"What are you doing?"
Urahara watched as Kurotsuchi pulled out a spray bottle and misted the area with an unknown liquid.
"We finally got a lead after two days of walking. Gotta prep the site—don't want them slipping away."
The liquid from Mayuri's bottle dissipated into the air.
"A tracking agent…?" Urahara squinted into the haze. "You really came prepared."
"I found the Bounts," Nanatsuki suddenly announced. "They were hiding underground. No wonder we couldn't find them."
After leaving the pastry shop, Nanatsuki had continued observing the clerk's movements via shadow surveillance.
Through his shadow vision, he saw the clerk summon the Bount from her courtyard.
They were hiding in Nariki's vast underground waterways. Without the clerk's method of contact, it would've been nearly impossible to track them down.
"As expected of the Captain. Those Bounts can't escape your grasp," Urahara grinned behind his fan. "Looks like it's time to go on the offensive. We'll save Third Seat Mayuri's toys for the next operation~"
"Hmph. If you shut up for once, no one would mistake you for mute," Mayuri sneered, tucking the spray bottle into his Reishi Pocket.
When Nanatsuki arrived at the clerk's home with Urahara and Mayuri, they found a Bount already extracting her soul.
The clerk had been obedient, but since she had made contact with the shrine maiden, she had to be silenced before the Shinigami could trace her.
"Ordinary souls are so bland." The kimono-clad woman licked her lips after swallowing the clerk's soul. "Kariya Jin, I'm starting to regret giving you the shrine maiden. Souls with Reishi potential are the true delicacies."
Had she been stronger, she wouldn't have been so generous about letting Kariya target Yakumo.
"Your Reiatsu hasn't plateaued yet. You'll still benefit from weaker souls." Kariya crossed his arms calmly. "Don't rush. When you reach your limit, I'll help you hunt humans with Reishi potential. Eventually... we'll even hunt Shinigami."
Shinigami souls held vastly more Reiatsu than humans. To Soul Hunters, they were the ultimate feast.
"Ohoho~"
A strange laugh echoed from the wall, startling both Kariya and Izumi.
"Who's there?!"
They looked up to see three figures standing atop the courtyard wall.
The most eye-catching among them—a man in a pointed hat with his face painted ghost-white—spoke:
"What a shocking declaration. Even Shinigami are on your menu now?"
Izumi sensed them and realized the man was human. Her alarm eased.
If they weren't Shinigami, she had nothing to fear.
"A human who knows about Shinigami?" Izumi grinned. "You look tastier than the little shrine girl..."
She assumed these were spiritually gifted humans who had seen Shinigami.
"As expected, Third Seat Mayuri's appearance really steals the show. We've been completely ignored," Urahara said as he popped a Gikongan into his mouth, immediately separating from his Artificial Body.
He wanted to capture the Soul Hunters before Mayuri could interfere.
Even if Mayuri already had some prisoners, Urahara wasn't about to let him have all the fun.
"You're... a Shinigami?!"
Izumi was stunned by Urahara's sudden transformation.
She had never seen a Shinigami using an Artificial Body, and never suspected a seemingly human body could hide one.
"This is a trap!"
Kariya's face darkened. Their timing was no coincidence—they must have tracked them via the clerk.
A loud roar came from the well. Izumi drew up the water into a towering dragon.
"That water manipulation... it's nearly on par with a flowing-type Zanpakutō," Urahara muttered as he drew his blade. "Cry, Benihime."
He thrust the Zanpakutō forward, releasing a crimson wave.
When the water dragon crashed into the red aura, it stopped abruptly.
"What kind of ability is this?!" Sweat beaded on Izumi's smooth brow as she strained to push the water forward—only to meet a strange resistance. The crimson aura completely neutralized her attack.
"What an annoying ability..." Mayuri took a Gikongan as well, separating from his Artificial Body. "He's analyzing your spiritual technique and creating an attack with matching Reiatsu structure to cancel it out."
"A counter-type ability..." Izumi's confidence shattered. She turned and leapt toward the well, abandoning Kariya without hesitation.
At the same moment—
Kariya raised his arm. The device on his wrist blasted a storm of wind blades at Urahara.
"Giving away my secrets like that... you're aiding the enemy!" Urahara slashed, sending a red crescent arc into the wind blades.
The blades moved with such high-frequency Reiatsu that he couldn't fully analyze them in time.
"Sorry, but this one's mine!" Mayuri Shunpoed behind Izumi and struck.
A concentrated sphere of compressed Reiatsu exploded against her back like a shockwave cannon.
Boom! Izumi's body shattered—but not into blood or gore. Instead, she burst into liquid.
"Hoh?"
Mayuri raised an eyebrow. That attack shouldn't have had that much power.
But Izumi's form had melted into water. No blood. No flesh.
"Ah, I see. Her body merged with the puppet," Mayuri's eyes lit up with scientific glee. "That's a rather unique case among Bounts."
He had asked Akon to send over more information on Soul Hunter anatomy and now had a better understanding.
Bounts could separate parts of their soul and fuse them with an object, gaining powers similar to a Zanpakutō's spirit.
These fused objects were known as "puppets."
Izumi's scattered water droplets rapidly streamed toward the well.
"I just need to get to the water—then no one can stop me!"
"Not even a Shinigami!"
But—
She couldn't get in.
Somehow, a red barrier had been placed over the well, and her escape route vanished.
"Naive," Mayuri grinned. "Cunning and devious as ever, Lieutenant Urahara was already prepared for this."
Urahara had sealed the well ahead of time.
Blocking the well served two purposes: cutting off escape and stopping her from drawing more water to boost her power.
"Your compliments sting a little, Third Seat."
Urahara continued dodging Kariya's relentless wind blades.
Breaking the red barrier would take time. With no way out, Izumi scattered into multiple streams of water, fleeing in different directions.
Her body may have fragmented, but she could reassemble herself later—so long as she had water and Reiatsu to replenish.
But the next instant—
The water froze mid-air.
Izumi realized her fragmented self had been caught by an invisible force.
Even transparent water... casts shadows.
And her shadows were bound.
"What is this?!"
Despair crept in.
"Few can escape the Captain's shadow bindings," Mayuri chuckled, pulling a jar from his sleeve and scooping the water inside. "Stop struggling. My containment vessels aren't so easy to break."
Soon, the liquid stilled.
Inside the jar was a powerful anesthetic—one that acted directly on Reishi. Even Izumi, in water form, couldn't resist.
Mayuri glanced at the ongoing battle. Kariya was strong—Urahara hadn't subdued him yet.
He brought the jar to Nanatsuki.
"Captain, this Bount's ability is fascinating—she merged with water itself. I'm brimming with inspiration. May I take her to my lab?"
He was eager to dissect the secret behind her water integration.
"Fix the Heilig Rüstung first," Nanatsuki replied flatly. "She'll stay in the public lab for now. Once you're done, then you can have her."
The Tech Development Bureau's public lab also had containment facilities.
Mayuri's lab already held two Bounts. Nanatsuki didn't want to give him a third until his current workload—repairing the Heilig Rüstung—was complete.
"Then I'd better speed up," Mayuri muttered. He knew Urahara would fight him for this subject.
On the other side, Kariya realized Izumi—his best escape artist—was completely outmaneuvered.
These three Shinigami were too strong. There was no point continuing the fight.
Kariya's power was wind. He would use it to create chaos and flee.
He unleashed his full Reiatsu—rivaling that of a lieutenant.
"That Reiatsu... how many souls has he consumed?!" Urahara scowled.
All that energy surged into his wind device, building a massive storm.
"Burn, Benihime."
Urahara twisted his blade. Red-black threads and Reishi orbs surged toward Kariya.
Benihime had multiple release phrases, each triggering a different ability.
He was well-prepared for any situation.
Boom boom boom! Reishi bombs exploded around Kariya.
Kariya tanked the blasts, bracing through the pain and pushing his storm forward.
Even Nariki's civilians noticed.
"Look over there—what is that?!"
"A divine sign?!"
"A calamity! The gods are angry!"
The storm was so overwhelming that even ordinary people could feel it.
Yakumo stared into the sky.
She could sense the threat far more clearly than others. Her body trembled like a frightened animal.
"Divine One..." she prayed. "Please defeat the demon."
"This Bount's trying to cause mayhem and flee during the chaos?" Nanatsuki frowned and drew his blade.
A black sandstorm formed above, congealing into a massive blade of sand.
Countless grains churned violently within, emitting immense cutting force.
The sandstorm blade sliced through the windstorm like paper, severing it in two.
As Nanatsuki sheathed his sword, the remnant storm scattered into the sky and disappeared.
This technique was inspired by Komamura Sajin.
Over the years, Nanatsuki's students had developed their own techniques based on his swordsmanship—many of which suited him as well.
The citizens saw the massive black storm get cleaved by a single gray blade.
"That wasn't a calamity—it was Divine One banishing a demon! He saved Nariki!"
Yakumo exhaled deeply and explained the miracle to nearby tea shop guests.
"A divine miracle!"
The patrons dropped to their knees, praying toward the direction of the gray slash.
"What terrifying power..." Mayuri muttered.
He hadn't known Nanatsuki long and had rarely seen him fight.
He'd only heard stories—but now, witnessing this firsthand was awe-inspiring.
He looked at the fallen Kariya Jin.
Just catching the edge of the sandstorm blade's shockwave had knocked him out cold.
Before Captain Katori Nanatsuki, the Bounts' leader didn't stand a chance.
"I thought I was a goner!" Urahara landed, relieved. "Thank goodness the Captain wasn't aiming at me!"
He'd been standing a fair distance from Kariya, but the sandstorm still swept him off his feet.
"Captain, I think I'm injured." Urahara limped dramatically toward Nanatsuki. "Only a Bount can cure me!"
"You…" Nanatsuki shook his head helplessly. "Fine. You can take this one to your lab."
"Eh?" Urahara perked up and jumped in place. "All healed! Captain truly is the Soul Society's number one divine healer!"
"Don't let Captain Unohana hear that."