"Ichigo Kurosaki, why are you here too?"
Hearing the voice, Uryū couldn't help pushing the door open—then, after realizing what he'd done, he slammed it shut again with a bang.
Ichigo was completely confused by that, but he didn't care much. He walked in with a grin and placed the gift on the table.
Ryūgen glanced at it, his expression easing slightly, and said flatly:
"I knew that slob would only send me cheap tea leaves… Your name is Ichigo Kurosaki, right?"
He looked at Ichigo—especially at Ichigo's cheek.
He nodded faintly.
"Not bad. You look a lot like your mother."
Ichigo blinked, but didn't think much of it. After all, there weren't exactly few people who'd known his mother.
His gaze shifted to Cole. He walked over casually and asked with a grin:
"Cole, what are you doing here?"
He'd sensed Cole's spiritual pressure earlier, but if his old man hadn't said anything, he wouldn't have known Cole came here.
Cole smiled.
"Nothing much. I'm here to learn about Quincies—also to help you unlock some abilities."
"Help me unlock abilities?"
Ichigo looked completely lost.
"What abilities are you talking about?"
Cole just smiled without explaining. He suddenly reached out and grabbed Ichigo's wrist.
Ichigo jumped, startled. Before he could struggle, he froze in place.
Because he saw blue light blooming from the back of Cole's hand, spreading upward like blood vessels—
Mystical, flowing blue patterns.
The girls had long since gotten used to this. Wasn't it just Quincy Blut?
But when Ryūgen saw it, his pupils shrank, then his face twisted into disgust. He frowned.
"Blut?"
"No…"
"It's not Blut Vene, and it's not Blut Arterie…"
He pulled his gaze back and stared coldly at Cole, the disgust in his heart growing.
Not because of Cole himself.
But because of the Quincy power Cole carried.
Ryūgen hated all Quincies.
Because the girl he once loved—Ichigo's mother, Isshin's wife, Masaki Kurosaki—
And his attendant, who later became his wife, Kanae Katagiri—
Both died because of Quincy power.
That made him almost instinctively loathe the Quincy ability. If not for revenge, he wouldn't even want to be a Quincy.
While Ryūgen was thinking, his expression suddenly changed. He looked sharply at Ichigo.
"Impossible…"
Ichigo's body was turning red, like an overcooked shrimp. He looked extremely uncomfortable and said to Cole:
"Hey, Cole—what did you do to me? Why do I feel so hot all over?"
"Don't make it sound so weird, alright?"
Cole wore a deadpan expression.
"Your blood is accelerating through your whole body. If you didn't feel hot, that would be strange."
As he spoke, Cole continued using Reishi Subordination, letting more and more reishi pour into Ichigo's body.
Ichigo didn't resist at all.
Or rather, he couldn't resist.
His body was absorbing the reishi almost instinctively.
Ryūgen watched for a few seconds—then his face changed drastically. He shot to his feet, reached for Cole's arm, and roared:
"Brat—do you even know what you're doing!?"
The moment he saw Ichigo, Ryūgen knew Ichigo hadn't awakened Masaki's power—the Quincy power.
That made him feel a bit regretful… and also secretly relieved.
But under Cole's control, countless reishi was flowing into Ichigo's body, already forming the outline of Quincy power.
Cole didn't bother responding. He reached out with his left hand and grabbed Ryūgen's wrist, smiling.
"Uncle, some things can't be avoided. Since you can't avoid it, you might as well face the fear in your heart."
Ryūgen didn't care what Cole was saying. He tried to wrench his arm free with force.
It didn't work at all.
Cole's grip was like an iron clamp, locking Ryūgen's wrist so tightly that no amount of struggling mattered.
Ryūgen's expression turned icy.
The next second, sky-blue patterns spread along his arm.
Cole raised a brow.
"Blut Arterie!?"
He knew it—compared to Uryū, Ryūgen was the one who truly deserved to be called a Quincy.
He'd already mastered Blut Vene and Blut Arterie.
And this strength…
Cole was secretly shocked, because the power Ryūgen displayed didn't seem inferior to Meninas McAllon at all.
But Meninas' Schrift was literally "The Power."
Ryūgen reaching this level through sheer personal ability alone only proved how terrifying his Quincy talent was.
Even so, Ryūgen still couldn't break free from Cole's grip.
But then—
Cole released him.
Because there was no longer any need to hold him.
Cole looked at Ichigo beside him, smiling.
"As expected of a cheat-code player. Your talent is insane."
Uryū had been a Quincy since childhood, and he was also a hybrid like Ichigo.
Yet from start to finish, Uryū's main attack method was just Heilig Pfeil (Sacred Extinction Arrow). There was no sign of Blut awakening at all.
But Ichigo was different.
Cole had barely guided him, and Ichigo's Blut awakened directly.
The girls were also stunned.
In their view, the reishi in the sky—like blue fireflies—
Were all diving into Ichigo's body like moths to a flame.
And on Ichigo's skin, those mysterious, gorgeous blue patterns were spreading wider and wider.
Ryūgen stared at Ichigo's transformation, took a deep breath, and ground out:
"Blut Vene…"
When Quincies awaken or learn Blut, they always start from Blut Vene. It's the most basic form.
If Ichigo awakened Blut Vene, that meant he had obtained the Quincy power.
Sure enough—Cole waved his right hand, and countless reishi swirled around Ichigo, gathering toward his hands.
Ichigo turned his body back and felt the reishi around him. Almost instinctively, he reached out and clenched his fist.
"Snap!"
A circular object was formed in his grip.
Ichigo looked down, then jolted so hard he sprang up from the sofa, stammering:
"T-This… isn't this Ishida's bow!? Why is it in my hand!?"
In Ichigo's hand was a gigantic blue spirit bow—by size alone, it was around seven meters long.
More than three times bigger than Uryū's.
Ryūgen clenched his teeth again.
"Heilig Pfeil…"
As his words fell, a blue spirit bow formed in his left hand, then shifted into a blade shape. He slashed down at Cole with vicious force.
Cole smiled, not drawing his zanpakuto. He simply reached out and grabbed—
A massive blue spirit bow appeared in his hand as well.
The blade and the spirit bow collided, letting out a deafening boom. The shockwave kicked up a violent gale.
"BOOOOM!!!"
The small living room was like it had been hit by a storm.
The coffee table, tea leaves, teacups, TV, stools, chairs—everything was flung in every direction by the wind.
Crackling bangs rang out nonstop, like a natural disaster.
Even the walls sprouted multiple cracks.
Luckily, no one in the room was ordinary. This level of shockwave wasn't enough to injure them.
But everyone was stunned.
On one hand—Ryūgen's power.
On the other—Ichigo's change.
Rukia stared at Ichigo, covering her mouth in disbelief.
"Blut Vene and Heilig Pfeil… Ichigo, how did you awaken this?"
Soi fong said gravely:
"Not just that. This Quincy power is terrifying. It's not inferior to the Sternritter I've seen."
Yoruichi raised a brow.
"Quincy power… is Masaki Kurosaki's bloodline awakening?"
Unohana smiled with narrowed eyes.
"Impressive, Human. Hollow. Shinigami. Quincy… you've awakened so many powers."
As she spoke, she looked at Ryūgen, smiling.
"And I really didn't expect the Human World to still have a Quincy as strong as you—actually able to trade blows with Cole."
Cole held Ryūgen's blade back and said calmly:
"Uncle, I didn't come here to fight you. And whatever happens to Ichigo has nothing to do with you, does it?"
Ryūgen gripped the blue blade tightly, his face cold as he pressed down.
"Since you came to ask about purebloods and hybrids, you should know the difference between them."
"More or less. There are still parts I'm not totally clear on, but I understand the basics."
Cole nodded slightly.
"Then how dare you let Ichigo awaken Quincy power!?"
Ryūgen glared at Cole, furious.
Ichigo was Masaki's child.
Even Isshin hadn't dared to restore the Shiba name to him—
All to ensure the Kurosaki bloodline continued.
Yet this brat had forced Ichigo to awaken Quincy power.
And Ichigo was a hybrid.
Meaning… Ichigo might follow the same path as his mother—and Ryūgen's wife.
Having his power and life stolen, and dying.
Cole lifted the spirit bow and pushed back, suppressing Ryūgen instead.
"I already told you. Hiding is useless. Even if Ichigo doesn't awaken now, are you sure he won't awaken in the future?"
"And it's not just Ichigo who might awaken Quincy power."
"He has two little sisters—Karin Kurosaki and Yuzu Kurosaki."
"As far as I know, Karin can already clearly see souls. Yuzu is improving too."
"Isn't that the trend of Quincy awakening?"
Cole looked at Ryūgen calmly.
He used to think Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu seeing spirits was mainly because of Shinigami blood.
But now that he thought about it, maybe not.
Because Shinigami power doesn't act on the physical body.
Meaning, no matter how strong a power Ichigo inherited from his father, it would mainly act in soul form.
But Ichigo and his sisters seeing spirits with their human bodies was closer to Quincy power—
Because Quincy power acts on the flesh, using a human body to wield annihilation.
And back in Hueco Mundo, Cole had already noticed that even then, Ichigo had seemed to instinctively use Blut.
The silver-haired man's face shifted between green and purple.
Yet he couldn't find a rebuttal.
Because his choice had always been escape.
But just as Cole said—escape works for a while, not forever.
Right then—
The bedroom door slammed open with a bang. Uryū rushed out, staring at Ichigo in disbelief.
"Wait—Ichigo, why do you have Quincy power!? How can you summon Heilig Pfeil!?"
"You didn't even use a Quincy Cross—you summoned Heilig Pfeil directly."
"And what's that blue pattern on your body? Why does it feel so strong… and so familiar…?"
Ichigo was also totally confused. He waved the spirit bow in his hand.
"No idea. It just appeared in my hand…"
While speaking, he swung the bow again, feeling both shocked and excited.
It was obviously a bow, and he'd never used a bow in his life.
Yet it felt like an extra organ—like the bow was part of him, like they were one.
Ichigo even started testing it out with interest.
And sure enough—once a Quincy awakens, using Quincy power becomes instinct. You can grasp it quickly.
Just like Ichigo: he drew the spirit bow, and a blue arrow formed on it.
Uryū stared so hard his eyes nearly fell out.
Because the Heilig Pfeil Ichigo created was dozens of times stronger than his own.
Looking at his foolish son, Ryūgen lost any desire to keep fighting. He withdrew his spirit bow and said coldly:
"This is the downside of chasing power only. You actually don't even know Blut exists."
As he spoke, he glanced at Ichigo and couldn't help sighing.
His foolish son really was stupid.
Who did he inherit that IQ from!?
He wasn't that dumb.
And Kanae Katagiri was very smart too.
The Quincy records had always been stored in the basement.
Not only the origin of the Quincy race and Quincy history, but also training methods for Quincy abilities—
Including, but not limited to: Licht Regen (Light Rain), Blut Vene, Blut Arterie, Hakudo (White Emission), Sprenger (Exploding Spirit Barrage), Gritz (Five-Post Bind), Ransōtengai (Heavenly Puppet), and more…
Even the "Silver blood clot" Ryūgen had just researched had detailed notes stored down there.
Yet his foolish son had never once gone down to the basement to study.
So after being a Quincy for more than ten years, he still hadn't even seen the most basic Blut.
Pathetic.
(End of Chapter)
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