Ishida Uryū knew that his grandfather had died to save a Shinigami—and that Shinigami was Rukia Kuchiki!
That was why he had been so agitated when he saw Rukia Kuchiki at school earlier.
But if it were only that, he wouldn't have developed such a deep hatred for Shinigami. He knew that Ishida Soken had nearly been killed by Shinigami before. They had targeted him, attempting to kill him several times. Fortunately, someone had saved him at a critical moment; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived to the day he died saving a Shinigami.
Precisely because the Shinigami had such prior offenses, Ishida Uryū was convinced that his grandfather's death was a setup orchestrated by the Shinigami themselves. They felt they couldn't kill Ishida Soken outright, so they used underhanded methods to lure his grandfather into a trap.
His impression of the Shinigami was already terrible; naturally, he imagined the worst of their actions.
Furthermore, Tsunayashiro Tokinada had once infused his own soul fragment into Ishida Uryū's body, polluting the 'seed of light' within him. At this moment, his killing intent toward the Shinigami suddenly erupted!
That killing intent was like a monster—something demonic awakened within his body. He conjured a blue reishi bow in his hand, his murderous spirit mixing with his spiritual pressure to form lethal arrows.
Sensing the killing intent emanating from him, Mayuri Kurotsuchi narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Just a mere human, yet he possesses such strong killing intent at such a young age."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi sneered, "How truly impressive. It seems before I experiment on your body, you'll have to suffer a bit."
"Then let's try it and see who's stronger."
Ishida Uryū's voice was deep and steady. In the next moment, a Holy Arrow shot toward Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Mayuri's Zanpakutō automatically rose, blocking and deflecting the Holy Arrow.
Ishida Uryū hadn't expected to finish him with such a simple attack; the Holy Arrow was only preparation for what came next: the Rain of Light!
In an instant, after that large Holy Arrow, came dozens—hundreds—of smaller reishi arrows, pouring down like rain.
Blue reishi arrows pierced toward Mayuri Kurotsuchi. This technique had killed countless monsters surging toward Karakura Town with a single strike!
But this time, his enemy was Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Yet, Mayuri remained unmoved. As the countless arrows were about to hit, they simply stopped in midair.
Ishida's pupils widened in shock. Mayuri stood still, smiling.
"I've been studying you Quincy for almost a hundred years. These kinds of techniques are truly tiresome to watch. Can you bring out something new?"
At this point, Mayuri's voice became a little fanatical.
"As the most special Quincy, don't just show me your Quincy talent. What I want to see is 'special'!"
"You're thinking too much. There's nothing special about me," Ishida replied, taking a deep breath. "You said 'study'—what do you mean?"
"Oh? You're interested in that?" Mayuri replied calmly. "It's exactly as it sounds: study. By the time I became head of the Research and Development Institute, the battle with the Quincy had already ended over a hundred years ago.
"But fortunately, the Institute still had some Quincy left. It was quite a struggle to research these Quincy…"
"You said…what?"
"Do you still not understand? Then I'll put it more simply," Mayuri said loudly, almost provoking Ishida. "I've researched all the Quincy! I subjected them to every kind of mental and physical stimulus to observe their reactions.
"For example, skinning them alive! Crushing their bodies! Controlling their bodies to torment their own children—until they could no longer endure and turned into puddles of blood!"
"You don't know, do you? Those Quincy were so annoying at first. Every one of them kept saying, 'By my Quincy beliefs, I will never do such a thing!' and 'I will never allow you to do this!' But in the end, they all had to obey my will. It's no big deal. Experimental subjects only need to be good subjects and do as the scientist says. Opposition is impossible and meaningless.
"The reason I'm telling you all this is so you know—you won't be any different from those Quincy."
Mayuri's voice became sharp.
"Because resistance is useless! I know all your Quincy techniques inside and out, and I have countermeasures for all of them. As long as you're a Quincy, you can't defeat me!"
"!"
Ishida Uryū was trembling with rage.
Though he hadn't experienced Mayuri's tortures himself, just hearing those words, he could almost feel the immense pain and despair of the Quincy who had died at the hands of the Shinigami.
Skinning them alive? Crushing them? Making them kill their own children?
By my Quincy beliefs…
Ishida stared at Mayuri, voice low and full of resolve.
"I will never let you off!"
"Oh… I'm hearing that again. How touching," Mayuri replied. "Then let me see how you won't let me off."
Ishida shot another arrow—larger than the previous Holy Arrow! This was a medium-sized Holy Arrow.
"Didn't I tell you?"
But this Holy Arrow, too, stopped in front of Mayuri, unmoving. Mayuri spoke with a mix of confidence and boredom:
"None of the Quincy's techniques can even harm a single hair on me, let alone kill me! If you want to do what you just said, then show me something different!"
Ishida frowned. He still didn't understand why all his reishi arrows stopped in place as they approached Mayuri.
He was about to condense reishi again, but suddenly his pupils widened.
What?
He tried to create reishi arrows, but the reishi, which had always obeyed him, suddenly rebelled—becoming chaotic! Even the reishi bow he had created began to twist and then dissipated.
"?!"
Mayuri sneered.
"I'll give you a little taste of hardship for now. If you can't even use the most basic Quincy techniques, you'll have to show your true abilities, won't you? Or are you just like the other Quincy, fit only to be slaughtered?"
Mayuri felt a bit annoyed. He wasn't here to watch Ishida demonstrate basic Quincy techniques. He knew Ishida Uryū's body was special, able to circumvent 'Almighty.' Was this the only special thing about him? Wouldn't such a unique physique grant some unique abilities?
If not…there was no need to keep playing. He'd be better off killing Ishida quickly and bringing him back to the Research and Development Institute.
Mayuri explained further:
"Your Quincy combat abilities come from controlling external reishi. So, all it takes is a small trick to disrupt the surrounding reishi, and all your techniques are rendered useless!"
Mayuri had, in fact, studied the Quincy for a long time. He knew that Yhwach was not dead; the Shinigami would sooner or later stand against the Quincy again. He had developed many countermeasures.
The reishi arrows had been fixed in place by a 'reishi Stoppage Device' around him, and Ishida couldn't control his weaponry because he was using a 'reishi Disturbance Device.' With both devices active, the Quincy were helpless!
Unless…he could use techniques that didn't involve manipulating external reishi!
"Indeed…!"
Mayuri watched as, after Ishida's bow dissipated, he reached forward again, condensing another bow!
As this bow appeared, the disturbed reishi began to re-condense in Ishida's hand. This was his 'soul weapon'—his ego—a product of the seed of light fragment's awakening!
Just as Kurosaki Ichigo could create a golden light sword, Ishida Uryū could wield this longbow!
The entirely blue spirit bow had black patterns, lending it a murderous aura. It strengthened Ishida's control over reishi.
What if Mayuri disrupted the reishi? Ishida simply needed to control it with a stronger grip than Mayuri's disruption!
Moreover, with this bow, his arrows' power increased!
Reishi condensed within the spirit bow, and in an instant, more than a dozen arrows shot out!
These arrows weren't ordinary reishi light arrows; each was a powerful Holy Extermination Arrow!
The arrows struck at Mayuri's side. Mayuri's eyes narrowed, appraising the reishi bow.
He still didn't move. The Holy Extermination Arrows, like the previous light arrows, simply stopped beside him.
Even with the reishi disruption device disabled, Mayuri's reishi stoppage device remained active. As long as it was, none of Ishida's techniques could harm him.
Mayuri was simply observing Ishida, not even bothering to move.
But as soon as Ishida produced a new weapon, a gleam flashed in Mayuri's eyes. He knew—the battle was about to end.
"Nemu."
Mayuri spoke suddenly.
"?!"
His sudden words startled Ishida. In the next instant, a strong sense of crisis overwhelmed him.
What is this…?!
It felt as if something appeared behind him. He couldn't see it, but he sensed the suffocating pressure looming at his back—a mountain descending, making it almost impossible to breathe!
Behind him, a behemoth seemed to roar, its spiritual pressure dispersing the surrounding reishi! Just by feeling it, he gasped for air. He turned with all his strength, but saw only an ordinary-looking girl.
But a black aura emanated from her, nearly suffocating Ishida.
Danger!
The moment Ishida saw her, his mind screamed with alarm—but before he could move, a wave of darkness rushed over him, and he lost consciousness!
The disparity in strength was too great.
This confrontation between Ishida Uryū and Mayuri Kurotsuchi was nothing like the original manga. Mayuri had researched the Quincy for decades longer, experienced more battles, and even fused with an Evil Node!
Though Ishida had also fused with a seed of light and trained arduously, his improvements were nothing compared to Mayuri's advancements.
The seed of light was merely a byproduct of the Evil Node's purification; it was absolutely incomparable to the Evil Node itself.
Mayuri's Evil Node was the 'The Disturber of Souls,' and the ability he awakened was 'Terror.' It was not used on himself, but…
…on Nemu Kurotsuchi!
All the drugs Mayuri created could be used on Nemu, and their properties would remain in her body.
For example, the Superhuman Drug accelerated perception—a second felt like a hundred years at full dosage. Mayuri implanted it in Nemu, permanently solidifying 'accelerated thinking.' Maybe not millions of times faster, but it could still boost Nemu's reaction speed tenfold!
Nemu's brain processed faster than any Shinigami in Seireitei. Besides that, she had 'Super High Speed Regeneration' from Aaroniero, and the 'Postcognition Drug' let her see through the past.
The more drugs Mayuri implanted, the more characteristics she possessed! And with his new ability, it was even more convenient.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi's drugs brought new surprises—transcending wisdom, strength, perception, reaction, seeing through the past… And combined, they granted transcendent power!
The stronger Nemu and Mayuri became, the stronger the drugs acted within her. If she ever fully unleashed their abilities, no one could defeat her!
Ishida Uryū… how could he possibly match the current Nemu Kurotsuchi?
Nemu also possessed the 'nerve blocking agent'—the ability that instantly knocked Ishida unconscious came from that drug.
But just as Nemu was about to take Ishida away, he suddenly disappeared!
Nemu and Mayuri looked aside, only to see a masked woman appear.
The mask was a Hollow's mask, but it seemed attached after the fact—like a Shinigami's Hollowfication.
Ishida lay beside her.
"Who are you…?" Mayuri narrowed his eyes. He hadn't even noticed how Ishida moved, and Nemu hadn't either.
Nemu's neural reaction speed was ten times that of others; there should be nothing in the world she couldn't react to!
"Aren't you very smart? Why don't you take a guess?"
Kurosaki Masaki hid her face behind the mask. Though she was smiling, her anger was palpable.
She was a Hollow now, but she had once been a Quincy—she had spent most of her life as one.
She'd heard every word Mayuri said!
Though she was a Hollow, Masaki still considered herself a Quincy. Hearing Mayuri's cruelty toward Quincy filled her with rage.
Perhaps it was the Hollow factor, or perhaps Mayuri's actions were simply too outrageous. Even the kind and sunny Kurosaki Masaki couldn't help but feel murderous intent!
Moreover, Ishida Uryū was Ryūken's son—she couldn't let him be killed.
That's why she acted.
Masaki's Schrift was 'P' for 'Path.' As long as she had walked somewhere, she could instantly appear there. Not just herself—she could move others too.
In Karakura Town, there were almost no places she hadn't been. She could easily appear anywhere, and move others as well!
Just now, she had teleported Ishida directly to her side. This wasn't any form of footwork—it was spatial movement!
Even Nemu Kurotsuchi, with tenfold neural response, couldn't discover how Ishida vanished and reappeared!
…