The Wandenreich.
On the solemn, towering main street—
Cole wore a white long robe. Though he was an outsider, he walked forward without the slightest fear.
Whenever passing Quincy noticed him, none of them found anything strange. Instead, they respectfully saluted him.
That made Cole feel a little emotional.
"Yoruichi-san, I didn't expect the Quincy we randomly grabbed to have such a high status in the Wandenreich."
Yoruichi was also surprised, then said excitedly, "Even better. The higher the status, the easier it'll be to gather intel. Hurry up and turn into that guy's appearance."
Even now, Cole still looked like himself, which made her uneasy.
Cole scratched his head in annoyance. "Turn into that guy's face? But that guy is ugly."
Even though he was a man, he was still a looks person. He seriously couldn't accept turning into an ugly bastard.
Yoruichi was furious. Inside Cole's robe, she rubbed around, found the protruding spot, and bit down hard.
"Do you even know what time it is?! And you still care about that?!"
"Hiss!!!"
Cole sucked in a breath, quickly grabbing the little black cat under his clothes.
"Yoruichi-san, I'm a man! I don't have milk for you—let go already! That spot is sensitive!"
"Then hurry up and transform into that guy," Yoruichi mumbled, her mouth still latched on.
Cole's scalp went numb. It didn't really hurt, but the sensation was unbearable.
So right there on the street, in a very awkward posture, Cole started kneading the bulge on his chest.
A few seconds later—
A squad of Quincy happened to walk over, looking at him with strange expressions. But they still respectfully saluted him.
After all, in the Wandenreich, there wasn't much of anything…
Except perverts.
Under Yhwach's power, the Quincy—who originally had short lifespans—were granted lifespans close to Shinigami.
That kind of lifespan, paired with the cramped space of the Wandenreich…
Was endless torture.
A nation you could walk across in a few hours, yet they had been hidden here for a thousand years.
It was basically living in prison.
In that atmosphere, even a normal Quincy would, over time, develop all kinds of twisted habits.
Seeing the squad, Yoruichi didn't dare keep fooling around. She quickly let go.
But she still whispered to Cole, "Cole, stop acting like a kid. Transform into that guy already. If we're exposed, it'll be really bad."
Cole rolled his eyes. "I'm going to act like a kid. Unless you apologize first."
Yoruichi was so mad she nearly exploded, but she didn't dare bite his vital spot again, so she scratched at him with her claws instead to vent.
The two of them continued into the town.
Just like the towns they'd seen earlier, the architecture leaned toward an old European style, mostly white overall.
But the strange thing was—despite the white buildings, the place felt oppressive.
The entire town's vibe was extremely solemn.
As Cole walked deeper, that feeling grew stronger. He frowned.
"The atmosphere's off."
While walking, Cole saw the Wandenreich residents. Watching their behavior, his expression gradually turned ugly.
"This place… is run like a military."
Even ordinary children wore uniforms like military attire.
They stood in neat, orderly ranks—like junior soldiers about to march off to war.
Their parents stood not far away, also dressed in similar uniforms, watching the children with stern faces.
Even though Yoruichi didn't know what "military management" meant, seeing the scene still made her uncomfortable.
"Are they insane?! Teaching kids this kind of thing…"
"Maybe everyone here really is insane—partly because of the Wandenreich's environment, and partly because of Yhwach."
Cole withdrew his gaze with a grim face.
In the anime, whether it was Soul Society or Hueco Mundo, both had strong fighting power, but neither was organized with military discipline.
They were more like…
The strong ruled.
Loose structure.
More individual combat.
But that all changed dramatically in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc.
Because the Quincy appeared.
Compared to the looseness of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, the Quincy of the Wandenreich behaved far more like soldiers.
Strict discipline.
High obedience.
That was something Shinigami and Hollows simply couldn't match.
And judging from what he was seeing…
The entire Wandenreich was one gigantic military camp.
Quincy born here were indoctrinated with hatred toward Shinigami and military discipline from childhood.
When they grew up, they would become excellent Soldat.
As Cole and Yoruichi were thinking, the Quincy children across the way noticed him. They excitedly waved.
"It's an officer from the Military Police! I read about their heroic deeds in the books!"
"Sir! I'm going to join the Military Police one day!"
"We'll become excellent Quincy and kill those Shinigami who bully us!"
"That's right! We'll become great Soldat and strike down the evil Shinigami, take back the world that belongs to us!"
Cheers burst out one after another.
Cole's mouth twitched.
It was exactly as he'd predicted.
These kids already hated Shinigami to the bone.
This was probably the Wandenreich's main theme.
Vengeance for a thousand years ago.
Crush Seireitei.
Take Soul Society.
Even dominate the three worlds.
Not knowing how to respond, Cole simply gave the children a cold nod and kept walking forward.
But after only a few steps, he heard cheering from behind.
"The Military Police officer nodded at me!"
"No, it was at me! He definitely thinks I can join the Military Police too!"
"I won't disappoint the officer's expectations!"
"..."
Cole: "..."
The two of them continued and reached the center of the city.
A vast open-air area.
Masses of Quincy in white uniforms stood in formation, holding blue spirit bows, faces cold, ranks orderly.
As far as the eye could see, the open area was filled with them.
So many that you couldn't see the end.
Yoruichi quietly poked her head out of Cole's robe. Seeing that, she sucked in a cold breath.
"There are this many Quincy?!"
Just a rough glance—there were at least several thousand, and their spirit power wasn't weak.
Seeing one corner was enough to infer the whole.
If this one square alone had thousands, how many were in the entire Wandenreich?
Tens of thousands?
A hundred thousand?
Several hundred thousand?
And this was Quincy meaning trained fighters with real combat power—not civilians.
If there were even just tens of thousands like this…
They could rival Seireitei.
Soon, the Quincy in the square began their daily training, splitting into different groups.
Some practiced Hirenkyaku (Flying Scythe Step).
Some practiced archery drills.
Some trained swordsmanship, group combat, and more.
The more Yoruichi watched, the more uneasy she became. In the end, she swallowed hard.
"They all have this level of combat training?!"
Compared to this, the Gotei 13 looked lax to the extreme.
If war truly broke out…
These ordinary Quincy would crush the ordinary Shinigami with ease.
Meaning—
Victory would come down to high-end combatants.
But even now, she still didn't know how strong the Wandenreich's high-end forces really were.
Just as they observed, the commander overseeing this training approached.
A burly middle-aged man.
He wore a golden mask marked with a red five-pointed star emblem, a necktie at his collar, and a belt with a star insignia.
He had short upturned facial hair and a thick build, walking over with a faintly angry expression.
"Hey, you over there. You're Military Police, right? Why aren't you staying with your Military Police unit? What are you wandering around here for?"
As he spoke, a shocking wave of spiritual pressure burst from his body—
Not inferior in the slightest to Seireitei's Captains.
Yoruichi's heart jolted.
"Cole… this guy… could he be a Sternritter member?!"
His spiritual pressure didn't seem weaker than hers at all.
This was completely different from what she'd imagined.
She had thought the Sternritter were just stronger-than-average Quincy.
No way they'd be comparable to battle-hardened Captains.
After all, Seireitei only had about thirteen Captains.
How could the Wandenreich—defeated a thousand years ago and hiding in the shadows—have thirty-three monsters like that?
But now…
It didn't seem impossible.
Cole stared at the fat Quincy uncle for a few seconds, then shook his head.
"I don't know."
There were simply too many Quincy in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc. He only remembered the most prominent ones.
As for this fat uncle…
Who knew what random extra he was.
Seeing Cole ignore him, the uncle's annoyance turned into rage.
"You! You don't even salute when you see a superior?! Even if you're Military Police, aren't you being a little too arrogant?!"
His spiritual power surged even more violently, making the air feel heavy.
Many Quincy in the square couldn't endure it. Their faces turned pale—some even dropped to their knees.
After more than ten seconds—
The fat Quincy uncle realized something with surprise.
Under such violent spiritual pressure…
Cole was completely fine.
And he even looked interested.
The uncle blanked for a moment, then snapped back and burst into laughter.
"Not bad! A true Military Police member. I always thought the Military Police that Haschwalth rebuilt was just symbolic."
As he spoke, he walked up to Cole and slapped his shoulder hard.
The Quincy in the square couldn't help showing envy in their eyes.
When dealing with them, Mask De Masculine never looked this friendly—he was always harsh.
This meant Cole's strength had satisfied Mask De Masculine.
As expected of a big shot from the Military Police.
Cole's expression, however, turned strange.
He hadn't even said a single word.
And the fat uncle's attitude flipped completely.
As always—
In any world, strength was king.
Yoruichi whispered in a mosquito-like voice, "Cole… this identity seems kind of ridiculous. It feels like Soul Society's Onmitsukido."
Cole felt that too.
In the Wandenreich, just hearing the words "Military Police" made Quincy become extremely respectful and admiring.
Just as Cole was about to speak, his expression changed slightly. He subconsciously looked toward a distant white building.
Over there—
A female Quincy wreathed in powerful white lightning was rushing over at extreme speed.
She had side-parted grass-green medium-long hair, light green eyes, and lightning-shaped ends at her brows and part of her hair.
She wore a sleeveless top and shorts, with a wide collar that exposed part of her pale, full cleavage.
A military cap with the Wandenreich emblem.
Long gloves, and a belt fitted with a heart-shaped box.
The spiritual pressure she released was no weaker than Mask De Masculine's—and even stronger than Komamura.
The Quincy in the square saw her and instinctively swallowed, eyes filled with admiration and infatuation.
"It's Candice Catnipp… the most beautiful lady among the Sternritter…"
"So beautiful…"
"If she looked at me just once… even if I died, I'd have no regrets…"
But for Yoruichi, that beauty only translated into dread.
"Another one?!"
She stared at the green-haired beauty in shock.
If one Mask De Masculine could be called coincidence…
This second one couldn't be explained away.
Which meant—
All thirty-three Sternritter truly had Captain-level combat power.
How was that possible?
Could you mass-produce monsters like this?!
Candice didn't care about the stares at all. She landed lightly, looking at Mask De Masculine with curiosity.
"Mask De Masculine, what happened here? Why did you suddenly release that level of spiritual pressure?"
She had sensed it earlier.
If she didn't know the Wandenreich couldn't possibly have been discovered, she would've thought Shinigami had invaded.
Mask De Masculine laughed loudly, pointed at Cole, and repeated what had just happened.
"I didn't expect the Military Police to have someone this strong. Maybe the Military Police really can recreate the glory from a thousand years ago."
"Eh?"
Candice looked a bit surprised. She turned to Cole with interest.
"A Military Police member… why haven't I seen you before?"
Cole and Yoruichi instantly felt bad.
Were they about to be exposed?
But Candice had only asked casually. She didn't take it seriously. Then she laughed.
"Though maybe it's a good thing I haven't met you. With your looks, you'd definitely get targeted by a certain bad woman."
At that moment, an annoyed voice came from not far away, cold and sharp.
"Candice… who are you calling a bad woman?"
(End of Chapter)
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