The Auswählen of the Mixed-Bloods

Sawada Tsunayoshi stepped on Fullbring Light and quickly leaped to Masa's side. "Aunt Masa, are you two alright?"

"I'm fine, thank you, little Tsunayoshi." Without the threat of death, Masa had regained her usual liveliness. "It's just that Ichigo got scared unconscious."

Tsunayoshi crouched down and poked Ichigo's Q-bouncy little face. As kind as Ichigo usually was, if someone did that, he'd definitely kick Tsunayoshi and they'd start brawling.

Masa looked at the huge bow in Tsunayoshi's hands, hesitating as if she wanted to say something. Up close, she finally got a clear look at the bow's design. On the handguard, within the red ornamentation, there was a strange pattern with a large Roman numeral I.

The weapon was clearly a bow, but no matter how Masa looked at it, it didn't resemble the bows used by Quincy. The Spirit Bows Quincy used always had some blue Reishi decorations, so what was up with the red flames on this longbow?

"Little Tsunayoshi, are you a Quincy?" After hesitating for a moment, Masa finally voiced her doubt.

"Oh? You mean this?" Tsunayoshi stopped his little movements and retracted the bow to his chest. "This is my Fullbring ability."

What Masa couldn't see was that the red gem on the Sky Ring beneath Tsunayoshi's clothes flickered with light.

"Fullbring?" Masa had no idea what that ability was. "So the Reiatsu that's been active in Karakura Town lately was you? That's great."

Masa completely relaxed and plopped down onto the ground. She and Isshin had long noticed a strange Reiatsu that had appeared out of nowhere in Karakura Town over the past year. But since this Reiatsu hadn't done anything bad—on the contrary, it was destroying Hollows and protecting Karakura Town—the couple had assumed it was a new Shinigami stationed there.

They just never expected the owner of that Reiatsu to be Tsunayoshi. That was fine; Tsunayoshi often visited the Kurosaki Residence to play, and Masa trusted him.

As for Sawada Tsunayoshi's Fullbring, this bow was only one of his abilities. The bow's name was G's Bow and Arrow, the weapon of the First Generation Storm Guardian of the Vongola Family. Tsunayoshi's Fullbring ability was to replicate the weapons of the First Generation Vongola and its Guardians.

Thanks to the unsealed Sky Ring, which had six colored gems, as long as Tsunayoshi called out the name of the corresponding weapon, he could obtain that Guardian's armament. As for the Vongola Family Emblem in the center of the Sky Ring, it could transform into the equipment of the First Generation Vongola Boss.

It was a good thing Tsunayoshi's Fullbring granted him the combat experience for the corresponding weapons; otherwise, no matter how talented he was, he couldn't have mastered seven people's weapons and equipment in just over a year.

Especially those bizarre weapons—looking at you, Arnold's Handcuffs!

"Aunt Masa, how about I take you and Ichigo home? The rain's getting heavier." Tsunayoshi hoisted Ichigo onto his back and said to Masa.

"Alright, let's go home."

Masa struggled to stand up and reached out to take Ichigo, but her hands had no strength at all, and she nearly dropped him.

"I'll handle it, Aunt Masa. It's nothing." Tsunayoshi took the initiative to carry Ichigo on his back. With his current physical condition, carrying someone was no trouble.

"Thank you, little Tsunayoshi."

Wave after wave of emptiness surged from deep within Masa's body. Not only could she no longer control Reishi, but she was also losing her physical strength. With Tsunayoshi's help, she trudged step by step toward the Kurosaki Residence.

With a click, the front door of the Kurosaki Residence swung open. Kurosaki Isshin, who had been anxiously waiting at home, rushed toward the entrance. What came into view was Tsunayoshi and the others, drenched from head to toe—Ichigo being carried on Tsunayoshi's back, and Masa half-leaning against him.

"Masa?" Kurosaki Isshin called out and quickly came over to relieve Tsunayoshi, helping the three of them into the living room to rest.

Kurosaki Isshin scrambled around, first drying Ichigo off and changing him into clean clothes, then tending to his wife. While helping Masa, Isshin keenly noticed that her physical condition was somewhat weak.

Fortunately, the two young daughters had already gone to sleep, and Ichigo was unconscious, so Isshin didn't waste much time handling his family's situation.

As for Tsunayoshi, it was simple. Thanks to the raincoat his mom had prepared for him, he just had to take it off and he was fine. He was already helping himself to milk from the Kurosaki family fridge.

"Thank you so much, little Tsunayoshi." Once he was done, Isshin grasped Tsunayoshi's hand earnestly. Masa had just told him what happened, and Isshin was still shaken—he had almost lost his wife.

And because Isshin had lost his Shinigami powers, even though he sensed the Hollow's Reiatsu and Masa's Reiatsu, there was nothing he could do but trust that Masa could easily handle that Hollow.

"It's nothing. We're friends, aren't we?" Tsunayoshi said with a full smile.

"Right. Little Tsunayoshi will always be the Kurosaki family's best friend." Isshin ruffled Tsunayoshi's head.

"Oh, by the way, Uncle Isshin, could you call my mom and tell her I'll be home a little later?"

"Got it."

Having learned that Tsunayoshi was no ordinary kid, Isshin didn't ask too many questions. He called Sawada Nana, assuring her that Tsunayoshi was playing at their house and would be sent home later.

After that, the Kurosaki couple and Tsunayoshi sat in the living room. Tsunayoshi sipped his milk every now and then.

"Masa, how did you suddenly lose your power?" Isshin asked with concern. He had almost lost his wife because of this.

"I don't know." Masa shook her head. If she had even a shred of power, that Hollow wouldn't have been able to strut around in front of her.

"It's the Auswählen," Tsunayoshi said, setting down his milk. "The Auswählen. An ability activated by the Progenitor of the Quincy. He takes back the power of all impure-blooded Quincy."

"How is that possible?" Isshin frowned.

"I've never heard of that either. And I'm one of the rare pure-blooded Quincy," Masa said. She came from a pure-blood Quincy family; she wasn't unaware of some of the secret lore about Quincy.

"Aunt Masa, you've been injured before, haven't you? Given your fighting style." Tsunayoshi was referring to Masa's tactic of luring the enemy in. "Hollow power is poison to Quincy. From the moment you were hurt by a Hollow, Aunt Masa, you were no longer a pure-blood Quincy."

"Even if everything you say is true, little Tsunayoshi, how do you know so much?" This was something even Masa, a former pure-blood Quincy, didn't know.

"We're friends, aren't we? Because of Ichigo, I've spent quite a bit of time wandering around in my raincoat." Tsunayoshi pointed to his raincoat hanging by the door.

Isshin gave Tsunayoshi a serious look. Did someone born with knowledge really exist?

Isshin didn't dwell on it and instead asked, "Little Tsunayoshi, keep going. Tell us what you know."

"It's said that all Quincy carry the blood of the Progenitor of the Quincy. The Progenitor has the ability to share and to take. He shares power with all Quincy, and he can also take back the power they possess."

"Simply put, it's like a loan. He gives you a seed of power, and once it matures, he takes it back."

"This method of taking back is called the Auswählen. This time, the Progenitor of the Quincy is reclaiming his power, targeting all Mixed-blood Quincy with a single Auswählen. Aunt Masa, you just happened to fall within that scope."

"As for those Mixed-blood Quincy who were subjected to the Auswählen, the outcome varies depending on their physical condition. Those with strong bodies lose their power, like you, Aunt Masa. As for weaker Quincy, they might even die outright."

After speaking, Tsunayoshi let out a long breath and picked up his milk again, chugging it down.

The news Tsunayoshi brought was too shocking. It took the Kurosaki couple a long moment to process it.

"Wait? Little Tsuna, you're saying Mixed-blood Quincies will die from The Auswählen?" Masa braced her hands on the table, leaning forward to ask.

"Mm. Barring any surprises, after this wave of The Auswählen, only Pure-blood Quincies should remain." Except for that one freak with ridiculous potential.

"Isshin, I need to go out for a bit," Masa said abruptly.

"With your body in this condition, what are you going out for?" Isshin wasn't about to agree easily.

"Before I met you, I lived at the Ishida Residence. There are a lot of Mixed-blood Quincies there. Maybe I can't help, but at the very least, I want to see my friends off—one last time." Masa's voice dropped, already imagining the devastation The Auswählen would leave behind at the Ishida Residence.

"I'll come with you—"

"No. The kids are still small, and Ichigo needs you." Masa crouched down in front of Tsuna. "Little Tsuna, could I trouble you one more time? Use your Fullbring power to take me there."

Masa remembered how Tsuna had used Fullbring Light to bounce straight to her side. But when they'd come home, she and Ichigo were both with him, and with Tsuna's current build, carrying two people was awkward—so he hadn't used it.

"The Ishida Residence? Are there a lot of Quincies there?" Tsuna asked deliberately.

"Yeah. You'll even meet a Pure-blood Quincy."

"Then can I make one request? I want to become a Pure-blood Quincy's apprentice." Tsuna had thought it through clearly. Right now, only one of his four status slots was unlocked—Fullbring. To unlock the other powers, he needed to interact with the corresponding people.

The only person tied to Bleach right now was this big guy Isshin. But Isshin had completely lost his Shinigami powers—he could barely even see souls, let alone guide Tsuna into becoming a Shinigami.

On the other hand, Ishida Ryuuken, hailed as the last Pure-blood Quincy, was a solid target. Plus, Masa knew Ryuuken. If she put in a word, it shouldn't be a problem.

"A Quincy? That's not something just anyone can learn, you know. But I can mention it to A Long. Whether he agrees or not—that's not up to me," Masa said.

"That's fine. Let's go."

Tsuna turned and walked toward the door, reaching up on his tiptoes to grab his hanging raincoat. Seeing Tsuna's raincoat, Isshin scrambled to pull one from the storage closet and helped Masa put it on properly.

Tsuna stepped onto the Fullbring Light, hoisted Masa onto his back, and under her guidance, leaped toward the Ishida Residence.