Yamamoto remained silent for a long time.
Gradually, everyone present sensed that something was wrong. Could it be that in the battle a thousand years ago, the Quincy had truly been hiding their strength?
"Sawada Tsunayoshi , if The Almighty truly exists, is it possible that our current discussion could be exposed?"
Whether it was a difference in strength or a matter of pride, what Yamamoto cared about most was Yhwach's threat. If Tsuna's theory proved correct, then Yhwach would become the greatest danger the Soul Society had ever faced.
"Before the meeting began, I had the shopkeeper isolate the First Division conference room. No information will leak into the shadows."
"As for the intelligence of everyone in the Seireitei, it's probably already been exposed long ago," Tsuna sighed. "Besides, I don't possess The Almighty myself. I have no idea where the limits of that ability lie."
"But we can't simply refuse to face an enemy because they're powerful, can we? That guy Yhwach intends to merge the Three Worlds and return everything to chaos."
"You could say that every living being in the Three Worlds—humans, Shinigami, and even Hollows—is his enemy. All I can do is increase my own strength as much as possible and confront that so-called Almighty with overwhelming power."
After sighing, Tsuna leaned back in his chair.
Yhwach's strength was truly terrifying. Ever since Tsuna entered this world, the original course of events had already become unpredictable. Ichigo might not necessarily be able to recreate the brilliance of that final strike. The only thing Tsuna could do now was strengthen himself and his allies.
"Two years… Very well. I am willing to try believing you, Sawada Tsunayoshi ," Yamamoto said.
To someone who had lived for a thousand years, wagering two years was nothing.
But in the next moment, Yamamoto changed his tone.
"However, I have one condition—"
"Hold it!" Tsuna immediately interrupted. "This concerns the very survival of the Soul Society. There's no point in negotiating conditions with me."
"It is nothing difficult. I simply wish for you to hold a nominal position within the Gotei 13. There will be no work requirements, your salary will be paid as usual, and your status will be equal to mine. Whenever you have time, simply give some guidance to the Shinigami."
Everyone present—except the captains—stared at Yamamoto with widened eyes. They could not understand why he would offer such conditions.
The other captains, however, remained calm. Having witnessed yesterday's clash, the proposal did not surprise them in the slightest.
"Uh…"
Tsuna rubbed his chin and considered it.
It sounded like he had no reason to refuse. No work required, yet still paid—where else could one find such a good deal?
Besides, when he had time was something only he could decide.
"Alright… fine."
Tsuna reluctantly agreed.
What he didn't notice was the faint, satisfied smile hidden beneath Yamamoto's thick beard.
"Vice-Captain Chōjirō Sasakibe, from this day onward appoint Sawada Tsunayoshi as the Chief Instructor of the Gotei 13. Inform everyone after the meeting concludes."
In Yamamoto's mind, getting Tsuna's agreement was all that mattered. He had been wondering how to pull Tsuna onto the Gotei 13's side, and now he could make use of Tsuna's apparent attachment to them and give him an official title.
Yamamoto had no idea why this teenage boy seemed to harbor personal feelings toward the Gotei 13, but as long as it worked, that was enough.
Once Tsuna agreed, it hardly mattered whether the Quincy threat was entirely true. Even if Tsuna were exaggerating wildly, trading two years of Seireitei lockdown for a warrior whose strength rivaled his own was absolutely worth it.
And when Tsuna eventually returned to the Soul Society after his death decades later, he would naturally become a true member of the Gotei 13.
"Now then, Sawada Tsunayoshi . Let us continue. Assuming Yhwach will lead the Quincy in a resurgence, how should we defend against them?"
Tsuna still had no idea he had just been subtly maneuvered by the old man Yamamoto.
He signaled Urahara Kisuke to switch the display to another image.
Two symbols appeared: a metallic circular badge and the figure of a person with wings spread wide.
"Among the Quincy, aside from Yhwach himself, the others are just as troublesome. They are called the Sternritter. Each of them possesses a unique Schrift ability."
"You can think of them as the Quincy equivalent of a Shinigami's Zanpakutō."
"On top of that, they have a further transformation that greatly enhances their power. They call it Vollständig. You can roughly compare it to a Shinigami's Bankai."
"The single wing Uryū displayed before can be considered a half-completed Vollständig. The Vollständig possessed by the Wandenreich is far more complete—and far more powerful."
At these words, everyone's gaze shifted toward Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Mayuri's face darkened.
After all, the fact that he had been severely injured by Uryū—who only had a half-finished form—was practically known throughout the Seireitei.
By using Uryū as an example, Tsuna made it clear to everyone that Vollständig granted power at least on the Captain-Class level.
At that moment, both the captains and the other attendees finally understood why they had been invited to this meeting.
Judging by the power scale involved, anyone below captain level truly had no qualification to participate.
Among them, YAyasegawa Yumichika stared intently at Tsuna, his eyes filled with curiosity.
Why did he have the right to attend this meeting?
Did this human truly possess the ability to foresee the future?
Yumichika didn't understand.
Even Madarame Ikkaku—his closest companion—didn't know Yumichika's secret.
So how could this outsider know anything?
"And the number of Sternritter possessing both a Schrift and Vollständig should be around twenty-five… or possibly more."
Truthfully, Tsuna didn't know the exact number of Sternritter. He had simply estimated based on the alphabet system. After all, he only clearly remembered a few of the more prominent Quincy from the Thousand-Year Blood War.
"Twenty-five?" Yamamoto's sharp gaze swept across the room.
"If we combine the forces of the Soul Society and the Human World, that number is just manageable…"
Using the simplest calculation, thirteen captains alone were far from enough.
Fortunately, there were also many powerful officers present, as well as potential assistance from the living world.
Thinking of this, Yamamoto's gaze toward Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryū softened considerably.
Having grudges was good. It meant that when it came to fighting Yhwach, they stood on the same side.
"If only it were that simple."
Tsuna pointed to the star-shaped badge displayed beside the image and poured cold water over the room.
"See that emblem? That thing can steal Bankai."
His words detonated in the room like a depth charge.
The once-quiet meeting hall erupted into noise—questions, doubts, and discussions rising all at once.
"So now you understand why I said you're only slightly better than cannon fodder," Tsuna continued calmly.
"If you lose your Bankai, the only divisions that can still maintain sufficient combat strength are probably the Second Division, Third Division, Fifth Division, Ninth Division, and Twelfth Division, right?"
"Tsuna… what are you implying?" Shinji Hirako immediately sensed the implication.
Aside from Soi Fon's Shunkō and Mayuri's technology, the former Visored captains would all fall into that remaining combat category.
"Can Hollow powers resist the theft of Bankai?" Kyōraku Shunsui immediately asked.
The entire room fell silent.
Traditionally, Shinigami and Hollows were mortal enemies. Because of that mindset, even after the Visored returned to the Seireitei, they rarely used their Hollow powers and subconsciously resisted doing so.
Yet in the face of the Quincy, everything seemed reversed.
Hollowfication suddenly became a valuable asset.
Did that mean everyone would need to undergo Hollowfication once?
According to the records of the incident years ago, Shinji and the others had nearly turned into monsters during the process. It had been a near-death experience.
Yamamoto silently calculated in his mind.
Whether it was surpassing Bankai or preventing it from being stolen, the power of Hollows seemed to be a crucial factor.
At that moment, Yamamoto suddenly recalled a term Tsuna had mentioned before.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi … Have you already prepared something? That substance called the Shadow Invasion Pill?"
Tsuna grinned and nodded toward Urahara, signaling him to explain.
"The Shadow Invasion Pill was developed based on Tsuna's suggestion," Urahara began.
"Because everything related to Hollows is essentially poison to Quincy, I attempted to create a tool that mixes a trace amount of Hollow Reiatsu into a Shinigami's Reiatsu."
"Since the amount of Hollow power is extremely small, a Shinigami who uses it won't lose control through Hollowfication. At the same time, they will temporarily acquire certain Hollow traits—allowing them to resist the Bankai-stealing medallion."
"However, because we have not located any Quincy from the Wandenreich and lack an actual medallion for testing, the Shadow Invasion Pill can only be considered a prototype. I cannot guarantee that this method will truly counter Bankai theft."
"A prototype, and you still dare present it here?" Mayuri sneered.
Only Mayuri would openly criticize Urahara at a time like this.
Urahara simply chuckled awkwardly and didn't argue.
Ever since releasing Mayuri from the Maggot's Nest, he had long been familiar with the man's temperament.
In truth, the Shadow Invasion Pill was already very close to completion. All it lacked was a final test using a real medallion.
"So with Urahara's Shadow Invasion Pill allowing us to use Bankai, does that mean our overall strength would roughly match the Wandenreich?" Jūshirō Ukitake asked, raising his hand.
"War isn't a simple exchange of equal pieces," Tsuna replied calmly.
"The Sternritter's Schrift abilities are closer to conceptual powers. Even if you know their abilities beforehand… forgive my bluntness, but with the current strength of the captains, even trading one-for-one may be difficult."
His words immediately provoked dissatisfaction from most people in the room.
No one enjoyed hearing their side being belittled.
Tsuna had expected this reaction.
He motioned again to Urahara, who activated the display. A series of strangely abstract illustrations appeared in the center of the table.
"These are the pieces of information I still remember. I'll leave the explanation to the shopkeeper."
Back when Tsuna had come clean to Urahara Kisuke in the Human World, he had already dumped every bit of Sternritter information he could remember.
Since he had only read the Thousand-Year Blood War arc in manga form, his memories were fragmented. Still, he clearly remembered several representative Quincy.
For example:
Lille Barro, the one-eyed, winged QuincyGerard Valkyrie, who was ultimately defeated by his own king James, whose existence gave Kensei Muguruma his infamous reputationAnd the zombie-creating girl Giselle Gewelle
Tsuna handed all the intelligence to Urahara for organization, then supplemented it with these crude sketches.
As Urahara explained the information one by one, the expressions of everyone present gradually turned grim.
They were beginning to realize that Tsuna's warnings were not baseless exaggerations.
Even with knowledge of the Quincy's abilities in advance, the war that awaited them would still be incredibly difficult.
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