"OH?"
"Is it because of that 'Ōken' outer garment woven from the transformation… that Yhwach and his subordinates were able to take advantage of it and secretly slip into the Soul King Palace?"
At this moment, in the real world—inside the Soul King Palace.
After watching the scene that had just been exposed, Senjumaru Shutara's expression turned ugly, her words filled with self-reproach.
Under normal circumstances,
every time the passage to the Soul King Palace opened,
there would be a gap of roughly six thousand seconds before it closed again.
And Yhwach…
was precisely seizing that opening!
In the end, it all traced back to the "Ōken" outer garment on Kurosaki Ichigo. That was what had caused this unexpected blunder!
As for this,
the other members of Squad Zero
were equally surprised—and more than a little disappointed.
But then they thought again.
Ichigo was here.
At present, his twin-bladed Zangetsu had only just made its debut—
yet it was already capable of suppressing the strong members of the Sternritter on the battlefield!
If that was the case,
then the mess Ichigo had made,
would be for Ichigo himself to clean up.
He would pursue them, enter the Soul King Palace as well, and stop Yhwach—simple as that!
"Heh…"
"As for what comes next…"
"It should be the part where the few of us get defeated by Yhwach, right? That outcome… really ticks me off…"
Ichibē Hyōsube toyed with his prayer beads as he spoke.
His face shifted from genial and simple… to outright fury.
Yhwach.
That evil man.
Exactly how he had managed, in that battle, to turn the tables in the end—defeating the "future self" that awaited him…
even now,
remained a mystery.
As for whether the later parts would still be exposed…
in Ichibē's eyes, the chance wasn't great—and it would be meaningless anyway!
Right now,
this round of the ranking was nearing its finale.
The biggest highlight to look forward to next
was the moment when Kurosaki Ichigo gripped Zangetsu…
and cut down the Soul King Yhwach in a single strike!
And judging from where things stood,
that scene… wasn't far off anymore!!!
———
After that.
Under the audience's watchful gaze,
the ranking video continued to play—
"CLANG——!!!"
Blades met.
Steel flashed.
Zangetsu collided with the Quincy reishi weapons, sparks bursting from the impact.
And as they watched with their own eyes,
Yhwach's figure slowly rose into the air.
Kurosaki Isshin instinctively tried to pursue—
but he was stopped!
Eight Sternritter members nearby swarmed him in a savage encirclement!
However,
the battle itself
wasn't especially intense, nor did it last long.
Very soon,
with the other Shinigami captains joining the fray,
and Kuchiki Byakuya and the others returning to Seireitei to take part as well,
the situation instantly reversed.
Kurosaki Ichigo finally shook off the trouble and was no longer being surrounded.
And after that,
with help from Urahara Kisuke and Shiba Ganju and the rest,
they boarded a massive black cannon turret—an imitation of the Heavenly Pillar Cannon—
and followed them into the Soul King Palace!
This segment, too, was declared temporarily concluded.
"What a pity…"
"Aizen-taichō… if only at a time like this, Kyōraku Shunsui and the others had been sensible, and released you earlier…"
"So you could go to the Soul King Palace together with Kurosaki Ichigo and Urahara Kisuke!"
"I believe the three of you together would definitely be able to stop the Soul King from being killed!"
Inside Las Noches.
Watching the screen turn black again, Ichimaru Gin—bored out of his mind—casually picked a topic to pass the time.
Even though
he didn't regard the Soul King's existence
with any reverence at all—his tone was nothing but teasing—
still…
if he was being honest,
Gin truly felt that
before Yhwach devoured the Soul King,
as long as there was help from Blut and Urahara Kisuke's brilliant mind—plus the absurdly high "stats" of twin-bladed Zangetsu—
then inside the Soul King's bedchamber,
killing Yhwach shouldn't have been too difficult!!!
In response,
upon the throne,
Aizen Sōsuke's face showed not the slightest ripple of emotion.
Those black eyes were cold to the bone.
He clearly had no interest whatsoever in the idea of "saving the Soul King."
Even so,
Aizen agreed with the possibility Gin had just mentioned. He nodded and said,
"Gin… you're right."
"At least on the level of raw power, with me—fused with Kyōka Suigetsu—together with Kurosaki Ichigo's twin-bladed Zangetsu…"
"At that time, Yhwach should not have held any advantage. And the only lurking danger…"
"would be his ability—his Schrift. Up to now, it still hasn't been properly exposed!!!"
As he spoke those last words,
a clear trace of wariness flashed through Aizen's eyes.
He had always believed
that the reason Yhwach could reverse the battle and defeat Ichibē Hyōsube…
was inevitably because of the Schrift.
That was the only explanation for how someone who'd been dominated from start to finish
could suddenly flip the table at the very end!
Only…
because the ranking video,
during that particular round back then, had been trying to emphasize Ichibē and his Zanpakutō—Ichimonji—
it had forcibly skipped over the final outcome.
So the actual images
had never been shown.
That matter
had remained carved into Aizen's memory. He had never let it go.
Now,
in Aizen's heart,
a powerful premonition stirred—
Next, as Kurosaki Ichigo ascended the Soul King Palace for the second time,
everything afterward—
every secret, from either side—
would be exposed all at once and laid bare for the audience to see!
Including…
what only a handful of people knew—
the Soul King, that incomplete god, and his "human stump" state… maintained across thousands of years!
This…
was precisely why Aizen had always despised him!!!
———
Very soon,
without much of a gap,
the black screen on the transparent light-curtain lit up again.
A new segment
continued to play—
"BOOM!!!"
The clouds exploded apart.
Above the Omotesandō in the Soul King Palace,
after a thunderous, ear-splitting shockwave,
a massive black cannon platform dropped from the sky.
Following coordinates that had been set in advance, it landed steadily on the ground.
With a burst of shaking firelight
and spreading fissures ripping across the earth,
the black turret's door opened—
and then, Kurosaki Ichigo and the others filed out one by one!
But then,
the camera slowly shifted.
Following Ichigo's line of sight, it aimed forward—
and brutally exposed it:
Squad Zero had been defeated, and Ichibē Hyōsube had been beaten by Yhwach.
Blood was everywhere.
A scene so savage it looked like a slaughterhouse!!!
"Holy—!!!"
"Look! Over there! Is that Ichibē's head?!"
"He wasn't just defeated—he got dismembered?!"
"That's way too violent! Yhwach… he's seriously that brutal?!!"
At that moment,
the vast majority of viewers
recognized the mangled pile of gore on the ground at a glance.
It was clearly Ichibē's limbs, flesh—
and his head.
And because of that,
even as they reeled in shock,
their stomachs churned, nausea surging—
their scalps went numb with dread!!!
"Ugh…"
"As the most ancient man…"
"Ichibē… actually ended up like this?"
Inside the First Division.
The Captain-Commander leaned heavily on his wooden staff, his expression turning grim to the point of distortion.
The scene before his eyes
left the old man utterly shaken—cold sweat broke out on the spot.
Even though…
before the ranking video ever appeared,
the Captain-Commander had long been hailed as "the strongest Shinigami"—
still…
he himself understood perfectly.
That monster Ichibē
was the true strongest Shinigami since the dawn of creation—without question.
And yet even so,
he was still dismembered.
Worse, his corpse had been exposed on-screen…
a second execution in its own right.
In an instant,
the mystique of Squad Zero—
and the towering aura propped up by Ichibē alone—
collapsed completely.
That, too, was one of the reasons the old man was so stunned.
"Ah…"
Kyōraku Shunsui said anxiously, "No wonder, in the earlier ranking, the Soul King ended up being devoured by Yhwach!"
"So it was because Squad Zero got wiped out—there was no one left to protect the Soul King!!!"
Kyōraku frowned.
Granted, there were still guards inside the Soul King's bedchamber.
It wasn't truly as if only the Soul King remained—alone as a human stump.
But…
those background nobodies—
you couldn't even name them, much less expect them to stop Yhwach.
Looks like
Yhwach becoming the dark Soul King…
really was something destined to happen!!!
———
After that,
amid the captains' horrified stares—unable to bear looking—
the video continued.
"Sōten Kisshun…"
Inoue Orihime—Ichigo's companion—had come along and been brought to his side, arriving at the Soul King Palace as well.
So,
at Kurosaki Ichigo's request,
she did what she always did—once again—
attempting to use her ability
to restore flesh and severed limbs…
to revive Ichibē Hyōsube!!!
However…
before the healing even began,
in that silent corridor that had been empty just moments ago—
a voice rang out.
A voice that should have vanished
along with Ichibē's death,
was now inexplicably sounding once again:
"Ichigo…"
"Kurosaki Ichigo!!!"
"Can you… hear what I'm saying now?"
That sudden call,
ghostlike,
sent a chill straight through the spine.
In an instant, everyone—both future and present—was startled!
"???"
"What… is going on?"
"The monk isn't he already dead?!"
"He got chopped up—does that not count as death? Can he even come back again?!"
Inside Las Noches.
The Arrancar legion exchanged stunned looks, their worldview shattering on the spot.
Especially Valkyrie.
Beneath his incomplete Hollow mask helmet, he frowned in clear displeasure—finding it hard to accept.
Yes…
Ulquiorra's very first reaction
was to recall the battle beneath the canopy, when he had entered his Segunda Etapa.
After being blasted into ruin by a bull-headed Cero,
his internal organs had vanished.
Even if flesh could regenerate at insane speed, life itself couldn't be sustained.
In the end,
he had scattered into nothingness.
Gone for good.
No more scenes, no more role, ever again.
But now—
the outcome looked the same.
Ichibē's head had even rolled on the ground.
So why—
had his consciousness not disappeared?!
Why did it look as if, as long as Kurosaki Ichigo responded,
Ichibē might still be able to revive?!
Ulquiorra roared internally.
A feral, furious personality—unlike his usual self—rose up, screaming that it was unfair!!!
Damn it…
So everyone gets cheats,
except him—the black-winged demon king—who just honestly died and went straight to hell?!
What a scam!!!
———
And then,
something even more outrageous happened—
something that made Ulquiorra furious
and left the other Arrancar around him completely stunned.
On-screen.
After hearing the voice,
Kurosaki Ichigo, confused, asked Ichibē what he should do to save him.
Then—
...
After receiving the answer,
following Ichibē's instructions, Kurosaki Ichigo shouted that name loudly into the air—right in front of the camera.
And yet…
something miraculous happened!!!
"BOOM!"
Spiritual pressure erupted.
Flesh wriggled.
The black of the Zanpakutō Ichimonji manifested.
Then, in the blink of an eye, every severed limb rejoined and healed.
The audience hadn't even processed what they were seeing!
The blood-soaked massacre on the ground vanished—
replaced by three complete Ichibē Hyōsubes, restored and standing there once again!
And the moment this was exposed—
because the method of revival was just too absurd—
it instantly detonated a massive uproar!
Across the world, viewers—
for the first time in ages—
collectively froze in shock again!!!
"What?!"
"He's back already?!"
"This is insane! It's way too easy!"
"His Majesty went all out to do it, and what he accomplished… isn't even as effective as a single sentence from Kurosaki Ichigo!"
"This kind of thing… can it get any more ridiculous?!"
At this moment,
inside the Ice Crystal Palace of Silber Castle,
the pure-blood Quincy of the Wandenreich all had their pupils quake.
They were utterly shaken—
and found it hard to accept!!!
This was too absurd…
Didn't this mean that as long as they were within the Soul King Palace's domain,
Ichibē was the one who truly possessed immortality?!
You could never kill this freak—ever!!!
"Heh…"
Valkyrie sneered, refusing to accept it.
"I don't believe it! Even if the body and soul can regenerate… in the short term, his power shouldn't have recovered yet!"
"So there's no need to worry! At least for this period of time, this monk is basically a cripple!"
"And in the end, it'll still be Kurosaki Ichigo alone, inside the Soul King's bedchamber—facing His Majesty by himself!!!"
Valkyrie didn't think
anyone besides himself—the one who served as the Soul King's heart—
could endure head-on with the Schrift's enhancement and not be blown back.
As for everyone else,
even someone as strong as Ichibē
could at most revive—
not return at full HP and full power.
Otherwise…
Yhwach
wouldn't have succeeded afterward—
he wouldn't have truly devoured the Soul King.
———
After that,
this segment ended.
After successfully reviving Ichibē,
Kurosaki Ichigo and the others sprinted along the Omotesandō,
racing toward the Soul King's bedchamber.
But then,
as the camera shifted and the scene switched—
it exposed the moment Yhwach arrived at the Soul King's bedchamber
and stood face-to-face with the Soul King—
the instant he saw the Soul King's true appearance—
the entire world's audience was struck dumb on the spot!!!
No one had ever imagined…
that the Soul King—who in the eyes of nearly everyone watching,
whether Shinigami, Hollows, humans, or pure-blood Quincy…
was exalted beyond reach,
holy beyond measure,
the creator god of the world—
that his true state…
his real condition and appearance…
would actually be—
a pitiable human stump who, a thousand years ago,
had already been cruelly dismembered!
All four limbs removed.
Every "part" taken away—
even his heart—
leaving behind nothing but a severed, mutilated remnant!!!
The exposure of this scene
once again plunged the Bleach world
into an unprecedented, earthshaking shock!!!
(End of Chapter)
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