Kisuke Urahara took out the 'Soul King fragments' he got from Kuchiki Aoba. After processing them, he put them into the Hōgyoku prototype.
Urahara started researching the Hōgyoku later than Sōsuke Aizen, and their creation methods were different.
Aizen was very interested in Urahara's method. He stood aside, watching Urahara's process and figuring out his train of thought.
"His thinking is different from mine, but it achieves a similar result." Aizen rubbed his chin, continuing to watch, not wanting to miss a single detail.
As Urahara worked, the Hōgyoku prototype grew larger.
After it absorbed all the 'Soul King fragments' from the Kuchiki clan, the Hōgyoku was dozens of times bigger than before.
"The power of this Hōgyoku should be greater than the one I made. The Kuchiki clan really is one of the oldest families. They had so many 'Soul King fragments'!"
Aizen couldn't help but feel impressed.
'Soul King fragments' are extremely rare in the Soul Society. Many smaller nobles don't even know their secret.
The foundation of the great nobles is different. The Kuchiki clan had so many fragments, letting Urahara make huge progress all at once.
"According to the records... besides the Shiba clan, the other four families should all have 'Soul King fragments'."
Aizen thought to himself. He was sure the Shiba clan had none.
He had already checked their secret vault.
He had "visited" the Shiba clan many times over the years. He knew exactly what they had.
"The Tsunayashiro clan's fragments are in the Professor's lab. The Shihōin clan's... the Professor probably took those too."
Aizen didn't think his Professor would miss the Shihōin fragments, so he ruled them out.
"Of the five great noble families... only one is left that might still have fragments..."
Aizen decided to find a chance to "visit" that noble family.
Meanwhile, Urahara finished the Hōgyoku synthesis and began to study its properties.
But he didn't use it to evolve Hollows, like Katori Sora and Sōsuke Aizen did.
He picked up the Hōgyoku and walked to two incubation tanks.
"My, my..." Urahara thought of something interesting and smiled. "With its help, my progress might speed up."
If Mayuri saw what was in these tanks, he would definitely want to smash them.
Floating in both tanks was an artificial soul embryo!
Mayuri always believed he was more talented than Urahara, which led to a rivalry.
This also sparked Urahara's competitive side.
Creating an artificial soul that could grow independently was Mayuri's dream.
So, he would do it first and fulfill Mayuri's dream for him. That would definitely make Mayuri mad!
Urahara felt victory was certain. The Hōgyoku could help him fix the defects in the embryos.
His previous Hōgyoku had too few fragments and was too weak. It couldn't fix all the defects, but it kept him from falling too far behind Mayuri.
Urahara hadn't been focused on artificial souls before.
He only started trying when he saw Mayuri might succeed.
So he was more than ten years behind Mayuri's progress.
The prototype Hōgyoku with few fragments let him close that gap by several years.
Now, with a stronger Hōgyoku, he could definitely overtake him!
With a thought, the Hōgyoku in Urahara's hand turned black. Black tendrils extended from it and pierced his fingertips.
The next moment, the Hōgyoku flared with a blinding light, covering the embryos in the tanks.
After a moment, the Hōgyoku's glow faded.
"Did it work...?"
Urahara was hesitant. The embryos in the tanks didn't look any different.
He adjusted the tanks and took some cells from the embryos to observe.
After a while, Urahara scratched his head. His questions weren't answered.
It doesn't look like there are any problems... I'll just try to grow them
Urahara recorded the data.
He decided to keep growing the embryos to test the Hōgyoku's effect. He changed the nutrient solution in the tanks, no longer stopping their growth.
"If this works..." Urahara studied the Hōgyoku. "This is like taking the power of a creator..."
Artificial souls were different from Reigai technology. They were made from scratch, a new soul from a normal clump of Reishi.
This changed the basic logic of how souls are born. In the past, new souls only came from human or soul reproduction.
"Interesting. Using the Hōgyoku to fix the defects in artificial soul embryos..." Aizen picked up the data file Urahara had just put down.
"This can't be mass-produced. Making too many artificial souls would affect the balance of the three realms." Aizen thought about its use. "But, on the other hand, it could also be used to maintain the balance."
After the experiment, Urahara felt tired and rubbed his temples. His date with Kuchiki Aoba had used a lot of energy.
Urahara put the Hōgyoku in a glass container in a cabinet. The cabinet had many sealing spells.
If anyone touched the container, the lab's self-destruct spell would trigger, and Urahara would know instantly.
However, Urahara didn't know that under Kyōka Suigetsu's influence, he hadn't put it in the container. He just left it on the table.
Aizen had used Kyōka Suigetsu to mess with Urahara's perception, making him think he put it away safely.
After putting the Hōgyoku "away," Urahara left the lab.
"I'll accept this generous gift, Kisuke Urahara."
Aizen picked up the Hōgyoku from the table, his lips curving up.
...
Kuchiki Estate.
After saying goodbye to Urahara, Kuchiki Aoba went home.
She lifted her skirt and tiptoed carefully along the back porch.
She had snuck out to see Urahara today and couldn't be caught.
"Aoba."
A familiar, gentle voice from behind made Kuchiki Aoba's body go stiff.
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