The Boy Being Hunted / The Incomplete Perfect Holy Body

At this point in time, it's probably just some scattered Quincy causing trouble; there's no need to pay too much attention to it.

"Once you see someone, try to catch them alive. If you can't catch them alive, it doesn't matter if you kill them. Anyway, the decision is entirely in your own hands. You decide what to do!" Yamabuki Chidori patted Ukitake the shoulder. This child was weak and sickly since childhood, which led to a lack of confidence. As his Teacher, she should encourage him.

Ukitake has obtained the answer: the only people who can absorb Reishi besides his Teacher are the Quincy. Since it wasn't his Teacher who did it, it must be the Quincy making a comeback. This matter needs to be taken very seriously.

After bidding farewell to Kerria Yamabuki, Jūshirō Ukitake Yamabuki Chidori once again travels to those villages to search for clues.

After Ukitake left, Hachisato's figure appeared in the office.

Of course, Hachisato only revealed those messages with Yamabuki Chidori's permission; otherwise, even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to leak any information about Yamabuki Chidori.

"By the way, Hachisato, I remember your wife is about to give birth, right? You must invite me to the baby's one-month celebration." Yamabuki Chidori looked at Hachisato with a smile. The two of them were old friends, and she should give him face.

Hachisato was somewhat flattered and quickly nodded in agreement.

Often, your boss will treat you like a brother, but you can't be inconsiderate.

Hachisato has a good grasp of this balance.

He truly is a seasoned veteran in the workplace.

Jūshirō Ukitake returned to the village but found no further useful clues. Hachisato also returned to the scene early to advise him, "Lieutenant Ukitake, there's no need to rush. There are still two weeks left. You're not feeling well, so why don't you go back and rest? How about I take care of protecting the scene?"

Ukitake shook his head slightly. He had a premonition that this kind of thing would happen again. "Lieutenant Hachisato, do you have a map of the area? Let me see!"

Hachisato brought over a map of the area. There were four villages where this strange thing had happened. Suddenly, Ukitake and drew a line on the map with his finger. He discovered that the four villages were all located near the same river.

"Lieutenant Hachisato, do you know the chronological order in which the incidents occurred in these villages?" Ukitake asked.

Hachisato shook his head; he didn't know anything about such things either.

Ukitake was almost certain that the perpetrator would continue to commit crimes in the next few days.

These four villages are arranged in a straight line on the map, like a snake, with one village upstream and one downstream of the stream.

"So, the enemy's next target is either the village upstream or the village downstream?" Ukitake muttered to himself. But if he couldn't determine when the incidents occurred in the four villages, he wouldn't know whether the enemy's movement was from upstream to downstream or from downstream to upstream.

"Captain Hachisato, we'll split into two groups. You'll lead the men to guard the village upstream. If anything happens, notify me immediately using Hell Butterfly. I'll guard the village downstream alone. Similarly, if anything happens, I'll notify you immediately using Hell Butterfly," Ukitake said.

Hachisato's main strength is obedience. Although both sides are currently Lieutenant, Ukitake becoming the Captain is almost a certainty. Therefore, she doesn't feel annoyed at all when Ukitake orders her. On the contrary, she works very diligently. How could anyone not like such a subordinate?

Ukitake arrived alone at the village downstream. This small village had only three or four hundred people at most. Although there weren't many people, it still looked quite lively. Moreover, in this era, news was scarce, and the villagers here had no idea that the village not far away had disappeared.

"What a beautiful girl!"

As Ukitake walked along the road, he was surrounded by many people. Dressed in white with white hair, he was easily mistaken for a girl if not viewed from the front. Ukitake could only laugh and explain that he was a man. He then naturally mingled with the villagers and inquired about their lives.

"Uncle, have any strangers come to your village recently?" Ukitake asked with a smile. In those days, transportation was difficult, and most people never left their village in their entire lives.

The souls that come to this world after death basically settle in that village and live there, rarely leaving. So, if any outsiders enter, they will definitely become very conspicuous.

The old man, with a hoe slung over his shoulder, shook his head and said, "No, I didn't see you. You're the only outsider I've met lately. By the way, is there something you need?"

"I... I'm just a traveler passing through, I'll be leaving after a few days. Could you take me to a place to stay? I can give you some money as a reward." Ukitake's appearance clearly showed he was a kind person, his friendliness was off the charts, and the old man took Ukitake back to his home without hesitation.

"You can stay here! Just let me know if you need anything," the old man said readily.

I'm sorry, but being good-looking really does allow you to do whatever you want.

Chapter 183: The Boy Being Hunted

Tonight's dinner was a very simple roasted sweet potato, which Ukitake enjoyed very much. He also told the elderly couple about his travel experiences. Although the couple looked older than Ukitake, they were probably younger than him. Ukitake looked young, but Ukitake was actually over two hundred years old.

These stories, told over tea, add a touch of color to the elderly couple's lives.

"By the way, old man, you really didn't see any strangers in the village? This is very important!" Ukitake said earnestly.

The old man patted his chest and assured them that their fields were right at the edge of the village; if there were any outsiders, they would see them immediately. That's strange, though. Could it be that the group's target wasn't even this village?

After the elderly couple went to sleep, Ukitake used the Hell Butterfly to inform Hachisato about the situation. However, Hachisato had not found any useful information either, and for a time, both sides were at a stalemate and could only wait and see.

For the first two days, everything was fine, and Ukitake was quite comfortable staying in this small village. However, on the third day, his cold suddenly worsened, and he kept coughing. The elderly couple were very worried about him, but there was no doctor in this small village, and if they wanted the jersey, they would have to go to a larger village forty kilometers away.

"It's... it's alright! It's an old ailment, no medicine works! I won't die, you don't need to worry about me."

While coughing violently, Ukitake spoke, which seemed utterly unconvincing. When Old Man Huanghun returned from Tianzhong, he handed Ukitake two pears from his pocket.

Hopefully, this will temporarily alleviate Ukitake's condition.

After three days of getting to know each other, Ukitake learned that the elderly couple actually had a son, but due to the constant wars in the Human World, their son was conscripted and never returned, leaving the elderly couple to starve to death in the chaos.

Although there are severe class differences in Soul Society, one can still barely survive if they try hard enough.

They were both very satisfied with their current life.

Ukitake knew he couldn't offer any help, so he could only listen quietly.

Upon learning that Ukitake's condition had worsened, Hachisato immediately sent people to deliver various medicines and food.

Ukitake is already a well-known sickly guy in the Gotei 13. Many Shinigami can't understand why such a sickly guy has such high combat power.

"Lieutenant Hachisato is truly thoughtful. He anticipated that my condition might worsen when he came out and brought all sorts of medicines in advance. He truly deserves to be called a senior!" Ukitake couldn't help but exclaim.

After taking the medicine, Ukitake's spirits improved considerably.

Perhaps the medication contained a sleeping pill; after taking it, he slept very soundly tonight and went to bed early.

But tonight, something unexpected happened.

It was early autumn, and a cold wind was blowing at night. A few dark clouds drifted across the sky, and a light rain began to fall.

The autumn rain is particularly cold and damp; when it hits your skin, it feels like being Steel Needle needles.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the small village. A boy clutching his injured arm was seen running desperately into the village, with several dark figures flashing behind him.

The boy drew his Spirit Bow with a backhand motion and fired three arrows, but unfortunately, the three people behind him dodged them.

Rainwater soaked the boy's cheeks, and by the faint starlight, one could see that his arm had been pierced through, and the bleeding was unstoppable. Despite such a severe injury, the boy's body trembled slightly in the autumn rain.

"Who are you people? Why are you relentlessly pursuing me?" The young man, holding a bow in one hand, stared at his enemies, his face pale.

The boy was a Quincy, but he had never used his powers on his own initiative, nor had he ever destroyed a Quincy. He had always lived the life of an ordinary person, but the arrival of these people shattered his peaceful days.

These strange people were dressed in uniform white, and they appeared to be members of some organization.

There were three men in charge of hunting down the boy. Each of them possessed Reiatsu far exceeding that of the boy. If they hadn't wanted to capture him alive, he would have died at their hands long ago.

Although the boy was Quincy, he had never used his powers voluntarily, so he was no match for these people.

"You ask who we are?" one of the men said with a mocking smile. "Since you've asked so sincerely, I'll mercifully tell you."

With a gentle wave of his hand, the man produced an identical Spirit Bow.

The boy could hardly believe his eyes.

"You... you're also Quincy? So we're brethren? Then why are you chasing me? What have I done to offend you?" the boy asked, his face full of confusion.

The man said coldly, "Do you know the nursery rhyme that circulates among the Quincy? ' The Quincy King will take nine hundred years to restore his heartbeat...'"

"Ninety years to regain consciousness, nine years to regain strength, nine days to conquer the world? Isn't this just a nursery rhyme?" the boy asked, puzzled.

His mother sang it to him when he was a child, so he has a deep memory of this nursery rhyme.

The man extended his middle finger, lightly pushed up his glasses, and said arrogantly, "This is not just a nursery rhyme; it's a prophecy. Our king was defeated by death hundreds of years ago. Hundreds of years later, our king will return. In order not to be abandoned by the king, we must master even greater power. Young man, feel honored; you are qualified to be our test subject."

"Glory my ass! Who wants to be your guinea pig? You're going to kill so many people for a nursery rhyme? Are you all insane? Why can't the dead just be buried properly? How can they possibly come back to life?" The boy launched into a tirade. His family wasn't wealthy, but they were at least well-off, and he was quite content with his life. Then one day, these lunatics showed up, saying their king would lead them to overthrow the world...

Isn't this world good enough? Why would anyone want to overthrow it? These people must be out of their minds!

"Boy! This is none of your business!" The man instantly used his Hirenkyaku to appear behind the boy, grabbed his neck, and forcibly pried open the boy's mouth with his fingers, throwing a strange little ball into it.

"What did you give me to eat...?"

"This is a good thing. If you eat this, you will gain infinite power," the man said.

The boy felt changes beginning to occur in his body, and an unknown power awakened within him.

Chapter 184: The Incomplete Perfect Sanctification

Hundreds of years ago, when Yamabuki Chidori Yhwach, she displayed the Quincy 'Yamabuki Chidori final form, the Perfect Sanctification.

Yhwach was thinking, "Holy crap! Quincy can be used like this? I had no idea!"

This godlike posture was recorded after the war and has been passed down among the Quincy ever since.

The Quincy are all human, with a lifespan of no more than a hundred years. Moreover, in this era, the average human lifespan is only forty or fifty years. In the past three hundred years, five or six generations have passed, and everyone regards this matter as a legend.

But there are always a few people who refuse to believe it.

Many people have noticed that the Quincy's power doesn't seem to have reached its peak, and they continue to delve deeper into this area.

"The small ball I pushed down for you is a collection of highly concentrated Reishi. It will give you a godlike feeling. Enjoy this power; you'll get addicted! If you can still survive." After the man gave the small ball to the boy to swallow, he quickly retreated. The boy only felt a huge force explode inside his body. When the Reishi reached a certain density, quantitative change led to qualitative change.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!" A terrifying sound of flesh tearing apart came from the boy's back, and a pair of blood-stained wings of light stretched out from his back. The scene was like the Descent of Evil God, extremely terrifying.

But this power is completely out of control.

Even if one enters the state of Perfect Sanctification in this way, one's spirit and body will both collapse, as seen in the case of Yamabuki Chidori, who first awakened the state of Perfect Sanctification.

After entering the Perfect Sanctification state, the boy's body began to frantically devour the surrounding Reishi. Everything in Soul Society is made up of Reishi —every blade of grass, every tree, every mountain, every stone, and even people are themselves Reishi. The power within the boy completely went berserk, like an endless black hole, beginning to devour the surrounding Reishi.

"Looks like it's failed again!" the man said coldly. "Are the stories recorded in the ancient books true? Is there really someone who can control such terrifying divine power?"

He expressed his doubts.

At this moment, the boy had begun to devour the surrounding buildings. If this continued, when the concentration of Reishi reached a critical point, his body and soul would enter a state of annihilation, and all Reishi would return to nature, thus eliminating the distinction of Reiatsu.

Everyone thought this experiment would be exactly the same as before, and the village would be destroyed because of the boy's loss of control. But the next second, a knife appeared out of nowhere.

The silver blade light instantly severed the wings on the boy's back, forcibly pulling him out of his Perfect Sanctification state.

"What?" the man exclaimed in shock.

How could anyone possibly get close to the boy under such circumstances?

They hurriedly looked towards the very center of the vortex, where a white-clad, white-haired man wielded two swords, easily severing the wings of light.

"Nonsense! How could that be! That's the power of the Divine Realm." The man muttered to himself. None of the Quincy remained could perfectly control the power of the Perfect Sanctification. As long as they absorbed too many Reishi, they would immediately fall into a state of madness, and their bodies would completely collapse afterwards.

"Finally made it!" Ukitake gently wiped the sweat from his forehead. In fact, he wasn't confident before making that cut, but the strength of the wings of light wasn't as high as he had imagined.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Any ordinary person who gets close will have their Reishi forcibly devoured! What trick did you use?" the man roared, as if his dreams had been shattered right before his eyes.

Ukitake did not answer the man's question; it seemed that these people were the culprits.

Captain-level Shinigami have extremely high Reishi density in their bodies. Even after death, these Reishi do not dissipate. In order to prevent these Reishi from remaining in the Soul Society, Shinigami perform Soul Burial Ritual to forcibly suppress these souls in Hell.

Of course, that's something we'll talk about later.

Therefore, even if the Quincy possessed the Perfect Sanctification and the power to devour Reishi, they couldn't simply swallow a Captain whole. Otherwise, the Thousand-Year Blood War would be pointless; wouldn't it be easier to just surrender?

"I am a Shinigami from the Gotei 13. You are suspected of destroying souls. Please come with me," Ukitake said calmly.

Although the probability of the other party surrendering is extremely low, it's still necessary to say what needs to be said.

Perhaps Ukitake's actions were too shocking, causing none of the three Quincy to dare to make a move beforehand.

"What to do?"

The fattest of the three asked tremblingly, "The Shinigami of the Gotei 13 seem to be very strong, don't they? Wasn't the one who defeated our King a Shinigami?"

"Foolish! Even death gods have different ranks. Judging from his sickly appearance, he must be the lowest-ranking death god, right? He must have used some underhanded tricks we don't know about! Everyone, attack together and capture him as a test subject!" The man immediately drew his bow and shot an arrow, the Reishi Arrow striking like a bolt of lightning piercing the night sky.

Ukitake did not dodge, but instead raised his Sōgyo no Kotowari directly.

The Reishi Arrow was absorbed directly by the right-hand sword, like a mud ox sinking into the sea. It was then transmitted to the left-hand sword through the Chain connecting the two swords and the spirit tablet. Finally, this power transformed into a beam of white light that shot out from the left-hand sword.

The three Quincy were terrified.

Is there really someone in this world who can counter the power of the Quincy?

How could this be so outrageous?

After a brief exchange, Ukitake quickly determined that the three individuals were roughly equivalent to ordinary Shinigami members, and that he could easily handle them.

The man who had been shouting earlier was now ashen-faced and said to his companion, "You two, blocking him is a great sacrifice! So many people want this job but can't get it! I will remember you!"

After saying that, the man turned and ran.

But before he could run two steps, his companions grabbed him by the shoulders.

"You think just shouting slogans is enough? You actually believe that? You stay behind and cover our retreat, the two of us run!" the fat Quincy shouted, and he and his companion turned and ran.

"You two bastards! I'll never let you go, even if I die! Since that's the case, none of us are leaving!" The man grabbed his two companions and started wrestling with them.