Yekawa reclined on his throne, observing his new clone with keen interest. At this moment, the clone's appearance and even gender were not yet fixed; it was merely a primordial, humanoid aggregate of souls.
As long as Yekawa casually found a suitable Mukuro or a human body for this clone to possess, this soul aggregate could take shape according to the vessel.
"Why not just possess Kurosaki ichigo directly? Go straight to the finish line?"
But he quickly dismissed this idea. Not to mention that according to the current timeline, Kurosaki ichigo's mother, Kurosaki Masaki, probably hadn't even been born yet, and he couldn't wait that long.
Furthermore, Kurosaki ichigo had been continuously monitored by his four fathers since his conception, so it wouldn't be easy to tamper with him.
Late at night, Human World, Shinhide Town, Tachibana Street.
A tall young man with black hair and deep smoky blue eyes, dressed in a soul reaper uniform, stood on an empty overpass, gazing forward with a solemn expression.
"So it really is a Quincy. Our Gotei 13 showed you great mercy by not completely eradicating you, yet you dare to openly murder the Garrison members of my Thirteenth Division? This is truly a heinous crime!"
At the end of the overpass, two young men in civilian clothes confronted the Shinigami before them. One of them had short blonde hair and a blonde beard.
The other wore rimless glasses, looking more refined and somewhat younger.
"Great mercy? If it weren't for you Shinigami, how would we have become displaced and dependent on others? Don't speak so righteously, Shinigami!"
The blonde man retorted with disdain upon hearing the young Shinigami's words.
"You Quincy madly slaughter Hollows, completely eradicating souls. Your actions inherently violate the operational rules of the Three Realms; your very existence is a mistake. The Soul Society has already shown the utmost benevolence by not completely eradicating you!"
"Yet you wantonly slaughter the Shinigami stationed in my Thirteenth Division, and even murder ordinary humans with high innate spiritual power. You are truly unforgivable!"
"More talk is useless. Prepare to die!"
"Roar, Nejibana!"
With that, the young Shinigami drew the Zanpakuto from his waist, recited its release command, and his Zanpakuto instantly transformed into a trident with a spiral-shaped tip and a light blue tassel.
This person was Shiba Kaien, the Vice-Captain of the Thirteenth Division. Due to Captain Jūshirō Ukitake's chronic illness, most of the division's actual affairs were managed by Vice-Captain Shiba Kaien.
Shiba Kaien, freshly married and not yet having enjoyed his marital bliss, was informed that numerous stationed members were trapped in the Human World, and the method of attack resembled that of the Quincy from years past.
Given the gravity of the situation, Shiba Kaien had even applied directly to the Technological Development Bureau for a limited release before coming, meaning that Shiba Kaien's spiritual pressure was not restricted at this moment; he had arrived in the Human World at his full power.
As a result of his investigation, he indeed discovered that there was still a group of Quincy hunting Shinigami stationed in the Human World, and even humans with high innate spiritual power.
"First Dance, Surging Waves!"
Shiba Kaien rotated the trident in his hand, and then wisps of water swirled around him, increasing his speed dramatically. He instantly used Shunpo to appear behind the two Quincy.
He thrust his trident, aiming to pierce through the young Quincy wearing glasses.
The expected splattering of blood did not occur; instead, it felt like striking a thick piece of iron.
The young Quincy wearing glasses had his clothes torn, revealing his entire back, where strange light blue patterns emerged, deflecting most of the attack's force. The blow, which should have pierced directly through the young Quincy, only left a bloodied scratch.
"This is..."
Clearly, Shiba Kaien was surprised by the unique ability of the Quincy before him. The records in the Gotei 13 regarding the cleansing mission against the Quincy over a hundred years ago were vague and incomplete.
Furthermore, over a hundred years ago, Shiba Kaien was a mere child and had not participated in the punitive mission against the Quincy, so he did not fully understand their abilities.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
The two young Quincy simultaneously opened their Holy Arrows, firing several light blue spiritual energy arrows at Shiba Kaien.
Seeing this, Shiba Kaien immediately used Shunpo to create distance and dodge the arrows. Then, he rotated the trident in his hand again.
"Second Dance, Reverse Wave Kill!"
Torrential water surged from the tip of the trident, transforming into water blades that surged towards the two Quincy, completely unaware that five blue light points had lit up in five directions beneath his feet.
The young Quincy wearing glasses directly used Hirenkyaku to dodge the countless water blades. Then, he took out a small bottle containing concentrated liquid spiritual particles and dripped it downwards.
"Breaking Dawn Formation!"
A powerful pillar of spiritual energy instantly formed, enveloping Shiba Kaien.
"Uncle Tomohiko, you go first. Leave this to me. Little Hiro and Little Nan are waiting for you to save them!"
The young Quincy wearing glasses turned to look at the blonde Quincy accompanying him.
After hearing his companion's words, the blonde Quincy hesitated for a moment, then turned and left using Hirenkyaku.
"Then I'll go first. You must be careful, Soken!"
Kurosaki Tomohiko, taking advantage of Shiba Kaien being trapped by Ishida Soken's Breaking Dawn Formation, quickly left with the spiritual particles they had collected.
"Damn it, if it weren't for these damned Shinigami, how would we have..."
Hatred flickered in the blonde Quincy's eyes. Their leader was one of the former Sternritter members who, tired of war, had led them away from the Wandenreich centuries ago to live in the Human World. However, over a hundred years ago, they were attacked by the Soul Society, leaving only the Ishida and Kurosaki families as pure-blood Quincy remaining in the Human World.
Now, because his two children were suffering from spiritual depletion and were on the verge of death, they had no choice but to take great risks to hunt down the Shinigami stationed in the Human World and humans with high innate spiritual power, using their souls to create medicine to treat spiritual depletion.
"Damn it, if we were still in the Wandenreich, with His Majesty's power, this spiritual depletion could be cured in an instant!"
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