Blue Reishi slowly dissipated from around everyone. Asano Kiyoshi looked at the crowd, who had yet to recover from what they had just witnessed, and lightly tapped the tabletop twice.
As two crisp taps rang out, everyone was pulled back to reality.
Yet the shock and sorrow still lingered on their faces. Asano Kiyoshi could understand their feelings, and even agreed with their current reactions.
But just as Asano Kiyoshi was about to give everyone some time to recover, he saw Captain-Commander's gaze.
The old man was looking directly at him. He seemed completely unaffected by the scene just now, merely watching him in silence, but Asano Kiyoshi saw many things in those aged eyes.
He was telling Asano Kiyoshi that, as Captain-Commander, he had far too many things to do now—and no time to grieve.
Asano Kiyoshi understood what Captain-Commander meant. He let out a deep breath, then said to the crowd still lost in thought before him:
"Now that you have seen all this, I need every captain to give me a report. Let us start with you, Kuchiki Captain. Your battle was in the first match. I want you to determine from that battle how you should defeat the Quincy known as 'F.' At the very least, tell us what that bastard's ability is."
At Asano Kiyoshi's question, Byakuya immediately came back to himself. He swiftly regained control of his emotions, stepped forward from among the captains, and summarized for Asano Kiyoshi:
"The enemy possesses an extremely powerful defensive ability, at least greater than an Arrancar's Hierro. However, when that defense is activated, distinct patterns appear on their skin. At the same time, while their defense increases, the power of the arrows they fire greatly declines. I believe that, for Quincies, defense and offense can only use