"When he comes back and realizes we’re gone, he’s definitely going to cry out like, ’Waaah!’"
Yoruichi Shihōin laughed cheerfully, clearly amused by the mental image.
"I’d love to see that face for myself. It’d be priceless."
Aura Michibane chuckled along with her.
But their laughter gradually faded, and silence settled between them.
After a moment, Aura let out a quiet sigh.
She reached for her robe and pulled it open slightly, revealing a glowing jewel embedded in her chest, shimmering with a strange light.
"There’s no need to worry too much, Yoruichi-nee. I’ve already developed a mass-production model of the Hōgyoku," she said with a smile. "All that’s left is gathering the materials to scale it up."
Yoruichi felt a bit more at ease hearing that.
"What materials are you still missing?" she asked, genuinely curious.
She looked up at Aura, and the more she did, the more fondness she felt for this younger sister.
She knew her own strengths—sure, she was clever, even once praised by the Captain-Commander for her talent in mischief—but developing something like this? That was out of her league.
They were smart in completely different ways.
Yoruichi could handle combat techniques just fine, but research and development? Not a chance.
She made no effort to hide her concern.
"Need a hand? If there’s anything I can help with, just say the word. No need to hold back with me!"
Aura slowly stood and looked down at her.
Yoruichi’s clothes were a bit of a mess from their lounging—her collarbone and a teasing hint of cleavage peeking out.
But Aura only glanced briefly before calmly looking away.
Her figure might draw envy from anyone, but she had her own confidence to stand on.
She shook her head.
"No need. Someone else is already handling it."
Yoruichi blinked in surprise.
With all of Seireitei in battle-ready mode, weren’t all the "sisters" swamped with their own responsibilities?
Who could be taking on the material hunt?
She paused—then a mischievous grin crept onto her face.
"It’s not the girls from Hueco Mundo, is it? Should I go pick them up when they come to Soul Society?"
"You know this is exactly what Onmitsukidō is good at—secret infiltration, quiet extraction, discreet rendezvous. That’s my specialty."
Though she was joking, there was some genuine concern behind her words.
If the girls ran into any of the Gotei 13 en route, it could get complicated.
"No worries. They’ll be using the family’s private Senkaimon. I was planning to greet them myself, but since you’re so eager, I’ll leave it to you!"
Yoruichi nodded in agreement.
After all, the Aozaki Senkaimon had been built using Shihōin Clan resources back when she was still head of the family.
Top-of-the-line, both in terms of quality and safety.
Masatsuki had even praised it after using it.
So as long as nothing went wrong in the Dangai, the girls would make it through safely.
And if it was her clan’s craftsmanship—she had full confidence in it.
"I don’t think there’s much I can do to help Masatsuki directly," Yoruichi sighed, shrugging with a helpless smile. "I’ll head over to the Senkaimon and stand by. This is Soul Society, after all—having a bunch of Arrancars show up here is still a risk."
"Be careful!"
As she opened the lab door, Aura’s voice rang out behind her.
"Don’t worry—just wait for good news."
...
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