Just as Sora was about to open a shadow space, the timer suddenly exploded.
But the lab didn't explode as they had expected.
After the timer cracked, colorful Reishi burst out like fireworks, forming Kisuke Urahara's face in the air.
When Mayuri saw the smiling firework-face, he had a bad feeling.
He knew that smile all too well!
It was the same look Urahara had every time he did something to one-up him.
Just then, Urahara's voice came from the broken timer:
"The ones who tracked me here must be my SRDI colleagues!
Is that you, 3rd Seat Mayuri? Or Mr. Akon? Hm... maybe the Captain. Of course, maybe you're all there.
I left in a hurry, but I felt I should say goodbye. We worked together for over twenty years!
Of course, that's not the main reason.
I hope 3rd Seat Mayuri is there. If he can't hear this, I'll be sad.
But he'd never miss a chance to beat me, so I'm sure he's there.
Long story short!
On the second desk in the right row, there's a file I left. It should have a 'refreshing' effect on 3rd Seat Mayuri.
He can use it to wake himself up when he gets sleepy at work.
That's all I have to say. See you all again someday!"
Urahara's voice faded, and the firework-face disappeared.
Mayuri walked, stone-faced, to the second desk on the right. There were some files Urahara had left.
He grabbed one and flipped through it.
He quickly realized it was research data on artificial souls!
Mayuri frantically flipped through the data, his face twisting.
"How is this possible?!"
"His progress?!"
Mayuri saw that Urahara's progress on artificial souls was almost the same as his!
He had spent over twenty years on this project.
Urahara started late. His progress should have been far behind!
Mayuri was furious. He could barely breathe.
"Are you okay?" Akon steadied Mayuri, who was stumbling back.
"KISUKE URAHARA!!!" Mayuri practically ground his teeth to dust.
"What's got you so worked up..." Sora took the file. When he saw it was about artificial souls, he understood why Mayuri was so mad.
This was Mayuri's passion project. He dreamed of creating a complete artificial soul from scratch.
Urahara started a decade later but had already caught up, which broke Mayuri's composure.
"Did he use the Hōgyoku?" Sora thought to himself.
He had one too and knew what it could do.
If it could make a Hollow an Arrancar, it could probably make a flawed artificial soul into a complete one.
"Captain Katori, since Urahara isn't here, I'll be going." Sōjun's anxiety was gone. He was calm again.
"Go ahead." Sora paused. "We need to stay and clean up, just in case any dangerous materials are left."
After Sōjun left, Akon looked worried. "Captain, did Lieutenant... did Kisuke really defect?"
"You know it's a fact that Kuchiki Aoba and Kisuke Urahara stole from the Kuchiki vault. Their wanted orders won't be canceled."
Sora nodded. "But he didn't set any deadly traps, so he doesn't want to make us his enemy."
"We don't need to push the hunt too hard."
Sora had seen Sōjun's hesitation. Squad 6 probably wouldn't hunt them very hard either.
He didn't want to make Urahara an enemy. Aizen had a grudge, but that didn't mean he did.
If they had common interests later, they could cooperate. So he wouldn't chase Urahara to the World of the Living.
"Understood. I'll get some people to clean this up." Akon was relieved. He didn't want to fight his old colleague.
A moment later, SRDI researchers arrived and began to clean up.
...
Wandenreich, Sun Gate.
The Sun Gate was the exit from the Wandenreich. Usually, only a few patrol guards were here, but today it was packed with Quincy.
Haschwalth's recruitment drive hadn't worked, so he decided to use his old trick: send soldiers to the World of the Living.
Sōken Ishida had planned to stop him.
But after Sora's advice, he changed his mind.
Sōken Ishida would lead these Quincy to the World of the Living.
He would have them break into small groups and blend into human society. As long as they didn't form villages, Haschwalth couldn't start another war.
This was good news for the Shinigami too. Yamamoto planned to attack the Wandenreich.
The Wandenreich wasn't at full power yet, but many of the Shinigami captains were still young and hadn't reached their limit.
Splitting the Quincy would mean fewer casualties for the Shinigami.
A moment later, Sora arrived with his Quincy disciples.
The Wandenreich would become a battlefield. It was too dangerous to leave them here, so he was sending them to the World of the Living.
"Kurosaki, you're here!" Sōken Ishida was keeping order, having the soldiers enter the gate.
"Haschwalth has opened the Sun Gate. You can go through."
Sternritter with a Sun Gate Key could always travel, but not with many people. A mass transport like this needed Haschwalth's authorization.
"Then we'll be going."
Sora led his disciples through the Sun Gate.
"This 'Sun Gate' passage looks like the Garganta from our classes!"
Inside the gate, Liltotto looked around. The passage was pitch black, like a shadow.
"The Sun Gate's shadow passage is connected to the Garganta. That's how it connects the three realms," Sora said.
The SRDI was studying the shadow space using the key Sora provided. They were making progress.
"Professor, when we get to the World of the Living, where will we stay?"
Meninas was nervous. This was her first time.
"Karakura Town."
Karakura Town was one of the few areas of high spiritual concentration in the World of the Living. It was a good place for Quincy.
Besides settling his disciples, he had one more thing to do.
He had spoken with the 'Soul King's Will'.
The Soul King was going to push for Masaki Kurosaki's birth.
So, Sora was also going to the World of the Living to find the Kurosaki family, so he could monitor the timing of Ichigo's birth.
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Bleach: Getting Stronger, Starting from TeachingStatus: Completed
Bleach: Justice System
Status: OngoingChapters: 50
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