In the Human World, Karakura Town, within the mountains behind a certain Western-style mansion.
This place was purchased by wealthy individuals with extraordinary powers, existing as their private territory.
Several hundred Quincy gathered here. They came from various age groups and genders, all dressed in Western-style clothing and adorned with Quincy Cross accessories symbolizing their status.
They congregated in a clearing in the forest, their gazes fixed on the center of the crowd.
The Quincy responsible for vigilance were spread out in the surrounding forest, maintaining the barrier cautiously, their spirit bows tightly gripped in their hands, constantly on alert for their surroundings.
In the center of the crowd, a middle-aged man in white robes was delivering a solemn speech.
His tone was sincere:
"Everyone, please listen to me."
"A hundred years ago, we already failed once. With our current strength, we cannot possibly contend with the Soul Society."
"Moreover, this time, we were the ones who broke the truce first; the fault lies with us."
"If we continue down the wrong path, the only outcome will be destruction!"
Ishida Soken's words made some Quincy hesitant, causing them to re-evaluate the current situation deep in their hearts.
They knew that the war, which lasted for several centuries, had claimed the lives of countless ancestors and relatives.
Their hatred for Shinigami grew daily, but at the same time, they deeply understood the terror of Shinigami.
That unconquerable sense of fear was deeply etched into their hearts.
However, another portion of the Quincy showed exceptional resolve.
They seemed to have long abandoned reason, only wishing to vent the long-suppressed anger.
Just then, an angry voice rang out:
"Ishida Soken! You cowardly fellow, you only care about the pure-blood Quincy lineage of the Ishida."
"That's right, you don't care about the lives and future of us mixed-blood Quincy! You are not fit to lead us!"
Immediately after, someone else echoed:
"Those Shinigami are only strong because of their numbers. Have you forgotten? Weren't those Shinigami easily defeated by us before?"
"Those were just…" Ishida Soken tried to explain, but his words were drowned out by the clamor in the crowd.
"Enough, you damned coward! Get down from there now!!"
The voices in the crowd grew louder, and emotions became more agitated.
"Everyone, please calm down first. Actually, Shinigami might not be as everyone imagines; as long as we…"
An orange-haired girl stepped forward.
"Shut up, you last descendant of the Kurosaki family."
"So what if you're pure-blood? You're just a lowly remnant whose family lineage is almost extinct. Know your place!"
"You're just a dog kept by the Ishida; you have no right to dictate here!!"
"You…"
Upon hearing this, the young girl's eyes immediately reddened.
Seeing this, Ishida Soken could only shake his head helplessly, knowing that any further explanation would be futile.
He silently stepped down from the platform and gently placed his hand on the girl's head to comfort her, but in reality, his heart was filled with deeper worry and helplessness.
The hatred and anger of these people had blinded them, causing them to lose their reason and judgment.
But he was powerless to change any of this and could only silently pray that these people would not escalate the situation too much.
"We are noble Quincy! Why should we bow to Shinigami!?" someone shouted angrily.
"We must retaliate! We should make the Shinigami pay for their blood debt," another person echoed.
As soon as these words were uttered, the Quincy all echoed and nodded in agreement.
They believed that in the past, they were defeated by Shinigami only because their numbers were few, forcing them to barely survive in the Human World.
But now, after more than a hundred years of recuperation, the Quincy clan had gained powerful strength.
They no longer had any reason to obey the commands of those Shinigami.
For a time, the scene was filled with various voices of agreement, with only Ishida Soken strongly opposing.
"Ishida Soken… I heard from my elders that the previous truce agreement was led and signed by your Ishida, wasn't it?!"
Suddenly, someone raised this question.
"What? The Ishida led it, wasn't it agreed upon by all the pure-blood Quincy?" Others asked in surprise.
"Heh, in my opinion, the Ishida became the Soul Society's lackey a hundred years ago!" another person said sarcastically.
"That's right, a lackey!"
More and more people echoed, their gazes towards Ishida Soken gradually becoming unfriendly.
If it weren't for the fact that this fellow was a pure-blood Quincy with powerful strength, Perhaps someone would have already rushed up and used his head as a sacrifice.
Hearing the discussions around him, Ishida Soken couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.
The war between Shinigami and Quincy a hundred years ago nearly wiped out the Quincy clan in the Human World, leaving only a mere hundred or so individuals.
Quincy with Captain-class strength were certainly pure-bloods, but being pure-blood did not necessarily mean possessing Captain-class strength.
Therefore, although the Quincy clan once had some pure-blood members, truly powerful Quincy were few and far between.
Since the war a thousand years ago, the power gap between Quincy and Shinigami had become increasingly apparent.
If they continued to fight, the Quincy clan would inevitably face extinction.
Thus, the Ishida, along with several other pure-blood Quincy families, jointly represented the Quincy in surrendering to the Shinigami, solely to ensure the continuation of their race.
After all, the Quincy's act of destroying Souls indeed violated the natural cycle of the world.
From the world's perspective, it was indeed the Quincy ancestors who misused their power that were wrong.
And the Shinigami, as the victors, only requested that the Quincy not indiscriminately kill Hollows; they asked for nothing else.
These were conditions that everyone agreed to and accepted back then.
Unexpectedly, after only a hundred years, these people had turned their spearhead against his own family.
In the distance, on a small mountain peak, Zaraki frowned, looking far towards the Quincy gathering place.
He muttered to himself:
"These guys are so weak…"
Saying that, he shook his head, sighing inwardly.
Though both were Quincy, these Human World Quincy were simply incomparable to the Wandenreich Quincy; their overall strength was not even on the same level.
With his strength, he could annihilate this entire group of Quincy by himself.
—Zaraki had such confidence.
However, even though he had already made his judgment, he could only endure and wait silently as he had not yet received the command from the Captain next to him.
But as time passed minute by minute, Aozaki Reiji showed no signs of making a move.
He stood quietly to the side, his gaze as calm as water, seemingly indifferent to these Quincy.
It didn't look like he was going to fight at all!
And Aozaki Reiji stood by, silently observing these Quincy, indeed not paying much attention to them.
Are you kidding?
Among this group, only three individuals barely reached Third-Grade spiritual pressure, and it was a Third-Grade spiritual pressure even weaker than Kurotsuchi Mayuri's. What was there to care about?
Aozaki Reiji's eyes only saw an orange-haired girl. He and that girl had met once before.
From their spiritual pressure, that girl, the white-haired youth beside her, and the middle-aged man in the center of the crowd were the Quincy's highest combat power.
And it was clear that the three of them were together.
But those idiots around them dared to provoke them.
Didn't they know that just these three people could wipe them all out?
Aozaki Reiji stood up.
"Have the Squad members gather and prepare to attack."
"Yes!"
The seated officers beside him immediately responded and quickly relayed the command.
Soon, the Eleventh Division Squad members began to move.
With a single command, they charged forward head-on.
And the commotion here naturally did not escape the Quincy's eyes.
They all looked vigilantly in the direction of the Eleventh Division, their faces showing alert expressions.