Whoosh!
The whirlwind caused by the spiritual pressure dispersed, and the tree-branch-like patterns gradually turned transparent, her skin returning to the healthy fairness of a teenage girl.
In just a few seconds, the neurotoxin that had rendered her helpless moments ago was completely eradicated.
"As expected of Blut," Kai said, sitting nearby, unable to hold back his praise.
Blut (Blood Guise) is an exclusive ability possessed only by pure-blooded Quincies. It is divided into two forms: Blut Vene (Static Blood Guise) and Blut Arterie (Dynamic Blood Guise).
Blut Vene is a permanently active passive skill.
It forms a protective layer on the Quincy's skin and inside their body, immune to any attack.
As long as the attack's intensity does not exceed the Quincy's own spiritual pressure, Blut Venewill defend against all damage.
And even if the defense is breached, Blut Vene's regeneration speed is extremely fast.
Blut Arterie, on the other hand, is an active ability.
It fully activates the power of the blood, granting immense strength, speed, endurance, and spiritual pressure amplification for a short time, but at the cost of losing Blut Vene's defensive capabilities.
The two forms cannot exist simultaneously.
What had just eliminated the neurotoxin was the ability of Blut Vene.
Even if Kai hadn't killed that Adjuchas-class Menos just now, Masaki Kurosaki likely would have awakened her Blut immediately and counter-killed it effortlessly.
"You seem to know a lot about Quincies, Mr. Soul Reaper?"
Masaki Kurosaki sat cross-legged opposite him. She looked curiously at the boy before her, her voice—hoarse just a moment ago—rapidly recovering to a clear, girlish tone as her Blutawakened.
"I just didn't expect to see such a rare ability with my own eyes," Kai smiled, then pointed at her skirt. "Also, you're flashing me."
"Yikes?!"
Masaki shrieked, blushing furiously as she pressed down her skirt. "You're weird, Mr. Soul Reaper. Unlike other Soul Reapers, you don't seem to have any hostility toward me."
Masaki's gaze was filled with curiosity.
She had met Soul Reapers before, but they always looked at her with wariness or disgust. Their gazes were far less clear than this boy's.
It was as if... in this Soul Reaper's eyes, she was just an ordinary human girl.
"You say that like you're not weird. Quincies are supposed to be pretty hostile toward Soul Reapers too, right?"
Kai spoke slowly.
Immediately, the girl's face turned even redder.
She proactively extended a fair hand toward Kai. "Let's reintroduce ourselves. I'm Masaki Kurosaki, a Quincy."
After speaking, Masaki winked playfully.
"My name? I'm Renji Abarai. As you can see, I'm a Soul Reaper."
Kai couldn't help but smile as he shook her cold little hand, voluntarily offering up Renji's name.
What? You ask why he didn't tell Masaki Kurosaki his real name?
Are you kidding?
Tell her his real name, and then have it recorded by the Quincy clan?
Who knows if there are members of the Wandenreich (Invisible Empire) hiding among the Quincies in the World of the Living right now?
So, sorry, Renji.
With a face full of righteousness, Kai once again farmed some reputation points for Renji.
Renji's World Fame +1.
"Renji Abarai?"
Masaki tilted her head in thought, then smiled brightly. "Then I'll call you Renji! Thanks a lot for today. If it weren't for you, I probably would have died."
Kai shook his head. "Even without me, you wouldn't have been in trouble today."
Without awakening Blut, that Adjuchas wasn't a match for Masaki. With Blut awakened, that Adjuchas had absolutely zero chance of winning.
"You can't say that. If it weren't for you, I might have died right then and there. Who could have guessed if I would awaken my Blut in time?"
Masaki had a great mindset and was very chatty—an extroverted, sunny personality.
"Whatever you say."
Kai patted the dust off his pants, preparing to leave.
"You're leaving already? I was planning to treat you to dinner," Masaki pouted, muttering in dissatisfaction.
"Have you ever seen a Soul Reaper eat human food?"
Kai threw out a retort, then leaped from the high-rise building, vanishing from sight.
"He left so decisively..."
Masaki stood on the rooftop for a long time before suddenly covering her mouth and giggling triumphantly. "Think you can hide from me? I'm the genius girl of the Quincy clan, Masaki Kurosaki! You can't escape me!"
With a smug hum, Masaki glanced at the hospital beneath her feet and also vanished.
A few seconds later, a cool breeze blew past.
A young man with glasses, dark blue eyes, side-parted short hair, and fair skin stood at the edge of the rooftop, watching the retreating figure of the girl sneaking away from the hospital.
"A Soul Reaper... is it..."
...
Meanwhile.
In a slightly remote area, inside a shop that hadn't seen a customer in ages.
A man wearing green casual clothes, a green-and-white striped bucket hat, and wooden clogs pushed the door open and walked in.
Above the entrance, the sign read: Urahara Shop.
"You're back, Manager."
Behind the door, a burly man wearing glasses and a work apron was leaning against the wall, as if he had been waiting for some time.
He was Tessai Tsukabishi, the former Grand Kido Chief of the Kido Corps!
"That spiritual pressure... you felt it too, didn't you?"
Kisuke Urahara acknowledged him, then suddenly asked.
"Yes, I sensed it. Although it only erupted for a split second, it was enough."
"Spiritual pressure of that level... did a Captain come to the World of the Living?"
Tessai's glasses glinted as he pushed them up, looking at the man before him.
Perhaps the answer would come from the Manager.
"That was completely unfamiliar spiritual pressure. A guy I don't know at all."
Urahara shook his head solemnly.
"How troublesome. At a time like this... could it be Aizen..."
Hearing this, Tessai frowned, his expression turning grim.
"That wasn't Aizen."
From the corner, a black cat suddenly spoke in a male voice, joining the conversation.
"By the way, Tessai, has anything strange happened in Soul Society recently?"
Glancing at the black cat, Urahara also leaned against the doorframe, lowering his gaze as he asked.
Although they had defected from Soul Society, it didn't mean Urahara and his group had completely lost their intelligence channels.
To deal with Aizen, information was essential.
They needed to constantly monitor Soul Society's movements to analyze what stage Aizen's plan had reached or what exactly he was trying to do.
"If we're talking about strange things... there actually is one."
Hesitating for a few seconds, Tessai spoke slowly. "Byakuya Kuchiki's younger brother, Kai, was dispatched to Karakura Town for reasons we couldn't investigate. He's the new Soul Reaper stationed here."
"Kai... is it?"
Urahara's expression shifted. He suddenly looked at the black cat, who had lifted its head and narrowed its eyes at some point.
"Yoruichi-san. If I recall correctly, that kid named Kai... he's your fiancé, isn't he?"