secret like this... do you harbor some other motive?"
Urahara watched him. Intelligent men were indeed perceptive. Yet the variables behind this ran too deep—Aizen, the Hogyoku, the Hollowfication experiments... These were matters he could not speak of aloud.
"It was merely an accidental discovery during my unauthorized spatial research," his voice was perfectly even. "Reporting it would expose my forbidden spatial research. Until concrete evidence is provided, the Central 46 will not care what I discovered; they will only care about what laws I broke."
Mayuri stared at him, keeping silent for a moment before clicking his tongue in disdain. Evidently, he did not buy Kisuke Urahara's explanation for a second.
"Kisuke Urahara, you really are the one who belongs behind bars."
Urahara ignored the jibe. "Naturally, this endeavor comes with compensation."
Mayuri's brow twitched slightly. "What compensation?"
"I will partially lift the spiritual restrictions on your shackles, granting you the freedom to move within this facility, provided you do not breach the boundaries of the Maggots' Nest," Urahara's voice remained placid. "Until the day I ascend to the rank of Captain and extract you entirely."
Mayuri narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning razor-sharp. "Captain?"
Urahara nodded. "Kirio Hikifune is slated for promotion to the Royal Guard. Subsequently, under Captain Yoruichi Shihoin's recommendation, I will undergo the Captain Proficiency Test to secure the leadership of the Twelfth Division. Following that, I intend to establish an organization called the Research and Development Department. When the time comes, you will serve as the Vice President."
Mayuri's eyes narrowed to slits. He considered the proposition; it was well within the realm of possibility. Kisuke Urahara's strength and intellect were elite within the Seireitei. Should he truly become a Captain and wield greater authority, extracting him from the Maggots' Nest would be trivial.
Though he harbored no interest in working under Kisuke Urahara or holding some secondary title, still, deciphering spatial technology did leave him itching with curiosity. Furthermore, doing so would hand him a substantial piece of leverage over Kisuke Urahara—a piece of leverage that might prove useful down the line.
"That does sound mildly entertaining," Mayuri murmured. "Since you require my assistance, how do you expect to proceed? Without a proper facility or equipment, how are we to conduct experiments inside a prison?" He raised his arms, rattling the heavy bindings around his wrists. The spell arrays etched into the iron gleamed with a faint blue light under the Reishi lamps, heavily suppressing the vast majority of his internal Spiritual Pressure. "And then there is this. Hampered by such a device, how am I supposed to experiment freely?"
Urahara offered no verbal response. Stepping up to the iron bars, he placed his hand over the lock. Spiritual Pressure seeped from his fingertips, causing the runic patterns to ignite sequentially beneath his palm with a low hum. Then, the mechanism clicked open. The iron door groaned on its hinges.
Urahara stepped into the cell, reaching out to press his hand against the shackles on Mayuri's wrists. As the identical frequency of spiritual energy filtered in, the spell matrices dissolved one by one. The cuffs fell away, striking the stone floor with a sharp metallic clatter.
Mayuri rotated his wrists, savoring the long-lost sensation of unburdened freedom. Spiritual Pressure surged smoothly through his meridians once more, like a river that had finally been cleared of a dam.
"Follow me," Urahara turned to exit the cell. "I possess a private laboratory hidden within the very core of the Maggots' Nest."
As Mayuri stepped across the threshold, he cast a lingering look back at the cell he had inhabited for an indeterminate length of time. The sealing arrays on the walls continued to pulse slowly, and the stagnant, decaying odor still hung in the air. Mayuri's eyes glinted as he turned to track Kisuke Urahara's receding back, who had already gained some distance.
Mayuri quickened his pace to catch up, the two navigating the bleak cell blocks. Flanking them were rows of sealed chambers containing a diverse array of prisoners—Soul Reapers classified as dangerous elements. Some brooded in absolute darkness, others shivered in distant corners, and a few pressed against their grates, glaring at the passing duo with deep-seated resentment.
Mayuri ignored the gazes completely. He simply followed Urahara, passing cell after cell. Then, he halted his stride.
Urahara stopped as well. Following Mayuri's line of sight, his eyes landed on a perfectly ordinary cell, indistinguishable from the rest. Yet it contained a specific occupant—a mere youth. His small frame was huddled in a corner, enveloped by an oversized prison uniform. A single, peculiar horn protruded through his disheveled hair. His face was cast in shadow, obscuring any discernible expression.
"Release this fellow as well," Mayuri said evenly. "He might prove useful for the task at hand."
Urahara observed the child, lapsing into a brief silence. "The fewer people who know of this operation, the better."
Mayuri scoffed coldly. "Then I shall attach an additional condition: release him once this project is concluded."
Staring at the boy, relevant memories surfaced in Urahara's mind. The child had been processed into the facility alongside Mayuri, suggesting a certain history between them. He had never investigated the exact nature of their relationship, but since Mayuri had explicitly requested it...
"He may be granted the freedom to move about inside, but he must remain entirely ignorant of our arrangements."
Hearing Urahara's concession, Mayuri nodded, accepting the terms.
At that moment, the huddled figure inside detected the commotion and raised his head toward them.
"Akon, have you grown accustomed to life in the Maggots' Nest?"
Hearing the vaguely familiar voice, Akon's eyes snapped open, gleaming in the darkness. Once he clearly distinguished the figure standing outside, he threw himself against the bars, gripping them tightly with both hands as uncontrollable excitement filled his voice.
"Mayuri! Why are you out there? Are you leaving this place? Take me with you, dammit!"
Mayuri scratched his ear idly. "Rest assured, I haven't forgotten you. It isn't time to leave just yet, so behave yourself and wait." With those words, Mayuri turned and continued walking.
Behind him, Akon's desperate cries continued to echo through the corridor. "Mayuri, you better not be lying to me! Mayuri!"
Mayuri didn't bother to turn around, merely waving his hand dismissively. Watching the exchange, a spark of amusement flickered in Urahara's eyes. Offering no comment, he led Mayuri further toward the hidden facility.
Inside the secret laboratory of the Maggots' Nest, the bright radiance of the Reishi lamps illuminated every corner. Mayuri stood before a workbench, flipping through Urahara's documentation on the spatial detection matrix. His brow furrowed and smoothed in turns, his eyes alight with intellectual stimulation. Meanwhile, Urahara tinkered with the diagnostic machinery.
With Mayuri integrated into the operation, the execution would proceed much more smoothly.
The Shatten Bereich, the Wandenreich.
Haschwalth traversed the long, cold corridors, advancing deeper into the subterranean prison. Quilge led the way ahead of him, his gait measured and his expression severe.
"To think that a routine deployment would yield a Captain-level prize," Quilge murmured. "The organization lurking within the Seireitei cannot be underestimated either."
Haschwalth remained silent, continuing his steady march.
Quilge continued. "Royd has already arrived. Once he mirrors the blind man's form, he will be able to extract his memories perfectly. By then, their motives and their secrets will be completely laid bare to us."
Haschwalth gave a slight nod.
The two reached the absolute depths of the dungeon. The cell block here was even dimmer than the exterior, the air heavy with a foul cocktail of rust, stale blood, and an unidentifiable, sharp scent of antiseptic.
Tosen Kaname hung bound by heavy chains. His wrists were locked in heavy irons and hoisted high, leaving his toes barely grazing the cold floor. Wounds marred his flesh from head to toe, his torn Shihakusho exposing raw, bloodied skin beneath. His head hung low, masking his facial features completely. The specialized chains entirely suppressed his Spiritual Pressure; he could neither resist, escape, nor even take his own life.
Standing within the shadows directly across from Tosen was another individual, sharing the exact same stature, the exact same facial features, and the identical black Shihakusho—Royd Lloyd.
At this moment, he had replicated Tosen's form perfectly, standing with his head bowed and fists tightly clenched, as if grappling with a severe influx of foreign emotion. His frame trembled imperceptibly, his surrounding Spiritual Pressure fluctuating erratically as his system acclimated to the new state.
Haschwalth approached Royd, observing him closely. "How is it?"
Royd raised his head, his voice a flawless mirror of Tosen's. "His memories... are highly intricate," Royd replied, his voice raspy and tinged with exhaustion. "There is a single figure who dominates his consciousness. A woman... She is dead, murdered by the nobility of the Seireitei. An intense hatred for the Soul Society dictates the vast majority of his emotional core."
Haschwalth's brow twitched slightly. "And beyond that? What is their objective?"
Royd closed his eyes, parsing through the data stream. "Overturning the Soul Society, breaking the absolute limitations of a Soul Reaper... The Hogyoku?" Royd snapped his eyes open, locking onto Haschwalth. "The Hogyoku! They are researching an artifact called the Hogyoku, capable of dissolving the boundary between Soul Reaper and Hollow. Their leader is a man named Aizen Sosuke. He possesses immense power and will prove highly problematic."
Overturning the Soul Society? The Hogyoku?
Haschwalth's eyes narrowed to slits. "Then how did they manage to detect our existence?"
Royd shook his head. "It remains unclear. The data within his memories regarding that matter is incomplete; there are aspects even he was blind to. However, according to his mind, that localized scanning pulse was not commissioned by Aizen."
Haschwalth's pupils contracted. "How can that be... That location was undeniably their active research installation. If not Aizen, then who else?"
Royd closed his eyes again, his brow knitting tightly as he dug deeper into the psychic remnants. "I cannot state it with absolute certainty, but I suspect... it may involve an individual named Hasumi Ren. This Hasumi Ren was tasked with the Garganta gateway experiments. It is highly probable he inadvertently stumbled upon our spatial coordinates."
Haschwalth fell into a deep silence. His gaze drifted from the unconscious Tosen to the replicated Royd. Within his mind, the name 'Hasumi Ren' repeated in a continuous loop.
"Royd, extract every scrap of information he possesses. Compile it into a comprehensive document and deliver it to me."
Royd bowed his head. "Understood."
Haschwalth turned on his heel, exiting the dungeon. "Quilge."
"Sir."
"Issue orders to intensify our surveillance on the Soul Society. Should anyone attempt to approach or scan our dimension again, report it immediately."
Quilge nodded. "Understood."
Haschwalth offered no further words, his long strides carrying him into the dark. Behind them, the Reishi lamps in the deepest sector of the prison flickered out one by one, surrendering the space back to absolute blackness. Only Tosen Kaname's ragged, faint breathing continued to resonate softly through the empty vault.