In the underground cavern beneath Sōkyoku Hill, countless objects resembling crystal balls were scattered all over the ground. The figures of Kōe and Urahara flickered constantly as they threw these crystal balls one by one at Yoruichi in the center.
These crystal balls were specially created by Urahara for Yoruichi's special training. Urahara simply called them "Kidō Balls."
These Kidō Balls each possessed different attributes, such as explosion, tearing, binding, paralysis, burning, and so on, encompassing the characteristics of all publicly known Kidō in the current Seireitei.
By infusing different amounts of Reiryoku, Kōe and Urahara could make the Kidō Balls reach the Reiryoku intensity of various levels of Kidō.
Paired with the perception-restricting device on Yoruichi's head, this setup simulated as closely as possible the conditions of a battle between equals, where one only had a brief instant to react to an enemy's Kidō assault.
The technique known as Shunkō merged Kidō and Hakuda to compensate for each other's weaknesses, pushing Hakuda's characteristic of deciding victory or defeat in an instant—where a single step determined life and death—to its absolute limit.
This required extremely fast reflexes from both the user of Shunkō and their opponent. This was especially true for Yoruichi, as she didn't have a Zanpakutō like Gagaku Kairō to assist her.
Yoruichi's expectation for Shunkō was for it to be balanced in both offense and defense. Offense wasn't an issue; by simplifying it to a Kidō with only explosive attributes, she could easily adjust it to the appropriate intensity at the exact moment of her attack.
The real crux of the problem was defense. Attacks from the front were blocked by her arms, while attacks from behind were taken by her back. Therefore, the Kidō developed for Shunkō would actually only cover her arms and back, allowing her to achieve omnidirectional defense with maximum efficiency.
To avoid meaningless Reiatsu consumption, Yoruichi hoped to reach a level of defense where she could neutralize an incoming attack at the exact moment of contact using a Kidō of equal Reiatsu. If she could achieve this, it would also be a massive boon to her offense.
Kōe understood that if she could truly meet her own expectations, she would be still as a mountain, but once she moved, it would be with the force of a tsunami and the might of a thunderbolt!
With a goal in mind, action had to follow. Yoruichi had shared her ideas for this training with Urahara, and Urahara had manifested those ideas one by one, resulting in the current game of blindfolded catch.
In the center of the field, Yoruichi was having the time of her life, while Kōe and Urahara chatted happily on the sidelines. Kōe had to admit that coming to Urahara this time was the right choice. The bizarre gadgets he invented really piqued his interest, significantly easing the frustration Kōe felt from hitting a bottleneck in his training.
For instance, the perception-restricting mask made Kōe think of Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu, prompting him to ask Urahara about the principles behind it.
According to Urahara's explanation, restricting general perception was actually quite easy. One only needed to restrict the Reiryoku within the target's body first, and then apply a seal to their physical body.
However, he couldn't do that to Yoruichi. Therefore, he could only use Reiryoku signals to temporarily paralyze specific parts of Yoruichi's brain to achieve the same effect.
The most crucial aspect, Reiryoku perception, was much more troublesome. All Shinigami, whether strong or weak, possessed Reiryoku perception, but it manifested in different ways. For some, it was their breathing rhythm; for others, it was a tactile sensation on their skin; and for some, it was entirely an internal feeling, like heart palpitations.
Of course, if the brain was completely paralyzed, the target wouldn't be able to process or respond even if they had Reiryoku perception. This could be considered a roundabout way of restricting Reiryoku perception.
But Yoruichi's training required her brain to maintain normal judgment, making such an approach unfeasible.
Still, Urahara was full of ideas. *If I can't restrict it, then I'll just interfere with it.* Beneath Yoruichi's feet lay a buried circular iron ring, which corresponded to a rope attached to Urahara.
As long as Urahara held the rope, the iron ring would release a Kidō barrier. Inside the barrier, Yoruichi would feel Urahara's Reiryoku coming from all directions. Until a Kidō Ball entered the barrier, Yoruichi wouldn't be able to detect its presence at all.
"However, this requires the target to be extremely cooperative. It's nearly impossible to do this silently and without them noticing," Urahara said, putting an end to Kōe's questions. After throwing the Kidō Ball in his hand, he continued, "There's something I'd like to hear your opinion on, Kōe."
"There's a question I wanted to ask you, Urahara." The two spoke at the exact same time. After sharing an awkward laugh, they both said in unison, "You go first!"
The two fell into another awkward silence. Ultimately, Kōe spoke first. After all, he just wanted to confirm whether Kurotsuchi Mayuri's words were correct, which wouldn't take long.
"Hypothetically, and I mean purely hypothetically!" Kōe said, unconsciously stopping in his tracks. "If someone had the ability to further decompose the most fundamental Reishi, could they construct a space within a single Reishi? Could they use spatial connection technology to enter and live inside it?"
"It's possible. The concept of a 'world in a grain of sand' operates on this principle. However, both of those technologies far exceed the Seireitei's current capabilities," Urahara replied without hesitation. Although he hadn't specifically researched it, having been to the Soul King Palace gave him a certain understanding of spatial dimensions.
"As long as it's possible," Kōe muttered. He started walking again and continued asking, "Then, could a shadow serve as a pathway connecting two spaces?"
"A shadow is merely a phenomenon, Kōe. Of course, you could design something that mimics the shifting of shadows, but that would be completely unnecessary. If the goal is to stay hidden, doing so would actually be counterproductive."
"Alright." Kōe felt troubled again. Both Mayuri and Urahara believed that hiding a space within a shadow was highly unlikely. But in his past life, he had read that the Wandenreich was hidden within the shadows of the Seireitei. Why was that? Perhaps "shadow" actually referred to the Reishi that was omnipresent throughout the Seireitei and even the entirety of Soul Society? Were the Quincies hiding in plain sight? But was their technology really that far ahead?
Kōe could only ponder these questions on his own. Fortunately, Mayuri hadn't been stringing him along this time and had actually found a viable direction for his research. Now, he just had to wait and see if the scientist could make any discoveries.
"I'm done asking. Tell me what's on your mind, Urahara."
Urahara had indeed sought Kōe out earlier to help Yoruichi, but that was only part of the reason. He genuinely had some matters he wanted to consult Kōe about.
"Kōe, do you think that if a Shinigami possessed a robust physique like a Hollow, it would allow them to advance a step further beyond the level of Bankai?"
Kōe was just about to answer when the name Yhwach flashed through his mind. As a Quincy, Yhwach's physical strength alone wasn't particularly overwhelming, yet his power far surpassed that of the vast majority of Shinigami.
"The physical body might not be the biggest limiting factor for a Shinigami. Don't Quincies fight against Hollows, and even us, with frail bodies?"
Urahara gave a dry laugh and shook his head. Kōe hadn't understood his point. By relying on external tools, Urahara had ten thousand ways to enhance a Shinigami's power. Thus, he pressed on, "Then what do you think is the difference between Hollows and us?"
*A difference in constitution.* That was the first thought that popped into Kōe's head. Perhaps a small minority of Shinigami—like himself, Yoruichi, and Kuruyashiki Kenpachi—had physical strength that exceeded ordinary Hollows and could even rival Menos.
But it was undeniable that the vast majority of Shinigami, including the captains, were no match for Hollows in terms of pure physical strength. Without Reiryoku, facing an ordinary Hollow would most likely be a death sentence.
However, at that moment, Kōe recalled the time he had charged right into a Gillian's mouth. So, he said something rather strange. "The inside of a Hollow's body is very warm. It makes you gradually sink into it, almost like the feeling of returning to your mother's womb."
"You still remember what it was like in your mother's womb?" Urahara asked instinctively.
"It's just a metaphor!" Kōe said in exasperation. "It's just that you slowly feel at ease, feeling as if you and it are one entity. It should be something like that..."
"Souls devoured by a Hollow do indeed fuse with it," Urahara muttered to himself. Before he had the chance to ask anything else, Yoruichi's voice rang out.
"Raise the intensity to the level of a number seventy Kidō!"
Hearing this, Kōe infused a Kidō Ball with Reiatsu comparable to a level seventy Kidō and hurled it at Yoruichi in the distance.
"Don't!"
*BOOM!!*
Urahara's voice had barely left his throat before it was drowned out by a massive explosion. And the epicenter of the blast was exactly where Yoruichi had been standing.
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