Chapter 201: Imperfection
<span style="font-weight:400">The mansion’s lobbies, adorned with ornate carpets and dimly lit chandeliers, echoed with the sound of a heavy coffin being dragged. Kisuke maneuvered through the corridors as if he intimately knew every twist and turn.
<span style="font-weight:400">Just as he took a turn, a familiar face entered his sight. Ciri greeted him with a scowl.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Would it kill you to add wheels to that thing? The unbearable noise is disturbing their rest.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Ciri contained her anger because of Kisuke’s earnest attempts to fix her Zanpakutō in the past. Even if he didn’t seed, he tried his best.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kisuke raised the tip of his hat, staring at Ciri with wide eyes. “We’re taking this coffin to the basement. I have a question, Ciri-san. Did you cut off your Hollow traits?”
<span style="font-weight:400">He quickly dismissed the idea upon sensing her spiritual pressure. Had she discarded her Hollow traits, her power would’ve considerably diminished rather than growing more intense.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Or you restored your Zanpakutō and sealed your Hollow traits in there?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I did just that,” Ciri said, arching her left brow skeptically. “Leader helped me restore my Zanpakutō. His mes are miraculous.”
<span style="font-weight:400">A shiver ran down Kisuke’s spine at the fervor in her eyes, reminiscent of a zealot’s. In theirst meeting, she was depressed as hell. Now she had the passion of a cultist.
<span style="font-weight:400">Her transformation was startling, to say the least.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, ain’t Kazuya the savior of everyone here?” Lilte quipped as she arrived with Starrk, Api, and Menoly. “Yet nobody fucking wants to help him. Y’all are the worst friends.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Lilte continued throwing sarcastic remarks, still bitter that nobody went to help Kazuya.
<span style="font-weight:400">Api clenched her fists, her Reiatsu ring in response. “I’d do anything to go up there and stab Kazuya’s enemies with my chakrams… but my help might sabotage his schemes. Like Starrk said before, it’splicated.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Lilte shrugged. “I’m done preaching. If anything happens to that guy, I’m gonna kill everyone here, then the guy who kills him. I’ll avenge him!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Stark ran his fingers through his hair. “Lilte, focus that energy somewhere else. He’ll be fine, I promise.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kisuke, who was deep in thought until now, opened his mouth. “Tessai, let’s start the process. We’ll discuss the limitations of Kazuya’s Zanpakutōter.”
<span style="font-weight:400">If his Zanpakutō could restore a part of someone’s soul, then it should also be capable of restoring Yoruichi without requiring the help of Hōgyoku to merge her Soul Boundaries.
<span style="font-weight:400">Tessai nodded, and under Kisuke’s guidance, they arrived at an unsuspecting staircase leading down to the basement.
<span style="font-weight:400">Tessai entered the basement and performed a mix of high-level and forbidden Kidō spells in session. After the colorful disy of Kidō spells faded, the small basement transformed into a massive underground zone rivaling that of the Urahara Shop.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Wow…” Lilte murmured, apuding in awe. “Now that Kisuke’s shop is dead, can we live here from now on?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Api shrugged. “Ask Kazuya. He decides what goes on around here. I’m just his maid.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“A, pretty please,” Lilte pleaded with sparkling eyes. “Kazuya won’t say no if you ask on our behalf.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“He won’t say no to you either.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Fuck…” Lilte cursed under her breath. “Starrk, it’s up to you now.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“...”
<span style="font-weight:400">The former shopkeeper turned to the party of Starrk, Lilte, Api, and Menoly. “I’ll be busy for some time. Can everyone keep an eye out for Kazuya’s Reiatsu? Don’t hesitate to help him. His life is more important than anything.”
<span style="font-weight:400">After Kazuya had saved him and helped Yoruichi, Kisuke couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, even if it meant exposing Kazuya’s identity and risking their mission.
<span style="font-weight:400">Api nodded, a look of determination in her eyes. “If ites to that, I’ll not hesitate.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kisuke turned towards the stairs, a small smile ying on his lips.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">‘Yep, this is a cult.’</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">He clenched the metal chain and dragged the coffin through the door. Closing the door, he asked Tessai to cast a force field around the whole underground area. Disturbing the residents posed a risk to his life.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kisuke brought the Hōgyoku from his sleeve, broke its seal, and poured his Reiatsu into it. The Hōgyoku remained unresponsive — Kisuke’s Reiatsu fell short of activating the Hōgyoku.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m not qualified for the job.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tessai scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Do we wait for Kazuya now?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I expected this to happen someday,” he said calmly and tugged at the coffin’s chains beforepletely yanking it. Yoruichi, in her Hollowfied state, was tied to the coffin with Reishi bindings, her formpletely frozen under the influence of forbidden Kidō.
<span style="font-weight:400">Though Yoruichi was just a little over 5 feet tall, she didn’t fill the entire coffin. There was apartment under her, housing a box that looked like an old television without a screen.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Tessai, behold ‘Seishin Zōkyō’, the solution to our current problem.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tessai’s sses gleamed. “A Reiatsu enhancer? You managed to finish that project! Do you know how big of a break—”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Don’t get too excited, big man. Just see how useless it’ll be in a fight.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kisuke picked up the box and started tinkering with it. At the back of the box, two tubes, one red and one green, were attached. Kisuke connected the green tube to the Hōgyoku. Then he cut his wrist and inserted the red tube into the wound.
<span style="font-weight:400">Closing his eyes, he fed his Reiatsu into the tube. The box named Seishin Zōkyō inted like a balloon as it stored the Reiatsu, enhanced it throughpression, then pumped the enhanced Reiatsu into the green tube.
<span style="font-weight:400">The Hōgyoku started emitting a cold, eerie glow.
<span style="font-weight:400">“We seeded,” Kisuke said with a sigh of relief and yanked the red tube. He took the Hōgyoku and stood before the slumbering Yoruichi. “An imperfect solution, but it’s all I can do at the moment.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Hōgyoku started glowing as if responding to his desires. Yoruichi’s Hollow Mask fell off into small white kes, followed by her arm that was protected under ayer of Hierro. She cast off all the Hollow traits and returned to the Yoruichi they used to know.
<span style="font-weight:400">Only on the surface.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Tessai, you can remove your Kidō.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tessai performedplex hand gestures, and the green glowing energy around Yoruichi dissipated.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kisuke poked Yoruichi’s face with the tip of his staff but she showed no signs of waking up. “The Hollowification and battle with Aizen drained her Reiryoku… let’s leave her to rest.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kisuke plopped down on the ground, cross-legged, and crossed his arms. Tessai sat in the same manner as Kisuke. The childhood friends settled after one of the most hectic days of their lives.
<span style="font-weight:400">One minute, two minutes, five minutes… Time flew by in silence.
<span style="font-weight:400">Only after fifteen minutes did Kisuke break the silence. “Tessai, Aizen was even more dangerous than our predictions. We frankly underestimated his willingness to obtain my Hōgyoku.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Tessai nodded. “Using a simple field trip of students to force the Gotei 13’s hands… he is a despicable animal.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Tessai, you didn''t witness what I did. Aizen casually cast a Level 90 Kidō spell with no chant. Kazuya was right. He isn’t just a Captain with a powerful Bankai — he is a disastrous threat to everything with his strength alone.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“You guys.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The mischievous yet mesmerizing voice drew their attention — they saw an enchantingly beautiful woman with long, silver hair standing at the door, looking down at them with scorn.