Bleach: The Strongest Shinigami-Chapter 217 ⥤ Time Management Master

Present day, Karakura Town.

Sōken Ishida stared numbly at the young man chatting casually with him, unable to form a response. The situation was too sudden to process.

The Captain of the 11th Division — who had been demon-like just years ago — had transformed into a pure-blooded Quincy.

No one could easily accept such a transformation.

It was like ordering a burger and finding it made of cardboard, or checking your lottery ticket only to realize you were reading last week's numbers.

Everything before his eyes defied his understanding of reality.

"Captain Kisaragi, it's not that I won't agree. But going to the Wandenreich is too risky. One wrong move and you'll face attack from all Quincy. There would be no escape."

Sōken's expression soured like a bitter gourd come to life.

"You can rest assured about that." Aizen explained, "There's no purer Quincy than this one in the world. Everything about him, from head to toe, exudes the essence of a Quincy."

Sōken's expression turned dubious.

Before he could question Akira, a muscular arm appeared before him, its well-proportioned muscles radiating power.

Under his startled gaze, branch-like patterns emerged on it, faint spiritual light blooming like stars.

"Blut Vene?"

Akira smiled proudly, "That's not all. Look at this."

He pulled with both hands, gathering massive amounts of Reishi to form a spear-like Reishi Heisō (Spirit Weapon or Reishi War Equipment) in his palms.

Then he brought his hands together as if kneading dough. After some manipulation, a Heilig Bogen (Sacred Bow) materialized, with dozens of Heilig Pfeil (Sacred Destruction Arrows) nocked and drawn to full moon.

Spirit sword, short bow, repeating crossbow, gatling gun, rocket launcher, Barrett...

{T/N: It should be clear by now, but he's forming all of this with pure Reishi manipulation alone, without needing a Quincy Cross or anything else. Additionally, the Spirit Sword he formed is not a Seele Schneider (Soul Cutter), just a normal sword made of pure energy.}

Just as Akira was about to form a missile, Aizen cleared his throat, halting the outrageous display.

"Well? Impressed by your Captain's incredible talent?" Akira shouldered the rocket launcher, pointing its muzzle at the shocked Quincy.

Staring at the dark barrel before him, Sōken wiped cold sweat from his forehead and forced an awkward smile.

In his hundred years of life, he had never seen a Quincy who so thoroughly defied description. This went beyond mere exaggeration.

As keeper of one of the Gates of the Sun, Sōken's status in the Wandenreich rivaled the Sternritter. He had encountered countless Quincies.

He'd even conversed with Jugram Haschwalth, the highest-ranking Sternritter. He knew Quincy abilities intimately and could name every Quincy soldier.

Throughout his hundred years of life, he had never encountered a "Quincy" who so thoroughly defied that simple label.

A spirit sniper rifle was one thing, but a spirit rocket launcher? That was beyond comprehension.

Sōken heaved a long sigh. The conflict between Shinigami and Quincy was irreconcilable — he knew this with certainty.

His Majesty Yhwach's grand ambitions were the root cause, which had driven Sōken to leave the Wandenreich and return to the World of the Living's Quincy faction.

Yet even then, he couldn't escape fate's web.

"Sōken, it's fine if you don't agree." Akira patted his shoulder earnestly, "You're my first choice, but not my only choice. I chose you because you know the Wandenreich well. If you don't want to betray your Majesty, I can try another method."

Sōken asked, puzzled, "Have you already discovered how to enter the Schatten Bereich?"

"No." Akira shook his head, pressing the spirit rocket launcher to the old man's forehead, "If you don't cooperate, my rocket launcher hasn't tasted blood yet."

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Sōken and Aizen: "..."

After a moment of silence, Sōken spoke gravely, "When Yhwach regains his power, he'll launch a Race War immediately. The Quincy of the World of the Living might be conscripted, and then we might also..."

Akira waved his hand, "Don't worry about that. Most Quincy in the World of the Living won't qualify for battle — they won't live to see that day."

Sōken's heart clenched.

Before he could ask, Akira continued, "You know about Auswählen, right? No matter if you don't. It's one of Yhwach's methods to regain power — he completely drains the Reiryoku and life force from all Gemischt (Mixed-Blood) Quincy in the world. Killing your own people before war — I suppose that counts as raising the war banner."

Upon hearing this, Sōken's eyes widened in shock.

He had heard of the "Auswählen" (Consecration) ability but never imagined it would be used like this.

Your Majesty, are we Quincy merely tools for restoring your power?

His expression turned extremely ugly.

His earlier hesitation vanished after learning about the Auswählen. He had already betrayed them by revealing imperial intelligence — what harm was there in going further to protect his family and friends?

He raised his head and stared directly at Akira.

"I agree to take you to the Wandenreich, but I have one request."

"Speak."

"If you get the chance, you must kill Yhwach completely!"

Akira's eyes lit up — this kind of rebellious, treasonous person was exactly to his taste.

"It's a deal, double happiness!"

Under Aizen's helpless gaze, the two quickly bonded over their shared spirit of rebellion.

Sōken adapted readily. As an adult, he knew exactly what he wanted and could tell the other party wasn't deceiving him.

Loyalty to the Wandenreich meant nothing to him; he only wanted to protect his family and the humans of the World of the Living. Yhwach's actions had repeatedly crossed his bottom line.

Even insects fight to survive — how much more so humans of flesh and blood?

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Soul Society, Rukongai.

Several figures gathered in the wilderness, where the scent of grass drifted on the wind.

"The Wandenreich lies in Soul Society's shadows. To enter, you must control Reishi. Inject it into shadows to construct the Shadow Area."

As Sōken explained, he demonstrated the technique.

As a legitimate Quincy of the Wandenreich, he had mastered many such spiritual abilities.

"Usually, when first learning this technique, it takes some time..."

Before he could finish speaking, Akira sank like he was entering a swamp, half his body suddenly disappearing.

Sōken fell silent. Indeed, monsters couldn't be judged by normal standards.

Like a child with a new toy, Akira bobbed up and down in the shadows, playing to his heart's content.

After fully mastering the ability, he finally settled down.

"Now that we can enter the Shadow Area, the rest will be easy." Sōken relaxed and looked at Kisuki, "Do you remember what we discussed earlier?"

Akira gave him an OK gesture and smiled, "Of course."

Seeing his confident demeanor, Sōken breathed a sigh of relief and reactivated his Reishi space construction ability.

Under the complex gazes of Aizen and the others, the two slowly sank into the shadows.

"Urahara, fix that expression on your face." Mayuri warned, "The Captain is just temporarily leaving, not dead."

Hearing this reminder, Kisuke touched his wildly upturned mouth corners, trying to force them back to normal.

"This is merely an external manifestation of a nerve twitch. Actually, I'm quite grief-stricken about the Captain's departure."

Mayuri's contemptuous sneer was the only response.

Aizen ignored them both, calmly watching the disappearing shadows, his gaze growing ever more profound.

Moving through shadows was like walking through a Garganta — completely dark, with only the flow of Reishi to guide the way forward.

⤫⤬⤫⤬⤫⤬⤫⤬⤫⤬

Fortunately, with an experienced guide like Sōken, Akira didn't get lost.

After traveling for some time, they finally arrived at the Wandenreich's domain.

A massive city stood in the endless wilderness, its sharp angles displaying the rigid Quincy style. Dense, viscous Reiatsu permeated the surroundings.

"Let's go." Sōken took out the Gate of the Sun's key from his pocket, "Get ready to enter the Wandenreich."

⤫⤬⤫⤬⤫⤬⤫⤬⤫⤬

Based on intelligence previously obtained from Yhwach, Jugram had been in a foul mood lately, making him particularly irritable when handling official duties.

"Report, Lord Haschwalth!" A soldier in Quincy uniform stood at attention in the hall, offering a respectful salute, "The departed Sōken Ishida has returned — and he's brought a young man with him!"

Jugram frowned. Why would that man return here? Hadn't he rejected His Majesty's ideals?

After a moment's consideration, his deep voice resonated through the hall.

"Have them come see me."

The soldier saluted once more and departed.

Soon, two white-clad figures appeared in the hall.

One was Sōken, appearing much the same as when he had left. Quincy were long-lived, their lifespans tied to their souls — the passage of years or even decades barely showed in their appearance.

The other wore Quincy attire and bore features somewhat similar to Sōken's. His Reiatsu leaked outward, creating a subtle resonance with the surrounding air's Reishi.

A genuine Echt Quincy, and a powerful one at that.

Jugram's expression grew more serious.

Sōken bowed slightly, "Lord Haschwalth, I have returned to introduce my distant cousin to His Majesty. He wishes to serve His Majesty and join the Wandenreich."

Jugram studied the newcomer for several seconds, "What is your name?"

"Hashirama Senju." Akira answered without hesitation.

They had rehearsed this several times beforehand — he wouldn't make a mistake.

Since the Wandenreich might gather intelligence from Soul Society, they couldn't use his real name. He and Sōken had carefully prepared their cover story beforehand.

As a supposed distant cousin, the surname didn't matter much. It was perfectly plausible for Sōken to have a cousin named Hashirama Senju.

Jugram nodded expressionlessly.

He wouldn't refuse any Quincy who wanted to serve His Majesty. They would have to battle the Shinigami of Soul Society in the future, and any fighting force could affect the course of the war.

"Mm, I understand. Go find Askin, he will tell you about the important matters within the Empire." Jugram had no intention of wasting more time on the two.

For him, what mattered most now was finding the other Majesty who could threaten the Wandenreich.

Sōken was wary of this Sternritter Grandmaster. As soon as they received the order, he pulled Akira away from the palace.

In the corridor, he quietly warned, "Besides Yhwach, Jugram Haschwalth is the strongest person in the Wandenreich. When operating here, please be very careful around him."

Akira nodded silently. Right now he had more important things to focus on.

〈 Location Check-in: Wandenreich! 〉

〈 Obtained Reiatsu Level +3! 〉

〈 Reiatsu Level increased! Currently at Level 103! 〉

〈 Obtained Zanjutsu Level +5! 〉

〈 Zanjutsu Level increased! Currently at Level 100! 〉

〈 Obtained Hakuda Level +3! 〉

〈 Hakuda Level increased! Currently at Level 100! 〉

〈 Obtained Hohō Level +5! 〉

〈 Hohō Level increased! Currently at Level 100! 〉

〈 Obtained Kidō Level +5! 〉

〈 Kidō Level increased! Currently at Level 100! 〉

〈 Obtained Exclusive Trait: Soul Immortality! 〉

〈 Soul Immortality: Those who chant my true name shall find eternal life in reincarnation! Soul becomes resilient, cannot be erased by any form of attack, and can share others' soul damage! 〉

Looking at this magnificent status panel, he smiled contentedly.

All abilities were now over Level 100, with maximized damage increase, reduction, and Trait buffs — he could truly be called invincible.

Yet surprisingly, Level 100 wasn't the maximum.

Earlier, when his Reiatsu had broken through to Rank 1 in the Spirit Class under the old man's heavy pressure, he'd reached Level 100. Now, with the Check-in rewards, he'd successfully reached Level 103.

Looking at this trend, the future was promising!

However, his primary mission now was to find the Soul King's Left Hand, Pernida Parnkgjas. If he remembered correctly, that person was a member of the Schutzstaffel (Elite Guards).

Under Sōken's guidance, the two successfully found their target.

The man was tall and slim, wearing a crisp Wandenreich uniform, with a single curled lock of hair hanging over his expressive features.

One of the Sternritter members, Askin Nakk Le Vaar.

"Well, well, Lord Haschwalth's orders." Askin, hands in his pockets, circled around Akira several times, "You look like you'd be quite time-consuming."

"Time-consuming?"

"It would take too many methods to try to kill you — I'm particularly bad at such meticulous work."

Sōken frowned beside them.

He knew Askin's personality well; this was a dangerous person.

Hearing this, Akira grinned, "On the contrary, fighting me... won't waste much of your time at all."

⤫⤬⤫

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