6-5...

Well, well, if it isn't the head captain of the 13 Court Guard Squads, Shunsui Kyoraku. Should I bow down before you?

You haven't changed one bit, Seinosuke.

Interesting that you came all this way yourself instead of calling me to the barracks or the Central 46.

You must be planning something that you don't want to make public.

That's what's so great about your perception. You catch on quickly, and it saves me a lot of trouble.

Hikone Ubuginu. It's the name of a child who's been following him around recently. Do you know anything about him?

Well, I'm sure you do.

Then was there any point in asking? You must have come because you learned he was a patient here.

Could you tell me? Who exactly is he, and where did he come from?

I have my flaws, but I am still a surgeon. Are you asking me to disclose patient information?

Yes, and I believe you will tell me. Because you're the type of Soul Reaper who values life over ethics or honor or your own standing.

I'm begging you, if we know all the details, we may be able to avoid killing your former patient.

What do you know about Hikone Ubuginu?

I heard that the Ubuginus long served the Tsunayashiro Clan, but their lineage recently ended.

Publicly, they're claiming that Hikone Ubuginu is a distant relative of that family.

But there's no official record of that. Not even in the Daireisho Archive.

Yes, that's right. The Ubuginu family lineage ended long ago.

I don't know all the details of Tokinada Tsunayashiro's plan.

But simply asking me to do what I did could very well be perceived as an act of treason against the Soul Society.

For example, the crime of researching and using a taboo phenomenon.

A fragment of the Soul King.

...!

You understand what that means, don't you? As someone who was Jushiro's friend.

The child called Hikone also possesses a fragment?

That's almost right. The Tsunayashiro Clan has been gathering Soul King fragments for a long time.

With all of those at the core, Soul Reaper and human souls were combined to create a being. That being is Hikone Ubuginu.

Soul Reaper and human?

Well, I wasn't involved in that step, so I don't know the specifics about when they did it or with what souls.

It wasn't just one or two. There were several souls from Soul Reapers and humans from the world of the living. Perhaps even Quincy souls.

It felt as if tens of thousands of souls were mixed together, at the very least.

That's absurd. It's not like he's a Menos Grande. I didn't think it was possible to compact that many souls into one body...

...while still preserving the Soul Reaper and human properties.

Yes, the Tsunayashiro Clan did not have the same level of skill as someone like Kisuke or Mayuri or Senjumaru.

That's why, when Hikone was first brought to me, he was in a terrible state.

There wasn't even anything above his neck. His body was missing parts all over.

His Soul Chain and Soul Sleep were barely keeping his spiritual power going.

And then I was told to save him. I did what I could.

Oh, and I don't want to hear the argument that I should have just let him die.

You know I'm not that kind of man, don't you?

Hold on, it doesn't add up even before that point.

Even if you helped him live, I don't see how you elevated him from a piece of meat to an individual with willpower.

And if there are fragments of the Soul King at the core of his personality, I can't see him easily going along with everything Tokinada says.

Yes, which is why Tokinada brought me the final component.

Component?