Chapter 98: A Pleasant Surprise from the Human World
Even though Mayuri Kurotsuchi had chased him out in a fury, Takeru was in excellent spirits.
The Spirit Time House was secured. Even if fieldwork delayed it by a full month, it could still be completed before the end of the year.
More importantly, he could use it before the expedition to Hueco Mundo.
But that was not the real surprise.
The true surprise came from an inter realm call from Orihime.
Ninth Division Captain's quarters.
Takeru poured himself a cup of coffee. He had already changed out of his captain's haori and shihakusho into a casual yukata.
He had handled division duties in the morning, negotiated at the Research and Development Institute in the afternoon, and by the time he returned, the sun was already down. After dinner, he finally came back to his residence.
He had more than enough money to buy a home in a Shinigami residential district similar to the Seated Officer area, but in Soul Society, no one could guarantee when some enemy fueled by hatred might break in.
The four gatekeepers at least ensured any invader would know the gate was right behind them.
With that in mind, Takeru ultimately chose to live inside the division barracks. It made responding to emergencies easier, and it let him handle work without wasting time traveling.
That did not stop him from ordering a full set of modern renovation services from the Research and Development Institute on his very first day in office.
He had several walls knocked down and rebuilt an area spanning five hundred square meters.
Outside the door was a corridor and a courtyard. Step inside, and you could still see tatami mats and a long, low table.
But warm toned lighting ran through the ceiling and wall gaps. Murals and potted plants added a relaxed, tasteful elegance. Walk a little farther and you would find a restroom, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a study.
Even household appliances like a bathtub, water heater, and refrigerator were fully installed.
Despite all the modernization, anyone from the Human World would probably just call it a high end apartment dressed in traditional Japanese aesthetics.
That kind of renovation naturally came with a steep price.
One third of the one hundred million Kan he had received from selling the healing hot springs vanished in a single stroke.
Takeru felt no pain at all.
He had practically gotten that money for free. If he spent it, he spent it. Comfort came first.
With coffee in hand, he headed for the study, intending to continue reviewing the Ninth Division's personnel records to better understand his subordinates.
Before he could sit down, the denreishinki on the desk rang.
"Um… this is Inoue Orihime. Is this Shimiya kun?"
The moment he picked up, he heard the girl's uniquely soft voice.
"Even for an inter realm call, it's unlikely someone else would answer," Takeru said. "Or do you think a stranger, like some girl you've never met, would be picking up late at night?"
He set both coffee and denreishinki on the desk, turned on the speaker function, and sat down. Crossing one leg over the other, he laid the files across his lap and flipped through them casually as he spoke.
"Eh? Eh, eh! Is Shimiya kun with some girl right now?!"
"Just get to the point."
Orihime's gasp made him abandon subtlety immediately.
"It's like this. Miss Yoruichi asked me to notify Soul Society… the Bount have appeared."
"The Bount?" Takeru's eyes narrowed. "In Karakura Town?"
Seeming to hear the chill in his tone, Orihime rushed to explain.
"They've already been dealt with. No, it wasn't just me, Ishida kun helped a lot too."
"…What happened?"
"While I was purifying a Hollow just now, I found a woman about to absorb a soul. After I defeated her, she told me a lot about the Bount. By the way, Shimiya kun, do you know what the Bount are?"
"Enough! Inoue, you're taking too long. Let me talk."
Someone on the other end sounded impatient.
Then the denreishinki was snatched away.
"Shimiya, it's Yoruichi."
"Go ahead," Takeru said. "I'm listening."
He closed the files and pressed the record function on the denreishinki.
"Long story short, those connected to the Pure Realm Chapter that the Gotei 13 sealed a while ago have appeared," Yoruichi said. "They broke their clan rules and started absorbing living human souls, then got caught red handed by Inoue."
"After that, other Bount showed up and were also taken out by Inoue."
"We originally planned to notify Soul Society immediately, but we sensed a powerful spiritual pressure reaction, so we rushed over first."
"As soon as we arrived, we found the Bount completely wiped out. Ishida Ryuken was preparing to leave with his severely injured son, Ishida Uryu."
At that point, perhaps because of her wariness toward Ishida Ryuken, Yoruichi's tone grew more solemn.
"According to him, the Bount intended to gain power that affects space by absorbing living human souls, then force their way into Soul Society."
"I suspect their target was the Pure Realm Chapter. But since the Bount themselves lack reishi conversion ability, they needed Quincy power to open a gateway to Soul Society."
"The key point is this. Because Ishida Uryu was also destroying Hollows, his fights likely drew their attention. They tracked him all the way back to the Quincy secret base."
"After severely injuring Ishida Uryu and attempting to kidnap him, they ran straight into his father, Ishida Ryuken. In the time it took me to arrive, they were completely annihilated."
"That said, I re examined the scene and found strong traces of his spiritual pressure. I suspect he had been watching for a while and simply did not intervene until the end."
"If that's true, then that guy deliberately used the Bount to temper his son. I don't know what he plans to do by training his son to be so strong, but I have a bad feeling about it."
Yoruichi took a breath and returned to the main thread.
"Back to the point. The Bount were eliminated. The only survivor was the woman Inoue caught, named Soma Yoshino."
"However, after she saw the clothes left behind by their dead leader, she burned all Bount relics to ash and ended her own life in the flames."
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Bount are now completely extinct."
"After all, their number was fixed from the start. They cannot reproduce. They were only a one time byproduct of an experimental accident over a thousand years ago."
"And after two subsequent wars for survival… sigh."
Yoruichi trailed off, as if she could not find a better conclusion than that.
"Extinct, huh…" Takeru said. "It's hard to be certain. There could always be remnants somewhere."
"But that's no longer my concern. As long as the ambitious Bount organization is destroyed, that's enough."
"Thank you for bringing me such a surprise late at night. I'll report this truthfully tomorrow."
If that was not a surprise, what was?
After Takeru hung up, his eyes were unusually bright.
With this recording in hand, he no longer had to worry about the Captain Commander refusing.
Events unfolded exactly as he predicted.
At the regular meeting the next day, after it ended, Takeru and Mayuri privately sought out Yamamoto Genryusai to apply for permission to deploy all Pure Realm Chapters.
But even after hearing about the Spirit Time House, Yamamoto remained silent for a moment, then refused.
His reason was simple.
The Bount would eventually return.
Anything created using the Pure Realm Chapter might carry hidden dangers the Bount could exploit.
The more precious something was, the more unpredictable consequences it could bring.
"If you insist on deploying all Pure Realm Chapters to create an unprecedented product, then you must eradicate all hidden dangers," Yamamoto said.
"Otherwise, find another way."
Find another way?
How much extra effort and resources would that demand?
And were other methods not still using reishi in the end?
Mayuri did not doubt Takeru had a standardized manufacturing plan that did not require the Pure Realm Chapter.
But the fact that he chose the Pure Realm Chapter in the first place meant it would produce better results.
Science was never perfect, but it was always chasing perfection.
If Mayuri were forced to revert to the original standardized plan, he could not accept it.
Yet no matter how he pleaded and argued, Yamamoto did not budge.
Mayuri had originally intended to use this chance to prove to the arrogant brat beside him that he was the best person to lead the project.
Instead, it looked like not only was his chance gone, the project itself might also be doomed.
Then Takeru spoke.
"Captain Commander, I have intelligence regarding the Bount threat. Please take a look."
Under Mayuri's stunned gaze, Takeru took out a denreishinki and played the conversation from the previous night with Shihoin Yoruichi.
It lasted only a few minutes.
But Yamamoto's expression changed again and again.
Mayuri's did too.
"The Bount…" Yamamoto murmured. "They were ultimately eliminated by the Quincy."
He rose from his chair, leaned on his cane, and walked to the side. Facing the sky over Seireitei, he spoke in a deep, heavy voice.
"One thousand years ago, they did not hesitate to use the Quincy to break into Soul Society, attempting to remain and live here."
"Afterward, they retaliated against the Quincy, but they were annihilated by this old man leading the Gotei 13."
"A millennium has passed. Upon learning of the existence of the Pure Realm Chapter, this old man recalled their beliefs, and what the Shinigami did to them. I dared not be careless."
"I sealed the Pure Realm Chapter immediately. Not only that, I forbade you from mobilizing it."
"It was because I knew they would return."
"However…" Yamamoto's grip on his cane tightened slightly. "I did not expect that before they even reached this old man, they would already be eliminated by the Substitute Shinigami and the remaining Quincy in the Human World."
"And just like in the past, it became a three way collision between Shinigami, Quincy, and Bount."
"Is this what they call a destined grudge?"
"So be it."
He shook his head, then turned back and looked directly at Takeru.
"After I confirm this intelligence, if everything is true, then you may use the Pure Realm Chapter as you wish."
"Just as Shihoin Yoruichi said, after two wars for survival, an elite group that gathered all its strength returned only to be utterly destroyed again."
"Such a heavy blow means that even if some Bount still exist somewhere in the world, they are unlikely to pose further danger to Seireitei."
Yamamoto's voice hardened.
"However, I must emphasize one point. You may use it, but you must not allow the Pure Realm Chapter accident to happen again."
"Captain Commander," Mayuri said, spreading his hands, "have you truly become senile? With me here, how could the experiment possibly fail?"
Yamamoto merely glanced at him and said nothing.
That single look left Mayuri furious.
Takeru did not even blink.
"Please rest assured," he said. "I have already sent people to Rukongai to search for Rando, the person responsible for the original accident."
"With her, we can not only find any remaining Bount, but also learn from her failure and add another layer of security to the use of the Pure Realm Chapter."
Yamamoto nodded, visibly satisfied.
Mayuri, meanwhile, forgot to be angry at all.
He stared at Takeru in shock and uncertainty.
He had another move prepared?
If the Bount had not been dealt with, was Takeru planning to find Rando, use her to locate the Bount, annihilate every last one, or control them, thereby eliminating the threat entirely?
At the same time, Rando's deep knowledge could become a tool for the construction phase.
That cautious, layered approach…
It reminded Mayuri of someone he hated.
It was exactly like that bastard Kisuke Urahara.
That familiar feeling of being suppressed washed over him again.
In that moment, Mayuri completely abandoned the idea of fighting for control.
"So that I, too, can one day build a laboratory that can alter the flow of time for my convenience in research…" he muttered, teeth grinding, "I suppose I'll let you boss me around for once."
.....
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