— — — — — —
BOOM—!!
A blast of blue spirit energy slammed into the barrier surrounding the Seireitei and exploded in a brilliant flash.
The sudden impact left Ichigo Kurosaki, Yasutora Sado "Chad", Uryu Ishida, Orihime Inoue, and Ganju Shiba completely dumbfounded inside the spirit energy cannon.
Then—
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH—!"
Everyone started screaming like the sky was falling.
"Crap!"
Still mid-air, Uryu's pupils shrank in panic.
"At this rate, we're all gonna get scattered!"
Raiding the Seireitei while getting split up? That was practically a death sentence.
Glancing around frantically, Uryu noticed that everyone was being flung in different directions.
After a brief moment of hesitation, he forced himself to steer using spirit particles, guiding his trajectory toward the only girl in the group—Orihime.
It wasn't because he had a crush on her or anything. But letting a girl wander alone through enemy territory? Yeah, no—bad things were almost guaranteed to happen.
His effort paid off—he managed to get a bit closer to her.
WHOOSH—!
Wind howled in his ears.
THUMP!
Uryu crash-landed onto the roof of a house.
Fortunately, the energy from the spirit cannon had left a protective buffer around him, so he got away with just a rough landing—no real injuries.
He got up quickly and scanned the area.
"Orihime should've landed nearby… From this height, it shouldn't take long to—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
There—right at the edge of the rooftop—
A man sat calmly, dressed in a black Shihakushō. Dark hair. Black eyes. Handsome to the point it was almost off-putting. And he was smiling at Uryu.
Uryu gulped.
He knew he'd landed on a rooftop—but a random guy chilling on the roof like it was nothing? That didn't feel random at all.
"So… I was targeted the moment I landed? And he got here without me even noticing…"
A powerful enemy.
No—a terrifyingly powerful enemy.
In that instant, Uryu's mind flashed back to a few days ago—to that guy. The cold, merciless face of the man who nearly killed Ichigo.
If he remembered right, that guy was the captain of Division 6 in the Gotei 13.
His speed had been overwhelming, too—just like this guy.
So… what? He'd landed right in front of a captain?
For once, even someone as composed as Uryu felt a little faint.
It was like a newbie fresh out of the tutorial zone running into a level 99 boss sitting right at the entrance of the village.
And then the man—Ryo—idly spun the hilt of his Zanpakuto and said:
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Uryu Ishida."
Uryu's pupils twitched. He didn't respond.
Right now, with zero information about the situation, silence seemed like his best move. Maybe the guy would slip up and reveal something useful.
Ryo didn't seem bothered by the lack of response. He just casually pulled out a pocket watch and checked the hands.
Ever since Ryo had manifested Reiatsu and acquired a Zanpakuto, the watch hand had been pointing to the number "5".
That confirmed one of his theories—
If he could acquire and use power from another world, it would increase his influence.
Back when he'd met Retsu Unohana, the watch hadn't moved at all. Which made sense.
An oddball from Division 5 wasn't likely to leave much of an impact on someone like her—much less affect the world at large.
That's why Ryo had just moments ago decided to abandon his identity as a Division 5 member.
Now he had a new goal—or rather, an experiment:
—Replace Uryu Ishida, and completely derail the Soul Society arc.
And why Uryu, specifically?
Well, because he didn't have many options.
Ichigo had too many eyes on him. Chad's power was too weird to copy. Orihime? A girl with even weirder powers.
That left Uryu.
Ryo tucked the watch away, rubbing his chin as he looked Uryu over.
Center-parted hair, glasses, cold expression, white Quincy cross uniform. Kind of a bishounen, in a nerdy way.
Ryo grabbed the sheath of his Zanpakuto, slowly stood up, and looked down at Uryu with a sly grin.
"Hey, want to make a deal?"
"…What kind of deal?"
Uryu kept his voice calm.
Ryo casually stuck his sword at his waist and grinned.
"I remember you've got a bone to pick with the guy who killed your grandfather. How about I take care of him for you, and in exchange, you lie low for a few days?"
Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of Division 12—the one who killed Uryu's grandfather just to study how Quincy souls worked. Twisted. Grotesque.
And in the original timeline, Uryu couldn't beat him—just had to accept it and move on.
So Ryo thought he was being generous by offering to take that burden off his hands.
But Uryu clearly didn't appreciate the gesture.
In an instant, he used Hirenkyaku, the Quincy movement technique, to reposition 30 meters behind Ryo. The silver cross bracelet on his wrist glowed—manifesting into a glowing blue spirit bow.
An arrow of blue energy pointed straight at Ryo's back.
Uryu's eyes were bloodshot. His voice low and gravelly.
"Who killed my grandfather?"
The sudden news had short-circuited his brain. Logic was gone. All he could think about was using force to get answers.
He already hated Shinigamis because of that death—now his rage was bubbling over.
But the fury didn't matter.
"Captain of Division 12. Mayuri Kurotsuchi."
The answer came not from in front of him—but from right beside his ear.
Uryu's eyes went wide. He tried to dodge with Hirenkyaku—
But his body wouldn't move.
He was paralyzed.
A hand gripped his wrist, touching the Quincy cross.
Then came a curious voice:
"Oh? So this is how Quincies make spirit bows, huh?"
Uryu's breath caught in his throat.
He's controlling me… with Reiatsu? But I can't even feel it. What is this guy?
He watched helplessly as Ryo took his spirit bow, activated the complex Quincy device like he'd been born with it, and then used Hirenkyaku to create dozens of afterimages in a blur around him.
Then—he watched, horrified, as Ryo transformed.
Piece by piece, Ryo took on Uryu's appearance.
Stripped him down. Put on a Shihakushō. Dragged him into a nearby house.
"You'll stay here for the next seven days. Don't worry—your body will unfreeze on its own by then. As for food, well, Quincies can just absorb Reishi—spirit particles—from the air in Soul Society."
Uryu stared in disbelief as the bedroom door slowly shut.
"A Shinigami can use a Quincy's spirit bow…? And Hirenkyaku…? Then am I a Quincy? Or a Shinigami? No—who the hell am I?!"
So… what was even the point of coming to Soul Society?
Ryo Yagami, now wearing his brand-new "Uryu Ishida" disguise, played with the stolen spirit bow as he gracefully stepped outside using Hirenkyaku—learned with just a glance.
He stored his Zanpakuto inside a Gift Card, then strolled through three alleyways like he owned the place.
But just as he turned a corner—
A pair of hands suddenly reached out toward him.
.
.
.