Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Come Out and Get Some Sun!

The middle-aged man's expression twisted; he was extremely dissatisfied with the answer, but after a while, he didn't say anything about wanting to fight Haschwalth.

"By what right do you place yourself above everyone else, and by what standing do you govern us?"

Haschwalth fell silent for a moment, and all the Quincy present turned their gazes to the throne. The meanings revealed in their various eyes were very complicated, but without exception, they all showed fear.

They could all sense a certain power gradually reviving, and they couldn't wait to see the truth:

That could be the return of a king, or it could be the birth of a "New King".

They were naturally aware of the prophecies in the hymns—in terms of intelligence alone, they were in no way inferior to the Seireitei.

However, no one knows in what form the King will return. And no one knows what state the King will be in after waking up, or even if it will be the same consciousness...

Will it affect memory and personality? What is your attitude towards the current "Wandenreich"?

Everything was unknown, and the king's power was too awe-inspiring... Everyone present both anticipated and resisted his return!

At that time, the entire Three Worlds will undergo a tremendous transformation, won't they?

To protect oneself in this turmoil, the best option for Quincy is undoubtedly to gain the favor of the King or the New King... The simplest way is to become a "Gravekeeper"!

What could be a better demonstration of loyalty than this?

Furthermore, the Quincy were indeed very curious about Yhwach's current situation...

What's infuriating is that Haschwalth refused to let anyone get close; only he was allowed to touch the coffin and even the remains!

"Our race must remain hidden in the darkness, accumulating strength and awaiting the opportune moment until the King returns to the Three Worlds. Until then, all you must do is hone yourselves and provide our My King with sharper blades."

As the Knight Captain, this is my order. Do not attempt to disobey unless you are prepared to die!

"You are not a member of the First Knights... Although you are the Knight Captain, your seniority is not that high; it's just that the King favors you..."

In my opinion, Lord Lille Barro is far more suited to lead the Quincy than you are!

"..."

Haschwalth squinted.

Lille Barro was no ordinary man; he was the Quincy was originally granted the power of the Vandenreich Letter by Yhwach, and he called himself Yhwach's greatest masterpiece and the man closest to God.

In short, he is the first member of the Sternritter, the most senior among the current Quincy, with impeccable strength and prestige, and extremely loyal to Yhwach!

This choice certainly left Haschwalth speechless, but...

"What did you just say? Haschwalth is not fit to be the commander?"

A cold voice came from the shadows, and to everyone's astonishment, a dark-skinned Quincy with his left eye closed stepped out and stood with Haschwalth.

"Lord Barro... what's wrong!"

Do you really understand what you're saying?

Lille Barro stared at the man with an indifferent tone, almost murderous intent. "Haschwalth is the King's Chosen one, and his favoritism stems from the king's will... Are you questioning the king's decision?!"

"Hmm!"

The man was pale, and the other Quincy trembled in fear. Among them were many pure-blooded descendants, but they were powerless against the combined might of these two.

"Please forgive me! I... I was just... worried about the King's condition!"

"The dawn has already appeared on the ping line of the Shadow Domain."

Haschwalth then spoke up, "Our souls are connected with His Majesty's. You can feel it too, right? That primal pulse is becoming clearer and clearer... It's a resonance that only those of pure blood can experience. The Quincy power dormant within our bloodline is yearning to return to His Majesty's embrace..."

If we wait patiently, he will eventually return to us, sit on this throne, and continue to lead us forward.

"Thank you, Your Lille Barro Rijcibaro."

"It's nothing, just a bunch of small fry making a fuss."

Lille Barro showed no respect to the blond youth, and even though Haschwalth was nominally of higher status, he spoke with an arrogant tone.

This is not to look down on Haschwalth; to be precise, he looks down on everyone, because Lille Barro considers himself "made by Yhwach (God) in his own image," thus representing a part of God's majesty and not allowing himself to bow down to others!

"For the past thousand years, they have become accustomed to living without a king... and have become too lax."

Lille Barro's tone was rather unfriendly. "Perhaps it's time to clean things up and restore their fear and worship of the king!"

"It's best to avoid any major moves at this crucial moment."

Haschwalth shook his head. "The recent 'fetal movements' are becoming more and more frequent, and it may be about to give birth soon. Until then, we must ensure the stability of the Empire."

—Because nobody knows what will happen!

Haschwalth was also a little unsure of himself. Lille Barro glanced at him and scoffed.

Are you scared?

"..."

Haschwalth remained silent.

As the "Gravekeeper," he knew more than ordinary Quincy, and at the same time, he felt more uneasy.

Because those people's doubts are actually correct!

Yhwach's coffin is indeed undergoing unpredictable changes, and as for resurrection... assuming it really is possible, the awakened Yhwach might not look like anything.

"What stage of development are we at now? Take me to see it."

Lille Barro made the request, and Haschwalth did not refuse. The two climbed the steps to the ornate coffin.

Haschwalth ran his hand across the surface, and starlight and crosses radiated light. One after another, azure Reishi slowly rose up, and with a "pop," the barrier shattered.

As the coffin lid was moved aside, Lille Barro peered inside, and even with his unwavering loyalty to Yhwach, his pupils constricted sharply.

"This..."

Inside was a corpse wrapped in layers of shrouds, its features obscured, and even its gender indistinguishable.

But beneath this corpse, there was a black substance that writhed slowly like liquid, as if the shadow had come to life. From certain angles, it could be reminiscent of some kind of soft-bodied creature.

Huff... huff...

A peculiar fleshy cocoon clung to the corpse, its end connected to roots that disappeared into the shroud, like a baby being expelled from its mother's womb, and it was even slowly rising and falling... as if breathing.

But it doesn't have the outline of a human baby; instead, it looks like... a clenched fist?

"This is probably..."

"That's right, it was this that made His Majesty close his eyes and forced him to retreat from the Soul King Palace."

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Lille Barro's face. "Did His Majesty successfully cut it out... or did it mistake His Majesty for a placenta?"

"But in any case, the Quincy will eventually have their own king."

Haschwalth believed that Yhwach would not be parasitized by such a thing, after all, the King of the Quincy had the power to control the future.

But soon, his expression turned extremely serious. "What really worries me is that the 'Saint's Remains' have not changed much in the past thousand years, but in recent years it seems like some kind of switch has been turned on, especially recently, there are changes almost every day."

That prophecy might not be accurate in terms of timing...

"Can't you deduce it?"

Lille Barro said with a hint of jealousy, "You are the king's 'half-body'."

"... Perhaps it needs some kind of opportunity, or perhaps it lacks the necessary resources."

Haschwalth hesitated for a moment. "It's like... waiting for someone to arrive."

Chapter 417 Kurotsuchi Mayuri, out in the sun!

"... Captain? Captain Aizen?"

"Um?"

Iori snapped out of her daze and looked closely to see Sengoku Kyōka staring at her with a puzzled expression.

"Ah, sorry, I was a little distracted... Am I tired?"

"These days, the team leader has hardly rested because of manpower allocation, so it's only natural that he feels exhausted."

On the other side, Kyoraku, Komamura, and the others looked at the person in the main seat with concern, but Iori just smiled slightly and told them not to worry.

"I won't act recklessly, you don't need to worry. Let's continue the meeting. What's next?"

"It's a communication from Hueco Mundo, jointly signed by Commander Hiyori (Esdeath) and Squad Leaders Tousen and Tenkai. It states that they have reached an agreement with Las Noches and successfully made contact with the spy lurking in Tokinada's Tsunayashiro Tokinada."

After reading the intelligence, Kyoraku Juro exclaimed, "Hiyori is truly swift! The battle plan was only released a few days ago, and she has already achieved results. It's as if she had it all planned in advance..."

"What an outstanding talent! Captain, your ability to recruit such a wise and brave warrior from Rukongai shows just how discerning you are!"

"Hiyori is certainly a rare talent, otherwise I wouldn't have let her take over the Expeditionary Army instead of the more senior Tenkai. With her here, there's no need to worry about the preparations beforehand; we just need to speed things up."

"Yes, Captain!"

Iori showed no surprise at the contents of the communication, and her confident demeanor earned everyone's admiration.

The Third Division is a "support team," essentially a firefighter unit. They had never been deployed as the "main force" of the commander-in-chief before, and with no experience, coordinating the entire army should have been chaotic.

After all, Komamura, Tousen, and others were all rising stars promoted by Iori, and the only one who was somewhat presentable was Kyoraku Juro.

However, during this period of time, Captain Iori Aizen has shown the entire Thirteen Court Guard Squads, including them, what it means to be "meticulous and thorough in every detail".

Whether it's troop deployment, logistical reserves, or communication, rewards and demotions, a massive amount of information flows across his desk without any disorder. He handles everything, big or small, easy or difficult, in an orderly manner.

He is not as rigid as a precision machine. During the office process, he even has the leisure to accept consultations from his subordinates and can give just the right advice. He looks relaxed and even has a smile on his face, and you can't feel any pressure at all!

Thanks to his extraordinary performance, the Seated Officer and members of the Third Division quickly adapted to their current roles. Everyone knew what they were supposed to do and began to handle various tasks, which greatly reduced Iori's workload.

The shockwaves this has caused within Seireitei are no less than those of a Captain-level duel. Many Shinigami have been impressed by Iori's brilliant mind, and some have even begun to revere her as the "Dragon of the Archives"!

Correspondingly, her adoptive sister Aizen Souyuki also performed similarly in the Thirteenth Division, and was also famous in the court, known as the "Woman of Eloquence," which was the name of the Benten from mythology.

Yuki's calligraphy is even better than Iori's; even when handling everyday documents, every stroke is like a model of calligraphy, pleasing to the eye.

Of course, if a comparison must be made, Iori's performance was more amazing, simply because his work involved the entire Thirteen Court Guard Squads, while Yuki was only limited to one team. The different stages brought about a completely different sense of awe.

"The Eleventh Division and the Kido Corps have completed their preparations as requested and are ready to depart at any time."

The Second Division has sent a reply, granting your request to retrieve the prisoner from the [Maggot's Nest].

Captain Shibusawa of the Fifth Division believed that the task allocation could be completed in three days at most, and that elite forces could be drawn from various positions.

7th Division..."

Iori processed each message one by one, and the Seated Officer in the dormitory couldn't help but puff out their chests as they listened to their Vice-Captain's report. Although these matters were not of great concern to them, the Third Division was serving as the "headquarters" this time, which theoretically put them in a higher rank than the other divisions.

Iori's assembling of the expeditionary army was not met with resistance, thanks to the support of Yamamoto and the Central 46. The biggest problem was how to minimize its size... He didn't need too many people.

Ultimately, this army was formed by the Third Division, the Tenth Division, and the Eleventh Division as the main body, supplemented by elites drawn from the Fourth Division, the Fifth Division, and the 7th Division, plus the Kido Corps and the Expeditionary Army.

Although it wasn't as large as the campaign against the Quincy, it was still quite impressive in scale, making it practically the main force of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. And this enormous power was all in Iori's hands, yet no one in the Gotei 13 objected... This was enough to prove his status in everyone's eyes.

At such a young age, Iori already burdened with the overall situation and held a large army in his hands. Naturally, he was trembling with fear and walking on thin ice—but in fact, he wasn't.

No matter how grand the scale, conquering Hueco Mundo would be like fighting two birds with one stone for him, and the difficulty wouldn't even be as great as fighting against a machine.

He won't fail; the only thing he needs to worry about is how to bring it to a perfect close!

"Oh, the Second Division has already replied... Hmm."

Iori smiled slightly and looked at Sengoku Kyōka on her left, "Come with me to the [Maggot's Nest] to meet someone later."

"Yes, Captain."

Koga responded accordingly.

"Greetings, Captain Aizen. I am Urahara Kisuke, the commander of the 3rd Division (Supervisor) of the Second Division, responsible for managing all matters related to the [Maggot's Nest]."

A young man with slightly messy hair and a sparse beard, who gave off a lazy and dejected feeling, bowed to Iori.

He was originally good-looking, but he looked like he had been staying up too late and had no energy. He was still very young, but he was already in the same state as Kyōraku Shunsui.

A flicker of surprise flashed in Sengoku Kyōka's eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

The Second Division has always been known as a highly efficient and disciplined force, with its members as taut as clockwork, rarely showing such a relaxed attitude... Hmm, could it be the influence of the new captain?

But Shihōin Yoruichi has only been in power for a few days.

"Third Seat Urahara, I've heard of you. Captain Yoruichi even recommended you to me... Speaking of which, today's events are also related to that. I'm sorry."