Preparing for the War to Come

Light and shadow danced. Liu Hao's words were like a boulder cast into a tranquil lake, stirring ripples unseen for a thousand years. The name Yhwach echoed through the alternate space like an ancient curse.

"Yhwach... Is his ultimate goal to become the Soul King?" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's question was brief and direct. His eyes, weathered by a thousand years, remained fixed on Liu Hao, as though trying to read the hidden truth from his face.

Liu Hao shook his head gently, the light of the Imperial Sword flickering in his hand. "Not entirely. His original goal was to return the world to chaos, to the state it was in before the Three Worlds were divided. But after he devoured the Soul King, things took an unexpected turn—he himself became the new linchpin holding the Three Worlds together, trapped within the order he had originally sought to destroy."

The answer left all three listeners looking thoughtful. Chōjirō Sasakibe frowned deeply, while Retsu Unohana's gaze grew more profound.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "Then, if my Bankai had not been stolen, would I have had a chance of defeating him?"

The question carried the pride of the strongest Soul Reaper in a thousand years, but it also concealed a desire to understand his own limits. Liu Hao's answer, however, was brutal and direct. "Impossible. You were able to defeat him a thousand years ago not because you were stronger than him, but because Ichibē Hyōsube used the Soul King's left hand to seal his power, The Almighty, during that battle."

"'The Almighty'?" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto repeated the term, a rare tremor in his voice. "The Soul King's power?"

"Part of the Soul King's power," Liu Hao confirmed. "Yhwach claims to be the Soul King's son, but I can't say for certain what the truth is. What I do know is that he inherited the Soul King's omniscience, omnipotence and power of annihilation, and is the progenitor of all Quincy. Yet ironically, the birth of this progenitor was itself steeped in tragedy."

The image of the starry sky began to change, revealing the distant past. A baby lay in a crude cradle, unable to move or speak, unable to see or hear. This was Yhwach as an infant.

"According to legend, Yhwach was born with the ability of 'soul distribution,'" Liu Hao's voice echoed through the starry sky. "When others touched him, he would give them a piece of his soul, filling the gaps in theirs and healing their psychological or physical defects."

In the image, people touched the baby one after another. Their wounds healed, their illnesses vanished, and their bodies were made whole. Each person left with an almost fanatical devotion on their face.

"But," Liu Hao's tone grew heavy, "none of the people who touched Yhwach lived long. When those who had come into contact with him died, the pieces of his soul he had given them would return to his body, healing him in turn. In this way, the infant Yhwach gradually regained his sight, hearing and all his other faculties."

The image continued forward. A grown Yhwach stood among a crowd, and those who had once touched him knelt before him, reverently calling him "Yhwach"—which meant "Son of God" in a certain ancient language.

"After his body recovered, Yhwach found that those he had healed through their touch had come to worship him as a god," Liu Hao concluded. "That is Yhwach's origin... A being born with divine power, whose very existence cycled endlessly between 'giving' and 'taking back.'"

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto sank into thought. After a long while, he asked the most crucial question. "Then how can such a being be defeated?"

Liu Hao took a deep breath. This question concerned the course of the future war, as well as whether the decision made now was the right one.

"There are two possibilities." He held up two fingers. "First, kill him completely with overwhelming power before he fully recovers his strength. But that requires seizing an extremely brief window of opportunity, making it enormously difficult."

"Second," he said, lowering one finger, "after he recovers his strength, the only way is to mix Still Silver with the blood of the person who performs Auswählen. Combining those two substances can make him lose all his abilities and strength in an instant, turning him back into an ordinary Quincy. Though it lasts only a brief moment, that is enough to be fatal."

"'Still Silver' and the blood of the person who performs Auswählen..." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto repeated the two key terms. "Then how can we obtain Still Silver?"

"Quincy who die from Auswählen develop fatal 'Still Silver' clots inside their bodies," Liu Hao explained. "Still Silver is a special substance refined from those clots. Mixing it with the blood of the person who performs Auswählen can produce a weapon that strips Yhwach of all his power."

Chōjirō Sasakibe couldn't help asking, "Do you know how to make this weapon?"

"I don't know the exact method," Liu Hao answered truthfully. "But I know that in the future, Uryū Ishida used an arrow made from Still Silver. That arrow pierced Yhwach's body, causing him to lose all his power for an instant. In the end, Ichigo Kurosaki cut him down."

The starry sky showed a scene from the final battle. Uryū Ishida drew his bow and fired, the silver arrow cutting through space and striking Yhwach squarely in the chest. At that moment, the expression on the face of the man called a god froze, and all his power ebbed away like the tide.

"Of course, before that, Aizen created the necessary conditions for them," Liu Hao added. "That's why I said Aizen was one of the saviors too. Without Kyōka Suigetsu's effect on Yhwach's perception, without the opportunity Aizen created, that arrow might never have hit him."

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto nodded slightly. "It seems the Quincy know how to make Still Silver."

"To be precise," Liu Hao corrected him, "Ryūken Ishida knows how."

The image changed again, revealing Ryūken Ishida. The cold man stood before a dissection table, where a woman's body lay. It was his wife, Katagiri Hae.

"After Captain Shiba 'stole' Masaki Kurosaki, Ryūken Ishida married the mixed-blood Quincy Katagiri Hae, and they had Uryū Ishida," Liu Hao said, his voice carrying a trace of complicated emotion. "During the Auswählen that killed Ichigo Kurosaki's mother, Katagiri Hae was also caught up in it as a mixed-blood Quincy. After she was stripped of her powers, she struggled on her sickbed for three whole months before passing away."

In the image, Ryūken Ishida conducted the dissection without expression, but his hands trembled slightly when he found the silver clots inside his wife's body.

"After she died, Ryūken Ishida dissected her body to investigate why Auswählen had killed her. That was how he discovered the Still Silver clots," Liu Hao continued. "He used them to make a Still Silver arrow and gave it to his son, Uryū Ishida. In a way, that arrow carried his mother's dying wishes, as well as his father's silent rage."

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto fell silent for a moment. "It seems he, too, hates Yhwach because of his family."

"I can't say for certain whether he hates him now," Liu Hao said. "But I know he deeply dislikes Soul Reapers. Later, you could even call it hatred."

"Because of the war a thousand years ago?" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto ventured. "That would be understandable."

"That's only part of the reason." Liu Hao shook his head. "The more immediate reason is that Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi used his father, Sōken Ishida, as experimental material."

The image changed again, revealing a gentle middle-aged Quincy, Sōken Ishida. He was trying to communicate with Soul Reapers, his face aglow with the light of an idealist.

"Sōken Ishida was actually a good man," Liu Hao said. "He was always working to promote cooperation between Soul Reapers and Quincy. But his ideas were too naive. In the end, Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi abused his authority to arrange for him to die at the hands of Hollows, and his body was retrieved as experimental material."

In the image, a young Uryū Ishida stood before his grandfather's remains. His expression shifted from shock to anguish, finally becoming cold fury.

"Because of that, Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi nearly died at Uryū Ishida's hands," Liu Hao concluded. "That's also why, in the future, Uryū Ishida always has complicated feelings toward Soul Reapers."

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto fell into a long silence. After a long while, he spoke slowly. "Sōken Ishida... I understand."

The Captain-Commander raised his head, his gaze burning. "Then, in your opinion, how should we act now?"

Liu Hao pondered for a moment. This might be the most important advice of his life. "Personally, I think we need to remain cautious and avoid rash action for the time being."

He gathered his thoughts and explained each point. "First, in a few years, we can have Vice-Captain Kaien Shiba go to the World of the Living to find Captain Shiba. At the same time, we should send reliable people to the World of the Living to try to save Masaki Kurosaki and Katagiri Hae. If we can save them before Auswählen takes place, we can not only change the fates of both women, but also gain Ryūken Ishida's trust."

"Second, we must stop Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi from going after Sōken Ishida. In the future war, the Quincy are important allies of ours. Sōken Ishida has always followed the rules, only intervening when the Soul Reapers are unable to resolve a situation. An ally like him is worth protecting."

"Finally," Liu Hao took a deep breath, "we wait until the Aizen incident is over. After that, we'll have around ten years to prepare. Rather than waiting passively for Yhwach to invade, we should take the initiative and attack the Wandenreich, taking the battlefield into enemy territory."

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto sank into thought. As Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, he had to consider not only tactics, but also countless complicated factors such as politics, history and trust. Cooperating with Quincy, especially a pure-blood Quincy family like the Ishida Family, would touch too many sensitive nerves.

After a long while, the Captain-Commander spoke slowly. "I need time to consider this matter."

Then he abruptly changed the subject, looking sharply at Liu Hao. "There is one more thing. Have you truly not yet learned Bankai?"

The question seemed sudden, but it carried a deeper meaning. Bankai was the mark of a Captain-level Soul Reaper and an important measure of strength.

Liu Hao answered candidly, "That's right. There's no reason to hide it. If I had already learned Bankai, given Aizen's current strength, I wouldn't need to play along with him at all. Even if I confronted him openly, he couldn't kill me. At most, he could create an Arrancar specifically designed to counter me in the future."

The answer revealed two important things: first, Liu Hao had a clear understanding of his own strength; second, he had a deep understanding of Aizen's plans and methods.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto nodded slightly. "I understand. That will be all for today. I will give what you have said careful consideration."

"Yes, sir," Liu Hao replied respectfully.

Retsu Unohana stepped forward. "In that case, we'll take our leave."

"Go on." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto waved his hand.

Liu Hao released his Shikai, and the starry sky domain receded like the tide, returning the four of them to the quiet training ground. Chōjirō Sasakibe opened the door, and Unohana and Liu Hao walked out one after the other, returning to the Fourth Division along the streets of the Seireitei.

Moonlight fell on the Seireitei's flagstone streets, and all was quiet. Most Soul Reapers had already retired for the night; only the footsteps of patrols occasionally broke the silence.

"Captain," Liu Hao suddenly said, his voice sounding faint in the night breeze, "do you think the Captain-Commander will agree to cooperate with the Ishida Family?"

Retsu Unohana didn't answer directly. Instead, she gave him a meaningful smile. "Don't you already have an answer in your heart?"

Liu Hao smiled wryly. "Ah, the Captain-Commander's 'justice'..."

"What, you don't agree with it?" Unohana turned her head to look at him, moonlight casting soft shadows across her face.

"We're only uniting all the forces we should unite," Liu Hao said earnestly. "We're all just travelers with the same goal, journeying together. How could that be against justice?"

Unohana stopped and turned to face Liu Hao. "Is that how you see it?"

"Am I wrong?" Liu Hao asked.

Under the moonlight, the Fourth Division Captain's expression grew complicated. "I can't say you're wrong, but you can't deny that the Captain-Commander has his reasons, too. A thousand years of responsibility and a thousand years of rules aren't so easy to change."

Liu Hao fell silent for a moment, then looked at Unohana earnestly. "It's simply that he sees these things as the Soul Reapers' duty, and thinks that borrowing others' strength means taking advantage of them. But even if we don't borrow their strength, they'll get involved of their own accord. In that case, why not help one another?"

His gaze was clear and firm. "War won't target only Soul Reapers just because 'it's the Soul Reapers' responsibility.' When the Three Worlds face a crisis, everyone will be caught up in it. Ichigo Kurosaki is a Substitute Soul Reaper, but also a human; Uryū Ishida is a Quincy, but he'll fight alongside Hollows too; even a sinner like Aizen ultimately became one of the saviors."

"The world has changed, Captain." Liu Hao's voice drifted on the night breeze. "The Soul Reapers' duty isn't to shoulder everything alone, but to unite everyone willing to protect this world and face the threat together. That is true 'justice.'"

Retsu Unohana gazed at Liu Hao without speaking for a long time. The night breeze stirred her long hair, and moonlight shimmered in her deep violet eyes.

"Perhaps you're right," she said softly at last. "But change takes time, and wisdom too. The Captain-Commander isn't stubborn. He's just... carrying the weight of a thousand years of responsibility too heavily."