Ryūsaki's residence.
In a brightly lit storage room in the basement, Ryūsaki, dressed in a white lab coat, mask, and hat, was busy running around.
On the table in front of him, three corpses were neatly arranged, but their chests were mangled and bloody, clearly cut open with a knife.
The most gruesome was the first corpse, whose throat and head had been cut open.
"Sure enough, mercury was also found in his heart. This substance blocked his blood vessels, causing his death." Ryūsaki was dissecting the fourth corpse.
These corpses were those of the Auswählen, his servants, whom Ryūsaki had managed to keep for dissection and research.
But this only applies tonight, because it must be destroyed tomorrow.
"What do you think it means that this mercury was formed after they died?" Ryūsaki asked Zero, who was watching from within her Inner World.
"Don't ask me. I only let you out because I lacked the power of Quincy. What you don't understand about Quincy is the same as what I don't understand either."
Zero also expressed his helplessness, but suggested, "However, you can find some time to go to the World of the Living and ask someone who knows."
"Sōken? Next time I take on a mission to Hueco Mundo, I'll take some time to go back and ask him."
Ryūsaki agreed without feeling any pressure, as long as no one noticed.
Just as Ryūsaki was about to take out the last guy's mercury, the space behind him rippled, causing him to turn his head instantly.
An oval door opened up in the space, and a green-haired youth with a smile on his lips slowly walked out.
Ryūsaki immediately noticed that the space behind this guy was Dangai, and the buildings were the familiar Aizen's stronghold, the 'New World'.
Ryūsaki tentatively asked, "Are you... Inaba Kage?"
Among the main Aizen faction, only Kagerōza Inaba has green hair, and even then, it's only half of his hair that's green.
Moreover, more than four years had passed since he arrived in the Wandenreich, so he naturally had no idea what had happened within Aizen's camp.
"No, I am Yushima Oko, Inaba Kage was just a fragment of my soul. Now we are one."
Yushima explained earnestly, his gaze intense, trying to see surprise on Ryūsaki's face.
After a few seconds, Ryūsaki simply said, "Oh, let's get down to business! Things will get complicated if some weirdos find out."
Yushima a hint of pride, "Don't worry, my method of movement is to directly open up space, so I won't touch the shadows in the sky or the Reishi Pillars within them."
"Good ability."
"Is that a compliment? Thank you so much."
"Let's get down to business!"
Ryūsaki urged him again, busy collecting Still Silver to unravel the secret of Auswählen.
After all, the feeling of having one's life and death in someone else's hands is very unpleasant. He believes that every skill has a weakness, no matter how insignificant.
Yushima glanced at the corpse behind Ryūsaki a few times before saying seriously, "Lord Aizen wants you to find a way to provoke the Quincy to attack Hueco Mundo."
Attacking Hueco Mundo? That means provoking a war between the Quincy and Ulquiorra, so that Hueco Mundo would also be on the opposite side of the Quincy.
Seeing Yushima's 'you understand?' expression on her face, Ryūsaki smiled and said, "Actually, even without Lord Aizen saying so, I was just planning to go and offer my advice."
"After all, even if you develop targeted plans through intelligence gathering, the Quincy's methods are clearly superior to those of the Soul Reaper, requiring other forces to balance them."
This was actually something Zero had told Ryūsaki: if having the Quincy attack the core area wasn't enough, then Yhwach should send a few Sternritter members to attack.
Try to provoke Zero's subordinates as much as possible, so that they can help restrain the Quincy army.
Yushima nodded in agreement, "That's right, are you confident?"
"Ninety percent of Yhwach would agree. He needs to harvest souls through us to accumulate power. Capturing Hollows and killing them is too slow. Conquering Hueco Mundo will definitely be faster..."
Ryūsaki's few words made Yushima start to take him seriously. These were things that Yushima had analyzed in front of Aizen, which is why she decided to take the initiative to contact Ryūsaki.
"Take this, the upgraded version. Injecting it with Reishi allows for spatial communication, Quincy's current technology cannot detect."
Yushima handed Ryūsaki something the size of an earplug, then took two steps back and entered the spatial rift that had reopened.
Ryūsaki put the item away and began to carefully peel away the mercury, also known as 'Still Silver', once again.
The mercury from the four people weighed two ounces together. It felt and looked the same as ordinary silver in the World of the Living. The only difference was that this silver came from the bodies of Quincy.
Ryūsaki softened it with high heat, then took out a small hammer and shaped the silver into a Quincy Cross, which she then hung around her neck.
Early the next morning.
Jugram Haschwalth, who had just finished assigning tasks to Bi J. Nein of the Schrift K and O Driscoll Berci, was about to return to the Ice Palace to continue his work when he was stopped by Ryūsaki.
Jugram Haschwalth asked calmly, "Is there something you need?"
"Commander, I'd like to ask when we'll send troops to control Hueco Mundo? That way we can hunt Hollows at will," Ryūsaki said with a smile, stating his purpose.
"There are definitely Soul Reaper monitoring Hueco Mundo. If there's a large-scale attack, the Soul Reaper certainly won't stand idly by. I've had this idea for a long time, but I gave up on it." Jugram Haschwalth remained calm.
"Is it alright to be watched by the Soul Reaper? Didn't they already know we were still alive?" Ryūsaki's tone was doubtful, as if she didn't quite understand what Jugram Haschwalth was afraid of.
Now, Jugram Haschwalth finally looked Ryūsaki in the eye and explained seriously, "Our advantage lies in the shadows; the Soul Reaper has no knowledge of our Battle Data."
"But we already have their Battle Data, and we can even develop corresponding countermeasures."
"If we were to infiltrate the monitored Hueco Mundo and defeat those few Menos Grande, we would inevitably expose some of our methods, and the Soul Reaper would certainly be able to retaliate accordingly."
"Therefore, invading Hueco Mundo would most likely be a losing proposition..."
Only after Jugram Haschwalth finished speaking did Ryūsaki retort, "But even if we're exposed, we can quickly harvest souls over there, allowing His Majesty's power to recover faster. It's not a losing proposition, is it?"
Yhwach needs to harvest souls through the Sternritter to restore his power; this is no secret among the upper echelons of the Wandenreich.
As the blades themselves, they didn't feel anything was wrong, because Yhwach had given them power, and he certainly needed them to do things.
Jugram Haschwalth frowned and pondered for a moment, "Even if the Holy Soldier and you all go all out to kill, it will take at least a few months to see results, but I'm afraid Soul Reaper won't give us that much time."
"Never mind, I'll go and offer my advice to His Majesty! You wait here for a moment, and let His Majesty decide."
Ryūsaki placed her right hand on her chest and bowed slightly in thanks. "Thank you, Commander."
This gesture effectively concealed his expression, preventing Jugram Haschwalth from seeing the subtle joy that flickered across his face...
Before long, Holy Soldier came to deliver a message to Ryūsaki, telling him to go in and receive orders.
"His Majesty!"
Ryūsaki remained kneeling respectfully on one knee, maintaining the same respectful demeanor towards Yhwach.
Yhwach asked expressionlessly, "I heard you proposed infiltrating Hueco Mundo? Why?"
"To eliminate that small hidden danger in Hueco Mundo, and also to allow His Majesty to quickly recover his strength and lead us to annihilate Soul Society in one fell swoop," Ryūsaki answered Yhwach with great enthusiasm.
Beside him, Jugram Haschwalth's eyes were sharp, as if trying to see some flaw in Ryūsaki's expression.
Unfortunately, the fervor and sincerity in Ryūsaki's eyes made it impossible for Jugram Haschwalth to determine whether it was genuine or not.
"Are you afraid they've allied with Soul Reaper? We definitely have to investigate."
Yhwach nodded slightly, then changed the subject. "But as Jugram Haschwalth said, our intelligence cannot be exposed too much."
"Therefore, I have decided that you will select five members to go to Hueco Mundo and form an alliance with those Arrancar, so that they will work for us. If they are unwilling... then we will discuss it further."
Yhwach's last few words were filled with boundless killing intent.
In the original timeline, Yhwach wanted to recruit Arrancars as his own forces, but was rejected by Tier Harribel. In a fit of rage, he slaughtered many Arrancars Menos Grande.
Yhwach only kept Tier Harribel, who was of greater value, and tried to persuade her to serve him, because persuading her, who was then the King of Hueco Mundo, was tantamount to controlling Hueco Mundo.
However, things are different now. Not counting Szayelaporro and others who are under Aizen's command, Hueco Mundo still has four top-tier fighters. If we don't understand the situation, a fight would definitely be difficult...
"Clear."
Ryūsaki responded and left. Yhwach and Jugram Haschwalth stared at his retreating figure, clearly already harboring suspicions.
"Jugram Haschwalth, do you think his goal is simply to seek revenge against Soul Reaper?" Yhwach asked slowly after Ryūsaki left.
Jugram Haschwalth's eyes flickered, and he said coldly, "No, his desire to perform is a bit too strong. From the initial trials, to replacing Berenice, to the Holy Soldier's report of him single-handedly covering the Hueco Mundo in Hueco Mundo not long ago, and now..."
Yhwach smiled slightly, "What surprises me even more is that his ability is actually 'Stillness.' The Soul King's Right Hand controls Stillness, the same ability..."
No one knows his own blood better than Yhwach. His own blood simply made the Sternritter's inherent abilities, which were 'latent', 'manifest' when they drank it.
This means that the Schrift abilities that could not be used before drinking blood can only be used after drinking blood.
The 'Paralysis' that Ryūsaki learned is more like an ability that manifests out of necessity because he couldn't reach the level of 'Stillness'.
Yhwach grew increasingly curious, and he slowly said, "In that case, let me see for myself!"
Jugram Haschwalth, who was also deep in thought, was suddenly startled and cried out, "Your His Majesty, no! Don't worry! If he harbors any disloyal intentions, I will execute him!"
Yhwach had made up his mind. He waved his hand and said, "It's alright. Just observe for five seconds, then perform a small-scale Auswählen."
Even with the slight restoration of his power, he still wanted to see what Ryūsaki was up to in the future.