Zero Squad Descends
An emergency captains' meeting was held at the First Division Barracks.
"Kyōraku, what happened? Another meeting coming up?" Hirako asked, sidling up to Kyōraku as they entered the First Division.
Kyōraku is now in charge of most matters, big and small, within the Seireitei. You can just ask him anything.
"I don't know either; I received the notification from the old man at the last minute."
Kyōraku was also somewhat confused. Logically speaking, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto shouldn't be hiding anything from him right now, so why the sudden attack?
Standing on either side of the team dormitory, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto didn't hide anything and directly stated the purpose of the captains' meeting.
"Two things. First, we received news from the Soul King Palace that the entire Zero Squad will be arriving at the Seireitei, and all the captains of the Gotei 13 will be there to welcome them."
"Second, construct a device to imprison Sosuke Aizen, and keep him in the Central Underground Prison for a hundred years."
"Century?"
The first thing didn't elicit much reaction from the crowd. On the contrary, it was surprising that Aizen, the sinner who trespassed into the Soul King Palace, had only been imprisoned for a hundred years.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto offered no explanation, nor would the Zero Squad provide one. He continued, "The Squad 12, along with Urahara Kisuke work together to develop the equipment for imprisoning Aizen. Everyone else, prepare yourselves for the arrival of the Zero Squad within the next two days."
"Also, Ukitake, go to the Shiba Clan and tell Kūkaku Shiba that you need to use their Kūkaku Cannon."
Zero Squad members Seireitei travel in a pillar-shaped vehicle called the Tenchūren. However, it has no power and can only return to the Soul King Palace by being launched back by the Kakkaku Cannon.
After the order was given, the team leaders dispersed on their own, except for Kyōraku, who stayed behind. The two of them, master and apprentice, were noticeably more relaxed.
"Old man, the Zero Squad seems to have ill intentions." Kyōraku looked worried. He didn't believe that the Zero Squad would mobilize its entire force just for Aizen, who posed no threat.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto did not answer immediately, but instead asked, "Have the people been summoned?"
"You're here, sir. What brings you here?"
Tsuna's voice came from the doorway. Normally, he wouldn't miss the captain's meeting, but this time, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto specifically asked Kyōraku to call him in.
"The Zero Squad is about to descend to the mortal realm. What are your thoughts?"
Tsuna chuckled. "There's no need for us to pretend. Since you called me here, you must have assumed the Zero Squad would cause trouble, right?"
If Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto didn't think the Zero Squad would cause trouble, he could have simply followed the Seireitei etiquette and received Zero Squad as usual; why Tsuna into it?
There was only one reason for calling Tsuna: Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto believed that the Seireitei might clash with the Zero Squad.
Tsuna cut to the chase, and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto dropped the pretense. "After watching the battle footage, do you think we can challenge the Zero Squad?"
Tsuna didn't answer immediately, but thought about it carefully. To be honest, Aizen's vanguard battle this time really showed the Zero Squad a lot.
In Tsuna's mind, the Zero Squad was a bunch of guys who were easily defeated by Yhwach's personal guard. They had never even used their Bankai, and judging from their performance on the battlefield, they were not even as good as ordinary captains.
After this test, everyone in the Zero Squad will be on the same level as those with power Beyond Bankai Monk whose true strength remains unknown.
"If the intelligence is accurate, the four people besides the Monk must have their seals broken to unleash their full power. In that case, we only really need to face two opponents: the Monk and an opponent at the Super Bankai level."
"We have three fighters on our side. Two will fight the Monk, and one will hold off the remaining one. For now, we don't need to be afraid of the Soul King Palace."
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto slowly shook his head, rejecting Tsuna's view. "I don't see it that way. Why should the stronger Monk not be sealed, while the weaker ones are sealed away?"
"I believe they definitely have the ability to break the seal simultaneously. We are facing five opponents who Beyond Bankai level!"
"Five of them, plus the ones on our side..." Tsuna was speechless. "If we really get serious, the world will explode before we even start fighting."
"Let's have a proper talk. Zero Squad is probably even less inclined to see Soul Society destroyed than you are, right?"
Kyōraku thought for a moment and agreed, "This can serve as a reference point; at least we can stand up straighter. Wait, when did we get three? You didn't include Aizen, did you?"
"What are you thinking about?" Tsuna rolled his eyes at Kyōraku. "There's no way we could factor an uncertain element like Aizen into our own strength."
"Then we..." Kyōraku suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "We already have someone who has mastered something Beyond Bankai? Who is it?"
All the captains are working hard to Beyond Bankai, but according to Kyōraku's intelligence, none of them have made any breakthrough progress so far.
"Ask the old man, he knows anyway." Tsuna unhesitatingly shifted the blame to Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, since the two were master and disciple.
Kyōraku looked at Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto didn't seem inclined to explain, so he decided not to think about it further.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto looked at Tsuna and said, "When the Zero Squad arrives, please stay nearby. In case I clash with the Zero Squad, please protect the other captains."
"Grandpa, there's no need to be so extreme." Tsuna replied helplessly, hearing Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's somewhat entrusted tone, "Just deny what happened with Aizen. Let Captain Kyōraku pass the buck. The Soul King Palace still needs the Gotei 13; they can't do anything to you."
"That's right, Old Man Yama, you need to hold on for a while longer," Kyōraku said hurriedly. In any case, the later the time for him to become the Captain-Commander, the better.
"Hmph!" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was clearly dissatisfied with Kyōraku's attitude. "From now on, you will move to the First Division. Taking advantage of the arrival of the Zero Squad, I will submit the application to replace the Captain-Commander!"
"No way!" Kyōraku felt like the sky was falling. Joining the First Division meant he was going to lose even his last bit of freedom.
"There has to be an explanation for Aizen's matter. My mind is made up. Let's go back to the 8th Division and move our things!" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto said, gently stroking his cane.
"What should we do with the 8th Division?" Kyōraku asked.
"Select one from Bleach those newly learned Bankai. You decide, Captain-Commander!" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto didn't even glance at Kyōraku before disappearing with a Flash Step.
"Good luck, Captain-Commander Kyōraku!" Tsuna patted Kyōraku on the shoulder and said.
Kyōraku, unusually, didn't retort. "Laugh then, wait until that day comes, and see if you can still laugh out loud."
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto left in a hurry for a reason. Based on what Ryūjin Jakka said to him while watching the video, he felt that he was on the verge of success and wanted to work on his team with Ryūjin Jakka again before the Zero Squad arrived.
At the Soul King Palace, Kirinj laboriously carried Aizen's sealing frame into the Tenchūren. Inside the Tenchūren, all members of the Zero Squad were already in place.
The gate closed, everything was ready, and we could set off.
The Monk made a grasping motion with one hand, unleashing the Senri Touten Palm. His enormous hand grabbed the Tenchūren and hurled it downwards, sending it plummeting towards the Tenchūren.
The Tenchūren is made of special materials and can easily pass through the barrier between the Soul King Palace and the Seireitei.
It would take some time for the Tenchūren to fall, and the members of the Zero Squad would naturally not waste that time. Kirinj was the first to ask the question that had been on his mind.
"Monk, do you really need to make this trip for such a trivial matter?" In Kirinj's memory, the Monk had almost never left the Soul King Palace.
In the past, the Zero Squad had visited the Seireitei before, such as to pick up new members and report to the Soul King Palace. However, only one or two people would come. The fact that the entire Zero Division would come was unprecedented since Kirinj became a member of the Zero Squad.
"Of course, there's something important to do, Ōetsu Nimaiya. First, put the things you prepared on them," the Monk said.
Ōetsu Nimaiya pulled out three palm-sized, unpatterned stamps. "Come on, show me your arms."
Ōetsu Nimaiya proudly displayed his biceps, which also bore his own "Sword God" design. Under Ōetsu Nimaiya's direction, the other three also had their designs imprinted on them.
"What is this?" Senjumaru asked curiously.
Ōetsu Nimaiya pointed to the temporary tattoos on her body and said, "These are items that can temporarily break the Blood Oath Seal. I put a lot of effort into making them."
"Temporary lifting? Why didn't they bring out something this good sooner?" This piqued everyone's interest.
"Do you think this is easy? These few marks have depleted my Phoenix Hall's reserves of several years," Ōetsu Nimaiya said helplessly.
Aside from Ōetsu Nimaiya's personal guard, all his other women were transformed into these four tattoos. If it weren't for the Monk's strong insistence, he wouldn't have been willing to expend such a large amount of resources.
Thinking of this, Ōetsu Nimaiya had something to say, "Monk, what exactly do you want to do? What is it that's worth me expending so many resources on?"
"Anything related to Soul King is worth the cost, no matter the resources required."
The Monk's words immediately silenced all doubts. For Zero Squad, the Soul King was the highest priority, and everything else could make way for Soul King.
"So, what do we want?"
"Capture! Soul King candidate!" The Monk's eyes gleamed. "Because of the battle between Sosuke Aizen and us, Soul Society has begun to suffer varying degrees of damage. To maintain world peace, Soul King candidate is necessary!"
"A candidate for Soul King? Is there anyone in this world whose essence is the same as that of the Soul King?" Yachiru Unohana asked. She had done considerable research on souls, and the Soul King's Power alone was something that ordinary Bleach could not possess.
"There's half of it here," the Monk pointed to Aizen's seal, "But it will take some time to fully mature. Before that, I need to make a new preparation."
"Who is it?" Everyone was curious.
"Substitute Bleach, Ichigo Kurosaki!"