"The Quincy Father (Yhwach), Auswählen… Are you saying the war from a thousand years ago might happen again?"
Urahara Kisuke immediately felt a surge of pressure.
As someone who knew part of the secrets surrounding the Soul King, Urahara was well aware of the war that had taken place in Soul Society a millennium ago. In that battle against the Quincy, Soul Society had paid the heavy price of eleven captains before finally managing to win.
Urahara couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
Within Soul Society there was already Aizen, coveting the Hōgyoku as an internal threat. Now there was also the external danger of the revived Quincy progenitor.
Just thinking about it was exhausting. Somehow he was worrying about things like the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, despite not actually holding that position.
For a moment, Urahara's hands itched.
He really wanted to pet a cat to relieve the stress.
Where had Yoruichi run off to this time?
"Nine years to regain power. Nine days to reclaim the world. We have less than nine years left."
"We?" Urahara glanced at Sawada Tsunayoshi in surprise.
"Mr. Tsunayoshi, you're a human living in the Human World. Soul Society's ancient feud shouldn't really concern you. And you're not a Quincy either, so Auswählen won't affect you."
Tsunayoshi replied calmly:
"That guy's goal is to return the Three Realms to chaos. Pulling out the linchpin holding the table together and flipping the entire table over… Who can say that has nothing to do with us?"
Tsunayoshi deliberately spoke in terms only Urahara would fully understand.
Isshin and Ryūken looked confused by the metaphor, but Urahara—who knew the secrets of the Soul King—understood immediately.
Sure enough, Urahara's eyes narrowed. He lowered the brim of his hat to hide the seriousness in his gaze.
The moment Tsunayoshi mentioned the linchpin, Urahara knew: Tsunayoshi understood the fundamental structure of the world just like he did.
The Human World, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo were stabilized by the Soul King, who functioned as a linchpin. If that linchpin were removed, the Three Realms would collapse.
Urahara spoke solemnly.
"Mr. Tsunayoshi… what can I do for you?"
"Let's save them first," Tsunayoshi said. "Please replicate Aunt Masaki and Aunt Kanae's physical conditions using Reigai. Then Uncle Ryūken can perform surgery to remove the Still Silver."
"Reigai? That's easy enough."
Urahara immediately brought Tsukabishi Tessai to the warehouse and carried out two large cardboard boxes.
Inside the boxes were two pitch-black humanoid dolls.
Masaki and Kanae were moved into a temporary operating room. After some manipulation from Urahara, the Reigai copied their physical data.
Soon, two identical bodies appeared beside them—perfect replicas in appearance, though their eyes were empty and lifeless.
Urahara's part of the job was complete.
"Ryūken, start with me," Masaki said proactively. "My body is in better condition."
Both Ryūken and Isshin understood what she meant.
Masaki was volunteering to be Ryūken's test subject. If something went wrong during surgery, her stronger body would provide more room for recovery.
Isshin didn't object.
He simply patted Ryūken on the shoulder. Before leaving the room, he said solemnly:
"I'm counting on you."
Ryūken showed no visible reaction.
Whether Isshin said it or not, one patient was his childhood friend, and the other was his wife.
He would save them with everything he had.
Taking out his surgical tools, Ryūken walked up to Masaki and said to Tsunayoshi beside him:
"Begin."
Aside from the two patients, only Ryūken, Tsunayoshi, and Urahara remained in the room.
Urahara stayed in case of emergencies—his countless strange gadgets might become useful at any moment.
As Urahara watched Masaki's Reigai body turn transparent under the illusion of Demon Spade's Demon Lens, revealing only the vascular network and the glowing silver fragments within it, his evaluation of Tsunayoshi rose yet again.
Illusions…
He wondered whether Tsunayoshi's illusion techniques could compare to that person's.
Ryūken skillfully administered anesthesia and quickly put Masaki to sleep.
Then he focused entirely on the silver lights moving within the illusion beside him. Only after memorizing their movement patterns did he draw a weapon slightly longer than his palm.
When Tsunayoshi saw it, he almost gasped aloud—but barely managed to hold it in.
He recognized the object instantly.
It was a Seele Schneider—the only close-combat weapon commonly used by Quincy.
What Ryūken held now was merely the handle. With it, he could manipulate Reishi to form a blade.
The blade vibrated at a staggering three million oscillations per second, like a spiritual chainsaw, giving it incredible cutting power.
Tsunayoshi was shocked precisely because of that sharpness.
Ryūken could easily sever Masaki's arm with that weapon—yet he was planning to use it for surgery?
Wasn't he afraid he might accidentally cut off all four limbs?
Of course, Ryūken wasn't reckless.
Under his precise control, the Seele Schneider formed a thin Reishi needle instead of a blade.
This was the power of a pure-blood Quincy with extraordinary talent—Reishi itself was merely a toy he could manipulate at will.
This was Ryūken's ultimate form of the Seele Schneider.
Ryūken never once looked at Masaki's real body.
His gaze remained fixed on the Still Silver fragments.
A thin layer of Reishi spread across Masaki's body under his control.
Holding the Seele Schneider upside down above her body, Ryūken locked his eyes on the target.
Then his hand moved.
In a motion faster than the eye could see, the needle pierced Masaki's body.
A faint silver glimmer—almost impossible to catch with the naked eye—was extracted by the Seele Schneider.
Bottle. Bandage.
The first Still Silver extraction was complete.
Seeing one glowing point disappear from the illusion, Ryūken finally let out a breath.
It worked.
That meant Tsunayoshi's information was correct.
As long as all the Still Silver fragments were removed, Masaki and Kanae would not die from a Silver Blood Clot.
Ryūken steadied himself and quickly removed the remaining fragments from Masaki's body.
When the operating room door opened, Isshin rushed forward.
Before he could ask anything, Ryūken spoke first.
"The surgery was successful. Their physical conditions are stable, and they're recovering."
After removing all the Still Silver, Ryūken and Urahara performed a full examination.
Both women's bodily functions were gradually recovering, and color was returning to their faces.
Only then did Ryūken dare make that statement.
Isshin finally let out the breath he'd been holding.
He looked gratefully at Tsunayoshi.
Masaki had now been saved twice by him.
Tsunayoshi was truly a benefactor of the Kurosaki family.
Isshin even took over Tessai's role personally, enthusiastically pouring tea for Tsunayoshi.
"Mr. Ryūken," Urahara suddenly said, "could you spare me a portion of that Still Silver?"
Since the Quincy posed such a potential threat, anything obtained from them was worth studying.
"Uncle, just give the shopkeeper two pieces at most," Tsunayoshi interjected. "This material is extremely important. If you check your grandfather's records, you'll find that weapons made from Still Silver can affect the Quincy progenitor."
A cold glint flashed beneath Ryūken's glasses.
Even though Kanae had been saved, he still harbored no goodwill toward the Quincy progenitor.
After all, his own mother had died in this Auswählen.
"Mr. Tsunayoshi," Urahara whispered near his ear, "that small amount isn't nearly enough to make a weapon."
"Didn't I say earlier?" Tsunayoshi replied calmly after taking a sip of tea.
"This Auswählen targeted mixed-blood Quincy. Those who died also left Still Silver in their bodies."
"And the location is easy to find."
"In their hearts."
Urahara's tone turned strange.
"Are you suggesting we dissect the bodies of all mixed-blood Quincy?"
"That's right," Tsunayoshi said.
"Perhaps this is the revenge of the mixed-blood Quincy against their progenitor. The price of Auswählen."
Then he looked at Ryūken.
"Whether to do it or not depends on you—Uncle. The only pure-blood Quincy left in the Human World."
"I'll handle it," Ryūken said coldly.
Without another word, he silently accepted the responsibility of bearing the hatred of the mixed-blood Quincy.
"Now," Ryūken continued, "tell me what Masaki promised you."
"Oh."
Tsunayoshi picked up an empty cup, poured tea, and handed it to him.
"Please accept me as your student, Uncle Ryūken. Teach me the abilities of a Quincy."
Urahara glanced sideways again.
After witnessing the tragedy of Auswählen, Tsunayoshi still wanted to become a Quincy?
"Setting aside whether you even have the talent," Ryūken said, "your current strength is already more than enough to protect Karakura Town."
"Why do you want to become stronger?"
"It's still far from enough," Tsunayoshi replied.
"If the enemy is the Quincy progenitor."
"As for the reason… while maintaining world peace, if I have the spare capacity, I might as well deal with some hidden dangers in the world."
"After all, I'm just an ordinary person who enjoys living a peaceful daily life."
Once again, Tsunayoshi's words struck a nerve with Urahara.
The hidden dangers of the world…
Did Tsunayoshi intend to solve the Soul King problem, just like he did?
The Soul King functioned as the linchpin stabilizing the world.
But that linchpin itself wasn't perfectly stable.
If someone targeted it, the entire system could fall into imbalance.
That was why Urahara Kisuke had long been researching a replacement plan for the Soul King—a way to create a stable world without needing a linchpin at all.
After hearing Tsunayoshi's reasoning, Ryūken had already decided to accept him.
In truth, even if Tsunayoshi had given an unsatisfactory answer, Ryūken would still have taught him—repaying the debt for saving Kanae.
Whether he would teach seriously, however, would have been another matter.
Ryūken took the teacup and set it aside.
"You can keep calling me Uncle. There's no need for a formal apprenticeship. I'll teach you seri—"
Snap.
A folding fan suddenly slid between Tsunayoshi and Ryūken.
"Oh my, hold on a moment, Mr. Tsunayoshi."
Urahara Kisuke smiled slyly.
"Since you're interested in learning Quincy powers… have you ever considered the powers of a Shinigami?"
Urahara had decided to poach the student.
"Quincy abilities require the talent to control Reishi, which not everyone possesses. But becoming a Shinigami isn't nearly so restrictive."
"As long as someone has a soul—and your Reiatsu is quite strong—you already meet the basic conditions."
"So… would you like to consider it?"
Ryūken didn't appear angry at Urahara's attempt.
In truth, he himself wasn't particularly fond of being a Quincy. Otherwise he wouldn't have become a doctor.
And yet, even with such half-hearted effort, his overwhelming talent still made him the strongest Quincy in the Human World.
If Tsunayoshi chose to become a Shinigami instead, Ryūken would simply repay his debt in another way.
For example, the hospital where he worked could provide free medical treatment for the Sawada family for life.
That alone would be enough to return the favor.