79: Naughty Student

The opening ceremony was a huge deal for Soul Society. Most researchers did so individually and without supervision. They would do whatever they pleased while putting those around them and themselves in danger.

Under the S.R.D.I., those individuals would be under the watch of the upper management while putting their minds to good use for the benefit of Soul Society. As for benefits for being members, the scientists could conduct their own projects and have better resources for them as long as they proved their worth.

Therefore, several captains of the Gotei 13 were present for the opening ceremony. Yoruichi was unable to make it due to a mission that she needed to lead for the Onmitsukido.

There was Captain Kuchiki who had both of his sons by his side, one with the position of vice-captain with the other having the position of 3rd seat of the 6th division. They were Sojun and Koga, one a son by blood and the other was a son by marriage

Sojun was the previous captain of the 6th division but due to his poor health, he retired from the position of captain and took the position of lieutenant. With no other replacement or choice, Ginrei Kuchiki came out of retirement and took back over the position of captain of the 6th division.

Another captain present was Captain Kenpachi of the 11th division. This was the latest and 9th generation of Kenpachi to lead the 11th division as well as the 6th Kenpachi to be defeated by Ren in single combat. Captain Kenpachi came with his lieutenant as well as his 13th seat, Gosuke Kiganjō and Tetsuzaemon Iba respectively.

The last captain present was Ren himself. He had been invited not just due to his position as the captain with strength only behind Yamamoto but also due to his close ties with Kisuke, the man who came up with the idea and the first president of the S.R.D.I.

Ren came with Kakyo and Naoko. The other shinigami were either training or just busy while Ren wanted to keep the Asura under wraps. There was no need to get them the attention of Mayuri, Aizen, or any other mad scientist that existed in Soul Society that Ren had no knowledge of.

The opening ceremony was nothing special. It was a few speeches by the main members and leaders of the Institute as well some of their future plans. Besides those, some of the projects that the members were currently working on were revealed.

The main 3 members who stole the attention were Kisuke, Mayuri, and Kirio Hikifune. Each of them had some achievements in the science field so to those who were in the know, they were very surprised to see this lineup ready.

Kisuke was the president and founder of the Institute. He had been working on an invention called Gigai which would allow shinigami to enter the world of the living without having to worry about their reiatsu affecting the humans or the environment.

Kirio was the vice-president and had been working on something that was related to the Gigai called the Gikon. These were artificial souls that could inhabit corpses for short amounts of time. If used in conjunction with the Gigai, it would allow a shinigami to be able to freely enter and exit their Gigai without having to worry about leaving a corpse in the middle of the street.

Lastly was Mayuri who got the position as Head of the Research Office. He had not been known for working on anything in particular but he was particularly feared in the Nest of Maggots despite his weak combat skills. He had even been put into isolation due to experiments he had been conducting on other prisoners.

The ceremony took 30 minutes to end before Ren and the other captains as well as their officers went inside of the institute's main building to see the inside for themselves.

They toured through the various rooms that were filled with the latest gadgets and tools as well as some of the rooms that were filled with scientists who were already hard at work.

All the captains had apathetic and stoic looks on their faces. None of them were researchers so they were not interested in the various things going on inside the Institute. When the tour was finally over, the 6th and 11th division members left leaving only the members of the S.R.D.I. and the 8th division.

Without anyone else there, the atmosphere got much colder in an instant. Ren was staring at Mayuri and exerting a large amount of bloodthirst towards the man. Feeling the gaze of Ren, Mayuri was sweating bullets.

'I have not experimented on anyone he knows. I have not even gotten the chance to get near those Arrancar yet.

Does he know that I am interested in his zanpakuto that is one of the rare instant-ability shikai? No! I have not even written down those notes yet and they have just been in my head.

What have I done to get his attention so soon? I need to stay off his radar for now while I research him and learn how to counter this man.'

Ren finally spoke while looking at Mayuri who had his head down.

"This is the only warning you shall receive. Step out of line... and your head will roll on the ground.

The Central 46 and Yamamoto believe that Kisuke can keep you under control and that you can be an asset to Soul Society. Kisuke has faith in your mind and your genius.

But I don't. So I suggest you follow every order Kisuke gives you and do nothing else. Because if you step out of line even a single time, I will not give Kisuke, Yamamoto, or the Central 46 a chance to punish you. I will kill you there and then."

Ren turned to Kisuke and let the man feel the same amount of danger as he did Mayuri. Even if he liked Kisuke when he first arrived and had even taken him in as a student, Ren had grown much older and wiser. He would not let his feelings towards the man influence his decision.

"And you. I warned you about this man but you decided to ignore my warnings. I can't do anything about what you have already done but I can have my own feelings about it.

You are a smart man but you sometimes forget that even the most intelligent men can make mistakes. This will definitely be yours when you look back in the future. I just hope you don't regret it as much as I think you will."

After leaving those words, Ren and his officers turned around and left the Institute leaving a frustrated Kisuke behind.

The blonde man smashed his hand into the wall and broke off a good chunk of it.

'Shit! I guess that he can still mess with my emotions even after all these years. This is the first time that I have shown my resolve and determination.

Even if he disagrees with my decision, this is still mine. Whether I regret it in the end, that is my concern and mine alone. You are a good teacher but you will never understand how far my plans go.

I know that I can never surpass you with raw power. But with this institute, I will create my own group that can rival your 8th division using our brains to surpass your strength!'

Kisuke looked up at the departing back of Ren with a determined look on his face. Even after all the spars that they had gone through and the numerous times that Kisuke lost to Ren, this was the first time that Kisuke truly felt like he wanted to defeat Ren.