Kyōraku Shunsui fell silent.
Then, he didn't speak again, only silently drank his sake, pondering something in his heart.
Gradually, the sun began to set in the west, its golden afterglow slowly fading, and the sky gradually darkened.
Kyōraku Shunsui glanced out the window, tied his sake flask to his waist, stood up, dusted himself off, and then bid farewell to the 1st Division.
Soon, a month passed quietly like a fleeting white colt.
80th District, South Rukongai.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni stood on a small hill, looking at the distorted air not far away, roughly understanding the situation of the place.
It was bad, but it was exactly what he wanted: remote, undisturbed, and even wild beasts were unwilling to approach.
Yoriichi took out a Hell Butterfly from his pocket and quickly contacted Kisuke Urahara.
"Are you ready, Kisuke?"
"Coordinates: 3186 · 279."
"Please stabilize the space here."
Kisuke Urahara's voice came from the Hell Butterfly, with a hint of surprise: "That far?"
"Captain-Commander, you're working too hard. In my opinion, the middle of the 80th District would be fine."
"Anyway, there's no one living behind it, so improving the environment there would be a pure waste of reishi."
"Just because no one lives there now doesn't mean no one will live there in the future," Yoriichi Tsugikuni retorted in a deep voice.
"The 80th District is the largest area in Rukongai, roughly one hundred times the size of Seireitei."
"If we start from the middle, the efficiency of utilizing the environment would be the greatest waste."
Kisuke Urahara was momentarily speechless. Although that was true, where would so many Rukongai residents come from to fill such a vast area?
However, this was, after all, the Captain-Commander's order, and he could only comply.
Anyway, the reishi in Hueco Mundo was almost infinite, so wasting some wouldn't matter.
Kisuke Urahara silently activated the machine, and according to the coordinates provided by Yoriichi Tsugikuni, he completely fixed the space there.
The originally distorted air seemed to be frozen in time, no longer swirling freely, becoming as calm as a mirror.
Yoriichi drew his Zanpakuto, and then, a small Hell Gate slowly opened.
Inside Hell, projections of several Hell Gates opened simultaneously, connecting to Hueco Mundo.
Boundless reishi, under the influence of pressure, surged into Soul Society like a raging tide.
Yoriichi stood in front of the gate; the strong reishi current formed a powerful gust of wind, making his hair and clothes flutter.
He slightly narrowed his eyes, gently swept his hands, and could clearly perceive that the surrounding reishi concentration was gradually increasing.
"That's enough."
Yoriichi nodded, seemingly talking to himself, but in fact, he was speaking to Kisuke Urahara on the Seireitei side.
"The transformation is gradual. If the opening is too large, leading to large Hollows breaking in, it would be a losing proposition."
"Except for Vasto Lorde, the Hollows that can pass through the Hell Gate are undoubtedly only as strong as ordinary Shinigami. At that time, just send a few Seat Officers to stand guard."
"How are things in other places?"
"Alright," Kisuke Urahara explained, the sound of typing on a keyboard faintly audible from his end.
"East 80th District, North 80th District, West 80th District—these three places have all opened Hell Gates, establishing passages to Hueco Mundo."
"However, there's a small problem, Yoriichi. What if someone traces the source of the reishi concentration increase and finds it there?"
Having been a Shinigami for so many years, Kisuke Urahara knew very well how strong a person's curiosity could be.
The improvement of the living environment would undoubtedly be a huge change.
Some strong individuals would certainly not overlook it.
Yoriichi nodded: "Indeed, what you said is certainly possible, but it doesn't matter."
"I will dispatch some Menos Grande to guard the Hueco Mundo side."
"Even if they find it, they can at most live near the Hell Gate, but they cannot enter Hueco Mundo through the Hell Gate."
"The appearance of these people can both bring new changes to the 80th District and allow us to select strong individuals in terms of character and strength."
"It can indirectly save time in selecting Shinigami."
"Any other questions, Kisuke?"
None...
Kisuke Urahara hadn't expected Yoriichi Tsugikuni to recruit soldiers in this manner.
It made sense, though.
Currently, most of the strong individuals in Seireitei came from Rukongai.
There was no more convenient way than this.
Perhaps, in the future, Yoriichi would even proactively disclose the information, because places with higher reishi concentration are more conducive to Shinigami training.
Those strong individuals would certainly not miss this opportunity.
Sighing, Kisuke Urahara stopped speaking. He turned to look at the machine, calculated for a moment, and then reported some information to Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
According to the values on the machine, it would take approximately five days for the reishi from Hueco Mundo to evenly spread throughout the entire 80th District.
After eight days, the 79th District would be covered.
The 78th District would also complete this process after ten days.
In other words, at this efficiency, even if they no longer intervened, it would take at most about a month to complete this arduous task.
Of course, this only referred to the time required to cover the 70th to 80th Districts.
If the scope were expanded to the First district to the 69th District, it would undoubtedly take longer. This was similar to opening a dam to release water.
The closer to the dam, the greater the impact of the water flow and the more turbulent the water.
But if it were tens of thousands of meters away from the dam, even if the water in the dam were infinite, the fiercest waterfall would eventually become a gentle stream.
Because the size of the gate is limited, and kinetic energy gradually decreases with increasing distance.
The same was true for the reishi in Hueco Mundo.
Upon hearing this, Yoriichi frowned. A transformation method measured in years? This was not his initial idea.
Although opening several more Hell Gates could accelerate the process, opening too many would also increase the probability of chaos.
Yoriichi was contemplating whether there were other solutions.
At this moment, Kyōraku Shunsui's languid voice leisurely drifted from the Hell Butterfly:
"Yoriichi, are you worried about the possibility of those Menos Grande engaging in self-serving behavior?"
"For example, due to hunger, quietly grabbing a few souls... If I remember correctly, among the entire Menos Grande group, only a few can be trusted."
"And precisely, those trustworthy Menos Grande hold important positions and cannot serve as guards... That's probably what you're thinking, right?"
Indeed, this was precisely the problem Yoriichi was worried about.
He knew that if this task were revealed to Hueco Mundo, Harribel or Nelliel would certainly dispatch a few Adjuchas to help.
The personalities of these Adjuchas were unknown before meeting them.
Whether they were trustworthy, whether they could be consistent in their actions... Yoriichi found it difficult to judge.
Just as Yoriichi thought that Kyōraku Shunsui, by saying these words, might offer an effective solution, he uncharacteristically stated that he had no solution.
Because Hueco Mundo was the territory of Hollows, even if they took an unconventional path and dispatched Shinigami to replace the Hollows' duties, it would undoubtedly be fraught with danger.
However, although he had no direct solution, he offered a suggestion.
"Why not further reduce the size of the Hell Gate?"
"If I remember correctly, the Hell Gates you summon are all projections, varying in size."
"Since they are projections, the situation becomes clear."
"Although the size of the Hell Gate will affect the efficiency of reishi infusion, quantitative change will lead to qualitative change, and stability is the most important thing."
Indeed, the influence of certain events had somewhat rigidified his thinking.
He could completely change a human-height Hell Gate into one only a few tens of centimeters in size.
Even if an Adjuchas wanted to eat people and tried their best to entice them, if people couldn't pass through, they would ultimately only be disappointed.
Yoriichi immediately took action.
Soon, the reishi concentration in the streets below the 69th District also began to gradually increase at a relatively slow rate.
And the 69th District was no longer uninhabited, so the subtle changes in the reishi backflow were also noticed by some people.
They saw Yoriichi; some civilians didn't recognize him, merely observing him cautiously with curious and respectful gazes.
But the Shinigami on duty there recognized him at a glance.
"Captain-Commander!"
They exclaimed in surprise, their voices filled with awe and disbelief.
They had never expected that the commotion here was caused by the Captain-Commander himself.
Although they didn't know what was happening, their breathing rate visibly quickened.
With the increased reishi concentration, breathing no longer felt as oppressive as before.
The feeling it gave them was as if they had suddenly moved from a mountaintop to a mountainside; that sense of exhilaration and ease filled them with pleasant surprise.
—How amazing!
Is this the latest technology from the Twelfth Division? Or is it the Captain-Commander's power?
Their hearts were filled with doubt and astonishment, and they felt somewhat excited, but due to their status, they did not approach.
Yoriichi glanced at them, saying nothing. After properly placing the Hell Gate, he turned and said:
"Which Division are you Shinigami from?"
"If there's no urgent matter, temporarily seal off this area. No one is to approach here until the order is revoked."
"Yes," the several Shinigami responded in unison, informing Yoriichi that they were from the Tenth Division.
Learning that they were Shiba Kaien's subordinates, Yoriichi nodded.
After completing the order, Yoriichi left. Those Shinigami watched his receding figure, filled with envy.
What astonishing speed! Their Hell Butterflies could not only communicate with comrades but also with Shinigami from other Divisions.
Just now, they heard that the Captain-Commander had appeared in the 73rd District.
Just a minute ago.
The efficiency was too fast.
Something that could make the Captain-Commander personally act must be an extremely important task, which could also be seen from the slow increase in reishi concentration.
They believed that it wouldn't be long before remote areas like the 69th District could also reach the reishi concentration of the First district.
This was undoubtedly great news, as many people's hometowns were here, and they couldn't wait to inform others of this news.
At first, it was fine, because there wasn't much news, and from the seventies to the sixties, there were no repetitions.
But as the news was compiled, they discovered a problem.
Why did the Captain-Commander's figure also appear in the 69th District of other streets?
Not just the 69th District, but also the 63rd, 55th, 51st...
The appearance of each piece of news meant a change in Yoriichi Tsugikuni's route.
In total, they were astonished to find that at the same time, four Captain-Commanders appeared simultaneously on streets of different names but the same number.
East, West, South, North—each of the four Rukongai had one.
This...
Had the Captain-Commander mastered Bunshin no Jutsu?
How amazing!
Not knowing the specific details, they could only make such an association.
...
"Yoriichi, can your body withstand such a consumption of spiritual pressure?"
At this moment, while some Shinigami were guessing why Yoriichi Tsugikuni would appear in four places at once, on the other side, Kisuke Urahara's voice slowly echoed in Yoriichi Tsugikuni's ear.
To ensure timeliness, Yoriichi had put on headphones.
Upon hearing his words, he slightly tilted his head, looking into the distance, and responded with a relaxed expression:
"It's fine, the consumption isn't too great. After all, you know my reishi level; first-class spiritual power can no longer measure me."
"According to Hikifune Kirio's previous judgment, my current reishi level has far surpassed hers."
"Since it's Squad Zero level, splitting my soul into four parts is no big deal."
"The reishi of my current body is probably equivalent to what it was sixty years ago."
The reason the Hell Gate wasn't used before was that certain aspects of the technology were not yet mature.
If it were used rashly and an accident occurred, causing the Hell Gate to expand and endanger the Rukongai, the trouble would be immense.
For this reason, Yoriichi split himself into four people to ensure balance in various regions.
Don't underestimate this balance; whether in the past or present, balance has always been the main principle for the stable operation of the Three Realms.
Kisuke Urahara heard the answer and sighed softly, his voice slightly helpless:
"Sixty years ago... if I'm not mistaken, you had just come down from Squad Zero then."
"With only a quarter of your original power, you can still reach that level?"
"Indeed, if it's truly as you say, then I have nothing to worry about."
Sixty-odd years ago, Yoriichi's strength barely surpassed the limits of a Shinigami.
Therefore, in Kisuke Urahara's view, his current self is probably on the same level as Yamamoto after Hollowfication.
He is considered one of the top powerhouses in the Soul Society.
Collecting his thoughts, Kisuke Urahara continued to communicate with Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
He stared at the machine, reporting in detail the progress and the actual situation of each district.
Because the reishi concentration in the Rukongai needs to be controlled, otherwise it would affect some Rukongai residents who are intolerant to reishi.
So Yoriichi placed a small Hell Gate every ten districts.
This approach helps reduce risk.
It's worth noting that the reishi concentration in Hueco Mundo is too dense even for Shinigami.
It's like turning on the air conditioning in a hot summer.
It's too hot outside, too cold inside. If the door is opened and sunlight shines directly in, some heat-intolerant organisms inside will all die.
Only by opening a crack, while the indoor temperature slightly rises, will it not endanger the lives of others.
This is also the reason Yoriichi chose to open the Hell Gate at the end of the 80th District.
Calculating some matters in his mind, as time passed minute by minute, it was twenty minutes later when Yoriichi Tsugikuni finished the modification work.
At this time, Kisuke Urahara had already left the Twelfth Division.
He appeared before Yoriichi with some machines.
Since the souls were equally divided, the time to complete the modification was almost the same.
Therefore, what met Kisuke Urahara's eyes were four identical Captain-Commanders.
Kisuke Urahara was not surprised.
He skillfully attached some patches to Yoriichi's body.
Soon, the separated souls seemed to be drawn by some force, quickly merging together.
In a short while, the four had merged into one.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni's mind simultaneously gained the memories of four people.
His reishi also returned to four times its previous level.
"Not bad."
Yoriichi Tsugikuni exhaled, feeling somewhat novel about this peculiar experience:
"It's clearly the same person, but the perspective became fourfold, and afterwards, they could perfectly merge..."
"It would be great if this technology could be used for cultivation."
"Four people cultivating at the same time, even if there's only a slight improvement, after merging, the cultivation speed would be four times the original."
"Even an ordinary Shinigami, at this speed, would probably quickly become a Seat Officer."
"A good idea," Kisuke Urahara replied helplessly, tidying up the machines while raising his eyes, "but unfortunately, it's difficult to achieve."
"Not everyone can have your reishi intensity."
"The inspiration for this technology comes from an anime in the Human World. Of course, I'm not referring to this Human World."
"Whether it's the Soul Society or the Human World, human bodies are composed of reishi and particles."
"However, that world presented a completely different explanation."
"The human body is composed of atoms, and atoms can be split. Therefore, as long as they are split evenly, another identical person can be obtained."
"Although the mass will decrease, the thought patterns will undoubtedly be exactly the same as the original person."
"It's amazing, isn't it? Atoms... I've never heard of them, but the evidence is undeniable."
"So I thought, since atoms can be split, why can't reishi be split?"
At this point, Kisuke Urahara suddenly noticed Yoriichi Tsugikuni's gaze on him.
He sighed, seemingly lamenting the Soul Society's backwardness,
"After some attempts, I succeeded, but it's limited to reishi of third-class spiritual power and above."
"Because only this intensity of reishi will not experience reishi dispersion during the splitting and merging process."
"The reason is the indivisibility of reishi, which is reishi."
Click.
Kisuke Urahara closed the machine, a hint of loneliness flashing in his eyes, and continued to state the facts,
"It's such a simple matter, so simple that there were ready-made examples in the past, yet I only discovered it now."
"Yoriichi, when you sent me there, this matter seemed of great significance to me."
"Including the current transformation of the Rukongai."
"If possible, I'd like to ask for a few years off."
Kisuke Urahara hesitated for a moment but still spoke.
"Time off?" Yoriichi frowned slightly, somewhat unaccustomed to Kisuke Urahara's change in mood.
If Mayuri were here, he would probably understand what was going on with Kisuke Urahara now.
The more one knows, the more one realizes how much one doesn't know.
He wanted to enrich himself.
Just as he was about to speak, Kisuke Urahara suddenly turned and walked towards the Seireitei, saying as he walked:
"Never mind, I'm sure Captain-Commander wouldn't agree. After all, the plan is at a critical stage. If I just left, Hiyori would definitely scold me to death."
"My conscience wouldn't allow it either..."
"Just pretend I didn't mention it."
He waved his hand, "Please adjust my leave to after the mission is completed."
"During this period, if any research-oriented talents emerge from the Spiritual Arts Academy, please send them to me for training."
"Mayuri Kurotsuchi has gone in, and I also need to plan for the future of the Twelfth Division."
His voice drifted further and further away.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni did not speak, but quietly watched Kisuke Urahara's receding back, silently committing these words to memory.
Yoriichi had no idea that so much had happened without his knowledge.
It even changed Kisuke's usual confident demeanor.
Science is indeed complex.
Moving the leave to after the mission is completed?
He wondered what surprises Kisuke would bring him by then, because the development of the Human World was changing year by year.
Let's wait and see.
Hope.
There will be good news.
...
Due to the significant increase in reishi concentration within the Rukongai,
After a week, almost all Shinigami in the Seireitei knew about it.
Their spirits were incredibly high, as their hometown was also benefiting.
The news spread from ten to a hundred, and then like a storm, it completely swept through the entire Rukongai.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni's name became thoroughly familiar to everyone.
From three-year-old children to three-hundred-year-old elders, there was no one who didn't know him.
Because as long as they lived in the Rukongai, as long as they breathed its air,
They were destined not to forget the immense contributions he made to the Rukongai.
For a time, his name was even more sacred than the Seireitei itself.
Although... Yoriichi didn't need these empty titles.
1st Division.
Chōjirō Sasakibe stood respectfully before Yoriichi Tsugikuni, reporting loudly:
"Good news, Captain-Commander, the number of applicants for the Spiritual Arts Academy this year has increased by 200% compared to previous years."
"Although everyone came for you, their aptitudes vary..."
"But even if the number of people rejected is 200% more than in previous years, it's still a very considerable figure."
200%... To be honest, the moment he saw this percentage, Chōjirō Sasakibe was somewhat excited.
Because this generation's Captain-Commander had achieved what the previous Captain-Commander had not.
Even if Yoriichi Tsugikuni stepped down now and the next Captain-Commander took office, as long as they weren't useless, the prosperity would undoubtedly continue.
Because the source of Shinigami had been resolved.
As for whether there would be an excess? That's impossible.
Take the Eleventh Division, for example; as the most dangerous division, even if 80% of graduates were assigned there each year, there would still be a shortfall.
Doubling the number would at most only keep pace with the shortfall.
This doesn't even account for the casualty rates of other divisions.
Chōjirō Sasakibe couldn't imagine how future Captain-Commanders could surpass the previous one.
They would probably live forever in the shadow of their predecessors.
The first generation established the system.
The second generation perfected the system.
The third generation... would lie flat.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni glanced at Chōjirō Sasakibe, and although he was surprised by the number, his face showed no excessive emotion.
He looked calm and nodded:
"Understood. Don't be overly excited, Chojiro. It will only increase in the future, so remember to adjust the difficulty appropriately."
"The Shinigami of today are different from before."
"If the number of people increases while the casualty rate also increases, then this reform will have no practical significance."
"Everything is to reduce the probability of souls being eaten by Hollows."
"Remember this point."
Only when the reishi concentration increases will souls have the strength to escape and the determination to become strong.
Otherwise, if they are constantly striving for sustenance, even the most talented individuals will be overlooked.
From these words, Chōjirō Sasakibe clearly felt the Captain-Commander's benevolence.
He looked serious, nodded again, and said in a clear voice:
"Yes, I will engrave Captain-Commander's words in my heart."
As he spoke, he remembered something, pulled out a document, and added,
"Oh, and Captain-Commander, I wonder if you remember the Shinigami Hisagi Shuuhei."
"As one of the outstanding graduates of that year, he joined the Eleventh Division immediately after graduation."
"And after you became Captain-Commander, he transferred to the 1st Division."
"He has currently raised his reishi to around the seventh level and has mastered Shikai."
"This is his application to serve as a Seat Officer."
"What do you think...?"