"…"
The room was quiet, with only the sound of air flowing.
Yamamoto slowly opened his eyes, his gaze as sharp as an eagle, seemingly able to penetrate everything.
Even though he hadn't closed his eyes for three consecutive days, his expression showed no signs of fatigue or decay.
At this moment, it was quietly six-thirty in the morning, the exact time Yamamoto had been anticipating.
Three days ago, Fourth Division Captain Unohana and Twelfth Division Captain Urahara Kisuke entered the Seireitei Underground Great Prison together.
They solemnly promised the elder that they would deliver a result within three days.
Now, the time had come.
"Reporting, Captain-Commander, Captain Unohana and Captain Urahara have arrived!"
From outside the paper door, the respectful and steady voice of the Advance Team could be heard.
"...Let them in."
Yamamoto murmured softly, his voice seemingly coming from deep within his chest.
Subsequently, the respectful reply of the Advance Team was heard again from outside the door.
Yamamoto sat quietly in his seat, steadily raising his teacup with both hands, and took a small sip.
The scalding tea flowed down his throat, and a warm current quickly spread throughout his body, invigorating him.
The rich aroma of the tea permeated the air, lingering at his nostrils, refreshing his mind.
He closed his eyes, chasing away the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
As the tea's aroma permeated him, his thoughts gradually cleared, and his mind became more awake.
Yamamoto let the hot water warm his throat, cleared his throat, and slowly spoke:
"How is it?"
"In the Seireitei Underground Great Prison, over seventy percent of the prisoners are confirmed to be dead!"
Urahara Kisuke, usually lazy and nonchalant, uncharacteristically showed a serious expression.
Even through the gaps in his long hair, his tired appearance was visible.
Although Urahara Kisuke was lazy and disliked work, he could still discern the bigger picture.
Yamamoto's silence indicated for them to continue.
Urahara Kisuke sighed deeply:
"There's not much to say, the situation with those criminals is as you know."
"Their bodies suffered no significant damage, yet their life activities ceased."
Urahara Kisuke's explanation caused Yamamoto to frown.
"Then why did they die?"
"I found it strange too, Captain Unohana tried using Kaido but couldn't determine the cause of death."
"So, I took the liberty of using the Twelfth Division's equipment to examine the bodies."
As he spoke, Urahara Kisuke glanced at Yamamoto, a hint of doubt in his eyes.
Doing such a thing without permission was not in line with the Gotei 13 regulations.
Yamamoto said nothing more, only nodding slightly to indicate he understood, signaling him to continue.
His gaze seemed to say that now was not the time to worry about such minor matters.
Urahara Kisuke breathed a sigh of relief and continued:
"After detailed examination, we found that they had no Souls, or rather, their Souls had disappeared."
"What do you mean, no Souls?"
Yamamoto frowned, asking in confusion.
The Soul is the foundation of the Spirit Body, the core of life, and also attached to the Spirit Body.
Generally speaking, after a Captain-class strong individual dies, their Spirit Body cannot naturally dissipate, and their Soul will remain attached to their body.
Even if the body is mutilated and broken, the Soul will remain attached to the broken spiritual particles.
These spiritual particles do not integrate into the Three Realms cycle.
Instead, they wait until the Soul Burial Ritual, when the Soul and body or spiritual particles are sent to Hell together.
However, now the bodies of those criminals are still intact in the Squad One Barracks, yet their Souls are nowhere to be found.
This was truly too strange!
It completely defied his thousands of years of understanding!!
"Based on Captain Unohana and my deductions, these spiritual bodies might have had their Souls taken or directly annihilated while they were alive."
Urahara Kisuke said earnestly:
"And without a Soul, the Spirit Body naturally dies."
The old man standing opposite had clearly never encountered such a situation.
But coincidentally, Urahara Kisuke had not only encountered it but had also done similar things.
One must know that not everyone, like him, had experience in creating the Hōgyoku.
Although the material he used to create the Hōgyoku at the time was the Soul of a Hollow.
But in reality, the situation was similar.
When collecting experimental materials, he would first take the Hollow's Soul, and only then would the Hollow truly die.
It was just that those Hollows were too weak and would not leave bodies like those criminals after death.
Thinking of this, Urahara Kisuke couldn't help but recall the mysterious person who had once invaded the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.
That person had rummaged through his laboratory.
Although they ultimately returned empty-handed, perhaps their goal was his Hōgyoku.
Fortunately, the Hōgyoku was now in Aozaki Reiji's hands.
There should be no safer place in this world than by his side.
After all, Aozaki Reiji's strength was evident, and Urahara Kisuke had full confidence in him.
Yamamoto frowned, falling into deep thought.
But his thoughts were completely different from Urahara Kisuke's.
Killing Souls?
Shinigami and Hollows simply did not possess this ability.
For Souls, the former could purify, and the latter could only devour or fuse.
Essentially, the actions of both were part of the natural cycle of the Three Realms.
And not the true annihilation of Souls!
Within his knowledge, only one race possessed the ability to annihilate Souls.
—Quincy!
In the past few centuries, Yhwach had been defeated by him; why did he still launch a war against the Quincy in the Human World?
Not just to conclude the great war from a thousand years ago.
More importantly, the Quincy's ability to annihilate Souls would break the balance between the Three Realms!
Hollows killed by them would no longer be able to participate in the cycle, completely disappearing from the world!
But as far as he knew, Quincy were specialized against Hollows, and killing spiritual bodies could only annihilate Hollow Souls, not erase Shinigami Souls.
Could it be that those people weren't completely wiped out back then, and they developed new techniques that could annihilate Shinigami Souls?
A heavy wave of worry surged in Yamamoto's heart.
The Quincy in the Human World were humans, and human bodies could not enter the Soul Society.
He unconsciously thought back to the Quincy who were transformed into spiritual bodies by Yhwach a thousand years ago.
Yamamoto coughed, then continued to ask:
"What about Azashiro? What is his condition?"
"His vital signs are perfectly fine, but he seems to be in a state similar to a coma."
It was Unohana who took over the conversation.
Urahara Kisuke also nodded beside her, adding:
"We haven't found a solution yet, so I'm afraid we can't offer you any help."
Hearing this, Yamamoto sighed heavily:
"Very well, let's put him aside for now. Next, we have more important matters to attend to, which may concern the safety of the Soul Society."
If that group of Quincy were truly still alive, and had the power to kill so many prisoners...
It would probably be a huge threat to the Gotei 13!
Just then.
The voice of the Advance Team came from outside the door:
"Reporting, Captain-Commander."
"What is it?" Yamamoto asked.
"Two adults wish to see you..."
The Advance Team's words stopped abruptly before they could finish.
"Hm?"
Yamamoto frowned, feeling a bit strange.
Just as everyone in the room was wondering, a hearty laugh came from outside the door.
The laughter echoed in the room, causing everyone to involuntarily turn their heads.
Soon after, the door was gently pushed open, and a woman slowly walked in.
Seeing the familiar figure, everyone in the room was stunned.
Yamamoto's pupils suddenly constricted.
"Why are you here..."