"Boom!!"
Explosions and thunderous roars rang out endlessly throughout the Seireitei. Countless flames stretched people's shadows ever longer, making the Seireitei, shrouded in gloom and war, appear increasingly eerie.
"Kill! Don't be afraid! His Majesty guides us!"
The Quincies charged like fearless machines, roaring as they launched wave after wave of attacks against the Soul Reapers.
"Noisy!"
Unfortunately, as blazing flames tore through the sky, no matter how many Quincies arrived, before Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, they merely added a few more charred corpses to the soil of the Seireitei.
"Hm? What is it? Was I the first one here?"
When Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, wielding a Sword of Fiery Might, had cut his way through everything in his path and arrived before the gates of the Gotei 1st Division barracks beneath Sogyoku Hill, there seemed to be no trace of any other Soul Reapers around him.
Genryūsai furrowed his already tightly knit brows...
"Second!"
Just as Yamamoto was growing dissatisfied, a purple figure flashed into existence behind Yamamoto Genryūsai. She then threw her arms wide in a triumphant pose and shouted toward the sky.
"Saito?"
Yamamoto looked at the newcomer with some surprise. He had not expected Saito Furofushi, that fool... foolish girl, to be the one who followed him here.
"Idiot, you were the fourth one here."
Before Saito could loudly boast about her "glorious feat" of being the second to arrive at Yamamoto's gathering point, a pitch-black figure suddenly sat up from among the charred corpses nearby...
Had the man not suddenly risen, with his "special" skin color—no, his formidable stealth skills—he truly would have blended in with the darkness and the blackened bodies.
"Ah! It's that damn Shihoin Sennichi!"
"And even if you got here before me, I was still the third one to arrive, okay?"
Seeing the newcomer was like having a basin of cold water dumped over her head, extinguishing the enthusiasm that had just flared up in Saito's heart. She immediately felt annoyed.
"Is that so? Not necessarily..."
The newcomer was naturally Shihoin Sennichi. After hearing Saito's words, he glanced toward the shadows in the distance. The one who had been crouching there in stealth was the true second person to arrive, while he himself had only been third.
"You guys are fast..."
Accompanied by a series of crunching sounds like branches being crushed underfoot, Katori Bakuunsai strode "cutely" over a crowd of Quincy "corpses" so charred that they no longer resembled human beings, naginata in hand, deliberately grinding their bodies to pieces.
More importantly, as Katori's strides gradually widened, the enormous "evil" on her chest swayed up and down like waves, seizing everyone's attention and striking directly at their hearts.
"See no evil..."
However, Shihoin Sennichi turned his head away after only one glance. Though he acted like someone constantly looking for amusement, he was a family man.
"Your Shunpo is too fast! Save your strength! Save your strength!!"
"Where are the enemy troops? I don't see any enemy troops?"
In the blink of an eye, Iwahara Kinra, captain of the 3rd Division, and Sanjōji Yuhō, captain of the 12th Division, had also arrived beneath the Sogyoku.
"Oh-ho! Looks like we won!"
Seeing that the captains who had arrived first were all from their Seiryūmon group, Saito planted her hands on her hips, immensely pleased with herself.
"Old Man Yama, everyone, it looks like you got here long ago!"
Just as Saito was basking in her pride, Obana Danjirō, captain of the 5th Division, finally arrived at the captains' meeting point.
"So tired! I'm dying! I want to go back and sleep!"
"Hehehe, for an old man like me whose body is so 'weak,' moving this quickly really is too much~"
"I don't see any enemy troops. Could the gathering point be wrong?"
"It should be right! Look, everyone else is here, and Captain-Commander Yamamoto is here too."
Behind Obana Danjirō were the remaining four captains in charge of Kōryūmon: Shijima Tomokiri of the 4th Division, Sakagashira Saizou of the 13th Division, Shigyō Nobutsuna of the 7th Division, and Kumenai Entetsu of the 9th Division.
At that moment, Shijima Tomokiri looked utterly exhausted while Sakagashira Saizou put on the appearance of an old man too frail to breathe properly. Yet neither of them had a single drop of sweat on their foreheads...
Shigyō Nobutsuna held a hand over his brow as he continuously surveyed the surroundings for signs of the enemy. Meanwhile, Kumenai Entetsu, flashing his large gold teeth, pointed at Yamamoto Genryūsai and the captains behind him before patting Shigyō Nobutsuna on the shoulder.
"Eleven..."
"Oh, it looks like everyone has arrived~"
"No, it seems like we're still missing one!"
Shihoin Sennichi looked over the Kōryūmon captains who had arrived at the gathering point and began searching for the captain of the 11th Division. The moment he turned around, he spotted a beautiful woman who had somehow silently appeared behind Genryūsai, her hair disheveled and her eyes harboring a cold killing intent.
Shihoin Sennichi clenched his right hand into a fist and heavily struck it against his left palm. Smiling, he declared on his own that all the captains of the Gotei 13 had arrived. Then, after glancing at Unohana Retsu, he suddenly remembered something and muttered softly.
"Sorry, I'm late! I kept everyone waiting..."
Just as Shihoin Sennichi spoke, a figure wearing a conical hat finally arrived late, running over the scorched ground toward the crowd. It was none other than Ōtokawa Uki, captain of the 10th Division.
"Ah, we forgot about this guy!"
Seeing the "late" Ōtokawa Uki, the captains all turned their heads away. They had nearly forgotten about him entirely.
"Actually, we haven't been waiting that long..."
Shihoin Sennichi smiled as he spoke to Ōtokawa Uki. After all, the person everyone had been waiting for was not Ōtokawa Uki, so how could they have been waiting long?!
"It's good that you haven't been waiting long!"
Ōtokawa Uki had yet to realize he was being ignored. Seeing that he had not been late for too long, he let out a relieved breath.
"Hahaha, did Araki arrive late? He was obviously the first one to set out, yet he ended up being the last to arrive?"
At that moment, Saito Furofushi suddenly burst into laughter. Perhaps because she had finally beaten Araki once, she had found something to mock him over. She decided she would use this to laugh at Araki for a hundred years... no, a thousand years, ten thousand years.
"That's impossible! We chose to gather here because Araki told me he had discovered a large number of enemy troops in this area..."
Before Saito could say more, Yamamoto Genryūsai interrupted her and explained why they had chosen to assemble here.
"Eh?!"
Saito's pupils shrank slightly at those words.
"Since Araki got here first... where has he gone now?!"
For a moment, Saito's heart pounded as she began worrying about Araki's safety.
"..."
Genryūsai remained silent. There were very few among the enemy who could fight Araki head-on, and among those capable of tying Araki down—or even forcing him to leave the original gathering point—only one name came to Genryūsai's mind.
"The enemy is here!"
Before Genryūsai and the captains could think further, explosions erupted. Quincies in white knight uniforms surged in from all directions like a flood, beginning their encirclement of the Gotei 13 captains.
"Fight!"
Genryūsai wasted no words. He drew the Zanpakuto at his waist, endless flames swirling around him.
"Kill!!"
The Gotei 13 captains standing beside Genryūsai did not hesitate in the slightest. By the moonlight, they charged toward the endless sea of soldiers! For a moment, they were like tigers entering a flock of sheep! Countless sprays of "blood" splattered the earth, while "severed limbs and remains" flew into the sky!
"Remember to cut off these Quincies' heads or break their limbs~"
"Otherwise, they'll use some strange ability, Ransōtengai, to stand back up~"
Sakagashira Saizou already understood the Quincies' abilities perfectly. With a sinister smile, he repeatedly reminded the captains around him, though his warning was clearly unnecessary...
These captains had no such thing as mercy. They had no intention of leaving anyone alive. Every strike was aimed at killing: either slicing straight through the enemy's neck or cleaving the person and body in two.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
"Where did you go, Araki?! Don't you dare die!!"
Saito Furofushi's Zanpakuto drew blood with every slash, each strike lethal as she vented the fury in her heart.
"Swish..."
As for Unohana Retsu, her expression remained as calm as ever. She simply did not believe that a man capable of defeating her head-on could be defeated by mere Quincies.
In truth, the three hardest people to kill on this battlefield were Araki, Unohana, and Saito.
Meanwhile...
About thirty ri away from the Gotei 1st Division barracks.
Araki was confronting a man clad in a black cloak.
The man had long, slightly messy black hair and sat astride a white steed, looking down at Araki from on high with the gaze of a superior. Several Quincies in white knight uniforms, members of the Sternritter, stood guard around him.
"I really hit the jackpot."
A few cold beads of sweat appeared on Araki's forehead as he looked at the newcomer.
At that moment, two missions quietly appeared on the System Panel in his mind.
Emergency Mission: Defeat Yhwach! Final reward will depend on the course of the battle between the host and Yhwach, emperor of the Quincies. Main Mission: Kill Yhwach! Let Yhwach be sealed in the Soul King Palace together with his father! Final Reward: ???
Yes, the man who still dared to leisurely ride a horse through the Seireitei of Soul Society was none other!
He was the emperor of the Lichtreich, hailed as "His Majesty" by countless Quincies; the ancestor of the Quincies, the final big boss of "BLEACH"—Yhwach!
And the current Yhwach was not at his peak! In Araki's view, if this Yhwach was merely at the level of the Y-Brother copy from the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, then he still had a chance. At the very least, he could reap some benefits from the Emergency Mission and continue accumulating enough power for himself...
"Araki! I have been waiting for you. The power within you shares the same origin as mine. You should never have stood with the Soul Reapers!" Before Araki could speak, Yhwach, seated on his horse, spoke first. "Araki, I will give you a choice now! Give up the Zanpakuto in your hand and join us Quincies! Become my son! Join hands with me and offer the power within you for eternal peace! You will become the brightest cornerstone symbolizing peace!!"
"Huh? Are you fucking Whitebeard or something?!"
Araki's eye twitched slightly. Did Yhwach not know what had happened to the last guy who went around taking sons everywhere?! Half of that guy's head had been blown off!
"K-ROOM: Piercing Wave!!"
Araki did not waste any words and directly activated his awakened Fruit ability.
"Neigh~" A white horse let out a mournful cry, followed by an angry roar: "Insolence! You actually dared to kill His Majesty's horse?!"
A little late, but better late than never! Also, please send some votes my way! These next few chapters will explain the entire main plot, and the male lead's abilities will gradually be revealed as well. His cheat ability was not given to him randomly—it is for a rather interesting development.
Before you continue