Tsunayoshi hadn't expected Urahara Kisuke to jump in and try to recruit him. A mischievous thought arose in his mind, and he asked with a smile:
"Shopkeeper, in your opinion… which power is stronger—Shinigami or Quincy?"
"Oh my, that's a difficult question…"
Urahara raised his folding fan to cover most of his face and replied in an exaggerated tone.
"Both Shinigami and Quincy are powers that have been passed down for thousands of years. The two sides have clashed many times."
"Soul Society still possesses a complete Shinigami lineage. But after this recent Auswählen…"
"The only family with a complete Quincy inheritance left is the Ishida family. In fact, the only true Quincy remaining may be Mr. Ryūken."
Urahara never directly stated which side was stronger.
Instead, he simply laid out the facts: for the past thousand years, Shinigami had consistently held the upper hand over Quincy.
"In terms of combat techniques," he continued, "Shinigami specialize in Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō."
"Quincy, on the other hand, center their fighting style around Heilig Pfeil. Most of their techniques are derived from spiritual arrows formed from Reishi."
"Among Shinigami, swordsmanship centered around the Zanpakutō has developed many variations. Every Shinigami possesses a unique Zanpakutō, allowing them to develop their own personal Shikai and Bankai."
"Quincy combat styles are somewhat more standardized. They tend to rely heavily on specialized equipment and tools, which can produce surprising effects."
"As for whether you choose the path of a Quincy or a Shinigami… that depends entirely on you, Mr. Tsunayoshi."
Most of Urahara's face remained hidden behind the fan, leaving only his narrow eyes visible.
His meaning was clear:
Shinigami powers allow greater personal expression, while Quincy abilities follow a more fixed traditional system. If Tsunayoshi wanted to fully explore his own potential, the Shinigami path would likely be the better choice.
Ryūken didn't refute Urahara's explanation.
In truth, he himself disliked the Quincy profession. If not for the enormous debt he owed Tsunayoshi, he would never have agreed to teach him Quincy abilities.
Of course, Tsunayoshi understood Urahara's implication perfectly.
But he had already made his decision.
Teachers like Ryūken were extremely rare. If he missed this opportunity, it would be hard to find another.
As for the Shinigami side, both Urahara and Isshin could serve as potential teachers later.
"Shopkeeper Urahara, thank you for your kindness," Tsunayoshi said with a grin. "I'd like to try training as a Quincy with Uncle Ryūken first. If it turns out I have no talent for it, I'll come to you then."
"I respect your decision, Mr. Tsunayoshi," Urahara said, snapping his fan shut.
"Urahara Shop will always welcome you. I believe we'll have business to discuss in the future."
Ryūken called an ambulance from his hospital and had the two recovering patients transported back to the Ishida residence.
Tsunayoshi's training was temporarily postponed as well.
They would begin once the weather cleared.
Two days later, under a bright sunny sky.
At the Ishida residence, Tsunayoshi rang the doorbell.
The one who opened the door was someone he had met once before—Ishida Uryū.
"Um… how can I help you?" Uryū asked timidly.
The gloomy look he once had was gone. His mother Kanae was gradually recovering, and during the holiday break he had been staying by her side.
"I'm here to see Uncle Ryūken," Tsunayoshi said openly. "We already made arrangements. He's going to teach me how to train as a Quincy."
Those words immediately struck a nerve in Uryū.
He knew very well that his father hated Quincy.
Uryū himself had once asked Ryūken to teach him Quincy techniques—and had been firmly rejected.
In fact, Ryūken had never taught him anything related to Quincy abilities.
So why would he now teach an outsider?
Confusion filled Uryū's mind.
"Come with me," he said, deciding to take Tsunayoshi to see his father directly.
Under Uryū's guidance, Tsunayoshi arrived once again at Ryūken's bedroom.
Ryūken was feeding Kanae her medicine.
When Kanae saw Tsunayoshi, she smiled and waved.
"Aunt Kanae, how are you feeling?" Tsunayoshi asked.
"Thanks to you, Tsuna," she replied warmly. "Ryūken says I should be able to get out of bed in a couple of days."
While Tsunayoshi chatted with Kanae, Uryū reported Tsunayoshi's purpose to his father.
"Father… he said he's here to learn how to become a Quincy."
"I know," Ryūken replied coldly. "You can leave."
"Father!"
Uryū suddenly shouted, summoning all his courage.
Then his voice softened again.
"Can I learn too? I'll work hard!"
For the first time, Ryūken truly looked at him.
After staring at him for a long moment, he said:
"You don't have the talent."
"Then why can he learn?" Uryū demanded, pointing at Tsunayoshi. "He's an outsider! Does he have talent?"
"Whether he has talent is still unknown," Ryūken replied sternly. "You shouldn't waste your time on something like being a Quincy. You can pursue any interest you want—except becoming a Quincy."
"Why?!" Uryū shouted.
"Because becoming a Quincy is the one thing I'm interested in!"
"Ever since I was little, you've never looked at me properly! Only Grandfather was willing to teach me!"
Somewhere deep inside, Uryū found the courage to speak back for the first time.
"Grandfather was killed by those monsters! Haven't you ever thought about avenging him?"
"If you won't do it, then I will!"
"I'll become a Quincy and kill every last one of those monsters!"
Uryū's eyes turned red.
In his memories, his grandfather Ishida Sōken had died surrounded by Hollows.
If he had possessed power back then… maybe he could have saved the grandfather who had always been kind to him.
What Uryū didn't see was the slight flicker in Ryūken's eyes.
Of course Ryūken wasn't indifferent to his father's death.
But the ones who killed Sōken were Hollows—and Hollows could never truly be eradicated.
Still, this was the first time Ryūken realized how deeply Sōken's death had affected Uryū.
Even so, he didn't want Uryū to walk the path of a Quincy—whether because of his own hatred toward Quincy or the recent tragedy of Auswählen.
"Alright, Uncle," Tsunayoshi suddenly said.
"If you're teaching one student anyway, you might as well teach two."
Then he turned to Uryū.
"Let's introduce ourselves properly. My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. Looks like we'll be classmates from now on."
"Nice to meet you," Uryū replied quickly, shaking his hand. "I'm Ishida Uryū."
"But—"
Before Ryūken could finish, Tsunayoshi continued:
"Uryū, you've already started Quincy training, right? Could you show me what you've learned?"
"Of course," Uryū said confidently.
He focused with all his strength, gathering every bit of Reishi he could control.
Slowly, a long arrow formed.
It was a Heilig Pfeil.
Seeing this, Ryūken was deeply shaken.
He had originally feared the implications of Auswählen and intended to reject Uryū's request to train.
But Tsunayoshi's simple test shattered that concern.
In Ryūken's understanding, Uryū was also a mixed-blood Quincy.
He believed Uryū had survived Auswählen only because he had no Quincy powers.
Yet now—
Uryū had already managed to condense a Reishi arrow.
Even if it was weak, it was unmistakably Quincy power.
And yet he had still escaped Yhwach's Auswählen.
Why?
Ryūken looked sharply at Tsunayoshi, demanding an explanation.
Tsunayoshi, however, pretended not to notice.
Instead, he turned to Kanae.
"Aunt Kanae, Uryū's grown up now. He needs the strength to protect himself, doesn't he? Let him train with me."
Kanae understood the look Ryūken had given Tsunayoshi.
She also sensed that Ryūken was already wavering.
"Ryūken," she said gently, "let Uryū learn with him."
"Fine," Ryūken said at last.
"But if you can't keep up with the training, you'll quit."
"Yes, Father!" Uryū replied excitedly.
For the first time, he had been openly allowed to train as a Quincy.
He was overflowing with motivation.
Behind the Ishida estate, the mountain area had been designated by Ryūken as their temporary training ground.
From his backpack, Ryūken took out two short bows and handed them to Tsunayoshi and Uryū.
"The primary combat method of a Quincy is archery," he said.
"Before learning Heilig Pfeil, you must first master the basics of using a bow."
"Take these bows. Pick a tree as your target. Let me see your abilities."
Uryū held the bow with excitement.
Since childhood, he had trained under Sōken, so handling a light short bow was nothing new to him.
He drew three arrows.
Swish—swish—swish!
All three struck the same tree, forming a neat triangle.
It clearly demonstrated his archery skill.
But before he could feel proud—
Three more arrows suddenly struck the tree beside his.
They were Tsunayoshi's.
Immediately after Uryū fired, Tsunayoshi released his own arrows, placing them at perfectly equal intervals beside Uryū's shots.
"Uncle Ryūken," Tsunayoshi said casually, "I've already mastered basic archery. Let's start the real lesson."
After all, Tsunayoshi already possessed G's Bow, so archery was nothing new to him.
"Very well," Ryūken said without wasting words.
"The fundamental power of a Quincy is control over Reishi. By manipulating Reishi, various combat techniques can be formed."
"For example, Heilig Pfeil is the firing of Reishi arrows. Hirenkyaku is a high-speed movement technique built on the same principle."
"In short, everything begins with Reishi control."
"You can already sense Reishi. Follow my lead."
Ryūken had no intention of teaching them step-by-step like beginners.
Instead, he demonstrated small Reishi manipulation techniques.
If either of them failed to keep up, he would have a convenient excuse to terminate this training he disliked.
And so—
Tsunayoshi spent the entire summer vacation training at the Ishida residence.
Ryūken trained them by having them condense Reishi into complex patterns, strengthening their control.
Every day, they had to complete one pattern.
Fail to complete it—and the training session ended.
Under this intense training, Tsunayoshi and Uryū improved rapidly.
Soon, both could condense the prototype of their own spirit bows from Reishi.
All that remained was to defeat a Hollow using Heilig Pfeil.
Once they accomplished that, they would officially become Quincy.
However…
The Reishi bow prototype Tsunayoshi created looked somewhat different from what he had originally imagined.