When Masaki fired her first arrow, Ryūsaki had already slightly sensed the fluctuation of her Reiatsu, and was inevitably a little distracted in his confrontation with Tōshirō.
'Why did this idiot suddenly go to help Soul Reaper...? Well, the family rules definitely can't hold her back, so I probably don't need to save her!?'
Ryūsaki felt that even if Isshin was currently weak, he should still have enough strength to withstand White, and with the help of the pureblood Masaki, they should be able to win.
The real fear is that if White were to invade Isshin's body, it might suddenly become a threat to Masaki...
Masaki watched as the rapidly approaching White charged forward. Without dodging or avoiding, she stood still and fired a series of arrows, forcing White to constantly change its trajectory and avoid being bombarded by the arrows.
With the 'Blut Arterie' buff, the Bow and Arrow's attack power is multiplied several times. If it takes a few arrows in a row, even White with High-Speed Regeneration will be destroyed.
However, White was too fast; he even managed to block or dodge some special arrows that could curve.
'Too fast, I can't hit him!'
With this thought in mind, Masaki put away her Bow and Arrows, switched her Blut Arterie to a defensive Blut Vene, and set it to maximum defense.
Without any hesitation, White charged forward, not by biting, but by raising his left sword wrist and thrusting it towards Masaki's chest.
Masaki didn't let him stab her. Just as the blade reached her, she dodged to the side and grabbed the blade on the left wrist of the White with her right hand, letting the sharp blade cut her palm.
"It's over!"
Just as White was about to raise the blade in her right hand again, Masaki was noticeably faster. The small bow formed by her left thumb and forefinger instantly fired a Small Heilig Pfeil.
The Heilig Pfeil pierced through White's lower right jaw and exited from his left crown, instantly destroying most of his head.
Buzz!
Masaki was about to relax, the White, who hadn't completely collapsed to the ground, suddenly swelled up, startling her for a moment... This also revealed her lack of combat experience.
A pair of large hands suddenly appeared from behind White, pulling him backward while roaring, "Dankū!"
The flames from the explosion shot straight into the sky, but seemed to be completely cut off by a section of space.
"Are you alright? Hey, don't close your eyes, wake up..."
"I'm glad you're alright!"
After the fireworks faded, Masaki saw Isshin lying motionless on the ground. Just as she was about to begin the Quincy's unique emergency treatment, Isshin murmured a sentence and then closed his eyes and fainted.
'Dankū' was Isshin power he had gathered while White and Masaki were fighting, and he himself took the full force of the blast.
With the injuries she had just sustained, Isshin was no longer able to hold on...
The girl's appearance, her identity Quincy, and her decisive act of using herself as Bait —in just a few seconds of combat, she pierced through White's head, leaving Tōsen slightly shocked.
"Quincy like Ryūsaki? What a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect him to refuse to be a subject, while the other one became one."
"Since he chose self-destruction instead of High-Speed Regeneration, it means the transfer phase is complete. He believes this body is suitable, so he chose that girl."
Tōsen no longer rejects these unexpected events as he did in the original timeline. He even wants to observe whether the Hollows' power is consistent with what Ryūsaki said: that infecting Quincy will weaken the power of the infected.
Judging from the girl's fighting strength, she should be a pureblood like Ryūsaki. Tōsen couldn't help but wonder: Could she be a family member that Ryūsaki Ishida frequently contacts?
Those capable of conducting experiments are generally quite intelligent; their guesses, while not entirely accurate, were close enough. Masaki was staying at the Ishida Family's residence...
Long ago, Inaba Kage secretly investigated the Quincy family behind Ryūsaki and had even sent Togabito to attack them.
Later, because Ryūsaki also became Aizen's servant, his family background was not investigated in depth.
However, Inaba Kage once speculated that the fact that Ryūsaki's parents could still live and gather in the World of the Living despite the Soul Reaper's strangulation meant that they were not weak people.
After no longer dwelling on Ryūsaki's situation, Tōsen immediately issued a retreat order. Ginjo and Domus both instantly disappeared into the Garganta, while only Ryūsaki rushed towards Isshin and Masaki's location.
While Masaki was giving Isshin emergency treatment, Yoruichi arrived, her golden eyes filled with curiosity. Before she could ask who Masaki was, Tessai arrived as well.
Having witnessed Masaki's technique, Tessai Tsukabishi murmured in astonishment, "Healing wounds with Reishi... She's Quincy?"
He was clearly knowledgeable; he immediately recognized the brilliance of this method, and the injury would soon be contained and prevent further deterioration.
What truly surprised him was not Masaki's identity Quincy, but the fact that she, as a Quincy, was healing a Soul Reaper.
After exchanging Yoruichi, the two fell silent.
Only after Masaki finished treating him, about ten seconds later, did Yoruichi ask, "Miss, where is the Hollow that attacked this place? Where did it go?"
Masaki paused for a moment, then gave an innocent smile and said, "Utsuro is dead. He saved me. Are you his companions?"
While treating Isshin, Masaki was also secretly sensing the situation in the distance. She was relieved to find that the battle had stopped. Ryūsaki's Reiatsu was gradually calming down instead of suddenly dissipating weakly, which meant that he was alright.
"Yes! I'm a little late. I thought he would handle it easily, but I didn't expect him to make such a mess of things. I'm so sorry to have troubled you."
Yoruichi was relieved to see that Isshin was alright; after all, he was a hero of the entire Soul Society, and it would have been troublesome if something had happened to him during his recovery period.
"Little sisters, let me treat you!"
"No need, I can do it too..."
Tessai Tsukabishi approached without giving him a chance to refuse, using a healing-type Kidō to treat Isshin, while also covering Masaki's palm.
Even with the protection of the Blut Vene, her palm was still injured by White's wrist blade. Moreover, in order to kill with a single blow, she switched from the Blut Vene to the Blut Arterie at the last moment, resulting in a deep wound on her right palm that exposed the bone...
"Then I'll leave him to you. I'm going back now."
Masaki's injuries were quickly healed by Kidō. Realizing that Ryūsaki was probably alright, she wanted to say goodbye and go back; after all, if Aunt Misa found out that she had acted without permission, she would be scolded.
"Yes, take care. Thank you so much, little sister, this time."
After thanking her with a smile, Yoruichi then said seriously, "However, if you encounter this situation again, please take good care of yourself. There will definitely be someone to handle the fictitious tasks."
"Okay, goodbye."
Masaki paused for a moment, then smiled and said goodbye before disappearing around the dimly lit street corner.
She didn't ask about Yoruichi and the other two's identities, and Yoruichi didn't ask about hers either; because they already knew each other's identities, there was no need for further confirmation.
When Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi arrived later, he brought up the matter himself. Yoruichi said that he had Isshin- handedly dealt with the Menos Grande and told Ōtoribashi about the incident where he encountered Ginjo's obstruction.
Unsurprisingly, this incident once again implicated Ginjo, and it was determined that he was hiding in Hueco Mundo.
On the rooftop of High-rise Building a few hundred meters away, just as Masaki left.
"Katagiri, let's go back! Let's pretend nothing happened tonight..."
"Nothing happened? I don't think so."
Ryūken had been secretly observing, was about to leave with his maid when, before Katagiri could respond, a discordant voice made them both stop in their tracks.
"Ryūsaki, you're here too?"
Ryūken's tone was calm, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes only briefly. He continued, "But more than why you're here, I'm curious about what you just said."
Ryūsaki was guided by Zero's consciousness; Masaki was still there when he arrived.
Zero could tell at a glance Isshin didn't have Hollow power, while Masaki, who seemed relatively normal, had a problem with her Reiatsu.
He slowly walked to his elder brother's side and said seriously, "She was injured by that Hollow, and there's a high chance it will infect her. This would be absolutely fatal for Masaki."
Upon hearing this, Ryūken's expression changed drastically. Pure-Blood Quincy being injured by a Hollow would only result in impure bloodlines, not be fatal. But now Ryūsaki's meaning was that the Hollow was quite extraordinary.
Ryūken said in a deep voice, "You know something about the situation, don't you?"
Ryūsaki sighed, "There's no point in talking about this now. I never expected Masaki to be such a hot-blooded idiot, willing to risk her life for an opposing force and another opposing entity."
Ryūken stared angrily at Ryūsaki, but he still chose to believe his younger brother. He asked in as gentle a tone as possible, "Is there a solution?"
"There are cases of Soul Reaper suppressing Hollows within their bodies, but this is the first time I've seen Quincy in this situation..."
Ryūsaki rubbed his forehead. Zero's research on Quincy back then wasn't very in-depth, so he couldn't offer any experience in that area.
Upon hearing this, Ryūken fell silent. He suddenly said, "If this is the work of the forces behind you, Ryūsaki, I hope you can stay away from them. I'm afraid I really won't be able to control myself..."
Ryūken didn't finish his last few words, but Ryūsaki already understood.
"I'll think of something. Try your best to prevent Masaki from engaging in any more Holy Training or battles, as that might accelerate the Hollow infection. I don't want anything to happen to her."
Ryūsaki glanced at his older brother, who was on the verge of losing control, and instead of giving a direct answer about whether to stay away, he left with a glimmer of hope before turning and departing.
For now, he can only return to Hueco Mundo and ask Tōsen. It's highly unlikely he'll find a good solution, since Tōsen is probably seeing a Hollow infiltrate Quincy's body for the first time.
However, Inaba Kage might have a way. That guy's Artificial Soul Technology is unparalleled; he can even use his Modified Soul to withstand all kinds of damage, making it entirely possible to eliminate the infection.
Masaki had already returned to the Ishida Family in high spirits. Being able to help others was enough to make her happy.
When Ryūken returned home, the first thing he did was go find Masaki...
"Masaki, did you hurt your right hand during your fight with Utsuro? Do you feel any discomfort?"
"Ah ha~ it's nothing! Look, I've already healed."
Ryūken's concern left Masaki a little flustered. When she realized what was happening, she raised her right hand, trying to ease Ryūken's worries.
"No, Ryūsaki just found me too. He said that the Hollow can infect people it harms, and you may have already been infected." Ryūken explained the situation that Ryūsaki had mentioned earlier.
"Huh? Was Ryūsaki there just now? Is there any hope for me? But I really didn't feel anything strange!"
Masaki even jumped a few times with her Hirenkyaku, but Ryūken stopped her with a terrified expression. Fortunately, nothing bad happened to Masaki.
Masaki said she had to go to school the next day and needed to sleep, Ryūken once again reminded her not to use her Reiryoku before taking his leave.
If there were eyes that could see into souls at this moment, those eyes would have noticed that the soul in Masaki's right hand was gradually turning black, as if it had slipped out of her control.