"What a hassle..." Urahara Kisuke sighed inwardly. "With all those Captain-level eyes in Soul Society, it's nearly impossible to find a discreet place to do anything shady."
Many regions of the World of the Living were already seeded with surveillance bacteria planted by Nanatsuki.
Ordinary Shinigami couldn't detect such subtle measures, but both Urahara and Mayuri Kurotsuchi had already cracked their structure.
In fact, Urahara's cloak was specially designed to completely block observation from these surveillance microbes.
After passing through the illusionary tree camouflage, a dark passage extended before him.
'Still not secure enough. If what's inside gets discovered, it'll be over. I need to bring in some Sekkiseki to reinforce the barriers and suppress outside detection.'
As he considered this, Urahara tapped the wall of the passage. A subtle protective barrier silently vanished.
A stone door slowly slid open. Faint light spilled from the gap, illuminating the corridor.
Urahara stepped through.
Behind the door lay his private laboratory.
The labs of the Department of Research and Development were constantly disturbed by Mayuri, so Urahara had relocated any sensitive experiments he didn't want others to see to this secluded space.
This lab was his alone—unrefined and chaotic. Bottles, tools, and instruments were scattered in every corner. Anyone unfamiliar with the place would have no chance of understanding the organization.
He made his way to a long table at the center of the lab. Various jars and vials sat atop it, each filled with blue nutrient fluid containing fragments of bone, meat, or organs.
Urahara reached into his sleeve and retrieved a small petri dish. Inside, he carefully lifted out a bone fragment no longer than half a centimeter.
Placing it under a diagnostic device, he observed the sample in silence.
"Astonishing vitality... No matter how many times I examine it, it's still hard to believe."
This tiny bone fragment was one of his latest battlefield findings.
After the war, Urahara had found several unusual samples among the corpses. Though they seemed like part of the body, their properties were completely different from the rest of the corpse.
Fascinated, he developed a device capable of detecting similar anomalies and screened corpses from different fronts, eventually finding a few more of the same kind.
"Only a handful of individuals show this trait..." Urahara frowned. "And they were all quite powerful."
All the fragments had come from Seated Officers.
"Their locations vary, but... this one and an earlier sample were both taken from the toe bones..."
His fingers paused mid-adjustment.
He stepped over and took out another sample from the nutrient jar—also a fragment of bone.
Urahara brought it next to the new one under the scanner, and his eyes widened.
"They fit together... perfectly?"
The two bone fragments, both less than half a centimeter long, locked seamlessly—like they'd always belonged together.
"Incredible! These were taken from two completely different individuals!"
Stunned, he could barely process this inexplicable phenomenon.
'Could it be...?'
He caught himself and shook his head. 'Too little data. I need more samples before jumping to conclusions.'
With that, he decided to take his scanner to Rukongai to try collecting more evidence.
—
Half a month later, the Wandenreich had quieted.
The collapse of the Hunting Grounds had become popular gossip among the Quincy.
Many survivors made it out, and some had even witnessed the arrow Nanatsuki unleashed.
His story spread swiftly across the empire.
But Nanatsuki ignored the chatter. He remained in Liltotto's courtyard, quietly instructing his disciples.
With his presence, a tenuous balance had formed between Ishida Sōken's faction and Yhwach's royal guards.
Haschwalth, for now, seemed intent on maintaining surface-level order. No new moves had been made.
Meanwhile, the system interface updated with a fresh batch of training missions, and Nanatsuki was more than happy to continue mentoring his students.
Meninas and Candice had both been promoted, freeing them from low-level duties and giving them more time to train under their teacher.
"Haah!"
Nanatsuki parried Meninas's side-kick, once again catching her leg with expert timing.
It was like he could see her next move before it happened. His palm always arrived first, cutting off the path of her attacks.
He tailored each disciple's training to their strengths.
For Meninas, he had just received an advanced mission.
She loved hand-to-hand combat and had great strength—so Nanatsuki chose to teach her Shun Boost.
Shun Boost would allow her to better harness her physical power, but first, she needed to learn certain Hakuda techniques as a foundation.
Thanks to the Patient Guidance buff, Meninas—already naturally gifted—picked up the techniques with impressive speed.
Within days, she was executing them with visible improvement.
Seeing Nanatsuki catch her boot again, she twisted her body mid-air and launched a kick with her other leg.
But Nanatsuki caught that one too—and spun.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
Meninas spun through the air.
After ten dizzying rotations, he flung her across the field.
She slammed into the ground, sprawling out in a starfish pose.
It took her a few seconds to shake off the vertigo and stand up.
"Every time I attack, you stop me like you already know what I'm going to do..."
"Your speed's not fast enough. Using close range against me? I see every opening. So now, I'll teach you a technique that'll help boost your speed."
—
Meanwhile, Nanatsuki's true body arrived at the First Division barracks.
In the courtyard tea room, he was in discussion with Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
"...Are you certain?"
Yamamoto's brow furrowed deeply after hearing Nanatsuki's report.
It wasn't that he didn't trust him—it was that the information was too astonishing.
"I am. I wouldn't joke about something this serious."
Nanatsuki nodded firmly.
He had come here today for one reason: to speak to Yamamoto directly about the affairs of the Wandenreich.