I'm really not the number one slacker in Soul Society.

But after the stealth began, both Mima and Soi Fon felt that they might have been... overthinking things.

Because they didn't encounter any serious obstacles at all.

After much thought, I realized that this was probably because the Tsunayo family really was just a group of office workers.

The world is different now than it was a million years ago. After the death of the progenitor who was the "Transcendent," the Kuchiki, Shihouin, and Tsunayoshi families all experienced periods of decline in their military strength. However, even during this time, the Tsunayoshi family...

In layman's terms, it means that their family hasn't had a publicly recognized team leader for a long time.

Leaving aside Tokida, even the current head of the family, Tsunayoshi Fumizuki, was only rated as a third-class spirit—in layman's terms, that's at most four times the level of Kensei, no more.

Unlike the Shihōin clan, whose members were primarily engaged in clerical work, the Tsunayo family couldn't openly maintain a private army, so their defensive capabilities were weak in many ways.

At the very least, it was completely unable to stop Soi Fon and Yama's infiltration.

Although there were guards every three steps and sentries every five steps in the courtyard, the two of them moved through the blind spots of the guards with ease, as if they were in an empty place, without leaving any trace.

Keep in mind, he's using a speed that perfectly matches the image of "Watanabe Yama".

So the Tsuna-Yashiro family is truly pathetic... their only advantage might be their long history.

Since that's the case, then old man, hurry up and give me some gold coins!

After searching without finding anything, Soi Fon led Yama into the shadows of a rooftop and whispered, "This kind of carpet search probably isn't going to work. Don't you have any more reliable information?"

"I don't know." Mima rolled her eyes. "If I knew, would I need to sneak off to do something that could cost me my head?"

"You were the one who proposed the infiltration plan!"

Soi Fon was getting a little frustrated. "Even if you don't know where the target is, you should at least have a few places you suspect, right?"

"I see that in popular dramas these days, the villains all like to hide big secrets underground."

Mizhen shrugged, seemingly casually asking, "Would you consider this a clue?"

Chapter 109: "Monster"

"..."

Soi Fon sighed and rubbed her forehead, saying, "It doesn't sound very promising... but let's give it a try anyway."

"How about we split up?" Mima suggested. "The Tsunayashiro family's territory is just too big. If we don't find a way to improve efficiency, we'll probably have a hard time finding a breakthrough in a short period of time."

Soi Fon asked worriedly, "Are you sure you can do it?"

Mijin shrugged and said, "At least we can guarantee we won't be discovered."

“Let’s do it this way.” Soi Fon nodded and said, “Meet here in half an hour. If anyone misses it, the other person must leave immediately—agree?”

"no problem."

..........................................

After separating from Soi Fon, Yama immediately changed his fighting style.

In short, he found a place near the main hall of the Tsunayo family, spotted a lone high-ranking servant, and after the servant entered an empty room, he immediately used an electrotherapy, applying just the right amount of force to render him unable to speak or faint. Only then did he raise his eyes and glare at the servant with his mental beacon.

A dozen seconds later, Mi Zhen exited the man's mental world and casually delivered a fatal blow to his amnesiac hand.

After asking several people, Mima finally figured out her destination.

In recent days, Tsunayoshi Fumizuki has been frequently visiting the underground of the second side hall of the Tsunayoshi family residence.

Based on Aizen's account, Yama can be fairly certain that the so-called "Dark Azure Mage" is located there.

So Soi Fon is just lame. She sneaks in and does all sorts of fancy stuff, but it's still no match for my simple and brutal method.

So-called high-level infiltration often only requires the simplest methods.

Covert maneuvering? No way!

After laughing for a moment, Mi Zhen went to take a look at the second side hall.

Then he found a random place to hide, and when he felt that it was about time, he set off towards the meeting point.

Upon arriving there, the first person he saw was Soi Fon, who looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry," Soi Fon said, head bowed, "I didn't find any useful information."

Mizhen casually replied, "It doesn't matter, I found it."

"Neither of us has any right now... What did you say?"

Soi Fon stood frozen in place, staring blankly at Mima, whose expression remained indifferent.

"I said I found it."

"But……"

Soi Fon's expression changed repeatedly, finally settling on a strange and awkward blush.

She should be the one in charge of covert operations, right? No matter how you look at it, infiltration and investigation are her areas of expertise, right?

Why would someone be so easily overtaken in a place like this? Is that reasonable?

"Let's save the surprise for later."

Mima sighed: "I was surprised that we found a suspicious target so easily—but now we have another problem to face."

Soi Fon asked instinctively, "What's wrong?"

Mima didn't say anything, but instead took Soi Fon and ran straight to their destination.

"You see, this is the situation."

He pointed to the guards standing at the basement entrance: "How do we get in?"

Two people came this time, making it inconvenient to use the tunnel technique. The guards in this place obviously have no blind spots, so it's not easy to sneak in.

In situations like this, the half-baked Mima (the term "half-baked" is quite flexible and can be used when needed) is clearly no match for the professional Soi Fon.

After all, Watanabe Yama was clearly not capable of dealing with several well-trained guards at the same time (meaning he couldn't knock them down simultaneously without making a sound).

So he didn't hesitate to ask for help.

"Shouldn't we think of something..."

The words have not yet fallen.

Mima then saw Soi Fon rushing forward like a whirlwind.

With silent yet extremely swift footwork, she moved between the guards, her hand slashing through the air like lightning, creating several beautiful trajectories. The guards' vagus nerves were instantly affected, and they collapsed in almost the same position at the same time.

"It's done."

Soi Fon breathed a sigh of relief, then gestured for Yama, who was hiding in the shadows, to come forward.

“The methods…” Mi Zhen hesitated for a moment, then said, “So forceful?”

"Just like you said, it's not a crime as long as you're not caught."

Soi Fon smiled, her expression carrying a smug "Let me show you what I'm capable of" vibe.

Then he said, "I can use physical blows to make them lose their short-term memory. If I'm quick enough, they'll only feel a headache at most."

So you covert operations guys can do this too...

Mima's lips twitched twice, then she and Soi Fon began searching the guards for the basement key.

.............................................

As a result, the two easily entered the basement.

The guards did not notice anything unusual.

It's a bit ridiculous that the two of them, with strength that's barely at the vice-captain level, could casually barge into the Tsunayoshiro family's house like a public toilet.

Upon entering the basement, the two encountered a... strange sight.

It's like a roughly excavated cave, with an uneven floor and walls, almost no trace of human intervention. Even the lighting is provided by blue crystals embedded in the walls. A long passage extends downwards, seemingly without end.

A faint, cold wind blew out of the cave, occasionally accompanied by a sharp whistling sound...

It's like the area below is some kind of hellish, demonic realm.

Faced with this scene, Soi Fon couldn't help but feel a little scared, so she swallowed and asked, "Should we... go down?"

"Of course, since we're already here."

Mima frowned and touched the glowing blue crystal on the wall.

...Sure enough, it's very similar to the Divine Sword Trial Grounds.

Is this some kind of "trial ground" down there? But they just passed through a door, not been teleported to some strange little world.

The Tsunayo family has quite a lot of things in their collection.

According to Aizen, "Dark Azure Mage" was a pale male about two meters tall, placed in a coffin in the center of an underground cavern. He exuded a very strange spiritual pressure, like a Hollow, but with subtle differences from a Hollow.

For him, "Dark Azure Hand" was a very interesting research subject. If he hadn't been more interested in Shihōin Hyakugetsu's "Spirit King's Torrent," he would probably still be down there now.

After giving Soi Fon a pep talk, Mima led her swiftly through the long corridor, eventually arriving at an underground cavern that closely resembled the "Divine Sword Trial Grounds."

This place should be about 200 meters underground. Unlike the training ground, the space here is a bit narrower, about two-thirds the size of a football field. In the center, there are a lot of medical equipment, which seem to be mostly used for transporting bodily fluids.

The numerous empty blood bags scattered in the trash cans also prove this point.

In the very center of the empty cavity, there was an open coffin.

At the same time, an extremely strange spiritual pressure was emanating from it.

A Hollow? It doesn't seem like one. It feels more aggressive than a regular Hollow. It's as if the coffin contains something even more alien, a monster that could never exist in this world!

Mima swallowed hard and walked forward with Soi Fon, who looked uneasy, and saw directly what was inside the coffin.

That was... a very tall man.

He was naked, with a majestic and handsome appearance, and his skin and hair were a lifeless pale white.

It has no reproductive organs, its eyes are closed and it is motionless, but its chest is rising and falling slowly, as if it is breathing.

Despite the presence of Hollow elements within his spiritual pressure, Mima couldn't find any Hollow holes in him.

What a contradiction...

Just as they were about to take a closer look, a series of footsteps suddenly came from the cave.