Bambi was so angry she laughed, because she racked her brain but couldn't understand the reason.
The opponent she couldn't defeat even with all her strength was actually killed by Tokito Iwákatsu with a single arrow.
Although it was partly because she hadn't used her Sternritter, Tokito Iwákatsu hadn't used his either...
He didn't even have a Sternritter.
Surely, in his normal state, his control over reishi couldn't be far stronger than hers, could it?
One must know that the strength of a Quincy largely depends on their control over reishi.
The more reishi one can control at once, the stronger the power of their techniques will be.
Now...
A sudden, indescribable sense of urgency surged in Bambi's heart.
She didn't even bother to treat the bleeding wounds on her body.
Because.
If no accidents occurred, given Tokito Iwákatsu's performance today, he would definitely be granted a Sternritter upon returning to Inner Silver Frame City.
At that time, how would she conduct herself?
The Shinigami was still twitching. Yoriichi walked over, glanced at him, and said indifferently,
"That was dangerous. We almost let these guys succeed. Fortunately, the incident happened nearby..."
Yoriichi turned his face, gazed at the girl whose entire body was stained with blood, and asked,
"Bambi, are you alright?"
Alright? Do I look alright?
Bambi was pulled back to reality by the pain.
She bared her teeth, took a deep, harsh breath, her face full of annoyance and dissatisfaction, and shouted,
"Someone like you shouldn't talk loudly about danger! From beginning to end, you were the most dangerous one, weren't you?!"
"You actually hid so much of your strength! What exactly do you want to do?!"
Hidden... That's right. In Bambi's opinion, Tokito Iwákatsu didn't use his full strength in yesterday's battle.
Although she didn't know why, she had clearly fallen into a trap.
If Tokito Iwákatsu's strength were measured by yesterday's performance, she would definitely be severely reprimanded by him upon returning to Inner Silver Frame City.
At that time, she would experience her second failure, a first in her life.
Just thinking about it felt humiliating. Fortunately, this incident happened today, allowing her to see through him.
Whoosh—
The surrounding reishi gathered, absorbed by Bambi into her body.
Her injuries healed rapidly at a visible speed.
Yoriichi heard her questioning, his expression still calm:
"Hidden, huh... I always display strength according to the opponent's strength."
"To this day, I still don't know how strong I truly am, which is why I came to the Holy City."
"Because I feel that there must be countless masters here who can help me better understand myself."
As soon as these words came out, Bambi was stunned for a second, and then she exploded.
Her heart filled with an indescribably strong emotion, she laughed in extreme anger:
"What do you mean by that? Are you saying that I, Lord Bambi, am not worthy of being your opponent, and don't even have the qualifications to make you use your full strength?"
"Tokito Iwákatsu, don't be too arrogant!"
"I am your superior now, it's no longer the situation when you were in the countryside!"
"I advise you to be honest, don't force me to use my true power..."
"I'm telling you, once I use my full strength, even I will be afraid!"
These words had no convincing power, especially seeing Bambi's current disheveled appearance.
—Although her injuries had healed, her clothes were still tattered, with tears everywhere.
Yoriichi nodded slightly, then unhurriedly walked forward, came beside the Shinigami, lowered his head, his expression calm:
"Hmm, you are very powerful."
"But now isn't the time to discuss these things, is it? Where did this Shinigami come from?"
"Bambi, do you know?"
Hearing Tokito Iwákatsu's praise, though somewhat perfunctory, her anger still subsided a little.
Bambi reached out to carefully mend the holes in her clothes, her slightly displeased eyes fixed on the Shinigami on the ground, and she said angrily,
"How could I know? I was just walking on the road when I was inexplicably attacked."
"This Shinigami is simply a madman, specifically targeting me..."
"Wait, no, what did you just call me?"
She was startled, and then somewhat angry, only now reacting:
"Call me Lord Bambi! You are my subordinate now, I do not allow you to call me by my name directly!"
Bambi's temper was still volatile, but Yoriichi didn't care.
After all, from the beginning, he hadn't considered himself a true Quincy.
At this moment, he was experiencing this incident with more of an acting mindset.
Therefore, the persona of being indifferent and unworldly had to be maintained to the end.
He paused, still using a calm tone, and slowly said,
"Alright, Bambi."
"Now, can you tell me where he appeared from?"
"You!" Bambi's fingers trembled with anger, the blankness in her thoughts leaving her speechless.
She had never seen such a stubborn subordinate.
Going against her, this was truly rebellious!
If it were before, she would have dismembered him a hundred times over.
But alas.
She couldn't deal with him currently. Not being able to defeat him even with her Sternritter was one reason; only becoming a subordinate today and not understanding the rules was another.
She couldn't possibly stoop to the level of someone from the countryside, especially since Tokito Iwákatsu had saved her at a critical moment.
She could only slowly 'discipline' him later.
Now...
Bambi took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, before saying,
"Don't ask me about this matter. I only have a partial understanding myself. Gremmy must know."
"Although I am the city lord here, he is the true master who secretly controls this city."
"Gremmy, I know you're nearby, come out!"
Bambi raised her head and shouted loudly into the void,
"Stop hiding! What exactly happened just now?"
"Have the Shinigami already mastered a way to enter Wandenreich?"
Buzz—
As soon as these words were uttered, ripples immediately appeared in the surrounding space.
A blonde young man, hands in his pockets, dramatically pushed aside the reishi, which seemed like a curtain, and walked out of thin air.
Gremmy's gaze first subtly lingered on Tokito Iwákatsu for a fraction of a second.
Then he turned to Bambi, extended a finger, and denied,
"No, this was just an accident."
"Because of the battle with that person last time, my imagination went out of control."
"So sometimes, a slight gap appears between Silver Frame City and Seireitei."
"This gap is similar to the Black Cavity that forms when Hueco Mundo and Soul Society connect. Some unlucky Shinigami get teleported in..."
"Don't worry, Bambi, it will be repaired soon."
"During the repair period, I'll have to trouble you to take care of things."
"You are the city lord, aren't you?"
"Although I am the city lord, if there are too many enemies, I won't be able to hold on!"
Bambi's face was full of dissatisfaction, her tone questioning,
"Are you sure those are unlucky Shinigami, and not Captains or something?"
"How could he be so strong?!"
"I'm not sure about that. Who knows what the situation is like in Seireitei? Even I was beaten into such a miserable state."
Gremmy Thoumeaux's expression remained calm, as if he wasn't the one who had been severely beaten last time.
He looked at Bambi and advised,
"It's only a few days, just bear with it. With me here, what are you afraid of? Giselle will take over your shift next week."
"Once he arrives, you'll be relaxed."
"Moreover, don't you have an extra subordinate by your side now?"
"You can use his power."
"I don't want to!" At this moment, Bambi displayed an extremely willful side.
She put her hands on her hips, looking askance at the person beside her, as if she greatly disliked Tokito Iwákatsu,
"Just a mere subordinate, Gremmy, are you saying my strength is inferior to his now?"
"What a joke! Even without him, I can deal with all those Shinigami who break in!"
"This time... this time was just an accident, I didn't perform well!"
"Is that so?" Gremmy's eyes held a hint of playfulness, and he didn't expose Bambi's words.
Because this was originally part of the plan.
Using words to induce Bambi to move away from Tokito Iwákatsu and act alone.
As long as she encountered danger and chose to ask for help, it would become clear what level Tokito Iwákatsu's true combat power was at.
Bambi was very afraid of death.
That "Shinigami" today was a test...
Although he was instantly killed, some results were still obtained.
Tokito Iwákatsu did indeed hide his combat power, not by much, and his method was still the Quincy's reishi cluster.
His explanation also made complete sense: because he hadn't encountered enemies, he didn't know his own strength...
Such words would probably get one beaten in Seireitei.
But within Wandenreich, they seemed very reasonable, after all, there were no powerful enemies within the empire itself.
Gremmy looked deeply at Bambi.
Bambi felt a bit awkward under his gaze and was about to argue. She felt Gremmy was looking down on her.
However, at this moment.
Gremmy suddenly said,
"Alright, whether you're genuinely trying to be strong or just pretending, take care of yourself during this time, and whatever you do, don't die."
"If you die at such a crucial moment, no one will collect your body. Maybe even your corpse will be taken back by the Shinigami for research."
"They are very scary, you don't want to be made into a specimen, do you?"
These words had a fear-mongering tone, but they clearly deeply stimulated Bambi.
She loudly declared that she would absolutely not die, and would absolutely kill every Shinigami who broke in.
As soon as her impassioned words rang out, Gremmy quietly observed Tokito Iwákatsu.
Tokito Iwákatsu's expression showed no change, as if indicating that none of this concerned him...
Seeing this, Gremmy suddenly recalled Haschwalth's words.
If Tokito Iwákatsu was completely indifferent to everything about the Shinigami, then there were only two possibilities for this situation.
One, he was clearly aware of everything within Seireitei,
Tokito Iwákatsu was merely one of his clones.
Two, he was indeed not Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
Which one was it?
...Never mind.
Continue observing.
He had to be cautious, because this represented two future directions, two choices...
...
Gremmy was thoughtful. After giving his instructions, he quickly left Silver Frame City.
Yoriichi watched his retreating back, his indifferent face showing no discernible thoughts.
He had heard every word of their conversation and gained a lot of valuable information from it.
For example, Gremmy was "injured"... This remained to be confirmed.
He was more inclined to believe that the talk of injury was a pretext to deceive Bambietta and cover up the appearance of the Shinigami.
It seemed Bambietta really didn't know anything.
If this incident today had been planned by her and Gremmy together, her emotions wouldn't have been so agitated…
"A sacrifice?"
"Indeed."
"My judgment was correct; Haschwalth would even abandon his comrades for Yhwach."
"Whether I am Yoriichi Tsugikuni or not, Bambietta will probably suffer no less injuries from now on…"
"She might even be on the brink of death…"
Yoriichi didn't feel sympathy for Bambietta; he merely thought Haschwalth was too cold-blooded and ruthless.
Kisuke had previously said that he and Yoriichi were two beings of equal standing in their respective factions.
Now it seemed that even with equal standing, their personalities and values could be worlds apart.
The fundamental reason for this difference should be the different leaders.
Recalling the gentle and kind Hugo that Bazz-B had mentioned, now so cold under Yhwach's influence, Yoriichi couldn't help but sigh at how destructive Yhwach was.
Perhaps Bambietta's unruly personality was also due to his negative influence?
Yoriichi observed Bambietta, then informed Kisuke Urahara of this information in detail.
Upon hearing this, Kisuke pondered for a while, then wrote the information on paper, and after reviewing each point, he nodded:
"Hmm… I think I understand."
"If Haschwalth truly intends to use Bambietta as a pawn, then our success rate in turning her in the future should exceed 80%."
"If the plan is executed properly, we might even cause the Sternritter to fall apart and crumble."
"After all, if one's own life cannot be guaranteed, then even becoming stronger is meaningless."
"Haschwalth has made a foolish move here."
Kisuke Urahara sighed repeatedly.
Yoriichi hadn't even officially acted yet, and the Sternritter had already proactively exposed their greatest weakness.
However, he could also understand.
If he were in Haschwalth's position, knowing there was a hidden danger like a "bomb" nearby…
A slight touch of this bomb could blow the entire Wandenreich to smithereens, and he would certainly be restless.
The so-called "foolish move" was only from the perspective of the Shinigami's God's-eye view.
In Haschwalth's eyes, this might even be a brilliant move…
It seemed that adjusting Tokito Iwákatsu's appearance to resemble Yoriichi was the right move.
Kisuke Urahara slightly narrowed his eyes, intending to offer Yoriichi some advice, but looked up to find him busy.
Since he was busy, never mind; it was only the first day anyway.
It wouldn't be too late to wait for Haschwalth's second move and then decide based on the situation.
Now, he had to start the work of creating reishi bodies.
According to Yoriichi's request, the appearance of each reishi body had to have a certain age difference from Tokito Iwákatsu, and there also had to be some differences in details…
He wasn't sure why this was being done, but since it was requested, it must have its reasons.
Exhaling a long breath, the surrounding space returned to its long-held silence.
… …
At this moment, in the Wandenreich.
"Hey, how long are you going to keep staring? Haven't you ever seen a Shinigami?"
"If you haven't, then just bring him back with you; he's just a corpse anyway…"
"Don't tell me you have a fetish for playing with corpses."
"That's disgusting!"
Bambietta shouted loudly at Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
As she spoke, her mind involuntarily thought of Gigi.
Immediately, a shiver ran down her spine, and a disgusted expression appeared on her face.
Yoriichi came back to his senses and nodded gently.
He moved his gaze away from the corpse, no longer looking at it, and focused on Bambietta, casually saying:
"I haven't indeed seen a Shinigami, but, Bambietta, don't you find it strange?"
"Why did this Shinigami appear precisely on my first day in office, not earlier or later, and as soon as he appeared, he chased you to fight…"
"Why was he able to find you in such a large city immediately? Don't you have any doubts about that?"
Bambietta paused for a second; thinking carefully, it did seem a bit strange.
However, she didn't take it to heart.
Turning around,
"Perhaps it's because this girl has an outstanding aura!"
"You also said he chased me to fight, which means he knows I'm the strongest in this city."
"It's just a pity I can't use my Sternritter, so you got lucky."
"There's nothing strange about it."
"An accident is an accident precisely because you can't predict when it will happen."
"What can be predicted is not an accident."
Step.
After speaking, she turned around again, hands on her hips:
"Also, how many times have I told you to call me Lady Bambietta."
"Don't think that just because you saved me, you can disregard seniority…"
"Lieutenant Tokito."
… … Yoriichi felt a bit helpless.
He had made it so obvious, why couldn't she understand?
Or was it that she was too lazy to ponder the deeper meaning, leading her to say such narcissistic things?
No wonder Haschwalth abandoned her; to put it bluntly, she was utterly incorrigible.
Was saving her necessary? Never mind… it's also good to create some trouble for the Wandenreich.
For the peace of the Three Realms, he would endure for now.
Once she had learned enough lessons, she would understand…
Who was the "righteous" side.
Sighing softly in his heart, Yoriichi followed Bambietta away from the scene.
On the way, Yoriichi asked some questions.
For example, what were the duties of a lieutenant, what did the soldiers in the Wandenreich usually do, what was the Sternritter, and so on.
These were all words consistent with his persona.
Bambietta responded to each one.
"Lieutenant? I'm not sure; I've never had a lieutenant before, you're the first, so how could I know exactly what a lieutenant does."
"I'm very clear about the soldiers' work, it's nothing more than training, improving their strength, and then climbing up."
"As for the Sternritter…"
Bambietta hesitated for a moment, recalling her recent experience, and sighed helplessly,
"Never mind, since you are a Quincy whose talent is not inferior to mine, you will surely come into contact with these soon."
"However, considering this is a top-secret matter, for now, I can only tell you some superficial things."
Bambietta then stated the information she was allowed to disclose.
After listening, Yoriichi nodded gently, his face still showing no change in expression.
Fortunately, the persona he maintained was calm and composed, otherwise, trying to feign surprise as if he had never heard of it would have been quite difficult.
"I see."
When Bambietta finished speaking, Yoriichi ended the conversation with this simple interjection.
Back at the Lord's Mansion, Bambietta suddenly remembered something:
"Oh, right! Although I'm not sure exactly what a lieutenant does, you should obviously be able to share my workload, right?"
"There's something I need you to do now: go to the dessert shop on the corner and buy some sweets for me."
"Fighting that Shinigami made me a bit hungry."
She stared at Tokito Iwákatsu, "Can you do it? Don't tell me you, a lieutenant, can't even handle such a small task."
He certainly could, but Yoriichi hadn't expected Bambietta to have such a girlish side.
Coincidentally, Yoriichi also wanted to explore Silver Frame City.
For example, to investigate the word "Outer" he heard last night.
After some discussion and confirming Bambietta's preferences, Yoriichi, controlling Tokito Iwákatsu, left the Lord's Mansion.
… …
At the same time.
Inner Silver Frame City.
"Did you feel it? The reishi that little Bambi just unleashed…"
"Twice."
"What exactly is happening outside? Has Haschwalth sent any news?"
Meninas McAllon looked at the members of the Female Knight Squad with a worried expression.
Slurp—Liltotto carelessly licked her lollipop, her voice cold:
"Why bother with her? It's fine as long as she's not dead."
"Instead of worrying about her here, why don't we think about what was going on with that Shinigami's reishi just now."
"Haschwalth hasn't replied to us… I've always said he's unreliable."
"He was messing around with that Gremmy before, doing who knows what, being all secretive."
"Even keeping things from us."
"It's really…"
Before she could finish, Meninas quickly interrupted, "Watch your words. I heard this is His Majesty's decree."
"It's normal for ordinary Quincy like us not to have the authority to participate."
"Even if it's normal, it's not normal for them not to reveal any information to us!" Candice said.
She clenched her fists tightly, feeling very annoyed, with lightning faintly flashing and bursting around her body.
"I think that Shinigami might have been created by them!"
"Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that a few Sternritter were lost a while ago, and then a Shinigami aggressively broke in shortly after."
"And they even created an Inner Silver Frame City to restrict our movements, saying it's to protect us…"
"Who needs his protection? I also want to fight those Shinigami!"
"There will be a chance." Leah said softly, but her voice was drowned out by the chattering discussion.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she hugged her doll and walked to a corner alone, looking somewhat melancholic as she worried about her future.
If the person outside were herself… could she defeat those Shinigami?
Bambi…
She wondered how things were.
She hoped everything was alright.
Thinking this, after a short while, the few Female Knight Squad members seemed to have reached a preliminary conclusion.
That was, since Haschwalth ignored their questions, they would investigate for themselves what had happened outside just now.
Although the Outer and Inner Silver Frame City were separate, under normal circumstances, those with Sternritter could still enter and exit freely.
As long as they didn't go to the outside world through the Outer Silver Frame City.
The precedent of Sternritter S was right before their eyes.
Operating only within the Wandenreich should not be a big problem, right?
Should…