Yhwach

A month was neither long nor short.

The Eleventh Division was the first to return to the Seireitei.

Yachiru Unohana led her team back from beyond the South Eightieth District. Their ranks were orderly, and no one had fallen behind.

Some said the Eleventh Division's assigned area had contained the most Hollows. Others said Captain Unohana's sword was more terrifying than any Hollow.

In any case, when news spread through the Seireitei that the entire Eleventh Division had returned, no one was surprised.

The Tenth Division followed close behind.

Wang Tuchuan Yuxuji brought back a detailed extermination report from beyond the East Eightieth District, documenting the Quincy strongholds they had encountered and every battle along their district-by-district advance.

The report was meticulously written, without a single unnecessary embellishment. Like Wang Tuchuan himself, it was crisp and decisive, without any dragging or dawdling.

The Ninth and Eighth Divisions returned at almost the same time.

The areas beyond West Eightieth District and North Eightieth District of Rukongai became dense blocks of text and numbers in their reports, piling up in the First Division's records office.

The Seventh, Sixth, Fifth, and Fourth Divisions returned one after another as well.

Nobutsuna Shigyo's Seventh Division was responsible for the eighty southern districts. They cleared them one by one, advancing the slowest of the four teams, but also cleaning most thoroughly.

Furoufushi Saito's Sixth Division advanced smoothly through the eighty eastern districts. The Misfortune Aura released by his Zanpakutō, Dairitsu, threw the Quincy into disarray before they even exchanged blows.

Danjiro Obana's Fifth Division encountered almost no worthwhile resistance in the north, though they did clear out quite a few Hollows along the way.

Chikiri Shijima's Fourth Division suffered several ambushes while advancing through the west, but there were no serious casualties.

The Third and Second Divisions were the last to return.

Yanyuan Jinle's Third Division had mainly carried out extermination operations in the eastern World of the Living, while Shihōin Qianri's Second Division had operated mainly in the west.

First Division Barracks.

Shuichi had been traveling back and forth between the Seireitei and Rukongai, watching the members of each division pass through the gates as they returned one after another.

Some bore injuries. Some were exhausted beyond measure. Some had blank expressions, while others still laughed and talked with their comrades.

The records office was a complete mess.

At least thirty reports were piled on Shimura's desk. Okabe crouched on the floor searching for a missing document. Sakaki stood by the door directing the distribution of logistical supplies. Ukai sat in the corner before an enormous map marked with each division's routes of advance and cleared areas.

"Shuichi!"

When Shimura saw Shuichi enter, it was like seeing a savior. "Perfect timing. Help me sort these reports by division."

Shuichi walked over, took the stack of documents Shimura handed him, and began sorting them one by one.

Fifth Division, Sixth Division, Eighth Division, Eleventh Division.

Every report recorded the battles, casualties, spoils, and the names of those who would never return.

When Shuichi turned to one particular report, his fingers paused.

It was the Seventh Division's report, written by Nobutsuna Shigyo. Attached at its end was a list of the names of Seventh Division members who had died during the extermination operation.

He placed the report onto the Seventh Division's stack and continued sorting.

Tenth Division, Fourth Division, Third Division.

The Ninth Division's report was caught in the middle. When Shuichi pulled it out, a slip of paper slid free and fluttered to the floor.

Shuichi bent down and picked it up.

There was only one line on the note, scrawled in a hasty hand.

"Traces of a large-scale Quincy gathering discovered in North Sixty-Second District. They appear to have already withdrawn."

It was signed by Entetsu Kumenoi.

Shuichi stared at it for a while, then tucked the note back into the report and returned it to the Ninth Division's stack.

The extermination was over...

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto sat in his office.

The extermination reports from every division had already formed two small mountains on his desk. He had spent the entire morning reading through them, making annotations on each one with a vermilion brush.

Some were circled, some underlined, and on others he had written only one word in a blank space: "Read."

Then, suddenly—

There was one more person in the office.

The man sat cross-legged in midair across from Yamamoto's desk, his bulky body suspended as though seated in an invisible chair.

He wore a black monk's robe. He was bald, with thick brows and a dense beard on his chin. Most striking of all was his enormous nose, round and plump like a garlic bulb, planted squarely in the center of his face.

Ichibē Hyōsube.

Yamamoto set down his teacup and looked at the monk hovering in midair, silent for a moment.

"Monk."

Yamamoto's voice was low. "It hasn't been long since you last summoned me to bring Shuichi back. What is it this time?"

Ichibē Hyōsube did not descend from the air. He merely tilted his head slightly, and that huge nose swayed with it.

"He is coming."

Yamamoto's brow twitched faintly.

"Who?"

Ichibē Hyōsube spoke calmly, as if discussing something utterly ordinary. "The King of the Quincy, Yhwach."

Yamamoto said nothing.

"He possesses the power to grant Quincy abilities to ordinary humans or wandering souls in the World of the Living."

Ichibē Hyōsube continued, "Naturally, he can also take them back. Those to whom he grants power become his pieces, fighting and dying for him."

Yamamoto said nothing.

"His ability is called The Almighty."

Ichibē Hyōsube continued, "But I have already sealed it."

Yamamoto raised his eyes toward the monk. "Sealed?"

Ichibē Hyōsube nodded.

Yamamoto looked at Ichibē Hyōsube and said, "I will kill him."

Ichibē Hyōsube neither nodded nor shook his head. He simply looked at Yamamoto, his eyes beneath those thick brows as still as a stagnant pool.

"You cannot kill him."

Yamamoto glared at him.

At that moment, the air throughout the office seemed to freeze solid.

Ichibē Hyōsube was unaffected by that stare. He remained seated in midair, his head still tilted, his enormous nose as steady as ever.

"Enough."

The monk's tone lightened, as though changing the subject. "After this is over, would you be interested in joining Zero Division?"

Yamamoto answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Not interested."

Ichibē Hyōsube seemed to have expected that answer long ago. He shrugged, the motion looking somewhat comical on his bulky frame.

"All right."

As he spoke, the monk slowly rose from midair, his feet settling onto the floor. "I will wait at the Soul King Palace for you to change your mind."

Yamamoto said nothing further.

After one more glance at him, Ichibē Hyōsube left with Flash Step.

"Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto."

Yamamoto did not respond.

"You can defeat Yhwach, but you cannot kill him."

A scroll bearing Yhwach's likeness drifted down from above and landed on Yamamoto's desk.