Chapter 256

At Yamamoto's instruction, the report was to be given by Chōjirō Sasakibe.

He stood to the side of the conference table, holding a stack of neatly arranged documents in his hands.

"Then let's start from the very first discovery of the Quincy's traces."

The Sasakibe unfolds the first page, recounting the events that transpired.

"The Third Seat of the Fifth Division was killed while patrolling the North Sixth District of Rukongai. When Captain Unohana the Fourth Division examined the body, she confirmed that the fatal wound was caused by Reishi Arrow piercing through the body, and the characteristics of the wound perfectly matched the Quincy's attack method."

He spoke slowly but with appropriate detail, providing a good recap of the incident.

Wang Xun stood at the back, listening to the sounds of the Sasakibe, but his mind was elsewhere.

The Zero Division appears in the original work after Yhwach is killed by Yamamoto and the Gotei 13 is crippled.

Yamamoto is still alive. Although his Bankai has been taken away, he is unharmed, and the Gotei 13's structure remains intact.

The Zero Division's deployment at this time is clearly not standard procedure.

It seems something has made them restless.

The only variable Wang Xun could think of was... Aizen.

The story of the Sasakibe continues.

"After the main battlefront advanced into the interior of Silbern, Captain Wang Xun of the 11th Division killed Sternritter member Cang Du Opie, and..."

"Work with the Captain-Commander to kill Gerard Valkyrie."

"Yhwach himself awoke at the end of the war. He used his Quincy Medallion Transformation to steal the Captain-Commander's Bankai and simultaneously activated Auswählen to collect the souls of all Quincy on the battlefield."

"During this period, Sōsuke Aizen, the vice-captain of the Fifth Division, entered the battlefield without authorization, and his specific actions are unknown. It was later confirmed that he had defected from Soul Society, and his current whereabouts are unknown, but it is speculated that he has gone to Hueco Mundo."

"Wait a moment."

Ichibē Hyōsube raised his hand.

He had been listening to the Sasakibe's report, and now he finally turned his attention to Sasakibe.

"Aizen, what has he been doing on the battlefield?"

Sasakibe hesitated for a moment.

"The specific details of the actions are unknown... but based on the analysis of the residual Reiatsu at the scene, Aizen had fought with Pernida Pakaja, a member of his Schutzstaffel."

9

"Isshin Shiba was fighting Pernida at the time, so he must have noticed some details."

All eyes turned to Isshin Shiba.

Feeling the sudden focus of attention in the conference room, he instinctively straightened up.

"I did see some, but I was too badly injured at the time, and my eyes were covered in blood, so the information I got was limited."

He raised his left hand and rubbed the back of his head.

"That monster called Pernida has such bizarre abilities. It twisted my arms and legs like pretzels. Later, I fell to the ground and sensed Aizen approaching."

Isshin Shiba frowned, as if trying hard to recall the details.

"Aizen's Kidō abilities are extremely strong; he can even instantly Five Dragon Destruction without chanting. It really startled me. This doesn't seem like the strength of a vice-captain at all..."

Get to the point.

"Oh, that monster can Regeneration. I remember Aizen confronted it for a while, and then he seemed to take out something, something that was glowing."

"He brought that thing close to Pernida, Pernida's body began to disintegrate. Then I passed out and didn't see what happened after that."

The meeting room fell silent.

The Zero Division members had various expressions, but the monk remained silent for a long time, his hands folded in front of him, his face looking particularly solemn.

"This is it, the thing called the Hōgyoku that Aizen created."

"A little gadget created by the Soul Reaper that can break the boundaries of the soul and hasten the Soul Reaper's Hollowfication."

"Normally, a creation of this caliber wouldn't alarm us. Soul Society is full of talented people; what kind of inventions and forbidden techniques haven't appeared there?"

"A single Hōgyoku) is not enough to warrant excessive attention from us."

At this moment, the monk's eyes turned gloomy, and he said in a deep voice.

"But the Aizen used the Hōgyoku to absorb that guy named Pernida changes the nature of the matter entirely."

The monk raised his head, and his expression became exceptionally serious on his face, which was mostly covered by a thick beard.

"What I'm about to say is a top secret of Soul Society. Those of you here should keep it to yourselves; it must not be revealed to anyone in any form."

After looking around, the monk began to speak.

"A thousand years ago, Yhwach possessed what was called the Almighty and omnipotence, and planned to attack Soul Society. If he had invaded in that state, Soul Society would have been unable to withstand him."

"What I did was to secretly meet with Yhwach before the war, and after failing to dissuade him, I sealed his the Almighty with the Soul King's left hand."

"That's why the original Gotei 13 defeated Yhwach."

"And the Soul King's left hand remained within Yhwach's body. Over the course of a thousand years, it was gradually separated from Yhwach's soul and assimilated into a Quincy, namely Pernida, whom you are fighting."

Upon hearing this, everyone showed varying degrees of surprise.

This news is indeed astonishing, not only because of the so-called the Almighty ability, but also because of the Soul King's left hand, which makes people subconsciously...

My mind wanders.

But the monk continued speaking.

"As long as Pernida exists, the chains binding Yhwach's soul will not break, and the seal will remain in effect."

"But now that Pernida has been absorbed by the Hōgyoku, the Soul King's left hand no longer exists as an independent entity, but has merged with the Hōgyoku."

"This means that the seal suppressing Yhwach's the Almighty and omnipotence has loosened. It is very likely that Yhwach's abilities will reappear."

The monk's voice grew increasingly solemn; this was one of his concerns.

"I can't tell if he's broken the seal, but I'm afraid things will develop in the direction I predict."

"Yhwach's awakening this time was forced; his soul is still very weak, and many of his abilities are temporarily unable to function."

"If we wait for him to regain his power, the next time he reappears, Soul Society will likely face an insurmountable monster."

He glanced at Yamamoto.

"What's more, he also took your Bankai."

Yamamoto in the main seat, his expression equally solemn, but without the slightest fear.

"The Twelfth Division has already broken the Quincy Medallion that stole the Bankai; the Bankai can be retrieved."

"Isn't the only way to reclaim it that the enemy needs to use Bankai?"

"If Yhwach is wary and merely holds onto the Quincy Medallion without using it, then it's no different from being sealed away."

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent; what the monk said was indeed true.

"The Hōgyoku in Aizen's possession is equally troublesome."

The monk ignored the various expressions on everyone's faces and continued speaking.

"The Hōgyoku itself possesses the power to break through the limits of the soul; in the past, no matter how strong it was, it was merely a tool."

"But the Soul King's left hand controls the ability to move forward, and after fusing with the Hōgyoku, it is highly likely that it will be endowed with the powers related to that Hōgyoku."

The monk's gaze swept across everyone's faces.

"Originally, the Hōgyoku was in Aizen's hands. At most, it would allow him to break through the boundary between Soul Reaper and Hollows and create a few Arrancar. There would be a threat, but it would be controllable."

"Now that it has absorbed the Soul King's left hand, the evolutionary direction of the Hōgyoku is unpredictable; it could develop in any direction. And Aizen himself is extremely evil."

"You're right," Yamamoto nodded, "He's been quietly lurking in the Soul Society for so many years; his ambitions are considerable."

Soi Fon frowned.

"If Aizen is really that dangerous, why is he only a vice-captain in the Gotei 13? With his strength, he could have easily secured a captain's position."

"What he wants isn't the captain's position, but rather for the plan to proceed smoothly and under control."

The monk looked at her.

"Currently, the position of vice-captain is more convenient for him, offering much greater freedom of action. Becoming captain is likely a future step in his plan."

"After the Captain Hollowfication Incident, he could have naturally filled the gap, but the Quincy War broke out ahead of schedule, and the Hōgyoku underwent its evolution during this period."

"These variables mean he no longer needs to remain hidden in Soul Society."

"His choice to leave quietly and consolidate his power in Hueco Mundo was far wiser than to publicly announce his defection to the world."

Soi Fon remained silent for a few moments, then nodded.

"The Soul Society is currently facing two problems simultaneously."

The monk held up two fingers.

"One is Yhwach, who could awaken his the Almighty at any time. Once he awakens, he alone could wipe out the Seireitei."

"The other is Aizen, who holds the Hōgyoku. We don't yet know what his Hōgyoku will evolve into or what he will do in Hueco Mundo."

He withdrew his finger.

On the surface, the war is over, Seireitei is repairing itself. But looking deeper, this is probably the most dangerous moment for Soul Society in nearly a thousand years.

"That's why we're here."

No one spoke in the meeting room.

The crowd remained silent, clearly processing this information.

The monk looked at Yamamoto, and their gazes met above the conference table.

They were all calculating and weighing the known advantages and risks on both sides of the scale.

The monk did not finish his sentence.

He just mentioned Yhwach, Aizen, the Hōgyoku, and the seal on the Soul King's Left Hand.

The captains present were all key members of the Soul Society, but most of them had never seen what the true Soul King's Power was.

After a moment, Yamamoto finally spoke.

"What does the Zero Division intend to do here?"

The monk smiled, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth.

"Of course, it's to prevent problems before they arise."

"We can't wait until the enemy has fully developed and advanced before hastily resorting to passive defense."

"Zero Division needs to conduct a comprehensive assessment of Yhwach's movements. Where did he escape to? How much strength does he still possess? We need to find out all of this."

"Senjumaru Shutara will remain in Seireitei to search for Yhwach's whereabouts."

"And someone needs to keep an eye on Aizen's side too; Kirio Hikifune will also stay behind."

"She's in charge of overseeing Hueco Mundo and the World of the Living. They can know about any of Aizen's actions immediately."

"Genryūsai, Soul Society needs to be on high alert for the next period of time. The Twelfth Division's monitoring system and the Second Division's intelligence network need to be integrated simultaneously."

Yamamoto nodded.

"There's one last thing, and that is..."

The monk's gaze fell on Wang Xun.

"Wang Xun, I need to talk to you."

Wang Xun up, and all eyes were once again focused on him.

"I heard that Yhwach personally recruited you on the battlefield, saying that you possess the power of the Quincy."

"I'm a little curious about this. Could you explain it to me?"

The monk narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice was calm, but the atmosphere in the entire conference room suddenly became tense.

Before Wang Xun speak, Shigekuni Yamamoto raised his head and spoke in a deep voice.

"Monk, what do you mean by that?"

"Wang Xun is loyal to Soul Society, that's beyond question. What explanation do you need?"

The monk watched as Shigekuni Yamamoto protected his subordinate, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Please don't be nervous, everyone. I don't suspect anything; I'm just simply curious."

"Aren't you curious why a Soul Reaper would possess the power of Quincy?"

Ichibē Hyōsube Ichibei looked around at the captains present, but no one responded to him.

Wang Xun was also pondering the reason why the Hyōsube had suddenly asked him.

But Wang Xun did not avoid his gaze and spoke frankly.

"I have nothing to hide, no secrets. To be honest, I don't know anything about this matter either."

"Oh? Is that so..."

The monk looked at Wang Xun, a smile curving his lips.

"Of course, I'm very willing to believe you. Don't think of me as some kind of villain."

"In that case, let's adjourn the meeting here for today. Oh, by the way, Tenjirō, why don't you stay as well? Didn't you say you were quite interested in the vice-captain of the Fourth Division?"

Tenjirō Kirinji was behind him, spat out the toothpick in his mouth and looked at Wang Xun.

"Yes, but it seems he's already the team leader."

The monk stood up.

"Alright, that's all I need to know. If there's nothing else to add, let's call it a day. I need to return to the Soul King Palace now."

"The three of them will be staying in Seireitei for a while. I'll come back if anything comes up."

"By the way, can someone show me where the Shiba Clan moved to? Oh, there are some Shiba Clan members here!"

The monk stepped forward and put his arm around Isshin Shiba's shoulder.

"Could you please lead the way? We need your family's secret technique to get back."

Isshin Shiba scratched his chin and nodded helplessly.

"Alright, everyone in Seireitei, see you next time."

After the meeting ended, everyone left the meeting room in turn.

Wang Xun noticed that Kirinji Tenjiro's gaze had been fixed on him since the beginning.

Clearly, his purpose in staying was different from that of Shutara and Kirio Hikifune.

He was deliberately arranged to stay by the monk, and it was obvious that he was there specifically to target him.

Was the Hyōsube keeping him around to test his limits?

But why is he paying so much attention to me? Could it be that he's discovered something...?

Wang Xun walking at the back. Just as he stepped out of the threshold, Tenjirō Kirinji appeared from the side.

He put his hands in his sleeves and tilted his head to Wang Xun.

"You're the vice-captain Unohana brought out, right?"

"I heard you Kaidō up the basics very quickly, but why did you become Kenpachi?"

"What, even a big shot from Zero Division is interested in me?"

Kirinji grinned, revealing a smile.

"I was just curious. I heard that your progress in Kaidō has been rapid, and that Kenpachi, with his superb medical skills, is exactly like Retsu..."

"Alright, it's getting late. I'll find you again tomorrow and see how well you 'Kaidō."

He patted Wang Xun on the shoulder, then turned and left.

As Wang Xun watched his retreating figure, the Heat sensation on his shoulder slowly subsided.

This guy is really shameless, openly collecting my Reiatsu like this...