Back to the present: East Rukongai, District 9. Shuuichi stood on a rooftop, watching the last of the locals clear out.
A little nudge here and there—necessary, because what came next couldn't have witnesses.
"That should do it."
He probed the area; no souls remained within the planned perimeter.
A sweep of his arm sent four reiatsu-masking devices arcing toward the corners.
The shroud deployed.
"Bingfa Suyuan, Bankai (Final Release)!"
A surge of reiatsu swallowed the block. The dark-green Zanpakutō in his hand flushed fire-red, twin pairs of fish-scale wings along the spine seeming poised to take flight.
Shuuichi dropped from the roof, landing before a stone lion. He raised the blade and tapped the lion's head, pouring reiatsu in.
"Borrow a Corpse to Resurrect the Soul!"
In an instant, more than half his reiatsu drained away.
"Hah… hah…"
He always felt wrung out after doing this.
When he released Bankai, his reiatsu sank back into him, and the stone lion looked completely ordinary again. From any angle, it was indistinguishable from any other yard statue.
But in his mind he could feel it: this place had become one of his anchors.
That was the power of his Bankai "Borrow a Corpse to Resurrect the Soul"—by infusing reiatsu into a dead object, he turned it into a future anchor for his abilities.
Wherever he was, the moment he released Bankai and invoked this power, any ability effect he cast could jump to any pre-set "corpse" and trigger there. Even the reishi constructs he made with his Shikai (Initial Release) could "revive" at these corpses, inherit anchor traits, and become mobile anchors.
And as long as a target stood within a corpse's influence range, Shuuichi could route any effect into the corpse to absorb it, paid for by the reiatsu he'd preloaded into that anchor.
Once the stored reiatsu ran dry, the corpse lost its anchor state and reverted to plain matter.
Because of that, each "corpse" he made cost him roughly half his current reiatsu reserve.
Quality over quantity.
He understood that well enough.
Besides, he had time.
His goal was to lace Soul Society, the World of the Living, and Hueco Mundo (Hollow World) with anchors.
If not for places like the Wandenreich, Hell, and the Royal Palace—sites he couldn't yet touch—he'd gladly let them feel his "affection" too.
This round of anchor-laying done, Shuuichi rose and looked toward Seireitei.
"Everything's in place. Next—the gods fall to earth."
Ten years passed like a flicker.
With Sōsuke's Hollowfication (Hollowfication) tech in hand, the Kasumiooji no longer needed a mass of Shinigami test subjects; only a few had to endure the early Hollowfication phase—and one Shuuichi alone could supply, no sneaking required.
Masasuke recovered his old composure and, leaning on top-noble privilege, steadily forced the Gotei 13 to peel away most surveillance.
Gyoukaku, meanwhile, flooded the half-conscious tests with brainwashing during Hollowfication, the cuckoo nearly usurping the nest.
Neither imagined that Sōsuke was the biggest winner. With no effort, he harvested oceans of data; ten years were enough to polish Hollowfication to a razor. Next step: captains.
Shuuichi wasn't idle either. Beyond methodically planting anchors across Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living, he slipped Raika (Thunderfire) to Mayuri in the Maggot's Nest and built a direct line with him.
Shuuichi's aim was simple: before the fuse was lit, push Raika toward its future "complete" state and minimize the side effects from devouring other Bakkōtō.
Mayuri's goal was simple too: a promise that, once done, Shuuichi would get him out of the Maggot's Nest and provide proper lab space and materials—he refused to die there as Kisuke's eternal underling.
They struck hands on it.
Could Shuuichi truly spring him? Probably not.
Originally, Twelfth's Captain Kirio ascended to Squad Zero, leaving the post empty; Kisuke was recommended to fill it (no prizes for guessing by whom), and only then did he bring Mayuri out.
Shuuichi might have captain-class strength now, but his name wasn't Kisuke. He doubted he had the same pull with Yoruichi.
Didn't matter; a promise now cost nothing.
At Sōsuke's pace, Mayuri taking Twelfth was a near certainty anyway.
Everyone set their pieces in order.
Everyone waited for the spark.
Until, one day, a silver-haired youth and a black-haired youth arrived together at the gates of Shinō Reijutsuin (Spiritual Arts Academy).
It was new-student intake day.
"Hey, are you new this year too?"
The black-haired youth greeted the silver-haired one first.
"Mm. Passed the exam last month. I'm Gin—Rukongai West, District 29~"
Gin offered his right hand, eyes crescented, matching the other's bright smile.
"Shi~ma~ru~ Gin. Got it. I'm Shūsuke, from Rukongai too—West District 1! Please take care of me!"
Shūsuke reached right back, gripping Gin's hand tight.
They released, and Shūsuke urged Gin to hurry; they might be the last batch to check in.
Gin tilted his chin up for one more look at the big characters over the gate.
At last—he would become a Shinigami.
Rangiku, are you alright?
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