"Lille Barro…"
"So it's you. You're the one fighting that Shinigami this round?"
Silbern — within the frozen crystal palace of the Quincy.
All around, the pure-blooded Sternritter turned toward the center of the hall, their gazes converging on one figure — Lille Barro himself.
The black-skinned man stood there, a flicker of surprise crossing his face as he saw his own image projected upon the luminous screen.
It was unexpected — but not undeserved.
After all, he was the Captain of the Schutzstaffel, the elite of the elite, and the very first Quincy to be granted a Schrift by His Majesty.
For one such as him, to be featured next was only natural.
No one doubted it.
After all, in the previous footage, the Primera Espada, Coyote Starrk, had been cut down by Kyōraku Shunsui.
If that was the standard now, then surely the next opponent could not be weaker.
He could only be stronger.
And that alone made perfect sense.
"Hmph. A duel, is it?"
Lille Barro raised his head, his golden eyes narrowing beneath the hood of his white mantle.
His tone was dry — dismissive.
Though he had watched the entire previous battle — Starrk's struggle against Kyōraku Shunsui — and had seen firsthand the terrifying power of that Shikai, the rule-warping ability of Katen Kyōkotsu, his opinion of the Shinigami did not change.
He still looked down on them.
Still regarded them as insects beneath his boots.
At that moment, a voice rose beside him — the gruff, weary tone of Gerard Valkyrie, who had already suffered death twice in the footage, and whose pride had begun to crack.
"Tch… Lille Barro.
Even if I still think those Shinigami Captains are trash, you saw what happened to me in the future.
Maybe… try not to underestimate them so easily."
Gerard's voice carried frustration, even caution.
He was no longer the boastful titan he once was.
But Lille Barro merely scoffed in reply.
"You are you. I am me."
"I am His Majesty's greatest creation — the one closest to God Himself."
"A rule-based Zanpakutō? Pathetic. Hardly worth my notice."
Arrogant.
Unshakably proud.
Lille Barro stood there as if already victorious — utterly convinced he would not share Starrk's fate.
His Schrift — X: The X-Axis — the ability to pierce all things, was not just a weapon; it was an inviolable law of existence.
In his eyes, it was the ultimate power. The true rule of the universe.
On the screen, the battle resumed.
"Shinigami…"
"I already know all there is to know about you — and about your Zanpakutō, Katen Kyōkotsu."
"Your games, your tricks — I've seen them all."
"From the very start, you have no advantage here."
After a short exchange — a duel of words and blades that echoed like the rhythm of a children's game — Lille Barro's left eye changed.
A black, circular pattern bloomed around the iris, his gaze sharpening until it locked onto Kyōraku's form with surgical precision.
It was as if he could see through everything.
The air. The world. The rules themselves.
The camera zoomed in — his eye glowing like a gun sight trained on its prey.
He had broken free from Katen Kyōkotsu's rules.
Or so he thought.
Because the next words from Kyōraku turned the entire Soul Society on its head.
"Is that so?"
"You think I've already lost?"
His voice was low, calm, but carried a quiet thunder.
"You underestimate me."
"After all…"
"I am the Captain Commander of the Gotei 13."
The world went still.
Those words exploded through the broadcast like a bomb.
In the real Seireitei, the tremors were immediate —
Tens of thousands of Shinigami froze in disbelief.
"W–what?! Did I hear that right?!"
"Captain Kyōraku just said… he's the Captain Commander?!"
"That can't be right!"
"He's the Eighth Division Captain — he couldn't just—"
"Wait… does that mean… the Old Man…?!"
Panic spread like wildfire.
Every corner of the Seireitei echoed with the same horrified thought.
The title of Captain Commander had always belonged to one man.
The thousand-year-old legend.
The strongest Shinigami in history.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
Only he could bear that title — the pillar of all Shinigami.
Even Aizen himself had once bowed his head in caution before that old man's fire.
And now…
on every screen across every realm, Kyōraku Shunsui had just declared himself the new head of the Gotei 13.
No one knew what to say.
The silence was suffocating.
Even the two men in question reacted with shock.
Kyōraku himself stared at the screen in disbelief, scratching his beard awkwardly, his mind blank.
He hadn't expected this future — not in a thousand years.
Meanwhile, in the First Division Headquarters, Yamamoto's fury reached the heavens.
"Foolishness!!!"
The roar shook the barracks.
"Outrageous!!!"
The very air trembled as Ryūjin Jakka's flames surged to life, engulfing the room in golden fire.
Scrolls and tatami disintegrated to ash, the floorboards scorched black beneath the weight of his wrath.
The First Division…
was nearly obliterated.
Yes.
Just as Aizen had predicted.
The old man's temper truly could burn the world.
(End of Chapter)
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