Beltz first sent Rukia back to Wano, then returned to Hueco Mundo. With Harald and Kong, he could now formally establish "Abyss." Since Harald currently possessed a demonic "immortality," Beltz felt he could finally act without restraint.
"This time, the opponents you face might be the most terrifying in your hundreds of years of life," Beltz said to Harald with a grave expression.
Seeing Beltz so serious, Harald locked in. He had heard of and witnessed Beltz's power—destroying the Holy Land and battling the Five Elders at Aurust Castle. For Beltz to speak this way, the coming enemies must be monstrous.
"Just say it. You saved me; my life is already yours!" Harald was serious but showed no fear. Since meeting Ida, he had abandoned evil for good. Even pirates have honor, let alone a "Wise King" like him.
"Don't worry, I'm not sending you to die. If there's danger, I'll bring you to Wano," Beltz said. "I just need you to draw their fire. It won't take long. I'll explain the rest on the way."
Beltz wanted the Three Worlds to know of Harald's existence, further validating the earlier appearance of the Five Elders. Since Harald had to make a move, Beltz wasn't going to waste the opportunity. He planned to use Harald to distract the Gotei 13 while he slipped into the estate of the Tsunayashiro Family.
The Tsunayashiro Family was the head of the Five Noble Families, but their status didn't matter to Beltz—he wasn't a Shinigami, so their authority meant nothing to him. What he valued was the accumulation of the family's million-year history. According to the light novels, the Tsunayashiro household held a massive amount of Soul King Fragments.
These fragments were what Beltz truly wanted. They were a primary raw material for the Hogyoku. Once he removed the Hogyoku from Rukia, he would only have half of a complete one; he might need Vegapunk to manufacture the other half, and that required fragments. Even setting aside the Hogyoku, the fragments themselves were potent power boosters.
However, the Tsunayashiro were high-ranking nobles. Stealing from them using Psychological Invisibility was difficult. If he slipped up and was exposed, the Captains of the Gotei 13 would swarm him. He needed a diversion to pull their attention elsewhere.
Since the investigation into the "Five Elders" was ongoing, several Captains had already been dispatched to the Living World and Hueco Mundo. If Harald could occupy a few more, Beltz's theft would be much easier.
Harald didn't know what the Gotei 13 was, only that he'd be facing several powerful foes.
"Also, you can actually become a Shinigami now," Beltz told him. "You can snatch a Zanpakuto. Who knows, maybe you'll master Bankai someday."
"Zanpakuto?" Harald found himself hearing more and more terms he didn't understand. He was once the King of Elbaf, the world's greatest military power with an ancient history. Giants lived long lives and preserved history well; aside from the Void Century, Elbaf's library held most records from the last several thousand years. Yet since arriving in Hueco Mundo, he felt illiterate.
"Think of it as a type of Devil Fruit," Beltz explained. "But you develop the weapon's power yourself, and it has no weaknesses like sea water. Though they look small, a Zanpakuto expands with the user's Reiatsu. If you don't compress the blade's size, it'll be plenty big for you."
Normally, a Zanpakuto grows with power, but Shinigami shrink them by will—otherwise, Captain-level souls would be swinging swords the size of skyscrapers. For a sixty-meter giant like Harald, this was perfect.
Hearing of such divine weapons, Harald was shocked. Beltz spent the journey teaching him more about Soul Reapers. By the time they finished, they had arrived in the Soul Society.
Beltz applied a group Psychological Invisibility, hiding both himself and Harald. He also entered his Hybrid Form and condensed an Ice Mask over his face. This was a precaution; if he were exposed and lost his invisibility, he would appear in this form, ensuring no one recognized him. He didn't care about the Soul Reapers, but the Wandenreich was hiding in the shadows of the Seireitei, and he didn't want to be exposed to his fellow Quincies.
"Alright... right about here." Beltz led Harald to the edge of the Seireitei. Recalling the map, he said, "Try entering your Demon Form here. Someone will come for you. Just hold them back."
Harald nodded. "Understood. Go do what you need to do."
"One last thing," Beltz warned. "Most Captains prefer one-on-one fights, but if they gang up on you, don't try to be a hero. Just hold on."
"I know."
With that, Beltz deactivated Harald's invisibility and dove deeper into the Seireitei.
The moment Harald appeared at the edge, the Rukongai residents behind him were paralyzed with fear. Seeing his colossal frame, they assumed a Hollow had invaded and fled in terror. Harald ignored the civilians and, as instructed, unleashed his Demon Form!
"ARGH!" Harald roared, finally venting the demonic power he had never fully used. No mark of the Knights of God appeared on his arm; instead, like a "Domi Reversi" demonization, his already massive sixty-meter frame ballooned to over eighty meters! Sharp fangs grew from his mouth, and black wings sprouted from his back. He looked every bit the archdemon.
BOOM!
In this state, his power practically overflowed. Vast Reiryoku turned into lightning, crackling off his body. Conqueror's Haki! He unleashed a massive wave of Haki toward the town-like Seireitei, causing countless low-level Soul Reapers to collapse instantly. Even without his physical Giant body, this demonic power made him no weaker than he was before receiving the Depths Covenant.
The Seireitei detected him the moment he appeared, and the Haki alert made sure everyone felt it. The Captains currently in the city broke into cold sweats, shocked by the sheer scale of this power.
Currently, only about half of the Captains were present. To investigate the "Five Elders," three had gone to Hueco Mundo: Byakuya (6th Division), Isshin Shiba (10th Division), and Jushiro Ukitake (13th Division). These three were all linked to Rukia—her brother, her mentor's uncle, and her Captain. They were also secretly looking for her.
Meanwhile, three others were in the Living World: Soi Fon (2nd Division), Gin Ichimaru (3rd Division), and Sosuke Aizen (5th Division).
Six out of thirteen Captains were gone. Normally, this would leave the city vulnerable, but as long as Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto was there, nothing truly catastrophic would happen. Still, the emergence of an unknown faction was a top priority. They moved immediately toward Harald.
Feeling the movement of several Captain-level Reiatsu, Beltz felt relieved. He used his invisibility to reach the Tsunayashiro estate. Instead of relying solely on the "Sea of Collective Subconscious," he dived into the deep layers of the family members' minds to find the hidden locations of the fragments. His Subconscious ability was proving to be a godsend.
By the time he reached the estate, he had the coordinates. Most of the Tsunayashiro guards were mediocre in strength. Stealing the fragments should have been easy—at most, he'd be discovered while leaving, but no one could catch him once he decided to run.
The focus was now on Harald. Beltz was confident, but facing multiple Captains was risky. While many were honorable, someone like Shunsui—that "Old Silver Fox"—was still in the city and wouldn't mind a dirty fight.
The good news was that Yamamoto remained at the 1st Division barracks, just as planned. The 1st Division usually coordinated everything and guarded the Central 46 and the Muken (Great Underground Prison) below. If Yamamoto had left, Beltz might have been tempted to raid the 1st Division for records of the Oken (Royal Key) or try to release the prisoners in Muken.
He reached the Tsunayashiro vault, bypassing two guards who didn't notice a thing. Inside, he saw glittering treasures and Soul King Fragments pulsing with immense energy!
Perfect! Beltz smirked. It was almost too easy. These fragments were either scraped directly from the Soul King or extracted from souls over the eons. This pile was easily equivalent to an entire limb. (A Soul King's hand is roughly the level of the Schutzstaffel/Royal Guard).
He tried to pull the fragments into his shadow. But as they vanished, an alarm blared throughout the estate, likely a failsafe or a tracking seal on the fragments.
"..." Beltz didn't panic. He turned to leave.
"Who goes there?!" Before he could exit, a roar echoed. A middle-aged man wielding what looked like a standard Asauchi rushed toward him.
Tsk... spotted. Normally, a man of his level shouldn't have seen through the invisibility. Was it the fragments, or... that sword?
The sword was Enrakyoten, a unique heirloom like the Ise family's Shinken Hakkyoken. Its ability was terrifying: it could mimic the abilities of other Zanpakuto.
Facing this divine weapon, Beltz didn't dodge. "Let's test this... I've been wanting to use a divine tool like this too."
A new idea began to form in Beltz's mind...