"Haschwalth?"
"He's definitely worthy of the ranking!"
"That's five consecutive Quincy spots!"
"The Shinigami must be spitting blood!"
Silbern erupted in excitement as Haschwalth's name appeared, all eyes turning to the cold, blond figure at the hall's peak.
"Haschwalth, congratulations! Show them a power so despairing it crushes the Shinigami's will!" Gerard laughed arrogantly, his confidence bolstered by his own Miracle.
"Exactly! After this, the Shinigami will surrender without a fight!" Lille added, his tone haughty.
Haschwalth remained impassive, his icy demeanor unchanged by the ranking or his sixth-place position.
The subtitles faded, and the scene shifted.
Splash!
Torrential rain poured, soaking the screen and washing away pools of blood, forming a chilling river of crimson.
"This is… the Soul Society!"
The burning division barracks, even under the rain, were unmistakable—the Seireitei.
"Damn it! The war really started in the Seireitei!" Sasakibe Chōjirō gritted his teeth, punching a wall.
The rankings had clarified the war's progression: from the Seireitei to the Soul King's Palace, ending in Silbern.
"Don't lose your temper, Chōjirō," Yamamoto said, unusually calm. "This is good news in a way."
"Good news?" Sasakibe blinked.
Yamamoto nodded. "Knowing the war's path means we don't need to speculate. We just need to do one thing—find the Wandenreich's hiding spot and eliminate them before the war reaches the Seireitei!"
His piercing gaze cut to the heart of the matter.
In the video, a furious roar echoed:
"Stop! You've turned the Soul Society into a mess and killed so many Shinigami! You think I'll let you leave, Yhwach?!"
The camera panned to a young face—Kurosaki Ichigo.
"It's… Ichigo?!"
At the Urahara Shop, Isshin Kurosaki's hair stood on end. "What's going on? Ichigo's caught up in this war? Wasn't he fighting Byakuya at the Twin Execution Hills?"
Panic gripped him.
"Isshin, it looks like Ichigo becomes an ally of the Gotei 13, even a savior," Urahara said, frowning.
No other Shinigami were present, and Ichigo's shouts suggested he was facing Yhwach alone, likely at the war's end as Yhwach prepared to retreat.
"Ichigo… a Shinigami ally?" Isshin muttered, his lips trembling, unable to believe it.
Seeing his son in such danger, no amount of composure could ease his dread.
What if Ichigo was killed?
The thought aged him ten years in an instant.
The camera shifted, focusing on Yhwach and his blond aide—Jugram Haschwalth.
Urahara squinted, studying Haschwalth. His reserved demeanor and concealed spiritual pressure made him hard to read.
"Ichigo isn't about to charge them alone, is he?" Isshin's face turned green.
Sure enough—
"Stop, Yhwach! I said stop!"
Rain battered Ichigo's face as he roared, but Yhwach didn't pause.
Driven by rage, Ichigo raised Zangetsu and slashed at Yhwach's back.
"It's over…" Isshin closed his eyes, unable to watch.
"As a descendant of pure-blood Quincies, what gives you the courage to raise your blade against His Majesty, betraying the Quincy ancestor?"
Haschwalth's scolding tone stopped Ichigo cold. Drawing his Sternritter sword, he swung—
Clang!
Zangetsu snapped, its black blade clattering to the ground.
Ichigo stood frozen, staring at the broken sword. "My Zanpakutō… broke?!"
Despair and grief consumed him, the rain mirroring his emotions.
In the real world, at Karakura High, Ichigo's horrified shout echoed:
"What?! When did I become a Quincy descendant?!"
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