After all that, Iori felt countless resentment-filled gazes focusing on him… but he was speechless too, okay?
What kind of boring teacher was that, why did they have such an overactive imagination?
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[CG Acquired]
[I Cannot Coexist with Study Maniacs!]
[Category: Bond CG (From classmates · Resentment Bond)]
[Rank: D]
[Quality: Normal]
[Drawing...]
[Calculating...]
[Rewards Overview]
[Attributes]
[Mental Power +5]
[Agility +3]
[Evasion +3]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Speechless as he was, Iori still accepted the stat points and the time off without hesitation.
He really did exactly what the Kido instructor told him to do, went back, ate properly, took a shower, and slept, not waking up until dusk in the afternoon.
Probably because he had slept an entire day, his energy was unusually high when birds began returning to their nests. After checking the time and flipping through the calendar, he remembered an appointment he had with someone.
He changed into casual clothes, left the Spirit Arts Academy, and walked along the towering white wall of Seireitei.
Entering Rukongai and going even deeper, deliberately choosing secluded paths, Iori arrived at his destination after about half an hour.
It was a puppet shop that had long since shut down. As the name suggested, it was a place that made dolls, but not the life-size, high-end kind. These were the kimono dolls offered during certain festivals.
Yes, even in Soul Society, there were still plenty of festivals. Souls may have "died" once, but they still cared about a sense of ritual in life.
However, the fact that this shop had closed proved that demand for small dolls wasn't very high.
Hmm. If they were life-size dolls instead, they'd probably sell like crazy in Seireitei…
Iori wasn't here to buy dolls, nor did he plan to use the front door. Instead, he went around to the back and started pounding hard on a conspicuously new door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Open up! Mayuri, stop hiding inside and pretending you're not home. I know you're in there. You've got the guts to rob, ah, no, you've got the guts to owe money and not pay it back, so why don't you have the guts to open the door?
"I'm telling you, your time is up!"
Creak~
The small door opened a crack. Cold air seeped out from the dim interior, making Iori uncomfortable.
Then a yellow eye with very little emotion appeared in the gap. It seemed unaccustomed to the light, and the pupil shrank slightly.
"It's you… come in."
Bang!
The small door closed. A fluctuation of spiritual pressure flashed by, followed by a series of mechanical sounds. Only then did the seemingly ordinary door slowly open again.
Sunlight spilled into the room, revealing a pale face… no, something even more outrageous. A black-and-white mask covered the face, not a common hard mask, but a soft one that clung tightly like leather. There was no aesthetic sense at all, and the thick eye shadow made it look like some kind of demon.
If one looked closely, they would see that not only the face, but also the neck and hands were painted white. The entire body was probably just as eerie.
This guy had messy short purple hair and leaned hunched against the doorframe. He wore a plain white lab coat loosely, making his thin frame obvious.
"Deadline… has it already come?" he said. "Come in. Your things were prepared long ago. Don't shout like that anymore."
"What's wrong with knocking?" Iori shot back.
"If it were someone else, investing that much money and getting zero returns, they'd probably have hired a hitman already."
"If dying once could settle the debt, I'd be very happy to," Mayuri replied.
"In your dreams!"
Iori laughed. "So? Any progress on your research lately?"
"Yes, but there's no point telling you. You people who only think about fighting and killing should just practice swordsmanship. Science is the domain of the wise."
Even with acquaintances, his tone was half-mocking and half-sinister, extremely irritating. But Iori didn't mind. He was already used to Mayuri's bizarre way of speaking, or rather, from the moment he decided to connect with Mayuri, he had prepared himself with plenty of patience.
Scientists having quirks was normal. Not to mention someone as obviously unhinged as Mayuri.
After entering, they went down into the basement. The strange man led Iori into a highly secret private lab.
It was narrow, cramped, and strange, but not messy or filthy. Everything was neatly arranged. The research materials weren't particularly bloody or disgusting either. It looked like a normal laboratory. Even the animal organ specimens were sealed in transparent containers and soaked in unknown liquids.
'Do they use formaldehyde in Soul Society?' Iori thought absentmindedly.
While he was thinking random thoughts, Mayuri had already gone to rummage through a storage cabinet for Iori's custom order.
Despite his sharp tongue, his body was honest.
The Twelfth Division wasn't doing well these days. His immediate superior was a very troublesome old woman, and many funding sources had been cut off. His cooperation with Iori made up about thirty-five percent of his research budget, definitely a major sponsor.
"I haven't gone outside in a while. Has anything happened out there?" Mayuri asked.
"Same as always," Iori replied briefly.
"Is that so? Then that's really… boring." Mayuri sneered, though it was unclear at what.
This future Director of the Research and Development Institute was currently just a seated officer in the Twelfth Division, and not even high in rank.
Speaking of the Twelfth Division, its special nature had to be mentioned.
Just as the Fourth Division also served as a medical organization, the Twelfth Division was responsible for advancing reishi technology research.
However, at present, aside from the Twelfth Division, Seireitei's noble families had their own research facilities and archives. There were also all sorts of miscellaneous organizations operating independently. The Twelfth Division was only one among them.
This situation wouldn't change until about a hundred years later, when Kisuke Urahara took charge. With Captain-Commander Yamamoto's support, he unified these organizations under the Twelfth Division and officially established the "Research and Development Institute."
But even now, the Twelfth Division's status was exceptional, because its leader was someone capable of conversing with Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni on equal footing.
Shutara Senjumaru.
Roughly a dozen years ago, the mysterious Shutara Senjumaru suddenly appeared and assumed the position of Twelfth Division captain. There were no objections throughout Seireitei.
Ordinary Shinigami didn't know her background, only her name. Iori only understood how astonishing her origins were by combining this life's information with knowledge from his previous life.
Strictly speaking, she wasn't a member of the Gotei Thirteen at all, but a member of Squad Zero, directly subordinate to the Soul King, with a status no lower than Yamamoto's.
Out of respect for the "strongest Shinigami" as a symbol of military power, her position within Seireitei was technically lowered by half a rank, but she was still clearly above other captains.
This female Shinigami's age, seniority, and origin were all unknown. Aside from the original captains, no one knew her past. But one thing was certain.
She had been promoted long ago for "great contributions to Soul Society" and had gone to the Soul King Palace to guard the legendary Soul King. Logically, she shouldn't have appeared in Seireitei at all.
Since Shutara Senjumaru had broken precedent to return and then stayed hidden in the Twelfth Division, there had to be something extremely important that required a Squad Zero member to personally oversee.
Considering the various black technologies of Soul Society in later years, gigai, artificial souls, modified souls, even Kisuke Urahara's and "former Aizen's" Hogyoku, all of which were initiated during this period (though they would take a hundred or two hundred years to succeed)…
Along with tech giants like Hikifune Kirio and Mayuri becoming active from this point onward… the depths here were terrifyingly deep.
If one analyzed it carefully, it became clear that Shutara Senjumaru, Hikifune Kirio, Mayuri, and Kisuke Urahara clearly already had connections, perhaps even teacher-student relationships.
Iori always remained silent about this. Even after befriending Mayuri, he had no intention of digging deeper. His small frame couldn't withstand such massive waves.
Of course, it was also possible that Iori was overthinking things. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
Just like when he used to watch Naruto and came up with tons of theories that later turned out to be internet conspiracy nonsense.
Still, being cautious never hurt.
So, Iori and Mayuri's relationship was limited to "mutual assistance."
More specifically, Iori provided funding for Mayuri's research, and Mayuri repaid him with the fruits of his intellect.
As for why he didn't go to Kisuke Urahara, but instead chose this badly-reviewed madman... Urahara was currently living off others professionally, clinging to the Shihoin family's leg. He didn't lack money at all, okay?
Moreover, Urahara was a standard "royalist," devoted to maintaining the order of the three realms. His stance was "friendly neutral," and without a legitimate reason, he wouldn't cooperate with you.
Mayuri was different. Forget being a royalist, he didn't even have a normal sense of good and evil. Even if you asked him for poison or something similar, he'd deliver immediately without asking what it was for.
That was exactly the kind of "good friend" Iori needed, someone who wouldn't talk too much and wouldn't meddle.
The only issue was that this relationship wouldn't last long. Mayuri's research was still barely normal for now, with illegal acts limited to things like grave robbing. But Iori knew he would cross the line sooner or later, and when that happened, their cooperation would end.
That was a matter of principle. Iori wasn't a champion of justice, but he wouldn't sink that low either.
Of course, before that day came, Mayuri was still someone Iori needed to support and invest in.
"Here. This is what you wanted. The full set."
Mayuri handed Iori a small package. "This kind of thing is special, but completely useless to Shinigami. It's only really needed in prisons… of course, what you plan to do with it has nothing to do with me."
"Oh, thanks." Iori took it, weighed it in his hand, and nodded in satisfaction.
Opening the package, he found several diamond-shaped talismans, each about the size of a walnut. They were pure white, without intricate patterns, just a few simple carvings. They were clearly not ordinary material and looked extremely hard.
Sekkiseki.
This was a mineral unique to Soul Society that emitted waves capable of disrupting spiritual power. It was somewhat similar to Seastone from One Piece, though not as extreme as losing all power upon contact, it simply wasn't affected by spiritual energy.
The massive white wall surrounding Seireitei was built from Sekkiseki, creating a spherical protective barrier that shielded Seireitei from air to underground. Ordinary spirit-based souls couldn't enter to cause trouble.
The reason Iori commissioned these was simple.
An extra layer of insurance.
With the "art style" boost, his talent and upper limit were growing far too quickly. Soul Society wasn't short on geniuses, but this growth curve was just too abnormal.
Occasional breakthroughs after battle could be chalked up to talent. But if it happened too often, suspicion would arise, after all, this world didn't have Saiyan bloodlines.
These Sekkiseki talismans were coated, so they wouldn't directly contact Iori's body or disrupt the natural rhythm of his spiritual pressure. In other words, they wouldn't weaken him like Seastone.
However, they could still affect subtle fluctuations in surrounding spiritual pressure. This allowed Iori to adjust how much spiritual pressure he released by increasing or decreasing the number of talismans, making his growth appear "smooth and gradual" rather than like Ichigo's roller-coaster ride…
Once Iori mastered perfect spiritual pressure concealment, he wouldn't need these anymore.
'Wait! These things…'
As Iori touched the talismans, inspiration suddenly struck, he thought of a great way to increase his art-style value.
'Classic shonen weighted gear!'
From Dragon Ball to Naruto, countless battle manga used this contrast trick. It was old, sure, but when Rock Lee dropped the weights on his legs, it was impossible not to feel hyped.
The Sekkiseki talismans didn't actually add weight, but other people didn't know that.
They could still create a contrast in spiritual pressure. If Iori dropped the talismans mid-fight and then fully released his spiritual pressure,
Wouldn't that art-style value skyrocket?
Thinking of this excited Iori, but he quickly felt a twinge of sympathy.
People only see how flashy and arrogant the BOSS looks, but have no idea how much preparation goes into maintaining that cool factor.
Was Aizen's hair-gel hand really natural?
Did the Akatsuki not know how hard long coats are to wash?
Some time-type vampires look all Dio-like, but don't they still have to struggle to carry people downstairs?
Everyone works very hard in silence just to maintain their coolness.
"By the way, I ordered more than just this, didn't I?" Iori hadn't forgotten the main point.
"You mean that prosthetic technology known as 'gigai'?"
[🎉 Shoutout to Fanisa, Genesis00, Blacklight4321, Weiss, Kameko, BlueFernXO, Eduardo and Cirrpzzy for joining patreon. Thank you very much.🤗]
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.