"The Reishi storm has disappeared. Did Boss Duan Mu succeed?"
Diao Ao looked at the Yorozuya in the distance, which had gradually fallen quiet, and asked Ishida Sōgen beside him.
"...He should have succeeded, right?"
Ishida Sōgen answered uncertainly. After all, he was not a Shinigami, so he did not understand much about Duan Mu's method of treating himself.
And more importantly...
As the Reishi storm disappeared, Duan Mu's aura vanished along with it, as if Duan Mu and the Reishi within had dissipated together above the Yorozuya.
Earlier, he had been able to faintly sense Duan Mu's Spiritual Power growing stronger and more terrifying, but when that Spiritual Power reached its peak, it vanished with extreme abruptness.
Not only his Spiritual Power—even Duan Mu's spiritual pathways had disappeared.
One had to understand that, as a Quincy, Ishida Sōgen was far better at sensing spiritual pathways than the vast majority of Shinigami.
There were only two possibilities when spiritual pathways disappeared...
One was that Duan Mu had failed and his spiritual body had completely collapsed. Naturally, there would then be no spiritual pathways left.
However, Ishida Sōgen leaned more toward the second possibility—or rather, he hoped it was the second possibility.
That was...
After recovering, Duan Mu's Spiritual Power had surged so greatly that it had exceeded Ishida Sōgen's ability to sense it.
Bzzzt~~
Just then, an inexplicable pressure abruptly enveloped everyone present.
Everyone involuntarily stopped what they were doing and looked up toward the Yorozuya.
On the empty street, a figure walked slowly toward them.
The familiar black work clothes and familiar appearance immediately brought joy to everyone's faces, causing them to forget the pressure that had terrified them.
Duan Mu did not appear to be walking quickly, but almost the instant everyone saw him, he had already appeared