The appearance of Katori Nanatsuki took everyone by surprise. None of them had expected that the one who triggered the laboratory alarm would be him. Kazushu's expression changed drastically—
Katori Nanatsuki wouldn't tail him for no reason, and it had happened precisely when he was collecting Nanatsuki's Reiatsu.
There was no doubt—
He had been exposed.
Kazushu immediately pulled out a sphere from within his body and threw it, turning toward the elevator. It was the only exit from the lab. If he wanted to escape, he'd have to take it.
The sphere cracked open mid-air and exploded into a burst of white smoke.
But it wasn't ordinary smoke. It was a cloud of floating Reishi Glue, which spread out and clung to everyone, sticking them in place.
Yet just as Kazushu turned to flee, he realized—his legs wouldn't move.
Looking down, he saw shadows from the floor coiled tightly around his ankles.
"You'd better stay right there," Nanatsuki said coolly.
He had anticipated Kazushu's move. His Zanpakutō had already been plunged into the shadows, and with it, he used the darkness to bind Kazushu and prevent his escape.
"Seems like something's been going on behind the scenes," he added.
A shockwave of Reiatsu erupted from Hikifune Kirio, blasting the airborne Reishi Glue away. Her probing gaze shifted between Kazushu and Katori Nanatsuki.
Nanatsuki explained, "Captain Hikifune, I happened to run into Captain Kyōraku and Captain Ukitake on the road. But something about their behavior felt off, so I followed them."
"From their conversation, I learned—they're not really Captain Kyōraku and Captain Ukitake. They're Reishi Shells."
"Then I witnessed them handing over the Reiatsu they'd gathered… to this man, Kazushu."
Hikifune's eyes narrowed as she turned to Kazushu. "Then we'll need to run a proper check. Kazushu, release your Reiatsu."
The difference between a Reishi Shell and a normal soul couldn't be seen with the naked eye. The simplest way to tell was by measuring Reiatsu intensity.
Reishi Shells had much weaker Reiatsu than the originals.
"No need to test. I am a Reishi Shell," Kazushu said, knowing escape was no longer possible. He grinned widely, baring white teeth. "Captain Hikifune, thanks for your care and guidance. Let's meet again—in Hell."
As he finished, his lidless eyes widened even more.
His already broad body suddenly swelled.
"This is bad!" Urahara Kisuke's face darkened.
BOOM—Kazushu's body burst apart, disintegrating into pure Reishi, and dispersed into the air.
"So it really was a Reishi Shell… Looks like the real Kazushu didn't make it," Hikifune sighed softly.
When Kazushu's body detonated, the Reiatsu it released didn't match the original Kazushu at all.
"That Reishi Shell had this much intelligence?" Hikifune quickly caught onto something and turned to Nanatsuki. "Katori-kun, the Kyōraku and Ukitake you saw—did they show similar intelligence?"
Before the Reishi Shell technology was sealed away, she and Shutara Senjumaru had been the lead developers of the Captain Completion Project, so she was well aware of the limitations of current Reishi Shells.
Right now, the technology only produced defective products—shells with incomplete minds, non-growing Reiatsu, and well below practical standards.
Nanatsuki nodded. "I heard them mention something. Their Reishi Shell tech has apparently advanced. They've solved the mind issue."
"Then whoever's behind this… is not ordinary," Hikifune muttered. She understood the hurdles of Reishi Shell development—reaching this level wasn't easy.
After thinking for a moment, she added,
"I didn't expect a Reishi Shell to infiltrate the lab itself. Looks like we'll need to upgrade our security systems."
"Good thing Katori-kun stumbled on this. Otherwise, the Gotei 13 might've faced a disaster."
"We can't let the Reishi Shells of Kyōraku and Ukitake get away… There could be even more of them hiding inside Seireitei."
"Seireitei needs a full-scale investigation."
Hikifune pulled out a Tenteikūra and sent out a silent alert, calling all captains and lieutenants to urgently gather in Squad 1.
She didn't write the reason in the message, to prevent cases like Kazushu—lieutenants who might have already been replaced.
"Kisuke, hurry and develop a device that can detect Reishi Shells." She patted Urahara Kisuke on the shoulder, her captain-class Reiatsu weighing down on him like a mountain.
"Aiya, I'm being suspected too?" Kisuke scratched his cheek with a wry smile.
To be sure, Hikifune confirmed his identity in person.
"After all, you did enter with Kazushu's Reishi Shell…" she said helplessly. "You can't tell them apart by sight or even spiritual sense. This was the only way."
"Got it, got it. Can't be too careful," Kisuke replied, understanding the precaution.
He glanced over at Katori Nanatsuki.
He had already noticed something odd about Kazushu lately, enough to make him suspicious. But he'd assumed Kazushu was secretly using his researcher status to sell out the lab.
He never imagined that Kazushu had already been replaced by a Reishi Shell.
Kazushu's position gave him access to immense resources and technical documents. If Katori Nanatsuki hadn't exposed him, the damage he could've done from inside the lab… was unthinkable.
After leaving the lab, Hikifune and Katori Nanatsuki headed straight for Squad 1's strategy room.
The other captains and lieutenants all set aside their duties and arrived promptly.
Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō stepped through the doors.
"Captain Hikifune, did something serious happen? You called us in such a rush."
Without a word, Hikifune suddenly raised her hands and placed them on their shoulders—Reiatsu surged from her body.
At the same time, both captains instinctively raised their own Reiatsu to resist the pressure.
"Whoa there—Captain Hikifune, we haven't done anything to offend you, have we?" Kyōraku asked, confused by the sudden aggression.
"Forgive me. I had no choice," Hikifune said.
"Katori-kun witnessed Reishi Shell versions of you two moving within Seireitei. And since you showed up together, I had to be cautious."
"Reishi Shells?"
Confused looks spread among the lieutenants—many of them unfamiliar with the term. A few captains, however, understood.
It was once part of the long-abandoned Captain Completion Project.
"Didn't the Captain Completion Project get shut down? I thought the Reishi Shell tech was sealed too!" Kuchiki Ginrei asked, his brow furrowed.