"Hateful."
Although the Quincy in the lead discovered a way to defeat Xiao Jiba, their close-combat Quincy were too weak to defeat Jiba's clone.
"To catch the thief, first catch the king!"
The Quincy leader, knowing the principle of "capture the leader first," instantly vanished from the Quincy and appeared before Sōgo.
"I'll kill you if you move another muscle."
However, almost the instant he reached Sōgo, he was shoved to the ground by Shaoling Fon.
"Why? How can such a small body possess such great strength?"
The Quincy leader, who was about 1.85 meters tall and covered in strong muscles, was pinned to the ground by Shaoling Fon, who was only 1.5 meters tall and had thin arms and legs that looked like they could be broken at any moment. His eyes were full of confusion.
"Foolish! To judge the power between Soul Reaper based on a person's physique... How ignorant and laughable! Since you're so foolish, I might as well tell you: Soul Reaper's power has nothing to do with their height or size, but rather with the strength of their spirit. The stronger the spirit, the greater the power it can bear. If one cultivates their spirit to an extremely high level, they can even kill Menos Grande with their bare fists. (Like that Old Man Yama.)"
Shaoling Fon placed her slender, delicate hand on the Quincy leader's head, while her other hand held his hands tightly behind his back, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes.
"Damn... Soul Reaper."
Upon hearing Shaoling Fon's words, the Quincy leader roared, and a flash of light appeared on his body.
"Um?"
Shaoling Fon could sense that the Quincy power under her divine guidance suddenly increased in an instant, exceeding her normal level.
"What is this ability?"
A hint of doubt flashed in Shaoling Fon's eyes. She had never heard of Quincy possessing such power. According to the information she had obtained, Quincy were beings that could only attack from a distance and would be instantly killed if Soul Reaper got close.
"This ability is called Blut, a power that only Pure-Blood Quincy can wield. You ignorant Soul Reaper!"
The Quincy shouted loudly as he slowly stood up from the ground, and then tried to shoo Shaoling Fon off his back.
" Shunkō!"
However, the next second, an astonishing Spiritual Pressure erupted from Shaoling Fon's body, once again pinning the Pure-Blood Quincy beneath her.
"Who are you calling an ignorant Soul Reaper?"
Shaoling Fon's eyes twitched slightly. She hated being called "country bumpkin," "country aristocrat," or "uncultured person" the most.
"What?"
The Pure-Blood Quincy lay on the ground, his forehead covered in cold sweat. He had already activated his Blut, yet he still couldn't shake off the Shaoling Fon behind him. This sent a chill down his spine. Were all Soul Reaper... monsters?
"What do you think, Lord Sōgo?"
Seeing the Pure-Blood Quincy easily defeated by Shaoling Fon, Szayelaporro asked Sōgo beside him.
"If all Pure-Blood Quincy are this stupid, then the extinction of our race is not far off."
Looking at the Pure-Blood Quincy in front of him, whose intelligence was on par with his Little Fon, Sōgo suddenly felt a pang of sadness for the Soul King's descendants. It wasn't that his Little Fon wasn't smart; it was just that his Little Fon was simply cute. But being cute was enough for Little Fon.
"Hmph! Fool!"
After hearing Sōgo's words, Shaoling Fon's lips curled up slightly. Sure enough, the Quincy beneath her was an idiot.
Hey! Kid, what's your name?
Sōgo crouched down and asked the Pure-Blood Quincy who was being held down by Shaoling Fon.
"I will never change my name or surname, Shinichi Kurosaki!"
After hearing Sōgo's words, the Pure-Blood Quincy made no attempt to conceal his true name.
" Kurosaki...?! Did you kill the captain of the Tenth Division?"
Sōgo nodded slightly after hearing what the other person said, and then continued to ask the Quincy whose surname was Kurosaki.
"Of course, I'm the one who killed your Soul Reaper captain!"
The Pure-Blood Quincy with dazzling golden hair smiled smugly after hearing Sōgo's words and spoke arrogantly.
What do you think about Little Sa's situation?
Sōgo stood up and asked Szayelaporro behind him.
I think he's lying.
After hearing Sōgo's words, Szayelaporro gently pushed up his glasses and then spoke without hesitation.
"Reason."
Sōgo nodded slightly to Szayelaporro, then simply uttered two words.
"It's simple. If the captain of the Gotei 13 could be killed by such an idiot, then he doesn't deserve to be called a captain. Besides, considering that we encountered Kōtotsu as soon as we entered the Senkaimon, the captain of the Tenth Division is a truly ruthless character."
Szayelaporro explained to the author of the Sōgo.
"Yes, just as I thought. That means someone is doing everything they can to stop us from investigating the cause of the Tenth Division Captain's death, or someone is doing everything they can to hide something... If we follow this logic, the first person we encounter must be unrelated to the true cause of the Tenth Division Captain's death."
Sōgo nodded slightly to Szayelaporro, agreeing with Szayelaporro words.
What do you mean by that?
Shaoling Fon- kun, pinned beneath Kurosaki Hizawa, wore the same bewildered expression as Shaoling Fon.
Simply put, kid, you've been used as a pawn by someone else.
Sōgo smiled slightly at Kurosaki, who was being held down by Shaoling Fon, while at the same time Xiao Jiba that Sōgo was controlling had already taken down all the other Quincy.
Every Quincy was lying on the ground with bruises and swelling on their faces. The reason why Quincy faces were so badly injured was simply because Sōgo only liked to hit people in the face when he was fighting.
"I was used as a pawn..."
Kurosaki looked at Sōgo with a puzzled expression, not quite understanding what Sōgo meant.
Why haven't the Quincy been wiped out yet?
Looking at the other person's bewildered eyes, Sōgo helplessly raised his head to look at the sky of this small world, feeling utterly helpless.
"Kill me or torture me, it's up to you. Just spare my men; they're all innocent!"
The pureblood man with the surname Kurosaki shouted at Sōgo.
"Are you an idiot? Even if I don't spare your men, you'll still be at my mercy."
Sōgo, speechless, spoke to the man in front of him, Kurosaki.
"Forehead..."
Kurosaki stood there dumbfounded; what the other person said seemed to make perfect sense.
"Enough with the nonsense. I have no interest in you lowly fodder. Hand over the one among you who killed the Tenth Division Captain (not important), and the one who severely injured Aizen... the Fifth Division Lieutenant (very important), and I'll spare you. Understand?"
"As for the feud between you Quincy and the Soul Reaper, I have no business with that, I can't be bothered with it, and I don't want to be bothered with it. I'm here today simply to avenge my friend, it's that simple."
Sōgo addressed Kurosaki- kun.
"Are you kidding me? Do you think I would betray my own kind? Besides, the heroes of my clan... who slew one of your Soul Reaper's squad captains, are long dead. Do you intend to desecrate their souls?"
Kurosaki roared angrily after hearing Sōgo's words.
"Foolish! Do you really believe that someone who defeated a captain and a vice-captain could die at the hands of a bunch of soldiers? What a joke..."
Sōgo smiled slightly and addressed Kurosaki.
"Um?!"
Kurosaki only came to his senses after hearing Sōgo's words.
"If you don't want all your men to die here, then answer my questions properly until I find the person I want to kill."
Sōgo for Shaoling Fon to get off Kurosaki, and then pulled Kurosaki up from the ground.
What do you want to do?
Kurosaki felt a sense of fear as he looked at Sōgo in front of him.
"It's nothing, I just have a few questions I'd like to ask you. You'd better answer them truthfully, or your men might say goodbye."
Sōgo gave Kurosaki a deep look and spoke.
"This..."
At this moment, Kurosaki's mind was in turmoil. He was unsure whether he could trust the words of the Soul Reaper in front of him, but for some reason, he had a sense of trust in him. He believed that Sōgo in front of him did not mean to deceive him, because at this moment, Tier Harribel had already drawn the Zanpakuto tied to his waist and held it to the neck of his kin.
"It seems I have no other choice but to retreat, right?"
Kurosaki spoke to Sōgo in front of him with a hint of helplessness.
"No, of course you have a choice, but your choice will lead me to kill everyone around you. If you don't care, then I don't care either, but your men will suffer."
Sōgo gently shook his head at Kurosaki and began to speak.
"Ask away!"
Kurosaki, the blond-haired man, was quite manly. Without saying much, he went straight to Sōgo.
"Who sent you, Kurosaki- kun?"
Sōgo smiled slightly at Kurosaki and asked.
"No one sent me; it was my own decision."
Kurosaki -kun preached to Sōgo.
"Hmph~ Hmm!"
Sōgo smiled slightly after hearing Kurosaki's words, then nodded at Tier Harribel with a smile.
"Understood!"
After receiving Sōgo's order, Tier Harribel raised her sword high, aiming it at the head of a Quincy beneath her.
"Etc..."
"I was sent by Elder Watanabe."
Kurosaki looked at the gleaming silver sword in Tier Harribel's hand and immediately changed his mind.
"Stop!"
Sōgo nodded in satisfaction after hearing Kurosaki's words, and at the same time stopped Tier Harribel's movements beside him.
"Next question, where is Elder Watanabe?"
Sōgo continued to ask Kurosaki- kun.
"You think I'd tell you?... Elder Watanabe is in a small spirit realm not far from this one. I can take you there, but only if you spare my men."
Kurosaki was initially stubborn, but that was all he could say. After seeing Tier Harribel's sword, he finally betrayed his teammate.
"Hey, isn't that right?"
Sōgo smiled gently at Kurosaki and began to speak.
"Come back, Xiao Jiba!"
After hearing Kurosaki's words, Sōgo brandished his Zanpakuto, retrieved all the Xiao Jiba, and then wrapped the Jiba back around his waist (I did too).
"You... you really intend to let us go like this?"
Kurosaki looked at Sōgo, who had just withdrawn all the Hollows that had been controlling his subordinates, and his eyes flickered slightly as he asked incredulously.
"Of course, as I said, I'm here to cause trouble for certain people, and it has nothing to do with your Quincy clan. As for your grudges with some Soul Reaper, that's your business."
Sōgo removed the Xiao Jiba from his waist and gently rubbed Kurosaki's head with the Jiba's sheath.
"..."
For some reason, Kurosaki felt as if he had been insulted like never before...
It's like a Möbius strip: today, the ' Soul Reaper ' of the Five Great Noble Clans spares ' Kurosaki's' life; tomorrow, ' Kurosaki ' will save the life of another 'Grim Soul Reaper ' from one of the Five Great Noble Clans...
Soul Society.
" Lord Aizen, the Quincy's Quincy squad used to trap Sōgo-kun has been completely wiped out, and the squad leader has even been taken prisoner. Will this affect our plans?"
Shortly after Kurosaki was arrested by Sōgo, Aizen received the news.
"It doesn't matter, everything is going according to plan."
Aizen smiled slightly at Kaname Tōsen, his expression remaining calm, as if Kurosaki's arrest by Sōgo was also part of Aizen's plan.
"..."
"If everything goes according to plan, then there's nothing to discuss."
After hearing Aizen's words, Kaname Tōsen nodded slightly and said no more.
"Hmph hmph hmph..."
" Sōgo, you'll probably go find that 'elder' next, right?"
Aizen lay on his hospital bed, gazing out the window at the birdsong and fragrant flowers. He smiled slightly, remaining calm and composed.
"You actually released all my men? Aren't you afraid they'll cause you trouble?"
On the other hand, Kurosaki, seeing that Sōgo had indeed released all his men, felt a little uneasy.
"That's great. I'm bored anyway. You know we Soul Reaper usually have lifespans of several thousand years. I can play with you Quincy are essentially still human for dozens or even hundreds of generations. I will defeat you again and again, and then let you go. I will defeat you again and again, leaving you with hope each time, but giving you despair each time."
Sōgo wasn't flustered at all after hearing Kurosaki's words; instead, he was somewhat expectant.
"You have such a twisted sense of humor."
After hearing Sōgo's words, Kurosaki couldn't help but speak.
"Different perspectives lead to different viewpoints. Superior strength brings me a superior mindset. This is precisely the fundamental difference in our 'levels'—whether we are masters of our power, firmly gripping the reins of our steeds, or we are mere mounts of power and instinct, recklessly unleashing our strength to boast to the world. It's all up to me. Because I am stronger than anyone else, I enjoy absolute privilege. No one can stop me from doing what I want. Whether I let you go or kill you depends on my mood. And today, your farcical performance successfully amused me, so I let you go. It's that simple." Sōgo smiled slightly at Kurosaki. "It's like the wildflowers and weeds you see by the roadside. Whether you trample them or simply smile and appreciate them depends entirely on your mood."
Thank you to reader Very Dazai for the 3000-coin reward!
(End of this chapter)