Fate in Bleach: Unlimited Blade Works!

"I understand, Captain Ailin."

Previously, Sōken Ishida had been hesitant to break the agreement, fearing the repercussions for his grandson, Uryu Ishida.

But now, knowing he only had a few years left, his perspective had changed. He had to use these final years to pass on his knowledge to Uryu. No matter what the future held, strength would be Uryu's greatest asset.

Furthermore, Ailin had implied that Sōken wasn't the only Quincy in the World of the Living. In other words, Ailin knew about Uryu and the others.

While his generation only had him as a Quincy, the Katagiri, Ishida, and Kurosaki families all had children with exceptional talent.

Ryūken's talent was the highest. Sadly, after learning of the agreement between Quincy and Shinigami, he had abandoned his Quincy heritage.

The young girl from the Katagiri family, no longer a pure-blood Quincy, possessed talent comparable to Sōken's.

And the girl from the Kurosaki family… her talent was almost on par with Ryūken's.

Sōken believed that Ryūken and the Kurosaki girl were far stronger than him.

Among the Gotei 13 captains, he had only met Ailin, Jūshirō Ukitake who had been present during the signing of the agreement, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

Based on his senses, Ryūken and the Kurosaki girl might be slightly weaker than Ukitake, but they were definitely stronger than Kurotsuchi.

He didn't need to worry about them.

The only one he was concerned about…

Sōken glanced at his grandson, hiding behind a tree, and sighed.

His grandson wasn't a pure-blood, nor did he possess exceptional talent.

However, unlike Ryūken, Uryu had acknowledged his Quincy heritage and accepted the agreement with the Shinigami.

In other words, Sōken saw Uryu as the true successor of the Quincy.

It was a passing of the torch, an inheritance of their will.

…

From that day forward, Uryu Ishida accompanied his grandfather to the forest every day after school, diligently learning the ways of the Quincy.

Though Uryu talent wasn't exceptional, under Sōken's guidance, he progressed rapidly.

Having a teacher and learning on one's own were two entirely different things.

In Ailin's memory, it wasn't until after Sōken's death that Uryu had begun training on his own. At seventeen, he had reached the level of an average "elite Shinigami."

Through his cooperation with Ichigo Kurosaki, absorbing Ichigo's vast spiritual pressure and concentrating it into his arrows, he had achieved a breakthrough, reaching seated officer level.

Equipping himself with the Quincy's "Sanrei Glove," he had even surpassed average lieutenants.

Now, after four years of training under Sōken, nine-year-old Uryu had yet to fully manifest his "Spirit Bow." However, he had already memorized all the knowledge Sōken had imparted.

Both Sōken and Uryu knew that Ailin's prediction of Sōken's impending demise wasn't a casual remark.

Therefore, they cherished every moment they had together.

Sōken desperately wanted to pass on everything he knew to his grandson, while Uryu, though struggling to grasp many of the concepts, memorized them diligently, determined to live up to his grandfather's expectations.

One day, as Uryu was walking to the forest, he felt an invisible force lock onto him. The next moment, his spiritual pressure was violently ripped from his body, and he lost consciousness.

…

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Three blue pillars of spiritual energy descended from the sky, visible to everyone in Karakura Town with spiritual awareness.

At Karakura First Hospital, Ryūken Ishida was witnessing his wife, Katagiri Kanae, being engulfed by one of the pillars. A cold light flashed in his eyes.

In the pouring rain, nine-year-old Ichigo Kurosaki looked up at his mother, Masaki, whose smiling face seemed to radiate an angelic glow. The little girl in a white dress by the pond suddenly vanished. A three-meter-tall monster appeared in her place, charging towards Ichigo and Masaki.

In the forest, Sōken Ishida's face paled as he watched the pillar of light engulf Uryu.

"This… This is Auswählen, the power of the Quincy progenitor, recorded in our ancient texts?"

As the last remaining Quincy in the World of the Living, the Ishida family possessed books detailing the history of the Quincy, including descriptions of Auswählen.

It was the ability of Yhwach, the progenitor of the Quincy. When activated, all mixed-blood Quincy would become sacrifices, their powers and souls would return to Yhwach.

Uryu Ishida was the son of Ryūken Ishida and Kanae Katagiri. While Ryūken was a pure-blood, the Katagiri family had lost their pure-blood status centuries ago. Therefore, Uryu was a mixed-blood.

Furthermore, through his recent efforts, Uryu had finally manifested his Spirit Bow, becoming a true Quincy. He was within the scope of Auswählen.

"Uryu!"

Seeing Uryu's spiritual pressure being violently siphoned away, Sōken knew that once it was completely drained, Uryu's very soul would become a sacrifice for Yhwach.

Spiritual particles erupted from his body, forming countless threads that pierced into Uryu. Under Sōken's control, Uryu, still unconscious, extended his hand.

"Ransōtengai!"

It was a forbidden Quincy technique, a last resort used to fight to the death.

With Ransōtengai activated, even if their bodies were shattered, as long as they retained consciousness, they could control their bodies like puppets, continuing to fight.

With a thought, wounds appeared on both his and Uryu's wrists.

Crimson blood flowed through the Ransōtengai threads, transferring from Sōken to Uryu.

Since Auswählen only targeted mixed-blood Quincy, Sōken believed that the only way to save Uryu was to replace his mixed blood with his own pure blood. This way, Uryu would become a pure-blood like him and wouldn't be targeted by Auswählen.

Under Sōken's guidance, Uryu's blood was swiftly replaced. The pillar of light engulfing Uryu began to fade, no longer draining his spiritual pressure.

However, Sōken, having lost a significant amount of blood, was on the verge of death.

He suddenly remembered Ailin's words from four years ago.

Had Captain Ailin foreseen this day?

For the Quincy, the progenitor's return should have been good news. But considering Auswählen, considering Uryu, and remembering the Shinigami captain who had left the deepest impression on him, Sōken couldn't help but feel that their progenitor's revival might not be as smooth as they hoped.

…

That evening, when Ryūken Ishida saw his son returning home, drenched in rain, he was stunned.

He understood what had happened but chose to remain silent. He went straight to his room.

He had thought he would lose both his wife and his son that day. But it seemed his father, the man he had always despised for abandoning the Quincy's glory and signing that humiliating treaty with the Shinigami, had used his life to save Uryu's.

"Quincy, Yhwach…"

A cold glint flickered in Ryūken's eyes. Of the three pillars of light that had appeared above Karakura Town, one had engulfed his wife, Kanae Katagiri, another had targeted his son, Uryu Ishida, and the third…

"Masaki…"

Someone else shared Ryūken's feelings.

Isshin Shiba!

No, he should be called Isshin Kurosaki now.

After all, when he had married Masaki Kurosaki, it had practically been a matrilocal marriage.

At that moment, Isshin was standing before his wife's grave with a decadent look on his face..

Footsteps approached in the darkness. He looked up and sighed upon seeing the newcomer.

"Sorry, Captain Shiba. Even I couldn't do anything back then."

The speaker was Kisuke Urahara.

Ten years ago, when Isshin Shiba had appeared above Karakura Town, Urahara and the others had noticed him.

After observing him for a while, they had concluded that he wasn't a Mod Soul but the real Isshin Shiba.

When the Hollow, White, had self-destructed, Isshin had shielded Masaki, sustaining serious injuries. Urahara had appeared and taken both Isshin and Masaki to his shop for treatment.

After Isshin's injuries had healed, Masaki's condition had worsened. White's bite had infused its reiatsu into her body.

If she wasn't treated immediately, she would be consumed.

It had to be said that Quincy and Hollows were indeed natural enemies.

Quincy powers could completely obliterate Hollows, but Hollow reiatsu was the bane of Quincy.

During the Thousand-Year Blood War, when captains had absorbed the black orbs created from Hollow reiatsu, the clash between Hollow powers and Quincy powers had forced the Quincy to return the stolen Bankai.