Faced with Shimo's proposal, Urahara's expression collapsed, but he had no way to refuse.
Especially not while being watched by several captain-class figures.
Urahara felt that if he refused Shimo's suggestion, things would probably end rather badly for him.
And so, he proposed heading to the Twelfth Division.
There, they would have enough equipment to manufacture the puppets.
However, since the Seireitei had just suffered heavy damage, people like Unohana needed to oversee their divisions and stabilize the situation.
Thus, Shimo accompanied Urahara to the Twelfth Division.
On the way—
"Shimo-kun."
Urahara suddenly spoke.
"About what I did… don't you have anything to say?"
His tone carried a rare heaviness.
Hearing this, Shimo smiled faintly, his expression unusually relaxed.
"Just as you noticed earlier, my reiatsu has changed greatly from before."
"And after the Battle of Karakura Town, I'm sure you understand that even better than I do."
He looked at Urahara, his gaze growing slightly serious.
"Existences that surpass both Shinigami and Hollow… there aren't many in this world, are there?"
Urahara lowered his chin and rubbed it thoughtfully.
"It's precisely because I'm strong enough," Shimo said calmly, "that I can act without fear."
During his battle with Aizen, he had gained a clearer understanding of his current level.
In the Soul Society as it stood now, if the Royal Guard did not appear, even Yamamoto would be unable to do anything to him.
There was already a clear gap between them.
Besides, against Yamamoto's style of attack, Shimo had more than ten ways to evade.
In the end, the one injured would not be Shimo—
but the Soul Society itself.
Yamamoto likely understood that better than anyone.
Of course, the future was still long. Shimo could not say for certain how things would unfold.
Urahara put his bucket hat back on, a smile returning to his face.
"I see."
"I understand."
To him, Shimo was not being arrogant.
He was simply stating the truth.
At the same time, Urahara understood the hidden meaning behind Shimo's words.
I am still who I was before. I won't change just because Aizen has been sealed.
That answer finally allowed Urahara to relax.
After all, right now, he had no effective way to restrain Shimo.
If something truly went wrong, they could only place their hopes on the Royal Guard.
---
Twelfth Division Barracks, Department of Research and Development.
"Oh my, oh my."
Urahara looked over the building before him, smiling happily.
"How unexpected."
"I never thought Mayuri would manage the Twelfth Division so properly."
Shimo glanced sideways at him, somewhat surprised.
"Kisuke… did you not notice that some of the squad members have been modified into human bombs?"
Human bombs—
Explosives implanted inside Shinigami bodies, controlled remotely.
In other words, their lives and deaths were entirely in Mayuri Kurotsuchi's hands.
Urahara, however, looked surprised instead.
"Shimo-kun, didn't you know?"
"Over ninety percent of those modified Shinigami are former residents of the Maggot's Nest."
While the two were speaking, a Shinigami in protective gear hurried over to them.
"C-Captain Shimo, Captain Ura—no, Mr. Urahara…"
The man had three small horns on his forehead, giving him a rather distinctive appearance.
"Oh?"
Urahara recognized him.
"So it's Akon."
"Where's Mayuri?"
"He isn't hiding, is he?"
Akon frowned, looking troubled.
"Well… that…"
Before he could finish, an extremely displeased voice came from inside the Research and Development Institute.
"Akon, let them in!"
Mayuri Kurotsuchi stood at the entrance of the barracks, his expression dark. He twisted his wrist as though still not entirely used to his own body.
"Hello there, Captain Kurotsuchi."
The moment Urahara saw Mayuri, he walked over with a bright smile.
Obviously, he knew perfectly well that Mayuri did not want to see him, so he deliberately acted this way to torment him.
Sure enough, Mayuri's face darkened even further as Urahara approached.
"If Shimo-kun weren't here…"
"I would absolutely turn you into one of my test subjects!"
Yet Urahara took another step forward and casually slung an arm around Mayuri's shoulder, smiling.
"With that body that hasn't fully recovered yet?"
"Kurotsuchi?"
Mayuri's pupils contracted, and his body instantly tensed.
"When did you notice?"
Urahara patted his shoulder twice.
"From the very first second you appeared, of course."
"You used at least three layers of disguise, but you overlooked someone's perception."
As he spoke, he tilted his chin, signaling Mayuri to look ahead.
Shimo was slowly walking toward them.
"The instant you appeared, something abnormal flashed in Shimo-kun's pupils."
"From that alone, one can infer quite a lot."
At this point, Mayuri stopped pretending. His reiatsu suddenly became noticeably weaker.
"Hmph. In other words…"
"I didn't lose to you."
Urahara's smile remained unchanged.
"You may think of it that way."
Mayuri's expression eased slightly, and he stopped dwelling on the subject.
"What are you doing at the Department of Research and Development?"
Urahara coughed lightly, straightened his expression, and said,
"We merely need to borrow the equipment here."
Mayuri instinctively wanted to refuse.
But when he saw Shimo standing nearby—
"Ahem. Come in."
Sometimes, with people like Mayuri, strength spoke louder than reason.
And inside the Department of Research and Development, Shimo gained a renewed understanding of Urahara's scientific ability.
In a certain sense, he too stood at the pinnacle of his field.
After completing ten puppets, Urahara's task was temporarily finished.
Shimo then left the Research and Development Institute alone, leaving the space to those two old rivals.
Next, he needed to go to the First Division barracks.
After all, he was still holding onto a troublesome hot potato that had yet to be handed over.
Shimo looked at the humanoid seal inside his small isolated space and shook his head.
Then he murmured softly:
"Aizen… are you ready to face Soul Society's judgment?"
-----------------------------------///
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