Yhwach's Objective

One of the four gates protecting the Seireitei…

The West Gate—Hakutōmon (White Road Gate)!

This area was personally taken over by the Gotei 1st Division…

Amidst the roaring flames, a figure, not particularly tall but full of imposing authority, advanced silently, treading over scattered corpses.

Under his feet lay the remains of deceased Soul Reaper squad members, as well as Quincy, whose bodies were largely incinerated by the flames, roasted alive!

However, neither the mountain of corpses nor the incessant wails and pleas on the battlefield could serve as a reason to hinder his advance. His heart was like iron, his gaze like a steel blade…

The man only stopped his advance after receiving Tenteikūra from Araki.

"Hmm? That kid Araki, did he suppress the disturbance at Shūwamon (Red Hollow Gate) so quickly?"

"That certainly makes me look at him in a new light…"

The man muttered to himself, clearly surprised by Araki's speed.

However, once the man remembered that Araki was the first among all Captains to set out, he understood.

"Die, Soul Reaper!!"

Just as the man was murmuring, several Quincy wearing white knight uniforms burst out of the flames from behind the towering wall of roaring fire, charging towards him.

"Foolish!"

In response, the man wielding a blade of flame looked up at the Quincy rushing towards him, a hint of disdain in his eyes.

"All things in the universe, turn to ash! You too shall become the charred remains beneath Ryujin Jakka, the blade in my hand!"

Yes, this man, wielding a blade of flame and walking alone on the battlefield, was none other than Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13. He brandished the sharp blade in his hand, which unleashed endless waves of fire, cutting down the clamoring Quincy.

Boom!!

Violent flames erupted from Yamamoto Genryusai's Zanpakuto, transforming into a massive 'fire dragon' that swallowed everything in its path!

Whether it was the rain of arrows aimed at Yamamoto, or the several Sternritter (Star Cross Knights) members who had leaped into the air and were rushing towards Yamamoto, they all turned into scattered ash the moment they touched the roaring flames…

Vanishing along with that group of Sternritter members were a multitude of ordinary Quincy who were crying out on their knees, as well as some ordinary Soul Reaper squad members who had lost their combat ability, had no chance of being saved, and lay half-dead on the ground.

"Rest assured! Your sacrifices will not be in vain! Once the war ends, I myself will present the enemy general's head to comfort your scattered souls…"

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni said to himself after eradicating a large number of Quincy lives…

His words sounded both like he was talking to himself and like he was addressing the 'heroically sacrificed' Soul Reaper squad members who had already dispersed into spirit particles and returned to the spirit particle cycle.

Yamamoto didn't know how to protect; he wasn't skilled in healing others with Kaido. He only knew how to destroy enemies with Hado! His Zanpakuto also had no ability to heal others! His sword was the 'most powerful' Zanpakuto in the entire Soul Society, so immensely powerful that even his allies who came too close would be injured by the residual shockwaves released by his Zanpakuto. Therefore, after the war began, he chose to proceed alone…

However, Yamamoto was not heartless. He saw all the efforts that the Soul Reaper squad members from various divisions were making for the Seireitei!

So, in Yamamoto's view, there was only one thing he could do now: 'kill'!

Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill all enemies!

This was to honor the Soul Reaper squad members who had perished fighting against the Quincy.

A moment later…

As Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni sheathed his Zanpakuto, the entire battlefield at the Seireitei's West Gate, Hakutōmon, had been transformed into an uninhabited sea of fire. Besides Yamamoto Genryusai, there was no other living being in this inferno.

"Chōjirō…"

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, having sheathed his Zanpakuto, coldly called out into the empty and desolate battlefield wreckage.

"I'm here, Lord Genryusai!"

And precisely at the moment Genryusai's voice faded, a gray figure appeared behind him.

It was none other than Chōjirō Sasakibe, the Lieutenant of the 1st Division.

"Inform the entire division! The enemy forces that attacked Hakutōmon have all been personally slain by me!"

Genryusai said with full conviction, his back to Chōjirō Sasakibe.

"Understood…"

Chōjirō Sasakibe was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, then immediately bit his thumb and drew circle after circle of patterns on his arm.

"Bakudo Number Seventy-Seven, Tenteikūra!!"

"Calling all divisions! This is Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe of the 1st Division! The enemy forces that attacked Hakutōmon have all been personally slain by Lord Genryusai! I repeat! The enemy forces that attacked Hakutōmon have all been personally slain by Lord Yamamoto Genryusai!!"

Chōjirō Sasakibe purposely repeated Genryusai's words twice, particularly emphasizing to the Captains of the Gotei 13 that the Quincy who attacked Hakutōmon were all killed by Old Man Yama alone.

"Hmm! Chōjirō, you did very well!"

Genryusai also received the message conveyed by Chōjirō Sasakibe. He looked at Chōjirō with eyes full of admiration, nodding with immense satisfaction.

"It was but a trivial matter, no need for your praise!"

Chōjirō Sasakibe smiled faintly at Genryusai upon hearing this.

As Genryusai's aide for many years, Chōjirō Sasakibe already knew Genryusai's thoughts inside and out. From the moment Genryusai received Araki's message and began fighting with his full power…

Chōjirō knew that Genryusai had developed a competitive spirit after learning that Araki had single-handedly suppressed the enemy forces at Shūwamon!

Based on Chōjirō's understanding of Genryusai, Genryusai probably believed that as the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 and Araki's master, he absolutely could not lose to his own subordinate and disciple, Araki, otherwise, it would be too embarrassing!

"Alright, next, the entire Gotei 13 will withdraw into the Seireitei!"

"Since the Quincy 'Emperor,' whom Araki repeatedly warned me not to underestimate, is neither with Araki nor with me, it's likely he won't be found at the other two gates either!"

"Perhaps that fellow has already taken his personal guard directly into the Seireitei, while we, the Gotei 13, were busy fighting the enemy forces invading the four gates: Hakutōmon, Seiryūmon, Kokuryōmon, and Shūwamon…"

"This seems a bit tricky! I underestimated that guy's ambition, and I underestimated his knowledge of the Seireitei's internal structure! But no matter, let him continue his antics! I will personally cut him down within the Seireitei with my sword…"

After Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni finished speaking, he looked towards the depths of the Seireitei, where a different kind of crisis seemed to be brewing.

As if to confirm Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's thoughts…

No one could have imagined that Yhwach, the Quincy 'Emperor,' chose not to engage the Gotei 13. Instead, he used his forces stationed at the Seireitei's 'Four Gates' as bait, while he himself headed straight for the family compounds of the various noble clans within the Seireitei!

At this moment, what were once opulent estates, like undulating palaces, radiating a luxury that ordinary Soul Reaper soldiers could only dream of—

The true 'leaders' of this ancient Soul Society! The 'power-holders'! The 'rulers'!

The areas where the privileged nobles of the Soul Society resided had already been engulfed in flames! Just seeing the ruined architecture, one could imagine that a fierce battle had indeed taken place here.

"If I capture all the heads of these five families, in whose veins flows the blood of 'inferiors,' then you won't be able to stay up in the heavens and simply watch as I destroy the ground, will you?!"

Amidst the scattered corpses, Yhwach, the Quincy 'Emperor,' looked up at the sky. His cold eyes stared directly at certain entities in the sky as he spoke in a chilling voice.

From the very beginning, his goal was not on the ground…

…but in the heavens!

Here, Yhwach's attack on the nobles aligns with the official novel Can't Fear Your Own World (CFYOW), which states that after Yhwach's invasion a thousand years ago, Central 46 established a rule: 'When the heads of the Five Great Noble Clans hold a meeting in their exclusive meeting room beneath the Seireitei, only four heads may be present at any given time. One head must remain in the Seireitei to prevent the complete annihilation of the Five Great Noble Clans, who hold the highest power in the Soul Society.'

Finally, please vote! I'll try my best to crank out a few more chapters later tonight!