"Stop messing around, Masaki. Tsunayoshi, right? Can you point out the location of the Still Silver?" Ryūken asked.
Tsunayoshi rubbed his already reddened cheek and shot Masaki—who looked rather pleased with herself—a glare before replying, "Sure."
The Demon Lens of D·Spade turned toward Kanae lying on the bed. Instantly, her body became translucent. What appeared before Ryūken was a complete network of human veins, and within that network were three glowing points—the Still Silver Tsunayoshi had mentioned.
This was exactly what Tsunayoshi had seen through the Demon Lens earlier. Now, using the mirror's power, he cast an illusion upon Kanae, recreating the scene he had witnessed so Ryūken could observe it.
Seeing the Still Silver with his own eyes, Ryūken's expression turned grave. The fragments were moving somewhat quickly; there was no way to remove them at fixed points. The operation would have to be dynamic.
"So, Ryūken, how is it? Are you confident?" Masaki asked. For once, she wasn't joking.
Ryūken reached out to touch the location of the Still Silver—but his hand passed right through it, as if grasping empty air.
He turned to Tsunayoshi.
Tsunayoshi awkwardly scratched his nose.
"Uh… strictly speaking, what you're seeing right now is just my illusion. You can't actually touch Aunt Kanae."
"In that case, surgery can't be performed in this state," Ryūken said calmly. "Can you simulate a reference target beside her using your illusion?"
With a reference point, Ryūken was confident he could complete the surgery while simultaneously observing the Still Silver's movement.
"Uh… I can't. My illusion has to be cast on a specific target for it to work."
Tsunayoshi felt helpless. The mirror's main ability was perception—seeing through things. Illusions were merely a secondary function and could only transform a single target.
"What if you use me as the target?" Masaki suggested, pointing at herself. "I can lie beside her. Put the illusion on me so Ryūken can perform the surgery on Kanae."
Tsunayoshi looked her up and down.
"That could work… but differences in body shape might cause slight deviations. Is that acceptable?"
"No."
Ryūken pushed up his glasses with absolute confidence.
"The Still Silver fragments are extremely small. I'm probably the only one capable of removing them. In all of Karakura Town, there isn't a second person confident enough to perform this surgery. There can be no margin of error."
"Unless you can find someone whose height and build are exactly the same as both of them…"
Just as Tsunayoshi and Ryūken were racking their brains, Masaki suddenly snapped her fingers.
"A body with identical proportions? That might actually be possible."
She grinned.
"Ryūken, don't forget where my husband came from. A body that perfectly matches the soul… couldn't that be used to create an identical copy?"
Ryūken immediately understood.
Kurosaki Isshin, being a Shinigami, was fundamentally a soul. In order to live normally in the Human World, he had to inhabit an artificial body called a Gigai.
And a Gigai could be made to look exactly like its user.
"Cancel the illusion, Tsunayoshi," Ryūken said.
Unlike Masaki, Ryūken wasn't frivolous. The abilities Tsunayoshi had demonstrated were already enough to earn his respect.
Leaning down beside the bed, Ryūken spoke softly to Kanae.
"You heard everything just now. Do you trust me?"
Kanae smiled faintly.
"You know I do. I always have."
While the two shared a quiet moment, Masaki dragged Tsunayoshi aside with a mischievous grin.
"Little Tsuna, you don't mind staying over at Auntie's house tonight, right?"
Tsunayoshi understood immediately. Masaki wanted to use the excuse to cover for him with Sawada Nana. Fortunately, Tsunayoshi visited the Kurosaki residence often enough that the excuse wouldn't seem suspicious.
After receiving his nod, Masaki excitedly called Nana.
Her explanation was simple: Tsunayoshi and Ichigo had played until they fell asleep, the rain was too heavy tonight, so Tsunayoshi would stay over.
"All settled!" Masaki flashed a victory sign at Tsunayoshi.
Then she turned to Ryūken.
"Ryūken, let's head out now. We'll go straight to the shop. I'll call Isshin and have him meet us there."
"Alright. Let's move."
Ryūken grabbed a bag, lifted Kanae onto his back, and pushed open the window of his house—clearly preparing to jump out.
"Wait… we're not driving?" Tsunayoshi asked.
There were two patients here. Were they seriously just going to run out into the rain?
"The rain makes visibility poor, and driving would be too slow," Ryūken replied matter-of-factly. "Didn't you come flying here too?"
He gathered Reishi beneath his feet, forming a thin membrane above himself and Kanae. The raindrops were completely deflected.
Tsunayoshi was left speechless.
Masaki poked his cheek.
"Look at Ryūken. Little Tsuna, you wouldn't let Aunt Masaki get soaked in the rain, would you?"
Faced with someone older shamelessly acting cute, Tsunayoshi had no real defense.
Green light wrapped around the Demon Lens, transforming into a cloak that covered both of them.
"The First Vongola's Cloak."
"Now that's a good item," Masaki said happily while riding on Tsunayoshi's back. "You should've taken that out earlier. Auntie got soaked for quite a while."
Tsunayoshi silently apologized.
He never imagined that the cloak of the Vongola Primo, embodying the all-embracing Sky Flame—capable of purifying, devouring, and containing everything—would be used for the first time… as a raincoat.
"I'll call Isshin…"
At the Kurosaki residence, once Isshin heard that Masaki might be in mortal danger, he immediately grabbed his car keys and rushed for the door.
Halfway there, he suddenly turned back, grabbed a large bag from inside the house, and then dashed out again.
Above Karakura Town, two groups moved rapidly through the curtain of rain.
The group behind emitted flashes of green light with each step, their movement slightly stuttering each time they advanced—this was the recoil of Bringer Light.
The group ahead was different. Blue light constantly gathered beneath their feet. Their path was perfectly straight, and their speed was astonishing.
The distance between the two groups quickly widened.
"So that's the Hirenkyaku used by Quincy… impressive," Tsunayoshi sighed while racing forward.
He was already going all out, yet he still couldn't catch up to Ishida Ryūken.
Of course, Ryūken's superior strength played a role—but the advantages of Hirenkyaku were undeniable.
Hirenkyaku was a high-speed movement technique used by Quincy. By concentrating Reishi beneath their feet, they allowed the Reishi itself to propel them forward—like wearing a pair of high-speed shoes.
Simply put, Hirenkyaku was like skating, while Bringer Light was more like explosive jumping. Under equal conditions, Hirenkyaku was naturally faster.
"What's wrong? Feeling jealous, little Tsuna?" Masaki teased from his back. "If you want to learn, ask Ryūken to teach you."
"It's the signature technique of the Quincy. Of course I want to learn it," Tsunayoshi replied matter-of-factly.
"…Aren't you afraid of Auswählen?" Masaki asked softly, her tone suddenly subdued.
The emptiness of losing one's power wasn't something easily forgotten.
"Auswählen isn't omnipotent," Tsunayoshi said. "Look at that uncle's son—he's also a mixed-blood Quincy, yet nothing happened to him."
"Uryū? He's already started training as a Quincy?" Masaki asked in surprise.
"Just because his father didn't teach him doesn't mean nobody did," Tsunayoshi replied.
Then he asked:
"By the way, Aunt Masaki… do you plan to let Ichigo become a Quincy?"
Masaki pouted.
"Of course not. What's the point of fighting and killing? I want Ichigo to live a normal life. If he becomes a Quincy, he'll have to worry about things like Auswählen."
Masaki truly feared Auswählen. In her mind, if Ichigo never gained any power, he would never attract its attention.
What she didn't know was that Ichigo had already caught Aizen's attention. There was no way his life would ever remain ordinary.
Nor did she know that Ichigo himself belonged to the group that Auswählen could not affect.
Tsunayoshi said nothing more.
He respected the choices of other people's parents. He made a decision: unless Ichigo personally sought him out for power, he wouldn't guide him in awakening the abilities inside him.
After all, Ichigo would still obtain his powers eventually—and even defeat Yhwach three years later.
There was no need to rush.
Soon, Tsunayoshi spotted their destination.
In the middle of a small clearing stood an unassuming little shop.
This was the place Masaki had brought them to.
Urahara Shop.
Once the captain of the 12th Division of the Gotei 13, Urahara Kisuke had opened this store in the Human World after being forced to leave Soul Society.
He was also one of the greatest producers of "black technology" in the entire Shinigami world. If you needed some bizarre or mysterious gadget, chances were Urahara could pull it out of nowhere.
Just as Tsunayoshi landed, a small truck screeched to a stop beside them.
A man in a loud floral shirt jumped out.
Kurosaki Isshin.
Since the Kurosaki home was closer, he had arrived almost at the same time as them.
Before Isshin could even check Masaki's condition, the door of the shabby old shop creaked open.
Standing there was a man wearing a green-and-white striped bucket hat, holding a folding fan that covered half his face. He wore a dark green coat and trousers.
With an exaggerated and somewhat sleazy tone, he said:
"Oh my, oh my. I was just thinking the sky seemed a bit clearer tonight. Turns out we have honored guests visiting."
The pouring rain behind him proved he was talking nonsense.
This man was Urahara Kisuke.
"Kisuke, cut the chatter—we need your help!" Isshin shouted.
He scooped Masaki up in a princess carry and rushed straight into the shop.
His reckless charge forced Urahara to hurriedly step aside.
But when he saw Kanae's pale face on Ryūken's back, Urahara immediately realized the situation was serious.
Inside the reception room of Urahara Shop, a muscular middle-aged man with a small braid was serving tea to Tsunayoshi and the others.
His name was Tsukabishi Tessai, the former Captain of the Kidō Corps in Soul Society. His mastery of Kidō was unfathomably deep.
Beside Tsunayoshi stood two children about his age.
The girl, Tsumugiya Ururu, wore twin ponytails and looked quiet and gentle.
The boy, Hanakari Jinta, was the complete opposite. With bright red hair and an energetic personality, he had already nicknamed Tsunayoshi "Spiky Head" the moment they met.
Soon, Urahara returned with Isshin and Ryūken.
Masaki and Kanae had been settled in another room.
Masaki had fiercely resisted being treated like a patient, but once Isshin realized her energetic demeanor was merely forced bravado, he sternly ordered her to lie down and rest.
"Ah, so this is the young man who's been quite active over the past year?" Urahara said dramatically as he entered.
A sharp glint flickered in his eyes.
Urahara had been stationed in Karakura Town for years. Naturally, he had long sensed Sawada Tsunayoshi's Reiatsu.
But since Tsunayoshi had done nothing dangerous—and was even helping eliminate Hollows—Urahara had chosen not to intervene.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi," Tsunayoshi introduced himself.
"Well then, Mr. Tsunayoshi," Urahara said with a smile, "could you explain the situation in detail—and what exactly you need from me?"
The information Ryūken and Isshin had given him about Auswählen earlier was incomplete. The best way to understand the matter was clearly to hear it directly from Tsunayoshi.