"Um?"
After taking down the old scoundrel Watanabe who had tricked him, Sōgo turned around and looked at the spirit array that had begun to shift irreversibly.
"Give up. Once this spirit array is activated, even if you kill us all, it won't make a difference."
The Sōgo, who was continuously channeling Spiritual Power into the spirit array, noticed that Quincy had instantly defeated Watanabe. He was sweating profusely and spoke to Sōgo.
"Yeah?"
After hearing the Quincy's words, Sōgo, under the other's shocked gaze, stretched out his arm toward the spirit array wall that was burning like azure flames. Immediately, a large hole was torn open in the spirit array wall that was originally impossible to pass through, and Sōgo grabbed Shaoling Fon, who was closest to him, by the back of her neck.
Just as Sōgo grabbed Shaoling Fon by the back of the neck, a dazzling light accompanied the teleportation...
In an instant, only the Quincy, Sōgo, and Shaoling Fon were left behind.
"What... happened?"
Shaoling Fon looked at Sōgo beside her, who had already... and the others who had disappeared without a trace, her eyes filled with confusion and shock.
" Reishi Teleportation Array is a technology that teleports entities composed of Reishi."
Before Sōgo could answer, Kurosaki- kun approached Shaoling Fon's side and began to speak.
"Do you know what you're doing? Why are you doing this? Why aren't you following the plan we agreed on? Don't you trust me?"
Before Sougo Sōgo, Kurosaki questioned his Quincy brethren.
" Kurosaki- kun, you're incredibly naive. Do you really think there's anyone among the Soul Reaper who can understand us Quincy? Kurosaki- kun, please remember this: Soul Reaper are the antithesis of Quincy. This isn't because we can't understand each other; it's because even if we Quincy and Soul Reaper understood each other, we still couldn't come together... This is a much more ancient issue. Kurosaki- kun, please remember our words..."
The Quincy, and the Quincy civilians—men, women, and children—were resolute, their eyes showing no sign of confusion.
"What do you mean by 'understanding' or 'not understanding'?"
After listening to the Quincy's words, Kurosaki's forehead was covered in sweat from excessive anxiety. He was now thinking about how to save his kin from Sōgo's clutches. He knew that his kin were at fault, but his selfish heart still hoped that Sōgo could show leniency.
" Sōgo-kun have just been deceived. They have absolutely no malicious intent. Most of them are children and the elderly, just civilians with no fighting ability."
Kurosaki, finding himself unable to persuade the commoners, then tried to persuade Sōgo Shihoin was standing beside him.
"You want me to let them go, right?"
After hearing Kurosaki's words, Sōgo looked Kurosaki straight in the eye, putting immense pressure on Kurosaki while posing a soul-searching question.
"I... truly hope that you, Sōgo, can let these people go."
After hearing Sōgo's words, Kurosaki lowered his head slightly.
"Can."
After hearing Kurosaki's words, Sōgo placed his hand on Kurosaki's shoulder and nodded slightly.
"Really?"
After hearing Sōgo's words, Kurosaki's eyes flashed with excitement, and he felt a warmth in his heart. He hadn't expected that Sōgo, who should have been his enemy, his mortal Sōgo, was the only one among everyone present who understood him.
"But... even if I let them go, will they really let themselves go?"
Sōgo released his grip on Kurosaki's shoulder and asked.
" Sōgo-kun, what do you mean by this?"
Kurosaki was slightly taken aback after hearing Sōgo's words, and asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Open your eyes and watch!"
Sōgo didn't answer Sōgo's question, but simply spoke softly.
Then... accompanied by a dazzling blue flame, it gave Kurosaki all the answers he wanted to know.
"Boom!!"
A burst of flames instantly erupted among the crowd.
"Ah!!!"
"Help me... I don't want to die!"
"Great is... Ah!!"
With a series of explosions, countless blue flames began to burn the bodies of these Quincy.
What happened?
Kurosaki looked at his kinsmen, who were spontaneously combusting, with despair in his eyes, but he was powerless to do anything about it. He didn't even know what was happening.
"Spirit Particle Transfer Technique, a technology invented by you Quincy that allows you to transfer spiritual particles over long distances. This ability seems useful, but it has a drawback: for every spiritual particles transferred, the same amount must be replenished. Because of this drawback, even though the Shinigami have long since deciphered the principle, they can't use it. This is because the Shinigami's spiritual power is cultivated by themselves, meaning it belongs to them, while the Quincy can directly draw spiritual power from the environment. It is precisely because of this difference that the Shinigami can never replenish the spiritual power they have transferred, unlike the Quincy who can draw on the spiritual power in the environment to replenish the spiritual power needed for the transfer. I remember that's how it is, right?"
Sōgo came to Kurosaki's side when he was in despair and asked him a question.
"That's true, but what does that have to do with the current situation?"
Kurosaki nodded slightly after hearing Sōgo's words, but he was unsure what necessary connection there was between them and the spontaneous combustion that was now taking place.
"The answer is simple. If we consider your Quincy Spiritual Power as 1, and the Spiritual Power you can borrow from the environment is also 1, then your maximum teleportation limit is 2. Once you reach or exceed 2, your body will collapse. Do you understand what I'm saying, Kurosaki- kun?"
Sōgo stood beside Kurosaki and explained.
"You mean... the combined Spiritual Power of all these hundreds of Quincy here is still less than the total Reishi of those five people?"
After hearing Sōgo's words, Kurosaki looked at Sōgo with a shocked and desperate expression and asked.
"You've misunderstood Kurosaki- kun. It's not as simple as being inferior; it's far inferior... So, your clan must have used something like Spiritual Power Amplification Technique to complete the teleportation. Now it seems that while the effect was significant, it also brought huge side effects."
"Normally, when Spiritual Power is exhausted, the body would simply collapse, and such a collapse would be painless and without any external sensation. However, their current state of extreme pain clearly indicates that it is not as simple as the exhaustion of Spiritual Power."
Sōgo shook his head. Things were far from simple. As far as he knew, these amplification techniques were Stealth Force arts of Soul Society. They were usually used by Dead Men who encountered insurmountable opponents during special missions to forcibly increase their Spiritual Pressure and power.
"Damn it... So what can I do now?"
After hearing Sōgo's words, Kurosaki angrily cursed, hating his own weakness and powerlessness, and his cowardice in being unable to change the status quo.
"If it's just those few children, I can try to protect them."
Sōgo looked at the Quincy children who looked only four or five years old, and his brows furrowed slowly. This behavior of not even sparing children and using them made him slightly uncomfortable. It felt like he had encountered a cult that didn't even spare children and kept brainwashing them, which made Sōgo feel nauseous.
"My child... please! I beg you to save him! Please!"
Kurosaki knelt before Sōgo, kowtowing repeatedly until his forehead was covered in blood.
I was just saying I'd give it a try.
As he spoke, Sōgo approached the four- or five-year-old children and then attempted to fill the void in their Spiritual Power Spiritual Power channeling his own.
As it turned out, Sōgo's idea was very successful. The four- or five-year-old children, who were deficient in Spiritual Power, had their pale faces instantly turn rosy thanks to Sōgo's abundant and 'vibrant' Spiritual Power.
"Thank you... thank you..."
Kurosaki hugged the children and kept thanking Sōgo, but he didn't say anything else.
He wouldn't ask Sōgo to save his other clansmen, and he knew that even if he begged Sōgo, he would never intervene, because if Sōgo had intended to save them, he would have done so long ago...
"..."
Sōgo ignored Kurosaki's thanks and quietly watched the Quincy transform into countless brilliant flames, among them the parents of these children. He looked at those parents who had dragged their children into this war they should never have been involved in, his eyes cold.
" Kurosaki- kun, take these children to the World of the Living! And never, ever come back."
As the fire died down, Sōgo addressed Kurosaki.
"Um..."
Tears streamed down Kurosaki's face, and his nose stung with emotion. He knelt on the ground, hugged the children, and slowly nodded.
" Little Fon, let's go."
Sōgo ignored Kurosaki and instead addressed Shaoling Fon beside him.
" Sōgo, are we just going to let him get away with this? He deceived us."
With her Shaoling Fon already Shikai Zanpakuto, Aya pointed it at Kurosaki's neck and spoke coldly.
"Let him go. Someone has to take care of these children. Kurosaki, please don't let these children follow in their parents' footsteps. I really don't want to see these children I once spared on the battlefield in the future. It would ruin my whole day."
Sōgo grabbed Shaoling Fon's wrist and pulled her along Shaoling Fon, leading her forward.
"Thank you... I swear I won't let them continue down this path of despair."
Kurosaki bowed deeply to the backs of Sōgo and Shaoling Fon, making a silent vow.
"..."
Faced with Kurosaki's vow, Sōgo simply raised his left arm, giving Kurosaki a dashing farewell.
" Lord Sōgo, you are too kind."
Shaoling Fon walked beside Sōgo and began to speak.
"I just don't want to add any more needless killing; after all, we're not just mindless killing machines."
"Besides, I discovered something very interesting."
Sōgo gently ruffled Shaoling Fon 'Shaoling Fon hair, messing it up.
" Sōgo..."
Shaoling Fon held her head in her hands, glaring at Sōgo.
"Ha ha..."
Seeing that Sōgo was showing signs of anger, Shaoling Fon released his hand from rubbing Shaoling Fon's head.
"What interesting thing did you just discover?"
Shaoling Fon continued to ask Sōgo.
"I've discovered... that these Quincy were targeting me from the very beginning."
Sōgo explained after hearing what Shaoling Fon said.
"What's the meaning?"
Shaoling Fon felt somewhat puzzled after hearing Sōgo's words.
"When we were first tricked and forced into Kōtotsu by the Kidō Corps, I thought someone didn't want us to continue investigating the death of the Tenth Division Captain and Aizen's severe injuries. However, the truth is that someone deliberately created the illusion that they didn't want us to continue investigating the truth. In reality, their true intention was to have us continue investigating, with the purpose of using the teleportation array to separate my teammates... that is, all of you, from me at this moment..."
Sōgo explained to the woman wearing Shaoling Fon.
"Strange, what is their purpose in doing this? To separate us and then eliminate us one by one? Aren't they underestimating us? Do they really think they can eliminate us just by separating us?"
After hearing Shaoling Fon 'Sōgo words, Aya was deeply puzzled. She couldn't understand the purpose of separating them from Sōgo. Even if they were all separated, what difference would it make? Didn't they know that they all possessed Bankai?
"No, I don't think that's their intention."
"Their real purpose is to give me something to do. Simply put, they probably plan to take some action in Soul Society, but they are afraid to do so because of our presence. So they plan to get me out of Soul Society Soul Society, and then take action in Soul Society while I am away."
Sōgo waved his hand at Shaoling Fon and explained.
"You were forced to leave Soul Society... You left Soul Society because your friend Aizen was seriously injured, which means this person..."
After hearing Sōgo's analysis, Shaoling Fon froze on the spot, beads of cold sweat appearing on her forehead. She was terrified by her own guess.
"That's right. This person must have started planning this decades, no, even a hundred years ago. It's even possible that my encounter with Aizen at the noodle shop was part of their scheme."
Sōgo walked beside Shaoling Fon and continued to analyze.
" Sōgo, do you have someone like that in your mind?"
After hearing Sōgo's words, Shaoling Fon asked a question.
"Unfortunately, I haven't thought of a particularly specific person; there's a possibility that this person is someone I don't know at all."
Sōgo still doesn't have a specific name in mind—someone with the power to mobilize the Kidō Corps to cause trouble, and the ability to secretly frame the Tenth Division captain and Aizen, all to deliberately transfer him away from Soul Society. This person must be in a high position with immense power. Sōgo keeps thinking about this, but he doesn't realize that his thinking is somewhat off track, or perhaps the other party is deliberately creating the illusion that this person has great power and holds a high position in Soul Society.
"Really? What are your plans for the next step?"
After hearing Sōgo's words, Shaoling Fon nodded slightly. After hearing Sōgo's explanation, her first suspicions were about the people around Sōgo, especially Aizen, who could be used as bait to lure Sōgo out of Soul Society. She felt that everything was too coincidental, but she didn't say it because there was no evidence yet.
"First, we need to find everyone who was teleported away. As for whose scheme we fell for, and what they were planning to do while they were luring us away from Soul Society, none of that matters. In the face of absolute power, all schemes are meaningless."
Sōgo gently tapped Shaoling Fon's head twice to reassure her.
"Yes, sir."
After hearing Sōgo's words Shaoling Fon nodded slightly.
(End of this chapter)