Lately, Nanatsuki had been staying primarily in Hueco Mundo, focusing on training his three newly recruited disciples.
Among them, Grimmjow was the most driven. Once Nanatsuki provoked his competitive spirit, he dove into training with fierce determination.
Ulquiorra, on the other hand, often fell deep into silent introspection, pondering abstract questions that defied common understanding. Still, when it came time for training, he executed Nanatsuki's instructions without issue.
Starrk, however, was the laziest of the three. He lacked the motivation to grow stronger—unless Nanatsuki was watching, he'd inevitably slack off.
"So you've already mastered Flowlight?" Nanatsuki observed Grimmjow's progress with interest, then casually added, "Although you're still a bit slower than Starrk."
Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, and Starrk had only recently begun learning swordsmanship, but thanks to their natural affinity for controlling Reiatsu, they quickly grasped techniques like Flowlight, which focused on forming and projecting Reiatsu Blades.
Nanatsuki had also taught them Shun Strike and Senmai-Oroshi. Given their strong physiques, picking up these techniques wasn't hard—though true mastery was another matter entirely.
Still, their training progress had netted Nanatsuki a healthy reward: 90,000 General Ability EXP.
"What?!" Grimmjow growled the moment he heard that Starrk had progressed faster than him. "I was the first to learn all those sword techniques—how am I behind him?!"
"Starrk came later," Ulquiorra replied flatly. "He learned them in the shortest amount of time."
"I just wasn't serious yet!" Grimmjow snapped, eyes burning with renewed resolve.
Looks like it was time to show them what Grimmjow going all out really looked like.
"Well, a strong competitive spirit is a good thing," Nanatsuki said, nodding in approval.
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
Starrk lounged on a boulder, still resting.
"You've been on break for a while, haven't you?" Nanatsuki flash-stepped beside him with a sigh.
"It hasn't been that long… training is exhausting. Don't wanna burn myself out," Starrk mumbled, sounding as exhausted as he claimed to be.
"'Hasn't been that long…'" Lilynette mimicked his tone with mock sympathy. "Only been an hour!"
"Don't make things up!" Starrk protested. "No way it's been a whole hour!"
"Don't waste your potential, Starrk," Nanatsuki said with a smile. "Hope you don't get completely wrecked when Grimmjow challenges you again."
"What'd you say to that panther this time…" Starrk groaned. Just remembering Grimmjow pestering him last time made his shoulders slump. "Stop using me to motivate him!"
"We can't lose!" Lilynette shouted, yanking Starrk to his feet. "No more slacking—get up and train!"
Starrk sighed in surrender and picked up his sword.
Just then, Nanatsuki's Hell Butterfly Communicator buzzed—Akon was calling.
"Captain! We've got a situation—Vice-Captain Urahara has defected!"
"...Defected? Urahara Kisuke?"
Nanatsuki activated the call and was met with a stunning revelation.
"He eloped with the Kuchiki heiress and stole a treasure from the family vault! Squad Six is pursuing him. He's likely already fled the Soul Society… and now Lieutenant Sasakibe's here at the Department of Research asking questions on behalf of the Head Captain!"
Akon quickly filled him in.
"You handle Sasakibe for now—I'll be right there."
Nanatsuki could already sense that something was off. Urahara Kisuke... running away with the Kuchiki heiress?
After returning to the Soul Society, Nanatsuki headed straight for the Technology Development Bureau.
"...Aizen Sōsuke?"
He found Aizen waiting outside the building. Clearly, this wasn't a coincidence.
"You're waiting here for me?"
"I am, Sensei. I came to confess." Aizen lowered his head.
He hadn't intended to hide the incident. Nanatsuki had already seen through the power of Kyōka Suigetsu, and he knew there was no way to keep this from him.
"So you're behind the situation with Urahara Kisuke?"
Nanatsuki narrowed his eyes.
"I am," Aizen admitted calmly. "After I discovered his affair with Kuchiki Aoba, I… gave them a little help."
"Help, huh... Kisuke isn't stupid. He wouldn't just defect for no reason. What role did you really play in this?"
"Urahara used Aoba to steal the Soul King Fragment from the Kuchiki vault. I simply... made sure that came to light."
"...He's researching the fragments too?"
Nanatsuki's brows lifted in surprise.
"More than that. His progress isn't far behind ours. I personally witnessed him crafting a Hōgyoku. His approach is different from ours, but there are some overlapping principles." Aizen's tone showed genuine admiration.
After all, even with access to fragments, creating a Hōgyoku wasn't easy. The Tsunayashiro Clan had spent decades on research and made very little progress.
"So he's already capable of making a Hōgyoku…" Nanatsuki scratched his face. He recalled Urahara constantly complaining about overwork in the Development Bureau—turns out he'd been saving time for his own projects.
"And as Vice-Captain of the Twelfth Division, I acted without your permission. I apologize."
"I do tend to be protective of my own." Nanatsuki's eyes narrowed. "You're my disciple—Urahara isn't part of the Katori-ryu. Naturally, I'll side with you."
"But…" Nanatsuki's voice turned cold. "Don't forget. Never do anything that endangers the Katori-ryu."
He had known from the beginning that Aizen was highly independent and dangerous, yet extremely talented.
Someone like that could only be managed through principle and discipline.
Still, the benefits of having Aizen as a disciple far outweighed the risks—so long as he didn't cross the line.
And it didn't take much to guess: the Hōgyoku Urahara crafted had probably already fallen into Aizen's hands.
Not that Nanatsuki minded. Between the ancient Hueco Mundo fragments and the caches from the Tsunayashiro and Shihōin clans, he already had enough Soul King Fragments to create a complete Hōgyoku himself.
In a way, his Teaching System resembled Yhwach's ability:
The more power Yhwach's followers had, the more he could reclaim.
For Nanatsuki, the stronger his disciples grew… the more power he gained in return.
And he wanted Aizen Sōsuke to reach the pinnacle—so he could finish walking the Path of Transcendence sooner.
"Of course, Sensei," Aizen said with a bow. "As your disciple, I would never do anything that harms the Katori-ryu."