(T/N: Third chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed the read! and Thanks for the support!!
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"I think… there might be something wrong with the device. I should go get it checked," Urahara stood up, trying to leave.
But Nanatsuki gently pressed a hand to his shoulder, smiling.
"No, your device is working just fine."
Urahara's face twisted in disbelief—his jaw dropped so wide you could fit an egg in it.
"You're… a Reishi Shell?!!"
"That's right. This body is a shell."
Urahara felt the weight of the hand on his shoulder. He tried to shake it off—but couldn't.
"Don't panic. What's there to be scared of?" Nanatsuki patted his shoulder, trying to calm him.
"I'm not panicking…" Urahara's right hand crept toward the hilt of his Zanpakutō.
"You know you can't beat me. What's the point of pulling tricks like that?" Nanatsuki shot a glance at his hand.
"I think I can stall long enough until the captain arrives…"
Urahara's thoughts were racing—his mind flashing through possibilities.
How could Katori Nanatsuki be a shell?
He had captain-level Reiatsu!
Was he replaced at some point? Or… had he been a shell from the beginning?
After a few moments, he calmed down and started to make sense of things.
"A Reishi Shell… and yet you've grown strong enough to reach captain-class. That's incredible, Nanatsuki-kun."
Urahara still believed this was the real Nanatsuki—otherwise, he wouldn't have willingly submitted to a scan.
"Miss Kirio knows too," Nanatsuki said, then briefly explained Katori Batsu'unsai's Spiritual Pressure Core cultivation plan—but omitted anything about the Royal Guard or the Shadow of the Soul King.
"I see… this shell technology is absolutely worth studying. It's… astonishing." Urahara looked at Nanatsuki with undisguised fascination.
Because Hikifune Kirio had authorized him to access certain documents during the development of the Reishi Detection Device, Urahara already had some background in shell tech.
As far as he knew, Squad 12's current shell-tech had two major flaws:
Incomplete cognitive function
Inability to grow natural Reiatsu
But Nanatsuki had overcome both—possessing a complete consciousness and having grown strong enough to rival a captain.
"Just a twist of fate," Nanatsuki smiled. "Even Miss Kirio said she couldn't replicate it."
"That's a shame… But you know, the unknown group manufacturing those illegal shells has upgraded their tech. They've apparently solved the mind issue."
Urahara recalled the incident with Kazushu, the infiltrator who had snuck into Kirio's lab.
"From my observation, they're collecting Reiatsu from the original person to build shells with strong enough pressure."
"That 'Zhou' shell's Reiatsu wasn't weaker than an average Shinigami's. Though I'm not sure if it could actually release a Zanpakutō."
"Whoever's hiding behind this… their tech is no joke. There's no way this happened overnight." Nanatsuki tapped his chin. "You don't think the shells discovered in Rukongai were actually earlier test subjects, do you?"
Urahara's eyes widened in realization.
"It's not impossible…"
"If they've been experimenting using Rukongai souls all along…"
"Rukongai has near-limitless numbers. It's the perfect breeding ground for trials."
"That would explain how their shell-tech advanced so fast…"
Urahara felt he was closing in on the truth—but his face quickly fell again.
"Even if we understand their motive, it doesn't change the fact that we still need to sift through Rukongai and weed out the shells. These people already tried to replace Shinigami, infiltrate the Gotei 13, and even took down a Captain. Leaving these shells unchecked would be a huge unknown threat."
Just thinking about the massive workload gave Urahara a headache.
"If we're dealing with this many souls, we'll need a more efficient scanner," Nanatsuki said, picking up the Reishi Detector. "I'll be taking this one with me."
After Nanatsuki left, Urahara let out a breath of relief. He immediately contacted Hikifune Kirio via Hell Butterfly.
Being naturally cautious, he didn't want to rely solely on Nanatsuki's explanation. He needed independent confirmation.
"Captain! We've got a problem! Our squad hall's just been infiltrated by a Reishi Shell!"
"What?! Stall him—I'm on my way!"
"The intruder is Katori Nanatsuki."
"My detector showed over 90% Reishi similarity between him and Katori Batsu'unsai!"
---
Meanwhile, Aizen…
After finishing his daily training, Aizen Sōsuke made his way to the lab.
But something was off. The lab door was open.
He was sure he'd closed it the night before.
His teacher and Yamamoto-sōtaichō were both away. And Hoshino Rie had been staying at Squad 4 these past two days.
So who was inside?
Then, a familiar Reiatsu signal was released from the lab.
Aizen stepped in and blinked. "Teacher? You're back?"
"Just had to take care of something." Nanatsuki gestured toward a device on the table. "That's a Reishi Detection device. It can identify Reishi Shells."
"But the scanning rate is too slow. It needs optimizing."
Aizen flipped through the manuscript next to it. "Pretty complicated… Is this urgent? I was working on the Ancient Adjuchas Remains you brought back. Trying to create a Hollow-based shell."
Their previous attempts at Hollowfication Shells had hit a wall. Hollows were too strong and aggressive. Their shells were too fragile to withstand the corrosive instinct of Hollow Reiatsu.
So now they had a new plan—
Make a Hollow shell first, then infuse it with Shinigami Reiatsu.
Shinigami pressure was gentler—less invasive. Maybe this would allow them to finally produce a stable fusion of Shinigami and Hollow powers.
"This project takes priority," Nanatsuki said firmly.
Then he revealed his true purpose:
"That device contains a log of Gotei 13 Shinigami and noble families' Reishi profiles. I want you to extract that data first."
Nanatsuki had baited Urahara into using the scanner on him—not just to prove a point, but to ensure that the scanner logged his Reishi as well as everyone else's it had collected so far.
If it hadn't, he would've just asked for a data copy under the pretense of improving the scanner.
Fortunately, the device had recorded plenty—saving him the trouble.
He needed that Reishi information because of a reward he had received recently—
A batch of surveillance micro-organisms.