The Soul Society had been quiet for a long time, but recently, a major event had occurred—a Captain's meeting had once again been thrown into turmoil.
It turned out that Kūgo Ginjō, the first Substitute Shinigami officially recognized by the Soul Society, had suddenly lost contact a few days ago, and his whereabouts were now entirely unknown.
Yamamoto took this matter very seriously and ordered Jūshirō Ukitake of the Thirteenth Division to conduct a thorough investigation.
After all, it was Ukitake who had originally proposed and established the Substitute Shinigami system, so it was only natural for him to handle the fallout.
Upon receiving the order, Ukitake dared not delay.
First, he searched for clues from the last place Ginjō was seen.
According to a report from the SRDI, Ginjō was last tracked in Karakura Town, after which his Reishi signature vanished as if he had evaporated.
Ukitake speculated that Ginjō had likely encountered an enemy so powerful he couldn't handle them, or he had fallen into a predicament from which he couldn't escape.
However, according to later reports, Ginjō had not gone missing, he had actively defected.
His betrayal was confirmed because Ginjō had brutally attacked the Thirteenth Division Shinigami who had been sent to track him down.
Upon receiving this news, Ukitake planned to go to the World of the Living himself to uncover the truth and bring the traitor back.
However, just as he was preparing to leave, Kazuma came looking for him.
"Captain Kazuma, what brings you to our Thirteenth Division?" Ukitake asked, followed by a few light coughs.
Looking at Ukitake's pale complexion, Kazuma asked with concern, "Ukitake, your health is getting worse again. Is it because of that?"
"It is," Ukitake nodded helplessly, leaning on a pillar.
"Then let me handle this Ginjō incident in the World of the Living. It's been a long time since I've seen Batsu'unsai, and I quite miss her," Kazuma volunteered.
Ukitake asked with a half-smile, "Kazuma-san, are you interested in this matter too?"
Kazuma quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no, I'm not interested in this at all. I just purely miss Batsu'unsai."
Seeing through Kazuma's intentions, Ukitake didn't push it. "If you want to go, you'll have to get the Captain-Commander's permission. I don't have the final say."
"That's simple!"
With that, Kazuma pulled Ukitake along to the First Division barracks.
...
Upon arriving, Kazuma dragged Ukitake before Yamamoto.
"Yamamoto, look, Ukitake hasn't been in good health recently," Kazuma said, giving Ukitake a heavy pat on the back that he thought was subtle.
Receiving the cue, Ukitake immediately started playing along with Kazuma's act.
"Cough, cough." Another bout of coughing escaped Ukitake's lips as he doubled over.
Yamamoto quietly watched Kazuma's transparent performance. "Out with it. What is it?"
Kazuma said with a grin, "Yamamoto, it's been a long time since I've seen Batsu'unsai, and Kūgo Ginjō's last known location is Karakura Town, where Batsu'unsai is stationed. So, I hope you'll approve me for this retrieval mission."
Yamamoto considered the current situation and then said, "Very well. I approve you to take over this mission in Ukitake's place."
Kazuma's heart leaped with joy. "Thank you very much, Yamamoto."
However, just then, Yamamoto spoke again. "Wait a moment!"
Kazuma scratched his head in confusion. "Is there something else?"
Yamamoto looked at Kazuma with a serious expression and slowly said, "Before you go to the World of the Living, go to the Twelfth Division and have your Spiritual Pressure limited. The World of the Living is not like Hueco Mundo. Someone of your level walking around without seals could cause irreversible damage to the Souls of the living."
Kazuma nodded in understanding. "I get it. It's just a standard Gentei Kaijo seal, a limit of 80% of my Spiritual Pressure. I'll go find Mayuri."
Yamamoto shook his head. "No. When you go to the World of the Living, your Spiritual Pressure must be limited by 90%."
Kazuma's eyes widened. "90%? Yamamoto, aren't you afraid I'll run into danger with only 10% of my power?"
Yamamoto said with a hint of a grim smile, "You, run into danger? It'll be a miracle if you don't create danger."
With that, he turned back to his paperwork.
Kazuma sighed helplessly but accepted the decision.
He knew Yamamoto had his reasons. If his ambient Spiritual Pressure was too high, it would literally crush normal humans to death just by walking past them.
...
He headed to the Twelfth Division to have Mayuri apply the seal.
"Captain Kazuma, is there something you need from me?" Mayuri paused his experiment and looked quizzically at Kazuma, who had just walked into his lab.
"Captain Mayuri, I'm going to the World of the Living for a mission. The Captain-Commander ordered me to come here to have my Spiritual Pressure limited," Kazuma explained.
"Is that so? Nemu! Come over here and limit Captain Kazuma's Spiritual Pressure," Mayuri barked.
A petite female Shinigami walked over.
She wore a short black Shihakushō and seemed very quiet.
She looked almost like a maid!
'To think Mayuri had such tastes.'
Kazuma sized her up with curiosity, then turned to Mayuri. "Is this the artificial Shinigami that you created by combining Gigai and Artificial Soul Technology?"
"My, my! Captain Kazuma knows about this technology as well? This is the second-generation artificial Shinigami I've created. The first was named Nemu Go. This one is Nemu Nana, but I've given her the name Nemu Kurotsuchi," Mayuri said, looking at Kazuma in surprise.
"Yes, I discussed this technology with Kirio Hikifune before she left," Kazuma nodded.
Mayuri was taken aback. "I didn't expect Captain Kazuma to be a man of science as well."
At that moment, Nemu took out a standard spiritual seal bearing the Seventh Division insignia and pressed it against Kazuma's chest to apply the limit.
"Wait a moment!" Kazuma interrupted.
"Is there a problem, Captain Kazuma?" Nemu asked softly.
"The Captain-Commander instructed that my Spiritual Pressure must be limited to 90% for this trip."
Nemu blinked, startled. "90%?"
Nevertheless, she adjusted the seal's parameters and pressed it down.
As Kazuma slowly poured his Spiritual Pressure into the seal, he felt his power compressing.
"Vice-Captain Nemu, is the process of limiting Spiritual Pressure always this slow?"
Just as Kazuma finished speaking, the spiritual seal exploded.
Faced with the sudden detonation, Kazuma instantly raised his hand and erected a Kidō Barrier, completely suppressing the shockwave within it.
Fortunately, his reaction was swift, otherwise, the force of the blast would have leveled the laboratory.
Mayuri jumped back in fright. "Nemu, what in the world is going on?!"
Nemu looked bewildered, staring at her scorched hands. "Captain, I don't know. The spiritual seal was absorbing Captain Kazuma's Spiritual Pressure normally, and then the storage matrix simply shattered."
Kazuma looked at the ashes and frowned. "Captain Mayuri, I'm afraid this spiritual seal of yours is a cheap knock-off! Otherwise, how could it explode so easily?"
"Nemu, bring another seal and try again," Mayuri commanded, his eyes narrowing in fascination.
Having learned from the previous incident, Kazuma did not dispel the Barrier.
He began to slowly pour his Spiritual Pressure into the new seal.
Unsurprisingly, this seal also exploded into dust.
"Captain Mayuri, I told you this thing is a knock-off. See, it blew up again."
Mayuri pulled out another spiritual seal and applied it to himself.
The seal locked in flawlessly, limiting his own Spiritual Pressure to 80%.
Mayuri looked at Kazuma with a grave, calculating expression. "Captain Kazuma, would you mind if I drew some of your blood?"
Hearing this request, Kazuma pulled his hand back, gripping his hilt.
"What do you want? You're getting ideas about me now? You must be crazy from all your research!"
Mayuri gave an awkward, raspy laugh.
The thought of dissecting Kazuma had indeed crossed his mind, but the immediate issue was the broken seals.
"Not at all, how could I? As you just saw, Captain Kazuma, the spiritual seal successfully limited my Spiritual Pressure. I only want your blood to properly analyze your total Reishi density. The seal exploded purely because its storage capacity was fundamentally too small to handle you."
Hearing this, Kazuma's brow furrowed, but he extended his arm. "Alright, I'll trust you this once. But if I find out you're using my blood for other twisted research, Captain Mayuri, I will cut you in half."
Seeing Kazuma's outstretched arm, a sly smile appeared on Mayuri's painted face.
He knew Kazuma was not easily fooled, but as a scientist, he couldn't pass up this chance.
"Rest assured, Captain Kazuma. I just want to obtain some useful metrics, I won't do anything excessive. We are all comrades, after all."
Mayuri immediately took out a thick syringe and carefully drew a vial of Kazuma's blood. He placed the syringe in a secure container. "Thank you for your cooperation. I will complete the analysis and construct a custom seal."
"I hope you can keep your promise," Kazuma warned. "If I find you engaging in misconduct, you'll face the consequences."
"Rest assured, Captain," Mayuri smirked. He turned and walked into the inner laboratory.
Inside the lab, Mayuri ran Kazuma's blood through his precision spiritual density instruments.
In seconds, he had a rough estimate of Kazuma's total Spiritual Pressure.
"Hiss!" Mayuri sucked in a sharp breath, his golden eyes wide with genuine amazement. "What kind of terrifying monster is he?"
Based on past data, the Spiritual Pressure of a Captain-level individual was classified from Grade Three (lowest) to Grade One (highest).
However, the results Mayuri obtained left him dumbfounded—Kazuma's Spiritual Pressure had actually surpassed the scope of Grade One entirely.
It broke the scale.
Nevertheless, Mayuri was still able to forge a custom limiting seal based on the terrifying data.
'No wonder the Captain-Commander demanded a 90% limit,' Mayuri marveled to himself.
'Otherwise, sending him to the World of the Living would be like dropping a walking bomb. He wouldn't even have to draw his sword. Just by standing quietly on the street, human souls would evaporate under the sheer, leaking pressure of it. He's a freak of nature.'
Holding a newly forged, heavy-duty spiritual seal, Mayuri approached Kazuma.
"Captain Kazuma, try this one. I guarantee it can handle the load."
Kazuma extended his hand and took the heavy, metallic seal. After taking a deep breath, he pressed it to his chest and poured his Spiritual Pressure into it.
This time, the seal didn't explode.
It emitted a blinding red glow that slowly stabilized as Kazuma's power was forcefully compressed and locked away.
Seeing the seal hold, Kazuma breathed a sigh of relief.
"It finally worked."
He carefully felt the limited Spiritual Pressure within his body.
Although he still felt incredibly powerful, he was now capped at exactly ten percent of his total power.
He nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you, Captain Mayuri. With this, I can go to the World of the Living without accidentally killing the locals."
Mayuri smiled thinly. "Your Spiritual Pressure is simply too immense. I had to incorporate specialized hyper-compression matrices to contain it. This custom seal might feel a bit heavy, but it should be sufficient."
Kazuma nodded. "You've worked hard, Captain Mayuri. I'll be careful with it."
With that, Kazuma turned and left the laboratory.
With his power safely locked away, he headed for the Senkaimon to begin his hunt for Kūgo Ginjō.
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