Broken corpses, collapsed ruins, raging flames.
A desolate city stretched before them, a scene of apocalyptic devastation.
Everywhere, soldiers in white wielded radiant bows, firing arrows at distant foes.
Led by a long-haired man, they pressed forward, ever forward.
From Western Europe to Eastern Europe, then further east.
A white tide swept through the hidden world.
Atop the city's highest wall, Yhwach gazed down at the soldiers still slaughtering below, his face expressionless.
"The so-called Western Branch is nothing special."
Behind him, Zeidritz, blind in one eye, knelt solemnly, echoing softly, "Indeed, Your Majesty."
The newly formed Sternritter, in their first outing, obliterated the Western Branch with ease. The Lichtreich's strength remained untouched, and Yhwach hadn't lifted a finger.
For a fledgling legion, this was undeniably a glorious feat.
To Zeidritz, it was only natural.
After all, every Sternritter bore a significant share of Yhwach's power.
Compared to the soldiers granted mere fragments, the gap was vast.
Yhwach, intrigued by his affirmation, turned and asked, "Zeidritz, how does the Western Branch compare to the Shinigami you've faced?"
Zeidritz paused, then answered quietly, "Forgive my boldness… but in my view, even the non-captain-level Shinigami, Orado and I encountered in the Soul Society could wipe out this Western Branch in hidden London."
"The gap is that wide?"
"Precisely, Your Majesty."
Yhwach nodded slightly, accepting Zeidritz's assessment.
At this point, both lord and vassal had learned from surviving Seireitei nobles of the Seireitei's complete defeat.
Even Yhwach could only accept this outcome for now.
Though he proclaimed his 'A' power as 'The Almighty,' Yhwach knew his limits.
If true omniscience and omnipotence existed, why had his 'father' been sealed as the lynchpin for a million years?
What his father couldn't achieve, Yhwach couldn't either.
His vision of the future was limited to fragments of countless timelines, which he could perceive and alter to a degree.
This imperfect Almighty was his current pinnacle.
Yet, to most, his power seemed godlike.
The Lichtreich owed its existence to him alone.
Still, true omniscience remained a distant goal.
And based on the futures he saw…
Time was running out.
Yhwach stared silently at the flames consuming the distant town.
Though not absolute, some truths were crystal clear.
Like the Lichtreich's potential setbacks in invading the Soul Society.
Like… his own death.
Yhwach saw vividly a man wreathed in flames, standing before him like a demon.
A single slash severed his head.
Yhwach couldn't fathom why, despite seeing this fate, he faced this doom repeatedly.
Countless attempts with The Almighty always led to this end.
This reality filled him with unease.
More shocking, when he sought to enhance The Almighty, the result was the same, his head cleaved by that blade.
This death seemed an inescapable path.
Yhwach couldn't comprehend it.
Thus, he sought Zeidritz's counsel today, an act that, for one claiming omniscience, spoke volumes.
Zeidritz, clear as crystal, remained silent.
He didn't understand why Yhwach so urgently sought to rule the three worlds or why, after conquering the living world, he relentlessly targeted the Soul Society.
But one thing was certain, this was Yhwach's will.
He had no other choice.
As lord and vassal pondered, a hoarse, mocking laugh echoed from the sky, "Hohoho… such cruelty, humans."
"You're the leader of this 'Lichtreich,' aren't you?"
"What are you doing? Massacring the city?"
The buzzing of insect wings filled their ears, coalescing into the aged form of Saizō Sakahone.
An back hunched old man with his skin darkened with age, wrinkles piling on his cheeks and chin.
His black pupils gleamed under heavy, drooping eyelids.
One hand rested on his Zanpakuto, a sly grin on his face as he pointed to the distant flames.
"This old man's soft-hearted, can't stand such sights."
"Who are you?!"
An insult to the lord demands death. Zeidritz, Yhwach's most loyal vassal, wouldn't tolerate such insolence.
Furious, he drew his Reishi rapier, stepping between Yhwach and Sakahone.
He hadn't sensed this man's presence until he spoke.
An unforgivable failure!
Yhwach, calm and expressionless, regarded Sakahone, as if expecting his arrival.
"From the Genji School?"
"Oh, no, no… that's not what we're called now."
Sakahone, hand on his Zanpakuto, propped one leg up as if lounging on a kang, leaning back against an invisible wall. He grinned at Yhwach, his few remaining teeth glinting.
"Now, we're the Gotei 13."
"This old man's Saizō Sakahone, humbly the Captain of the Thirteenth Division, tasked with living world cleanup."
"That is, dealing with folks like you."
"But it's odd… I've lived millennia, yet this is the first time I've seen Fullbringers appear in such numbers."
"Before I clean you up, mind telling me how you did it?"
Yhwach sneered, his crimson cloak billowing in the wall's currents, his voice cold, "Don't lump us with those lucky fools who stumbled on Soul King fragments, Shinigami."
"We are called Quincy."
"We exist to fulfill the Soul King's duty, to exterminate the Hollows of this world."
"And another thing…"
Yhwach turned, abruptly drawing his Quincy Cross blade and slashing toward Sakahone.
A blazing stream of Reishi engulfed dozens of meters in an instant, carving a long line from Yhwach's position.
Sakahone's frail, withered frame was swallowed by the relentless Reishi torrent in a heartbeat.
It shattered into a mass of crushed insect remains.
Yhwach slowly sheathed his blade, continuing, "…don't stand before me in that repulsive form."
"Shinigami."
"Hehehe..."
The grating laughter still echoed in the air.
But having gauged Yhwach's strength, Sakahone refrained from further probing.
Standing miles away, Sakahone closed his eyes, gazing at the imposing figure still atop the castle, and sighed inwardly.
"Another big problem, huh."
In the Living World, the first contact between the Lichtreich and Seireitei was still unfolding.
---
The Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force, on its sixty-fifth day of the Hueco Mundo Reclamation War, began sending back its first batch of wounded, both minor and severe.
Among them was Makoto's name.
"Uh, Vice Captain Makoto…" Kuruyashiki Ryoma trailed cautiously behind the wounded, sticking close to Makoto, whispering, "Is this really okay? Me coming back with the injured… isn't that abusing authority?"
"What's there to worry about? Katori-san and Saito, both captains, aren't injured, and they came back too, didn't they?"
Makoto brushed off the rules entirely.
Soul Society's social Darwinism was blatant, almost shamelessly so. Rules were for the weak; the strong made them.
But, on reflection, it wasn't surprising.
This was a world where might reigned supreme.
For a long time, Makoto had wondered how Yamamoto escaped this temptations.
"That's different! Saito-sama and the others returned to report."
"And besides, we repelled hollow forces last time. There's no need to keep so many people in Hueco Mundo, right?"
Kuruyashiki Ryoma muttered softly.
He wasn't wrong.
Even with Baraggan's rule-based abilities, he couldn't stand against three founding captains plus a founding vice-captain.
Had Kinroku not insisted on maintaining the spiritual balance of the three worlds, opting for peace, Makoto estimated Baraggan had an eighty percent chance of falling on the spot.
Ultimately, through strength and persuasion, both sides signed the "Shinigami-Hollow Non-Aggression Pact."
Baraggan's sole condition was no further killing of his Vasto Lorde.
For someone as laid-back as Kinroku, that was no issue.
With the grand Hueco Mundo Reclamation War reduced to skirmishes with low level Hollows, Saito and Katori, ever restless, hopped on the first ride home.
Leaving Kinroku alone to eat sand in Hueco Mundo.
How pitiful.
Makoto grinned cheekily at the thought.
After passing through the long, stable Dangai passage, the group finally stepped through the Senkaimon, returning to Soul Society's skies.
"Phew..."
Barely out of the Senkaimon, Makoto stretched languidly.
"Been a while, sunshine."
It wasn't just him; many of the wounded behind him shared the sentiment.
Hueco Mundo's eternal night hadn't felt oppressive at first, but after lingering there, it left everyone feeling gloomy and diminished.
Now, basking in sunlight, they felt reborn.
But the first voice they heard upon returning cast a faint shadow over that renewal.
"Welcome back, Vice Captain Makoto."
"Captain Saito and Captain Katori's escort team arrived earlier and are resting at the house ahead."
Makoto turned instinctively at the familiar voice.
Kuchiki Ginrei's frame remained youthful, his features soft and slightly feminine, a thick silver-white windflower scarf around his neck. Unlike his family, he wore no Kenseikan, his hair combed back to reveal a smooth forehead.
Having faced him at the negotiation table, Makoto had little fondness for remnants of the great nobles like Kuchiki Ginrei. He frowned instinctively. "Why is Kuchiki-san handling the reception?"
"Where's the 5th Division?"
Kuchiki Ginrei maintained a practiced smile, his voice warm. "A month ago, Captain Commander Genryusai approved my appointment as the 5th Division's sixth seated officer."
"I look forward to your guidance, Vice Captain Makoto."
He bowed deeply, the picture of sincerity.
But as he showed utmost respect, a childish, excited squeal pierced his ears.
[Makoto-chan! Smack him!]
[His little tush is all perked up, what're you waiting for?!]
Kuchiki Ginrei felt a chill, instinctively clenching, his shocked gaze fixed on the man before him.
Had Makoto, Soul Society's notorious deviant, finally crossed that line?!
But when he looked up, Makoto was glaring at his own Zanpakuto.
"Shut up!"
"What nonsense are you spouting? Have some sense!"
Turning to see Kuchiki Ginrei's uneasy expression, Makoto grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Kuchiki-san, for the embarrassment."
"My Zanpakuto's young and clueless, mixing up 'effeminate' with 'lady.'"
"My deepest apologies."
Kuchiki Ginrei said nothing, offering an awkward smile, his left hand still guarding his rear as he watched Makoto walk away.
Makoto didn't linger, striding off.
A barking dog doesn't bite.
He understood that simple truth.
But a Kuchiki in the Gotei 13…
That was not a good sign.
How could Yamamoto allow this?
From this detail, Makoto sensed that, in the two months he'd been gone, subtle changes had stirred in Seireitei.
And such changes were rarely a good omen.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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