Bleach: From the moment I was invited by Squad Zero.

The master of this place, Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the 12th Division, was standing with his back to them in front of a huge control panel.

His hands moved at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye across countless buttons, levers, and floating screens, while he let out excited, shrill laughs.

"...Yes, that's it! Let me see where your limits are, my Subject 247!"

He abruptly pulled down a lever. The green container in the center of the room suddenly twisted and expanded violently, spiderweb-like cracks appearing on its walls!

"Captain! Spiritual pressure overload! It's going to explode!" A high-pitched adjutant wearing a blast mask warned urgently.

"Explode? No! This is evolution!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi laughed wildly, not only not stopping it, but also pressing another red button.

boom!

The container finally gave way and burst open! The green, viscous liquid and the violent flow of spiritual particles splashed everywhere, but were all blocked by the spiritual particle barrier that instantly rose in front of the control panel.

When the smoke and dust cleared, only a small clump of what looked like charred dust remained.

"Tsk, another failure. The tolerance is still not good enough. Next time, I'll try adding some Gillian-level spiritual particles..."

Undeterred, Mayuri Kurotsuchi stroked his chin, his eyes beneath the mask gleaming with an even more fervent light.

It was only then that he seemed to notice the two extra people at the door.

He slowly turned around, instantly locking onto Liu Chuan like a scanner, and exclaimed in surprise, "Whoa?"

"A rare guest, a rare guest indeed." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's voice was sharp and sticky. He opened his arms and made an exaggerated welcoming gesture, but the action seemed more like he was showing off his lair.

"Lord Yanagawa of the Zero Division, and... Captain Shiba of the Tenth Division, what brings you two to my humble laboratory?"

"Could it be that you're interested in that failed experiment from earlier? Even though it failed, the data was very valuable! Want to take a look?"

He speaks very quickly and in a highly disjointed manner.

"Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi." Ignoring the other's strange behavior, Yanagawa cut straight to the point.

"Excuse me for bothering you, but I have come here today hoping that the Technology Development Bureau can assist in creating a special tool for investigating the 'Twin Hyōrin Maru' incident."

"Oh? A special tool?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi's interest was clearly piqued, and he strolled closer.

"Tell me about it. Could it be... that you want me to replicate 'Hyōrinmaru'? It's quite challenging, but not impossible!"

"As long as there are enough spiritual particle samples and the basic forging data of that 'Sword God'..."

“It’s not about copying a Zanpakuto,” Yanagawa interrupted his dangerous thoughts, saying, “I need a Transcendent Body.”

The moment the words "Transformation of Divine Body" were uttered, the air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi paused, his gaze behind the mask suddenly becoming incredibly sharp.

He slowly straightened up, letting out a drawn-out, ambiguous "Hmm—?"

"Transformation Body, one of the little toys left behind by Kisuke Urahara."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi's voice was still sharp, but it carried a hint of complex emotion that was hard to describe.

"Used to forcibly drag the boring Zanpakuto's original form into reality, like playing house, what, Lord Yanagawa, are you interested in these old relics left behind by Kisuke Urahara?"

He neither immediately agreed nor refused, but instead slowly strolled around the Liuchuan River, as if assessing a rare specimen.

"Creating a Transcendent Body is indeed not a difficult task for me."

Kisuke Urahara's research materials, though disorganized, were filled with his own quirky encryption methods and an aesthetically unappealing way of recording.

But I've already cracked, optimized, and even... completely surpassed the core principles and technical details.

His tone made no attempt to conceal his disdain for Kisuke Urahara's research style, yet it also carried an almost obsessive confidence and pride.

“But,” Mayuri Kurotsuchi changed the subject, stopping in front of Yanagawa, her eyes behind the mask fixed on him.

"Why should I help you? My status as the Zero Division is not enough for me, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the captain of the Twelfth Division and director of the Technology Development Bureau."

To condescend to replicate an old, limited-use toy left behind by a predecessor I've 'surpassed.' Unless…

He held out his slender fingers: "...Can you offer me something that interests me in exchange? For example, cooperate with me on some special research?"

Or... the 'real reason' that you gained the favor of Squad Zero?

His demands were direct, greedy, and probing. Clearly, he harbored a great interest in Yanagawa himself, as well as the Zero Squad.

Yanagawa suddenly turned his head and looked at Shiba Isshin, who was looking around and seemed a little uncomfortable because of the strange atmosphere in the laboratory.

Liu Chuan suddenly had a good idea.

“Captain Isshin,” Liu Chuan said in a heavy tone.

"Huh? What's wrong, Yanagawa?" Shiba Isshin responded subconsciously, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Liu Chuan sighed, as if he had made a difficult decision:

"Now that things have come to this, in order to obtain the Transcendent Body as soon as possible, find out the truth, and save your future subordinate, Toshiro Hitsugaya... I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to make do with this."

"You're making me feel wronged? What do you mean?" Zhibo was stunned and didn't understand.

Yanagawa pointed to Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who was watching them with great interest, and said in a "sorrowful" tone:

"Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi's assistance in creating the Transcendental Body requires manpower and resources. In exchange, we need a 'volunteer'."

"To cooperate with the Technology Development Bureau on some... well, special research."

"Captain Isshin, as the captain of the 10th Division, you have strong spiritual pressure, rich experience, and are Hitsugaya's intended superior. Logically and emotionally, this important task of cooperating in the research is best suited for you."

Collaborating on research? At the Technology Development Bureau? Serving as a "volunteer" for Mayuri Kurotsuchi?!

Shiba Isshin's eyes widened instantly, as if he had heard the most terrifying joke in the world.

An image of himself strapped to an experimental table, surrounded by gleaming surgical instruments and bubbling unidentified liquid, uncontrollably appeared in his mind.

The image shows Mayuri Kurotsuchi wearing gloves covered in an unknown slime, emitting a strange "heh heh" laugh as he approaches with a giant syringe...

"Hiss—!" Shiba Isshin gasped, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat, feeling chilly.

He suddenly jumped back, away from Liu Chuan, pointed at his nose, and his voice changed:

"Hey! Yanagawa! You little brat! You can't do this to your teammates! You're selling me to Mayuri Kurotsuchi for research? No way! Absolutely not! I'd rather die than do it!"

He reacted violently, gesturing wildly, his face a mixture of horror, anger, and disbelief at being betrayed.

He launched into a tirade against Yanagawa, completely disregarding the occasion and Mayuri Kurotsuchi's increasingly bright gaze beside him.

Yanagawa remained expressionless, only looking at Shiba Isshin with an eye for the greater good, as if to say, "This is a necessary sacrifice."

Shiba cursed and swore for a long time, but seeing that Yanagawa was unmoved, while Mayuri Kurotsuchi next to him seemed very interested in this "suggestion", his heart sank.

He glanced at Yanagawa's "righteous and awe-inspiring" face, then thought of Hitsugaya Toshiro, still locked up in Cell No. 46 with an uncertain future, the genius boy he had his eye on who had already quietly prepared his application to join the team...

A surge of intense emotion, mixed with helplessness and tragic grandeur, welled up in my heart.

Shiba gritted his teeth, the struggle on his face clearly visible. He scratched his hair hard, letting out a painful groan.

"Damn it, Liu Chuan, you bastard... You're ruthless!"

He seemed to have used all his strength to squeeze out a sentence through clenched teeth, his expression as tragic as if he were about to be executed.

"For Shiro... I'll give in! It's just cooperating with the research, right?! Come on! Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi! Use whatever means you have! If I even flinch, I'm not Isshin Shiba!"

He straightened his chest, closed his eyes, and looked like a martyr who said, "Do as you please," but his slightly trembling eyelids and clenched fists betrayed his inner fear.

However, the expected excited "hehehe" laughter and icy touch from Mayuri Kurotsuchi did not come.

Instead, it was a sneer filled with undisguised contempt.

"laugh--"

Zhibo opened one eye with a puzzled look in his eyes.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi waved his hand dismissively with his strangely gloved hand, his tone full of disdain: "Isshin Shiba? Cooperating with the research? You?"

He sized up Shiba Isshin from head to toe, his gaze as if he were looking at an ordinary stone:

"An unremarkable captain with no special Zanpakuto abilities, not even a single noteworthy abnormal mutation or special talent."

“If I were to dissect and study you, the data I would get would probably be less than that of a subspecies of a Gillian-class Void that I could just casually cultivate. It would be a waste of my time and a defilement of my instruments.”

"..." Shiba's heart froze, the tragic expression on his face instantly solidified, and then slowly cracked.

An indescribable feeling welled up inside me—was it a sigh of relief? Or... the humiliation of being looked down upon and a strange sense of unease?

I, the captain of the 10th Division and the head of one of the five noble families, am so disliked that I am not even qualified to be an experimental subject.

Yanagawa's lips twitched slightly, clearly not expecting Mayuri Kurotsuchi to react this way. But it's for the best, at least it prevents him from actually betraying Isshin Shiba.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi stopped looking at the devastated Isshin Shiba and turned his attention back to Yanagawa. It seemed that after the little incident, he had a new idea.

He tilted his head, and the bone mask made a slight rubbing sound.

“However, Lord Yanagawa,” Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s tone regained its interest, tinged with a subtle hint of nostalgia,

"Since you are about to go to the Spirit King Palace and become a member of the Zero Squad... then, there is something I might be able to ask you for a small favor."

"Please speak," Liu Chuan said.

“In the Zero Division, there is one of my former superiors,” Mayuri Kurotsuchi said slowly, “Kiryu Hikifune, the former captain of the Twelfth Division, and the founder of the theory of Gikai and Gikon.”

"If you see her in the Spirit King's Palace, please give her my regards."

Liu Chuan recalled the records he had seen in the Great Spirit Book Corridor, confirming that Hikifune Kiryu was indeed Mayuri Kurotsuchi's superior before being promoted to the Zero Division.

Looking at this eccentric, mad scientist before him, who was now displaying such a human side, Liu Chuan understood. He nodded in agreement.

"Alright, when I see Lord Kiryu Hikifune, I will certainly convey Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi's greetings and updates."

After leaving the Technology Development Bureau, Shiba Isshin finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead, and whispered to Yanagawa with lingering fear:

"You scared the hell out of me! I thought I was really going to be kept here and studied... Liu Chuan, next time you're joking, can't you at least give me a heads-up beforehand?"

Chapter 20 The Chaotic Hyōrinmaru

Three days later, at dawn, in the desolate outermost part of Rukongai.

This place is far from Seireitei and beyond the usual area where spirits gather.

Yanagawa and Shiba Isshin quietly appeared in the center of this desolate landscape.

They deliberately avoided all possible eyes and ears, choosing this secluded place that even the Void rarely visited.

In Liuchuan's hand, there was a rectangular device about the size of an ordinary book box.