(T/N: Second Chapter!)
After leaving Muken, Nanatsuki made his way to the floor where the Reishi Shells were held.
The two seated officers who had interrogated the Reishi Shells had already gone to Squad 9 to report the incident involving the destruction of the Reishi Shell's brain, leaving only a few guards watching over the cells.
The Reishi Shell's sudden brain failure during interrogation meant it would likely be taken to Hikifune Kirio's lab for examination soon. Nanatsuki wanted to inspect the Reishi Shell before that happened.
No one noticed the shadow silently sliding along the corner of the walls.
Nanatsuki quickly arrived at the Reishi Shell's holding cell.
He slipped into the Reishi Shell's shadow, and what he saw from within matched what he had seen earlier through the shadow link—the shell's eyes were wide open, yet there was no sign of consciousness in its pupils. Brain fluid had even started leaking from its nose.
However, the moment Nanatsuki got close, the large conch shell in his hand began to stir.
Nanatsuki's eyes lit up. There were residual Hell Reishi on the Reishi Shell!
The Sound of Hell in his hand glowed faintly red as it began to absorb the Hell Reishi lingering on the Reishi Shell's body.
When the Sound of Hell was created, it needed to absorb Hell Reishi. When used, it would consume the Hell Reishi stored within.
The consumed Hell Reishi could be replenished when the Gate of Hell opened in the real world.
'Is this residue from the recent incident, or had the Reishi Shell carried Hell Reishi from the beginning?' Nanatsuki wondered silently.
Just one look at this shell made it obvious—something had been implanted into its brain to destroy it.
The Hell Reishi was likely leftover residue from the activation of that implanted technique.
Nanatsuki decided to check the next cell.
In the adjacent cell was another Reishi Shell who had yet to be interrogated. Its brain was still intact.
These two had been captured together—there was no reason only one of them would have that brain-destroying technique implanted.
After moving to the neighboring cell, Nanatsuki again took out the Sound of Hell.
As it neared the second Reishi Shell, it glowed faintly but didn't begin absorbing the Reishi.
'So this one also carries Hell Reishi, but they're likely sealed or restricted by a technique—the Sound of Hell can't pull them in,' Nanatsuki thought to himself.
It was a surprising and fortunate discovery.
Now that he had the Sound of Hell, he could detect Reishi Shells tainted by Hell without needing any special equipment.
Detection devices were always a hassle to carry around anyway.
He could treat the Sound of Hell as a Hell Reishi detector—as long as he didn't activate its audio functions, he wouldn't be affected by Hell's Will.
Once he confirmed the Reishi Shell's connection to Hell, Nanatsuki left the prison.
To examine the implanted brain technique, a craniotomy was necessary—but since he had snuck in, doing surgery here was impossible.
Still, craniotomies of this kind were always handled directly by Hikifune Kirio. If he simply went to Squad 12 and "happened" to run into her, there was a good chance she'd invite him to assist. After all, he had a reputation for refined Kaido and research skill. Given his relationship with Kirio, that scenario was highly probable.
Nanatsuki left the prison and headed straight for Squad 12.
He had been coming here quite often over the past few years. Many of the squad members knew him, so no one stopped him at the entrance.
He casually asked one of the squad members, "Is Miss Kirio in the squad right now?"
"Oh, Katori-sensei!" the female Shinigami chuckled. "There are quite a few people here to see the Captain today. Even the Prison Squad came by just now—they looked like it was something urgent. She might be a bit busy~"
"The Prison Squad? Aren't they usually one of the most idle squads? What could be so serious that they need Miss Kirio's help?" Nanatsuki asked with feigned surprise.
"I heard it was something about a prisoner—some kind of issue they want the Captain to look at," the Shinigami replied, pointing down the corridor. "They're waiting in the main hall right now."
"Thanks. I'll head over too. Maybe I can help Miss Kirio in some way," Nanatsuki replied warmly.
He made his way down the corridor and entered Squad 12's main hall. Sure enough, a few unfamiliar Shinigami were already there.
The ones seeking help from Hikifune Kirio were Squad 9's Vice-Captain, Muguruma Kensei, and the two seated officers responsible for interrogating the Reishi Shells.
"Sensei?" Kensei was surprised to see Nanatsuki.
"I came up with a new recipe and thought I'd bounce ideas off Miss Kirio," Nanatsuki said with a smile, nodding politely to Squad 9's Vice-Captain. "Vice-Captain Niino, I hope Kensei hasn't been too much trouble?"
He'd often visited Kirio under the guise of culinary exchange—keeping tabs on when she might be promoted—so this kind of excuse wouldn't raise suspicion.
"Not at all. Kensei's been performing excellently in Squad 9. That's how he became a seated officer so quickly," Vice-Captain Niino replied with a smile.
As they spoke, Hikifune Kirio entered the hall along with two of her assistants.
"Katori-kun, I've got some pressing matters today. We'll have to save the recipe talk for later," Kirio said. Through the Denreishinki, she had already been informed of Nanatsuki's visit.
"We'll be doing a craniotomy to investigate what's inside a Reishi Shell's head. I might need your Kaido skills later, so come with me," she explained. "Squad 8 captured two Reishi Shells, but something strange happened during the interrogation…"
While the Prison Squad had waited in the hall, they'd already briefed Kirio via Denreishinki.
"Squad 8 caught Reishi Shells...?" Nanatsuki nodded in agreement. "That's not easy to do. I'm quite interested."
Nanatsuki followed Kirio and the others back to the Underground Prison.
"This must be your first time here, Katori-kun," Kirio said with pride. "I personally designed the Reishi barrier here—its strength is on par with Seireitei's Shakonmaku. Even the Head Captain himself would need to exert effort to break through it. In terms of pure defense, it's the strongest Reishi barrier in all of Soul Society!"
While Shakonmaku also had the ability to erase spirit bodies, the two were different types of Reishi barriers.
Nanatsuki nodded with a smile. "Just the density of Reishi in this barrier makes it clear—it's rock solid. A true bulwark against formidable foes."
This barrier could likely block even a Captain-level Shinigami's attacks… but not Nanatsuki's infiltration.