"Wait," Ichigo asked, puzzled.
"You said 'claim as your own'… would the Second Division agree to that?"
"I kept this secret hidden."
"…"
Watching Shimiya Takeru's matter-of-fact expression, Ichigo's mouth twitched slightly. Surprisingly, he wasn't very shocked, because it was exactly the kind of thing Shimiya Takeru would do.
However, after learning this, his negative impression of the Second Division Captain couldn't help but fade considerably.
Perhaps it was… sympathy.
"Based on the Menos Grande's currently confirmed activity range and the missing Spirit Arts Academy students' disappearance range, it's likely in this vicinity."
Shimiya Takeru turned to look at Rindo Yu.
"Rindo, could I trouble your animal companions for help? I don't think we'll find it through normal means, otherwise, the Onmitsukidō wouldn't have been busy all night without even knowing where the bodies are."
"You mean the two Spirit Arts Academy students' bodies and that thing are together?"
Ichigo subconsciously looked around, trying to spot something different in the dense mountain forest.
But he couldn't.
Shimiya Takeru couldn't either.
The only one who could was Rindo Yu.
Rindo Yu didn't disappoint Shimiya Takeru and unhesitatingly took on the important task.
But it would take some time.
After all, no one knew what that thing looked like.
They could only first find animals that had seen the two Spirit Arts Academy students, and then use them to pinpoint the last location where they disappeared.
Most of the day passed unknowingly.
As the news spread among the animals in this area.
Finally, before the sun set, a skylark brought good news.
It had seen the two Spirit Arts Academy students.
And it had personally seen a monster follow them into a cave!
"If we make a lot of money later, I'll definitely arrange the best bird food for your bird friend."
Shimiya Takeru's spirits lifted.
Ichigo, beside him, also breathed a sigh of relief, finally getting a result after waiting most of the day.
"By the way, so that was your plan all along. It's really not like your style."
"What do you mean?"
"It's too normal."
"...Then I'll tell you something else that you'll find very normal."
On the way to the incident site, following the skylark, the atmosphere was originally quite relaxed and pleasant, but Shimiya Takeru's few words made Ichigo unable to feel relaxed or pleasant anymore.
"Right now, we're still living off the Spirit Arts Academy's honor student stipends. We can't even afford a single Human World outfit. Hachihara has treated us to so many meals for free. Even though he's a friend, do you want to keep freeloading?"
"A Shinigami's basic salary has the purchasing power of 200,000 Japanese yen in the Human World. Only when you reach a seated officer can you barely save money. Promotion to Captain is about ten times that of a regular squad member, but those are all very distant for us."
"So, if we can achieve financial freedom at this stage, or at least have some income coming in, we can improve our quality of life before becoming Captains."
"I really want to hire a few maids to take care of my daily needs. Not only is it convenient, but it also frees up time and allows me to focus on my training."
Shimiya Takeru's words struck a chord, and Ichigo couldn't refute them at all, even having to admit that what he said made sense.
Subsequently, the three arrived at the dense forest on the cliff at the foot of the mountain.
Shimiya Takeru immediately noticed something was off.
"No wonder it's hidden so secretly; there's a barrier."
It could only be described as extremely clever, a level they, as Spirit Arts Academy students, couldn't imagine at this stage.
The barrier concealed the cave entrance.
Even a large-scale search with many people would find it difficult to detect.
Because only by personally touching a certain spot on the ground could one feel the existence of the barrier, and then discover the cave entrance.
But besides its secrecy, it had no other functions.
They almost unhinderedly passed through the barrier.
They descended along the stone steps.
Before long, the view suddenly opened up, as if they had discovered a small world.
"It's so big," Ichigo exclaimed.
Shimiya Takeru was also observing. This place, hundreds of meters deep underground, had been hollowed out by unknown means, creating a massive space no smaller than a modern stadium.
The rock formations were rugged, bright as day, white steam was rising, the temperature was slightly higher than outside, and it was a bit humid…
Such an environment couldn't help but bring to mind Yellowstone National Park with its volcanic features.
Especially the small waterfall directly ahead, thundering as endless water plunged into the pool below, from which the heat and humidity originated.
The three cautiously guarded against sudden changes in the unfamiliar environment while searching the area.
But they searched and searched, finding nothing.
They finally arrived at the edge of the pool.
Listening to the white noise of the waterfall, Ichigo was about to say something when he saw Shimiya Takeru silently draw his Zanpakuto, cut his fingertip, and place it in the water. He quickly called out:
"Hey, Shimiya, what are you doing?"
Rindo Yu also cast a puzzled and concerned gaze.
Shimiya Takeru silently withdrew his hand and showed them his injured finger.
"The wound… disappeared."
Ichigo's pupils constricted. He hadn't seen any signs of Shimiya Takeru using Kaido to heal it.
Which meant—
Ichigo and Rindo Yu subconsciously looked at the steaming pool, which resembled a hot spring.
"I think I know what this place is," Shimiya Takeru said, standing up, his tone faint.
"An hot spring built by Kirinji Tenjiro, a healing facility that combines the best of Kaido techniques."
"Never heard of that name," Ichigo and Rindo Yu said, looking bewildered.
Of course, they hadn't heard of it.
Even many people didn't know that the hot spring Urahara Kisuke built in his secret base beneath Sōkyoku was modeled after this very hot spring.
However, Shimiya Takeru only knew that Urahara Kisuke's "prototype" was located somewhere in Rukongai, but he didn't know the exact location.
He hadn't expected to stumble upon it this time.
Suddenly, Shimiya Takeru's gaze sharpened.
Ichigo and Rindo Yu also noticed.
Two severely damaged Spirit Arts Academy uniforms floated on the water.
Although there was no warning, it was within reason.
"Hey, Shimiya…" Ichigo said, looking at the two uniforms.
"Hmm?"
"They probably didn't come here for no reason, right?"
"Indeed."
Shimiya Takeru's face was expressionless, and his tone was flat, as if he were talking about someone else's business, yet it concerned them.
"Although it's just a guess… the Second Division students are of noble birth, and the First Division students are from Rukongai. They don't know each other and have no connections. However, because of our existence, this year's First Division has received exceptionally high attention."
"You've seen the attitude of nobles towards people from Rukongai."
"The two missing Spirit Arts Academy students had similar entrance exam rankings. One could say that if their rankings were swapped, the candidates for the First Division would change."
"Perhaps because of this, the missing Second Division student not only disapproved but also harbored deep-seated resentment."
"So, he fixated on the other missing student, attempting to find an opportunity to expel him from the Spirit Arts Academy and take his place to fill the vacant spot."
"But during the surveillance, he discovered the other party's suspicious movements, followed him, and found this place."
"As for how the missing student from our class knew about this place, it was either good luck or he heard it from someone else."
"Upon discovering the magical properties of this place, both wanted to claim it for themselves, but they didn't expect a Menos Grande to be following them. As a result, neither gained anything good… No, it's hard to say."
Shimiya Takeru suddenly thought of something and narrowed his eyes.
"That Menos Grande being able to hide from the Seireitei's gaze and lurk in Junrinan might be related to it devouring a Zanpakuto and soaking in this hot spring."
"You've made me not want to go in and soak anymore," Ichigo said with a disgusted look.
"What are you afraid of? This is flowing water."
"It's still disgusting… But speaking of which, Shimiya, on the way here, you said you wanted to use this opportunity to make money. It seems your plan is going to fall through~"
"What are you talking about?"
Shimiya Takeru looked at Ichigo, who was gloating and making a pun, and remained very calm.
"Who said we can't make money from this?"
"Huh?! No, do you actually want to open a public bath?!" Ichigo was stunned.
"That's too much trouble. It's better to just bottle up the hot spring water here and take it back to use as medicine. You've seen how astonishing its healing effects are."
Shimiya Takeru's eyes sparkled with shrewdness.
"Will people buy it? This is too… strange."
"Why wouldn't they? Imagine if someone got injured protecting you, collapsed on the ground unable to move. You could defeat the enemy but couldn't save that person. At that moment, let alone hot spring water, even something stranger and of unknown origin would be used without hesitation. Am I wrong?"
"…"
Ichigo's breathing hitched, and he was lost in thought, as if resonating with the scenario Shimiya Takeru described.
"No… you're not wrong."
"So, the job of transporting the water is yours. I'll contact the buyers," Shimiya Takeru said, patting his shoulder with a look of satisfaction.
"What?!"
"If you have objections, I can do it myself. But don't come asking me for money then."
"...I didn't say I wouldn't do it, but who do you plan to sell it to? Don't get us reported."
"Sell it to whoever has money."
To Ichigo's grumbling, Shimiya Takeru maintained his usual matter-of-fact demeanor.
"Being reported is impossible, because the person in question is the one who handles reports."
"…"