Plans can't keep up with changes. Sora had originally intended to spend a year or two on the development of Shizuku Saitō's Reigai to replace her spiritual core.
This way, Sora could observe through Shizuku's case whether there were any side effects, preparing for Batsu'unsai Katori's future treatment.
As it turned out, Shizuku's accidental injury caused her spiritual core's damage to worsen.
In her current physical state, she probably couldn't even last a month.
"Is the situation that bad?!" Upon hearing this news, Akane Saitō felt as if all her strength had been drained.
She never expected that just by carrying out a mission to transport supplies to the Shinigami stationed in the World of the Living, Shizuku would encounter such an accident.
"Miss Shizuku's spiritual core is already on the verge of collapse. A month is an optimistic estimate." Sora sighed slightly, then changed the subject. "However... there is one other way right now..."
"Is there another way?" Akane Saitō pleaded, "Please, save Shizuku!"
"I can accelerate the development of Miss Shizuku's Reigai and replace her spiritual core as soon as possible. But doing so will greatly increase the risk, and I can't say for sure what the consequences will be," Sora said gravely.
By increasing the dosage of the spiritual body growth agent on the Reigai in development, its growth could be accelerated.
But this would cause the Reigai's spiritual body to rapidly accumulate hollow spiritual particles, and it could even lead to a hollowfication mutation.
If Shizuku were to receive such a spiritual core, it would be hard to guarantee she wouldn't be affected.
Sora naturally wanted Shizuku to accept the spiritual core replacement plan. Such a case would be more representative.
If even a spiritual core like this didn't have a major impact on Shizuku, it would prove the high safety of the procedure.
"No matter the consequences, I'm willing to bear them..."
Sora turned his head and saw that Shizuku Saitō had woken up.
"The worst case is death, isn't it..." Shizuku tried to push herself up from the bed but found she lacked the strength.
"You'd better lie down for now and minimize the consumption of your spiritual body," Sora stepped forward and gently pushed her back down.
"Even if I don't replace the spiritual core, I won't last much longer..." A hint of determination flashed in Shizuku's eyes. "It's better to cooperate with Katori-kun's treatment plan and fight for that sliver of hope."
...
A group of Shinigami searched the Dangai with instruments for detecting spiritual particles.
Kana Azashiro was leading the team to investigate the Dangai.
Since Shizuku had passed out shortly after returning, they didn't have her exact location information, so they needed to use instruments to detect the position of Shizuku's remaining spiritual pressure.
"Everyone, stay alert! The Hollow that attacked Shizuku might still be in the Dangai!" Kana surveyed her surroundings, carefully sensing the situation in the Dangai with her spiritual perception.
After a moment, there was a sound ahead.
"Hollows spotted!"
"Follow me!" Kana also sensed the fluctuation of the Hollows' spiritual pressure and quickly led her people forward to provide support.
Three Hollows were surrounding two Shinigami.
Just as a wolf-like Hollow lunged, a flash of light struck its head, instantly piercing its mask.
The other two Hollows were quickly killed by the surrounding Shinigami.
"These three Hollows are of average strength..." Kana sheathed her sword. She didn't think these three were the ones who destroyed the Dangai's spiritual particle barrier.
Unless these three Hollows had some special ability, their strength shouldn't be enough to destroy the Dangai's barrier.
"Have you found the spot where the Dangai's spiritual particle barrier was broken?" Kana asked the Shinigami holding the detection instrument.
"We found a damaged spot. The residual spiritual pressure on it matches one of the three Hollows from just now," the Shinigami reported.
"Could it be that this Hollow has a special ability to destroy barriers?" Kana frowned slightly.
Occasionally, exceptionally talented individuals appear among Hollows, possessing rather unique abilities.
Those three Hollows had already been dealt with, so no one could answer her question.
"Continue the search, in case we missed anything!" Kana didn't dare to be careless. The Dangai was a crucial passage between the Soul Society and the World of the Living, frequently used by Shinigami, and must be treated seriously.
The Shinigami continued their investigation.
After searching the entire Dangai passage, the Shinigami finally confirmed that there was only one abnormally damaged spot on the spiritual particle barrier.
However, the Dangai's barrier couldn't be repaired by ordinary Shinigami; this task had to be handed over to the Kidō Corps.
Kana took out her Hell Butterfly and reported the news to her vice-captain: "Vice-Captain Iba, the Hollows in the Dangai have been eliminated, and we've found the location of the anomaly in the spiritual particle barrier."
Chiyari Iba's voice came through the device: "Shizuku Saitō has woken up. She said there were three Hollows that attacked her. You didn't miss any, did you?"
Kana replied, "None were missed. We also found three Hollows and have eliminated all of them."
Chiyari Iba said, "That's good. You stand guard there and don't let any other Hollows invade through that breach in the barrier. I will contact the Kidō Corps and have them dispatch Shinigami to repair the Dangai's spiritual particle barrier."
"Yes!"
...
A day later, Sora received news that Kakyō's graduation assessment mission had been approved.
Sora had been extremely busy the past few days cultivating and adjusting Shizuku Saitō's Reigai.
However, he still took the time to learn about Kakyō's assessment mission.
Kakyō's volunteer choice on her application was the Kidō Corps, so her assessment was related to them.
Kakyō needed to follow the Shinigami of the Kidō Corps into the Dangai to repair the spiritual particle barrier.
Hachigen Ushōda, the former head of the Spiritual Arts Academy's Kidō department, had transferred to the Kidō Corps two years ago. He and Sora had a good relationship when he was at the Academy, so Sora asked him for information about this mission.
"The difficulty of this assessment mission should mainly be a test of your mastery and application of Kidō knowledge. The Shinigami from the Kidō Corps will assess you while they repair the spiritual particle barrier," Sora analyzed for Kakyō. "The focus will likely be on spiritual particle barriers and seals, which is actually a bit beyond the curriculum for Academy students. Go to Yoruichi's place today and look for related materials."
Kakyō's assessment involved the Dangai's spiritual particle barrier, which was not easy, so Sora advised her to be well-prepared.
"Thank you, Professor! I will definitely pass the assessment!" Kakyō was very grateful.
"Don't let your guard down in the Dangai either. A Shinigami was attacked by Hollows there just two days ago," Sora remembered Shizuku's recent accident in the Dangai and gave her a reminder.
Sora was not an examiner for the assessment mission, nor was he Kakyō's class instructor, so he couldn't accompany her this time.
"I will be careful!" Kakyō nodded repeatedly.
"Kana is also on a mission in the Dangai. If you run into trouble, go find her."
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