War in the Human World

Natsuki was, in truth, no stranger to the Quincy.

Ishida Uryu, a member of the original protagonist group, was a Quincy, and the antagonists of the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc were also Quincy. During that conflict, a few dozen Quincy had essentially suppressed the entire Gotei 13. That they ultimately lost was largely due to plot-mandated defeat; it could be said that the Quincy were truly formidable.

At this very moment, in the Human World, he stood as one of those wielding the butcher's blade against them. Having engaged them in combat, he felt the extent of their power firsthand.

The Shinigami's Shunpo involves condensing one's own Reiatsu at the soles of the feet, releasing it to collide and rub against the spirit particles in the air, creating a powerful, explosive reactive force that propels the body in an instant. It is not a shift in space, but merely a display of extreme speed.

The technique is not particularly difficult, so the vast majority of Shinigamis can master it quickly; the only difference lies in the speed achieved.

Yet, when facing a Quincy, this ability suffers from significant interference.

Quincy can manipulate spirit particles, drawing the surrounding particles toward their bodies to command them.

A Shinigami's Shunpo, aside from relying on their own Reiatsu, requires interaction with external spirit particles. The denser the external spirit particles, the faster the Shunpo—which is why Shinigamis receive a boost in the spirit-rich environment of Hueco Mundo.

Under the influence of this Quincy ability, a Shinigami's Shunpo is directly disrupted.

When unable to use Shunpo to close the distance, the Quincy's Spirit Particle Arrows can launch long-range attacks. At such times, with Shunpo compromised, one is forced to rely on their Zanpakuto to parry the blows.

As for using Ghost Way to engage in a long-range exchange?

The idea is sound, but Ghost Way also relies on external spirit particles, which the Quincy can likewise interfere with.

The primary reason for the high casualty rate during the initial stages of the Gotei 13's purge of the Quincy was this ability to disrupt the Shinigamis.

Even if mixed-blood Quincy lack the comprehensive power of pure-bloods, this ability to manipulate and disrupt spirit particles is possessed by all of them. Relying on this, if a Shinigami's foundational skills are not solid, the only outcome is defeat and death.

Natsuki's Shunpo had also been interrupted once by the Quincy before him.

But he was not an ordinary Shinigami. Beyond Shunpo and Ghost Way, he was highly accomplished in swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, especially the former, which had become formidable under the tutelage of Unohana Retsu.

Hand-to-hand combat requires close-quarters engagement to unleash its true power.

The Quincy's stance made it clear: they had no intention of fighting a Shinigami at close range.

While they possessed powerful abilities to manipulate spirit particles, their physical bodies were merely those of ordinary humans. Compared to Shinigamis, who are spiritual beings composed entirely of high-density spirit particles, they were inferior in both raw strength and physical durability.

Launching long-range attacks via Spirit Particle Arrows was their only hope for victory.

This was a lesson the Quincy had learned at the cost of many lives since the war began.

As the Quincy released a barrage of Spirit Particle Arrows, Natsuki slashed through them one after another with his Zanpakuto, which was imbued with powerful sword pressure, all while striving to close the distance.

He had also discovered something.

The Quincy could not multitask.

When they were busy manipulating spirit particles to condense their arrows, they lacked the capacity to interfere with his Shunpo. Thus, this was the window he used to close in. The Quincy naturally realized this, so after firing their arrows, they would employ "Hirenkyaku," a high-level movement technique unique to their kind, to reposition themselves and seek a more advantageous angle to attack.

Hirenkyaku is, in fact, more versatile than the Shinigami's Shunpo. In environments like Hueco Mundo or the Soul Society, it is the only movement technique among the three mastered by Shinigamis, Hollows, and Quincy that allows for flight.

Unfortunately, this was neither the Soul Society nor Hueco Mundo; it was the Human World.

In the Human World, Hirenkyaku does not grant air superiority because Shinigamis can also hover in the air here. This is primarily because the Human World is sparse in spirit particles, and Shinigamis possess high concentrations of them within their bodies. Since spirit particles are lighter than air, they exist in the Human World as if in a vacuum; gravity cannot affect them, allowing them to leap great distances and soar through the sky with a single jump.

Furthermore, while Hirenkyaku allows for flight, it is the most dependent on spirit particles of the three techniques. If the particles are dense, a Quincy's manipulation can make it faster than Shunpo.

But given the concentration of spirit particles in the Human World, no matter how powerful the Quincy, the speed of their Hirenkyaku remains limited.

Even though this Quincy kept shifting positions with Hirenkyaku, as long as he could not constantly disrupt Natsuki's Shunpo, Natsuki's speed ultimately held the advantage. Before long, he reached the Quincy.

Golden sword pressure erupted from his blade, shattering the incoming Spirit Particle Arrows before descending upon the Quincy's body.

Blood splattered, and life was extinguished in an instant.

Having dealt with one Quincy, Natsuki did not pause to rest, continuing toward the location of the others.

Though it was called a war, in reality, the two sides were not clashing in a single, concentrated battlefield.

Even though the Quincy had inflicted many casualties on the Shinigamis, they themselves had suffered far more.

Because they were the losers of the war eight hundred years ago, they harbored a natural hatred and fear toward the Shinigamis.

When the Shinigamis descended upon them with the butcher's blade, their first instinct was to hide; only when they found escape impossible did they choose to fight.

Facing these Quincy who had been hiding from the start, the Shinigamis first had to track them down before they could carry out the extermination.

Fortunately, to ensure the total annihilation of the Quincy, enough Shinigamis had been sent to the Human World, with the 12th Division providing technical support from the rear. One by one, the Quincy were located, and all Natsuki needed to do was reinforce the other Shinigamis and kill the targets they uncovered.

When he arrived at another battlefield, he saw several Shinigamis already dead, their bodies pierced by sharp Spirit Particle Arrows.

Atop the roof of an ancient building, a middle-aged man with a ponytail, a scar on his face, and eyes as sharp as a hawk's, was watching Natsuki.

"Despicable Shinigami, have you come to die as well?"

From this Quincy, Natsuki sensed an aura far superior to that of an ordinary foe.

In his spiritual perception, the air around the man was swirling with terrifyingly dense spirit particles.

This was no ordinary Quincy; he was, without a doubt, a pure-blood.

"No, it is you who shall die!"

Natsuki answered the man.