The Ultimate Soul Cutter

"The Progenitor of the Quincy, the Auswählen... so that war a thousand years ago could repeat itself?"

Urahara Kisuke suddenly felt the weight of pressure bearing down on him. As someone who knew some of the Reio's hidden secrets, Urahara was also aware of the great war in Soul Society a millennium ago. That war against the Quincy had cost the Gotei 13 the lives of eleven captains before they barely scraped out a victory.

Urahara thought about Soul Society's internal strife with Aizen coveting the Hogyoku, and now this external threat of the revived Progenitor of the Quincy—just thinking about it gave him a headache. He wasn't even the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, yet here he was worrying like one.

For a moment, Urahara's hands itched. He really wanted to pet a cat to relieve the stress. Where had Yoruichi run off to?

"Nine years to reclaim power, nine days to reclaim the world. We have less than nine years."

"'We'? Mr. Sawada is a man of the World of the Living. What does Soul Society's ancient grudge have to do with you? And you're not a Quincy, so you don't need to worry about the Auswählen." Urahara shot a surprised glance at Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Tsunayoshi said calmly, "That man's goal is to return the Three Worlds to chaos. Pulling out the wedge that holds the table steady and flipping it over—who can say that has nothing to do with anyone?"

In words only Urahara could understand, Tsunayoshi told him Yhwach's true aim. Isshin and Ryūken, standing nearby, were baffled, but Urahara, who knew the Reio's secrets, understood perfectly.

Sure enough, Urahara narrowed his eyes, lowering his hat brim to hide his grave expression. The moment the word "wedge" appeared, Urahara could confirm that Tsunayoshi, like him, knew the current state of the Three Worlds.

The World of the Living, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo—these three realms were entirely stabilized by the Reio as the wedge. If that wedge were lost, the Three Worlds would collapse into chaos.

Urahara said solemnly to Tsunayoshi, "Mr. Sawada, is there anything I can do for you?"

"First, save the people. Please use Reigai to copy Aunt Masa's and the others' physical conditions, and have Uncle Ryūken perform surgery on them to remove the Still Silver." Tsunayoshi made his request.

"Reigai? Easy enough."

Urahara, along with Kukaku Shiba, hauled in two large cardboard boxes from the storage room. Inside the boxes were two pitch-black dolls.

After pushing Masa and Hae into a temporary operating room, Urahara worked his magic. The Reigai replicated Masa's and Hae's physical data, looking exactly like them, though their eyes were vacant as they lay beside them. Urahara's part was done.

"A Long, let me go first. My body's in better shape." Masa spoke up proactively.

Both Ryūken and Isshin understood what Masa meant. She was offering herself as Ryūken's test subject. If something went wrong during the surgery, Masa's slightly stronger body would give more room to maneuver.

Isshin didn't object at all. He just clapped Ryūken on the shoulder and left a solemn word before departing: "I'm counting on you!"

Ryūken showed no expression at Isshin's entrustment. Whether Isshin said it or not, these two people—one a childhood friend, the other his current wife—he would give everything to save them.

Ryūken pulled out his medical tools, walked up to Masa, and said to Tsunayoshi beside him, "Let's begin."

The room held only the two patients, Ryūken, Tsunayoshi, and Urahara. Urahara stayed to handle emergencies; his various odd gadgets might come in handy at any moment.

Seeing Masa's Reigai turn transparent under Tsunayoshi's D. Spada's Magic Mirror illusion, leaving only her blood vessels and the glowing points along them, Urahara's estimation of Tsunayoshi rose another notch.

Illusions... I wonder if his illusions can match that man's.

Ryūken expertly administered anesthesia, knocking Masa out cold. Then his eyes locked onto the silver light points on the illusionary body beside him. Once he fully memorized their movement speed, he drew a long, bar-shaped tool slightly longer than a palm.

Seeing Ryūken's tool, Tsunayoshi nearly yelped in surprise but managed to hold it in. He recognized what Ryūken was holding: a Soul Cutter, the only melee weapon Quincy ever used.

What Ryūken held now was just the hilt. He could control Reishi to form a Reishi longsword, its blade surface vibrating at 3 million times per second, like a chainsaw, possessing terrifying sharpness.

Tsunayoshi's shock came from the Soul Cutter's lethality. Ryūken could easily sever Masa's arm with it, yet he was using it for surgery? Wasn't he afraid of accidentally cutting off her limbs?

Ryūken wasn't as reckless as Tsunayoshi imagined. Under his precise control, a slender, elongated Reishi needle formed on the Soul Cutter. This was the strength of a pure-blood Quincy with the highest talent—Reishi was merely a toy for him to manipulate at will.

This was the ultimate Soul Cutter under Ryūken's command!

Ryūken's eyes weren't on Masa at all. They were fixed on the movement of the Still Silver. A thin layer of Reishi, under his control, had already covered Masa's body.

The Soul Cutter was held upside down above Masa's body. His eyes steady, his hand moved. With lightning speed, Ryūken's hand twitched, and the Soul Cutter's needle pierced into Masa's body.

A sliver of silver light, barely visible to the naked eye, was drawn out by Ryūken's Soul Cutter. Bottled, bandaged—Ryūken swiftly completed the extraction of one Still Silver piece.

Seeing a light point vanish from the illusion beside him, Ryūken couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It worked. This proved Tsunayoshi's claim was valid. If all the Still Silver was removed, Masa and the others wouldn't die from the Silver Blood Clot.

Ryūken steadied himself again, moving swiftly to extract the remaining Still Silver from Masa's body...

The operating room door opened. Isshin rushed over immediately. Before he could speak, Ryūken said proactively, "The surgery was a success. Their physical condition is good. They're recovering."

After Ryūken removed all the Still Silver, Urahara joined him in examining Masa and the others. Their bodily functions were gradually recovering, and a hint of color had returned to their faces. Only then did Ryūken dare say that.

Hearing this, the worry in Isshin's heart finally eased. He looked gratefully at Tsunayoshi behind him. Masa had been saved twice by Tsunayoshi—he was a great benefactor to the Kurosaki family.

Isshin took over Kukaku Shiba's work, pouring tea and serving Tsunayoshi with great enthusiasm.

"Mr. Ryūken, could you spare me a portion of that Still Silver?" Urahara asked proactively. Since the Quincy posed a threat, anything extracted from a Quincy's body was worth studying.

"Uncle, at most give the shopkeeper two pieces. This stuff is very important. Go dig through your old man's records. Weapons made from Still Silver can affect the Progenitor of the Quincy." Tsunayoshi cut in, taking the lead.

A glint of cold light flashed behind Ryūken's glasses. Even though Hae had been saved now, he held no goodwill toward the Progenitor of the Quincy. His mother had died in this very Auswählen!

"Mr. Sawada, this amount of material is far from enough to make a weapon." Urahara leaned in and whispered in Tsunayoshi's ear.

"Didn't I say it? This was an Auswählen targeting mixed-blood Quincy. The dead mixed-blood Quincy also have Still Silver in their bodies, and the location is easy to find—right at their hearts." Tsunayoshi took a sip of hot tea and said.

"Ara ara, Mr. Sawada means we should dissect all the mixed-blood Quincy corpses?" Urahara asked in a strange tone.

"Exactly. Maybe this is the mixed-blood Quincy's revenge against the Progenitor of the Quincy—the price of the Auswählen." Tsunayoshi looked at Ryūken. "As for whether to do it, that's up to you, Uncle. You're the only pure-blood Quincy left in the World of the Living."

"Leave this to me." Ryūken said coldly. He silently shouldered the burden of bearing the hatred of all mixed-blood Quincy.

"Now, tell me. What did Masa promise you?" Ryūken said.

"Oh." Tsunayoshi took an empty cup, poured some hot tea, and handed it to Ryūken. "Please, Uncle Ryūken, take me as your disciple and teach me the Quincy's abilities."

Tsunayoshi's words drew another sidelong glance from Urahara. After witnessing the mixed-blood Quincy's Auswählen, Tsunayoshi still wanted to become a Quincy?

"Let's not even talk about whether you have the talent to become a Quincy. With your current strength, guarding Karakura Town is more than enough. Isn't that strong enough?" Ryūken asked. "What's your reason for wanting to get stronger?"

"Far from enough, if you're going to be an enemy of the Progenitor of the Quincy," Tsuna said. "As for my reason for getting stronger—while maintaining world peace, if I have the leeway, I might as well take care of the world's latent threats. After all, I'm just an ordinary guy who likes living a normal daily life."

Tsuna's words once again tickled Urahara's nerves. This world's latent threats... does he also want to resolve the Soul King's problem like I do?

The Soul King served as the wedge stabilizing the world's existence, but that wedge wasn't completely stable for this world. When someone set their sights on it, it could fall into a state of imbalance at any moment. That was why Urahara Kisuke had been tirelessly researching a Soul King replacement plan—he wanted to create a world that could remain stable without needing a wedge.

After hearing Tsuna's reasoning, Ryūken had already decided to agree to teach him. In truth, even if Tsuna's answer hadn't satisfied him, he still would have taught him—this was repaying the favor for saving Hae. Whether he would teach seriously under those circumstances was another matter entirely.

Ryūken took the teacup and set it aside. "You can still call me Uncle. No need for formal apprenticeship. I'll teach you seriously—"

Smack. A folding fan cut between Tsuna and Ryūken.

"Ara, hold on a moment, Tsuna-san. Since you're preparing to learn the power of the Quincy, I wonder if you've ever heard of the power of the Shinigami?"

Urahara Kisuke was about to steal the student. "The power of the Quincy requires the talent to control Reishi in order to learn it, but the Shinigami aren't so strict. Anyone with a soul qualifies, and your Reiatsu isn't weak—you fully meet the prerequisites to become a Shinigami. How about considering it?"

Ryūken wasn't angered by Urahara's poaching. He himself had never been particularly fond of the Quincy profession—otherwise, he wouldn't have become a doctor. Yet even with that half-hearted effort, his overwhelming talent had still made him the strongest Quincy in the World of the Living.

If Tsuna chose to become a Shinigami instead, Ryūken would simply find another way to thank him for his help—for example, having his hospital provide full medical coverage for Tsuna's family. That would also satisfy Tsuna's needs.