"Under the influence of the unknown power spilling out from the Gates of Hell, the Arrancar's Reishi absorption capacity has increased, its total Reiryoku has risen, its Reiatsu concentration has intensified, and its Reiatsu rank has gone up..." Mayuri Kurotsuchi examined the changes in the data. "This can absolutely be described as a complete transformation. It won't be long before he wakes from the Postcognition Drug."
Yasutora Sado looked worried. "Isn't that... dangerous?"
"Not life-threatening, but it would still be troublesome," Mayuri Kurotsuchi said, taking out a syringe and injecting it into Szayelaporro. "Hm. Not anymore."
Uryū Ishida asked curiously, "What was that?"
Mayuri Kurotsuchi casually tossed the empty syringe aside. "Superhuman Drug."
Uryū Ishida waited, but Mayuri Kurotsuchi showed no intention of explaining further.
"I'm not very smart, so I can't understand what the drug does from the name alone," Yasutora Sado said. "Is there a way to explain it so I can understand?"
"You're hopeless," Mayuri Kurotsuchi sighed. "Fine. I'll explain it simply, in a way even you can follow."
Uryū Ishida stared blankly.
Was Mayuri Kurotsuchi really that easy to handle?
Or was Yasutora Sado just that good at handling people?
"In battles between experts, people often say things like, [Your katana looks like it's standing still], don't they?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi explained at a leisurely pace. "That sensation of time stretching is not an illusion. It is the result of honing one's perception to the absolute limit. This drug raises a person's perception to a superhuman level, forcibly producing that same effect."
Uryū Ishida realized the implication. "Only perception?"
"That's right. Only perception. Compared with superhuman perception, a mortal body is completely incapable of reacting. It can only process the information it receives at its original, sluggish pace." The corners of Mayuri Kurotsuchi's mouth lifted. "He won't finish hearing what we're saying right now for another hundred years."
After thinking it through, Uryū Ishida finally understood how terrifying the drug really was.
Most of the time, human perception is dull. Because the body's reaction speed, or rather the brain's ability to process information, is limited, that dulled perception filters out unimportant details like a blurred background, allowing the body to react faster.
When an enemy's katana comes slashing down, an ordinary person's sluggish perception will focus only on the blade. All other information is buried beneath it. The body only needs to think about what to do against the attack, then react by dodging or blocking.
But with the Superhuman Drug, the body's abilities do not improve while perception rises drastically. An ordinary person would notice the material of the katana, the face of the wielder, the sound of the wind beside their ear, the distant scenery, the dust drifting through the air...
A brain that can process a hundred pieces of information in one second suddenly receives trillions of pieces of information in that same second.
In a single second of change in the outside world, the person receives enough information to occupy their brain for a hundred years.
By the time the body receives the command the brain has finally finished processing, a hundred years have already passed.
"Wait!" Uryū Ishida whipped his head around. "You didn't develop this to deal with Muten, did you?"
"Hmm... let me see..." Mayuri Kurotsuchi drew his Zanpakutō and made a cut across Szayelaporro's skirt. "So it was here."
"What exactly is going on between you and Muten... Y-you-you... what are you doing!" Uryū Ishida stopped halfway through, suddenly seeing something shocking. He covered his eyes in horror. "What are you doing!"
"Observing. Isn't it obvious?"
"What are you observing?!"
"A Hollow Hole." Mayuri Kurotsuchi pointed. "Look."
"This..." Uryū Ishida forced himself to glance. "A... piercing?"
"Oh, the World of the Living has those now too? But no." Mayuri Kurotsuchi corrected him. "This is... a Gikon."
Yasutora Sado thought of Ririn and Gon. "A Modified Soul?"
"A Modified Soul is a Modified Soul, and a Gikon is a Gikon. There is no difference in their ability to move dead objects, but their effects on Souls are completely different. The focus of a Modified Soul is modification, while the focus of a Gikon is serving as a temporary Soul. The difficulty of the former lies in targeted modification of the Soul. The difficulty of the latter lies in placing Reiatsu that has nothing to do with the Soul inside it, thereby raising its level of power." Mayuri Kurotsuchi turned to look at the Hōgyoku beneath the Gates of Hell. "The Hōgyoku acts as the medium. It is the Hōgyoku that turns Hollows into Arrancar, and it is also the Hōgyoku that opened the Gates of Hell. That is why Arrancar can use the Hōgyoku to form a connection with the power inside Hell, gaining strength far beyond their original capabilities. Of course, Aizen must have tampered with it in some other way as well... Right now, it is still in the stage of absorbing power. Once this Hell Core fully forms and stabilizes, it will begin releasing power."
"Indeed..." Pesche deliberately lowered his voice. "I can feel the power stirring inside me."
Dondochakka clutched his huge head. "Ah~~~ I hear the call of power, indeed."
"That is an illusion." Mayuri Kurotsuchi pointed at Szayelaporro. "The stronger the Arrancar, the stronger their absorption capacity. You two cannot compete with him at all, let alone the other Espada."
Yasutora Sado caught the key point. "The other Espada will become stronger too?"
"Not yet. The closer they are to the Gates of Hell, the faster the process becomes." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's fingers twitched. "Of course, if the Gates of Hell open any further, the process will speed up as well, ne."
"Ahem." Uryū Ishida pushed up his glasses, using the gesture to calm himself. "So our current mission is to close the Gates of Hell."
"Correct." Mayuri Kurotsuchi waved his hand. "Go."
"Just like that?" Uryū Ishida pointed toward the Gates of Hell.
"Yes. Go." Mayuri Kurotsuchi urged him on.
Uryū Ishida felt vaguely uneasy, but with a Shinigami beside him, he, a Quincy, certainly could not stop here. He lifted his foot and stepped onto the stairs.
After only two steps, Uryū Ishida heard footsteps behind him.
Yasutora Sado had followed, which made Uryū Ishida feel a little more at ease.
The two climbed the steps. As they drew closer, the glow around Uryū Ishida grew noticeably brighter. A clear repulsive force pressed against his body, making each step heavier than the last.
The instant he reached a certain threshold, Uryū Ishida's raised foot could no longer come down.
The glow around him had become so bright that the outline of his body could no longer be seen. He stood frozen on the stone steps like a little glowing person, practically a lightbulb.
The beads of sweat on Uryū Ishida's forehead evaporated in the glow the next moment. He clenched his teeth and stomped down hard.
In the next instant, the repulsive force reached an unprecedented peak. Uryū Ishida felt his body go light, and he was sent flying backward.
Yasutora Sado reacted swiftly, grabbing Uryū Ishida and slinging him over his shoulder before landing steadily at the foot of the steps.
Uryū Ishida let out a sigh of relief. This was the main reason he had felt reassured earlier.
Even if something happened, Yasutora Sado could carry him and run... Wait, why carry him?!
After the same thing had happened so many times, Uryū Ishida suddenly realized he had somehow gotten used to it. Worse, he had even started to expect it.
"Th-this..." Uryū Ishida scrambled down from Yasutora Sado and quickly pushed up his glasses. "What... what is going on?"
"Isn't it obvious? The power from Hell is closer to Hollows, so Arrancar can absorb it, but Shinigami cannot," Mayuri Kurotsuchi answered. "Quincy are rejected by it even more strongly."
"Then..." Pesche stepped forward. "Step aside, Quincy and Shinigami. In the end, this still calls for me. Allow me to close this sinful gate!"
Dondochakka followed him. "Now is our time to shine, indeed!"
"Powerful Arrancar can absorb it," Mayuri Kurotsuchi added. "Weak Hollows will be scattered outright."
Whoosh!
Pesche and Dondochakka blurred with speed as they rapidly moved away from the stone steps.
Armor appeared over both of Yasutora Sado's arms. "I'll go."
"You would only manage to take a few extra steps. The key is not getting close. It is closing the gate." Mayuri Kurotsuchi turned his head. "Nemu."
Nemu Kurotsuchi lifted the briefcase. "Calibration is complete."
"Based on the information you gathered, the relevant parameters have already been set." Mayuri Kurotsuchi took a spherical device from the briefcase. "This is a Reishi stabilizer. It temporarily stops the movement of any Reishi it comes into contact with."
"There's something like that... Wait!" Uryū Ishida looked bewildered. "The information we gathered? So you knew I couldn't get up there and still made me go. You weren't doing it just to mess with me?"
"How could I ever do something so vile?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi snorted. "I made you go up there so I could use the sensory bacteria inside your bodies to determine the Reishi data."
"Oh, so you were using us to..." Uryū Ishida's expression froze. "The what inside us?"
"Sensory bacteria, ne."
"Why do we have something like that inside us?!"
"Didn't you see them when I injected you just now, ne?"
"Who can see bacteria?!" Uryū Ishida felt around his body. "So that really was modification after all. Isn't that worse than messing with me?!"
"You can see bacteria just by modifying your eyes, but that will not be free, ne."
"Who wants that?!" Uryū Ishida pressed him. "What exactly did you inject into us?!"
Mayuri Kurotsuchi's golden eyes rolled around, and he remained silent for quite a while.
"Don't lie!" Uryū Ishida warned him. "Hurry up and tell me!"
"Don't interrupt me." Mayuri Kurotsuchi frowned. "I haven't finished counting yet, ne."
Uryū Ishida: "..."
"Now isn't the time to talk about that," Yasutora Sado said, pulling Uryū Ishida back. "We should deal with the Gates of Hell first."
Uryū Ishida turned and saw Yasutora Sado giving him a meaningful look.
Right. Uryū Ishida suddenly realized that even if Mayuri Kurotsuchi had done all sorts of things to them, they could always ask Kisuke Urahara to handle it later.
The urgent issue right now was the Gates of Hell.
With Uryū Ishida no longer pestering him, Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Nemu Kurotsuchi walked up the steps one after the other.
The pitch-black Hōgyoku extended twisted tentacles that bound the purple-black gate. Broken white bones clung to the cracks between the doors, while wisps of crimson aura seeped out and spread down the steps.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi climbed without obstruction. Beside him, Nemu Kurotsuchi opened the briefcase, and spherical devices floated around them, absorbing the eerie red mist.
It looked... as if two Shinigami were walking side by side, forcing back the power of Hell little by little.
"It truly is... a blasphemous sight, ne." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's golden eyes widened, unconcealed excitement on his face. "A Shinigami is walking toward Hell, and intends to shut the gates of Hell."
Nemu Kurotsuchi said nothing, silently adjusting the parameters to keep the Reishi stabilizers functioning.
"Ah..."
An indistinct sound rang out, drawing Mayuri Kurotsuchi's attention.
He turned to the left side of the Gates of Hell. Behind the enormous door, a blond-haired, violet-eyed boy poked his head out.
The freckles on his face and his noticeably protruding, sharp front teeth made him unmistakable. He was the Arrancar who had previously extinguished the Hell Flames around Muten Natsu, Wonderweiss.
The instant Mayuri Kurotsuchi looked at him, Nemu Kurotsuchi grabbed Mayuri Kurotsuchi by the collar and threw him backward.
Even with such a fast reaction, she was still one step too late.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi's body was cut in half at the waist. Green fluid sprayed from his abdomen, mixed with internal organs that had only just begun to reform.
Earlier, during his battle with Szayelaporro, Mayuri Kurotsuchi had liquefied his organs and tendons to counter Fornicarás's ability.
Although that technique had been improved, his liquefied body still needed a considerable amount of time to recover.
Precisely because he had not yet recovered, he had no way to withstand Wonderweiss's attack.
Seeing Wonderweiss charge toward Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Nemu Kurotsuchi reached out to grab him.
But in the next instant, her outstretched hand vanished from sight. Only crimson blood sprayed from the wound of her severed arm.
The Reishi stabilizers were caught in Wonderweiss's attack and exploded with a roar.
The blast hurled Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Nemu Kurotsuchi away, sending them crashing down below the steps.
Everything happened too quickly. The others had no time to react at all.
Pfft!
Uryū Ishida lowered his head, trembling, and saw Wonderweiss's hand piercing through his chest.
Armor appeared over Yasutora Sado's arm, and he threw a punch at Wonderweiss.
"Uh..." Wonderweiss pulled out his bloodstained arm and avoided Yasutora Sado's attack. He studied Yasutora Sado closely, as if trying to identify something, and let out a confused sound. "Ah..."
"Cero Sincrético!"
Pesche and Dondochakka unleashed their Cero together, and a massive beam of light roared past.
Wonderweiss appeared in another direction. His gaze toward Pesche and Dondochakka grew even more confused, as if he did not understand why they were attacking him.
"Wah..." Wonderweiss tilted his head, clearly seeming to hear something. His large, bewildered eyes blinked and blinked. Then he clenched his fists, leaped lightly into the air, and stomped heavily onto the floor.
Terrifying force pierced through the ground. Wonderweiss fell through the hole in the floor, passing through who knew how many layers before finally regaining his footing.
A yellow glow enveloped him.