touchnovel Chapter 122: You Got a Good Deal, Sure—But I Made a Killing!
Chapter 122: You Got a Good Deal, Sure—But I Made a Killing!
Chapter 122 - You Got a Good Deal, Sure—But I Made a Killing!In the depths of the underground laboratory, the lights flickered dimly.
"...Still a failure, huh."
It was Kurotsuchi Mayuri's first attempt at creating an artificial Shinigami. Rushed experiments could only lead to predictable results.
"You tried fusing a Gigai and an Artificial Soul to create a real Shinigami?"
Shuuichi's voice rang out from behind.
Mayuri turned to face him, meeting the comment head-on. "You figured that out?"
It frustrated him that Higashi Shuuichi, someone far less versed in science, wasn't the least bit interested in ending his life—and worse, had immediately dissected his intent.
"You rushed it," Shuuichi said bluntly, stepping past Mayuri toward the ruined experiment table. He gently lifted the failed Gigai.
"This was only because the trial was too rushed," Mayuri muttered, defensive. "If I had more time—"
"You think I'm critiquing this specific experiment, Mayuri?"
Shuuichi's eyes twinkled—he saw it. Mayuri was hooked. Unlike Urahara Kisuke's seamless mental defenses, Mayuri was just vulnerable enough to be manipulated.
"If not this experiment, then what—?" Mayuri asked, momentarily forgetting the entire reason Shuuichi had come.
"Gigai, Gikon... all of it is artificial. You tried to jump straight to fusing those artificial creations into true life. That leap is too wide. This isn't just difficult—it's absurd."
He held the failed Gigai between them like a mirror, hammering in the point.
"So what's the gentler path?" Mayuri frowned, sensing an implied solution.
"I'm no scientist, Mayuri. But during my time in the World of the Living, I learned two words from human re
Perhaps the Tsunayashiro had other plans. Perhaps this was all a misdirection.
Back to the point.
"What do Fullbringers have to do with your artificial Shinigami?" Mayuri asked. He had no interest in the Tsunayashiro's agenda. He just wanted new toys.
Shuuichi grinned. "You've forgotten why I had to flee Soul Society with Urahara, haven't you?"
Then he released his Reiatsu.
A dark, corrosive pressure filled the chamber—violent, twisted.
Hollowfication.
A gray skeletal mask materialized on Shuuichi's face, his robes bleaching white.
"You've... mastered Hollow powers?!"
Mayuri's mind clicked instantly.
"No... wait... not just that," Shuuichi said, voice echoing beneath the mask. "The real question is—how did I become a Hollow?"
Understanding dawned on Mayuri.
"A true Shinigami should have not just Shinigami Reiatsu and a Shinigami soul—but Hollow essence as well."
"Exactly. So now you see, don't you? Mayuri—you could use Gigai, human souls, and Hollow energy, just like Fullbringer birth conditions. Recreate that triad. That's how you can test modified soul integration."
"And once that process is stable... I just swap the human soul out for an Artificial Soul, and boom—a real, functioning Shinigami."
Mayuri's eyes gleamed.
He didn't need more convincing.
"And what do you want from me, then?" he asked calmly. He knew this wasn't charity. But even so—he felt like he owed Shuuichi a huge favor already.
"Wait a sec," Shuuichi said, turning back to the failed Gigai. "I want to test something."
"Bankai—Resurrected Vessel."
His Reiatsu surged again. He poured it into the Gigai. Slowly, the dummy shimmered to life. He infused half his Reiatsu—enough to animate it—but its spiritual power barely rose past Lieutenant-class.
"...Just as I thought."
Shuuichi had suspected for a while that his Bankai, which allowed him to raise puppets from raw materials, had a limit. The artificial bodies couldn't channel the full extent of his power.
Even this upgraded Gigai, while having far better stamina, still couldn't output more than a basic Captain-level Reiatsu. And even that dropped quickly during combat.
Worse, his other Bankai—Hyakki Yagyō, which summoned demons from Hell—required physical bodies to anchor them. His spirit-clones were too ephemeral. The Gigai worked far better.
"Maybe one day I'll have a true Hundred Demon Parade," he mused. "Thousands of ghosts. All mine."
For now, he was stuck with fodder-tier ghosts—but that didn't stop him from fantasizing.
He turned to Mayuri, holding up three fingers.
"Three terms."
One: "I'll deliver Fullbringers to you personally. But I need you to grant me full operational freedom inside Soul Society."
Two: "I need as many Gigai as you can produce. And the Soul King fragments you extract from those Fullbringers—those are mine."
Three: "My apprentice, Yushima Ōshu, is currently a Twelfth Division grunt. I want him involved in the project."
"...That's it?"
Mayuri raised an eyebrow.
None of these were especially difficult.
The first—granting Shuuichi leeway—was doable as long as he didn't cause chaos.
The second—supplying Gigai—was child's play.
The third... was the only sticking point. Mayuri hated letting anyone into his lab. Especially someone who had once worked with Urahara.
"I'll allow it. But if Yushima doesn't impress me, I'll throw him out."
"Fair enough," Shuuichi agreed instantly. He had total confidence in Yushima's potential.
They discussed logistics for a while—how to smuggle Fullbringers in, how to communicate.
Finally, Shuuichi had Mayuri create him a new Gigai identical to the previous one and looted a few of his tech prototypes before casually walking out of the wrecked lab, smiling like a man who had just scored the deal of a lifetime.