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Seireitei, First Division Headquarters
In the wide, echoing hall, Yamamoto Genryūsai stood at the far end of the corridor, leaning on his cane as he stared out the window at Soul Society. His expression was carved in stone.
"By now, Unohana should've reached them, right?"
Kyōraku Shunsui, wearing his pink flowered coat, lowered the brim of his hat and let out a quiet laugh.
On Yamamoto's other side stood Urahara Kisuke, the newly reinstated Captain of the Twelfth Division. He adjusted his striped hat, face a shade uneasy.
"Isn't this tactic… a bit too aggressive?" he asked after a pause.
He hesitated, then continued, "To simply let Aizen become the new Soul King, to replace the keystone that holds the three worlds together… Personally, I think that's far too risky."
Yamamoto didn't turn around. His voice stayed flat. "I have only one requirement: protect Soul Society, and maintain the balance of the three realms."
"As for who the Soul King is, whether man or monster… it doesn't matter. As long as it performs the function it must perform, anyone can be the Soul King."
Urahara opened his mouth, then closed it and gave a dry laugh.
Shunsui chuckled beside him. "That's how it is. What the old man says is what the Gotei 13 says."
"And honestly… Urahara, we can't stop it anyway."
Urahara looked over.
Shunsui's gaze drifted toward the horizon, calm and tired. "You can't stop someone who's determined to die."
"Especially when that someone is the Soul King."
"Even without Aizen, there's Yhwach. Without Yhwach, there's Ichigo Kurosaki. And if not Ichigo, then another one."
"If the Soul King wants to die, he'll find a way. And we can't prevent it forever."
"So instead of fighting his desire, why not go along with it?"
"Choose a Soul King we can accept, as long as Soul Society remains intact."
"That's why the Head Captain is willing to cooperate with Aizen."
"I know you, and the Visoreds, and half the Gotei all have deep grudges against Aizen. Trust me, the others aren't thrilled either."
"But unfortunately, personal grudges don't matter when the survival of Soul Society is on the line."
Urahara stood silently for a long moment before finally saying. "I don't mind personally. But if Yoruichi or Shinji find out Aizen will be our king… I'm afraid they might straight-up defect."
Shunsui glanced at Yamamoto, making sure he wasn't reacting, then sighed. "That's still better than the entire world collapsing because the Soul King died."
He rubbed his chin and added, hesitantly. "Among the candidates for replacement, Yhwach wants to destroy the world, so he's out. Aizen's ambition is huge, and he's hard to control, but at least he talks. As for Ginjo Kugo, he's vanished entirely."
Shunsui let out a helpless laugh. "We can't seriously make Ichigo Kurosaki the Soul King, right?"
Urahara's eyes widened slightly.
If not for Aizen's new method, Soul Society's old procedure for creating a Soul King would still be the same barbaric one. Cut out the eyes, slice off the ears, hollow out the organs, sever the limbs, then inject a mix of Hollow, Shinigami, and Quincy soul power until the subject hit the bare minimum needed to stabilize the worlds.
It was monstrous.
Even if Ichigo distrusted him lately, Urahara Kisuke absolutely could not turn a high schooler into that.
But if things grew desperate enough… would he really hold that line?
Let Aizen take the position, or mutilate Ichigo? The hesitation showed clearly on his face.
Then a sudden thump broke the air.
Yamamoto had struck the floor hard with his cane. "I am not so weak that I need a kid to protect the realms."
That settled it. Ichigo was off the table.
Urahara lowered his head, touching the brim of his hat. "Haha… when you put it that way. Maybe Aizen really does just want to reach Little Garden, climb into a higher dimension, and act as a temporary Soul King."
"As long as Ryo's origins are really what Aizen claims."
Shunsui laughed under his hat. "I'd like that. Because frankly, this is our least terrible option."
Yamamoto cast them both a brief side-eye, then fell silent.
Ten minutes later, First Division Vice-Captain Chojiro Sasakibe walked in. "Head Captain, all divisions have been ordered to guard their assigned areas and prepare for the Quincy offensive."
"Good." Yamamoto nodded. "Anything unusual?"
"None so far."
Dispersing their forces was stupid, but the Gotei 13 had a lot of territory to defend. They had no choice.
And truthfully, gathering Yamamoto, Shunsui, Urahara, and Sasakibe here already represented the strongest anti-Yhwach task force Soul Society could spare.
They all knew Yhwach would aim to behead the snake first. His first target would be Yamamoto.
Both sides wanted to kill the other's king.
Everyone here understood that. Everyone also understood the coming battle would be brutal, even with Yamamoto at the front.
"Maybe that monk was right. Yhwach might really come at us with everything he has."
Shunsui laughed softly, though his eyes were sharp. "The Sternritter… almost thirty Captain-class Quincy. If the monk's intel is accurate, this fight is going to be a nightmare."
Urahara nodded. "Shinigami fights are contests of reiatsu. Quincy rely on strange techniques and reishi control. We'll be fighting at a disadvantage."
"Bankai can compensate, but I wouldn't rule out the enemy having countermeasures."
Shunsui made an exaggerated gasp. "If that's true, we're in trouble. Speaking of which, will the Royal Guard send backup?"
If anyone but Shunsui said it, Yamamoto would've smacked them through a wall.
"We are not getting reinforcements."
'Well… except for Aizen's Espada,' Urahara thought privately.
Now that he considered it, when Aizen wasn't an enemy, Kyōka Suigetsu was awesome… That thought evaporated when Yamamoto's intense gaze suddenly pinned him in place.
"…?"
'Why are you looking at me? I can't magically produce reinforcements. All my trump cards are used up. At best I have Isshin Kurosaki and Ryuken Ishida, and those are my emergency backups!' Urahara's face twitched.
"Chojiro," Yamamoto said, "tell the captains not to use Bankai immediately, unless it's absolutely safe. We must avoid falling for their tricks."
Then he narrowed his eyes at Urahara again.
"If the enemy interferes with Bankai, can you produce a countermeasure within one hour… no, within half an hour?"
Boss, are you serious? Urahara stared.
Half an hour? To reverse-engineer Quincy tech? Why don't you just ask me to pick some stars while you're at it?
"I'll… do my best."
The words had barely left his mouth.
Yamamoto and Shunsui's eyes sharpened.
The world shifted.
Like a field spell in a card game, the traditional First Division vanished, replaced by cold, white marble architecture straight out of Europe.
Yhwach had invaded.
"Sigh~ We've lost the first move." Urahara gave a bitter laugh, drawing his Zanpakutō.
Across from him, standing with long black hair, a harsh face, and burning red eyes, was the man glaring at Yamamoto with icy hatred.
The Father of the Quincy.
Yhwach.
.
.
.