"Wandenreich?"
When Rukia heard those four words, her usually calm eyes widened instantly.
She had heard that name before; it was said to be the enemy of all Shinigami.
Despite Shinigami's best efforts to find them, they had never found any trace.
Now…
She wanted to ask what had happened, why the Quincy of Wandenreich were hunting the Quincy of the Human World.
But the moment she lowered her head, the Quincy fell unconscious without warning.
His face was ashen, and his breathing was so faint it was almost nonexistent, clearly in a state of extreme shock due to severe blood loss.
"..."
"This is troublesome."
Seeing this, Rukia couldn't help but feel a little weary.
Although as a Shinigami, she couldn't empathize with a Quincy, she would never stand by and do nothing when someone collapsed in front of her.
It was just, why did it have to be a Quincy? This identity was too sensitive.
So sensitive that if discovered by Shinigami, she might face punishment.
She wasn't aware of her brother's relationship with the Quincy.
But then again, being hunted by Wandenreich meant he was an enemy of Wandenreich.
And the enemy of an enemy is a friend…
Thinking of this, Rukia breathed a sigh of relief. She secretly convinced herself and began to treat the Quincy in front of her…
Fortunately, she had learned a little Kaido; it wasn't proficient, but it was enough to sustain his life.
Just then.
Thud.
Footsteps sounded behind her. Rukia instinctively tensed her body, mistakenly thinking it was an enemy, and was about to summon her Zanpakuto…
The next second.
"Hmm? Shinigami, what did you do to my companion?"
It was the voice of a young man, with a hint of questioning and wariness.
Rukia hadn't heard it before, but that didn't stop her from discerning that the person was a Quincy from the Human World.
As Sode no Shirayuki had just materialized, Rukia quickly came to her senses and ordered it not to act rashly.
Then, she turned her head, and what met her eyes was a silver-haired young man dressed in expensive clothes, with elegant manners.
The young man pushed up his glasses, his expression indifferent, yet a hint of hostility could be faintly discerned.
Even if he didn't believe that the current situation was caused by this little Shinigami, the facts were before him, and he had no choice but to believe…
Of course, even seeing his companion defeated, and seemingly on the verge of death, he didn't act rashly.
After all, he didn't know the full story.
At this point, Rukia finished using Kaido, stood up, and said:
"Are you his friend? You came at just the right time. I am the Shinigami stationed in this city."
"There was a spiritual pressure fluctuation here just now. He was already like this when I arrived; I didn't do it."
"He was injured by your Quincy, seemingly from Wandenreich. Do you know anything?"
"I see…"
The young man listened to Rukia's account, narrowing his eyes slightly.
He looked at the arrow wounds on the Quincy's body, which barely made him believe Rukia's words.
"Excuse me, my name is Ishida Ryūken."
He adjusted his collar and walked forward with steady steps, his expression calm, yet with a subtle, almost imperceptible confidence:
"Leave the rest to me."
"I am a doctor."
"Wandenreich… I probably know something about it, but… Shinigami, from your appearance, you must only be an intern, right?"
"Regarding this matter, it's best to have your superior handle it."
"What is your name?"
Ishida Ryūken said as he walked to the severely injured Quincy lying on the ground.
He half-crouched down, reached out and turned over the other's blood-stained clothes, carefully examining the wound.
Then, he used the Quincy-specific medical equipment he carried with him to perform emergency treatment, and then dialed a number.
Seeing Ishida Ryūken's familiar demeanor, Rukia's doubts dissipated considerably, and she replied truthfully:
"Rukia, Tsugikuni Rukia. Ishida Ryūken? How do I seem to have heard that name somewhere…"
She tilted her head slightly, trying to search for related information in her memory, and suddenly remembered something, her eyes lighting up:
"Ishida Clan…"
"Isn't that the Quincy living in the neighboring Karakura Town?"
Ishida Ryūken glanced sideways, a little surprised that a new Shinigami knew about the Ishida Clan.
But when he heard Rukia's surname, he suddenly understood.
He was about to ask if this Tsugikuni was the Tsugikuni he knew.
Just then, the call connected.
Ishida Ryūken frowned, not bothering to say anything else, and immediately called an ambulance.
After the ambulance took the Quincy away, he finally had time to carefully observe Rukia.
Hmm… Very young, looking about thirteen years old, but for a Shinigami, appearance doesn't determine everything.
Rukia was using the Denreishinki to contact Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Ishida Ryūken looked at her focused expression and suddenly asked:
"Shinigami, do you happen to know the Captain of the Ninth Division, Yoriichi Tsugikuni? I am indeed from the neighboring Karakura Town."
"I came here this time to deal with some matters."
"The person who was just sent away, if nothing unexpected happens, should be a member of the Kurosaki who left Wandenreich years ago."
"Kurosaki?" Rukia heard the name and instinctively looked up, her eyes full of surprise.
This was another name she had heard of. Speaking of which, aren't there only two people in the current Kurosaki?
And, if she remembered correctly, they were in the city she was responsible for managing…
Could it be one of the two?
Due to her short tenure and limited work experience, she hadn't actively met with those Quincy after taking office.
Ishida Ryūken seemed to see through Rukia's confusion and explained calmly:
"It seems you don't know anything yet. That's right."
"If you are truly a relative of Senior Tsugikuni, at your young age, he probably wouldn't tell you these secrets."
"Most of us Quincy in the Human World are 'traitors' who betrayed Wandenreich a hundred to a thousand years ago."
"While His Majesty Yhwach might not care, to his subordinates, we should be quite detestable."
—Betrayal?
After listening, Rukia's confusion deepened.
Although she wanted to press for more questions, she knew it wasn't the right time to ask them.
With many questions, the two left the alley.
Night fell, stars dotted the sky, and they arrived at a nearby hospital.
Rukia again took out her Denreishinki and sent the coordinates.
Then, with a flash of white light, the Senkaimon slowly opened, and Yoriichi Tsugikuni quickly walked out, swiftly arriving in the Human World.
...
Inside the hospital room on the second floor, the lights were soft, and the atmosphere was quiet.
Rukia, as the person involved, stood by and listened quietly.
"Knock knock knock…"
Suddenly, a knock on the door broke the conversation in the hospital room.
The hospital director gently pushed open the door and walked in. He was a half-blood Quincy and a long-time friend of Ishida Ryūken.
Seeing that the group was talking, he stood discreetly to the side, not daring to interrupt rashly.
After the conversation ended, he stepped forward and explained the Quincy's condition one by one.
Overall, the rescue process went smoothly.
Although there was a fatal wound, located in the heart, fortunately, his heart was on the right side.
And after Ishida Ryūken's treatment, it was no longer fatal.
After surgery, he had already escaped danger, but still needed about half a month of rest.
During these two weeks, anything could happen, so, out of caution, he erased all of the patient's information.
This was the advantage of being the director.
However, even with all information erased, there were still two uncontrollable factors, which were…
The director's gaze, with a hint of scrutiny and doubt, shifted back and forth between Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Rukia.
Then he looked at Ishida Ryūken.
His eyes seemed to ask, where did these two Shinigami come from?
Do they need to be dealt with?
Ishida Ryūken noticed this gaze and raised an eyebrow slightly.
Then, he coughed softly twice:
"I see. I understand. No need to do anything else; this is already enough."
"Mikasa, if there's nothing else, please leave for now. Next, I need to have a good talk with these two Shinigami."
"If you don't want to get involved in trouble."
If the attackers truly came from Wandenreich, then their targets were most likely the pure-blood Quincy in the Human World.
Most pure-blood Quincy currently are those who have inherited their lineage from a thousand years ago, a portion of whom did not participate in the Holy War back then.
In the eyes of those loyal to Wandenreich.
Even if these Quincy only desired a peaceful life, it would be seen as an unforgivable act of betrayal.
Because Yhwach was utterly defeated.
Director Mikasa nodded gently, then quickly left the hospital room.
With the soft click of the door closing, Ishida Ryūken suddenly came back to his senses.
He exhaled imperceptibly, the shadow of Yoriichi Tsugikuni reflected in his peripheral vision, and he murmured softly:
"You must be laughing at me. I never thought there would be infighting among the Quincy."
"Regarding this matter, I will tell my father when I return and ask him to be careful recently, but…"
Ishida Ryūken paused, a hint of doubt in his eyes, then asked,
"This Quincy from the Kurosaki, since he is related to Wandenreich, how do you plan to handle him?"
This was Ishida Ryūken's primary concern.
In his opinion, Shinigami usually had only two ways of dealing with such a situation.
One was to take him back to Soul Society for a detailed investigation, followed by surveillance and control.
The second was to use him as bait to lure out the hidden attackers and catch them all.
Given the heavy casualties suffered by Shinigami in the war a thousand years ago, Ishida Ryūken believed that Shinigami would generally choose the second option.
After all, this would both avoid unnecessary risks and eliminate potential threats in one fell swoop.
Yoriichi was silent for a moment and did not give a definite answer, but spoke slowly in a calm tone:
"We'll discuss it after he regains consciousness. We can't determine where the attackers came from yet."
"If it is truly as you say…"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni suddenly looked up, his steady gaze fixed on Rukia:
"Rukia, could you please describe the events again?"
"This is very important for our subsequent judgment."
"I have already verified his identity; he is indeed a member of the Kurosaki, and his wife is also on her way."
"They haven't been attacked yet, perhaps the attackers have a certain bottom line, or perhaps they haven't had time to act yet…"
"In any case, this is an opportunity to capture Yhwach. I hope you will treat it seriously."
This sudden heavy responsibility caught Rukia off guard, and a strong sense of honor welled up within her.
So, she took a deep breath and responded solemnly:
"Yes!"
Then, Rukia meticulously recounted everything that had happened that day.
Listening to her description, Yoriichi frowned slightly, clearly sensing some clues.
"A spiritual pressure that suddenly disappeared?"
Spiritual pressure suddenly disappearing usually only means two things.
One, death. Two, escape.
The former is unlikely; someone who can easily injure a Quincy from the Kurosaki family must be at least Captain-level.
It's hard to say if they were even injured after a battle, let alone killed.
As for the latter, if he escaped, where exactly did he go?
Yoriichi tentatively identified the attacker as male, considering the situation where the spiritual pressure wouldn't disappear in a short time, yet he couldn't trace its location through it.
This could only mean he escaped to another dimension.
This behavior was very sensitive, making Yoriichi associate it with the so-called shadow...
Is it the dimension where the Wandenreich is located?
Yoriichi Tsugikuni pondered, but he didn't voice his speculation.
Although there were still very few clues, he already understood the general situation.
The Quincy of the Wandenreich seemed to possess the ability to travel to the Human World at will and return at any time.
Next, they only needed to wait for this Quincy to awaken to probably know what specific ability the attacker possessed.
It's estimated that when the attacker launched his assault, he never would have thought that there was such a close relationship between Shinigami and Quincy...
In their usual perception, Shinigami and Quincy were mortal enemies.
Therefore, perhaps knowing that the Kurosaki family was doomed, he chose to leave...
Unfortunately, one mistake led to a huge blunder.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni slowly sat down, his expression calm, looking patiently expectant.
Seeing this, Ishida Ryūken knew that no more unexpected situations would likely occur, so he relaxed slightly and quietly left the hospital room.
Rukia hesitated for a moment, then also prepared to leave.
Just as Ishida Ryūken opened the hospital room door, he suddenly saw a woman with orange hair rushing down the corridor.
This was another member of the Kurosaki family, and the wife of that Quincy.
Ishida Ryūken didn't know her name.
He simply elegantly made way for her.
Once in the corridor, he hadn't walked far before he faintly heard sobbing.
...
The next day.
After Ishida Ryūken finished all his affairs, he returned to the hospital room again.
By this time, the Quincy had already awakened, and Yoriichi Tsugikuni still hadn't left.
His wife seemed to be napping beside him, having kept watch for too long.
Seeing his savior, the Quincy was a bit emotional.
When he first woke up, he thought Yoriichi Tsugikuni had saved him.
Saved by a Shinigami, who knew what his mood was like then?
He didn't expect it to be a Quincy...
The feeling it gave him was no less than hearing the surgeon say he'd left forceps in his belly after an operation, and then finding out it was a joke.
"You don't need to thank me." Ishida Ryūken's expression was indifferent, as if providing aid was just a casual small matter.
Of course, he didn't take all the credit for this matter either.
If it weren't for Rukia's timely appearance, he wouldn't have discovered the other party so quickly.
Even if he had arrived a few minutes later, he wouldn't have died, but the duration of his coma would have been hard to say.
It might even have left some sequelae, leading to a shortened lifespan and an early demise...
As Ishida Ryūken spoke, he learned the other party's name, Kurosaki Yōya, and his wife's name, Kurosaki Yuzu.
Both were about a hundred years old and had no children.
This was due to both the difficult situation of the Quincy and the surveillance by Shinigami.
However, after this incident, they understood that their enemies were not just Shinigami.
Those Quincy mistakenly thought Kurosaki Yōya had died, which was a good thing, but the future was uncertain.
If they had no children and encountered an accident, the Kurosaki family's lineage might be cut off.
Between family honor and personal feelings, after careful consideration, they ultimately chose the former.
Ishida Ryūken congratulated them on this.
After his wife woke up.
He spoke:
"Back to the main topic, Senior Haruya, please describe what happened last night."
"Who was the enemy?"
"Although I don't know how you were injured, your opponent must have been very strong."
"This time, you barely saved your life because a Shinigami appeared and caused the other party to misunderstand."
"But next time..."
Kurosaki Yōya sighed:
"I understand."
"In fact, as early as when our ancestor left Yhwach's side, I knew that our clan would encounter something like this sooner or later."
"The person who attacked me should be a Sternritter, one of the current Sternritter."
"Do you know what a Sternritter is?"
He looked at Ishida Ryūken, then turned his gaze to Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
Hmm... neither of them knew, because Sternritter was the highest secret among the Quincy.
The Ishida Clan had only been established for a hundred years; how could they know things from a thousand years ago?
As for the Shinigami, there's no need to mention them. When the two races went to war back then, the Sternritter hadn't even been fully established.
Knowing the general situation, Kurosaki Yōya sighed faintly:
"This is an ability that His Majesty Yhwach possesses; he can distribute his power to others."
"Now that I've been attacked by them, there's no need to hide it anymore."
"This ability is similar to a Shinigami's Bankai... Remember, it's Bankai, not Shikai."
"Once obtained, one's strength will increase tenfold, even dozens of times over."
"Like Sternritter A, The Almighty, which is the Omniscience and Omnipotence His Majesty possesses."
"The person who attacked me emerged from a shadow, and their appearance was also a black shadow, making it impossible to distinguish male or female."
"But based on my deduction, it should be Sternritter S—Shadow."
"He can turn himself into a shadow and appear anywhere in the world where there is a shadow."
Ishida Ryūken was greatly enlightened; only today did he learn that among the Quincy, there was such an ability as Sternritter.
This was not a legacy at all; it was similar to a rule...
It was very powerful.
Without preparation, one couldn't defend against the opponent's sneak attack at all...
He was about to continue asking, for example, what other Sternritter existed besides Shadow.
Suddenly, Yoriichi Tsugikuni interrupted their conversation:
"Wait a moment, you said shadow, right?"
"Then, the place he returned to should be the Wandenreich."
"Why did he only come out now after living in the Wandenreich for so many years?"
"Do you know about this?"
"This..." Kurosaki Yōya hesitated for a moment, then replied,
"Perhaps he only recently obtained the Sternritter, and he's young and impetuous, which is understandable."
"Of course, we can't rule out that his appearance this time was due to a mission."
"This one..."
He opened his mouth, but halfway through, he suddenly realized something and showed a hint of embarrassment on his face.
He hadn't even asked for the other person's name until now.
Yoriichi didn't mind these details.
After he stated his name, Kurosaki Yōya nodded gently upon hearing it, saying with a hint of respect:
"Hmm, so it's Mr. Tsugikuni."
"Although our clan hasn't had contact with the Wandenreich for many years, one thing is certain: the Wandenreich is definitely not an isolated place."
"I remember a Shinigami once took a song about the Quincy King from us."
"It's unclear whether the contents of the song will come true, but His Majesty's ambition is evident."
"He already failed once before; it's impossible for him to return after a thousand years without preparation."
"Perhaps there is one of their strongholds near us, but we just haven't noticed it."
As Kurosaki Yōya spoke, he coughed softly twice, lowered his gaze slightly, and added:
"Of course, all of this is just my speculation based on the current situation, and it's also possible that it's just as I said before, not that complicated."
"In any case, no matter what you think, Mr. Tsugikuni, this is all the answer I can give you right now."
"I hope you are satisfied."
After speaking exhaustedly, his face turned pale, and he lay back down on the bed.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni nodded knowingly.
Immediately, he and Ishida Ryūken exchanged glances, then got up and left the hospital room, preparing to inform Soul Society of this information.
Of course, when informing them, he didn't forget to remind Soul Society to verify the authenticity of this content.
Just because he didn't know didn't mean others didn't.
...
At this moment.
Inside the Wandenreich.
Haschwalth, who resembled a certain country's prince and had long golden hair, was staring expressionlessly at a female Quincy.
Seeing her indifferent expression, he recalled what happened last night and asked coldly:
"Branda, where did you go last night?"
"You should know that during His Majesty's slumber, all actions not permitted by His Majesty are forbidden."
Upon hearing this, Branda's lips curved into a strange smile.
Immediately after, her body suddenly transformed into a black shadow, floating gently like a shadow on a flat surface.
Her voice also became distorted and hollow:
"Haschwalth... no, His Majesty Haschwalth, you even knew that I went out without permission."
"How impressive."
It was said that Haschwalth was Yhwach's confidant, capable of obtaining a portion of Yhwach's power at night and controlling any part of the Wandenreich...
Now it seemed to be true...
She thought her actions had been very careful.
It was just going out to play.
Upon hearing the words "His Majesty," Haschwalth's eye twitched slightly, but he quickly regained his composure:
"Don't call me His Majesty, and don't try to change the subject."
"Remember, the Sternritter His Majesty bestowed upon you is not a reason for you to act recklessly."
"So, are you going to punish me?" Branda smiled, and although her voice was distorted, anyone could hear the charm in it.
Haschwalth's pale golden eyelashes lifted slightly, and he looked at her indifferently, his tone unruffled:
"No, His Majesty's heartbeat was recovered decades ago, and his consciousness is gradually returning."
"Now is a crucial period, and there should not be too many disputes."
"Given your ability, this time will be an exception."
"But..."
As Haschwalth was speaking, he suddenly caught a faint scent of blood.
Although the scent was very subtle, it was undeniably present, interrupting what he was about to say.
He frowned slightly, quickly recalling the time Branda disappeared last night...
Then, he seemed to connect it to a certain possibility, his eyes instantly sharpening, even his gaze becoming somewhat piercing:
"Branda, you..."
"Who did you kill?"
"Did you expose yourself?"