Soul Society.
Sora arrived at the Technology Development Bureau.
He had come quite early today, and there were few people in the hallway.
Sora usually didn't come this early, but he had received a message from Mayuri first thing in the morning saying he had made some progress in his research, so he came to see.
The bureau operated on a flexible work schedule. Many researchers preferred to work at night.
There were no fixed clock-in times; as long as they met their annual work hours, it was fine.
The attendance was set on a yearly basis because Shinigami have long lifespans and are not as sensitive to the passage of time.
Sora ran into a petite Shinigami carrying a bag of breakfast. He had some impression of this ambitious subordinate; she was a research assistant in Mayuri's lab.
"Good morning, Captain!"
"Morning, Chiyo-chan."
Sora nodded slightly.
"Would you like some breakfast, Captain? I just bought it from Yoshino-bō!"
The petite Shinigami shook the bag in her hand.
"Thank you..." Sora shook his head with a smile. "But I've already eaten. Is Mayuri inside?"
"Oh... he's still in the lab," the petite Shinigami's face fell with disappointment.
She had heard from Mayuri that the captain was coming this morning and had specially gone to buy breakfast.
Sora left the hall and headed for Mayuri's laboratory.
After the 12th Division was converted into the Technology Development Bureau, Sora had changed the original layout.
It was now a layout with a central hall connected to several project team labs.
Kisuke Urahara and Mayuri Kurotsuchi were the technical leaders of their respective project teams and could utilize the resources of an entire lab.
Mayuri's lab was on the second basement level. Sora took the elevator down.
In the lab, several researchers with strange appearances were busy at work.
Mayuri's selection criteria for research assistants favored those with unusual looks and body types.
"Captain!"
The researchers noticed the captain's arrival and stopped their work.
"Carry on. I'm just here to look."
Sora waved his hand. He had already sensed Mayuri's spiritual pressure and walked straight in.
Mayuri's current research was mainly focused on Reigai and souls.
Many of the Reigai brought back from Tetsuya Miyamoto's lab had been moved here.
After walking past a corridor lined with rows of culture tanks, Sora saw the busy Mayuri.
At this moment, Mayuri looked completely different from when he was imprisoned in the Maggot's Nest.
His face was tattooed with a black and white pattern, making it impossible to see his original skin color.
His ears were covered by gold ornaments, and he was wearing a strange pointed hat.
Mayuri's unique aesthetic made him a conspicuous figure wherever he went, and Sora couldn't help but look at him a few more times.
"Oh~ I was wondering why I felt a chill. So it's the Captain!"
Mayuri's concentration was broken by the Captain's gaze.
"Any new discoveries?"
"A little bit of progress."
Mayuri looked somewhat excited and was eager to introduce his new discovery to Sora.
"Look at this."
Mayuri took a small pill from a culture medium and handed it to him.
"This is..."
Sora sensed the small pill with his spiritual sense and was slightly taken aback. "In this spiritual pressure... there are emotions?"
He had originally thought it was a small pill condensed from high-concentration reishi, but he sensed something similar to the spiritual pressure within a Shinigami's body.
Those with a sharp spiritual sense can perceive some of the owner's emotions through their spiritual pressure.
"Ahahahaha..." a strange laugh came from Mayuri's mouth. "The Captain's spiritual sense is truly sharp..."
"An inanimate object like this... and a soul, in the end, are both composed of reishi," Mayuri gently stroked a nearby culture tank. "We can create objects like this at will. As long as we have enough materials, we can make as many as we want.
But to create an independent consciousness is the prerogative of the Creator!"
"So where is the biggest difference?"
Mayuri became even more excited. "My answer is emotion! Only a soul with emotions has consciousness!"
"I studied the 'Temporary Soul' technology left by the former captain, Kirio Hikifune, as well as... the 'Gikon-gan' made by my colleagues.
But they either simulate a soul with reishi and lack independent consciousness,
or are made by modifying existing souls.
However, after combining it with Reigai technology, I successfully created this—a 'Temporary Soul' with the emotion of fear!"
Mayuri had been studying the temporary soul and Reigai technology left by Kirio and had now made some progress.
"So, it's not yet a complete soul, but this is a leap from 0 to 1."
Sora nodded.
Mayuri's artificial soul was different from Reigai technology. A Reigai originated from the spiritual information extracted from a Shinigami, equivalent to a "clone".
An artificial soul, on the other hand, was created from scratch, a new soul unrelated to any other Shinigami.
This technology was about creating a spiritual body, not copying one.
The difficulty was much higher.
Mayuri wanted to challenge the higher difficulty of creating a spiritual body.
"So is this 'Nemuri Number One'?"
Sora asked.
Creating a new soul from scratch was Mayuri's dream. However, one cannot dream while awake, so Mayuri had named this project the "Nemuri Project" (Sleep Project).
"It only has some fear. It's not a complete soul yet," Mayuri shook his head, thinking this thing was not worthy of the name 'Nemuri Number One'.
After sharing the progress of the 'Nemuri Project', Mayuri went to another incubation tank.
Inside, a body that looked exactly like Mayuri himself was soaking in a nutrient solution.
"This is a special development tank that simulates the environment of the human world," Mayuri casually patted the tank, seeming somewhat indifferent to this project. "Inside is the 'Gigai' you envisioned before, Captain."
Sora had given the task of developing the 'Gigai' to Mayuri.
A 'Gigai' would allow a Shinigami to have a physical body made of kishi, which would allow them to blend into human society while on missions.
Moreover, since the 'Gigai' would be made by the Technology Development Bureau, the data of Shinigami activities in the human world would also be in their hands.
"The development speed is quite fast... can it be put into use?"
Sora was very satisfied with Mayuri's work efficiency.
"It hasn't been tested yet. I'll decide whether to put it into production after seeing the test results,"
Mayuri threw up his hands. "But going to the human world requires the Captain's approval..."
"Then I'll go with you. Let me contribute some test data to your experiment as well," Sora raised an eyebrow. His intuition told him that Mayuri's purpose for going to the human world was not just to test the 'Gigai'.
"Heh..." Mayuri's smile froze. He knew his little scheme had been seen through by the Captain. "I just wanted to get some research materials from the human world."
"Before I was captured by the Onmitsukidō, I hid some of the research materials I collected on the battlefield... the Captain should understand, right?" Mayuri said helplessly.
After this period of contact, he felt that Katori Sora was not a rigid person, so he told him what he wanted to do.
"Quincy stuff, huh... you're really cunning. Even the Onmitsukidō couldn't find what you hid," Sora stroked his chin. "I'm also a bit interested in Quincy things. Let's go together."
"Heh, those people have muscles for brains. How could they find my things," Mayuri grinned. "Since the Captain is also interested in Quincy, then let's go together. However, it will take a day or two to make a 'Gigai' for you."
...
Two days later, Sora and Mayuri arrived in the human world.
"This is the first time I've come here as a human."
Mayuri moved his 'Gigai' body, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Hmm... the feeling of restraint is too strong, like wearing very tight clothes. The experience is poor."
Sora also felt that the 1.0 version of the 'Gigai' was not a good experience.
"It also affects the spiritual sense, like it's covered by a layer of gauze, not as sharp."
"And also..."
Sora continued to test the performance of the 'Gigai'.
"The experience is too different from a real body. You only made the systems for sight, hearing, and smell, not even taste and touch."
After experiencing it, the 1.0 version of the 'Gigai' had met the requirements for use. There was no problem using it to communicate with and integrate into human society, but there was still room for improvement in some experiential details.
"Are taste and touch important? I'll make a note of it and adjust it when I get back," Mayuri nodded, scratching his temple in frustration. "Captain, I have another very bad discovery."
"Is it that you can't voluntarily leave the 'Gigai'?"
Sora had also discovered this drawback.
"Yeah... I should have brought some 'Gikon-gan'. If I force my way out, I'll have to destroy this 'Gigai'," Mayuri was a bit troubled. "If the 'Gigai' is destroyed, it will be difficult to collect test data. Didn't we come here for nothing?"
This was the first test of the Gigai 1.0. Mayuri hadn't anticipated this situation and hadn't made the necessary preparations.
"Don't worry, I came fully prepared."
Sora took out two 'Gikon-gan' and gave one to Mayuri.
In his past life's memory, Shinigami also needed 'Gikon-gan' to leave their 'Gigai', so he had brought some.
"Oh~" Mayuri let out a strange laugh and took the pill. "The Captain is truly well-prepared!"
Mayuri intended to test the effect of the 'Gikon-gan' on the 'Gigai' and swallowed it.
His spiritual body instantly separated from the 'Gigai'.
"I have a body! I have a body!"
Mayuri's Gigai jumped up and down on the spot.
If one ignored his strange appearance, he looked like a cheerful child.
These Gikon-gan were made by other researchers, using the 'Temporary Soul' technology to complete incomplete souls.
Therefore, these Gikon-gan were also independent souls.
"It seems very effective."
The corner of Mayuri's eye twitched, and he punched the Gigai in the stomach.
The muscles on the Gigai's face contorted, and it spat out the Gikon-gan directly.
The Gigai became an empty shell without a soul and fell to the ground.
Mayuri possessed the Gigai again.
"No matter how many times I see it, it's still amazing..." Sora remarked. "A spiritual body can possess a physical body made of kishi, and if you use spiritual pressure, you can also make physical contact with it."
The spiritual bodies in the world of Bleach were significantly different from the ghosts in Sora's past life.
The spiritual bodies here were flesh-and-blood life forms composed of reishi. They could bleed, get injured, and experience birth, aging, sickness, and death.
But they also possessed some of the characteristics of ghosts, as most humans could not see them.
"Isn't that just how spiritual bodies are?"
Mayuri didn't understand the Captain's remark. This was a fundamental rule of this world.
"Let's go. Let's see the place where you hid your things."
Sora didn't explain further. Mayuri was a native of this world; it was normal that he couldn't understand his remark.
A short while later, the two arrived at the site of the past Quincy war.
"Why are there traces of human activity? Did another Quincy clan move here?"
Mayuri saw fresh footprints on the dirt road in the woods.
Normally, such a road would be overgrown with weeds if no one had walked on it for a few years.
"It's not Quincy. The Onmitsukidō who were guarding this place only withdrew two years ago. Before they left, they submitted a report that humans had moved here," Sora said.
This place was very suitable for human habitation. After the Quincy who occupied it were gone, outsiders quickly moved in.
"I hope my things are still there..."
Mayuri had a bad feeling.
"Weren't you quite confident about your hiding place before?"
Sora laughed.
"I just found a place the Onmitsukidō wouldn't find, not a place humans wouldn't find."
Mayuri's logic was rigorous.
A moment later, he led Sora to a cornfield.
This cornfield, which had originally belonged to the Quincy, had not been abandoned. It was clear that the humans who had moved in were farming.
"They've most likely been dug up," Mayuri touched his forehead and said helplessly. "To avoid being discovered by the Onmitsukidō, I didn't set up any anti-theft formulas, in case they were detected."
To prevent being found by Shinigami or Quincy, Mayuri's hiding spot had no strong reishi formulas for protection, only physical burial.
Moreover, he had been dealing with the Onmitsukidō's pursuit at the time and hadn't had time to bury it very deep.
This cornfield was growing so well, someone must have been tending to it.
Whatever was buried inside had probably been dug up.
"I'll go see if they're still there."
Mayuri was unwilling to give up. After determining the direction, he walked into the cornfield.
A short while later, he returned to Sora empty-handed.
"They're gone?"
Sora asked, feigning ignorance.
"Gone."
Mayuri was a bit annoyed.
His things had been dug up by humans!
"Let's go to the village and look," Mayuri hadn't given up yet. "Maybe they're still in the village."
"Let's go. This is also the first time I've entered a human village in the human world as a human."
Sora also wanted to interact with the humans of this world.
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