Why bring this to me?
Yoshio thought it over. Probably because he'd been to the Tech Bureau and seen lots of Quincy.
In other words, in Mayuri and Central 46's eyes, he knew Mayuri was using Quincy corpses in research.
So he could understand what they wanted and wouldn't let more people learn about Soul Society's actions against the Quincies.
After leaving Division One, Yoshio clicked his tongue.
When there's a good job, they don't think of me. When there's dirty work, I'm their guy.
In the original story, Mayuri kept at Quincy research until he took Sōken Ishida's soul.
But now, because Yoshio had taken all the Tech Bureau's Quincy corpses to Las Noches, Mayuri lacked Quincy materials.
There were only a few Quincies left in the Living World. If he went to kill Quincies now, he might clash with the Kurosaki or Ishida families.
Sure, the main cast are sanctified beings; after an arc, Mayuri's butchery of Quincies and Sōken's matter might as well not have happened. But Yoshio had no interest in provoking the protagonists for no benefit.
What a joke. There's nothing in it for me.
Yoshio felt zero desire to serve Seireitei. In this system, he was a rather extreme egoist—and such a regime and nation weren't worth his devotion.
Besides… why go to the Living World? He could just head to the Wandenreich and pick up a few Quincy bodies.
And he did need to go anyway. Cut Bazz-B, and he'd have enough staff for Brainleaf Co..
And since he was going to the Living World on a mission, he could take leave, right?
Yoshio asked the Commader-Captain for a month off. He wouldn't have to work in Seireitei for the next month.
On the surface, he went to the Living World. In reality, he slipped back home, then sank into his shadow.
With Baelz as an inside man, sneaking him in was easy.
He appeared in Baelz's room.
Both Yoshio's and Baelz's rooms were safehouses, absolutely secret.
"Leave the next part to me."
Baelz snapped his fingers. They'd already worked out what to do.
Baelz activated Holy Triangle and gained Yoshio's abilities—including the Blade that Rends the Heart.
He didn't leave the room, but had Yoshio wait in the panic room.
After a while, Bazz-B came in.
When Bazz-B entered, he tossed over a white glove.
"Seriously, what kind of garbage invention is this?"
Bazz-B said, "Didn't even last long before it broke."
Baelz extended a hand, letting the glove fall into it.
He glanced at it. "You were pushing the output too high. It's an early prototype. Flaws are normal."
"Why are you even telling me this?" Bazz-B frowned. "I'm not interested in helping you tinker with toys!"
"Don't be impatient, Bazz-B. If the reishi-gathering glove works, it'll boost your combat ability too."
Baelz had long prepared to split Bazz-B.
The prerequisite was to develop a glove that made reishi bundling easier for Quincies—similar to the one used before entering the final Quincy form.
But Baelz's glove would be stronger, ideally allowing a Quincy to manipulate reishi at near post-Vollständig levels even in base form.
Because the project was important—something that could greatly increase the Wandenreich's combat power—Haschwalth ordered the Sternritter to cooperate with Baelz.
Baelz chose Bazz-B.
Facing Bazz-B's complaint, Baelz calmly replied, "Because your power is the most volatile. If it can withstand yours, it can withstand others'."
"Whatever. Do what you want," Bazz-B said. "This thing's useless. Make another."
"Hold on, Bazz-B." Baelz blocked him. "I need to run one test."
"What are you babbling about? Why should I be tested?"
"I've gathered most of the earlier data. Now I need you to ramp your output step by step," Baelz said. "Then the next glove should survive your power."
Bazz-B wasn't interested, but if one test meant he wouldn't have to wear that crappy glove while Baelz collected data all the time…
"Fine. But after this, don't come to me for test gloves."
"No problem," Baelz said confidently.
Baelz led Bazz-B to a reishi instrument and had him lie down.
"Take a nap. It'll be over soon," Baelz said softly.
Needles emerged from the instrument and pierced Bazz-B, putting him to sleep.
Bazz-B's soul ability was "Fire Counters Fire."
"Fire Counters Fire: You can generate flames that cancel out other flames."
This was probably due to his neutralizing Yamamoto's flames in the Thousand-Year Blood War.
Baelz wasn't that interested; the ability was basically for dealing with Yamamoto, and he had plenty of ways to handle Yamamoto. He didn't give it much thought.
Now, as Bazz-B sank into deep sleep, Baelz formed the Blade that Rends the Heart.
A flash of steel.
A woman split from the sleeping Bazz-B.
She was petite, with wavy blond hair and sapphire-blue eyes.
She wore a shihakushō, because the counterpart to a Quincy is a Shinigami; thus, the split-off was a Shinigami.
Not only that, but she had a zanpakutō at her waist.
In theory, each zanpakutō was made by Ōetsu Nimaiya, but entities created by the Blade that Rends the Heart weren't bound by that rule. She came with her own zanpakutō.
Though… it was unclear if it was like Ichigo's early fake zanpakutō.
"Wow, is this another new experiment of yours?" the girl asked Baelz curiously.
Baelz said, "You could call it that. Interested in joining my team?"
"Your team?" the girl asked. "Aren't you Schutzstaffel?"
"He is—but he's also a member of Wings of the World."
At that moment, Yoshio stepped out and said slowly, "We need you."
"You… a Shinigami?!" The girl looked at Yoshio in surprise.
"Hardly surprising. Aren't you a Shinigami now too?" Yoshio said.
"…True. In a world full of Quincies, if I don't join you, they'd definitely execute me, right?"
"Not necessarily," Baelz said. "I'll have Yoshio take you out of the Wandenreich."
"…Fine. I've got nowhere else to go. I may be a Shinigami, but I don't want to join Seireitei. I'll join your… Wings of the World? What a strange name."
"Hello, I'm Yoshio Kamado," Yoshio said, offering his hand.
The girl glanced at him, then shook his hand. "Hi, I'm Gabriel."
Gabriel's soul ability was "Power of God."
"Power of God: In battle, you can convert liquids into your own spiritual pressure."
"All right, Bazz-B will wake up soon. You two wait in the back room. Yoshio will take you out of the Wandenreich shortly," Baelz said.
They nodded and went into the secret room.
"Didn't think Baelz had a place like this in his quarters. He's well hidden," Gabriel said, surprised.
"He has to be," Yoshio said, walking to a window. The room was sealed, invisible from outside, but they could see out. "Otherwise Yhwach would notice."
Outside, it was already night.
The Wandenreich lay in the shadows; sunlight was rare, the environment harsh, with frozen traces everywhere.
From above, Yoshio saw Quincies on duty despite the bitter cold.
"…" Hearing Yhwach's name, Gabriel fell silent.
Unless someone was saintly, no one could forgive the man who slaughtered their people, their parents.
She knew she wasn't Bazz-B, but she had Bazz-B's memories. Their personalities might differ, but their hatred was the same.
It's like Baraggan's grudge against Aizen meant little to Hela.
So you lost to Aizen and he took the Hollow King's throne—so what? Hela, with no desire for power, couldn't care less.
"Don't worry," Yoshio said. He was a master of psychology now; Gabriel's expression told him what she was thinking.
"Our Wings of the World isn't like the Sternritter. We're a family. When someone wants to do something, the others will go all in to help."
"Do you know how strong Yhwach is?" Gabriel smiled.
"Do you know how strong we are?" Yoshio replied softly.
"…" Gabriel frowned, then asked, "What kind of organization is Wings of the World, exactly?"
"An organization to transform this world," Yoshio said, then explained the Seed of Light plan.
"Evil nodes?" Gabriel said, surprised. "Baelz's Tree of Evil?"
"Yes," Yoshio nodded. "Our goal is to turn the Tree of Evil into the sacred Tree of Life, and transform this world from the material plane into the divine."
"Is that even possible?" Gabriel asked, stunned.
"You'll see when you reach the Living World. We've already created Seeds of Light from the evil nodes."
…
While Yoshio and Gabriel spoke, Bazz-B woke outside. After Baelz fobbed him off, he left the room again.
He needed to find Quincy corpses for Yoshio.
That wasn't difficult. As head of the R&D, he had access to Quincy bodies.
Baelz casually took seven or eight Quincy corpses and stored them in his shadow.
Returning, he handed them—and two more evil nodes, the Lascivious and the Defrauder—to Yoshio.
Baelz then deactivated Holy Triangle. Earlier, he'd linked himself, Yoshio, and his own shadow. After activating a Holy Node, he felt his connection with his shadow deepen.
During Holy Triangle, it felt like his shadow truly became his shadow.
Two incomplete beings swapping at the soul level had, vaguely, deepened Baelz's atavism.
If possible, he'd need to use Holy Triangle more often.
But in the Wandenreich, there were only him and his shadow; without a third person, he couldn't activate it.
Maybe he could recruit someone inside the Wandenreich.
…
Yoshio took Gabriel to his home in Seireitei, then from there to the Living World—Brainleaf Co..
Teresa had only just arrived.
Yoshio summoned the Wings of the World.
Yoshio, Sōya Azashiro, Hela, Teresa, and Gabriel—five. These would be the core staff at Brainleaf Co..
You could also count Angra Mainyu, Baelz, and Nezuko Kamado—that made eight.
Although fewer in number than the Espada, the Gotei 13, or the Sternritter, each was elite.
"Wow, you were barely back and you brought two more teammates?" Hela said, surprised.
"This is Teresa—you should already be acquainted. And this is Gabriel, a Shinigami," Yoshio said. "Don't let her size fool you; she's no slouch."
Then he turned to Sōya: "Do you still have a Seed of Light?"
Sōya nodded. He opened his hand, and a golden shard dropped through the upper layer of space into his palm.
Floor 31 was the Wings of the World conference floor. Floor 32 was for purifying evil nodes. Floor 33 was for members' quarters.
Most Seeds of Light were placed in the Hell Solitude, but a small number were channeled as energy to sites worldwide.
Sōya placed a Seed on the table.
It was a round table with a circular device at the center that emitted a luminous field.
Once the Seed was placed atop it, it floated, broadcasting its properties without reservation.
In an instant, the entire room blazed with light—golden radiance poured over the space.
Yoshio, Hela, and Sōya were well acquainted with the Seeds. Teresa and Gabriel were seeing them for the first time, and at the sight of the sacred energy Baelz had awakened within, their eyes filled with longing.
They were both quite upright; seeing that holy power, they knew Yoshio wasn't lying.
"If this can be mass-produced, it really could bring hope to the world," Teresa said softly. "I'm in."
"Me too," Gabriel said. "Not like I have anywhere else to go."
Yoshio smiled. "In that case, we've basically assembled the team. We've gathered for the Seed of Light plan, and I believe we'll strive for this grand goal."
"Among us are humans, Shinigami, Hollows, and Quincies. We were supposed to hate one another along racial lines. But we've come together for the world's future—for our future. Compared to those fighting alone—humans, Shinigami, Hollows, Quincies—we have no reason to lose."
"You're quite the speaker," Hela giggled. "But you're not wrong. Other groups might consist of multiple races, but they're held together by force and power, or by simple cooperation—usually just two races."
"Wings of the World is like all three realms united. We really have no reason to lose to anyone."
"I'll be in the Living World for the next month," Yoshio said. "Hela, help Teresa and Gabriel learn the purification kidō. I'll handle Nezuko."
"Fine. Taking care of kids is a hassle—and it's because you, the dad, didn't pay attention before that she's gotten harder to handle."
"Blame me again," Yoshio sighed. "But you're right."
"Where is she now?"
"Asleep. She has class tomorrow."
Yoshio nodded, then added, "By the way, there's nothing special elsewhere in Karakura Town, but there's a Black Cat Bookstore—avoid it if you can. That's Urahara Kisuke's turf."
"The whole of Karakura is under my surveillance," Sōya said coolly. "By the way, the Ishida family you had me watch is about to have a problem."
"?!"
Yoshio was surprised. "What happened?"
"Mayuri has directed some Hollows to attack Sōken Ishida and specifically ordered Shinigami not to interfere. Collect his soul afterward."
That fast?!
A plotline that should have happened after the Auswählen was happening years early?!