"Alright, the attack's over. Stop blocking the way."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi slapped Nemu aside, sending her heavily wounded body crashing to the roadside. He paid no attention to her convulsing in pain and simply extended his left hand toward Uryū.
His arm suddenly elongated like a serpent, shooting toward Uryū.
Uryū swiftly sidestepped, drew a Seele Schneider, and sliced through the grotesque limb.
Mayuri showed no frustration. Calmly, he removed the severed arm and injected it with a regeneration drug. His left arm rapidly regrew.
"Not bad," he remarked flatly, before glancing at Nemu lying on the ground. "How long are you planning to lie there? Get up and capture him!"
Uryū could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Mayuri didn't just shout—he repeatedly kicked Nemu, worsening her already severe injuries, leaving her drenched in blood.
After being urged, Nemu struggled to her feet. With trembling hands, she wiped across her body, crushing the embedded Reishi arrows that hindered her movement. After coughing up more blood, she staggered toward Uryū with her arms outstretched, trying to seize him.
"Why are you doing this? You're already severely injured—there's no need to keep fighting!" Uryū couldn't help but shout.
Nemu paid him no mind.
With every step, blood dripped onto the ground as she muttered softly—
"Execute… Lord Mayuri's orders…"
Seeing her pitiful state, Uryū couldn't understand it at all.
The more she moved, the worse her injuries became.
In that case—
He would simply make it impossible for her to move.
Uryū easily avoided her feeble attempt to grab him and fired two arrows.
The Heilig Pfeil pierced through both her forearms, pinning her to a nearby wall and suspending her body in place.
Her arms spread out, immobilized—
Like a human crucifix.
"Still kind, aren't you… Quincy."
Mayuri's voice suddenly came from behind.
While Uryū's attention had been on Nemu, Mayuri had already slipped behind him. His Zanpakutō was released as he slashed down.
His blade—
Ashisogi Jizō.
In Shikai, it took on a twisted golden form with three pronged blades, and near the hilt was a grotesque baby-like face.
It carried a biological toxin.
Once it struck, the poison would paralyze the opponent—
This was Mayuri's preferred method: use Nemu as a distraction, then land a decisive hit.
But—
Clang!
The blade struck Uryū's back and stopped.
Blue, vein-like Reishi patterns spread across Uryū's body, blocking the attack entirely.
No injury.
No poison.
Uryū immediately turned and fired an arrow, forcing Mayuri back.
Mayuri stared with interest at the Reishi patterns on Uryū's neck.
"Interesting. I almost forgot Quincy have this ability… Blut, wasn't it?"
Uryū had activated Blut Vene—
By channeling Reishi into his blood vessels, he drastically enhanced his defense.
Its counterpart, Blut Arterie, amplified offensive power.
The two could not be used simultaneously.
Originally, Blut was an innate ability of pure-blood Quincy, but it had been rediscovered through Sōken's research—and under Ryūken's guidance, Uryū had mastered it.
"You know about Blut?" Uryū asked.
"That outdated ability? Hardly a secret," Mayuri said, raising his Zanpakutō. "If my blade can't cut you… then how about this?"
"Bankai."
His Zanpakutō transformed into a massive grotesque creature.
A giant, insect-like entity with a golden baby's head—
Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō.
The creature's sheer size tore through the street.
From its mouth, a thick purple poison mist poured out, spreading toward Uryū.
Mayuri's research told him—
Blut Vene could enhance defense, but it couldn't block toxins that invaded the body.
Once the poison entered Uryū—
The battle would be over.
But Uryū remained calm.
He took out a blue-and-white glove and slowly put it on.
There was no fear in his expression.
He believed—
With the combat techniques taught by his father, the abilities inherited from his mother, and the equipment left behind by his grandfather—
He would not lose.
The moment the glove was worn, the surrounding Reishi surged violently.
High-density spiritual particles gathered around him.
For an ordinary Quincy, even lifting a bow in such conditions would be difficult—
But Uryū had already adapted.
This density didn't just burden him—
It empowered him.
If he used his "Rain of Light" in this state, Nemu wouldn't have been able to move at all.
"Oh? A power I've never seen before," Mayuri said calmly. "I approve of you becoming my new Quincy test subject."
"Experimentation… Is there no respect for life in your eyes?" Uryū's gaze turned icy.
"The greatest value of your lives is contributing to my research," Mayuri replied. "Die—Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō!"
The massive creature surged forward, flooding the area with poison.
Uryū fired an arrow, dispersing the toxic mist and carving out space.
Mayuri countered by throwing a human bomb, detonating Uryū's arrow midair—an invention that used modified Shinigami bodies as explosives.
With that brief opening—
Uryū grabbed the glove.
And pulled.
He removed—
The Sanrei Glove.
In that instant—
All surrounding Reishi went berserk.
It surged toward Uryū, forcibly drawn into his body.
The air itself seemed drained of spiritual particles.
Even nearby buildings began disintegrating into Reishi, flowing toward him.
This was—
Reishi subjugation.
Absolute control.
Even the poison surrounding him was broken down and absorbed.
Gradually—
A single wing of Reishi formed behind him.
This was the ultimate Quincy form Uryū had mastered—
A state developed by Ishida Sōken.
A form that required the Sanrei Glove to forcibly achieve.
This form had a fatal flaw:
Once the glove was removed—
The Quincy would lose their powers.
But for Uryū's mother, this drawback was irrelevant.
In fact—
The Sanrei Glove had been designed specifically for her.
With it, she had been the strongest member of the Ishida family.
No exceptions.
Uryū had once used this form against Tsunayoshi.
Tsuna had called it—
"Incomplete Vollständig."
A relic of the old Quincy era—
Yet astonishingly close to the modern Vollständig of the Wandenreich.
It was incomplete:
It couldn't be activated freely
It lacked a Schrift (soul letter ability)
Sōken had only just begun solving the second issue before his death.
Back to the battlefield—
For the first time, Mayuri's expression turned serious.
Before he could react—
A flash of blue light cut through the air.
In an instant—
Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō was destroyed.
Shattered into fragments.
Reduced back to a broken Asauchi.
One arrow.
That was all it took.
Mayuri's expression darkened.
Without hesitation, he turned and fled toward Squad 12.
Only by reaching his laboratory could he turn the situation around.
But Uryū would not let him escape.
Another arrow shot past Mayuri's right side—
The residual force obliterated half his body, sending him crashing to the ground.
Still, Mayuri didn't give up.
As he rolled, he pulled a hidden sickle-like weapon from his ear and threw it at Uryū, while simultaneously injecting himself to regenerate.
Uryū casually knocked the weapon aside with his Seele Schneider.
Then—
He fired three Seele Schneider into the air.
They fell in perfect arcs, forming a triangle around Mayuri.
High-density Reishi connected—
Forming a triangular barrier that sealed him inside.
Mayuri hurled multiple human bombs at the barrier.
Explosions tore small gaps—
But they quickly repaired themselves.
If his Zanpakutō were intact, he could have escaped using liquefaction techniques—
But it had already been destroyed.
Uryū drew his bow again.
Another arrow—
Half of Mayuri's body was obliterated once more.
At this point, he was nothing more than meat on a chopping block.
Mayuri stopped regenerating.
"Well? Do you not want to kill me—or do you not dare?" he sneered. "Is this the Quincy's revenge?"
Uryū's hand trembled.
His aim slowly shifted—
Toward Mayuri's head.
If not for Tsuna's warning to avoid killing him—
This would have ended long ago.
Mayuri laughed.
Wildly.
Relentlessly.
Each laugh stabbed at Uryū's mind.
Kill him.
Kill him.
The killing intent built up within him—
Until—
He made his decision.
Kill Mayuri.
At that moment—
A figure stepped between them.
Nemu.
Her arms hung uselessly, her legs trembling as she forced herself to stand—
Just to shield Mayuri a little longer.
"Why follow someone like him? He treats you as nothing but a tool! Move aside!" Uryū shouted.
"My… everything… belongs to… Lord Mayuri… I… will not… move…"
Nemu spoke in broken words.
"...Nemu…"
For the first time, something stirred in Mayuri's heart.
Was he truly that important to her?
Uryū's hand shook.
He couldn't understand.
How could someone like Mayuri have someone willing to stand by him?
Facing Nemu's vacant yet resolute eyes—
Uryū hesitated.
And in that moment of hesitation—
He released the string.
The arrow curved unnaturally—
Passing around Nemu—
Still heading straight for Mayuri.
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