Aizen Sōsuke didn't ask about the reishi data. If his Professor didn't bring it up, he would pretend not to know, burying the doubt deep in his heart.
"You've worked hard, Sōsuke. I need to take the reishi detection device to the 12th Division now," Sora said as he put the device away.
"Professor, I've recently encountered a problem in my research."
Aizen Sōsuke walked over to a pot filled with soil.
"What problem?"
"Within the ancient Menos skeleton you brought back before, I discovered some fungus-type Hollows. I was curious about this form of spiritual life, so I tried to transplant them."
Sora approached the pot and saw some white mushrooms planted inside. The caps of these mushrooms had small, bone-like structures on them—these were the mushrooms' masks.
As Sora got closer, the white mushrooms pulled their feet out of the soil and retreated.
Sora asked, "They seem to be growing well. What problem did you encounter?"
Aizen Sōsuke explained, "I found these small fungus Hollows in the sediment accumulated in the crevices of the skeleton."
"But recently, many of them have withered and died, so I transplanted them into this soil."
"However, even after transplanting, they still don't live for long. It seems the soil of the Soul Society cannot provide the nutrients they need to survive."
"Professor, what is the difference between the sand of Hueco Mundo and the soil of the Soul Society?"
Aizen Sōsuke had never been to Hueco Mundo, and books offered little description of it, so he was very curious.
Sora said, "Hueco Mundo, like the Soul Society, is a place with a very high concentration of reishi. But its atmosphere and earth also contain the reishi of Hollows, which is from their decomposition after death."
"I see. So remnants of Hollow reishi exist in the atmosphere and earth of Hueco Mundo as well." Aizen Sōsuke nodded slowly, quickly understanding. "It seems these small fungus Hollows need to absorb Hollow reishi from the soil to survive. The small amount of Hollow reishi in the sediment from the ancient Menos skeleton has been completely absorbed by them, which is why so many have starved to death."
Sora asked, "Are these small fungus Hollows useful for anything? Are they worth the effort you're putting into cultivating them?"
Aizen Sōsuke replied, "The main ingredient for an improved growth catalyst for the Hollow Reigai I've been developing is extracted from these small fungus Hollows."
Their experiments on the Hollowfication of Shinigami Reigai had hit a bottleneck in recent years. The power of Hollows was too immense and aggressive, while the Shinigami Reigai they created were too weak to resist the corrosion of Hollowfication.
So they changed their research approach: the Shinigamification of Hollow Reigai.
First, they would create a Hollow Reigai, and then supply it with Shinigami spiritual pressure.
Shinigami spiritual pressure is more peaceful and less corrosive. Perhaps this method could produce a being that combines the powers of both Hollow and Shinigami.
By feeding and cutting the divisible Hollow captured in the Menos Forest, they had a continuous source of raw materials for creating Hollow Reigai.
"Another improved growth catalyst? Sōsuke, your research abilities are truly formidable."
"It is all thanks to your guidance, Professor."
"When I return from the 12th Division, I should be making a trip to Hueco Mundo. You can come with me then. Once we're there, you can collect any kind of soil you want," Sora said after a moment of thought.
"Then I will prepare the collection tools." Aizen Sōsuke nodded lightly. He had never been to Hueco Mundo and was eager to see it for himself.
Sora left the laboratory with the reishi detection device and went to the 12th Division.
He directly contacted Kisuke Urahara with his Denreishinki: "Urahara, are you in the barracks? The optimization of the reishi detection device is complete."
Kisuke Urahara's voice quickly came through the device: "Well now, if it isn't Katori-kun. Come to the captain's lab first. I'll wait for you at the entrance."
Sora headed to Kirio Hikifune's laboratory and met Kisuke Urahara at the entrance.
Urahara's face was covered in stubble, and he had heavy dark circles under his eyes.
"You're pretty fast, too. But I've also made some optimizations on my end. After all, Captain Kyōraku and Captain Ukitake are pressing hard!" Urahara yawned and continued, "What kind of optimizations did you make?"
Due to the Hell Gate incident in the Rukongai, other divisions had also deployed personnel to screen for Reigai, which had eased Urahara's workload a bit. He hadn't been idle these past few days and had also upgraded the reishi detector.
Sora said, "I mainly optimized the collection module. It can now directly analyze the residual reishi in the atmosphere and compare it with the data in the database."
Urahara's eyes lit up. "It seems our upgrades don't conflict. I improved the speed of data comparison. The collection module was exactly what I planned to upgrade next."
Urahara tested the device Sora brought and praised, "Katori-kun, your technical skill is very high. You upgraded this function so quickly."
Urahara patted Sora's shoulder and smiled, "We really have some chemistry, huh? Our optimized functions don't conflict and are fully compatible. Now we can lock down the Reigai's activity range, and the data comparison efficiency has greatly improved."
"Then you might be disappointed. The one who has chemistry with you is my disciple, Aizen Sōsuke," Sora said with a smile. "Actually, I didn't upgrade this function. I've been busy lately, so I left this matter to my disciple."
"Your disciple?" Urahara was a bit surprised. "You rascal, even your disciple has this level of technical skill? And aren't you a swordsmanship instructor?"
"Actually, I teach everything now," Sora shrugged.
"This disciple of yours, Aizen Sōsuke... I don't think I've heard his name before. He's not from the 12th Division, is he? To think such a technical talent exists outside the 12th Division," Urahara stroked his chin, trying to search his memory for information about Aizen Sōsuke, only to find he had never heard of the person.
"Sōsuke hasn't even attended the Spiritual Arts Academy yet. He's a disciple I took in from the Rukongai. He's very talented and will be enrolling this year," Sora explained with a smile.
"He's not even a Shinigami yet... That is truly talented. A technical talent like him must come to the 12th Division in the future!" Urahara memorized the name Aizen Sōsuke, deciding to pull him into the 12th Division as soon as he graduated.
According to information revealed by Captain Hikifune, she would be stepping down from her position as Captain of the 12th Division in the next two years.
Urahara was very interested in the position and even had ideas of transforming the 12th Division into a technology-focused squad.
However, he had not yet achieved Bankai, and his strength was not yet sufficient to serve as a captain. He still needed more time to develop.
And what he didn't know was that Katori Sora, standing beside him at this moment, was also aiming for the position of Captain of the 12th Division.
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