Chapter 141: Those Who Returned
In the boundless desert, a lizard-like Hollow crawled out from beneath one of the ever-present quartz trees. It glanced around, seemingly checking its surroundings, when it suddenly sensed something. It looked up in terror, then hurriedly burrowed back into the sand.
The next moment, a figure dropped from the sky with a heavy thud, smashing through a quartz tree and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
"...Instead of sending us back to where we were, it just threw us out? It really is as tyrannical and absurdly rough as it was at the start. Still, getting back at all is better than anything."
Ichigo lay in the sand pit, gritting his teeth as he complained. Before the tightness in his chest from the impact could fade, he suddenly sensed something and looked up. His expression changed at once.
"Hey! Wait...!"
"Waaaaaaaaah...!"
Another person came crashing down from the sky.
Screaming tearfully the whole way, she dropped like a meteor and landed right on top of Ichigo.
Boom!
Sand blasted in every direction, and from the now even larger pit came a mix of coughing, cries of pain, and furious bickering.
"Rukia, you idiot, don't you look where you're going?!"
"I was flying in the sky! How was I supposed to look where I was going?! Besides, do you think I wanted to fall out of the sky? I got blasted away during the fight! I couldn't control my body at all!"
"Who wasn't fighting!? I got beaten up pretty badly too, okay? I was just starting to feel better, and then you dropped on me and now my whole body feels like it's falling apart!"
"You bastard, what exactly are you implying?! Logically, you should have caught me! Instead, you're saying your body is falling apart because my petite and delicate frame hit you? If that's the case, then you should reflect on whether your training is insufficient!"
"Damn... I feel like your tongue got way sharper while I wasn't seeing you. You're almost catching up to Takeru."
"It's a long story and not something I can explain in a few words, but I'm still nowhere near Takeru... More importantly, did you receive the intelligence?"
"Yeah, I got it. That's why I charged straight into the Wandenreich. Together with Sensei, the old man, and Captain Kyoraku, we finally managed to drive Yhwach away."
"Drive him away?"
"Yeah. It looks like he fled toward Europe, but after that, I couldn't help anymore."
"That makes sense. At that level, even if you wanted to stay, it wouldn't be easy... Besides, the situation here is the most urgent. I just don't know how far the battle has progressed."
Rukia climbed out of the sand pit first, then reached out and pulled Ichigo up, her voice thick with concern.
"If it's Takeru, then even if he can't defeat the enemy, he'll definitely hold on until we get back. I firmly believe that... Cough, cough!"
Ichigo had only just finished speaking when he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Seeing that, Rukia immediately moved to support him, her face full of worry.
"Ichigo, are you okay?!"
"I told you, your crash really did a number on me. But this little bit of injury is nothing."
"...That would sound a lot more convincing if you didn't look like that."
It was no wonder Rukia said that.
Anyone looking at Ichigo now would know at a glance that he had just gone through a brutal bloodbath. His shinigami uniform was in tatters, the blood on his forehead had already dried, and he looked thoroughly miserable. Even his aura was noticeably weakened.
"Don't worry about that. The priority is leaving Hueco Mundo and reinforcing the Soul Society..."
Ichigo closed his eyes and carefully sensed the area for a moment before opening them again and looking toward Las Noches.
A large number of Shinigami spiritual pressures were gathered there.
As expected, Las Noches had become a second camp for the Shinigami in Hueco Mundo, which meant there was a high chance a route back to the Soul Society had already been established.
Ichigo was not the only one to think of that.
The others who had returned also quickly calmed down after landing and made the same judgment.
An hour later, more than twenty returning Shinigami had gathered inside Las Noches under the leadership of Yamamoto Genryusai.
"Is everyone here?"
There was no time for long-awaited reunions or excessive pleasantries.
Yamamoto Genryusai stood there with a solemn face, his gaze sweeping over the group.
"Other than Captain Takeru, all of the core combatants who departed earlier are present."
Retsu Unohana gave an immediate and firm reply.
"Very well..."
Thump.
His cane struck the ground.
Yamamoto Genryusai's eyes, usually narrowed to slits, opened completely. The terrifying brilliance within them made it hard to tell whether it was killing intent or fury.
It no longer mattered.
Because the people before him were no gentler. Their faces were taut, and the spiritual pressure rolling off them carried a distinct chill.
"A reunion after a long absence is indeed worthy of celebration, and the fact that no one is missing can be called a blessing amid disaster. But now is not the time for joy. At this moment, the Soul Society is facing the greatest crisis it has seen in a thousand years. The situation is both dire and urgent!"
"Put everything else aside. All personnel, hear my command! Follow me and reinforce the Soul Society! In the name of the Gotei 13, we swear to slaughter every last invading enemy!"
"Yes!!"
The crowd answered in one unified roar.
At that exact moment, a spiritual pressure fluctuation rippled through the hall.
The passage had been completed.
They were currently gathered in the same hall where Urahara had once constructed a senkaimon to make his escape. In that very same location, a Garganta passage now opened.
Tsukabishi Tessai was crouched beside it. Relying on his own strength alone, he had effectively replaced both the Kido Corps and the Technical Development Bureau's reishi apparatus, opening and stabilizing the route in the shortest possible time.
Many of those present could not help but murmur inwardly, wondering who this "uncle who looked overwhelmingly strong at first glance" really was.
Others glanced at him once, then withdrew their eyes as if they understood perfectly and needed no explanation.
Suì Feng was one of them.
"Captain, do you know that guy?"
Seeing that no one was going to speak first, Omaeda could not help but ask in a low voice.
"That is not something you need concern yourself with."
Suì Feng's reply was curt and carried an unmistakable impatience.
She had finally waited for the Captain Commander to step into the Garganta, and intended to be the second one through without wasting a single breath, but Ichigo shot past her in a blur and nearly slammed into her.
In the past, she definitely would have glared at him.
Now, she did not even have the luxury of being petty.
Ichigo went in first, and Suì Feng followed right behind him. After them came Komamura, Toshiro, Byakuya, and the others, along with their lieutenants.
"Thanks~"
As he ran past with Ukitake, Kyoraku pressed down on the brim of his straw hat and spoke with a lazy smile.
Tessai knew exactly who those words were meant for. Though he gave no reply, he still watched the retreating figures in silence.
Then a voice sounded at his side.
"Yo, Tessai. I didn't expect you to come too."
"Lady Yoruichi. It is a blessing that you are safe. May I ask whether you saw the shopkeeper during your time in Hueco Mundo?"
"I knew you'd ask that. I couldn't say it with so many people around... Kisuke, that guy, seems to have made up his mind to gamble on something. It's rare to see him that determined, so I'm guessing he'll remain an absentee boss for quite a while."
Yoruichi scanned the hall as she spoke, as if recalling the scene from back then, then shook her head.
"Although everyone made it back, the teleportation was too chaotic. People ended up being thrown all over Las Noches, so Tosen and Gin also slipped away. But I don't think anyone has the spare attention to chase them down right now."
"You could call this expedition a failure. It really does make one sigh over how unpredictable the world can be... Anyway, I should get moving too. I'll leave this place in your hands for a little longer. I'll also say a few good things about you in front of the Captain Commander later. Though honestly, considering he didn't give you any trouble just now, even if I don't say anything, the chances of the old man digging up old grudges are already low. After all, you stepped forward when the rest of us were gone."
"My stepping forward amounts to very little... Lord Takeru is the one who truly deserves the credit."
Tessai also shook his head with a sigh, and there was unmistakable admiration in his voice.
"Yeah... and that's exactly why everyone's rushing back like this. No matter what, we can't let a guy who worked this hard sacrifice himself. But it's already the seventh day since we left. I heard from Akin that Takeru fought his way alone into the Wandenreich and has been holding Yhwach and the others inside all this time so they couldn't come out. Even if he's still alive right now, his situation can't possibly be good. Tsk..."
With that, Yoruichi took a breath and dove into the Garganta.
Watching the passage close behind her, Tsukabishi Tessai slowly stood up and let out a long breath.
"This is all I can do. The rest... is up to all of you. I hope you can bring Lord Takeru back. This world cannot afford to lose someone like him. Otherwise, even wanting to live quietly and run a peaceful shop would become an unrealistic luxury."
...Soul Society, Seireitei.
At noon, under a rare patch of clear winter sunlight.
The shadows boiled.
Tremors pulsed through the ground from time to time.
And this had continued for seven straight days.
At first, the people had felt only unease and terror. Then, after learning the truth, anxiety followed. Eventually, they had no choice but to begin adapting to it, even accepting the reality that beneath their feet, inside those shadows, there was a battlefield no different from purgatory.
The Seireitei was like the lid over a hellish cauldron.
At any moment, it might overturn or be blasted sky-high.
And still, most people gritted their teeth, forced themselves to calm down, and kept working to repair what had been destroyed, hoping that when a certain someone returned in triumph, he would see a thriving Seireitei waiting for him.
But for Yamamoto Genryusai and the others, who had arrived before anyone else, calm was impossible the moment they sensed what filled the Seireitei.
"The reishi is in complete chaos. It feels like a day choked in smog."
Aizen adjusted his glasses. Yet rather than looking down at the shadows, he lifted his gaze toward the sky, as though the entire Soul Society were reflected in his eyes. From that alone, he seemed to read the truth as if deciphering lines in the palm of a hand.
"Hiss...!"
Beside him, Hinamori Momo, Nanao, Rangiku, and Isane all sucked in sharp breaths.
Just like Orihime before them, the moment they stepped out of the underground research facility, they were overwhelmed by the tragic sight of the Seireitei before them.
"Dammit...!"
Toshiro's brows drew tightly together, his expression dark.
The others looked much the same.
Ichigo fell silent.
Byakuya's face was colder than frost.
Komamura's teeth audibly ground together.
Renji's eyes burned with anger.
Kyoraku lowered his hat and sighed.
Ukitake wore a grave expression.
Kenpachi snorted coldly.
Yachiru's small face scrunched up.
Shuhei and Kira pressed their lips together tightly, their knuckles turning white around their sword hilts.
Before arriving, they had already sought out Akin and learned the details of the Seireitei Defense Battle. They had some idea of the current state of the Seireitei.
But knowing and seeing were two entirely different things.
Half of the division districts had been reduced to rubble.
That meant nearly a quarter of the Seireitei had been destroyed.
Even the Pure Realm Chapter explosion a thousand years ago had not brought devastation to this degree.
Compared to that, the damage from past rebellions, illegal incidents, Gin's defection, Tosen's betrayal, or Arturo's prison break, each while everyone fought their own separate battles, did not even amount to one-tenth of what had happened this time.
And even those lesser disasters had demanded enormous time, manpower, and resources to repair.
But this was not the moment for counting losses.
"Mayuri! Is it ready yet?!"
Unable to restrain herself, Suì Feng shouted toward the entrance of the underground lab.
"Stop shouting! Do you have any idea what kind of mess someone turned my lab into? I had to spend quite a bit of effort just cleaning it up..."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi emerged from the stairway below with a black look on his face.
Meeting the expectant gazes of everyone, he said heavily, "There is one piece of good news and one piece of bad news."
"The good news is that there is a way to reach the Wandenreich through Hueco Mundo. The bad news is... opening a brand-new passage will take time."
"How much time?"
Yamamoto Genryusai spoke only those few words.
"At least one day. Two, if things go badly."
The answer made everyone's hearts sink.
Under ordinary circumstances, one or two days would have seemed almost miraculous. They might even have praised Mayuri's skill for finding a way into the hidden Wandenreich, concealed for a thousand years, in so little time.
But now, every second mattered.
Another day or two might mean the difference between everything and nothing.
Suì Feng stayed silent for several seconds, then her spiritual pressure surged explosively.
"Ban...!"
"What are you trying to do, Suì Feng?!"
"Don't stop me! I'm going to blast the shadows open!"
"What?! Are you crazy?! How could that possibly work?!"
As Suì Feng and Yoruichi began arguing, Mayuri Kurotsuchi surprisingly nodded in agreement.
"Blowing open the shadows is theoretically possible. Since reishi from the other side is already being transmitted here, that proves the two places are connected. If one finds the proper method, then forcing open a hole and crawling in is not impossible."
"But unfortunately, the proper method is still unknown. And working it out will also take time."
"A hole...?"
Ichigo's heart stirred.
Quincy blood flowed through his veins.
Zangetsu, as his Zanpakuto, had already shown the ability to manipulate shadows.
If he combined that with Hollow White's Hollow powers, then maybe, just maybe, together with what Mayuri had just said, he could force something open.
But before he could speak, someone else was faster.
"I have a way."
The voice did not belong to anyone standing there.
And yet, for a select few present, it was not unfamiliar at all.
A figure condensed in the air.
It was a handsome, refined man.
"Zaraki Kyougen?"
"You are...!"
"Zaraki Kyouya?"
"...!"
Zaraki's sudden appearance triggered intense reactions from the gathered crowd.
Kenpachi and Retsu Unohana both wore expressions far too subtle to describe easily.
Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Yoruichi, the old acquaintances who knew his history, all froze.
"Zaraki Kyouya..."
Yamamoto Genryusai fixed him with a long, steady look.
"I will temporarily set aside the matter of Takeru bringing you, a prisoner of Muken, onto the battlefield without authorization. Right now, I only want to know what this method of yours is."
"...For the Captain Commander, who has always acted as a gear in the machinery of the Soul Society and never displayed personal feeling, to become so open-minded. Time truly is capable of everything... However, that same truth applies to me as well. No... to all of us."
Zaraki Kyouya smiled faintly.
Then—
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
Several figures appeared one after another beside him.
They were Amagai, Koga, Ashido, Mebari, and Yushima Oshu.
Together with Zaraki himself, the six of them had all recovered their spiritual power. The strength of the Reiatsu rolling off them, combined with their unique identities, was enough to make everyone look at them differently.
For a moment, the atmosphere turned heavy and tense.
Then Zaraki Kyouya spoke.
"Let's begin."
Amagai drew his anti-Quincy makakyo blade and plunged it into the nearest patch of shadow.
The shadow twisted violently, as though a vital point had just been stabbed.
Then Koga and Ashido placed their hands on Mebari's shoulders, allowing him to absorb their spiritual power and activate his unique spatial transfer ability.
Back then, he had used that very hand to summon Hollows and shift positions, trading blows with Ichigo all through Karakura Town.
The boiling, distorted shadow gradually took on the shape of a basin, and it appeared surprisingly stable.
Then Zaraki Kyouya extended his hand. He fused his own reishi with the stabilized shadow and tore it open.
Finally, Yushima Oshu stepped forward and activated his Shikai, using his spatial-manipulation ability to absorb reishi while forcing open a path from that breach toward another space.
"This really is..."
Seeing that scene, everyone present was visibly shaken.
"Watching this group cooperate really does make it feel like I'm dreaming."
Ukitake quietly voiced what everyone else was thinking.
At that moment, Yamamoto Genryusai stood and issued the order without hesitation.
"The path is open. Move out!"
Suì Feng cared nothing for who these people were.
This time, she was the first to leap into the pitch-black void.
The others followed one after another.
"..."
Byakuya passed by Koga.
The two exchanged a single glance, then each turned away and continued forward, walking the path they believed to be right.
"Mebari, Koga, everyone... thank you!"
Ichigo shouted as he plunged into the opening.
At the very rear, Yamamoto Genryusai paused and looked toward the six of them.
Something like nostalgia flickered in his eyes, as if he were seeing the shadows of old comrades reflected there.
Once, long ago, he too had gathered companions and stood against a villain wrapped in false glory.
Now, the years had passed. The times had changed.
Not only had he failed to protect the Seireitei, but he had left the younger generation to bear the burden of a thousand-year-old evil consequence that should have been ended long ago.
Truly...
...unworthy of the title of the strongest Shinigami of a thousand years.
For a fleeting moment, Yamamoto Genryusai sighed inwardly, then tightened his grip on his cane.
Instantly, the outer shell of the cane fell away and revealed an ancient longsword beneath.
No matter what came after, the evil he had failed to erase had to be cut down first.
"Yhwach... this old man has come... to slay you once more!"
Behind them, Mochizuki and the others remained where they were, along with Isshin, Tsubakabe, Okiga, and Nayura, silently watching them depart.
TL: Check out my newly released fanfic
Germany: The Thousand Year Empire
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