Chapter 302: Stubborn Vitality

"Please, don't trouble yourself over this. I have my own methods."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi stared intently at Cang Du, his greed completely undisguised. In fact, his eyes burned with even greater fanaticism.

As expected—an exceptional pure-blood Quincy!

The Quincy placed even more emphasis on bloodline than the Shinigami.

Among the Shinigami, even commoners with talent could surpass aristocrats through sheer effort and determination.

But Quincy were different.

From Mayuri's years of research, he had concluded that a Quincy could never surpass the limits of their own bloodline.

Pure-bloods were pure-bloods. Half-bloods were half-bloods. Their lineage determined their ceiling, locking their potential in place.

Unless someone could artificially enhance a Quincy's bloodline—turning a half-blood into a pure-blood—their power could never truly surpass those limits.

And the only known individual capable of such a feat was the legendary progenitor of the Quincy—

Yhwach.

The Reiatsu emanating from the Quincy before him utterly eclipsed anything Mayuri had ever seen.

Normally, mixed-blood Quincy couldn't reach such a level.

Even the most exceptional among them rarely exceeded the strength of a Lieutenant.

Yet this pure-blood Quincy had not only reached a Captain's level—

Even while gravely injured, his Reiatsu still far surpassed Mayuri's own!

And that could only mean one thing.

Mayuri's excitement grew.

This man wasn't just a pure-blood Quincy—he was among the absolute elite.

Captain-level warriors, regardless of race, were never weak.

And in his prime, Cang Du had undoubtedly surpassed the average Captain!

"Yes… teaming up with Masatsuki Aozaki was definitely the right call."

Mayuri's mind raced with excitement.

The last time he had ventured into the Wandenreich, he hadn't sensed any distinct Reiatsu—but the castle itself had exuded an eerie, almost imperceptible terror.

The moment he detected that danger, he had turned and fled without hesitation, unwilling to probe further.

Looking back now, that had clearly been the right decision.

Had he not left when he did, and encountered Quincy of this caliber unprepared—

He would have been slaughtered on the spot.

Mayuri never feared a duel.

But an ambush? A battle with no preparation?

That was an entirely different story.

Still, he had only obtained one pure-blood Quincy this time.

Next time, would Masatsuki Aozaki bring back more? Stronger ones?

The very thought sent a shiver of anticipation down his spine.

The more, the better.

Especially if he could get his hands on more men—his experiments would never lack test subjects again!

Mayuri's bloodshot eyes gleamed as crimson veins spread across them, his entire demeanor growing manic.

In his mind, he could already picture the scene—

A laboratory filled with pure-blood Quincy, all for him to study and dissect at his leisure.

Bliss.

He could hardly wait for that glorious day to arrive.

Mayuri turned his gaze toward Masatsuki Aozaki, his eyes narrowing slightly with an unreadable expression.

A slow, knowing smile crept onto his lips.

"What's with that look?"

Masatsuki Aozaki raised a brow, eyeing him warily.

Pulling over a chair, he straddled it lazily, resting his arms against the back as he enjoyed Nemu Kurotsuchi's massage.

Something about Mayuri's gaze felt… off.

It held a strange, almost unexplainable hunger—

Like the way a man might look at a beautiful woman.

Masatsuki blinked.

No way.

That had to be his imagination.

After all—

He wasn't some beautiful woman!

Mayuri Kurotsuchi grinned, letting out a spine-chilling laugh.

"Hahahaha! I just thought of something that brings me great joy."

Masatsuki Aozaki shrugged, looking indifferent.

"Whatever. It has nothing to do with me. Must be one of those things that require too much thinking—I can't be bothered."

With that, he pulled out a round metallic disc from his robes.

Mayuri raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"What's this? I've never seen anything like it before. Is it some kind of weapon developed by the Quincy of the Wandenreich?"

"That's a Medallion?! How… when?!"

Bambietta's eyes widened in shock.

That was an extremely important tool—A weapon specifically designed to counter Shinigami!

"So it really is a Medallion."

Masatsuki Aozaki smirked, his expression carrying a trace of mystery.

"This little thing allows a Quincy to steal a Shinigami's Bankai the moment they activate it."

"I want you to figure out a way to counter it—preferably using Hollow powers."

He had found this item in Cang Du's quarters.

Though he wasn't entirely sure whether it could affect someone like him, whose life form had evolved, he wasn't about to take any chances.

That was why, during his battles against the Quincy of the Wandenreich, he had not only refrained from using his own Bankai but had also forbidden his Zanpakutō spirits from using theirs.

Better safe than sorry.

It wasn't a life-or-death situation yet, so there was no need to be reckless.

If he let his guard down and somehow got his beloved Zanpakutō spirits stolen—

Now that would be a real disaster.

In truth, he hadn't been entirely sure whether this thing was indeed a Medallion.

It just looked remarkably similar to the one from the anime, so he had brought it to Mayuri for verification.

And, as expected, this woman had no filter—she blurted out the answer right away.

"Stealing a Bankai… now that's a troublesome ability."

Mayuri nodded.

To put it bluntly, a Shinigami's strength was at least ninety percent reliant on their Zanpakutō.

If a Captain's Bankai was stolen, their combat ability would plummet.

He had to admit—he had underestimated the one who designed this.

The Shinigami Research and Development Institute's advisor wasn't foolish. On the contrary, he was clever enough to focus on Hollow powers as a potential countermeasure.

After all, Quincy had no "antibodies" against Hollows.

Everything about a Hollow was essentially toxic to them.

If a Quincy was corrupted by Hollow energy, not only would their Reiryoku be weakened, but their very soul would begin to collapse, leading to an inevitable and painful death.

Since the Medallion was a Quincy invention, there was a real possibility that Hollow powers could be its weakness.

Of course, that would need to be tested through proper experimentation.

"If you need help, just say the word. I can head to Hueco Mundo and bring someone over to assist you," Masatsuki Aozaki said teasingly.

Mayuri froze.

Wait.

Did he just imply that he had connections in Hueco Mundo?

The Captain-Commander's disciple—colluding with Hollows?!

Was he trying to land himself on the front page of the Ninth Division's news column?

Did he want to ruin Yamamoto's reputation?!

...

"You two stay here for now. I've set up a barrier—it should be safe enough."

In an underground prison beneath the training grounds of Sōkyoku Hill, Masatsuki Aozaki left the two women behind and turned to leave.

Bambietta and Candice lifted their heads.

Black sealing bands bound their bodies, suppressing their Reiatsu. They stared at Masatsuki in stunned disbelief.

Did they hear that right?

They had expected torture—brutal, inhumane torment, the kind fitting for sworn enemies.

But this prison…

It felt off.

There were plenty of torture devices, sure.

But why was there such a large, luxurious-looking bed in the center of the room?

And why did these so-called "torture instruments" look suspiciously like… toys?

This bed was too comfortable.

Unreasonably so.

Then again, Shinigami and Quincy were mortal enemies.

Wasn't he too nice to them?

Shouldn't he at least be a little cruel?

Bambietta's face flushed a deep red.

She had been bracing herself for the worst.

But after waiting all this time—

This Shinigami hadn't done anything!

She couldn't help but feel… disappointed.

Masatsuki, meanwhile, paid no attention to their reactions.

He turned and left the cell, making his way to another one.

Lifting a hand, he tore open space itself.

A moment later, from the dark void, a flaming figure tumbled to the ground.

"You sure are hard to kill."

Masatsuki nodded slightly, his gaze settling on Pernida, whose body was wracked with violent tremors as it burned.

Compared to the Soul King's left arm, which was already in his possession, seizing the Soul King's heart would be an entirely different challenge.

Yhwach wouldn't give him another chance to act so recklessly.

If he set foot in the Wandenreich again,

Yhwach would likely entrust all of his power to Haschwalth—

And that would mean an extremely difficult battle.

Masatsuki sighed in frustration.

Forget Haschwalth for now—

Even just Gerard was an absolute pain to deal with.

Get injured? He gets stronger.

Die? He comes back even stronger.

At least Pernida could be restrained with Kidō.

Gerard, on the other hand, was a different beast entirely.

Any negative effect applied to him would be converted into a positive one.

Forget Hadō—even Bakudō, which was meant to restrain, wouldn't work on him.

"In that case, the only way is to kill him before he has a chance to activate his 'Miracle.'"

Masatsuki muttered to himself, stroking his chin as he recalled memories from his past life.

For the Quincy, Schrift abilities functioned as active skills.

If they weren't consciously activated, they wouldn't take effect.

In the original timeline, when Yhwach led the Sternritter to invade the Soul King's Palace,

Ōetsu Nimaiya had one-shot Gerard with a single slash.

At the time, Gerard hadn't activated "The Miracle."

Had it not been for Yhwach's "Auswählen" reviving him, Gerard would have been dead for good.