"Captain Commander."
Unohana bowed slightly.
"Regarding the death of the 3rd Seat of the 5th Division, I have personally conducted another comprehensive examination."
"The 3rd Seat of the 5th Division did not die from a Hollow attack, as stated in the report."
Yamamoto's gaze narrowed slightly.
"What did you find?"
Unohana's tone grew solemn.
"The fatal wound on the victim's chest appears to be a laceration caused by a Hollow's claws on the surface. However, deep within the tissue, there is an extremely hidden piercing wound."
"The characteristics of this piercing wound perfectly match those of a Reishi arrow."
The reception room fell silent for a moment.
"A Reishi arrow... Unohana, I trust you would not misidentify such a wound."
Hearing Unohana's words, Yamamoto's expression also grew serious.
He finally understood the reason for Unohana's unexpected visit.
And Unohana was equally clear on the weight of Yamamoto's words.
Of course, she wouldn't be mistaken.
"Yes."
Unohana continued.
"The edges of the wound are smooth, neat, and perfectly circular, with a diameter of about three millimeters. There are also slight traces of Reishi burns."
"All these characteristics point to the attack methods of a Quincy."
Yamamoto remained silent for a moment.
"Quincy."
His tone was calm, a flicker of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.
"It truly has been a long time since I last heard that name."
Unohana nodded, then explained how they discovered this anomaly.
"We owe this discovery to Captain Hirako of the 5th Division, and my Vice-Captain, Hasumi Ren."
"It was Hasumi Ren who noticed the anomaly in this corpse and informed me."
Yamamoto looked up, his gaze falling on Hasumi Ren, who was standing behind Unohana.
"Is this your new Vice-Captain?"
Unohana turned slightly.
"Yes."
Hasumi Ren took a step forward and bowed his head slightly.
"It is an honor to meet you, Captain Commander."
Yamamoto sized Hasumi Ren up, his gaze lingering on his face for a few seconds before nodding slightly.
"You look full of spirit, young man."
"I have heard a little about your performance recently. To be promoted from an ordinary student to a Vice-Captain in such a short time proves you have unique and exceptional qualities."
"Work hard, and prove that Unohana did not judge you wrongly."
Hearing Yamamoto Shigekuni's words of encouragement, Hasumi Ren replied politely.
"Thank you for your praise, Captain Commander. I will do my utmost to live up to my Captain's expectations."
Yamamoto withdrew his gaze and looked back at Unohana.
"Very well. Returning to the matter at hand, if this incident is truly related to the Quincies, what is your opinion, Unohana?"
Unohana answered in a deep voice.
"If the 5th Division's 3rd Seat was genuinely killed by a Quincy, it means that Quincies not only still exist, but have also infiltrated the Soul Society. They might even be lurking around the Seireitei."
"But as far as I know, Central 46 ordered the eradication of all Quincies a hundred years ago. Aside from a very small number specially permitted to remain in the World of the Living, there shouldn't be any surviving Quincies."
"They couldn't possibly come to the Soul Society to do such a thing, unless... they have a death wish."
Unohana's voice was soft, but the words 'death wish' carried a faint, chilling killing intent.
"Therefore, in my opinion, either there are still hidden Quincies plotting revenge against the Soul Society."
"Or, someone is committing murders using Quincy methods to confuse the public."
"But as for who possesses such an intimate understanding of Quincies, I cannot think of anyone in the Soul Society who would be secretly researching them."
Yamamoto closed his eyes, seemingly deep in thought.
Silence descended upon the reception room once more.
A moment later, Yamamoto opened his eyes.
"Could the unidentified Reiatsu fluctuations reported during today's meeting be related to this?"
"I share the same suspicion."
Unohana nodded.
"The characteristics of the Reiatsu fluctuations resemble Kido barrier formulas, yet they do not match any known Kido types. If those fluctuations were left behind by Quincies, it would explain everything."
"The way Quincies manipulate Reishi is completely different from how Soul Reapers do it. It makes sense that their formulas would appear foreign to us."
Yamamoto pondered for a moment.
"In that case, this provides another avenue of investigation for the anomalous Reiatsu fluctuations."
"Indeed."
Unohana lowered her head slightly.
"This information can be shared with the 2nd and 12th Divisions, so they can keep an eye out for relevant traces during their investigations."
"If it really is connected to the Quincies, perhaps we can take preventative measures."
"Very well."
Yamamoto finally nodded.
"Sasakibe."
"Here."
Vice-Captain Sasakibe's voice came from behind Yamamoto.
"Compile this information and notify the 2nd and 12th Divisions to include the possibility of Quincy involvement in their investigation."
"Understood."
Yamamoto looked at Unohana again.
"Is there anything else?"
"No."
Unohana stood up.
"Please forgive us for disturbing you so late at night, Captain Commander."
"Think nothing of it. It is an important matter, after all."
Yamamoto waved his hand.
Unohana bowed slightly and turned toward the door.
Hasumi Ren followed behind her. Right as he stepped out, he couldn't help but glance back.
Yamamoto Shigekuni remained seated in his chair, white-haired and aged.
The strongest Soul Reaper in the Soul Society. Despite his old age, he was still entirely worthy of the title.
'If only I had the chance to stay by his side and pick up some attribute fragments.'
Hasumi Ren withdrew his gaze and followed Unohana out of the reception room.
...
On the way back, the night wind grew colder.
Unohana walked ahead, her pace a bit faster than when they had arrived.
Hasumi Ren followed behind, his mind racing with thoughts.
Plotting the murder of the 5th Division's 3rd Seat and leaving behind a disguised but identifiable corpse.
With this clue, coupled with the unidentified Reiatsu fluctuations reported in today's meeting, the investigation would naturally point toward the Quincies.
Once this conclusion was accepted, the Seireitei would intensify its search efforts in the surrounding areas.
And the Quincies lurking in the shadows of the Seireitei would be in danger of exposure.
But if the Wandenreich were exposed, wouldn't that also expose Aizen's plans, given their alliance?
After all, both sides held leverage over each other.
Unless Aizen already had a more comprehensive plan in place to avoid being exposed.
Hasumi Ren sighed. Kyoka Suigetsu's power was simply too useful.
If Aizen really managed to extricate himself from this mess and let the Seireitei clash with the Wandenreich...
At this point in time, Yhwach should still be in the process of awakening.
Even if the Quincies of the Wandenreich had developed the new Vollständig, without Yhwach's Auswählen buff, they would likely struggle to exhibit the overwhelming combat power they showed later on.
Thinking of this, Hasumi Ren felt uncertain again.
Had the Quincies mastered the technology to steal Bankai yet?
But even if they had, it would likely be cracked by Urahara Kisuke very quickly.
Moreover, the current timeline was still far away from the Thousand-Year Blood War arc.
If they clashed head-on with the Seireitei at this stage...
They would probably be completely wiped out by old man Yamamoto, one slash at a time.
In all likelihood, the Wandenreich would choose to avoid battle and do everything possible to stall for time, waiting for Yhwach's awakening.
Who knew what Aizen's plan actually was right now? Did he really want to push for a full-scale war between the Quincies and the Seireitei...
Or did he just want to muddy the waters and take advantage of the chaos?
"Hasumi Ren."
Unohana's voice came from ahead, breaking his train of thought.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about the Quincies."
Hasumi Ren answered truthfully.
"Before today, I rarely heard that name. I didn't expect such a power to exist outside the Soul Society."
Unohana didn't look back, simply stating mildly.
"The Quincies are nothing to fear."
"As a Vice-Captain, you need to have a broader perspective."
Hasumi Ren nodded.
"I understand."
Unohana continued walking.
"Ryoka invasions happen from time to time. The death of Captain-class Soul Reapers hasn't just happened once or twice over the past years."
"This matter might not escalate too much."
Unohana's words were quite reasonable.
But since Aizen had chosen to make his move, he definitely wanted to assess the strength of the Quincy faction.
If he found that the Quincies' power wasn't enough to pose a threat, he might adjust his strategy.
If he found that their power was strong enough...
Then an even bigger storm would probably be on the horizon.
However, Hasumi Ren couldn't voice these thoughts just yet.
He merely followed behind Unohana, walking along the streets of the Seireitei toward the 4th Division's headquarters.
The night breeze swept past the eaves of the Seireitei, swirling a few fallen leaves.
In the distance, the lights in the 1st Division's tower remained bright.
By the time they returned to the 4th Division barracks, it was nearing midnight.
Unohana stopped at the entrance and turned around.
"You worked hard today. Get some rest."
"You too, Captain."
Unohana nodded, turning and walking deeper into the barracks.
Hasumi Ren stood at the entrance, watching her figure disappear at the end of the corridor before withdrawing his gaze.
He returned to his own room. The night outside the window was as dark as ink.
After freshening up, Hasumi Ren lay on his bed, organizing all the information he had received today in his head.
Tomorrow, the 2nd and 12th Divisions would receive the notice to investigate the Quincies.
He wondered how those Quincies would react.
With that thought in mind, Hasumi Ren fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, inside the 4th Division.
Hasumi Ren was sitting in his office when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open, and Urahara Kisuke walked in.
"Yo, Vice-Captain Hasumi Ren."
Urahara drew out the end of his sentence, sitting down in the chair opposite and casually placing a file on the desk.
"Congratulations on your promotion, although I'm a bit late in saying it."
"3rd Seat Urahara, you must have come to the 4th Division for more than just to say that."
Hasumi Ren put down his pen, his eyes falling on the file.
The cover of the file bore the crest of the 2nd Division's Stealth Force, clearly marking it as classified internal documentation.
Urahara's smile faded slightly as he pushed the file toward Hasumi Ren.
"Regarding the report from yesterday's Captains' meeting, Captain Yoruichi and Captain Hikifune had a private discussion and asked me to assist the 12th Division with the analysis."
"My Captain also gave me the 12th Division's investigation data."
He opened the file and tapped lightly on one of the pages with his fingertip.
"I've carefully reviewed those so-called unidentified Reiatsu fluctuations."
"The characteristics are indeed similar to Kido barrier formulas but don't match any known types. That's the conclusion Captain Hikifune gave at the meeting."
He paused and looked up, meeting Hasumi Ren's eyes.
"But I know what they are."
Hasumi Ren's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"That is not the Quincies' Schattenbereich."
Urahara lowered his voice.
"I've been studying the spatial fluctuation characteristics of the Schattenbereich for more than just a day or two. The fluctuations recorded in yesterday's report are just ordinary spatial formulas."
He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.
"To put it bluntly, someone used superficial spatial Kido to create some traces, deliberately making them look like some unknown, suspicious fluctuations."
Hasumi Ren nodded slightly. This conclusion didn't surprise him.
"There is another issue: the cause of death of the 5th Division's 3rd Seat."
Hasumi Ren spoke, his voice calm.
"Inside the fatal wound, there is an extremely hidden piercing wound. The characteristics highly match a Quincy's Reishi arrow."
"Captain Unohana reported this to the Captain Commander last night, and Captain Commander Yamamoto ordered the 2nd and 12th Divisions to include the possibility of Quincies in their investigation."
Urahara narrowed his eyes slightly.
"In that case, the arrow wound on the corpse and the unidentified Reiatsu fluctuations reported in the meeting serve to mutually verify each other."
"One points to an unknown spatial formula, and the other points to a Quincy attack method. Put together, the Seireitei upper echelons will naturally reach a certain conclusion."
He picked up a pen and drew a simple relationship diagram on a blank space in the file.
"This trap is set up brilliantly. It just requires stacking enough coincidences together so the investigators will draw the conclusion themselves."
Hasumi Ren nodded.
"Aizen is pushing for the Quincies to be exposed."
Urahara put down the pen and leaned back in his chair.
"For us, this isn't necessarily a bad thing."
"The existence of the Wandenreich is ultimately a hidden danger. It's better for the Seireitei to realize their presence sooner rather than having them strike from the shadows someday in the future."
Hasumi Ren pondered for a moment.
"However, we need to consider how the Wandenreich will react to this."
"Aizen surely knows this too. By pushing for the Quincies to be exposed, he just wants to muddy the waters and take advantage of the chaos."
"Aizen's ultimate goal has always been the Hogyoku. The Quincies are just chess pieces in his plan, used to distract the Gotei 13."
"Everything he's doing now serves that goal."
"We must be on high alert. Once the Seireitei discovers the Quincies, Aizen might make his move very soon."
Urahara Kisuke nodded.
"By the way, what is the situation with the fake Tosen Kaname?"
"He has already been subdued by Aizen and locked up in a secret room."
Urahara Kisuke nodded again. His expression didn't change much, but Hasumi Ren could tell he was rapidly processing this information.
"How will Aizen deal with that spy next?"
"He's temporarily imprisoned. Aizen probably wants to pry more intelligence about the Wandenreich out of that Quincy's mouth."
"But how much he can actually pry out remains an unknown."
Urahara gathered his files and walked toward the door.
"I have to get back to the 12th Division. Captain Yoruichi is still waiting for my analysis report."
As he reached the door, he paused slightly and looked back at Hasumi Ren.
"The Wandenreich... it's time for them to be exposed to the Seireitei's view."