Sora arrived at the 2nd Division barracks.
He was here today to pick up two people.
A 2nd Division Shinigami was waiting for him at the main gate.
"Captain Katori, this way, please. The Lieutenant is waiting for you in front of the 'Maggot's Nest'," the Shinigami said enthusiastically.
Sora had visited the 2nd Division many times and had worked with the Onmitsukidō on several occasions, so the Shinigami there were very familiar with him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Please lead the way," Sora said gently.
The 'Maggot's Nest' was the 2nd Division's prison.
The prisoners held here were all captured by the Onmitsukidō.
The prison was in a rather remote location, separated from the 2nd Division barracks by a forest.
The two walked along a forest path and soon saw a calm river.
There was a suspension bridge by the river. Crossing it would lead to the entrance of the 'Maggot's Nest'.
"Professor, over here~"
Yoruichi waved from the front of the bridge.
She had been notified in advance and had been waiting here for some time.
"Are these two really that important? For you to come here personally, Professor? If you wanted them, I could have just sent them over to the 12th Division!"
Yoruichi knew why her professor was here, but she was curious about how highly he regarded them, to come all the way to the 'Maggot's Nest' to get them out himself.
"They are both rare geniuses. People like that tend to have some pride. If you want them to work for you, you need to have a good attitude," Sora said with a smile.
Sora wanted to transform the 12th Division into a technology-focused squad, but it currently lacked a proper training system for researchers. Many were self-taught amateurs, and he urgently needed to bring in skilled personnel.
A system needed to be established to continuously cultivate researchers.
This was not something that could be done overnight. It required outstanding researchers to take the lead and build the framework.
That's why Sora wanted to get Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Akon out of the 'Maggot's Nest'.
"Are they that skilled? ...But that Mayuri guy is a bit crafty. The Onmitsukidō had a hard time capturing him," Yoruichi recalled from the report she had read. "That guy was very good at hiding. If the Onmitsukidō weren't also experts at that, he might have actually escaped."
When her professor told her he wanted to take these two, she had gone to check their capture reports.
Capturing Akon had been fine. The incident happened suddenly, and he couldn't put up an effective resistance. The process was relatively easy for the Onmitsukidō.
But when they went after Mayuri, they met with fierce resistance.
Mayuri was skilled at hiding and also used poison, causing the Shinigami who pursued him a lot of trouble.
The two crossed the suspension bridge and arrived at an iron gate, guarded by two Onmitsukidō members.
Seeing Yoruichi and Sora, they immediately opened the gate.
Inside was a passage leading underground.
After passing through the underground tunnel, they arrived in a spacious cavern.
There were many people in white clothes in the cavern.
When Sora and Yoruichi entered, these people looked them over with malicious gazes.
However, when they saw the captain's haori on Sora and recognized Yoruichi, the ferocity in their eyes immediately softened.
"These people are considered low-risk, so they aren't held in solitary confinement," Yoruichi explained to Sora. "They were all Shinigami before, and most of them committed errors for various reasons, wanting to escape their duties."
Once a soul becomes a Shinigami, there is no turning back.
Unless there are special reasons to retire early.
Otherwise, a Shinigami cannot voluntarily leave the Gotei 13.
Many of these people in white had tried to run away to the Rukongai or the human world to escape their duties, often out of fear of fighting Hollows, and were captured by the Onmitsukidō.
"They're intimidated by your presence," Sora said with a light laugh.
"Hehe, my first mission after joining the 2nd Division was to personally beat up the troublemakers here," Yoruichi clenched her fist. "These guys were beaten into submission by me a long time ago!"
As the two walked forward, the people in white all backed away, clearing a path.
Past the main cavern was another staircase.
At the end of the staircase was a cell block with individual rooms.
"The ones locked up here are more dangerous and need to be kept in solitary," Yoruichi explained.
The cells separated all the prisoners, preventing them from having any contact with each other.
"The person you're looking for, Professor, is over here."
Yoruichi led Sora to a cell at the end of the right-hand corridor.
Inside the cell, a blue-haired man sat on a stone bed.
Hearing footsteps, the man looked up and calmly stared at the two people outside the iron bars.
Sora looked at him as well.
This was Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Mayuri has had many appearances, and his current one gave off a strong 'mad scientist' vibe.
He had a black marking across his face like a blindfold, metallic cone-like ornaments on his ears, and his skin was pale and bloodless.
Yoruichi waved at the guard, who immediately unlocked the cell door.
"A captain with an unfamiliar face gracing the 'Maggot's Nest' with his presence..." Mayuri's tone was unhurried, as if he was completely unconcerned about his situation. "Is it finally time for my judgment?"
During the Quincy extermination in the human world, Mayuri had secretly gone there to collect Quincy corpses, wanting to bring them back to the Soul Society for research.
But he ran into the Onmitsukidō, who were cleaning up the battlefield, and was thrown into the 'Maggot's Nest'.
Mayuri had been locked up here for many years, and no one of captain rank had ever come to see him before.
Now that a captain had suddenly appeared, he subconsciously thought his other secrets had been discovered.
"Heh, it seems they found that laboratory... when it rains, it pours..."
Mayuri thought to himself.
He was a natural-born researcher. Once he became curious about something unknown, he had a strong desire to study it.
This habit easily led him to break certain taboos.
That's why he had several secret bases in the Rukongai, just in case of an accident.
"This isn't a judgment. I am Katori Sora, the Captain of the 12th Division," Sora said with a light laugh. "I've heard about your work. Your talents shouldn't be wasted in this sunless place."
"You mean you're letting me out?" The corners of Mayuri's mouth turned up slightly. "You want me to work for you, I suppose. Unfortunately, I'm quite satisfied with the environment here."
Mayuri understood. These two weren't here because his lab was found, but because they valued his talent.
"Is that so... what a shame..." Sora looked regretful. "I plan to transform the 12th Division into a Technology Development Bureau. If you were to come, you could fully display your talents."
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