"Drip… drip…"
Threads of blood dripped from Byakuya's body.
The pain barely yanked him back from the edge of fear, and he stared at the opposite side with an ugly expression—at As Nödt, who looked like a suffering saint.
"Fear… is this the power you possess?"
Byakuya's combat experience was rich. From that brief exchange alone, he had already discerned As Nödt's ability.
He had to admit—this was a terrifying power.
Because even now, he still hadn't truly calmed down. Fear was still coiling around his heart, lingering and refusing to disperse.
"I have no need to say anything to you. Even after all this… you still refuse to use your Bankai!?"
As Nödt glared at Byakuya with savage brutality.
He couldn't understand it. He had already given this man more than enough fear.
Yet this man still hadn't used Bankai. He was actually resisting fear itself.
"Fear of this level, and you think it can make me abandon a noble's dignity? It's far from enough."
Byakuya pressed a hand to the wound at his abdomen and stared coldly at As Nödt, ready to give up on Bankai and win with kido instead.
Because using Bankai under these circumstances wouldn't bring victory.
It would only become nourishment for the enemy.
Even if it meant death, he would never allow that.
"Then let me see how long you can endure!"
As Nödt threw his head back and roared. In the next instant, countless eyes opened out of thin air around Byakuya's body.
Those eyes that emerged from the void fixed their stare on Byakuya without letting go.
In an instant, Byakuya felt fear burrow into his bones—his very soul trembling, his mind unable to think.
He plunged completely into the abyss of fear.
He reflexively shut his eyes, trying to avoid fear by not looking at them.
But it was futile.
That enormous wall of eyes pierced straight through his heart and stared into his soul—no matter how many layers of defense he had, none of them worked.
That ultimate fear even made him feel like he was suffocating. His body instinctively wanted to release Bankai
But an iron self-control forced him, even under absolute terror, to still not use Bankai.
"Why are you still resisting fear?!"
"You bastard… is there nothing in your heart that you fear!?"
As Nödt roared in fury.
Because even he, as the master of fear, carried fear that was carved into his soul.
Yet this man still refused to use Bankai.
"…Forget it. Then just die like this."
As Nödt stared at Byakuya coldly, fully giving up on stealing his Bankai.
He would simply watch him, in that ultimate fear, die from suffocation—surely his death would be exceptionally ugly.
Just as Byakuya's body trembled, his limbs convulsed, and his face turned bluish-purple
From beyond the towering wall of eyes, an anxious voice rang out, followed by a burst of overwhelming spiritual pressure.
"Nii-sama, I'm coming to save you right now!"
"Sode no Shirayuki, help me!"
With Rukia's voice, bone-chilling cold surged in from outside the wall of eyes.
"Mai, Sode no Shirayuki!"
"Bankai!"
"Hakka no Togame!"
Within that terrifying cold like an arctic tide, the eyes that appeared in the void froze one after another.
As the blade of cold cut open the way, a snow-white figure stepped in from beyond the wall of eyes.
Even though he didn't know whether this was a fear-induced illusion
The moment he heard that voice, Byakuya still couldn't stop himself from opening his eyes and saying urgently:
"Rukia, leave—quickly…"
Even he had fallen victim to this ultimate fear. He didn't believe Rukia could withstand it.
"It's fine, Nii-sama. Leave it to me. You protected me for so long… now it's my turn to protect you."
Like an ice saintess, Rukia's pure-white figure didn't heed Byakuya's words at all. With frigid snowstorm-like cold, she stood in front of him.
The chill was so cold that even Byakuya shuddered—and in that instant, he fully woke from the fear.
Rukia before him had eyes cold to the extreme, as though containing a thousand-year, never-melting icy abyss.
She had never seen her dignified, noble nii-sama reduced to such a wretched state.
Face bluish-purple, body trembling—like a homeless vagrant shivering in winter, curled up in a corner with nowhere to go.
That sight only ignited her anger further. Without hesitation, she leveled her zanpakuto at As Nödt.
"I'll never forgive you."
As Nödt's eyes bled tears of blood as he let out a sound that was half-cry, half-laughter.
"Female Soul Reaper… don't you know the intelligence on us Quincy? How dare you use Bankai in front of us?"
As he spoke, he slowly drew out his medallion and aimed it at Rukia.
He hadn't obtained Byakuya's Bankai, but getting this woman's would do as well—this cold was indeed powerful.
Byakuya's expression instantly changed. Suppressing the lingering nausea from fear, he shouted at Rukia:
"Rukia, cancel your Bankai immediately! Those Quincy can steal our Bankai—never let it become their nourishment!"
The Quincy were already dangerous enough. If they stole Bankai on top of that…
Their strength would soar even further.
He truly didn't know where Cole had dragged his little sister during this period.
How could she not even know this kind of information?
And that bastard still hadn't shown his face at a time like this—his Hollowfication could fight without using Bankai.
But just as Byakuya was frantic, Rukia smiled lightly.
"It's alright, Nii-sama."
Opposite her, light erupted from As Nödt's medallion. An invisible force latched onto Rukia.
In that moment, the subzero body temperature on Rukia's body rapidly rose.
As if her Bankai was truly about to be forcibly taken.
But in the next second
Behind Rukia, Sode no Shirayuki appeared as well, wearing the same pure-white attire, like a snow woman made flesh.
She stared at As Nödt coolly and said in a calm, indifferent voice:
"Quincy… what an ugly posture."
"I don't wish to become your power."
As Sode no Shirayuki spoke, Rukia's temperature plunged once more—already dropping to minus eighty degrees.
And As Nödt's medallion lost its effect in that instant.
As Nödt froze, staring at the medallion in disbelief, even wondering if it had broken.
How could he fail to steal this woman's Bankai?
Had the Soul Reapers developed a method to counter the medallion? But in just a few days, how could they have achieved that?
Was their technology really that advanced?
It wasn't only As Nödt who was shocked—Byakuya also revealed an expression of disbelief.
But soon, he reacted, and looked at Rukia's back with joy.
"Rukia—did Mayuri… no, did Urahara Kisuke develop a way to counter the Quincy method of stealing Bankai?"
He had almost said Mayuri, but in the end he felt it was unlikely.
If Mayuri had researched it, he would have presented it long ago—he wouldn't have handed it to Rukia.
Only Urahara, in the World of the Living, could reach that level.
At the same time.
Inside the Research and Development Institute, Mayuri—watching the Seireitei situation through surveillance—twitched with a purplish face.
"That damned Byakuya, daring to look down on me… clearly it's you people who are too useless, you couldn't even bring me any test subjects…"
After cursing Byakuya, he ground his teeth again.
"And that damned Urahara Kisuke—how did you research something like this?"
With only the information that Quincy could steal Bankai, he couldn't infer anything, so naturally he couldn't research it.
But Urahara—how could he?
Was he really that much smarter than him?
At the same time, Urahara suddenly sneezed.
He rubbed his nose and muttered strangely:
"Why does it feel like Mayuri is cursing me?"
He had thought all along that it was definitely Cole using his name to do nonsense.
Turns out it was his old friend.
Beside him, Tessai looked at Urahara with a complicated expression.
"Tenchō… how do you know it's Mayuri cursing you? Uh… couldn't it be someone else cursing you from behind your back?"
In Tessai's view, Urahara's personality really did invite hatred.
There were probably plenty of people cursing him.
Urahara shook his head as he walked into the Senkaimon.
"Other people's curses don't make me sneeze with this feeling. Only when Mayuri curses me do I get this kind of bone-chilling disgust."
Tessai's face instantly filled with black lines.
It was hard to imagine how many times Mayuri had cursed Urahara behind his back for him to even find a pattern.
"Alright—let's hurry. This time, the enemy in Soul Society won't be easy to deal with."
Urahara's eyes carried a solemn weight.
Tessai nodded, and the Visored members beside him also nodded.
Because this time was different from last time.
If the Wandenreich crushed Seireitei…
Then the Soul Reapers as a race would be wiped out.
"..."
"Nii-sama… it wasn't Mayuri-taichō, and it wasn't Urahara…"
Rukia's expression turned strange.
Byakuya paused, then frowned.
"Then was it Aizen?"
Though he had once been an enemy, Byakuya had to admit Aizen's intelligence.
In terms of research, Aizen's level was definitely above Mayuri's—and could wrestle with Urahara.
Other than that…
Byakuya truly couldn't think of anyone else with that capability.
Seeing Byakuya guess wrong twice in a row, Rukia had no choice but to say softly:
"No. This was researched by Cole."
"Cole…?"
Byakuya looked astonished.
That foolish kid whose intelligence was only slightly higher than Ichigo's…
He researched this?
Did he even understand scientific equipment?
Even though Rukia was already at over minus ninety degrees, her face still reddened slightly as she spoke quietly:
"Yes. Cole went through experiment after experiment, and finally confirmed it—so long as a zanpakuto gains materialization, Bankai can no longer be stolen."
At that moment, Sode no Shirayuki appeared again and said coolly, calmly:
"As long as I do not wish it, no one can force control over me. You Soul Reapers are the same—and those Quincy, of course, are the same."
She was the materialization of the zanpakuto, and also the embodiment of the zanpakuto's free will.
Within the inner world, she couldn't resist the Quincy medallion—because then she existed as an object.
But once materialized, she was the absolute master of the zanpakuto.
No one could forcibly steal her away.
Byakuya suddenly understood, having forgotten this possibility—letting the zanpakuto resist.
In the Soul Reaper's way of thinking, a zanpakuto was only a weapon—so they forgot it also possessed an independent will.
Thinking of that, Byakuya rarely smiled.
"I never expected that kid to have this kind of brain. Seems I underestimated him before."
Inside the Research and Development Institute, Mayuri also gave a slight nod.
"That kid's IQ isn't high, but his ideas are quite unique. He does have the potential to become a scientist."
For him, as long as he didn't lose to Urahara, even losing to Kenpachi the brute was acceptable.
But as Byakuya praised him, Rukia's cheeks turned red.
"That perverted idiot isn't that smart."
(End of Chapter)
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