"Hado no 91: Kurohitsugi (Black Coffin)!"
Aizen's voice echoed through the sky.
With a soft shuaa sound, a pure black curtain fell from above, veiling half the heavens, as if the sky itself had been dyed black.
Shunsui's face changed drastically.
"Back! Get back, all of you! Don't step into the domain of Kurohitsugi, you'll die!"
Cole's attack was a gravity field. The higher it went, the heavier it became, like the abyssal depths of the sea, dragging the entire Spirit King's Palace down.
The pressure was overwhelming…
But it wasn't enough to kill.
Aizen's Kurohitsugi, however, was a purely offensive kido. Stepping into it was almost certain death.
Especially now that Aizen had evolved several times and his strength was unfathomable. The Kurohitsugi he unleashed might very well be powerful enough to kill even him.
The Soul Reapers present swallowed hard and bolted, terrified of being engulfed by Kurohitsugi.
The Soul Reapers who had already been in Seireitei were drenched in cold sweat, staring at Cole and Aizen's figures with horror.
"What is going on? Did those two team up? Are they planning to attack Soul Society together!?"
There was no need to even mention Aizen—over this period of time, he had practically become the embodiment of evil.
As for Cole, there was even less to say. A human who possessed Soul Reaper powers, whose strength had once clashed head-on with the Head Captain himself.
If those two truly joined forces…
With the Head Captain absent, they really had no idea who could possibly hold them back.
More and more Seireitei Soul Reapers, thinking this far, couldn't help but turn questioning looks toward Shunsui, Byakuya, and the others.
In the meantime, their gazes kept flicking toward the gathered Hollows.
They truly couldn't make sense of the situation.
Byakuya ground his teeth and said, "Yes. That damned brat has teamed up with Aizen."
As head of the Kuchiki clan, he was the most rigid follower of rules and regarded safeguarding Soul Society's peace as his personal duty.
Who could have predicted he'd run into a brat like this?
Someone so insane that, in order to deal with Aizen, he was actually dragging down the Spirit King's Palace and forcing the Zero Division to join the fight.
If that wasn't madness, what was?
Isshin coughed twice, then spoke up in explanation.
"Captain Kuchiki, that's not quite right. I don't think Cole is doing anything wrong."
Cole was doing all of this for his son's sake. As a father, Isshin felt that both emotionally and logically, he had to speak up for Cole. He couldn't let the kid stand alone.
Byakuya froze for a moment, then turned a cold eye on Isshin.
"Isshin, what are you talking about? He's literally dragging down the Spirit King's Palace right now, and you still take his side?"
Isshin also got a little irritated.
"If we don't drag down the Spirit King's Palace, who's going to deal with Aizen? You?"
Byakuya was speechless.
Him?
He was going to deal with Aizen?
What a joke.
He was prepared to die if he had to… but his death alone couldn't stop Aizen.
And Gin…
Judging from that one earth-shattering strike he had just unleashed, Byakuya could be sure Gin was already far stronger than he was.
Gin himself had been taken out in a single move.
If Byakuya went up…
He would just die in a single blow as well.
"But even so, you still can't just drag down the Spirit King's Palace…"
Byakuya's expression was ugly.
Rukia coughed lightly and said in a small voice, "Brother… even if Cole didn't drag down the Spirit King's Palace, if Aizen defeats him, Aizen will just create the Oken (Royal Key) and attack the Spirit King's Palace himself."
Byakuya's face flickered between dark and pale, but he couldn't think of a better solution.
In the end, it all came down to one thing.
Power.
If they couldn't defeat Aizen, anything they did was meaningless.
Off to the side, Starrk said lazily, "You all look really troubled. Is the Spirit King's Palace really that important?"
Shunsui's mouth twitched. He didn't answer that question. Instead, he looked at Starrk with exasperation.
"Hey, Primera Espada Starrk, why did you tag along too? This is Seireitei. Aren't you afraid of dying here?"
Starrk sprawled about in his usual languid manner.
"What else was I supposed to do? Go skulking back to Hueco Mundo?"
Coming to Soul Society, he might die.
But going back to Hueco Mundo, he also might die.
After all, if Aizen won, there was no way he'd let a traitor go.
So he might as well come and see how this side played out.
If he died, at least he'd die after witnessing something spectacular.
Thinking that, Starrk swept his gaze over the surrounding Arrancar and chuckled.
"Besides, even with us standing here in Soul Society like this, as long as that human monster doesn't decide to attack us, you guys can't take us down anyway."
Among the Arrancar gathered here were Starrk, Lilynette, Barraggan, Tier Harribel, Ulquiorra…
In essence, nearly ninety percent of Hueco Mundo's power was gathered here.
Enough to face all of Soul Society in a head-on war.
Suddenly, Starrk's expression turned curious. He peered around the crowd more closely.
"Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck!?"
He had actually spotted two little girls among the crowd—one with blue hair and one with pink.
From her reiryoku, that blue-haired little girl was clearly the former Tres Espada.
Shunsui, for his part, hadn't noticed Nel at all. Right now, her reiryoku wasn't even at lieutenant level.
He glanced over the number of Arrancar present, then looked back at the Soul Reaper side, and let out a heavy sigh, acknowledging Starrk's point.
"You're not wrong. Taking you down wouldn't be easy."
Earlier, under the Bankai of Sakanade (Reverse Stroke), both Soul Reapers and Arrancar had been caught in mad slaughter, leaving both sides heavily damaged.
But unlike the Soul Reapers…
The recovery abilities of Arrancar were absurd.
Even if they lost an arm or a leg, as long as they didn't die outright, they could regenerate thanks to their super-speed regeneration.
And as it happened, all the Arrancar present possessed that regeneration.
If they really started fighting again…
The outcome would be anyone's guess.
"Then there's no reason to fight at all…" Starrk sighed and looked up toward the two figures in the sky.
"Because the key to victory doesn't lie with us anyway."
Shunsui sighed as well, losing what little desire he had for battle.
Starrk wasn't wrong.
Even if they blasted each other's heads open and finally managed to take down the Arrancar at enormous cost…
As long as Aizen lived, the outcome of this war remained uncertain.
A single top-level powerhouse was enough to sway the entire battlefield.
Their conversation left the Soul Reapers of Seireitei utterly stunned. They had no idea what was going on anymore.
Byakuya called Cole a traitor.
Former Captain Shiba Isshin objected.
Even the newly appointed Captain Rukia did not believe Cole had betrayed Soul Society.
So… whose side was Cole on, exactly?
And Shunsui and that lazy Arrancar—what was with those two?
Why did they look like old friends who had hit it off at first sight?
The same lazy posture.
The same laid-back attitude.
If not for the circumstances, the onlookers felt like those two might have sworn brotherhood on the spot.
As the bewildered Soul Reapers of Seireitei tried in vain to make sense of things…
The sky thundered again.
The barriers of the Spirit King's Palace, already crumbling under Cole's gravity, now shattered even faster under the assault of Kurohitsugi.
Layer after layer of barriers were torn apart.
The vast independent space that was the Spirit King's Palace descended bit by bit, as if it truly were being dragged down from the clouds into the dust.
At the same time…
Within the Spirit King's Palace.
The floating Zero Division quarters, the palace districts, the grand approach, and the inner sanctum of the Spirit King all shook like an earthquake.
The once-solemn white approach to the palace cracked open in countless places, and many of the pillars lining it toppled over.
The Zero Division palaces encircling the Spirit King's inner sanctum rose and fell like water sloshing in a kettle…
Threatening to be flung free at any moment.
On the five Zero Division palaces, the five members of the Zero Division all turned grim as they stared up at the sky in shock.
The scenery that had remained unchanged for tens of millions of years…
Was now fissured with countless cracks.
Senjumaru frowned. Her six skeletal golden arms waved as she flew toward the other palaces.
"Oetsu Nimaiya, what happened? Why is the entire Spirit King's Palace shaking?"
Oetsu, looking like some hip-hop artist who could break into a rap at any moment, was currently being fussed over by several women as he carefully cradled a zanpakuto.
Hearing her question…
He was just as confused.
"No idea. Nothing like this has happened in the last few million years. Did the Spirit King start acting up?"
As he spoke, he glanced toward the Spirit King's inner sanctum.
It was a cylindrical structure floating in midair, with tapered points at both ends.
It looked strange enough… but it housed the single most exalted being in all of Soul Society—no, in all three worlds.
The Spirit King—Adonais.
Though he was the most exalted existence in three worlds, they also knew somewhat of the Spirit King's situation.
If he decided to rebel, that wouldn't be impossible either.
"The Spirit King!?"
Senjumaru couldn't help but look toward the inner sanctum as well.
"No, this isn't the Spirit King's doing. Someone is attacking the Spirit King's Palace. Seventy-two of the barriers—seventy percent are already gone."
Tenjiro, hair slicked into a pompadour and face ablaze with fervor, walked over carrying a massive naginata.
He was a battle maniac to the core, but he had been bound to the Spirit King's Palace, unable to leave, and thus unable to join any battles.
Now, he could barely hold himself back from heading out to wreck someone.
"If the Spirit King's Palace is under attack, that means Soul Society's side no longer has anyone left who can fight, doesn't it?"
A woman with purple hair, spiral markings on her cheeks, black lipstick, two belts around her waist, and a voluptuous figure walked over.
She was the "Royal Special Operations" agent, one of the Zero Division, the southern divine general, known as the "Grain King"—Kirio.
In the Zero Division, her seniority was the lowest. She had joined less than two hundred years ago.
Aside from her, the next youngest in seniority had already lived several thousand years—some even millions, tens of millions.
Hearing her words, Tenjiro clicked his tongue.
"I knew that little brat Yamamoto wouldn't cut it. Last time he needed our help, and now the fight's on the Spirit King's doorstep again."
Senjumaru's brows drew tighter.
"Tenjiro, don't say that. The Head Captain might well be stronger than you."
She had witnessed Yamamoto's power last time. It was terrifying—far above her own.
They were all members of the Zero Division, and their powers were all roughly in the same realm.
Tenjiro might very well lose to Yamamoto—in fact, he might get burned into a charred corpse with a single stroke.
"Tch. Like I'd lose to that brat?"
Tenjiro snorted, utterly unwilling to admit that the "kid" from back then could beat him.
He hefted his huge naginata and started off into the distance, waving a hand over his shoulder.
"No need for the rest of you to move. I'll handle this batch of enemies myself and show you the power that shakes all three worlds."
The others all wore different expressions at that.
The next second, though, they all turned in unison to look toward the distant monk.
He was a towering man with a shaved head, red eyes, thick brows, and a beard that reached his chest. His nose was broad and flat.
He wore a standard shihakusho, along with a wide-sleeved white haori-style cloak bearing the Zero Division emblem on the back.
Around his neck hung a huge, dark red prayer bead necklace, and on his feet were tall, single-tooth geta.
From appearance alone, he looked every inch the monk.
But none of the Zero Division members present dared underestimate him.
He was the leader of the Royal Special Operations—captain of the Zero Division.
His life had been born in the chaotic world before time, one of the rare special lifeforms of that era.
A being born in the same age as the Spirit King and the progenitors of the Five Great Noble Houses.
His existence was practically as long-lived as heaven and earth themselves.
Boundless and without limit.
Without beginning, without end.
He had witnessed the rise and fall of the entire world—a living record of its history.
His strength was also the greatest in the Zero Division. He could casually defeat even the most powerful of its members.
After hearing the situation, the monk-like Soul Reaper burst into loud laughter.
"Is that so? Then let Tenjiro handle it. It's just a few enemies, what's there to fuss over?"
At his words, all the other Zero Division members—Senjumaru excluded—smiled.
Exactly.
Just a few enemies.
Nothing to get worked up about.
They were the Zero Division. Their power was enough to shake all three worlds.
Before them…
Every life in existence was as insignificant as an ant.
(End of Chapter)
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