The main hall of Silberg.
Outside on the battlefield, Sternritters were being killed one after another, yet Yhwach remained calmly seated, as if fishing.
Uryū tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, it seems they can't stop the Shinigami as things stand. Do we really not need to intervene?"
He couldn't understand Yhwach's purpose and thoughts. Why keep the strongest few idle, only saying to wait quietly? What exactly were they waiting for?
Could it be that Yhwach hadn't regained his full power at this moment?
"No need. Let them stall the Shinigami. We're leaving."
Yhwach seemed to sense something and finally rose from his throne.
The shadow beneath him gradually elongated, enveloping the four members of the Schutzstaffel, Haschwalth, and Uryū. Their figures gradually vanished.
...
"This is Seireitei!"
Uryū exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the familiar surroundings.
The battle was happening in the Wandenreich, so why were they in Seireitei? For a sneak attack?
"Indeed, but our target isn't Seireitei, but... the Soul King Palace."
As he spoke, Yhwach looked up at the sky.
In the sky, two golden lights were rapidly descending, like meteors.
Uryū asked, "But don't you need the Ōken to enter the Soul King Palace?"
"That's just the conventional method. Kuchiki and Abarai, who were training in the Soul King Palace, are now forcefully breaking through the barriers to return to Seireitei. These seventy-two barriers will take time to self-repair, creating a 6000-second window."
After speaking, Yhwach gave an order, "Haschwalth."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Haschwalth stepped forward, drew his sword, and a blue pillar of light rose, enveloping everyone.
—
Schatten Bereich.
After dealing with the obstructing Quincy, Shin, Ikaros, and Unohana successfully reached the main hall of Silberg. However, it was already empty.
Shin knew that Yhwach must have already gone to the Soul King Palace, so he had to act as well.
"Retsu, let's quickly return to Seireitei."
Unohana nodded.
If Yhwach wasn't in the Wandenreich, there was only one other place he could be—Seireitei.
The three of them were the first to return to Seireitei through the Reishi pathway.
SRDI.
Seeing Unohana and Shin return, Akon hurried forward, "Captain-Commander, Nohara-sama, Yhwach has appeared with his Quincy subordinates. Their target is the Soul King Palace."
Due to the unique nature of the Schatten Bereich, their signals couldn't get through.
Akon added, "Captain Kuchiki and Captain Otoribashi, as well as Urahara-san, are all over there now."
By the time the three arrived, Yhwach and his group had already ascended into mid-air.
Byakuya and Rōjūrō were leading the Shinigami in attacking the pillar of light.
Rukia and Renji, who had just returned from the Soul King Palace, as well as Kisuke, who hadn't participated in the attack, were all present.
Yhwach noticed Shin and Unohana had arrived, and he spoke, "It's useless. We are now in the same space as the Soul King Palace. Your attacks cannot reach us."
"Cease attack." Unohana commanded.
Then, she looked at Yhwach again and asked, "Yhwach, has your goal always been the Soul King Palace?"
Yhwach nodded. "Indeed. After I destroy the Soul King Palace, I will return to flatten Seireitei."
The previous attack on Seireitei was merely to accumulate power.
"Speaking of which, I must thank Kuchiki and Abarai. It is precisely because you broke through these seventy-two barriers that we were able to enter the Soul King Palace."
"Damn it!" Renji gritted his teeth.
He hadn't expected that their urgent descent to provide support would be exploited by Yhwach.
Meanwhile, Rukia saw a familiar figure behind Yhwach—Uryū.
Uryū remained expressionless, showing no intention of speaking.
"Uryū, aren't you going to say your final goodbyes?" Yhwach was aware of all of Uryū's past.
Uryū said coldly, "No need. I have already said goodbye to the past."
Yhwach nodded and taking the others with him, vanished from everyone's sight.
The pillar of light also disappeared.
This scene was eerily familiar, exactly like when Aizen betrayed them years ago.
"This is going to be troublesome. I hope the members of the Royal Guard can stop Yhwach."
Even facing such a situation, Kisuke maintained his usual carefree demeanor.
Renji said unwillingly, "Are we just going to stand here and watch?"
Unohana sensed that Urahara seemed to be hiding something and asked directly, "Urahara-san, you haven't been idle, have you?"
"Oh dear, the Captain-Commander found me out."
Kisuke then became serious. "Captain Kurotsuchi has built a replica of Kakaku Taihō in the 12th Division, a cannon platform that can reach the Soul King Palace."
"Because Kakaku Taihō is a secret technique inherited by the Shiba clan, it's not easily replicated. Captain Kurotsuchi's replica has limited effectiveness and can only be used once."
"Moreover, it requires special energy to activate, but I have already sent the Visored to collect it."
Shin interjected, "Then you can gather more people and come later. I'll try to go up first."
6000 seconds wasn't a long time, he didn't have much time to waste.
After speaking, he had Ikaros carry him and fly off, disappearing in the blink of an eye. However, he didn't go directly to the Soul King Palace but instead went to a high altitude somewhere in Seireitei.
Aizen, Kaname, and the Fourth Espada were there.
"Shin, long time no see." Aizen greeted.
Shin nodded in acknowledgment and asked, "Are there no others?"
"The other Arrancar are inside the 'Garganta de la Negación.' I've modified it."
The Garganta de la Negación was a special tool Aizen bestowed upon the Espada. Previously, it could permanently seal Arrancar other than the Espada in a dimensional space, serving as a means of punishing subordinates.
Now, Aizen had modified it, transforming it into a temporary space for holding people.
"Good, time is short, let's hurry."
Knowing there were enough people, Shin felt relieved.
"Then I'll explain the plan. Tōsen, your target is the Zero Division's Riden. While Yhwach is occupied with the Zero Division members, completely destroy the Riden."
Only now did Aizen reveal the complete plan to Kaname and the others.
Seeing that none of them understood the intention, Shin explained, "The Riden are the foundation of the Zero Division. Only by completely destroying them can the Zero Division members be truly killed."
"After that, our only target will be Yhwach."
"That's it. Let's go."