"So you just agreed to help that guy? Even though that bastard Quincy beat us all up?"
Yoruichi Shihoin stared at Kisuke Urahara with great displeasure, while everyone else simply lay on their hospital beds, maintaining their silence.
"Hey, you guys say something too. Am I the only one who finds it weird to just believe what he says?"
"Yoruichi, don't blame Kisuke. In that situation, what if he didn't agree? Since Kisuke felt he could agree, then at least the things the other party asked him to do aren't as messed up as what Aizen wants to do."
Shinji Hirako, who had suffered relatively lighter injuries, had already given up his hospital bed. Meanwhile, Hiyori Sarugaki, who usually loved to bicker with Shinji Hirako, was silently acting as an assistant to Kisuke Urahara, showing absolutely no intention of refuting his words.
Once this sentence was spoken, Yoruichi Shihoin also deflated. She lay back down, her face full of frustration.
"That guy... is really as strong as a monster."
This was evidently the consensus of everyone present. Even though they had once been ambushed by Aizen and Hollowfied by the Hogyoku, that did not make them lose their resolve to go to war with Aizen again. This was because these Captains and Lieutenants believed that Aizen was merely stronger than them, but not to the extent of being able to crush them effortlessly.
But this time, after Suzuki Makoto had driven over the Captains like they were speed bumps, they truly realized what 'unrivaled power' meant.
"Kisuke, what exactly did he ask you to help him do?"
"Continue doing my old job."
"Your old job?"
"I used to be the Director of the Department of Research and Development, you know. He wants me to help him develop Quincy technology."
Kisuke Urahara tied a knot in the bandage in his hand and patted Kensei Muguruma.
"Don't worry, it's just a lot of blood loss. Rest for two more days and you'll be fine."
"Yeah, thanks."
The man's voice was dull; clearly, he hadn't yet moved on from the fact that he was instantly defeated by Suzuki Makoto with a single strike.
Shinji Hirako watched Kisuke Urahara's departing figure and did not pursue the matter any further.
What exactly happened inside that barrier, and what was said between the two of them—no one knew. To describe it using Tessai Tsukabishi's words: "It is impossible for anyone to penetrate that layer of Reiatsu to understand what is happening there."
From the few words the other party had revealed earlier, one could understand that he must be a person who had lived for hundreds of years. Shinji also didn't believe that a Quincy who could master their own Reiatsu to such a degree would still need Kisuke Urahara to help him develop the technology used by Quincies.
Ultimately, the fact that Kisuke Urahara was able to save all of them was obviously because that man had no intention of killing them from the start; he had come specifically for Kisuke Urahara. In that case, his conditions could absolutely not be as understated as described.
That Kisuke Urahara didn't tell them the truth was clearly because they hadn't met that man's requirements. People like themselves were merely bargaining chips that man used to force Kisuke Urahara to submit.
A shadow flashed through his eyes as Shinji Hirako looked at the barrier outside the window.
Turns out I really am... this weak...
Walking outside, Kisuke Urahara paused slightly and looked toward Tessai Tsukabishi in the corner.
"Mr. Tessai, this barrier..."
"It hasn't reached that level yet."
"Yes, it's not enough. That is why I still can't tell you anything."
Suzuki Makoto's warning was still firmly branded in Kisuke Urahara's mind. Since even a man like that was so vigilant against the King of the Quincies, what right did he have to underestimate the opponent?
He absolutely could not drag anyone else into this.
"I'll leave this place to you from now on. Also, I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on Yoruichi. I will come back to stay often as well."
Seeing Tessai Tsukabishi's heavy expression, Kisuke Urahara instead reverted to his usual frivolous demeanor.
"I just want to find a quiet place to do some research, that's all. You don't need to look like that. It's not that the Quincy is taking me under his command; to be precise, we are in a cooperative relationship."
"With inequality between powers, there can be no cooperative relationship. Kisuke, I believe you can handle it well. I will watch over Lord Yoruichi on my end."
The Grand Kido Chief sighed and agreed to Kisuke Urahara's request.
"Many thanks. This way, I won't have any worries holding me back."
"Suzuki Makoto, you should know that the Gotei 13 absorbed you into the Seireitei because we did not wish to let the Rukongai remain in chaos."
"Yes, isn't that why I come to apply with you, Captain-Commander, every time I want to go out?"
"But the frequency of your applications is entirely too high!"
The old man slapped the table in exasperation.
"Can't you send messages to the Yellow Turbans through your Zanpakuto? Why must you apply to go out repeatedly?"
"Because the water conservancy engineering plan for the outer Rukongai has finally reached a critical stage. They lack people with extremely strong Reishi control. If I don't go, not to mention it taking hundreds or thousands of times longer, they would have to fill the gaps with human lives—Miss Jeanne d'Arc has already complained many times about why the technology of the Western Branch hasn't been popularized outside the Seireitei at all."
Suzuki Makoto spread his hands, indicating that he really had a valid reason.
To completely improve the living environment of the outer districts, guaranteeing water sources was the top priority. Therefore, from the very beginning of establishing the Yellow Turbans, Suzuki Makoto had planned to start with water conservancy projects to completely change the settlement patterns of the Rukongai. For this, massive construction was naturally necessary.
Previously, it had only been in the planning stage. Now, the outer forty districts had been completely planned out, and construction was underway. However, considering that the Rukongai's technological level was still dominated by manual labor, if they really had to finish this construction the normal way, Suzuki Makoto and Aizen would probably have already started dissecting the Soul King by then.
So, under the exchange between the illiterate Jeanne and the knowledgeable Jeanne, it was decided to use the method of 'brute force flying bricks'—having Suzuki Makoto directly mold Reishi into the required engineering structures and stuff them in right at the construction site.
Suzuki Makoto expressed that he was greatly shocked by this.
However, after listening to the explanation from Miss Jeanne of the Western Branch, he actually felt that this method was really quite good—originally, all buildings in the Soul Society were composed of Reishi, whether in the Seireitei or the Rukongai. It was just that ordinary people couldn't utilize these Reishi, so they used them directly as materials.
Since that was the case, why not let someone who could utilize Reishi mold the Reishi into materials?
Suzuki Makoto experimented a few times, discussed it with Aizen, and finally gave the green light. Thus began his pattern of applying to the Captain-Commander to go out every few days—after all, once the key components were completed, other places still needed patching up and adapting to local conditions, so he could still 'find time' to return to the Seireitei to stay for a couple of days.
____
👻🔥Read More: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Group chat of the Dead
✅ Access up to 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Receive exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnut-chan