Yoruichi led Sora into her family's secret vault.
"This place is designed like an underground labyrinth," Sora remarked.
The winding paths here could easily get one lost.
"Before Head Captain Yamamoto established the Gotei 13, the Shihōin clan was already known as the 'Tenzen Heisō Guard'. Everyone knows we possess many divine weapons, which often attract petty thieves,"
Yoruichi explained the situation. "This vault itself is a Tenzen Heisō. We call it the 'Labyrinth Treasury'. Its paths change based on the time of entry and the number of people. To force a way through, even a captain-level Shinigami like myself would need several days."
"It can trap even a captain-level Shinigami for a few days... that's quite impressive," Sora praised.
Trapping a captain for several days was enough to handle most unexpected situations.
Moreover, this was just one of the security measures. The Onmitsukidō's training ground was right above this vault. If anything happened, they could arrive in an instant.
"I think we've walked this path before. You don't happen to be lost, do you?"
Sora looked at the familiar path with hesitation.
"...Is that so... I think I took a wrong turn..." Yoruichi scratched her head. "I don't come this way very often!"
The labyrinth had multiple paths leading to different treasure rooms.
They were now heading to the room where the Soul King fragment was stored. Yoruichi rarely came here; the former head of the family had only brought her once, so she wasn't very familiar with it.
"Wait, let me think about which way to go... I don't really remember..."
Yoruichi stroked her chin, trying hard to recall the correct path.
"I can see the defense measures are indeed very tight. Even you, the head of the family, have trouble finding the right way."
Sora couldn't help but laugh.
"I can't help it! I'm not interested in the things in that room, so I only came once to learn the way!"
Yoruichi said helplessly.
"It should be this way... I think?"
Yoruichi chose the left path out of three, though her tone didn't sound very certain.
Fortunately, Yoruichi knew how to avoid the traps in the labyrinth; otherwise, finding the way would have been even more troublesome.
The two walked along the left passage for a while and, sure enough, came to a new fork in the road.
"This is it! I remember this place. I know the way now!"
A short while later, the two arrived in front of a door made of Sarcophagus Stone.
Sora had seen many such doors in the labyrinth.
They all looked identical from the outside, and it was impossible to sense what was inside.
Some doors opened to traps, while others opened to a room containing treasures.
Yoruichi opened the Sarcophagus Stone door. Inside was a spacious room, no smaller than a basketball court.
After following her in, Sora saw the state of the room.
Dense Kidō formula runes filled the walls.
"Are these all sealing formulas?"
Sora recognized the function of some of the formulas, but there were too many of them for him to take in all at once.
"They're all sealing formulas," Yoruichi nodded.
Sora looked towards the center of the room. There was a stone table there, and all the sealing formulas were directed towards it.
On the table was the only item in the room—
A rectangular black box.
Sora looked closely and saw that the black color was not the box's own, but rather the dense Kidō formulas covering it, making it appear black.
"The thing you want, Professor, is in this box. I'll undo the seal first. If you touch it without undoing the seal, you'll be attacked by it."
After saying that, Yoruichi immediately performed the Kidō to undo the seal.
This Kidō was only passed down between the head of the Shihōin clan and their heir.
A golden light shot from Yoruichi's fingertip and into the black box.
The next moment, the Kidō runes on the walls seemed to come alive, floating off the walls and converging on the box.
A moment later, all the runes on the walls had disappeared.
The black box in the center of the room had turned white. In the center of the box was a black dot where all the runes had gathered.
"It's open."
Yoruichi walked forward and opened the box.
Inside was the leg of a humanoid creature.
"This is the Soul King's right leg..."
Sora's eyes narrowed.
The Soul King fragment collected by the Shihōin clan was half a leg.
This fragment was well-preserved, complete from the calf down to the foot.
Unlike the Tsunayashiro clan, the Shihōin clan had not used the fragment for research.
The Shihōin ancestors had simply collected it after obtaining it.
Yoruichi giving the fragment to Sora for research now was, in a way, a decision that went against her ancestors.
"It's very well-preserved. With this, we will have a higher resistance to risks," Sora nodded gently.
"I'm glad I could help you, Professor!" Yoruichi handed the box over.
Sora reached out and touched the right leg inside the box.
The next moment, a stir occurred within his shadow.
Several black tendrils emerged from his shadow, extended into the box, and wrapped around the leg's shadow.
After a few breaths, the black tendrils receded, and the abnormality in the shadow vanished. The tendrils seemed to have been just an illusion.
The Soul King's right leg in the box still had a shadow, but something within that shadow had been absorbed by him, turning it into an ordinary shadow cast by a light source.
"My shadow ability has improved a lot..."
Sora thought to himself.
However, he wasn't sure exactly how much it had improved and would need to test it when he got back.
"What was that?"
Yoruichi looked surprised.
"I just reclaimed a part of the shadow. The Soul King's shadow contains divine power. When these fragments were separated, their 'shadows' were also separated,"
Sora had already mentioned the Soul King's shadow to Yoruichi before, so he was not secretive about reclaiming it.
"Is that so? Then the part possessing Captain Ukitake also has a 'shadow'..."
Yoruichi stroked her chin, looking thoughtful.
"Given Captain Ukitake's physical condition, summoning the Soul King's right arm within him would also cause him serious harm," Sora shook his head gently.
Jūshirō Ukitake was a kind and friendly person, a well-known good guy. Sora had a good relationship with him, so he had no intention of actively targeting him.
"Reigai technology... could also cure Captain Ukitake's lung disease."
Sora suddenly remembered. Now that the ban on Reigai technology was lifted, they could totally cultivate a Reigai of Ukitake and replace his lungs.
Ukitake had a congenital lung disease and had almost died from it years ago.
The Soul King's right arm, Mimihagi, had possessed him and taken over the function of his lungs, allowing him to survive.
However, Mimihagi had been possessing him for many years. It was hard to predict what would happen if it were removed now.
After getting the Soul King's right leg, Sora said goodbye to Yoruichi and returned to the training ground of the Sarcophagus Stone Mine laboratory.
He planned to test the changes in his abilities.
After absorbing the 'Soul King's Shadow' from the right leg, his shadow ability had improved significantly.
With a thought, the Zanpakutō at his waist melted like ink and merged into the ground.
He now had a deep mastery of his Bankai and could release it even without speaking its name.
With another thought, five humanoid black figures emerged from the shadow on the ground.
He could now create five shadow clones with sixty percent of his own power!
Before absorbing the shadow, he could create three such clones, and these clones could transform into the shadows of other Shinigami and use their Zanpakutō's abilities.
This ability was very practical. Different combinations of abilities allowed Sora to handle various situations with ease.
During his battle with Baraggan, Sora had used the fact that his shadows were immune to 'Respira' to defeat him.
Now that he could release five such clones, his shadow ability had been greatly enhanced again.
"It seems there's more..."
With a thought from Sora, one of the shadow clones raised its left hand.
The surrounding reishi gathered towards its hand, and a spirit bow quickly formed.
His shadow clones could use Quincy power!
"My shadow clones can even use Quincy power..."
Sora raised an eyebrow.
But on second thought, it was understandable that the Soul King's Shadow could use Quincy power.
After all, Quincy power was just another manifestation of the Soul King's power.
The Soul King's power simultaneously possessed the characteristics of Quincy, Hollow, and Shinigami.
"Now I have mastered Quincy power... but there's no one who can teach me some of the Quincy techniques."
Sora wondered if he should take a trip to the human world to find the Quincy who were in hiding.
The Quincy heritage had many good things. The Ransōtengai and Sanrei Glove he had seen years ago were very powerful.
In addition, there were various other spiritual tools and techniques. He would need to find a pure-blooded Quincy to learn how to make these tools and use these abilities.
"But after the last extermination campaign, there has been very little news about Quincy."
This was not something to be rushed. The remaining Quincy forces in the human world had gone into hiding, and it would not be easy to find them.
As for the Wandenreich, its location was too deep. Apart from himself, no other Shinigami could go there.
He could use his shadow ability to move others around, but that was only between shadows on the surface. He couldn't bring others into the Wandenreich, which was hidden deep within the shadow space.
Until he was confident he could defeat Jugram Haschwalth, Sora did not want to explore the Wandenreich alone.
Haschwalth was the Sternritter Grandmaster of the Wandenreich, his strength second only to Yhwach. Some of the newly appointed captains were no match for him.
...
Several days later.
Katori Dōjō.
Sora and Batsu'unsai sat under the eaves drinking tea, occasionally giving pointers to Sōya Azashiro and Kaname Tōsen, who were training in the courtyard.
"Sōya should be able to graduate early this year as well."
Batsu'unsai said with some emotion.
Sōya's personality was immature, and he was usually quite playful. The early graduation of Isshin Shiba and the others had been a bit of a blow to him, but it had made him calm down and train seriously for a while.
"That kid... I actually don't want him to graduate early."
Sora chuckled. "With his personality, once he graduates early, he'll probably let himself go again!"
He could see that Sōya lacked tempering. At heart, he was still a boy who loved to play and disliked training.
His current efforts were only because all his peers from the same class had graduated, and he felt ashamed to be the only one left.
However, this kind of youthful mentality was hard to maintain. Sora felt that he probably wouldn't be able to keep it up after graduation.
"There's nothing to be done. Sōya is just like that. Either you give him time to grow up, or he needs to experience a setback that most people can't handle to possibly change."
Batsu'unsai shook her head gently. When she was in charge of the 8th Division, she had seen young Shinigami like this before. But not everyone could grow from setbacks; some would be crushed by them.
"This disciple you took in last year is quite calm and trains very hard."
Batsu'unsai continued.
"Kaname Tōsen is indeed very hardworking. His experiences have made him cherish this opportunity."
Sora nodded.
As someone born blind, the hardships Tōsen had endured in the Rukongai were incomparable to those of Sōya, who grew up in the noble district.
This made him cherish the opportunity to train at the dōjō immensely, and he practiced diligently every day.
In the courtyard—
Sōya slightly lowered his body and suddenly drew his sword.
A flash of light, and a notch appeared on the alloy training post.
"Almost half a foot deep!" Sōya checked the depth of the notch and immediately jumped up. "Professor, how was my Ryūkō!"
"Not bad. To be able to cut half a foot deep, the power is indeed considerable."
Sora nodded slightly.
Pleased with his professor's praise, Sōya placed his hand on the notch.
After infusing spiritual pressure, the notch slowly disappeared.
This alloy post was a spiritual tool that could be repaired with reishi, and it was very expensive.
After becoming a captain, Sora had promoted the 'Nōreitan' pills that could restore spiritual pressure to the Shinigami.
With the guarantee of a captain, the pills quickly became popular.
With the pills selling well, Sora was now much wealthier. The equipment in the dōjō had also been upgraded. The wooden training posts were replaced with expensive spiritual tools.
"Tōsen, in tomorrow's final, the champion will definitely be me!"
Sōya stared at Tōsen, full of confidence.
The academy's Shinken Taiketsu was currently being held, and both he and Tōsen had made it to the finals.
Tomorrow was the day they would decide the winner.
"Mm."
Tōsen didn't say much. After finishing his practice with the sailfish wooden sword, he immediately went back inside and sat down cross-legged.
He lit an incense burner, placed his Asauchi on his lap, and quickly entered a state of Blade Meditation.
Tōsen was practicing Blade Meditation.
His spiritual pressure was not as strong as Sōya's. Mastering the power of his Zanpakutō was his only chance of winning.
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