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, the formation neat and orderly, with no one left 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 every member of the Eleventh Division had returned, no one was surprised.

The Tenth Division followed close behind.

Wang Tuchuan Yuxuji returned from beyond the East Eightieth District with a detailed extermination report, documenting the Quincy strongholds and battles encountered as they advanced through each district.

The report was meticulously written, without a single unnecessary embellishment—decisive and efficient, just like Wang Tuchuan himself.

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

The areas beyond West Eightieth District and North Eightieth District of Rukongai became densely packed words and numbers in their reports, piled within the First Division's archives.

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

Nobutsuna Shigyo's Seventh Division had been responsible for the eighty southern districts. They cleared them one by one, advancing the slowest of the four teams, but also cleaning up the 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 fought.

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

Chikiri Shijima's Fourth Division encountered several ambushes while advancing through the west, but they did not suffer serious casualties.

The Third and Second Divisions were the last to return.

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

First Division Barracks.

As Shuichi traveled back and forth between the Seireitei and Rukongai, he watched the members of each division pass through the main gate as they returned one after another.

Some were wounded, some were exhausted, some wore blank expressions, while others were still laughing and chatting with their comrades.

The archives were in complete chaos.

At least thirty reports were piled on Shimura's desk. Okabe crouched on the floor searching for a missing document. Sakaki stood at the door coordinating the distribution of logistical supplies. Ukai sat in a corner with a massive map spread out before him, marked with the advance routes and clearance zones of each division.

"Shuichi!"

When Shimura saw Shuichi enter, he looked as though he had seen a savior. "You came at just the right time. 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 battles, casualties, spoils, and the names of those who would never return.

When Shuichi flipped to one report, his fingers paused.

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

He placed the report onto the Seventh Division pile and continued sorting.

Tenth Division, Fourth Division, Third Division.

The Ninth Division's report was wedged in the middle. When Shuichi pulled it out, a slip of paper slid from the document and drifted to the floor.

Shuichi bent down and picked it up.

There was only one line on the note, written in a messy hand as if it had been scribbled in haste.

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

It was signed by Entetsu Kumenoi.

Shuichi studied it for a moment, then tucked it back into the report and returned it to the Ninth Division pile.

The extermination was over...

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto sat in his office.

The clearance reports from every division had already formed two small mountains on his desk. He spent the entire morning reviewing them, marking each report with annotations in red ink.

Some were circled, some underlined, while others had only a single character written in the margins: "Read."

Then, suddenly—

There was one more person in the office.

The man sat cross-legged in midair opposite Yamamoto's desk, his broad body suspended as though he were seated on an invisible chair.

He wore a black monk's robe. Bald, with thick eyebrows and a dense beard on his chin, his most striking feature was his enormous nose, like a plump clove of garlic planted squarely in the center of his face.

Ichibē Hyōsube.

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

"Monk."

Yamamoto's voice was low. "It has not been long since you asked 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 along with it.

"He is coming."

Yamamoto's brow shifted slightly.

"Who?"

Ichibē Hyōsube's tone was calm, as though he were discussing something utterly ordinary. "The Quincy King, Yhwach."

Yamamoto said nothing.

"He has the ability to grant Quincy powers to ordinary humans or wandering souls in the World of the Living."

Ichibē Hyōsube continued, "Of course, he can also take them back. Those he grants power to 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. "I will kill him."

Ichibē Hyōsube neither nodded nor shook his head. He merely looked at Yamamoto, his eyes beneath those thick brows as calm as stagnant water.

"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 gaze. He remained suspended in the air, head still tilted, that enormous nose as steady as ever.

"All right."

The monk spoke in a lighter tone, as if changing the subject. "Once this is over, would you be interested in joining Zero Division?"

Yamamoto's answer came without the slightest hesitation.

"Not interested."

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

"All right."

As the monk spoke, his body slowly rose from its seated position in midair, his feet touching the ground. "I will wait in the Soul King Palace for you to change your mind."

Yamamoto said nothing more.

Ichibē Hyōsube gave him one more look, then left with Shunpo.

"Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto."

Yamamoto did not respond.

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

A portrait bearing Yhwach's likeness drifted down from the sky and landed on Yamamoto's desk.