Chapter 648: Indifference and Awe

"Is this your choice?"

"Yes."

"It's up to you, just don't regret it in the end."

The conversation between the boy and his father is always so straightforward. They are the two closest people in the world, but they are also the two people who are the farthest away and can't understand and communicate with each other.

However, time and results will prove that they are always the pride of each other.

Another day passed in the Soul Society. Although Ichigo had many questions that he wanted to find answers from Hongjiang, they actually didn't see each other all day yesterday.

The captains gathered, paid attention to Yamamoto's situation, and cooperated with Urahara and Kurotsuchi Mayuri in the Technology Development Bureau to conduct different experiments. Since waking up, Hongjiang has been busy again.

Until the sun rose and set, a new day came, Ichigo and others didn't see Hongjiang.

However, Hongjiang didn't come back, and the arrival of one person was unexpected.

"Ishida! Why are you here?" Ichigo saw this familiar companion as if he had seen someone extraordinary.

In fact, it's not his fault. There are many reasons why they chose to stand on the side of the Soul Society and the side of the god of death in this war, but it's not the case for Ishida.

First of all, the other party is a Quincy, and even for a long time, it was considered the only remaining Quincy.

Now that the Quincy and the God of Death from a thousand years ago are fighting again, his identity is destined to be awkward. On one side are his fellow tribesmen who have a strong sense of identity, and, based on what the God of Death has done to the Quincy, from the perspective of the Quincy, this war is a war of revenge and is just.

At the same time, Ishida is facing Ichigo and other companions who have experienced many adventures with him and can entrust their lives to each other.

This choice is not easy to make, and it can even be said to be very difficult, at least in the minds of Ichigo and others. It is best for Ishida to choose not to help either side.

"Why, are you surprised to see me?" Ishida seemed very relaxed, as if such a choice was a matter of course.

"No, I just feel..." Ichigo scratched his head with embarrassment, he didn't know how to express his thoughts.

"Why have you become so fussy after not seeing you for a few days, Ichigo?" Ishida took the initiative to say, "Don't forget, Mr. Chouzuka also looked for me before you set off. I am here only because I made a choice, that's all."

"Great, Ishida-san!" Inoue shouted happily. Chad walked up with a smile and patted him on the shoulder. It was the best news for them to be able to fight side by side with their companions.

Ishida also smiled and greeted the two of them, his face changed, and asked in a heavy tone: "Is the situation very bad this time?"

Ichigo nodded solemnly, "It can be said to be terrible. It is said that this is the worst loss in the history of the Gotei 13. In a short period of time, thousands of people lost their lives. Rukia was also injured, and Byakuya and Renji were even in danger of death."

Ishida was silent for a moment. When he arrived at the Soul Society, he noticed the wreckage of many buildings, and the death gods he met along the way looked even more unfriendly when they saw him.

Even when they came to the Fifth Division, the place that is currently the closest to these "outsiders", the players here were only a little more restrained, either panic or resentful, and their emotions could not be hidden.

So Ishida thought that the situation was very bad, but he didn't think it was so bad, which also reminded him of the conversation just yesterday.

A stranger came to him, claiming to be a holy soldier belonging to the Invisible Empire, inviting him to join the Invisible Empire, and said that it was their Majesty, Yhwach, who personally invited him.

Ishida asked a lot of questions, and the other party answered them one by one. He also learned that there would be a war between the God of Death and the Quincy. But how to describe it, the feeling that person gave him was not a resistance to the oppression of the God of Death for many years, nor was there any hatred for the God of Death.

It was just pure indifference. War was just a means for them to achieve the establishment of a great country. It didn't seem to matter who the opponent was, and they were also quite confident that under the leadership of that majesty, they would easily win!

Rather than an invitation, the other party's tone seems to be more accurately described as an order. That was also the first time that Ishida felt confused and even constrained by the identity of a Quincy.

When his grandfather led him into the gate of the Quincy, he did not have any hatred for the God of Death. He only had the pride and responsibility that a Quincy should have.

But in these fellow tribesmen, Ishida only saw their pride, a twisted pride. As for the responsibility that should be shouldered and the compassion to protect the world, Ishida did not see it from them.

In sharp contrast to this is Hongjiang, who is also a person who invites him, but can see his hesitation and awe of war.

The comparison between the two makes it even more obvious how indifferent his fellow tribesmen are.

Perhaps as Hongjiang said, there is no absolute justice in war, and each party has enough reasons to convince themselves and find the "justice" that suits them.

But one side is indifferent and the other side is entangled in their hearts, which makes people doubt whether the indifferent party has enough respect for life.

Ishida did fall into tangled thoughts, but it did not last as long as he imagined.

He made a choice that would definitely puzzle his former self, or even make him question it loudly. That was to fight alongside the God of Death as a Quincy and still entrust the world to the God of Death.

Is there a reason for Hongjiang in this? It was his awe of war that gave Ishida reason to believe that the other party had thought about possibilities other than war. Even though the other party had taken action against the Quincy a hundred years ago, time was enough for a person to change, wasn't it?

But this is not the main reason. After all, Ishida is far from having absolute trust in Hongjiang.

Ultimately, it was Ichigo who was his familiar companions, and Ishida absolutely believed that they would choose to side with the side that was more respectful of war.

As for his grandfather, Quincy does not exist for revenge. If his grandfather were still alive, Ishida believed that the other party would tell him this.

So he decided to take on the identity of a Quincy and at the same time abandon his identity as a Quincy. He said goodbye to his father and came to the Seireitei to welcome the next war with the Shinigami.

"I will never regret anything. A brat is a brat. War is not something that is so easy to experience."

The tightness of the Seireitei seems to never affect this paradise. The weather in Karakura Town today is good, the breeze is gentle, Ishida Ryugen is leaning on the railing of the rooftop, with a cigarette in his mouth, he looks very comfortable. .

It's just that Ishida Uryu's words and appearance yesterday kept flashing in his mind, making him a little uneasy.

"As a Quincy, when facing that guy, my heart can easily waver, so a brat is a brat."

Ishida Ryugen said to himself that he had not yet undergone the final baptism, so he could not give that thing to Uryū yet.

But similarly, he has not considered himself a Quincy for a long time, and is even escaping from this identity. He has no right to use that thing.

It seems that the only one in the world who can make a choice is Uryū.

Thinking of this, Ishida Ryugen took off his cigarette, threw it on the ground, stamped on it, and left the rooftop step by step.

"So whether he is a Quincy or the King of Quincy, he should not appear in this world!"