Chapter 187: Big Hammer Eighty
Satoru has gone mad.
Kisuke stood in the Technical Research Bureau lobby, reaching this delightful conclusion.
Yesterday, that guy had grabbed him by the neck and caused a huge fuss.
Just when he was preparing to overthrow his superior and use the invincible Benihime to defeat Satoru and seize his position, that guy suddenly ran off excitedly.
While running, he kept shouting something like "I've attained enlightenment! This Taoist master has attained enlightenment!"
Under the astonished gazes of Kisuke and Mayuri, Satoru rushed into an empty laboratory and slammed the door shut.
Then, he hadn't come out since.
Swish!
Not far away, a door opened.
Mayuri walked out wearing a white lab coat, stretching.
Seeing Kisuke, he paused slightly.
Then, he instinctively looked toward Satoru's laboratory.
Seeing that it was still closed, Mayuri said with some surprise, "He still hasn't come out?"
"Still hasn't come out."
"Damn, he's gone mad."
Mayuri widened his eyes, reaching the same conclusion as Kisuke.
After discussing for a moment, the two decided to go knock on the door and ask.
Before they even reached the door, a voice came from inside—
"Experiment in progress! Do not disturb unless necessary!"
The two exchanged glances, mutual astonishment evident in their eyes.
Satoru was alive... ahem, awake, not sleeping inside.
A fully conscious Satoru had actually stayed alone in the laboratory for an entire day.
This could practically be called a supernatural tale.
Though the impulse to open the door and check was strong, considering Satoru's iron-fisted retribution, Kisuke decisively abandoned this tempting idea.
What, use the invincible Benihime to take down Satoru?
Just idle boasting—did anyone actually believe that?
...
...
Inside the laboratory, Satoru stood with his arms crossed.
A patch of shadow, dark as thick ink, swirled and rose at his feet.
Since last night, he had been tinkering with the asauchi of his Zanpakutō.
Mayuri was right—hiding a large laboratory in a place like Hueco Mundo, surrounded by powerful enemies, was nearly impossible.
Unless one could create a special space.
And when it came to special spaces... wasn't his own shadow a kind of special space?
Take Shunsui Kyōraku, for example—he could dive into the shadow world and leap out unexpectedly to deliver a slash.
Though Satoru had never developed a similar ability, since they were both shadow ability users, there was no reason Shunsui could do it while he couldn.
Sure enough, through repeated experiments, Satoru gradually felt he was getting closer to the threshold.
Human abilities improve as one's horizons broaden.
The power granted by Aizen wasn't merely a numerical increase.
Having become a powerhouse ahead of time, Satoru's understanding of the essence of power continued to deepen.
Watching the churning shadows beneath his feet, Satoru picked up a piece of paper, crumpled it casually, and tossed it down.
The paper ball landed on the shadow, paused for a brief second.
Then, slowly sank into it.
Success!
Watching the paper ball disappear into the shadow, Satoru's eyes lit up.
He had finally taken the most difficult step in creating a shadow space.
What followed was mechanical work.
Through practice, he would continuously enhance his understanding of the shadow space, making it larger and taller until it could accommodate an entire laboratory.
The remaining task was to semi-fix and semi-permanentize the space.
For researchers of Kisuke or Aizen's caliber, such a trivial matter was nothing.
Satoru curled his lips into a smile, as if already picturing Aizen's astonished, stunned, and delighted expression upon seeing the laboratory.
After this, wouldn't Aizen have to bow down and worship him upon meeting?
Satoru pondered, thinking that since they were friends, he shouldn't take too much advantage.
From now on, it would be enough if Aizen just called him "Father" when they met.
Heh heh.
Chuckling with a righteous laugh, Satoru began expanding his shadow space.
In less than a day, his shadow space had grown large enough to hold a room.
At this rate, he should be able to complete the shadow space before the next water change for Kōga Kuchiki.
Satisfied, Satoru stretched and rolled his neck.
After a short break, he prepared to push through and fully open the shadow space.
But just as the shadow space expanded to nearly the size of two rooms, he suddenly felt as if his shadow space had touched something.
It was like... he had been planning to carve out a fireplace in a wall and was hammering away when suddenly he broke through into someone else's fully decorated room.
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Satoru nearly laughed aloud.
What a joke—in the entire Seireitei, only he and Shunsui possessed shadow manipulation abilities.
Shunsui was stationed at the Eighth Division barracks, practically a prefecture away from the Second Division.
How could his shadow space possibly reach so far and collide with his own?
As he pondered this, Satoru intensified the expansion of his shadow space.
He was determined to find out what was blocking him.
Could it be that while creating a shadow space, he had somehow bumped into the world's barrier?
After pushing forcefully a few more times, Satoru felt his shadow space break through something.
Just as he prepared to extend his consciousness to investigate what he had encountered, he was stunned to sense something squeezing through from the other side and tumbling into his shadow space.
It seemed... like a person?!
The sheer shock caused him to lose control of the shadow space.
The "foreign object" that had fallen into his shadow space was consequently expelled a second time, emerging into the real world and landing right in front of him.
Satoru: "..."
Foreign object: "..."
Kneeling before him was a girl dressed in a white uniform, a white peaked cap atop her head. Satoru wore a contemplative expression.
The girl stared wide-eyed at him as if she'd seen a ghost.
For a moment, the scene was eerily silent.
The next second, the girl let out a gasp, flipping upright in one swift motion.
Meanwhile, Satoru leaped up with a sinister grin, pressing his hand firmly on her head and forcing her back to the ground—
"An Outer Demon, daring to take human form! Did you think you could fool my piercing eyes?!"
As he spoke, he deftly manipulated shadows into forming several ropes, binding the girl tightly from head to toe while tying a series of intricate knots.
Pinned to the ground, the girl struggled desperately but found herself completely immobilized.
Just hours ago, she was receiving her official appointment, her life seemingly at its peak.
In the blink of an eye, she found herself in this inexplicable place, a prisoner at someone else's mercy.
This absurd reversal made her wonder if she was dreaming.
Unfortunately, the cold sensation of the floor against her face and the biting pain from the tight bindings reminded her this was all too real.
Amidst her shock and fury, hearing Satoru's words, she couldn't help but angrily retort:
"Who are you calling an otherworldly demon?! I am the genius girl who just became a Sternritter, Bambietta Basterbine!"
"You bastard, how dare you insult me! I'll kill you, kill you a hundred times over!!"
Hearing the girl's words, Satoru was stunned.