The old man's forgery was hidden underneath his courtyard. In order to drive children and possible intruders away, he hid it behind labyrinthine pathways. But Minato who had been working there for nearly a week now found his way easily.
It wasn't really huge and could probably only accommodate two two three people. He entered, spotting the old man cooling off a set of newly forged kunai and shuriken. This was his area of expertise, shurikens, kunai, steel ropes, claws, etc.
Apparently, the old man worked directly for a special branch of the Shinigami corps, or as he liked to formally call them, the Thirteen Court Guard Companies (Gotei 13). The 2nd Division, which directly employed the services of the old man seemed to be some sort of ninja esque group, at least according to Minato's guesses..
"Oh you're here already?" Spotting Minato leaning on the wall at the entrance, he wiped his face with a towel and then took a seat, gesturing him to do same. "A drink?" Minato shrugged as the oldan poured some alcohol into two small drinking cups and handed one over to him..
"Your face doesn't look like someone who's been enjoying life here, Minato. What's troubling you?" Silence reigned for a few moments until the old man broke it with a sharp chuckle. Minato smiled awkwardly scratching his hair.
The oldan raised a brow. "I've been seeing you training Minato. Maybe you need help?" Minato sighed. He needed data, facts, he couldn't just grow stronger by just relying on his own intuition. And right now, the only one he could look to for information was the old man.
"There's this warm current within my core. This energy, I'm trying to figure out to harness it and grow stronger.." He finally admitted, rubbing his forehead embarrassed. "Oh. You mean the Reiryoku within your core? You're smart. I had a feeling it'd come up sooner rather than later."
The old man scoffed.
"Reiryoku?" Minato questioned, raising his brow, as his face turned serious. "Exactly. Don't look at me like that. I have direct contacts within the Gotei 13 and my son is a student at Shino Academy. He'd been getting me to try to become a Shinigami myself for a while now..
It's only right that I know certain trivial things.." The old man smirked. "Let's start from the top shall we? Reishi. The building blocks of the spiritual. They are spirit particles that make up everything you see in the Soul Society. You should've sensed it by now.. Everything, everything is made out of reishi." The old man paused, allowing Minato to digest the information.
'Matter and Space are both constructed from this Reishi, no wonder I can feel it in literally everything..' Minato's eyes squinted. The old man raised a finger, continuing. "Now,.there's normally a bit of confusion here, but I'll explain it to the best of my ability.
Reiryoku is the reishi stored within the Hakusui of a Soul.
The Hakusui, which is the area within your core as you said earlier, generates and stores Reiryoku, which is released through your Saketsu, a valve, in your upper chest area as Reiatsu." The old man tapped Minato's upper chest with his finger. Minato's eyes squinted. This was invaluable information. Per his guesses, it had to be one of the secrets heavily guarded within the Gotei 13. This old man really was not ordinary..
"Recognising the Reiryoku within your Hakusui is easy, but connecting to the flow through your Saketsu takes talent and genius. This is one of the criteria to fulfil to become a Shinigami. To be able to control the outflow of your Reiatsu is clearly important, as it forms the foundation of combat for Shinigami.
The strength of a Shinigami is directly proportional to the Reiatsu they can emit and control. The difference in strength can be so substantial that lower level Shinigami can't even sense the Reiatsu of higher class Shinigami.. They-"
The old man paused for a moment, his eyes suddenly squinting as he examined Minato for a moment. 'Hehehe. No wonder he gave me that strange feeling when we met. I can't even sense his Reiatsu.' The old man's eyes shone for a moment.
"Anyway, that's what I know and have learnt from my son and from observing the Shinigami." Minato nodded, resting his hand on his abdomen. 'I see.. The Hakusui and Saketsu. Knowing the positions of these anatomical positions of the Soul reduces the difficulty of my task by 99%.. Now I just need time..'
Minato's brows furrowed and released multiple times until he finally raised his head, his blue irises shining brightly. The old man rolled his eyes. "I know that look. You've figured it out, haven't you? You might be even more talented than Arata" The old man gruntled in annoyance, yet the pride in his eyes was evident.
"Now that I've answered you, can we get back to work? If I don't finish these by next week, that cat would definitely gouge out my eyes.." He shuddered at the very thought, his mind wandering to the silhouette of a certain young dark skinned princess.
"One last thing. What exactly is the nature of this sword?" Minato asked, unsheathing his wakizashi. The old man's shoulders tensed for a moment there. Flashbacks of Minato ruthlessly killing those assassins made way into his mind. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath..
"I don't know what you mean, but Shinigami use swords as their main method of combat. I heard they're known as Zanpankutou, but I don't really have extensive knowledge on them.." He cleared his throat.
"Soul cutter? Not exactly how I would've named a sword, but meh.. I guess I'll find out later.." Minato shrugged sheathing the wakizashi unto his lower back. The sheath was a gift from the old man. His first since arriving in this world.
"Oh? And how exactly would you have named a weapon belonging to a Shinigami?" The old man asked, stretching his waist and continuing his work. Minato took off his jacket, revealing a sleeveless robe he wore underneath it and joined the man at the forge table.
"Probably something like... Shinigami-Spirit-Conduction-Slashing-Type Z.."
"What? Hahahaha!!!" The old man let out a boisterous laugh as Minato facepalmed. "Or even better.. Super-High-Speed-Spirit-Pressure-Reactive-Cutting-Tool!"
"Hahahaha!" The old man couldn't contain his laugh. "That's even worse!"
"What? You just don't know how to appreciate beautiful things, old fogey. I don't blame you.." Minato sounded hurt, which only served to pump the old man up as he laughed his heart out, to the point of even getting moved to tears....
*
*
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Seireitei – 12th Division Barracks
The halls of the 12th Division buzzed softly with the whirr of machines and the hiss of hydraulics, subtle, precise, sterile. Footsteps echoed faintly through the corridor as Kisuke Urahara, freshly appointed Captain of the division, yawned and scratched his head lazily. His back cracked as he stretched, and the bags under his eyes betrayed his severe lack of sleep.
He wasn't just tired. He was troubled.
The restructuring of the 12th Division, and more importantly, the Research and Development Institute, was nearly complete. A new foundation had been laid, one to support science, inquiry, and experimentation. For someone like Kisuke, evolution wasn't just natural, it was necessary.
But lately... something had felt off.
The Hollow activity in Rukongai had escalated. Souls were vanishing. Reports piled up. Patterns weren't forming.
Something was coming.
"Any more reports, Akon?" Kisuke muttered, turning to the tall, dark-skinned third-seat officer stationed in front of a glowing, rune-lined console.
Akon, expression neutral and posture rigid, didn't even glance away from the stream of data flooding the screen. "Yes, Captain. Fresh incidents reported in North Rukongai, Districts 63 and 64. Large-scale Hollow attacks. Multiple casualties."
He tapped a few keys, bringing up a map riddled with red flashes.
"We're currently tracking the Garganta coordinates through residual spiritual fluctuations. Additionally, District 50 has had multiple soul disappearances, no signs of Hollow involvement. Unclear cause. Vice-Captain Sarugaki is preparing the formal briefings."
Kisuke exhaled and rubbed his forehead.
'Too many variables. Too many unknowns. I hate this part… when the puzzle has pieces missing.'
His jaw clenched. Am I right? Is this the storm I feared…?
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden explosion of force, and a foot rocketed into his face, sending him flying across the lab with a strangled yell.
"GAHHH! Not the nose!..."
He crashed to the floor, groaning as blood trickled from his nostril. Standing above him, fists clenched and face twisted in annoyance, was none other than Hiyori Sarugaki.
She was small, sure. A kid at first glance. Blonde hair tied into pigtails. But everyone who really knew her understood that her size had nothing to do with her strength, or her temper.
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO DISAPPEAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY YOU BASTARD! I WAS LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU!" She barked, her hands on her hips.
Kisuke groaned from the floor. " It was unprovoked! That kick was unprovoked!"
She shoved a brown file into his chest. "Here's the official report, idiot."
"Ah, just in time. I was just asking about it." He took the file with a sniffle, eyes scanning it quickly. "Say, you haven't seen Mayuri around, have you?"
"Tch. Why would I know the whereabouts of that freak?!" she snapped, folding her arms and turning away with a huff.
"Such a hot-tempered little lass…" Kisuke muttered under his breath.
Her head whipped around. "Who are you calling 'little'? I'm a fully grown woman!!"
"Fine, fine," Kisuke said with a sheepish smile. "No need to cause a scene…" Hiyori growled. Akon didn't even blink.
Kisuke flipped through the report, the humor in his eyes slowly fading as his expression hardened. "Hiyori… I've got a mission for you."
Her brow twitched. "Huh?! Why me?! Why not that creep Mayuri?! I'm your Vice-Captain!"
"Exactly," Kisuke said, grinning like a fox. "Because you're my Vice-Captain, I can only trust you with this."
He gave her the most sincere, over-the-top smile he could muster.
"Hmmmmmm…" Hiyori glared, skeptical.
"Just a little recon. Nothing big. Quiet observation around the area where the disappearances began."
"You mean District 50, huh?" Kisuke smiled, folding the report. "You catch on quick, Hiyori. So, can I count on you?"
She groaned, scratching her head. "Fine! But you owe me, you hear me?!"
"Oh, I know," Kisuke chuckled. "Don't worry, I wouldn't dare send you out there alone. What if you get bored?"
He winked. "I'd never forgive myself if my Hiyori got lonely..."
WHAM!
Her punch struck his gut with pinpoint force, dropping him like a sack of bricks. He wheezed.
"Cut it out with that 'my Hiyori' crap, you creep! What if someone hears?!"
She turned with a satisfied grunt, stomping off down the hall. Kisuke, curled on the floor in pain, managed a weak chuckle.
"Always so... passionate."
Akon finally spoke, voice dry as bone. "Should I prep her tracking gear?"
Kisuke gave a thumbs up from the ground. "Yeah… and maybe a med kit... just in case I don't recover first."
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Enjoy. Guys we need interactions on the book. Tell me what you like about the book so far..