Ichigo Kurosaki stood amid the ruins, tightening his grip on Tensa Zangetsu.
Unfamiliar reiatsu lingered in the air, and the groans of the wounded came from all directions. Several Soul Reapers who could still move were shifting rubble, searching for their buried comrades.
"The Wandenreich invaded the Seireitei."
Yoriichi sheathed his sword and turned toward the Third Division barracks.
"The enemy has withdrawn, but this was only the first attack."
Ichigo froze where he stood.
The first?
Just one attack had left the Seireitei in this state.
If those Quincy appeared again, could the Gotei 13 still hold them off?
"What about Rukia and Renji?"
"They're both alive."
At Yoriichi's answer, Ichigo's tense body relaxed a little. But he soon noticed the wound across Yoriichi's chest. His Captain's Haori was already stained red with blood.
Unusual reishi still lingered in that wound.
"You're hurt too?"
"A flesh wound."
Yoriichi gave him a calm glance and continued forward.
The corner of Ichigo's mouth twitched.
If that counted as a flesh wound, the cuts he had suffered before could be called mosquito bites at most.
Boom.
A sudden crash came from the distance.
The scorching reiatsu rapidly contracted, and the heat that had covered more than half the Seireitei subsided with it.
Yoriichi paused and looked up toward the First Division.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had released his Bankai.
The flames on Zanka no Tachi vanished completely, and it reverted to an ordinary Zanpakuto.
Before him, a charred body knelt on the ground, its chest completely slashed open.
The face belonging to Yhwach began to distort.
A few seconds later, the man returned to his original appearance.
"That's not Yhwach?"
Ichigo arrived nearby, and his expression changed as soon as he saw the corpse clearly.
Yamamoto did not answer.
Of course he knew