The scene returns to the present—District 9 of East Rukongai. Higashi Shuuichi stood atop a tiled rooftop, watching the departing souls scatter below.

Their retreat was no coincidence—it was the result of a few subtle tricks on his part. What he was about to docould not afford witnesses.

"That should be enough."

He scanned the area with his spiritual perception—no lingering souls remained within his designated perimeter.

With a swift gesture, fourReiatsu-suppressing devicesshot toward the cardinal edges of the zone.

Concealment activated.

"Tactical Doctrine Rooted in Warfare—Bankai!"

A massive surge of reiatsu burst outward, enveloping the entire space. His dark green Zanpakutō flared red, its spine unfolding with two pairs of shimmering, fish-scale wings that threatened to take flight.

From the rooftop, Shuuichi leapt down, landing before a stone guardian lion.

He raised his blade and drove it upward, tip piercing the lion's forehead.

"Borrowing the Corpse to Resurrect the Soul."

In an instant, the lion drank in most of his spiritual energy.

"Haah... haah..."

Shuuichi gasped heavily, chest rising and falling like storm-tossed waves.

He always felt depleted after setting one of these anchors.

With the Bankai released and his reiatsu spent, the stone guardian returned to normal—by every visible and spiritual metric, indistinguishable from any ordinary statue.

ButShuuichi knew better.

In his mind, he couldfeel it resonate—this statue had successfully been transformed into one of hisAnchors.

This was the true effect of his Bankai:"Borrowing the Corpse to Resurrect the Soul."

By infusing a dead object with his reiatsu, he couldtransform it into a future conduit—a fixed point through which his techniques could be deployed at any time, from any location.

Whether it was abilities from his Shikai or fully manifested spirit constructs, they couldreappear at any of these Anchors. Even his Spirit Clones could be summoned there instantly and take on the Anchor's traits, turning them intomobile nodes.

Moreover, any hostile effect or spiritual damage could beredirectedto an Anchor, so long as it was within range and Shuuichi chose to allow it. The pre-stored reiatsu in the Anchor would absorb the impact—until depleted, at which point the Anchor reverted to a normal object.

Because of this,every Anchor cost him over half of his total reiatsu pool to forge.

"Quality over quantity."

That principle, Shuuichi understood deeply.

And he had plenty of time to act on it.

His long-term goal was clear: to seedthe entirety of Soul Society, the Human World, and Hueco Mundowith these Anchors.

If not for the current inaccessibility of places like theRoyal Realm,Hell, and theWandenreich, he'd gladly plant one in each.

As he finished today's ritual and stood up, his gaze turned toward Seireitei, distant on the horizon.

"Everything's ready. Next... the gods fall to Earth."

Ten years passed, like sand slipping through an hourglass.

With Aizen's technological support for Hollowfication, the Kasadōji Clan no longer needed to capture dozens of Shinigami for experimentation. A few carefully selected subjects were enough.

And Higashi Shuuichi alone could provide those—with no need to sneak around.

Kasadōji Masayuu regained his composure, capitalizing on his clan's noble status to slowly force the Gotei 13 todismantle their surveillance.

Meanwhile, Yunei Youkaku took the opportunity toindoctrinatehis test subjects during the instability of Hollow transformation. The balance of power began to shift.

But neither man realized—Aizenwas the true victor.

With no effort, he had obtained adecade's worth of perfect data, refining Hollowfication to its theoretical peak. The next step?

Captains.

Shuuichi, too, had been busy.

Beyond scattering Anchors across the worlds, he had also delivered theMakyou Blade Raikato Mayuri Kurotsuchi in the Maggot's Nest andestablished a secure linkbetween them.

Shuuichi's goal was tobring Raika as close to its perfected form as possible—refining its devouring properties while minimizing dangerous side effects.

Mayuri's terms were simple: in exchange, Shuuichi must ensure that once the project was complete,he would be released from the Nestand granted a lab and subjects.

He had no intention of remaining Kisuke Urahara's underling forever.

Their deal was struck.

Whether or not Shuuichi could actually get Mayuri out? That was another story.

In the original timeline, it had been Urahara—after replacing Kirio Hikifune as Captain of Squad 12—who personally pulled Mayuri from the Nest.

But Shuuichi was no Urahara. Not in name, nor in influence.

He didn't think Yoruichi would take that kind of personal risk for him.

Still, it didn't matter.He promised anyway.

Given Aizen's rapid advancement, the day Mayuri would be installed as Squad 12's Captain was practically inevitable.

Everyone had their own secret plans.

Everyone was waiting for thespark.

And then—it came.

At the gates ofShino Academy, the training school for future Shinigami,two young menstood side by side.

Today marked thenew student intake.

"Hey, you're a freshman too?"

The black-haired boy offered a warm greeting.

"Yeah. I passed the exam just last month. I'm from District 29 of West Rukongai—Ichimaru Gin~"

The silver-haired youth extended his hand, eyes crescented into that signature foxlike smile.

"Ichimaru... Gin... Got it. I'mKisaragi Shuusuke, from District 1 of West Rukongai! Let's get along, alright?"

Their hands met in a firm shake.

"Come on!" Shuusuke waved him forward. "We're the last two who haven't checked in yet."

Ichimaru Gin turned his head for one last look.

Up above, the bold characters ofShino Academyloomed high.

"At last... I'll become a Shinigami. Rangiku... are you okay?"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com