A few kilometers away from the Silbern, three figures suddenly appeared in an open space: Yamabuki, Saitō Furōfushi, and Shijima Chigiri.
Yamabuki looked at the distant palace with lingering fear, feeling a sense of dread. If Shijima Chigiri hadn't arrived in time, even if he didn't die there, he would certainly have had to endure a bitter battle to escape. He turned to Shijima Chigiri and asked, "How did you end up here?"
Shijima Chigiri said to Yamabuki with a dejected expression, "You're asking me? Originally, your mission was to capture a few Quincy to help Uhin Zenjōji with her experiments, but you two directly charged into the enemy's main base! Captain-Commander Yamamoto was worried, so he sent me to provide backup. It just so happens that my Bankai is best suited for covering teammates' retreat."
Yamabuki recalled Shijima Chigiri's Bankai. He hadn't expected that Shijima Chigiri's Bankai, "Senra Bansho," had the ability of group invisibility. Within a certain area, Shijima Chigiri could designate someone to enter an invisible state, simultaneously eliminating their spiritual pressure, sound, and body odor. Moreover, active attacks would not break the invisible state. Even if the enemy had extraordinary abilities, they wouldn't be able to discover him. It was simply a divine artifact for being a sneaky attacker.
This was the most suitable ability for assassination: silently approaching the enemy, then suddenly stabbing them, and even being able to bring a group of sneaky attackers to stab invisibly, with the blades coated in potent poison—simply perfect.
Yamabuki slapped his palm. From now on, any assassination missions would be handed over to Shijima Chigiri!
Just as Yamabuki was about to make a mental note of this place, suddenly, the entire palace was forcibly uprooted from the ground by a massive force and flew into the sky.
Yamabuki watched, dumbfounded. It seemed that after this place was exposed, the enemy no longer intended to use it.
The next second, a flash of light appeared in mid-air, and the entire palace vanished into thin air.
"How did your mission go?" Shijima Chigiri asked. Their mission was to capture Quincy for experiments.
"Don't worry about that!" Yamabuki waved his hand, and a knocked-out Quincy was thrown out. This was a captive Yamabuki had conveniently brought out when retreating, having knocked him out earlier.
"Since the mission is complete, let's go back!" Shijima Chigiri turned to contact the Soul Society and opened the Senkaimon.
As soon as Yamabuki returned to the First Division Barracks with Saitō Furōfushi, he saw the Captain Commander looking at him coldly.
"Ahem! Captain Commander, I have completed the mission and returned!" Yamabuki pointed at the Quincy on the ground, but seeing the Old Man's expression remain icy, Yamabuki's voice slowly trailed off.
"Hmph, the impact was extremely negative. As a strategist, you directly led a Squad Six Captain to attack the enemy's main base. Do you know how dangerous this was?" Yamamoto forcefully tapped his sword sheath. "What if something unexpected happened? This isn't just a loss for you; it's a loss for the entire Gotei 13. Go back and write a self-reflection, obediently."
"Ah? Write a self-reflection?" Yamabuki wailed.
"It must not be less than ten thousand words, or else see how I deal with you," the Captain Commander said coldly.
Yamabuki's face was bitter, sighing repeatedly. The other Captains were stifling their laughter. The Captain Commander suddenly said, "Saitō."
Saitō Furōfushi was originally among those stifling laughter, but upon hearing the Captain Commander call his name, he immediately stopped smiling.
"As the Squad Six Captain, why did you go crazy with Yamabuki? Both of you hold important responsibilities in the squad and cannot afford to have anything happen. You also go back and write a self-reflection, five thousand words," Yamamoto said.
"Five... five thousand! Captain Commander, I'm innocent! This was all Yamabuki's idea; I was just forced!" Saitō Furōfushi immediately shifted the blame, but the Captain Commander didn't buy it at all. If he said five thousand words, it was five thousand words; not a single word less.
"Alright, the punishments have been dealt with. Now, let's talk about the gains from this operation," Yamamoto said.
Yamabuki immediately stepped forward, wondering if he could make amends, at least to write fewer words for the self-reflection. A ten-thousand-word self-reflection! It was simply outrageous; it would take ages to read aloud on a stage. Yamabuki lightly coughed, "The gains this time: one living Quincy captured. Additionally, I gathered extremely important intelligence. The Quincy King, Yhwach, has entered a comatose state for unknown reasons. It was precisely because of this that I conceived the idea of assassinating Yhwach, but I didn't expect his palace's defenses to be so strict. We were stopped before we even saw the Quincy King Yhwach, and if Shijima Chigiri hadn't arrived in time, it would have been another fierce battle."
"Furthermore, through intelligence gathering, we learned that Yhwach can share his power with his subordinates by having them drink his blood. These people are called the Sternritter, corresponding to the Western alphabet from A to Z. Including Yhwach, there are twenty-six of them in total, and each possesses strength capable of contending with Captain-level powerhouses, with some having abilities that are incredibly difficult to guard against," Yamabuki said gravely. "Based on our engagements, I have already figured out the abilities of several individuals within the Sternritter."
"Schrift J, Walter Metta, ability: The Juggler. He can control inanimate inorganic matter through his ability, but can only control one thing at a time."
"Schrift H, Arenas Bard, ability: The Heat. He can control yellow sand, and his ability is extremely powerful, causing me significant trouble during our first encounter."
"Schrift F, Chaziel Eugene, ability: The Fear. The angrier he gets, the stronger he becomes. He has no other special abilities."
"Schrift S, Alexander Momo, ability: The Chain. She can create unbreakable chains, but according to my tests, her chains cannot resist spatial abilities, and she was severely injured in our battle, losing an arm and an eye, and her close-combat ability is very weak. She no longer poses a threat."
"Schrift B. The most troublesome individual, the Squad Leader of the Sternritter, Isaac Mardon. His ability is The Barrier, which can nullify any attack other than physical attacks. This means that as long as he is present, neither Ryūjin Jakka nor my own abilities will have any effect. He calls himself Yhwach's strongest shield. Personally, I believe he should be dealt with first."
"Finally, there is an unknown enemy who has been hiding in the shadows. So far, we only know that this person possesses extremely strong offensive power, having ambushed both me and Saitō Furōfushi, severely injuring us. His attack methods are traceless, posing a greater threat than Mardon, Newton's brother."
"That is all the intelligence I have obtained," Yamabuki said.
Everyone's expressions turned grim. They hadn't expected the Quincy to have assembled such a terrifying force. Moreover, according to Yamabuki, every member of the Sternritter possessed Captain-level strength. If a battle were to break out, it was uncertain who would emerge victorious.
....
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