Your support on Patreon keeps me inspired and driven to keep writing! 🥰
By joining, you'll unlock access to 50+ advanced chapters and help fuel the journey.
Join here ➤ https://patreon.com/HACKDWORLD
Underneath Sōkyoku Hill lies a vast underground space.
This was not naturally formed.
It had been secretly developed by Shihōin Yoruichi and Urahara Kisuke.
At present, the area was not very large—roughly the size of a small training ground—because the two had only recently begun expanding it.
The reason they chose this location was simple.
Yoruichi wanted to realize the concept proposed by Kenpachi Zaraki: a technique combining Kidō and Hakuda.
Kidō is fundamentally an offensive tool, especially Hadō, which strikes directly and destructively. To envelop one's own body in explosive Hadō during close combat is extremely dangerous.
If not precisely controlled, it detonates on contact.
Even though Urahara Kisuke had exceptional control over Kidō, every time his Kidō landed on Yoruichi's body, a violent explosion erupted.
Though Kisuke's careful control prevented serious injury, Yoruichi would invariably be covered in soot and dust, looking disheveled.
But as the heiress of the Shihōin Clan, with her noble status, her retainers could not bear to see her so battered.
They strictly forbade her from performing such dangerous experiments. If anything happened, they would have no way to explain it to the clan head, Shihōin Kūkaku.
Of course, Yoruichi understood their loyalty and concern.
Yet she was determined to perfect the idea her teacher had proposed.
Since training at home caused massive explosions that alarmed the entire estate, she resolved to find a hidden place.
Thus, she secretly conspired with Urahara Kisuke to create an underground base.
Yoruichi wanted a private space for unrestricted training, while Kisuke needed a secret base for his experiments—he always had countless inventions to test.
Eventually, they settled on a location: beneath Sōkyoku Hill.
Sōkyoku Hill is the highest point in Seireitei and the site of executions. Throughout history, very few Shinigami have been sentenced to it. In other words, it was almost always deserted.
Furthermore, the dense forest at its base concealed their comings and goings.
Using Urahara Kisuke's skillful Kidō, they successfully created a secret underground training space. Due to their current limited power, the space was still small, but they planned to expand it and erect barriers to conceal it fully.
After all, digging beneath Sōkyoku Hill was tantamount to treason.
Boom! Boom!
Muffled explosions echoed through the cavern.
Because they were inside the mountain, the sounds barely reached the surface. The dense forest further muffled them, making detection difficult.
Of course, if someone happened near Sōkyoku Hill, faint noises might attract attention, risking discovery of their secret base.
For now, the underground area was merely a cave without protective enchantments.
"Damn it… failed again."
As the smoke cleared, Yoruichi emerged, covered in black soot, frustration plain on her face.
Since creating this secret base, she had trained here constantly but had not succeeded even once—not even a hint of success.
"I think… maybe our approach is flawed."
Urahara Kisuke spoke softly, adjusting his glasses.
"Huh?" Yoruichi turned to him, puzzled.
He explained, "Combining Hakuda and Kidō is theoretically possible, but the Kidō probably needs to be cast by the user."
He continued, "The Kidō I cast can be controlled to wrap around your body, but since it originates from me, even slight movements from you disrupt its balance, causing explosions."
"If you cast the Kidō yourself, since the spiritual power originates within you, you can adjust its frequency freely to match your fighting rhythm. That might prevent explosions."
"In other words, I need to learn Kidō myself?" Yoruichi frowned.
This was undeniably troublesome.
However, if mastering Kidō allowed her to achieve this technique, it would be worth the effort.
Of course, for now, all this was speculation.
After repeated failures, Yoruichi doubted whether her teacher's theory was correct. Even if she learned Kidō, perhaps the technique was impossible.
As she pondered her eccentric teacher's idea, a familiar voice echoed behind her:
"You two are truly fearless."
"How dare you open a secret base beneath Sōkyoku Hill."
Startled, Yoruichi and Urahara Kisuke froze.
They quickly turned to see a man wearing a captain's haori standing at the cave entrance.
"Captain…?" Urahara Kisuke murmured, recognizing the haori as belonging to one of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, though he did not know which one.
After all, he was not an official Shinigami of the Gotei 13.
"Teacher… why are you here?" Yoruichi's voice faltered, a trace of embarrassment showing.
Urahara Kisuke then realized who this was: Kenpachi Zaraki, captain of the 11th Division.
Kenpachi looked at Yoruichi calmly and said, "I had nothing better to do today, so I came to teach you something. When I arrived at the Shihōin estate and found you absent, I followed your Reiatsu here."
"You… tracked me all the way here?" Yoruichi was startled.
Urahara Kisuke was also shocked.
To think someone could locate them solely through Reiatsu.
Their so-called secret base was not so secret after all.
Anyone capable of sensing Reiatsu could find them.
Though Kisuke was a genius, not being an official Shinigami, he lacked some basic knowledge.
If Kenpachi knew what Kisuke was thinking, he would simply nod and say:
"Exactly. That's how it works."
In the original timeline, even Abarai Renji was able to locate Kurosaki Ichigo training in an underground base beneath Sōkyoku Hill just by sensing his Reiatsu.
For Shinigami, releasing Reiatsu is essentially revealing one's exact location.
___________
Loving the story? Support me on Patreon to unlock early access to advanced chapters! We're already at Chapter 126, with 3 new chapters dropping every two days
Prefer a one-time purchase? You can also grab the entire fanfic collection on Patreon with lifetime access—no subscription required.
Don't miss out—own the full journey forever and help keep the story alive!
🔗 patreon.com/HACKDWORLD