Facing Yhwach's Schutzstaffel (Imperial Guard), Higashino Shuuichi didn't dare to underestimate them in the slightest.
But when he arrived before one of those guards—Pernida Parnkgjas, whose true body was the Soul King's left arm—he realized he might have been a bit too cautious.
Back then, Baraggan had been able to scheme against him because Baraggan knew him well, and because Baraggan also had many resources accumulated by Aizen Sōsuke.
But now, as Higashino Shuuichi's strength continued to climb and the limits of his abilities sank ever deeper, even the woman at his side—Kabuma Sayako—could no longer grasp his true level.
Let alone someone like Pernida Parnkgjas, a guard who didn't even know Higashino Shuuichi was a Shinigami.
More than that, Higashino Shuuichi understood Pernida's abilities inside and out.
At this stage, the Schutzstaffel members' powers were far inferior to what they would become decades later, when they would launch their full-scale invasion of Soul Society.
To put it bluntly, the intelligence Higashino Shuuichi had on them was almost excessive.
A pile of abilities they still hadn't mastered could only be "put on the shelf" for now.
"You're not a member of the Sternritter…"
Pernida Parnkgjas stared at Higashino Shuuichi—who had appeared before him without hiding anything—and spoke softly.
"Yeah. And I never said I was~"
Higashino Shuuichi shrugged.
"Then you—"
Pernida's eyes under the hood suddenly went wide.
Because the man who, a moment ago, looked like an ordinary Quincy… in the next instant peeled off that disguise and revealed his true appearance.
A sharp-eyed man with short black hair, a Zanpakutō at his waist.
But that wasn't the point.
The point was the reiatsu pouring off him—an unmistakable stench belonging only to those detestable Shinigami.
And before Pernida could even finish speaking, that man had already drawn his Zanpakutō.
A terrifying pressure wave erupted alongside the release, surging outward from Higashino Shuuichi like a storm front.
"Bankai, Shinki Mosoku!"
Higashino Shuuichi didn't waste a single extra word, nor did he intend to keep up the disguise any longer.
Swift victory meant one thing: fast, precise, ruthless.
Naturally, he would use his full strength.
He could win with Quincy power alone—he was confident of that—but it would be too slow.
If he had a faster, better solution, there was no reason to pick the slower one.
"A Shinigami's Bankai?!"
Pernida was genuinely shaken.
After what happened more than ten years ago, he never expected a Shinigami could still reach this place.
Even less did he expect a Shinigami could slip in while no one suspected a thing—and walk all the way here.
To come alone took nerve, that much was true.
But Pernida was only surprised.
Fear simply did not exist in him.
Because he had absolute confidence in his power.
"Shurifuto (Schrift) 'C': Kyōsei Shikkō (The Compulsory)… activate!"
Staring at the reiatsu gale unleashed by Higashino Shuuichi's Bankai, Pernida responded with only a glance.
By all logic, under his Schrift, the form of all things—even their very nature—could be forcibly altered as he willed it.
And the command Pernida gave that roaring pressure wave was simple:
Kneel.
Normally, once his Schrift was activated and the order issued, Pernida only needed to release a small amount of power to coat the space in front of him.
Then anything—reiatsu included—that touched the reishi infused with his Schrift would be forced to execute the embedded command.
But this time, within that "head" of his—wherever his mind was supposed to be—Pernida couldn't understand it at all.
How could the rule power that not even Yhwach himself could evade… fail?!
The gale from Higashino Shuuichi's Bankai swept in as if nothing existed to stop it, ripping Pernida off the ground and hurling him into the air.
Layer upon layer of icy reiatsu carved across Pernida's body, stripping away endless blood—
And the clothing wrapped around him.
The fabric shredded, exposing Pernida's true form.
There was no human body underneath.
It was a gigantic arm.
If an ordinary person saw Pernida like this for the first time, they would freeze on the spot.
But Higashino Shuuichi already knew.
Against Pernida Parnkgjas, he only needed one slash.
And he would only use one slash.
A distance of nearly a hundred meters vanished in a blink.
"This can't be… my power…"
Pernida stared at the Zanpakutō slicing through him, the pain in his body not even comparable to the confusion in his mind.
Why?
Why was his invincible Schrift completely useless before this mysterious Shinigami?!
"There's no such thing as 'impossible.' Go back to the Soul King… if you still can."
Higashino Shuuichi had no interest in explaining anything.
Truth be told, he didn't know the exact reason himself.
He only knew this was the "best answer" his Zanpakutō produced after it received everything Higashino Shuuichi knew about Pernida Parnkgjas.
With a complete understanding of Pernida's information, and with Higashino Shuuichi's now fully realized Bankai, dealing with Pernida truly did take only one slash.
Or rather—
If Higashino Shuuichi could know every detail about every enemy he would ever face, then any enemy before him would only deserve a single cut.
Because everything else…
His Zanpakutō would do for him.
Even now, as Pernida tried to trigger other applications of his Schrift—trying to forcibly execute a command and rip the Zanpakutō out of his body—
It was all futile.
Pernida realized in horror that countless streams of reiatsu suddenly surged from the blade still cleaving him open.
That reiatsu continuously suppressed the Schrift inside him, crushing it back down.
So Pernida could only watch—helpless—as his body was split apart by Higashino Shuuichi's single strike.
From the outside, it looked like he never resisted at all—like he simply stood there and let Higashino Shuuichi cut him down.
Only Pernida knew the truth.
It wasn't that he did nothing.
It was that he tried everything…
And it all became nothing.
Before this mysterious Shinigami, he was like a lamb on a butcher's block—powerless.
Pernida Parnkgjas fell.
His body became two halves, collapsing in opposite directions.
Higashino Shuuichi stood over the corpse, silent for a long time.
Honestly, even he hadn't expected it to be like this.
In his original plan, even if it wasn't some grand battle, at the very least he and Pernida should have traded blows before the outcome was decided.
But Higashino Shuuichi glanced at the Zanpakutō in his hand, then at his empty left hand.
He realized he might have underestimated the achievements he'd gained over the years within the Reiōkyū (Soul King Palace).
He had likely already surpassed the strength of most figures from the original story.
And with a Zanpakutō ability bordering on absurd—plus the advantage of being a man from another world—
There truly weren't many left in this world who could still fight him head-on.
At the very least, these Quincy within the Sternritter—who hadn't changed much from the source material—were nothing but insects in front of him.
"Am I being too cautious?"
Higashino Shuuichi sighed before Pernida's corpse and spoke blandly.
For some reason, this fight left him feeling… bored.
It had been too easy.
Too lacking in challenge.
It felt like he'd thrown a fully charged punch… and hit a tuft of cotton.
Was he too strong?
Or were Yhwach's guards too weak right now?
He couldn't say. There was no real reference point.
But he did think he could test it again.
So, in less than ten minutes—
In another room within the Ice Palace, another of Yhwach's Schutzstaffel—Lille Barro—was already lying in a pool of blood.
And Askin Nakk Le Vaar, who had been Lille Barro's opponent just moments earlier, was "flying together" with Lille—collapsed into the same blood-soaked floor.
Askin could not understand it.
How could someone who had looked so thoroughly like a Quincy suddenly become a Shinigami?
And how could that Shinigami be this strong?
Facing both Askin and Lille—two Schutzstaffel members at once—he had used only two slashes.
Just two effortless slashes.
And they were down, unable to rise again.
It would be one thing if their Quincy techniques didn't work on him—
But even their Shurifuto (Schrift) might as well have been decoration!
It almost made Askin believe their Schrift had somehow failed entirely.
"Can I… know why…?"
Askin forced his head up, staring at Higashino Shuuichi, asking weakly.
Not wanting to die without understanding—it was probably the final wish of anyone about to die.
Unfortunately, Higashino Shuuichi's coldness wouldn't grant Askin any answer.
What Askin saw instead was only Higashino Shuuichi's back as he turned away—
And the massive Heilig Pfeil (Sacred Extinction Arrow) falling from above.
"Heh… hahahaha…"
"What a Shinigami. What a Quincy."
"If I could've followed you… it probably would've been a fortunate thing, wouldn't it?"
Askin laughed miserably.
Hearing that, Higashino Shuuichi stopped.
The huge Heilig Pfeil (Sacred Extinction Arrow) in midair paused as well.
Askin thought Higashino Shuuichi had changed his mind, and a final spark of hope flared within him.
But Higashino Shuuichi didn't even look back. He only said, with a strange weight to his words:
"Actually, Askin… you once had the chance. Because my name is Higashino Shuuichi."
Askin's eyes went wide.
He didn't understand why Higashino Shuuichi would say that—
Unless…
"You're Higashino Shuuichi?! No—how do you know?!!"
In that instant, what Askin felt was a different kind of fear.
Because this was a secret—one he believed he would take to his grave.
The truth was, he had originally been a Rukongai commoner living in Soul Society.
By sheer accident, he had been swept into the Wandenreich.
Under normal circumstances, he should've been killed like livestock by these Quincy… or starved to death.
But instead, Yhwach—who had only recently awakened—took notice of him. Askin drank his blood, cast off his old identity, and rose in one leap to become a Sternritter.
And by luck, he even became one of the Schutzstaffel.
It should have stayed secret.
It had to stay secret.
But now Higashino Shuuichi had torn it open.
And the most terrifying part—
He was Higashino Shuuichi.
The Higashino Shuuichi who should have been imprisoned in Muken (Bottomless Hell) to serve his sentence!
In that moment, Askin thought of another possibility.
Everything… was Soul Society's plot!
What imprisonment in Muken?
What rebellion?
It was all a smokescreen Soul Society had set for the Wandenreich!
Those Shinigami knew the Wandenreich had been secretly watching everything in Soul Society—
So they gave Higashino Shuuichi a way to "disappear"!
Yes.
That had to be it!
Askin felt like he'd seen through everything.
A grand scheme—centuries in the making—aimed at the Wandenreich.
Higashino Shuuichi's "betrayal"…
Even Aizen's recent betrayal…
They might all be Soul Society repeating the same trick, letting Aizen escape their sight just like Higashino Shuuichi—
So he could infiltrate the Empire in secret and rendezvous with Higashino Shuuichi!
"It's Yumeoto…"
Askin suddenly thought of the Quincy Higashino Shuuichi had sent to assist him.
That person had to be Aizen Sōsuke!!
Now it all connected.
Now everything made sense!
Askin looked up at the massive Heilig Pfeil (Sacred Extinction Arrow) plunging toward him again and laughed.
He knew he was going to die.
But Higashino Shuuichi had made one fatal mistake.
Higashino Shuuichi had been cautious in every way… but he never should have "tapped" Askin at the end like that.
"Heika… is Zenchi Zen'nō (The Almighty)…"
Askin closed his eyes and whispered in his heart.
He accepted his death calmly.
And at the same time, he believed—
That Higashino Shuuichi, who had deceived him and dared to bring Aizen Sōsuke into their Empire…
Would soon follow him.
It was just a shame…
He wouldn't live to see the day Heika destroyed the three worlds.