— — — — — —
In an instant, a spiritual pressure as thick and suffocating as cement blanketed the entire chamber.
Crack—
The sharp sound rang out as Yamamoto crushed the cane in his hand, revealing the long-sealed Zanpakutō hidden inside.
It was only then, under the crushing weight of his Reiatsu, that some of the younger captains realized—his blade had been concealed within that cane all along.
Yamamoto narrowed his eyes, his voice ice-cold as he spoke.
"Who was it?"
Soul Society had always been a place ruled by might.
Research and development had never been its strength—only the Twelfth Division's R&D Bureau held any real technical prowess, and that had rested solely on the shoulders of Kisuke Urahara and Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Urahara had fled long ago, branded a criminal. That had left only Mayuri.
That's why, despite all the grotesque human experiments and abuse of souls from the Rukongai, Yamamoto had turned a blind eye.
In his mind, Mayuri's innovations were worth more than a few lost souls. After all, the dead poured into Soul Society every day. What were a few more?
But now… Mayuri was dead.
Killed inside the Seireitei.
This was the biggest insult to Soul Society since the captain-level betrayal a hundred years ago.
Unforgivable.
A surge of killing intent flooded Yamamoto's heart. No matter who the enemy was, they would be cut down without mercy—to restore order, and uphold the laws of the Soul Society.
At that moment, Lieutenant Sasakibe hesitated, glancing at the other captains.
It was clear—what he was about to say wasn't meant for everyone's ears.
But Yamamoto, already fuming, wasn't in the mood for games. "Damn it! Speak."
Sasakibe flinched under his gaze. Eyes flickering, he finally spoke, his voice trembling slightly.
"According to Vice-Captain Nemu's testimony, the one who killed Captain Kurotsuchi… was a Ryoka."
"A Ryoka?!"
An uproar swept through the room.
They'd all suspected it, but to hear confirmation—that a Ryoka had actually killed a captain—was something else entirely.
This wasn't like Kenpachi Zaraki charging into battle and going down in mutual destruction.
Mayuri had been taken out. Clean.
This wasn't a fight. This was an execution.
And it wasn't during an internal reshuffle or another betrayal. A captain had been slain inside the Seireitei, during a Ryoka invasion.
This was unprecedented.
The first time in a thousand years.
Yamamoto, trying to suppress his rising fury, sensed something off in Sasakibe's words. His voice thundered:
"All of it. Now."
Faced with the Captain-Commander's rage, Sasakibe didn't dare hide anything. Gritting his teeth, he continued:
"The Ryoka who killed Captain Kurotsuchi… is believed to be a Quincy."
"What?"
Yamamoto stood up abruptly.
"A Quincy?!"
His eyes shot toward the Fifth Division, searching—probing for any familiar spiritual signature. But after a moment, his expression twisted in confusion.
"No. This isn't his Reiatsu."
His words left several captains scratching their heads.
Not his? Who's "him"? Why did the Captain-Commander sound so shaken?
But among the captains, only the few ancient veterans—Shunsui, Unohana, and Aizen—understood who he meant.
Yhwach.
The progenitor of the Quincy. The one Yamamoto himself had defeated and sealed a thousand years ago.
And now, he was certain—the Reiatsu that killed Mayuri didn't belong to Yhwach.
Yamamoto didn't explain further. He simply frowned and muttered:
"If it's not him… then every captain-class Quincy should've already been eliminated."
Shunsui, who knew far more than he let on, adjusted the brim of his straw hat and suggested quietly:
"Old man… is it possible this Quincy only just awakened recently?"
"Impossible," Yamamoto said flatly. "Two hundred years ago, the Quincy were nearly wiped out. Their population now is barely over a hundred. With so few people, and their traditions broken, there's no way one could've reached captain-level—"
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
His Reiatsu surged, unstable. The room grew tense.
No…
There was a possibility.
The Quincy were a strange race. Every century or so, one would be born different—an anomaly.
These rare individuals were said to be born from the Soul King's sealed will. A kind of successor. A Quincy with the potential to become the next Soul King.
One of those… could grow to captain-level strength in a short time.
And now, Yamamoto saw it clearly.
Just like before, the Soul King was rebelling against them once more.
His expression cold and unreadable, Yamamoto spoke.
"We'll discuss this later. For now, dealing with the Ryoka takes priority."
The other captains looked at one another in confusion.
Sure, they could understand that a dying race like the Quincy probably couldn't produce monsters anymore. But then… who the hell was this guy? Who was this captain-level Quincy that even the Commander seemed wary of?
None of them dared ask. Not without Yamamoto's permission. All they could do was keep their suspicions to themselves.
Meanwhile, Aizen—smiling as always—watched silently, his eyes filled with mocking amusement.
So Yamamoto was hiding it, just like he thought.
The betrayal of the Soul King. The fact that the Gotei 13 had turned him into a living pillar. That secret was something Yamamoto would never allow to surface.
It made sense. After all, no one had gained more from the current system than Yamamoto himself—except maybe the Royal Guard.
And now that a "Soul King candidate" had appeared… Yamamoto probably wasn't planning to kill him at all.
No, he wanted to capture him.
Use him as leverage against the Royal Guard—to get more power, more influence for the Gotei 13.
A political hostage.
How laughable.
While Aizen chuckled to himself, Yamamoto stepped forward and issued new orders.
"In light of this Ryoka invasion—and the death of a captain—I deem the current Seireitei protocols inadequate."
"From this moment on, all captains are authorized to use their Bankai within Seireitei."
"If you encounter any Ryoka, you are to engage them immediately. If they resist—kill them on the spot."
He slammed the broken cane against the ground, the sound echoing like thunder.
The room fell into solemn silence.
Many captains looked grim.
Bankai being fully authorized within Seireitei… that meant total war.
If they unleashed that kind of power, the Seireitei itself might not survive.
And considering the Ryoka's unknown strength, it was entirely possible some of them wouldn't make it back.
Then, Yamamoto added coldly:
"But one of them—the Quincy—is our top priority."
"He must be captured alive. We need to interrogate him, learn what remains of the Quincy's current plans. We cannot allow them to rise again."
His words caused several captains' expressions to shift.
This wasn't just revenge anymore.
This was about control. Survival. And secrets that had been buried for far too long.
.
.
.