Before entering the Seireitei, Ishida Uryū had already made his plans.
From Tsunayoshi's preparatory lessons, the moment Uryū learned that Mayuri Kurotsuchi was the true culprit behind the death of his grandfather, Ishida Sōken, he had already resolved to pay him a visit.
Since Urahara Kisuke had once been the former head of the Research and Development Institute, and Mayuri was its current captain, Uryū sought him out immediately after class.
"Shopkeeper Urahara, may I ask how much an internal map of the Seireitei costs?" Uryū asked politely.
"What do you need that for? Someone as clever as you should understand—this trip into the Seireitei is meant to be training for you. A map isn't what matters. What matters is improving your ability to adapt in real combat," Urahara replied.
"I understand. But there are things I must do… for my most respected grandfather."
At those words, Urahara immediately understood. He tapped his temple lightly with his folding fan, looking somewhat troubled.
"I can understand wanting revenge against Mayuri, but if you do that, you'll inevitably be facing a Captain-class opponent. Have you thought this through?"
"I'll make all the necessary preparations."
Uryū's expression was calm—steady and unmoving, like someone who'd already made peace with the outcome.
"If possible, I'd rather you didn't run into Mayuri at all. He's far more dangerous than you think." Seeing the determination in Uryū's eyes, Urahara sighed. "Fine. If you do face him, here's my advice—don't drag the fight out. His research capabilities are exceptional. No one knows how many strange inventions he's accumulated over the years."
"I understand. Thank you very much, Shopkeeper Urahara."
Uryū bowed deeply.
After repeated insistence, Urahara finally told him the location of Squad 12 within the Seireitei, while warning him not to fight Mayuri inside the Research and Development Institute—both because it was filled with his creations, and because it could easily result in catastrophic damage.
After returning home, Uryū immediately told his parents about his plan.
In this timeline, the relationship between Uryū and Ishida Ryūken was no longer as strained as before. The father and son could now communicate normally.
"There's no need for you to do this… Sōken wouldn't want to see you put yourself in danger either," Ryūken said after a long pause.
"I'm not doing this for Grandfather—I'm doing it for myself. For the version of me who could only stand there and watch him be taken away, completely powerless!"
Uryū's voice rose with emotion.
"Father—if you had been there, Grandfather would have survived… wouldn't he?!"
Since training under Ryūken, Uryū had come to understand just how powerful his father truly was. The title of the last pure-blood Quincy was no exaggeration. No matter how hard he trained, Ryūken could always defeat him effortlessly.
With such strength, Uryū couldn't believe his father lacked the ability to save Sōken.
Which meant only one thing—
Ryūken hadn't wanted to save him.
Hearing the accusation in his son's voice, Ryūken fell silent.
It wasn't that he didn't care. No matter how distant their relationship had been, Sōken was still his father.
The reason he hadn't acted… wasn't because he wouldn't.
It was because he couldn't.
"Uryū, don't blame your father. It's not that we didn't want to act—we were under orders from your grandfather not to interfere," Ishida Kanae said gently, holding Uryū's hand.
"Because of the fundamental differences between us, the Shinigami have always been hostile toward the Quincy. To eradicate us, they continuously hunted Quincy, causing our bloodline in the Human World to decline rapidly. By your father's generation, only the Ishida and Kurosaki families remained."
"Your grandfather, in order to preserve the last Quincy bloodlines, planned to negotiate with Soul Society as the final Quincy of the Human World. He ordered us not to attack Shinigami and to conceal the last traces of Quincy existence."
"But before he could act, a large number of Hollows invaded the Human World. Your grandfather had no choice but to fight them."
"At that time, Ryūken and I had already arrived at the scene—but we saw your grandfather's signal forbidding us from intervening."
"After investigating, Ryūken discovered that Shinigami were already lying in wait nearby. They simply watched as your grandfather fought the Hollows to protect you—without offering any help."
"At that moment, we understood his intent."
"He wanted to use his own death… to end the Shinigami's persecution of the Quincy. That's why he forbade us from acting."
"So, in front of the Shinigami, he was gravely wounded by the Hollows. After using the last of his strength to eliminate them and protect you… he died from exhaustion."
"He gave his life to secure a chance for us to continue living. After that, the Shinigami who had been hunting us never appeared in the Human World again. We gained a brief peace because of it."
"Uryū… don't blame your father. Watching his own father die before his eyes… was painful for him as well."
Kanae revealed a past Uryū had never known.
If Sōken hadn't willingly surrendered himself, Uryū could never have imagined that the man who had developed countless Quincy tools would be captured so easily.
"That's enough, Kanae. That was Sōken's choice."
At the mention of the past, Ryūken's hand trembled ever so slightly, though his voice remained steady.
"Father… were you truly unmoved by Grandfather's death?"
The question struck Ryūken like an arrow through the heart.
How could he have been unmoved?
No matter their relationship, that had been his father.
"Ryūken…" Kanae looked at him softly. She supported Uryū.
Hearing his wife's voice and seeing the resolve in his son's eyes, Ryūken finally spoke.
"That brat told you, didn't he? Who is your target?"
The "brat" he referred to was, of course, Tsunayoshi. In Ryūken's mind, only Tsuna would go out of his way to dig up such unnecessary information.
"The current Captain of Squad 12—Mayuri Kurotsuchi. He was the one who ordered the Shinigami not to assist Grandfather…"
Uryū quickly shared everything he had learned from Tsuna.
"A Captain… with countless methods at his disposal. That's not an easy opponent," Ryūken said calmly. "For the next few days, I'll teach you the true power of the Quincy. Your mother will teach you how to apply and combine your abilities."
"We will only allow you to go to Soul Society… once you've earned our approval."
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Dressed in a pure white Quincy uniform he had prepared himself, a small backpack slung over his shoulder, Uryū set off for Urahara Shop.
Behind him, in the training ground, Ishida Ryūken stood staring blankly at his broken bow.
Uryū… had truly grown stronger.
After a minor incident, Uryū entered the Seireitei via the Kūkaku Cannon.
The "incident" in question was the cannon disintegrating mid-air, scattering everyone across different parts of the Seireitei and leaving them unable to determine their positions.
And that… was exactly what troubled Uryū.
Urahara had only given him directions from the the Seireitei main gate to Squad 12. Since Mayuri was the only target he cared about, he hadn't bothered asking for a full map.
Who could have expected that he'd get lost the moment he arrived in Soul Society?
Right now, his priority was figuring out where he was.
Unlike Chad and Arisawa Tatsuki, who had landed unnoticed, Uryū wasn't nearly as lucky.
Before his feet had even touched the ground, he was already being targeted by a group of Shinigami.
His original plan had been simple—evade pursuit, avoid unnecessary conflict, then capture a lone Shinigami and interrogate them for directions.
Reality, however, didn't go according to plan.
No matter which alley he turned into, he would soon run into more Shinigami. Gradually, a large group began chasing after him, blades drawn.
Being unfamiliar with the terrain, Uryū was at a clear disadvantage.
After a prolonged chase, he was finally cornered—Shinigami blocking both ends of the alley.
He let out a silent sigh.
He hadn't intended to cause such a commotion.
"Ryoka! Let's see where you run now! Get him, boys!"
At the shout, Shinigami from both ends charged forward simultaneously.
During the chase, Uryū had already confirmed—they were members of Squad 11, a division that lived for combat. There was no way they would let a Ryoka like him go.
Trying to avoid battle had only drawn more enemies.
At this point, even Uryū found his luck questionable.
He reached behind his waist and pulled out a folding short bow.
If he wanted to escape, he would have to fight.
Uryū moved with remarkable agility.
Stepping on Reishi as if skating across ice, he closed the distance instantly. He sidestepped attacks with ease, disrupted his opponent's balance with a palm strike, and immediately fired an arrow.
The Reishi arrow pierced through the opponent's arm, pinning him to the wall.
After training with Ryūken, Uryū had mastered his father's signature style—one hand in his pocket, the other firing Heilig Pfeil with effortless precision.
The short bow he held had, naturally, come from Ryūken's arsenal.
This one-handed archery wasn't just for show—it was part of a complete combat system.
A close-range, agile fighting style centered around rapid-fire archery and hand-to-hand techniques—essentially a form of Quincy close-combat archery.
Even Kurosaki Masaki had favored this approach, which explained how she could use herself as bait to draw Hollows into close combat.
With bow and body working in tandem, Uryū tore through the Shinigami like a wolf among sheep.
To their credit, they weren't entirely incompetent—occasionally managing to land a strike.
But when their blades hit Uryū, it felt as though they had struck steel.
They couldn't harm him at all.
One after another, bodies were sent flying.
Each one was followed by a blue Reishi arrow, precisely striking a limb and disabling them.
Uryū deliberately fought this way to minimize Reiatsu fluctuations—only the moment he fired an arrow produced noticeable energy, and even that was faint.
If he didn't care about staying hidden, he could have simply opened with a barrage of light arrows and wiped them out instantly.
Why bother with all this effort?
After the chaos subsided, the alley was filled with fallen members of Squad 11.
Some lay on the ground. Others were pinned to the walls.
The battle was over.
Now… it was time to ask for directions.
Uryū scanned the area—and spotted a Shinigami crouching in the corner.
The man was hugging his head, trembling, a blue cloth bag strapped to his back.
Most importantly—
There were no Reishi arrows on him.
Which meant…
He hadn't been part of the group that attacked Uryū.
Interesting.
A Squad 11 member… who avoided a fight?
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