Yoruichi looked at Cole with a strange expression.
Because in truth, after they'd conquered Bambietta, the Wandenreich no longer held any secrets for them.
In other words, the scouting mission had been perfectly completed.
What they needed to do next was leave the Wandenreich quietly, without making a sound—
And report everything here to Captain-Commander Yamamoto.
But because of Bambietta's status, leaving was also very difficult, so they had no choice but to stay.
Before the two of them could even come up with a plan—
Good grief. Cole directly built an organization inside the Wandenreich, and even roped in seven Sternritter members.
Are you here to scout?
Or are you here to split the enemy's organization apart?
Cole leaned against a tree in the Military Police compound, yawned lazily, and said in a casual tone:
"What's the big deal?"
"In my eyes, the Wandenreich isn't a solid block anyway. Not everyone is willing to submit to Yhwach."
"It's just that they can't resist—because their lives are held in Yhwach's hand."
Yoruichi understood that point, because Bambietta had already said it: the Quincy King's absolute authority.
To Quincies, Yhwach was the supreme god, and they were nothing but puppets on his strings.
If Yhwach was displeased, he could take their lives at any time.
So their attitude toward Yhwach—calling it "respect" wasn't quite accurate.
It was better described as fear.
Because they feared him, they were loyal.
Obedience cultivated inside fear.
But Yoruichi wasn't interested in that at all. She said lazily, "Even if you say that, what's the use? Can they really rebel against Yhwach?"
In her view, as long as those Quincies didn't want to die, they'd all be enemies of Seireitei.
So everything being done now was pointless.
"How is it not possible?"
Cole shot back, the corner of his mouth lifting into a subtle smile as he pulled a Ruyi Jingu Bang (Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod) from his chest.
"Did you forget that Quincy from before?"
Yoruichi froze, then suddenly recalled the first Quincy they'd encountered.
That Quincy's power and life were being wildly ripped away by some unknown existence, yet Cole had stopped that process.
"Don't tell me… that was Auswählen (Holy Selection)?!"
Yoruichi's eyes widened. She stared at Cole's face in disbelief.
"That's right."
Cole smiled.
"My Bankai domain can isolate everything. Even if Yhwach uses Auswählen (Holy Selection), he won't be able to pierce through it."
The moment she heard that, Yoruichi became excited.
"So as long as they're protected by you, those Quincies won't die even if they face their king."
"Correct."
After getting Cole's clear answer, Yoruichi got even more excited and started meowing uncontrollably.
Her little paws waved wildly.
"Cole, Cole, you're amazing!!! I think what I said before might actually come true—maybe we really can split the Wandenreich!"
Earlier, she'd been thinking they needed to leave the Wandenreich as soon as possible.
But now, she'd completely thrown that idea away.
Leave?
Why leave?
Wouldn't it be better to turn the Quincies here?
After all, this was over thirty captain-class combatants. Even if they only turned one-third of them, it would be a massive boost to Seireitei.
Cole saw right through what Yoruichi was thinking and immediately warned her:
"Don't start talking to me about 'work.' Once things stabilize a bit here, I'm going back to Soul Society."
"How can you leave now?!"
Yoruichi was about to go crazy. Her little paws kept clawing at Cole's hair.
"This is such a perfect chance—if you leave and someone finds out, what then?! No, no, you can't leave…"
Cole was completely speechless. He lifted the little black cat and vigorously scratched her belly.
"Yoruichi-san, are you stupid? With my ability and strength, if I want to leave, how would anyone even notice?"
"W-wait—don't scratch! It's so itchy! Hahaha…"
The little black cat laughed while struggling.
In the end, seeing she couldn't escape, she simply dispelled the transformation, parted her red lips, revealed her white teeth, and bit down hard.
"You brat—this is so itchy!"
"I'll bite you to death, believe it or not!"
Her wheat-colored, long, jade legs wrapped around Cole's leg.
Bare skin—more alluring than ever.
Cole was still being bitten by Yoruichi, feeling the softness in his arms. He couldn't help swallowing.
"Yoruichi-san, you changed back on your own."
"So it's time to fulfill our promise."
Yoruichi blinked, tried hard to remember what promise, and her cheeks instantly turned bright red. She coughed awkwardly.
"You mean that… now isn't the time. At least wait until we leave before you bring that up."
She remembered the promise from before.
As long as Cole brought her to find a place in Seireitei she'd never been to, and that was fun—
She would agree to any one thing he asked.
But!!!
She'd said that casually, okay?!
Who would've thought there was a monstrous force like the Wandenreich hiding in Seireitei's shadow?!
Seeing Yoruichi trying to run, Cole's mouth curled into a subtle arc. He grabbed her slender waist.
"Yoruichi-san, lying isn't what a good kid does."
"You need a proper punishment—like the way Soi fong punished you."
The moment Cole mentioned Soi fong, and Yoruichi remembered what Soi fong had done to her—
Even her ears turned red.
She kept smacking Cole's chest with her hands.
How did she always end up raising disciples like this?!
As she thought that, Yoruichi kicked her legs frantically, struggling to escape, and protested with all her strength:
"You brat, let go of me! Or do you believe I'll turn back into a cat right now?!"
She refused to believe it.
What could Cole possibly do to a cat?
Cole couldn't help laughing. He kept holding Yoruichi by the waist and walked toward an empty area inside the Military Police compound.
"It's fine. Yoruichi-san as a cat is cute too."
"Mm… you hateful brat…"
In the secluded area, Cole raised his hand toward the open ground.
"Bakudo #73: Tozansho (Falling Mountain Crystal)!"
A blue, inverted-triangle barrier appeared at once.
"Bakudo #37: Tsuriboshi (Suspended Star)!"
Inside the inverted-triangle blue barrier, a blue hanging hammock formed out of thin air.
Wheat-colored skin, not a stitch on her, wild like a cat—
Yoruichi was pressed down onto the hammock like that.
The fearless Flash Goddess who feared neither Heaven nor Earth—
At this moment, her cheeks were flushed.
Even her skin had taken on a faint blush.
She shyly closed her eyes and whispered:
"Brat… you're not allowed to bully me the way you bullied Soi fong… mm… ngh…"
...
While the atmosphere here was enchanting—
Inside the Ice Palace was a completely different scene.
The Sternritter—aside from the seven who had joined the Military Police—were almost all present, seated around a massive white table.
And among them, a portion of the Quincies looked extremely miserable.
Some had their white cloaks torn to shreds.
Others had streaks of blood on their bodies.
The most tragic one was As Nödt. After suffering Cole's focused barrage, he was wrapped in bandages like a white rice dumpling.
Even so, large amounts of blood still seeped out, staining the white bandages red.
Seeing this, the Sternritter member Quilge Opie—arms crossed—coldly looked at everyone present.
"So you're saying… so many of you went together, and you got beaten into this state by a single Soldat?"
Driscoll slammed the table and stood up, fury flashing across his face.
"Opie! What do you mean by that—are you mocking us?!"
Quilge Opie sneered.
"Yeah. I'm mocking you. So what?"
"Trash that couldn't even take down a Soldat."
As he spoke, he glanced at Driscoll's severed arm and laughed coldly.
"And you're the worst kind of trash."
"As a Sternritter, you still managed to lose an arm to a Soldat."
"Do you even have the qualifications to serve His Majesty?"
"If I were you, I'd hurry up and quit the Sternritter."
"That's the only way you won't stain our glory."
Driscoll was so enraged he nearly exploded. Without another word, he summoned a blue holy bow.
Quilge Opie mocked him with a cold smile.
"With your arm broken off, do you even have the ability to draw that bow?"
Driscoll felt a murderous urge rising in his chest, and when he realized he truly couldn't draw the holy bow, he almost burst a lung from anger.
He really… couldn't draw it.
At that moment, As Nödt—wiping away the blood seeping from his body—spoke flatly:
"Opie… you were in Hueco Mundo, so you might not understand."
"But that Soldat named Cole… is genuinely strong."
Hearing even As Nödt say that, Quilge Opie stopped mocking and his expression turned serious.
"That guy is really that strong?"
Among the Sternritter, Driscoll—whose Holy Script was Overkill—was essentially the weakest.
So Quilge Opie wasn't surprised Driscoll got beaten.
Like he'd said before, that guy was trash.
But As Nödt wasn't weak.
With Holy Script: Fear, almost no one wanted to fight him.
His strength ranked near the top among the Sternritter. Even Quilge Opie wasn't necessarily As Nödt's match.
If even As Nödt acknowledged Cole—
Then Cole was truly dangerous.
Driscoll, seeing no one paid him any attention, could only snort angrily and stride out of the Ice Palace.
He was going to reattach his arm, then kill some strange soldiers to vent his anger.
Might as well stack his Overkill (Mass Slaughter) ability while he was at it.
And if anyone dared mock him again afterward, he'd make them regret it.
No one cared about Driscoll leaving.
Inside the Ice Palace, a fierce discussion erupted.
"Opie, you weren't there. You don't know how terrifying that monster was."
"That's right. That monster actually improved Blut Vene and Blut Arterie, and ended up possessing the power of both at the same time."
"Not only that—he even took that outdated technique from a thousand years ago, the Sanrei glove, and remade it into an infinite Ransōtengai stance."
"Once he activated those two forms, that monster's body became unbelievably hard. His punches were world-shattering."
"Bazz-B took one punch and almost died."
"You don't even know—back then, all the reishi in Silverframe City became his subordinate."
"Exactly. When he fought Haschwalth, I honestly wondered if those two monsters would smash the entire Wandenreich apart if they kept going."
"…"
The Sternritter who had been present on the scene used words to describe how powerful Cole was.
Quilge Opie listened and grew more and more alarmed. In the end, he widened his eyes and stared at Jugram, seated at the head of the table.
"Haschwalth… you even fought that Soldat, and you still couldn't take him down?"
Driscoll losing didn't shock him.
But Jugram making a move and still failing to capture Cole was hard to believe.
That was the Sternritter's highest authority—
The Wandenreich's acting emperor.
Jugram didn't respond to Quilge Opie.
He simply sat there at the head of the table, his expression as calm as ever, like a nobleman quietly waiting for something.
In that atmosphere—
A moment later, a sweating Soldat rushed in, nervous as he reported to Jugram:
"Haschwalth-sama, we've uncovered Cole's detailed information. Just like you guessed, that man really is suspicious."
Jugram's eyes snapped open, a rare cold light flashing within them.
"That man…"
"Is he a Shinigami?!"
…
(End of Chapter)
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