Inside Sora's laboratory, the development of Shizuku Saitō's Reigai was being accelerated.
"Professor, Reigai Shizuku Number One is showing signs of hollowfication mutation." Aizen Sōsuke frowned as he saw the Reigai's hand deforming.
Clumps of white flesh grew on the Reigai's hand. These clumps merged, quickly making the entire palm a size larger.
"How are the other Reigai?"
"Reigai Number One, Two, Five, and Six have all developed hollowfication mutations."
"Reigai Three and Four, which are on a low-dose, high-frequency plan, have not shown any mutations for now."
"Good thing we prepared two plans just to be safe..." Sora breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for his foresight.
Previously, right after settling on Shizuku's treatment plan, Sora had chosen to create several extra Reigai for her as a precaution.
Now, these extra Reigai were proving useful.
Sora had divided the Reigai into multiple groups, using different methods to mature them.
The different methods yielded different results.
The accelerated maturation made the spiritual bodies of these Reigai extremely unstable, and most of them developed hollowfication mutations.
"Reigai Number Three's spiritual pressure is growing the fastest, having reached the standard of a tenth-rank spiritual pressure. Reigai Number Four's is currently only at a twentieth-rank," Aizen Sōsuke recorded the data displayed on the life-support tank.
"A tenth-rank spiritual pressure... it should be barely enough to support Shizuku's spiritual body, but it's unlikely her strength will recover to its state before her spiritual core was damaged," Aizen Sōsuke continued.
Before her spiritual core was damaged, Shizuku was a high-ranking seated officer with a sixth-rank spiritual pressure, possessing considerable strength.
Her strength had declined significantly only after the injury.
Reigai Number Three's spiritual pressure had reached a tenth-rank level. Although there was still a significant gap compared to Shizuku's original level, the Reigai's spiritual core was now capable of supporting the functions of her spiritual body.
However, it was foreseeable that after receiving Reigai Number Three's spiritual core, Shizuku's strength would certainly not recover to its former seated-officer level.
"Time is short. It's good enough if we can save her life," Sora said. "Besides, her strength had already dropped significantly after the injury. It will only be better after the replacement."
"So, Professor, have you decided to replace Shizuku's spiritual core with Reigai Number Three's now?" Aizen Sōsuke felt a bit regretful; his own ideas were actually more aggressive.
Aizen didn't really care about Shizuku's life or death. He was more interested in seeing what level Reigai Number Three could reach if pushed to its limit.
Through their years of experimentation, they had long confirmed one thing.
Even among Reigai from the same source, there were differences in constitution.
Shizuku's Reigai Number Three had a rather excellent constitution. Aizen even felt it had the potential to reach the level of Shizuku's original body.
"Shizuku's injury could flare up at any time. Waiting longer might make the situation worse," Sora said softly. "And if we continue to mature Number Three, it might also develop a hollowfication mutation. So it's better to replace her spiritual core as soon as possible."
"Then I will stop administering the medication to Reigai Number Three," Aizen Sōsuke nodded.
Although Aizen felt it was a pity, the laboratory's decisions were primarily the professor's. He wouldn't object to something the professor had decided.
Sora used his Hell Butterfly to notify Akane Saitō to get ready. The surgery to replace the spiritual core certainly couldn't be performed in the lab; he had no intention of exposing his laboratory.
But it couldn't be done at the 3rd Division barracks either. Creating Reigai violated the Central 46's prohibitions, and this matter couldn't be done openly.
Therefore, the location for the surgery was chosen to be the Saitō family home.
A short while later, Sora arrived at the Saitō residence with the surgical equipment and Reigai Number Three.
Rii Hoshino was already there looking after Shizuku, so Sora could be kept informed of Shizuku's spiritual body's condition at all times.
The surgery to replace a spiritual core was complex, and it would be inconvenient for Sora to do it alone. Having Rii here as an assistant would be helpful.
"How is the situation?" Sora asked.
"The strong anesthetic has taken effect. She fainted suddenly this morning but recovered quickly. I judge that the severe damage to her spiritual core is preventing her spiritual pressure from sustaining daily activities," Rii Hoshino said.
"Then let's start the surgery as soon as possible," Sora nodded.
He was very familiar with sudden fainting spells; Batsu'unsai Katori used to experience them frequently a few years ago.
Now that Sora was supplementing his spiritual pressure, it no longer happened.
Sora and Rii entered Shizuku's room and set up the surgical environment with their instruments.
Performing surgery on a spiritual body was not as troublesome as in the World of the Living.
Spiritual pressure could accomplish many things that ordinary humans couldn't.
Sora could even sense the location of the spiritual core without any instruments.
Sora picked up a scalpel. With a gentle stroke, the blade passed through the Reigai's skin and into its body, cutting through the skin and muscles.
However, he did not deal with the Reigai's spiritual core yet, instead turning his attention to Shizuku's situation.
The spiritual core is the center that houses a Shinigami's spiritual pressure, connected to the Saketsu and Hakusui.
The Saketsu and Hakusui are the vital points that generate spiritual power; they are both crucial parts of a Shinigami's spiritual body.
If the connection between the spiritual core, Saketsu, and Hakusui is severed, the spiritual body will die quickly.
On another operating table, Rii Hoshino had already cut through Shizuku's skin and muscles, preparing the surgical field for Sora.
"I'm ready over here," Rii reminded him.
Sora nodded. With a slight movement of the scalpel, he severed the connection between the spiritual core and the Saketsu and Hakusui.
He then used forceps to reach into the Reigai's body, removed the spiritual core, and placed it on a nearby tray.
The replacement of the spiritual core had to be completed in a short amount of time.
Sora quickly moved to Shizuku's side, instructing, "Bring me the Reigai's spiritual core. As soon as I cut the connections to Shizuku's spiritual core, you hand it over immediately."
"Understood." Rii Hoshino put down her scalpel and brought over the tray holding the spiritual core.
Seeing that Rii was ready, Sora brandished the scalpel and severed the connections between the spiritual core and the Saketsu and Hakusui.
Rii immediately handed over the spiritual core with a pair of forceps.
Sora's hands moved extremely fast. He immediately used Kaidō to connect the Reigai's spiritual core to Shizuku's Saketsu and Hakusui.
After completing the connection, he then removed the damaged spiritual core from Shizuku's body.
Sora used the forceps to adjust the position of the new spiritual core, returning it to its original place.
After all this was done, Sora continued to use Kaidō to stimulate the spiritual core, the Saketsu, and the Hakusui.
Rii Hoshino nervously watched her teacher's movements. She knew this was the most critical moment of the entire surgery.
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