Chapter 11

"I see..." Ryūken Ishida listened to Miyako Amamiya's explanation, considering how far he should take Miyako's training from here on.

Zanpakuto... Ryūken looked at the brand-new Zanpakuto at Miyako Amamiya's waist and made up his mind.

"Since time is short, it's time to put an end to those make-believe fights we've been having." Ryūken pushed up his glasses. "From here on, I'll use every Quincy skill I have, and I won't hold back. How much you learn is up to you."

"I couldn't ask for more." Miyako Amamiya grinned. He knew he was running out of time too, so he needed to pick up the pace of his learning. Besides, this was an excellent opportunity to test the power of his Zanpakuto's Shikai.

"Mr. Ishida, just in case, I'd like to ask something." Miyako Amamiya drew his twin blades. "How much Reiatsu can this space conceal?"

"A pointless question." Ryūken was dismissive. The Reishi space he had spent years constructing and expanding was not only meant to ward off the prying eyes of Soul Reapers, but also, just in case, to keep the enemy he suspected existed from discovering it. Miyako Amamiya's level of power was nowhere near enough to affect this place.

"I see. Then I can rest easy." Miyako Amamiya joined the two blades together, and a tremendous burst of Reiatsu erupted from him.

The sudden burst blew Ryūken's hair back, but Miyako Amamiya's Reiatsu wasn't enough to surprise him. He had long since experienced Captain-level spiritual pressure, so this was nothing much.

"..." Miyako Amamiya whispered softly. The twin blades in his hands began to merge and change, finally forming a black-and-white bow.

Only then did a trace of surprise appear on Ryūken's face, because Miyako Amamiya's Zanpakuto Shikai was actually a bow.

Interesting. He really is a heretic among Soul Reapers, Ryūken thought.

"Sorry, Mr. Ishida. I know I promised not to use Soul Reaper abilities, but this should be all right, shouldn't it?" Miyako Amamiya smiled. "Of course, I'll still only use Quincy abilities in the fight from here on."

Ryūken silently took out his Quincy Cross and formed a small Spirit Bow. "Enough talk. Let's begin."

Miyako Amamiya began gathering Reishi, much faster than when he had used the Quincy Cross before. In just a moment, he had formed an arrow.

That's enough compression. Judging by the power of Ryūken's Licht Regen over the time they had spent training, this arrow should be able to stop it.

Ryūken held his Spirit Bow in one hand as before, gathering an arrow, while his other hand remained motionless in his pocket.

But when the two arrows met, Miyako Amamiya's arrow was not pierced through as usual. This time, the two arrows collided, burst apart, and dissipated together.

"Hmph." From that one probing attack, Ryūken knew that Miyako Amamiya's Shikai had greatly improved his ability to manipulate Reishi.

Miyako Amamiya was still feeling pleased with himself. In Shikai, he could perform finer manipulations that he ordinarily couldn't manage. But the next second, Ryūken's Licht Regen showed him what ability the Quincy truly prided themselves on.

Ryūken's second arrow came at him, easily piercing the arrow Miyako Amamiya had formed.

Miyako Amamiya didn't dare be careless. He hurriedly dodged and tried to gather and compress more Reishi.

"Swing down the Silver Tongue and strike the Five-Pronged Stone Bed. Gojūbaku." Ryūken recited the incantation unhurriedly.

A white capsule immediately formed at Miyako Amamiya's feet, swiftly wrapping around and binding him.

So fast. When did he set it up...? Miyako Amamiya looked in surprise at the trap beneath his feet.

"You're probably wondering when I set that trap." Ryūken raised his Spirit Bow. "Don't get the wrong idea. I don't need to set traps in advance to deal with you. My arrows are enough."

What? Miyako Amamiya looked at the spot where Gojūbaku had caught him and recalled that it was exactly where Ryūken's previous arrow had landed.

He can control an arrow again even after gathering it...? Miyako Amamiya found it absurd. He had never seen anything like it in his memories. It seemed the Quincy's ability to manipulate Reishi was far less simple than the original story had shown.

"As long as your Reishi manipulation is strong enough, you don't need to confine yourself to specific moves," Ryūken said. "That was only the first technique. Watch the ones that follow closely."

After breaking free of Gojūbaku, Miyako Amamiya didn't dare underestimate any attack Ryūken launched. Both the precision and creativity of Ryūken's Reishi manipulation were a revelation to him.

The ensuing fight far exceeded Miyako Amamiya's expectations. It wasn't the difficulty of the fight that shocked him, but Ryūken's endless succession of unpredictable techniques, which left him struggling to keep up.

Ryūken used every single move Miyako Amamiya recalled Uryū Ishida using in the original story against him. But Ryūken's methods were more unexpected and more threatening, and Miyako Amamiya only breathed a sigh of relief when Ryūken stopped.

Those techniques are terrifying. Only now did Miyako Amamiya understand why the Quincy had dared attack Soul Society a thousand years ago. In the eyes of ordinary Soul Reapers, at least, Quincy techniques really were impossible to guard against.

He looked at the buildings of varying heights around them. Parts of many had vanished, the result of Ryūken shattering them with arrows and gathering the Reishi again to form other techniques.

Compared with Ryūken, who was fighting on his own turf, Miyako Amamiya's Reishi manipulation was limited to taking Reishi from the atmosphere. He couldn't manipulate the buildings at all, whereas Ryūken could shatter them and use them directly as a medium for all kinds of skills.

Rather than Reishi manipulation, it was more like Reishi subjugation... Miyako Amamiya recalled Mayuri Kurotsuchi's assessment of Uryū Ishida's Quincy: Letzt Stil and realized that although Ryūken didn't directly absorb the buildings' Reishi as Uryū had in that form, he had still come close to achieving Reishi subjugation when manipulating the Reishi in this space.

This entire space was not only a place for Ryūken to train, but also his own territory, belonging solely to the Quincy Ryūken Ishida. Fighting Ryūken here, Miyako Amamiya couldn't help thinking his chances of winning were extremely low.

Looking at Ryūken's calm expression, Miyako Amamiya inwardly marveled at his strength. As expected of a man raised with a Pure-Blood Quincy education, he was on a completely different level from the skills Uryū had learned from Sōken Ishida. But in Ryūken's eyes, it didn't matter if Quincy abilities died out, which was probably why he refused to teach Uryū anything.

The legacy of the Pure-Blood Quincy is terrifying. Perhaps even now, some of Yhwach's own abilities have been passed down, Miyako Amamiya thought.

"Come with me. I have something to show you." Ryūken walked out the door and motioned for Miyako Amamiya to follow.

Ryūken led Miyako Amamiya back to his office as hospital director. He walked over to his desk, opened a drawer, and took out a book hidden in a secret compartment inside it.

"Take a look at this first." Ryūken tossed the book to Miyako Amamiya.

Miyako Amamiya caught the book and couldn't help wondering whether it contained some Quincy technique passed down through the generations.

The cover was somewhat damaged, and it was clear the book was probably quite old. Miyako Amamiya opened it and discovered that it didn't record Quincy skills or anything of the sort, but... Quincy history.

"Two hundred years ago, war broke out between the Soul Reapers and the Quincy, greatly reducing the number of Quincy left in the World of the Living..." Miyako Amamiya read softly. He had heard something of this history in Soul Society as well.

"Don't bother with that meaningless history. There are two pages stuck together in the book. Find them," Ryūken said.

Hearing this, Miyako Amamiya searched for the pages Ryūken had mentioned.

Here. Miyako Amamiya gently separated them.

"A thousand years ago, Yhwach, king of the Quincy, led the Quincy in an attack on Soul Society?" Miyako Amamiya said in surprise. He hadn't expected Ryūken's family to have a record of what Yhwach had done a thousand years ago as well.

"But Yhwach ultimately died at the hands of the Soul Reapers..." Miyako Amamiya continued reading.

"The Quincy didn't believe he was dead," Ryūken said. "At the end of that page is a legend passed down by word of mouth among the Quincy."

Miyako Amamiya looked at the end. "Kaiser Gesang... The sealed king of the Quincy regained his heartbeat after 900 years, his reason after 90 years, and his power after 9 years." Miyako Amamiya knew this one. There was another line at the end of the true Kaiser Gesang.

The true Kaiser Gesang should have been: The sealed king of the Quincy regained his heartbeat after 900 years, his reason after 90 years, his power after 9 years, and the world after 9 days.

But Miyako Amamiya couldn't tell Ryūken. This was the true legend of Yhwach, something even the Quincy in the World of the Living didn't know.

"Mr. Ishida, what does this mean?" Miyako Amamiya asked.

"A thousand years ago, Yhwach was defeated in Soul Society, but the surviving Quincy all believed he hadn't died and began passing this legend down instead," Ryūken said.

"But the story that's been passed down is only a few brief lines. The exact date is no longer known."

Miyako Amamiya listened carefully.

"Haven't you always been curious about what happened five years ago?" Ryūken said. "Then go to Soul Society and find out. Find out everything about Yhwach's invasion of Soul Society a thousand years ago, from beginning to end. The exact date, the course of events, all of it."

Miyako Amamiya now understood what Ryūken was thinking. A thousand years ago was only a vague figure, so Ryūken couldn't be sure whether 200X was the year Yhwach regained his power, or whether Yhwach was responsible for the mass deaths of Mixed-Blood Quincy.

If he knew the exact date, the truth would be all but certain.

It seems my value to Ryūken Ishida is considerable. He probably hasn't exchanged information with Isshin Shiba yet. Isshin's Soul Reaper powers haven't returned, so Ryūken has been investigating on his own all this time. Miyako Amamiya understood.

He gave Ryūken a long look before agreeing. "I understand, Mr. Ishida. I'll do my best to find out what happened a thousand years ago, from beginning to end."

"Doing your best isn't nearly enough." Ryūken cut Miyako Amamiya off. "Do everything in your power to find every trace Yhwach left in Soul Society."

In Ryūken's mind, Miyako Amamiya was now the final piece of the puzzle needed to complete the trail of clues. No matter what, Ryūken had to find out exactly what Yhwach had done.

"...I understand." Miyako Amamiya agreed. Although he knew everything Yhwach had once done, he couldn't produce real evidence, and it would be hard to convince Ryūken. In that case, investigating in Soul Society really was necessary.

Miyako Amamiya then left. Watching him walk away, Ryūken lit a cigarette, his thoughts unsettled for a long time. On June 17, 200X, Isshin Shiba had told him that Masaki had been killed by a Hollow, and his wife had suddenly fallen unconscious that same day. Three months later, she had passed away.

Ryūken knew how strong Masaki Kurosaki was. With her abilities as a Pure-Blood Quincy, she shouldn't have been killed by a Hollow appearing in the World of the Living. His own wife had also fallen into a coma for unknown reasons, and this greatly troubled Ryūken. The only thing the two had in common was that they were Quincy, but he was a Quincy too, and he had come through that day unharmed.

Although a later investigation revealed that the dead were mostly Mixed-Blood Quincy, and Masaki's Quincy bloodline might have been tainted by a Hollow back in high school, causing her to be judged a Mixed-Blood Quincy as well, the biggest question was why nothing had happened to his son.

To protect his and his wife's only son, Ryūken had investigated desperately these past few years. But there were only so many places he could investigate in the World of the Living, and beyond it, the only place where he could learn about the Quincy was Soul Society.

I hope you won't disappoint me, Miyako Amamiya, Ryūken thought.

Compared with Isshin Shiba when Ryūken had first met him, Miyako Amamiya still fell short, but his strength was evident. This made Ryūken realize that sooner or later, Miyako Amamiya would become a Captain-level figure in Soul Society. Taking everything into account, Miyako Amamiya was already Ryūken's best candidate to investigate Soul Society, not to mention the future...

As for Kisuke Urahara, Ryūken had never counted on him at all.

Ryūken opened the book and studied the words of the Kaiser Gesang. He regained his power after 9 years. Could that power be the lives of Mixed-Blood Quincy...?

Ryūken knew nothing about Auswählen at this point. He only suspected that 200X might have been the year Yhwach regained his power.

If he could confirm the exact date, he could determine the true cause of Masaki's and his wife's deaths. More importantly, if Yhwach really had regained his power then, his return would be unstoppable.

And his son, the only one unaffected, would probably be unable to escape this vortex known as the Quincy in the future...

"The legendary king of the Quincy, Yhwach..." Ryūken closed the book. He had no respect for this king of Quincy legend. All he knew was that Yhwach might well have caused Masaki's and his wife's deaths, and might also harm his son in the future.

He would never allow this Quincy power to take his son's life as well.

"Uryū..." Ryūken closed the book and stared out the window in silence for a long time.

"I see... Is it time already?" Miyako Amamiya looked at the message on his Denreishinki and couldn't help sighing.

Soul Society had formally ordered Miyako Amamiya's recall in the near future. Someone else had been chosen to handle his assignment in the World of the Living.

I should say goodbye. Miyako Amamiya planned to formally bid Ryūken farewell after training that day. The intense battles of the past few days had taught him many Quincy skills. Though he had yet to master them fully, he had committed them deeply to memory.

Ryūken could be said to have held nothing back in teaching him Quincy abilities. Rather than teaching Miyako Amamiya Quincy abilities, it was more accurate to say that Ryūken had taught him how a Quincy approached combat.

The unpredictable ways Ryūken used Quincy Reishi manipulation had given Miyako Amamiya many ideas and enabled him to explore a Quincy fighting style of his own.

Suddenly, the Denreishinki vibrated violently, signaling the appearance of a Hollow. Miyako Amamiya immediately prepared to leave, but the exact location sent to his Denreishinki puzzled him.

"Why Karakura Town...?" Miyako Amamiya found it strange. Zennosuke Kurumadani was still in Karakura Town, after all.

Meanwhile, in Karakura Town, Zennosuke Kurumadani gripped his Zanpakuto and stood ready. Facing his old enemy, he intended to give it everything he had.

Before him was Grand Fisher, who had ambushed him once before. Today, he had encountered her again. What struck him as strange was that Grand Fisher hadn't ambushed him this time, but had actually come to fight him openly.

"Damn Hollow, you actually didn't ambush me this time." Zennosuke Kurumadani said, "Then today, I'll show you what I can do."

Zennosuke Kurumadani gripped his Zanpakuto with both hands. "Good morning, Tsuchinamazu!" As he spoke his Zanpakuto's release command, the blade in his hands began to change, finally becoming a ring-shaped blade with bells attached.

"Hey, Soul Reaper, where's the brat who ambushed me last time? Call him out here. How dare he ambush me? I'm always the one ambushing others. Nobody's ever dared ambush me," Grand Fisher raged.

"A Hollow like you who only knows how to ambush people doesn't need two of us to deal with you." Zennosuke Kurumadani dropped into a half-crouch, his Zanpakuto pointed at the ground. "Today, I'm getting even for that ambush!"

"Ha!" Zennosuke Kurumadani shouted and slammed his Zanpakuto into the ground. The ground immediately began to change, and Grand Fisher, caught off guard, sank into the earth. Several stone pillars suddenly appeared around her, locking her firmly in place so she couldn't move.

"What is this?" Grand Fisher was 'horrified.'

"See that, Hollow? That's my Zanpakuto's ability. You can't escape now." Zennosuke Kurumadani laughed and rushed toward her, ready to give her a vicious blow with his blade.

But as Zennosuke Kurumadani approached, the expression on Grand Fisher's face suddenly turned sinister. A white claw shot out of the ground beneath him and reached for him.

"What?" Zennosuke Kurumadani exclaimed. He had clearly trapped the Hollow, so what was this?

"Hahahaha! Naive Soul Reaper. You can't even sense the Reiatsu underground, and you think you can defeat me?" Grand Fisher's claw seized Zennosuke Kurumadani, and then she pulled her entire body free of the stone pillars. Her other claw extended and stabbed swiftly toward him.

"Damn it..." Seeing the claw about to strike, Zennosuke Kurumadani could only gather all his Reiryoku, channel it into his blade, and slash through one claw before quickly escaping.

But he was still a little too slow. Grand Fisher's other claw pierced his body, and he began bleeding all over.

This is bad. Seeing this, Zennosuke Kurumadani immediately called for backup on his Denreishinki.

When Miyako Amamiya arrived, he found Zennosuke Kurumadani struggling to hold on again and couldn't help feeling a headache coming on. He had already warned him, so why was this happening again?

Something's wrong. Miyako Amamiya sensed her carefully and found that Grand Fisher's Reiatsu had clearly grown since her last appearance.

She's gotten stronger? Did Aizen do something to her? Miyako Amamiya knew Grand Fisher's true form was actually an Arrancar, but he didn't know when she had become one. As things stood, perhaps she had spent this time getting accustomed to becoming an Arrancar? Or had she already become one and was getting used to her power?

Miyako Amamiya prepared to repeat his old trick from the sidelines. Seeing that Zennosuke Kurumadani was about to be overwhelmed, he immediately aimed Shakkahō at Grand Fisher, casting it without the incantation.

"Hadō #31: Shakkahō." After achieving Shikai, his control over Kidō had also improved, and he could now cast Shakkahō without its incantation without sacrificing its power.

But the lure on Grand Fisher's head seemed to notice something and quickly jumped away before Shakkahō could hit her.

"You thought the same move would hit me a second time, damn brat?!" Grand Fisher turned and saw Miyako Amamiya. With her target in sight, she immediately abandoned her pursuit of Zennosuke Kurumadani and attacked Miyako Amamiya.

"Is that so? Then let's give it a try. I'd like to see if you'll run away with your tail between your legs again this time." Miyako Amamiya didn't let his guard down as he drew her away.

"Fifth Seat Amamiya, don't be careless! Her Reiatsu is stronger than last time!" Zennosuke Kurumadani called after Miyako Amamiya.

"I know, Fourth Seat Chōtarō." Miyako Amamiya left without looking back, so Zennosuke Kurumadani wouldn't become his weak point.

"Where do you think you're going, you little brat?!" Grand Fisher pursued him.

Zennosuke Kurumadani could no longer hold himself up and collapsed. "Now I really am seriously injured... I hope Fifth Seat Amamiya can defeat her."

Miyako Amamiya reached a forest and stopped.