Chapter 33
Byakuya Kuchiki wanted to release his Shikai again and finish Ichigo Kurosaki off for good.
But just as he raised his Zanpakuto, coils of white cloth wrapped around it, preventing him from releasing its Shikai.
Byakuya sheathed his sword and looked at the dark-skinned woman who had appeared before him. He knew what had happened.
"Yoruichi Shihōin, it's been a long time. You disappeared a hundred years ago. I thought you were long gone."
Yoruichi ignored him and injected an anesthetic directly into Ichigo's internal organs, making him collapse.
"Yoruichi Shihōin... were you the ones who killed Aizen?" Ukitake looked at her gravely.
"Aizen was killed?" Yoruichi said in surprise. Then she realized that Aizen must have faked his death. "Ukitake, none of our people have ever been to the Fifth Division." She then looked at Byakuya.
"Give me three days. In just three days, I can make him surpass you," Yoruichi said to Byakuya from atop the tower.
In the end, Byakuya did not stop Yoruichi, once known as the Flash Goddess, and paid her wild claim no mind.
Instead, it was what Ichigo had said earlier that concerned Byakuya more.
"Miyako Amamiya, Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division, are you also going to... defy the rules of Soul Society?" Having heard what Ichigo said to Miyako, and recalling Amamiya's little actions in the World of the Living, Byakuya couldn't help suspecting that Miyako was already working with Ichigo and the others.
"Rules? Soul Society's rules? Do you mean the rules of Central 46, Captain Kuchiki?" Miyako Amamiya didn't answer, instead posing a question of his own.
Byakuya frowned, unsure what he meant.
"Even if Central 46 issued completely unreasonable rules, would you follow them as head of the Kuchiki Clan?"
"A meaningless question. As the foremost of the Four Great Noble Clans, the Kuchiki Clan represents the rules."
"Then what if Central 46 ordered you to kill the Captain-Commander?"
"A pointless hypothetical. That could never happen."
"Then why is the Sōkyoku, a punishment reserved for the most heinous criminals, being carried out?" Miyako Amamiya countered.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Byakuya demanded, questioning Miyako Amamiya's true intentions.
"As head of the Kuchiki Clan, have you never had doubts when Soul Society issued unreasonable rules?"
"If I were Central 46, I'd probably wake up laughing in my dreams. Whatever rules I issued, there'd be such an obedient tool to carry them out."
"How dare you insult the dignity of the nobility..." Byakuya wanted to draw his sword again. His promise to his late wife and his old vow had troubled him deeply, leaving him unable to exercise his usual judgment.
"That's enough, Miyako Amamiya." Ukitake stopped Miyako Amamiya. Although he too thought Central 46's order this time was somewhat unreasonable, he still believed that, on the whole, Central 46's existence was necessary.
"I'm sorry, Captain Kuchiki. I'll give my Lieutenant a proper talking-to."
Byakuya glanced at Ukitake, lowered his hand from his sword, and turned to leave.
"You'd better not break the rules, Miyako Amamiya, or else..."
Miyako Amamiya looked at him helplessly. The rules he followed were nothing more than Aizen's plaything.
And those rules—I and the others are definitely going to break them! Miyako Amamiya turned and walked in the opposite direction from Byakuya.
After Rukia was locked back up in the Senzaikyū, Miyako Amamiya called Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki over to help take Ganju Shiba and Hanatarō Yamada to the Fourth Division.
On the way back, Miyako Amamiya sensed a sudden burst of Reiatsu near the Senzaikyū.
At this time, is it Uryū Ishida...? Recalling Uryū's fight with Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Miyako Amamiya gave the two their instructions and headed for the source of the Reiatsu.
In the street, Mayuri looked at Uryū before him, beside himself with excitement.
"Ransōtengai, of all things." Mayuri narrowed his eyes at Uryū. "Should I call you a genius?"
Through the Quincy extermination two hundred years ago and his subsequent searches for Quincy in the World of the Living, Mayuri had collected a total of 2,661 Quincy and studied them, but the results had left him deeply disappointed.
Although the Quincy of two hundred years ago possessed the ability of Reishi Convergence, they didn't have the terrifying combat power described in records from a thousand years ago.
As for a combat technique like Ransōtengai, not one of them could use even the slightest bit of it.
Mayuri had also learned from historical texts that the Quincy of a thousand years ago had used this technique, causing Soul Society enormous trouble. But the technique had never appeared again since then.
Mayuri had thought these combat techniques had all been lost, but today he actually had a chance to experience one firsthand.
Sōken Ishida and Uryū Ishida... does their family have some unique legacy...? Sōken had been on the verge of death when Mayuri captured him for research, so Mayuri hadn't known that their family had such a legacy either.
"Excellent. I won't take your life. I'll bring you back alive and treat you properly, unlike that dying old man. As long as you're alive and well, your research value will increase considerably. The same goes for that girl just now, of course."
Mayuri still didn't know that his actions and words had touched Uryū's sore spot.
Despite his extreme rage, Uryū remained calm. He had made up his mind: even if he lost his Quincy powers, he would kill the unforgivable man before him.
Grandfather—no, Master, I'm sorry. I'm going to disobey your teachings. Uryū reached out with his other hand and pulled the pin restraining the Sanrei Glove.
The moment the pin came free, the Sanrei Glove crumbled to dust. An immense Reiatsu erupted from Uryū, surpassing the bounds of humanity and even exceeding the Reiatsu of some captains.
Miyako Amamiya arrived just then. He was astonished to see the change in Uryū.
"Quincy: Letzt Stil. This pressure..." Miyako Amamiya was utterly shocked by the Reiatsu he sensed erupting. At the same time, his desire for this power reached an unparalleled height, and the thing inside him trembled slightly...
Mayuri looked at Uryū and couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat. This Reiatsu had already surpassed his own.
The wings of Reishi gathered behind Uryū fluttered. He merely raised one hand, and Reishi automatically gathered in it, forming not an ordinary Reishi arrow, but an arrow in solid form.
Reishi can actually be gathered into a solid form. This is it—this is the true power of a Quincy! Miyako Amamiya was immensely excited by the sight before him.
Uryū didn't put much power into his first arrow, casually firing it at Mayuri.
Mayuri was astonished by the arrow's speed. It was far faster than the arrows Uryū had fired before.
But if that's all, I can still dodge it. He tilted his head and successfully avoided the arrow.
Just as Mayuri was thinking this, Uryū appeared above him and fired a second arrow at him.
"Beg me for mercy in tears, then disappear from my sight forever." Uryū deliberately taunted him.
"Then I might spare your life."
Mayuri had lost an entire arm and was trembling all over.
"And my next attack will be three times as powerful," Uryū said coldly, looking at him.
"A mere Quincy..." Mayuri uttered the words trembling, then shouted with a twisted expression, "Don't get too cocky, boy!"
Mayuri no longer held back. Besides, the situation no longer allowed him to.
"Bankai! Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo!" His Zanpakuto expanded rapidly, forming a gigantic golden infant with enormous gray eyeballs, a hollow steel ring resembling an angel's halo above its head, countless blades beneath its neck, and many column-shaped insect limbs like a centipede's legs. A bright red cloak covered its lower body.
Though he had witnessed the Bankai, Uryū didn't panic. If this was all it could do, he was still certain of victory.
He casually waved a hand, and a solidified arrow appeared in it once more. Facing Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo as it charged at him, Uryū slowly drew his bow and fired his third arrow.
But blood also flowed ceaselessly from his hand as a result.
The arrow didn't disappear when it struck Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo. Instead, it pierced straight through and continued on until it pierced Mayuri behind it.
Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo was split in two, and Mayuri's abdomen had vanished completely.
"So this is Quincy: Letzt Stil. One arrow pierced a Captain-level Bankai..." Miyako Amamiya knew that although the Bankai of Mayuri's Zanpakuto was a biological type, its defenses were not something an ordinary attack could breach, let alone pierce through.
Watching Mayuri turn to liquid and escape, Uryū couldn't help collapsing. The poison had already entered his body, leaving him too weak to continue fighting.
After Uryū took the antidote from Nemu Kurotsuchi and drank it, he left immediately as well.
After sensing that no one else was left here, Miyako Amamiya came before him.
"Amazing. You actually managed to seriously wound a captain. That's just what I'd expect from you, Uryū Ishida," Miyako Amamiya said to him.
"Are you Amamiya?" Uryū immediately grew wary. From what he had said, Uryū could tell that he had been watching his fight all along.
"But you'd better stop here. Don't go any farther. It's not time to rescue Rukia yet," Miyako Amamiya urged.
"What do you mean?" Uryū asked with a frown, gathering Reishi in his hand again. The effects of Ransōtengai and the Sanrei Glove had not yet worn off, so he could still fight.
"Are you going to stop me? Miss Kuchiki is right up ahead. I'm just one step away from saving him."
"No, you can't save Rukia. As long as he wills it, no one can save Rukia." Miyako Amamiya's words baffled Uryū, but he understood that Miyako Amamiya had come to stop him.
So Uryū raised his bow and arrow again, while he still had the strength...
"Looks like you won't listen." Miyako Amamiya drew his twin swords. "Sever, Divine Arrow: Severed Thought!" A bow and arrow appeared in his hands, and Miyako Amamiya raised them and aimed at him.
"But you're out of strength already, aren't you? Let me send you off for a good rest."
Miyako Amamiya was right. Uryū could barely lift his bow now, much less use Reishi Convergence.
"To thank you for showing me the true power of a Quincy, I'll use this to bring you down. But you'll have to keep it a secret for me, all right? Otherwise, I won't explain it to you afterward."
Uryū watched Miyako Amamiya's hands closely, shocked to his core as cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Th-this is..." Looking at the Reishi gradually gathering in Miyako Amamiya's hand, Uryū could no longer remain calm.
The arrow struck, and Uryū fell backward.
Reishi Convergence... how is that possible...? The last of Uryū's consciousness faded.
Miyako Amamiya picked him up and headed toward the Fourth Division.
In the Wandenreich, inside the white Ice Palace, the blond Haschwalth watched the entirety of Uryū's fight without a change in expression. The other Quincy nearby couldn't help discussing it.
"Hey, the Quincy in the World of the Living are still using that old relic?" Bazz-B said disdainfully.
"Shut up, Bazz-B. Could you use Ransōtengai and Quincy: Letzt Stil at his age?" Quilge Opie, on the other hand, was very pleased with Uryū. As a traditionalist, he was very pleased with Uryū's talent and performance in battle.
"Hmph, it's just an obsolete old relic. We have Quincy Vollständig, so there's no need to pay it any attention, is there?" Bambietta idly played with her fingers as she spoke, thoroughly bored. "But why can that Soul Reaper use the power of Reishi Convergence? I really don't understand it at all."
Uryū Ishida, and... Miyako Amamiya. Haschwalth silently took note of the unusual things about the two and turned to leave.
"Hey, where are you going, Jugo?" Bazz-B asked him.
"To wait for His Majesty to awaken and report to him... about Uryū Ishida and Miyako Amamiya." Haschwalth paid no further attention to what was happening in Soul Society. He left the palace and headed for the palace where Yhwach was...
At the Fourth Division's General Infirmary, Miyako Amamiya arrived with Uryū.
"Captain Unohana, sorry for the trouble, but could you find someone to treat this Ryoka too? After he's treated, you can lock him up with the other Ryoka."
"Lieutenant Miyako Amamiya!" The two exclaimed in surprise at seeing that Miyako Amamiya had captured yet another Ryoka.
"...I understand. I'll make the arrangements."
"Captain Unohana, these Ryoka are important leads, so please make sure they're kept under close watch. And this man here... Hanatarō Yamada."
"Sentarō, read Captain Ukitake's report to Captain Unohana."
"Yes!"
Sentarō Kotsubaki and Kiyone Kotetsu gave their report to Retsu Unohana, while Hanatarō Yamada stood awkwardly to the side.
Sentarō Kotsubaki knew that whether Hanatarō would be branded a rebel depended on this, so he read with great vigor, his expression extremely exaggerated and his voice deliberately loud.
"...I hope the Fourth Division Captain will deal with him leniently. That concludes Captain Ukitake's report to you."
Kiyone had long since covered her ears, unable to stand his increasingly loud voice.
Retsu, however, listened to the entire report. She frowned at Hanatarō and began questioning him about his actions.
Hanatarō had no answer.
"Captain Unohana, why not postpone the decision on Hanatarō Yamada until after the execution? Soul Society doesn't have that much time to waste now, especially the Fourth Division."
"Two Ryoka remain at large, and one of them even defeated a captain. I expect the Fourth Division will be very busy from here on. Why not let Hanatarō make amends through good service first?"
Retsu frowned at Hanatarō. It was true that the number of injured in the Seireitei was still growing, and she herself was run off her feet.
"I understand. Hanatarō Yamada, the decision on your punishment will wait until everything is over."
Miyako Amamiya wanted Retsu to settle the matter afterward, but once it was all over, Hanatarō would certainly be fine.
That night, in underground medical holding cell 75 at the Fourth Division's General Infirmary, Uryū opened his eyes. Seeing an unfamiliar ceiling, he sat up in surprise.
Where am I? Uryū looked at the bandages on his body. I'm still alive. I remember, before I fell, it was...
"Wait, Amamiya attacked me," Uryū muttered to himself. "And that guy, why could he..."
Uryū recalled Miyako Amamiya's final attack, his mind full of questions. "He's clearly a Soul Reaper, so why could he use..."
"Ah, did Amamiya knock you out too?" A frightening-looking weirdo suddenly leaned out from the upper bunk above Uryū's bed.