Bleach: From the moment I was invited by Squad Zero

When Yanagawa and Shiba entered the Technology Development Bureau, the wide corridor was no longer lined with traditional team quarters, but with individual laboratories separated by high-strength transparent materials or special force fields.

The personnel inside wore uniform white research suits with anti-pollution spiritual particle coatings, and were also equipped with strange glasses, masks and other auxiliary devices.

Some of them were performing complex calculations on the floating spirit particle model on the control panel;

Some were recording data on the strangely shaped biological samples in the culture tank;

Some people are even conducting physical collision experiments that look extremely dangerous.

Noisy, busy, and chaotic, yet it possesses a morbid efficiency and frenzy.

Here, there is none of the discipline common to other divisions of the Gotei 13. Instead, there is an extreme pursuit of knowledge and an exploration of the unknown.

Occasionally, researchers would rush by carrying boards covered with crazy formulas, completely oblivious to the arrival of Yanagawa and Shiba Isshin, utterly absorbed in their own world.

"Tsk, every time I come to this place, it feels like I've entered another world."

Shiba covered his nose, trying to avoid a plume of purple smoke coming from the ventilation vent next to him.

After identifying themselves, they were led deep into the Technology Development Bureau by a researcher with a blank stare but unusually precise and swift movements.

The laboratory here is larger and has more stringent protective measures. The concentration of spiritual particles in the air is so high that it makes one's skin tingle slightly.

Finally, they arrived at a huge metal door engraved with complex sealing runes, its style extremely exaggerated and bizarre.

The gate opened, revealing a spacious interior.

The place is filled with countless instruments, test tubes, culture jars, mechanical debris, biological specimens, and screens displaying crazy amounts of data.

In the center of the room, a cylindrical transparent container immersed in an unidentified green liquid stands out, seemingly containing some kind of special object.

The air was filled with the bubbling sound of liquid.

The master of this place, Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the 12th Division, was standing with his back to them in front of a huge control panel.

His hands moved at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye across countless buttons, levers, and floating screens, while he let out excited, shrill laughs.

"...Yes, that's it! Let me see where your limits are, my Subject 247!"

He abruptly pulled down a lever. The green container in the center of the room suddenly twisted and expanded violently, spiderweb-like cracks appearing on its walls!

"Captain! Spiritual pressure overload! It's going to explode!" A high-pitched adjutant wearing a blast mask warned urgently.

"Explode? No! This is evolution!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi laughed wildly, not only not stopping it, but also pressing another red button.

boom!

The container finally gave way and burst open! The green, viscous liquid and the violent flow of spiritual particles splashed everywhere, but were all blocked by the spiritual particle barrier that instantly rose in front of the control panel.

When the smoke and dust cleared, only a small clump of dim, charred dust remained.

"Tsk, another failure. The tolerance is still not good enough. Next time, I'll try adding some Gillian-level spiritual particles..."

Undeterred, Mayuri Kurotsuchi stroked his chin, his eyes beneath the mask gleaming with an even more fervent light.

It was only then that he seemed to notice the two extra people at the door.

He slowly turned around, instantly locking onto Liu Chuan like a scanner, and exclaimed in surprise, "Whoa?"

"A rare guest, a rare guest indeed." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's voice was sharp and sticky. He opened his arms and made an exaggerated welcoming gesture, but the action seemed more like he was showing off his lair.

"Lord Yanagawa of the Zero Division, and... Captain Shiba of the Tenth Division, what brings you two to my humble laboratory?"

"Could it be that you're interested in that failed experiment? Even though it failed, the data was very valuable! Want to take a look?"

He speaks very quickly and in a highly disjointed manner.

"Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi." Ignoring the chaotic and dangerous surroundings and the other party's strange words and actions, Yanagawa cut straight to the point.

"Excuse me for bothering you, but I've come here today hoping that the Technology Development Bureau can assist in creating a special tool for investigating the 'Twin Hyōrin Maru' incident."

"Oh? A special tool?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi's interest was clearly piqued, and he strolled closer.

"Tell me about it. Do you... want me to replicate 'Hyourinmaru'? It's challenging, but not impossible!"

"As long as there are enough spiritual particle samples and the basic forging data of that 'Sword God'..."

"It's not about replicating a Zanpakuto," Yanagawa interrupted his dangerous thoughts, saying, "I need a Transcendent Body."

The moment the words "Transformation of Divine Body" were uttered, the air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment.

Even the adjutant Nie Yinmeng, who had been standing quietly to the side, subtly raised her head.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi paused, his gaze behind the mask suddenly becoming incredibly sharp, even carrying a hint of cold scrutiny.

He slowly straightened up, letting out a drawn-out, ambiguous "Hmm—?"

"Transformed Divine Body, one of the little toys left behind by Kisuke Urahara."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi's voice was still sharp, but it carried an indescribable, complex emotion.

"Used to forcibly drag the boring Zanpakuto's physical form into reality, like playing house, what, Lord Yanagawa, are you interested in these old relics left behind by Kisuke Urahara?"

He neither immediately agreed nor refused, but instead slowly strolled around the Liuchuan River, as if assessing a rare specimen.

"Creating a Transcendent Body is not a difficult task for me."

Kisuke Urahara's research materials, though disorganized, were filled with his own quirky encryption methods and an aesthetically unappealing way of recording.

But I've already cracked, optimized, and even surpassed the core principles and technical details in some aspects.

His tone made no attempt to conceal his disdain for Kisuke Urahara's research style, yet it also carried an almost obsessive confidence and pride.

"However," Mayuri Kurotsuchi changed the subject, stopping in front of Yanagawa, her eyes behind the mask fixed on him.

"Why should I help you? My status as the Zero Division commander isn't enough for me, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the captain of the 12th Division and head of the R&D Bureau, to condescend to replicate a limited-use old toy left behind by a predecessor I've 'surpassed.' Unless…"

He extended his slender fingers: "...Can you offer me something that interests me in exchange? For example, cooperate with me on some special research? Or... tell me the 'real reason' that you gained the favor of Squad Zero?"

His demands were direct, greedy, and probing. Clearly, he harbored a great interest in Yanagawa himself, as well as the Zero Squad.

Yanagawa suddenly turned his head and looked at Shiba Isshin, who was looking around and seemed a little uncomfortable because of the strange atmosphere in the laboratory.

Liu Chuan suddenly had a good idea.

"Captain Isshin," Yanagawa said in a heavy tone.

"Huh? What's wrong, Yanagawa?" Shiba Isshin responded subconsciously, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Liu Chuan sighed, as if he had made a difficult decision:

"Now that things have come to this, in order to obtain the Transcendent Body as soon as possible, find out the truth, and save your future subordinate, Toshiro Hitsugaya... I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to do this."

"You're making me feel wronged? What do you mean?" Shiba was stunned and didn't understand.

Yanagawa pointed to Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who was watching them with great interest, and said in a "sorrowful" tone:

"Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi's assistance in creating the Transcendental Body requires manpower and resources. In exchange, we need a 'volunteer'."

"To cooperate with the Technology Development Bureau on some... well, special research."

"Captain Isshin, as the captain of the 10th Division, you have strong spiritual pressure, rich experience, and are Hitsugaya's intended superior. Logically and emotionally, this important task of cooperating in the research is best suited for you."

Collaborating on research? At the Technology Development Bureau? Serving as a "volunteer" for Mayuri Kurotsuchi?!

Shiba Isshin's eyes widened instantly, as if he had heard the most terrifying joke in the world.

An image of himself strapped to an experimental table, surrounded by gleaming surgical instruments and bubbling unidentified liquid, uncontrollably appeared in his mind.

The image shows Mayuri Kurotsuchi wearing gloves covered in an unknown slime, emitting a strange "heh heh" laugh as he approaches with a giant syringe...

"Hiss—!" Shiba Isshin gasped, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat, feeling chilly.

He suddenly jumped back, away from Liu Chuan, pointed at his nose, and his voice changed:

"Hey! Yanagawa! You little brat! You can't do this to your teammates! Selling me to Mayuri Kurotsuchi for research? No way! Absolutely not! I'd rather die than do it!"

He reacted violently, gesturing wildly, his face a mixture of horror, anger, and disbelief at being betrayed.

He launched into a tirade against Yanagawa, completely disregarding the occasion and Mayuri Kurotsuchi's increasingly bright gaze beside him.

Yanagawa remained expressionless, only looking at Shiba Isshin with an eye for the greater good, as if to say, "This is a necessary sacrifice."

Shiba cursed and swore for a long time, but seeing that Yanagawa was unmoved, while Mayuri Kurotsuchi next to him seemed very interested in this "suggestion", his heart sank.

He glanced at Yanagawa's "righteous and awe-inspiring" face, then thought of Hitsugaya Toshiro, still locked up in Cell No. 46 with an uncertain future, the genius boy he had his eye on who had already quietly prepared his application to join the team...

A surge of emotion, a mixture of passion, helplessness, and tragic grandeur, welled up inside me.

Shiba gritted his teeth, the struggle on his face clearly visible. He scratched his hair hard, letting out a painful groan.

"Damn it, Yanagawa, you bastard...you win this time!"

He seemed to have used all his strength to squeeze out a sentence through clenched teeth, his expression as tragic as if he were about to be executed.

"For Shiro... I'll give in! It's just cooperating with the research, right?! Come on! Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi! Use whatever means you have! If I even flinch, I'm not Isshin Shiba!"

He straightened his chest, closed his eyes, and looked like a martyr who said, "Do as you please." Only his slightly trembling eyelids and clenched fists betrayed his inner fear.

However, the expected excited "hehehe" laughter and icy touch from Mayuri Kurotsuchi did not come.

Instead, it was a sneer filled with undisguised contempt.

"laugh--"

Zhibo opened one eye with a puzzled look in his eyes.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi waved his hand dismissively with his strangely gloved hand, his tone full of disdain: "Isshin Shiba? Cooperating with the research? You?"

He sized up Shiba Isshin from head to toe, his gaze as if he were looking at an ordinary stone:

"Unremarkable captain-level spiritual pressure, unremarkable Zanpakuto abilities, and not even a single noteworthy abnormal mutation or special talent."

"If I were to dissect and study you, the data I would obtain would probably be less than that of a subspecies of a Gillian-class Void that I could casually cultivate. It would be a waste of my time and a defilement of my instruments."

"..." Shiba Isshin froze, his tragic expression instantly solidified, and then slowly cracked.

An indescribable feeling welled up inside me—was it relief? Or... the humiliation of being looked down upon and a strange sense of unease?

I, the captain of the 10th Division and the head of one of the five noble families, am so disliked that I am not even qualified to be an experimental subject.

Yanagawa's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, clearly not expecting Mayuri Kurotsuchi's reaction. But this was for the best, saving him from actually betraying Isshin Shiba.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi stopped looking at the devastated Isshin Shiba and turned his attention back to Yanagawa. It seemed that after the little incident, he had a new idea.

He tilted his head, and the bone mask made a slight rubbing sound.

"However, Lord Yanagawa," Mayuri Kurotsuchi's tone regained its interest, tinged with a subtle nostalgic sentiment,

"Since you are about to go to the Spirit King Palace and become a member of the Zero Squad... well, there's something I might be able to ask you for a small favor."

"Please speak," Liuchuan said.

"In the Zero Division, there is one of my former superiors," Mayuri Kurotsuchi said slowly, "Kiryu Hikifune, the former captain of the Twelfth Division, and the founder of the theory of Gikai and Gikon."

"If you see her in the Spirit King's Palace, please give her my regards."

Liu Chuan recalled the records he had seen in the Great Spirit Book Corridor, confirming that Hikifune Kiryu was indeed Mayuri Kurotsuchi's superior before being promoted to the Zero Division.

Looking at this eccentric, mad scientist before him, who was now displaying such a human side, Liu Chuan understood. He nodded in agreement.

"Alright, when I see Lord Kiryu Hikifune, I will certainly convey Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi's greetings and updates."

After leaving the Technology Development Bureau, Shiba Isshin finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead, and whispered to Yanagawa with lingering fear:

"You scared the hell out of me! I thought I was really going to be kept here and studied... Liu Chuan, next time you're joking, can't you at least give me a heads-up beforehand?"