"What are you doing?"
Mayuri Kurotsuchi bared a ghoulish grin. His face, a patterned mask of black and white stripes, looked like the final boss of a horror movie.
Unmasked malice poured out, flooding the laboratory like a collapsing dam.
"Just a few harmless little experiments, of course."
"Have him hand over his Zanpakutō—or you can just hand over yours instead."
There was a hint of repressed annoyance in the low voice. The Prison Warden's authority clearly meant nothing to the other man.
From a mere soldier defying orders to a lowly Third Seat who thought he could trespass in a private laboratory just because he had Shutara Senjumaru's favor.
These people had no respect for hierarchy. They didn't view the Prison Warden as anyone significant.
If he didn't correct this behavior now, there really wouldn't be a place for him in Shino Prison in the future.
Mayuri had originally planned to apply for the position of Prison Warden himself once Shutara Senjumaru was promoted, taking full control of the entire facility.
At that point, he would have had a never-ending supply of experimental subjects from the criminal population.
But now, it seemed the biggest obstacle in his path wasn't Shutara Senjumaru, but this brat who had only recently made a name for himself.
For the sake of his future research, he had to strike hard!
Mayuri raised a finger, and red light blossomed in a probing strike:
"Hadō #31: Shakkahō."
Spiritual energy coalesced, instantly forming a massive crimson fireball that whistled through the air as it hurtled toward the figure in the doorway.
Facing the rushing fireball, Naraku Sora's expression didn't change at all, as if the searing heat simply didn't exist.
Watching from the sidelines while slack-jawed, Kisuke Urahara's heart leaped into his throat. He reflexively opened his mouth to shout a warning.
However, what happened next made his eyes nearly pop out of his head.
Sora simply opened his hand and reached out to grab the massive fireball.
A split second later, a thunderous boom echoed.
Between his five fingers, a shockwave erupted out of thin air, blasting outward in all directions. Countless flames splattered like raindrops as the crimson fireball shrank rapidly until—
It was crushed out of existence by sheer physical force.
This exaggerated display left both men in the room dumbfounded.
Urahara was somewhat better off; at least he knew of Sora's legendary feats. Although he hadn't seen them with his own eyes, he had a rough idea of the boy's strength.
But Mayuri was different. He was even more of a shut-in than Shutara Senjumaru.
If the sudden rebellion of the Zanpakutō hadn't disrupted his experimental plans, he would probably still be cooped up in his lab continuing his unfinished research.
Consequently, his understanding of Naraku Sora was still stuck at their first meeting.
If Shutara Senjumaru hadn't forced her way in and intervened back then, he would have tricked this kid into the lab and pumped him full of eighteen different chemicals.
Until a moment ago, Mayuri still believed Sora was just a talented newcomer.
"You seem to have grown quite a bit stronger since we first met."
Mayuri peeled back his lips to reveal rows of jagged white teeth. Faint ripples of spiritual pressure radiated from him, forming visible patterns in the air.
"Claw them out, Ashisogi Jizō!"
The bizarrely shaped Zanpakutō that had been floating in the air vanished, only to reappear gripped in Mayuri's hand as he lunged forward with a backhanded slash.
In an instant, a piercing whistle tore through the air.
The eerie blade traced a semicircle in the air. The previously dormant spiritual pressure suddenly surged, triggering a riotous gale that swept toward everything in its path.
Sora raised his blade to meet the strike. Steel clashed against steel, sending sparks flying.
To his surprise, the force behind the strike was exceptionally high.
Even though Mayuri focused primarily on research, his combat prowess wasn't lacking—even in his weakest area, close-quarters combat.
For a genius, learning how to fight was the lowest-cost form of research.
They were only limited by their own physical constraints.
Amid the ringing low chime of clashing blades, Mayuri took a step back. He looked down at his trembling arm, then looked up to stare at the encroaching Sora.
Sora moved with a heavy stride that was precise to the millimeter, maintaining an attack posture that showed no openings. He raised his Zanpakutō to chest level, his eyes filled with a calm indifference that matched the rising tide of his spiritual pressure.
Mayuri grinned savagely, as if he were looking at new experimental material.
Compared to the mediocre and even somewhat irritating Urahara, the brat in front of him clearly had much more potential. The success rate for Zanpakutō modification would surely be higher.
Driven by a passion for science and the unknown, he swung Ashisogi Jizō out from his side.
He unleashed a modified form of Zanjutsu that was unrecognizable from the original style, launching a thrust from a bizarre angle.
The blade broke through the air.
The gleam of steel collided again with a sharp clang, followed by a series of rapid vibrations.
For a split second, it sounded like a baby was crying.
The sound waves took physical form, piercing into Sora's body like needles. In that moment, his arm suddenly went limp, and his strength plummeted.
It felt like a sudden cramp; a flash of numbness arrived instantly, then vanished just as quickly.
It was so brief it was as if it had never happened at all.
Sora retaliated with a burst of spiritual pressure. Amidst the thunderous roar of the shockwave, the sudden impact sent the nearby Mayuri flying backward.
Although his memories told him that Mayuri wasn't skilled in combat and relied entirely on high-tech gadgets to overwhelm enemies, the reality was different.
To become a Captain—excluding a few very specific exceptions—one had to meet certain hard requirements.
Therefore, anyone who underestimated this scientist would surely pay a heavy price.
Preconceived notions and intelligence reports simply didn't apply to a man like Mayuri.
"Is it strange? Your spiritual pressure output was suddenly restricted, wasn't it?"
Mayuri's eyes were full of mockery as he landed smoothly. His shoes scraped against the floor as he slid, leaving two charred streaks behind.
"The discharge vents for spiritual pressure are located on a Soul Reaper's wrists. It only takes a tiny trick to seal them off, and a fool like you has no idea how to break that seal."
While seemingly explaining his ability, he was actually exerting psychological pressure.
Compared to a straightforward combatant, Mayuri was far more cautious.
Sora glanced at his right hand. There were no marks on his wrist, and he didn't feel any actual discomfort.
But the numbness during the fight had been very real.
In a high-level battle, a single moment of distraction can change the entire course of the fight.
To say nothing of actual physical numbness.
However, at the end of the day, Mayuri's little tricks only worked if the gap in strength wasn't too large.
Once the erupting power exceeded the threshold he could handle, the so-called numbness wouldn't provide him with any opening for a counterattack.
For example, like this.
Under Mayuri's watchful gaze, the air around Sora popped like bursting bubbles. Without any visible movement, he simply vanished from his spot.
A shimmering blade occupied Mayuri's entire field of vision, wreathed in brilliant lightning.
Mayuri's pupils shrank. Terror washed over his face. He didn't have time to react, let alone raise Ashisogi Jizō—
The blade fell like a descending thunderbolt, carrying Sora's strength and will as it instantly shattered Mayuri's outer spiritual defense.
His flesh tore with the sound of rending silk, and blood sprayed out, instantly soaking the floor.
The clean floorboards began to hiss with corrosion. The same floor that had survived the spiritual pressure of both men began to pit and dissolve under the touch of Mayuri's blood.
It was a grotesque sight.
Watching from the side, Urahara sucked in a breath of cold air.
What kind of monster is this guy? He even modified his own body?
No wonder he doesn't even spare his own Zanpakutō!
Sora retreated several meters, putting distance between them to avoid being splashed.
Mayuri allowed the blood to fountain from his chest as if it were nothing. He showed no signs of pain; instead, he grinned, his smile dripping with malice.
"Didn't that woman Senjumaru tell you? An injury of this level is meaningless to a scientist."
He raised a pale hand and jammed a syringe he'd pulled from nowhere into the wound.
A moment later.
The hideous wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. The efficiency was comparable to the High-Speed Regeneration of an Adjuchas-class Hollow.
In the blink of an eye, a perfectly intact Mayuri stood before him again.
"I—"
His mouth had barely opened, but before any words could come out, he saw a palm expanding in front of him. Sora lifted him off the ground by his head and then—
He slammed him down.
Boom!
Mayuri's vision went black as searing pain instantly consumed his consciousness.
Sora's lips curled into a grin. He raised his broad arm, joints popping and muscles tensing as Kidō-based spiritual pressure coated his body.
An incomplete Shunko erupted here.
His fist broke the sound barrier, accelerating to an incredible speed.
A heavy downward punch slammed directly into the head Mayuri was so proud of.
A dull, heavy thud echoed.
A faint resistance met his knuckles, followed immediately by a secondary explosion of sound as the obstruction was obliterated like a popped bubble.
The ground gave way like a deflated ball, caving in instantly.
With Mayuri at the center, the crater expanded rapidly, sending out waves of dust and debris. The flesh covered by spiritual pressure disintegrated instantly, like a ripened watermelon.
This over-the-top violence left Kisuke Urahara paralyzed with fear.
He never would have dreamed that Sora's fighting style was so barbaric.
He immediately resolved in his heart that he would never slack off on any task the boy gave him.
Otherwise, the next head to explode might be his.
After that powerful display, Sora didn't relax. Instead, his brow furrowed as he glared toward the outside of the laboratory.
Blood bubbled and flowed beneath his feet as if Mayuri were truly dead.
But in the courtyard outside, a heavy spiritual pressure and a sense of threat were growing even stronger.
A mangled body appeared in the courtyard. Mayuri's face was twisted in a cold, hideous expression as his golden eyes stared straight at Sora inside the lab.
"Brat, I admit I underestimated your strength. But if you think that was the extent of my abilities, you are dead wrong!"
"Bankai!"
"Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō!"
A massive amount of purple mist billowed from his Zanpakutō, instantly covering the entire courtyard. Then, a strange, baby-like wail rang out.
A hidden behemoth scraped across the ground, the sound like nails on a chalkboard, making one's skin crawl.
Within the thick fog, a massive baby's head slowly emerged. Its pale, emotionless eyes stared down at the figure below.
In the shadows of a corner, a tall figure watched the battle erupt in the courtyard. Her eyes were full of amusement.
"That's more like it. I didn't come here to watch children play house."
"If they don't get a little serious, how will they ever learn to get along?"
"Silly Boy, don't you dare disappoint me..."
Sora stepped out the door and looked up to meet the gaze of Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō. Suddenly, a shrill cry erupted, and visible sound waves rippled outward.
"A genius like you belongs on an operating table."
The moment the words fell, countless fleshy, pillar-like insect legs began to move frantically. Like a high-speed train, the creature charged toward Sora.
A massive cloud of poisonous mist spewed from its mouth, spreading like a tidal wave and instantly engulfing the entire courtyard.
No matter how one looked at it, it seemed like a certain death trap.
A cluster of lightning erupted from Sora's body, and a surging pillar of spiritual pressure shot into the sky. As he drew his blade, a searing heat flooded the battlefield.
With his increasing proficiency, Sora was now able to release his Shikai without chanting the incantation.
Tyrannical flames of spiritual pressure, wreathed in lightning, slammed down without warning!
The massive, charging worm-like creature felt as if it had slammed into an indestructible mountain.
Boom!
A vast wave of destruction surged through that massive husk. Like a falling line of dominoes, it triggered a chain reaction that blew the creature apart.
Pure destruction covered every inch of flesh.
The massive, heavy body of the worm was pulverized in the echoing roar of thunder, vanishing completely.
As Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō collapsed, Mayuri's eyes went dark, and he lost consciousness completely.
It proved that modifying a Zanpakutō indeed carried certain risks.
As the whipped-up gale subsided and the poison mist cleared, Kisuke Urahara finally poked his head out and looked cautiously into the courtyard.
"Kisuke, draw up whatever charges you want."
Sora sheathed his blade and grinned. "I'm sending this guy to the Hell of Reviving."
There was no reason to turn down a benefit that delivered itself right to his door.