"Sorry, Father-sama!"
After landing on the ground and realizing she'd been brushed by the scan for an instant, Nemu apologized to Higashino Shuuichi.
"It's fine," Higashino Shuuichi reassured her.
This wasn't Nemu's fault.
Even Higashino Shuuichi hadn't expected a second inspection.
The abnormality had likely lasted only a very short time, but the Quincy inside the Wandenreich (Invisible Empire) would still conduct the necessary checks.
And before they noticed anything out of place, Higashino Shuuichi knew he had to bring Nemu along and quickly figure out Yhwach's current condition—and which Sternritter members were at his side right now.
From Higashino Shuuichi's memory, Yhwach and the Sternritter should be living in the place known as the Ice Palace.
As for where the Ice Palace was…
"I'll talk! I'll talk! Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you everything!"
Higashino Shuuichi only needed to stroll into the nearest city, pick out someone who looked "presentable" and clearly well-off, and have a "friendly exchange."
According to that man's confession, Yhwach had practically become the Wandenreich's public enemy.
Nearly every Quincy family wanted to bite a chunk of meat off the prematurely awakened, weakened king.
To the point that the Sternritter could only garrison around the Ice Palace, preventing the Quincy families from joining forces and carving Yhwach up.
"Father-sama, from the sound of it… this is our best chance to deal with that Yhwach."
After Higashino Shuuichi knocked the captive unconscious, Nemu stepped closer and spoke.
Her tone still carried almost no emotion, but Higashino Shuuichi could already hear it—Nemu was gradually developing feelings closer to a normal Shinigami's.
"It is," Higashino Shuuichi nodded, agreeing with her judgment. "And the Ice Palace isn't that far from us. There's only one major city between here and there."
This really was the best timing to eliminate Yhwach.
Even the Sternritter hadn't been fully established yet. Yhwach had only gathered the members that would become his Schutzstaffel (Imperial Guard) in the original course of events, then recruited a few additional Quincy beyond that.
They were still far short of the Sternritter at their peak.
Not to mention Yhwach's near-unsolvable omniscience and omnipotence.
Higashino Shuuichi had absolutely no desire to face a peak-condition Yhwach.
But just as Higashino Shuuichi was about to leave with Nemu for the Ice Palace, a busty woman stepped into their path.
She had long, wavy pink hair, pink eyes, and wore a military cap tilted to the side with the Wandenreich insignia. At her collarbone hung a red bow tie with a star-shaped badge at its center.
She sat high on the edge of a rooftop by the street, her slender legs—wrapped in pink thigh-high stockings—dangling off the side, swaying lazily in the air.
"So… the 'accident' that made the alarm ring once," she asked with her head tilted, looking down at Higashino Shuuichi, "was that you?"
Higashino Shuuichi stopped. His eyes narrowed.
He recognized her.
Meninas McAllon—one of the Sternritter. Her Schrift was "P," meaning "Power," representing strength.
As the name implied, Meninas's Schrift let her possess ridiculous physical power while it was active.
How to put it…
Higashino Shuuichi found it hard to rate.
It was straightforward—and, in truth, pretty useless.
Unless Meninas had protagonist-level plot armor, a purely "big strength" ability like that wouldn't even survive the later-stage rule-bending battles. Even in the current Soul Society, it'd be hard for her to gain any advantage against a normal Captain.
In fact, if not for the mysterious Star Medallions that could steal a Shinigami's Bankai, most Sternritter wouldn't be a match for an ordinary Captain at all.
Some Lieutenants would even be a serious challenge for them.
So Higashino Shuuichi wasn't particularly worried that Meninas herself posed a threat.
What mattered wasn't Meninas.
What mattered was whether other Sternritter—hidden somewhere in the dark—or even Yhwach himself were nearby.
"Heh…"
"Since you're already here, there's no need to hide on the sidelines, is there? What—are you afraid of something in the Wandenreich?"
Higashino Shuuichi shoved both hands into his pockets, leaned back slightly, and let confidence and arrogance leak from his eyes.
But there was no response from his surroundings.
Instead, Meninas's face grew even more confused.
"What… are you even talking about?"
"It's just me and you two. Three people."
"Where would anyone else even be?"
Only three?
Higashino Shuuichi didn't fully believe her at first. He waited a moment longer—and when nothing stirred nearby, he finally let some of the tension drain from his chest.
He'd nearly thought Yhwach was about to blindside him right here.
But it looked like Yhwach hadn't taken the earlier alarm seriously at all—he'd only sent Meninas, someone not even part of the Schutzstaffel, to check.
He hadn't even bothered to send Haschwalth or Pernida Parnkgjas—any of his core guards.
Good.
So far, this was the best possible news for Higashino Shuuichi.
Because it suggested that not only had Yhwach likely failed to recover to the point where he could freely wield that omniscience and omnipotence…
It also meant Yhwach was underestimating both Higashino Shuuichi's arrival and the triggered alarm.
"Hey!" Meninas called down from the roof, impatience creeping into her voice. "I asked you a question!"
"What, are you mute?!"
To begin with, receiving Yhwach's power had never been Meninas's choice—Yhwach had forced his blood down her throat.
After she gained her Schrift and became a Sternritter, every Quincy family in the Wandenreich branded her a traitor.
So if Meninas wanted to stay alive, she had no choice but to work for Yhwach. Because the moment Yhwach fell, the Quincy families eyeing him like wolves would never let her go either.
But none of that was what Meninas truly wanted.
She hated the power on her body, and she hated the person she'd become—she was just trapped.
And now, she'd been forced to take a risk, travel alone through an entire city, come out here to "work overtime"…
Only to be ignored by two suspicious-looking Quincy.
The resentment she'd been bottling up was already twitching, eager to ignite.
All it needed was a spark.
And unfortunately for her, Higashino Shuuichi's favorite hobby was fanning flames.
"We're not mute."
"If you're not mute, then why aren't you—"
Meninas sprang down from the rooftop edge, her Schrift activating as she fell, ready to show these two unlucky Quincy "a little color."
Too bad for her—
Higashino Shuuichi didn't just enjoy fanning flames.
He was far better at ending enemies.
Meninas didn't get to finish her sentence.
Higashino Shuuichi gave her no chance.
Musō Metsuya (Traceless Extinction Arrow).
A technique Higashino Shuuichi had once only proposed as a concept—only for Masaki Kurosaki to stumble into creating it by accident.
Even when Masaki used it herself, she still needed a motion like drawing a bow.
But Higashino Shuuichi only needed a single look.
As the Heilig Pfeil (Sacred Extinction Arrows) formed around him, they transformed mid-creation into Musō Metsuya (Traceless Extinction Arrows)—
Then, following his intent, they shot to kill.
Meninas—born and raised inside this Wandenreich—had never seen anything like that.
Before Yhwach's reawakening, Shinigami and Hollows—those supposed mortal enemies passed down in old Quincy tales—had been nothing more than legends to her.
Psh!!
Meninas fell out of the air.
Blood sprayed from the holes punched clean through her body.
Thirteen arrows.
Thirteen gaping wounds.
Each one a piercing injury that could be called fatal.
And when all thirteen struck together…
It meant even the gods couldn't save her.
Meninas had never imagined she would exit the stage like this.
"But… maybe this is fine…"
At least she wouldn't have to keep forcing herself to live a life that was never hers.
"Father-sama… amazing."
Watching Meninas's corpse slam heavily into the ground, Nemu clearly wanted to express admiration.
But her voice remained flat and even.
Higashino Shuuichi understood—Nemu was doing her best. This was already real progress.
Before, she wouldn't even say something as simple as "you're amazing."
"Find a place to bury her body," Higashino Shuuichi ordered, "and leave a marker."
Meninas was a Sternritter member, and she'd died inside the Wandenreich.
So for a while, her corpse wouldn't be broken down into reishi and returned to the cycle.
Which meant that, for Higashino Shuuichi, it was a very good bargaining chip to trade with Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
As for what he would trade for, he hadn't decided yet.
But given how Mayuri's methods and style—under Higashino Shuuichi's influence—had already changed drastically compared to the original course of events…
There was a high chance Mayuri would keep doing deals with Urahara Kisuke and Aizen Sōsuke in the future.
Some things—or some intelligence—that Higashino Shuuichi couldn't pry out of Urahara and Aizen with his own identity…
He might be able to obtain from Mayuri instead.
So preparing in advance was never a bad idea.
And even if Mayuri couldn't offer anything useful later, leaving Meninas's corpse here would change nothing for Higashino Shuuichi. No loss at all.
The only inconvenience in all this… was probably Nemu.
To be fair, if it were the usual Higashino Shuuichi, for someone like Meninas—who, with a little guidance, would likely end up opposing Yhwach in the future—
He might have shown mercy and tried to pull her into his camp.
But the current Higashino Shuuichi didn't have the patience.
After learning that Yhwach was extremely weak right now…
He understood something clearly: time was the most precious thing he had.
Every minute inside the Wandenreich was priceless.
"Wait."
Just as Higashino Shuuichi watched Nemu digging a pit with her bare hands, preparing to toss Meninas's corpse inside—
A thought struck him.
He couldn't be too reckless.
Yhwach might be weak, but he still had the Schutzstaffel at his side—and every one of those future infamous guards was dangerous.
And in front of those Sternritter monsters, Higashino Shuuichi's spiritual pressure—something he could normally take pride in, something that eclipsed all Shinigami—
Would practically become decoration.
If he charged straight into the Ice Palace like an idiot and faced Yhwach plus the full Schutzstaffel at once…
He'd be courting disaster.
"Father-sama, is something wrong?"
Nemu asked, holding Meninas's body.
If Higashino Shuuichi had no further instructions, she was about to throw the corpse into the pit she'd just dug.
"Don't bury Meninas yet. Take her with us," Higashino Shuuichi said. "We're going to meet the lord of Umezu Castle—the head of the largest Quincy family in this city—Umezu Kazuki."
Higashino Shuuichi only needed a brief moment of thought before a plan formed.
At this point, he wasn't the only one who wanted Yhwach.
Every Quincy family in the Wandenreich wanted him.
Who didn't covet the power on Yhwach's body?
They were only suffering from one problem: they lacked the strength to oppose the Sternritter.
If they had that strength, Yhwach would've been torn apart by these greedy Quincy long before Higashino Shuuichi ever arrived—
They probably wouldn't even leave him bones.
But what they lacked…
Higashino Shuuichi had.
If it was only a single Schutzstaffel member, Higashino Shuuichi still had absolute confidence.
So, about an hour later—
Inside the lord's manor of Umezu Castle, after Umezu's subordinates confirmed Meninas's identity was genuine, the head of the Umezu family—Umezu Kazuki—received Higashino Shuuichi in the main hall.
"You're the one who killed this Sternritter?"
Umezu Kazuki demanded, putting on a stern face.
But paired with his fat, bloated body, it was impossible to feel even a trace of a clan head's authority.
"Umezu-sama," Higashino Shuuichi replied with a calm, confident smile, "it was indeed I. And I've heard the other Sternritter are even stronger than she was—so I'd very much like to spar with them as well. It's just… I haven't had the chance."