Bleach: Watch Closely, This Is How You Use a Zanpakutō novel Chapter 114

Chapter 114 - 114: Treasure Orb

The transformation of the Hōgyoku into a "coal ball" was entirely expected, so instead of disappointment, Masatsuki Aozaki felt a surge of excitement.

This proved the experiment was moving in the right direction!

The jade-like orb gradually stabilized.

There were no fractures, nor did any souls dissipate.

The failure from previous attempts hadn't repeated itself, surprising Masatsuki Aozaki—yet also filling him with anticipation.

"The experiment has achieved its first success. Just like Aizen's Hōgyoku, its shape is irregular, and its size is increasing."

Masatsuki Aozaki carefully examined the orb within the containment vessel.

Now, he finally understood why Aizen had referred to this as a 'treasure.'

Who would willingly call their life's work a 'coal ball'?

Masatsuki Aozaki picked up the coal ball—no, the treasure!

Holding it in the palm of his hand, he scrutinized the priceless object.

For now, it lacked any extraordinary powers.

That, however, was something no technology could forcibly change.

Only quantitative change could lead to qualitative transformation.

It needed more Soul King fragments.

It needed more souls!

...

Time flew by, and seven days passed in an instant.

For an entire week, Masatsuki Aozaki buried himself in his laboratory, only occasionally stepping out to check on Rangiku Matsumoto and the others—just enough to prevent himself from being reported as a missing person.

Fortunately, in that time, his proficiency with the equipment improved significantly.

And with a stable foundation now in place, all that was left was to continuously merge additional souls into the original gem, drastically reducing the time needed for each fusion.

Even if he didn't possess the raw intellect of geniuses like Kisuke Urahara, Sōsuke Aizen, or Mayuri Kurotsuchi, repetitive mechanical work like this was second nature to him.

After seven days of effort, the size of Masatsuki Aozaki's Hōgyoku had expanded several times over, now reaching half a meter in diameter.

It was still far from matching Aizen's "coal ball," but that was simply a matter of material quantity, not technique.

Through the transparent glass of the containment vessel, he gazed at the massive orb, his once-calm emotions now subtly wavering.

After taking a deep breath to steady himself, he retrieved the orb from the container and placed it on the laboratory table.

He first used an instrument to analyze its internal state.

After confirming that the souls within had fused just as Aizen had described, he placed his hand gently atop the surface.

His eyes narrowed.

"So it really is like this..."

Even with Kiganjō's soul added, it was still far from being a true Hōgyoku!

That, of course, was to be expected.

If a mere few years of accumulation and a single captain's soul had been enough to complete the Hōgyoku, then Aizen wouldn't have needed to spend over a decade searching Rukongai.

At a minimum, he would need hundreds more souls—and an incalculable number of Soul King fragments—to satisfy its requirements.

By his estimation, the total amount of Soul King fragments needed would have to surpass even the length of the Soul King's Nail!

Masatsuki Aozaki recorded his experiment with a calm expression, showing no hint of disappointment.

For Aizen, this gemstone might be of little use, but for Masatsuki Aozaki, even a seemingly useless gem carried immense significance.

He had yet to apply Mayuri Kurotsuchi's Reishi Isolation Technique, and if his hypothesis was correct, this would be a critical step in shaping the Hōgyoku.

During a previous soul fusion experiment, Masatsuki Aozaki had accidentally discovered that the Reishi Barrier played a role in the formation of the Hōgyoku.

That realization hit him like a bolt of lightning—an offhand move of his had actually proven useful!

From his memory, Kisuke Urahara's Hōgyoku had a translucent barrier-like membrane.

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