Just like Äs Nödt von Ebern, the black shadows devoured all the masked intruders in the room, causing Unohana Yachiru's slash to land on empty air.
Shin'ō Academy
Yamamoto Genryūsai stared in shock—
Right in front of him, Chōjirō Sasakibe's Bankai was stolen!
"Chōjirō!"
Though Yamamoto managed to save his long-time lieutenant, the truth was undeniable—
Sasakibe had lost his power.
"Tch. Couldn't kill him, huh? But this will suffice."
A man in white sneered, wary of Yamamoto's presence.
They quickly retreated with the stolen Bankai in hand.
Yamamoto's face darkened.
"Invisible Empire…?"
Real World
"What? I understand."
Ichigo's expression was grim as he lowered the Denreishinki.
After the Seireitei was attacked, Unohana immediately sent Vice-Captain Nozomi to inform Ichigo.
Upon hearing that Yamamoto and Sasakibe had been ambushed and Sasakibe's Bankai stolen, Ichigo's face turned even darker.
But before he could act—Nel burst into the room.
"ICHIGO!!"
The shrunken Nel threw herself into Ichigo's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Nel?! What happened?"
Kuchiki Estate
"The former Captain-Commander was ambushed? Sasakibe injured?"
Rukia and Byakuya were filled with rage.
Yamamoto was already retired—this wasn't just a personal attack.
It was a slap in the face to the entire Gotei 13.
Byakuya didn't hesitate. He and Rukia rushed to Squad 1, knowing that Captain-Commander Unohana would already be taking action.
Hueco Mundo
After the attack on Seireitei, the Quincy vanguard, led by Luders Friegen, marched into the newly claimed palace of Hueco Mundo.
Along the way, he encountered a kneeling Äs Nödt and mocked him:
"Look at you, kneeling like a dog. Thought you'd earn some merit, but it blew up in your face. You're an embarrassment."
Äs Nödt sneered.
"As if I'd ever bow to trash like you."
Luders was about to retort when a formless power suddenly struck—
his entire right arm was blown off.
Blood gushed as he collapsed in pain, looking toward the throne for help.
Sitting on the throne was a middle-aged man—calm and composed, yet exuding dread.
He smiled.
"Conflict is not my preference. Now, tell me your so-called peaceful proposal."
Luders forced himself to kneel and report.
"I've issued a declaration of war to Unohana Yachiru—Soul Society will be annihilated in five days!"
But the man's gaze turned cold.
"Five days? Are you a prophet now, Luders Friegen?"
"No, Your Majesty! I—"
"Then why speak of the future? I care about the now."
Without another word, the man's power erupted—
And Luders exploded into a bloody mist.
He turned to Äs Nödt.
"You managed to delay Kurosaki Ichigo. No reward. No punishment."
Äs Nödt sighed with relief—
Only to freeze in terror at the next words.
"However… you may still serve as a foundation for peace."
The man waved—
And Äs Nödt met the same bloody end as Luders.
A masked subordinate asked, "Is this wise? Arrancar soldiers are valuable assets."
The man scoffed.
"Arrancar? We can pick up more whenever we want."
Back in the Real World
Ichigo looked at Nel, confused.
"Weren't you helping stabilize Hueco Mundo?"
Nel was trembling. Her reiatsu was faint—clearly she'd endured a battle.
Her Fracción, Pesche, explained,
"Hueco Mundo has been conquered. The new queen, Harribel, has been captured!"
"What?!" Ichigo was stunned.
"What about Ulquiorra and Grimmjow? Weren't they there?"
"They escaped. Yammy stayed behind to cover their retreat and was seriously wounded," Pesche said gravely.
"And Don Kanonji… he sacrificed himself to get me out," Nel added quietly.
Even with her Resurrección, Nel wasn't strong enough to defeat the invaders.
Ichigo's eyes narrowed.
So not only Seireitei, but now Hueco Mundo had fallen into chaos.
"Let's go. I'm heading to Hueco Mundo with you."
Soul Society had Unohana and the Gotei 13.
Hueco Mundo needed to be liberated.
Urahara Shop
With Kisuke's help, the Real World squad infiltrated Hueco Mundo once more.
But this time, Uryū Ishida chose not to go.
He had his own reasons—
And as a Quincy, he already knew part of the truth.
Kisuke personally returned to battle this time as well.
Upon Arrival in Hueco Mundo
They found nothing but corpses—Hollows and Arrancar scattered everywhere.
Ichigo quickly covered Nel's eyes.
He kept forgetting that she wasn't some innocent girl, but a Vasto Lorde-level Hollow.
Elsewhere in Hueco Mundo
Quincy Captain Quilge Opie was selecting new Arrancar troops.
His method was simple: line up captured Hollows and Arrancar, and impale them one by one with his spear.
Those who wished to live had to kneel and lick his boots.
He explained the rules while slaughtering them casually.
Just then, two cloaked Arrancar struck back with hidden blades.
They were none other than Aizen's former attendants—Loly and Menoly.
But Quilge effortlessly countered, defeating them in a single blow.
Instead of killing them, he had his men beat them.
He figured their guts made them qualified for recruitment.
However, when the two claimed to be Aizen's personal aides, Quilge scoffed.
"So that's the kind of help Aizen kept around? Pathetic."
As he relaxed back into his seat—
He was attacked again!
This time by Harribel's loyal Fracción: Apacci, Sung-Sun, and Mila Rose!
They wiped out his subordinates in a flash.
Their combined power was formidable.
Quilge applauded mockingly.
"Such talent! Why not join us? You'll even get to serve beside your beloved Harribel!"
The three glared at him in fury and rejected him outright.
Quilge sighed.
"Such a shame."
Then, in a blink, he cut all three down!
But just then—Ichigo arrived.
"Oh? Kurosaki Ichigo."
Quilge recognized him immediately.
"That's right. Now, how about explaining what the hell is going on?"
Instead of answering, Quilge said,
"You're listed as one of the Special War Potentials. Our Majesty has ordered you to be prioritized for elimination."
One of his soldiers leapt forward.
Ichigo immediately recognized their movement style—
Not Shunpo.
Not Sonído.
Not Fullbring.
Hirenkyaku.
The Quincy flash step.
Dodging with ease, Ichigo narrowed his eyes.
"You're… Quincies?"
Quilge laughed.
"Indeed. We are the Quincy you know so well."
He didn't fight himself.
Instead, he transmitted a message to the throne in Hueco Mundo.
"Your Majesty. Special War Potential Kurosaki Ichigo has entered Hueco Mundo."
The man on the throne paused—
Then smiled.
"I don't know why he's here…
But now that he's trapped in Hueco Mundo, it's the perfect time to strike Soul Society."
"Summon the Sternritter.
The Invisible Empire will invade Soul Society."
Seireitei, Squad 1 Conference Room
Yamamoto and Sasakibe had been ambushed.
Their stolen powers signaled something dark.
Unohana Yachiru was livid.
Mayuri stepped forward.
"The attackers… were the Quincy army known as the Wandenreich—the Invisible Empire."
Shock filled the room.
Besides Unohana, Mayuri, Ukitake, and Kyōraku, most of the captains were of the newer generation.
They had only heard of the Quincy War—they hadn't lived it.
Unohana didn't waste time.
"Captain Mayuri, have you located their base?"
Mayuri shook his head.
"We've searched thoroughly, but nothing. We don't know how they infiltrated Seireitei so easily."
Unohana's eyes narrowed.
That meant counterattacking was currently impossible.
"Then from this moment on—prepare for battle.
We will not be caught off guard again."
After the meeting, Unohana held Mayuri back.
"Those 28,000 souls that vanished in Rukongai—your doing?"
Mayuri nodded.
"Yes. I had Squad 12 handle it to maintain balance between Hueco Mundo and Soul Society."
Unohana didn't flinch.
She understood Mayuri's twisted logic—he had acted for balance.
"Next time, report it first. If you'd told us earlier, we might've been prepared."
"If I had reported it, things might have escalated worse," Mayuri replied.
"I suggested the same thing when Ishida infiltrated Seireitei years ago—but Yamamoto ignored me."
"Enough!" Unohana snapped.
"Yamamoto's way is not my way."
Mayuri sighed.
"You and I both know, Captain-Commander…
The one who failed to kill that man a thousand years ago—was Yamamoto himself."
Meanwhile, the Sternritter had finished preparations.
Their invasion of Soul Society had begun.
Back in Hueco Mundo
Ichigo cut down three soldiers with ease.
Finally, Quilge stepped into battle himself.
He transformed his Quincy cross into a saber—
And unleashed dozens of reishi-based projectiles from it like artillery.
(End of Chapter)
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