Chapter 405: The Soul King's Will
"Argh!!"
The Shinigami moved in squad formations, unified in advance and retreat.
Years of targeted training, unwavering unity of spirit, and the advantage of the Hollow Reishi field...
Each advantage piled up, bringing a qualitative breakthrough.
More and more Quincy, after exhausting their initial spiritual energy, were easily defeated and cut down by the Shinigami, unable to replenish their power from the air.
Others, desperate to fight back, forcibly absorbed the surrounding Reishi tainted with Hollow energy. These Quincy didn't even need the Shinigami to intervene—they collapsed on their own, vomiting blood.
In mid-air, Shunsui Kyōraku swung his large blade, effortlessly repelling the pink-haired female Quincy who had tried to ambush him.
He adjusted his straw hat and looked down at the battlefield below.
This battle had been far easier than he had imagined.
Undoubtedly, it wasn't because the enemies were weak.
Faced with such a desperate situation, the Quincy side had still managed to trade five of their own for one of theirs.
If the conditions had been equal… or even if, from the very beginning, they hadn't discovered the existence of the Wandenreich, what would have happened? Kyōraku didn't dare imagine.
In his heart, there had always been a thought.
It seemed… this war shouldn't have been like this.
This war should have been unimaginably brutal.
Many people he knew would have died in this war.
Whenever those images flashed through his mind, Kyōraku felt a deep sense of helplessness.
Fortunately, no matter how vivid the imagination, it wasn't reality.
The reality was that everyone was alive and well, and victory was right before their eyes!
Gripping his twin blades, his fighting spirit soared!
...
...
Streaks of blue light shot from the distance, converging into Yhwach's body.
Feeling the continuously surging power within Yhwach, Satoru suddenly felt a twinge of emotion.
No wonder Sōsuke had said that with Yhwach around, the Sternritter were nothing to fear.
From the start of the war until now, Yhwach had killed the most Sternritter.
As the Captain-Commander, should he award Yhwach an MVP medal?
Casually shattering the spiritual arrows Yhwach shot at him, Satoru curled the corner of his mouth.
No problem.
Even if Yhwach had absorbed so many of his subordinates, he could still handle him.
Whether it was his innate physical prowess or his spirit, forged through countless simulated battles, he was far superior to Yhwach!
Now, there was only one thing left to do.
With these fists, he would utterly destroy Yhwach!
Satoru took a step forward, his aura rising steadily!
But at that very moment, as if sensing something, he suddenly stopped.
A voice echoed in his ear.
No, not a voice.
It was just an illusory will, sending him a signal.
[Please do not kill him. Let him come up.]
Come up?
Let who come up?
Satoru frowned slightly.
The next second, his expression suddenly changed.
Somehow, he suddenly realized the source of that voice.
This… was a voice coming from the Soul King Palace!
He knew the five members of the Soul King Palace all too well.
Without a doubt, that voice just now hadn't come from any of the Zero Division members.
An existence capable of bridging the vast distance between the Seireitei and the Soul King Palace, clearly delivering a voice to his ear—one he had never communicated with before…
Satoru was somewhat surprised.
Yhwach… you really have some pull.
What little trick did you use to get that one to personally plead for you?
Though he wasn't sure of the situation, he didn't hesitate at all. He immediately threw a punch straight at Yhwach.
Today, whether it was the King of Heaven or the Division Commander pleading, he was determined to kill Yhwach!
Between Yhwach and the old man lay a thousand-year blood feud.
Such hatred could never be resolved with a simple handshake and reconciliation.
If it were him, if someone had crippled him, forcing him to lie in bed for a thousand years before he could even get up, the first thing he'd do upon regaining his power would be to exact bloody revenge.
Therefore, Yhwach must die!
Boom!!
Satoru's fist collided with Yhwach's blade.
The terrifying force distorted the surrounding space.
Yhwach gritted his teeth.
He hadn't expected Satoru to be this powerful.
Even after absorbing so many subordinates, including two Royal Guard members, he still couldn't overpower him.
There was no other way.
Though it was somewhat regrettable to lose all his subordinates, compared to the great cause he needed to accomplish—the grand ambition of changing the world—this sacrifice was inevitable.
Staggering back a few steps, he spread his arms wide.
A terrifying surge of power rippled throughout the entire Seireitei.
He was going to fully activate Auswählen, reclaiming all the power of the Quincy!
With this power, he could break the thousand-year prophecy and reclaim his full strength ahead of time!
On various battlefields, the Sternritter who were locked in desperate combat with the Shinigami suddenly widened their eyes.
Feeling the strange throbbing in their chests, they all showed expressions of shock.
Auswählen...
They hadn't lost, so why were they being subjected to Auswählen?!
"Your Majesty!! No!!"
"I can still fight, I can still fight!!"
"Grrraaaaaah!!"
Amidst the desperate cries of the Sternritter, the Auswählen suddenly came to a halt.
In the First Division, Yhwach narrowed his eyes, looking at Satoru with some confusion.
Satoru, who had been completely dominating the battle, suddenly seemed to stiffen in his movements.
This should have been the perfect opportunity to press the advantage and expand his gains, yet he stopped.
From Satoru's actions, it was clear he wanted to keep fighting.
But his body, defying his will, froze in place.
As if sensing something, Yhwach turned his head to look not far away.
At some point, a figure clad in a white Quincy cloak had appeared there.
The cloak was draped tightly, obscuring the figure's appearance, with only a pair of faintly glowing pupils visible beneath the hood.
It was this figure that was emitting a bizarre power, restraining Satoru's movements!
"Pernida..."
Looking at the figure, Yhwach was somewhat surprised.
Pernida Parnkgjas, the strongest combatant of the Sternritter, a member of the Schutzstaffel.
As part of Yhwach's Royal Guard, Pernida's strength was unquestionably formidable.
But that was relative to ordinary Shinigami captains.
What kind of existence was Satoru? How could he be compared to a mere Royal Guard?
How had this creature managed to restrain Satoru?
At this thought, Yhwach suddenly froze.
He remembered Pernida's true form.
A thousand years ago, when he negotiated with Hyōsube Ichibe'e, the latter had given him a great gift to help him understand the essence of the Soul King.
That gift was called the "Left Arm of the Soul King."
After obtaining the Left Arm of the Soul King, Yhwach finally gained a clear understanding of the world's true nature.
He learned that the Soul King was not a lofty ruler but a pitiful figure trapped in eternity.
He realized that by killing the Soul King and seizing its power, he could reunify the Three Realms, freeing all living beings from the cycle of life and death and granting them eternal life.
At that time, there would be no more pain or fear in the world.
Everyone would be able to live with courage.
To ensure he never forgot this resolve, he did not absorb the power of the Left Arm of the Soul King. Instead, he bestowed his own power upon it, granting it sentience.
After receiving Yhwach's gift, the Left Arm of the Soul King became an independent entity, a Quincy.
The Schutzstaffel, Pernida Parnkgjas!
Now, sensing the terrifying power emanating from Pernida, Yhwach was astonished.
This power far exceeded the level he had bestowed.
It even surpassed the original power the Left Arm of the Soul King should have possessed.
Without a doubt, the power Pernida was using now came from the Soul King itself!
Was the Soul King helping him?
Why?
Though he didn't understand what was happening, Yhwach didn't miss the opportunity.
Gripping his sword with both hands, he charged fiercely toward Satoru, aiming to pierce him through!
Clang!!
Mid-charge, Yhwach was intercepted by two figures descending from above.
Yamamoto Shigekuni and Ichigo Kurosaki.
Their blades crossed, forming an insurmountable barrier that firmly blocked Yhwach's sword!
"Yamamoto Shigekuni..."
Staring at the old man before him, Yhwach's expression darkened as he uttered the name, syllable by syllable.
"Heh... It is indeed I."
Yamamoto grinned, revealing a terrifying smile.
He twisted his blade, flames roaring to life, and with an upward reverse kesa cut, slashed from below toward Yhwach!
Yhwach released his grip, directly abandoning the Reishi-formed longsword, and retreated swiftly.
A thousand years ago, Yamamoto Shigekuni was the strongest beneath the Transcendent.
Though a millennium had passed, the old man still hadn't taken that step into transcendence, yet the aura he exuded was no weaker than in his prime.
Meanwhile, the orange-haired spiky boy brought a pressure upon him that was actually no less than Yamamoto Shigekuni's!
Judging by the Reishi clinging to the boy... Haschwalth had likely fallen to him.
For a moment, Yhwach felt a chill run down his spine.
What kind of monsters were gathered in the Seireitei?
He had only been asleep for a thousand years—how had the Seireitei become like this??
Suddenly, he seemed to sense something and turned to look in another direction.
There, he saw a man in a black cloak, holding a Zanpakutō, walking calmly toward them.
Noticing Yhwach's attention, Aizen smiled.
"As expected of the Quincy King. I did my best to conceal my Reiatsu, yet I still couldn't deceive you."
"..."
Yhwach frowned slightly.
The moment he saw this man, he felt something strange, as if something within his own body had changed.
As he pondered, Aizen raised a hand and removed the hood from his head.
!!
At that moment, Yhwach couldn't help but feel as if he'd been utterly blindsided.
The power radiating from this man actually surpassed Yamamoto's!
"So that's it... It was you who prevented Haschwalth's power from reaching me."
Yhwach spoke in a low voice.
"I never imagined that besides Satoru Mikami, the Seireitei truly had another Transcendent."
"Those who struggle to keep pace with the times often express such sentiments."
Aizen replied with a smile.
Yhwach fell silent.
How could this seemingly gentle man be so irritating the moment he opened his mouth?
Having successfully diverted Yhwach's attention, Aizen turned his gaze to the figure standing not far away, shrouded entirely in a cloak.
Among all those present, this figure intrigued him even more than Yhwach.
In the Sternritter information provided by Bambietta, there was no match for these characteristics.
Yet, the power currently affecting Satoru proved this entity was anything but ordinary.
Aizen raised his right hand, opening it toward the distance.
The Right Arm of the Soul King—
Stillness!!
Activated by his immense Reiatsu, black patterns surfaced on his right hand.
The power of the Soul King's Right Arm enveloped Pernida!
Sensing the power emanating from Aizen's arm, Yhwach was astonished.
The Soul King's Right Arm!
A thousand years ago, after obtaining the Soul King's Left Arm from Hyōsube Ichibe'e, he had been searching for the Right Arm.
He never expected to encounter it here.
Confirming that Aizen possessed the Soul King's Right Arm, Yhwach's heart sank.
He had barely managed to restrain Satoru using the power of the Soul King's Left Arm. If interfered with by the Soul King's Right Arm of the same level, Satoru would likely break free!
But to his surprise, the moment Aizen's power enveloped the Soul King's Left Arm, the latter suddenly erupted with a terrifying surge!
The power of the Soul King's Right Arm was effortlessly pierced and dissipated into the air!
Due to the impact of such immense power, the white cloak covering Pernida was torn apart, revealing the true form beneath.
Under the cloak was not a human.
Instead, it was a pale, enormous hand, with black chains hanging from its fingertips. In the center of its palm was a large eye, containing two golden pupils.
"Oh..."
Aizen raised an eyebrow.
The moment he saw Pernida's form, as the bearer of the Right Arm, he confirmed the other's identity.
The Left Arm of the Soul King!
Now, the question arose.
Although he hadn't possessed the Right Arm of the Soul King for long and couldn't fully harness its power, he was still far from weak.
Was the Left Arm of the Soul King truly so much stronger than the Right Arm that it could effortlessly overwhelm it?
As if guessing his doubts, Satoru, whom he had shielded behind him, stepped forward and stood by his side.
"Sōsuke, this isn't an ordinary Left Arm of the Soul King."
Aizen glanced at him.
That statement was... bizarre.
The Left Arm of the Soul King, divided into ordinary and extraordinary?
Did he think the Soul King was like him, fond of playing the six-armed Asura?
Historical records clearly stated that the Soul King's form resembled that of humans and Shinigami—one head and two arms.
As Aizen recalled the records, Satoru grinned and said:
"The Soul King's will has descended upon this creature."
?!
Upon hearing this, not only Aizen and Yamamoto, but even Yhwach showed a look of surprise.
The Soul King's will... had descended upon Pernida?
He turned to look at his subordinate.
Indeed, just as Satoru had said, Pernida's body was being influenced by a strange power.
In the past, as the King of the Quincy, he could easily perceive everything about Pernida, who had transformed into a Quincy.
But now, he couldn't clearly discern what was happening to Pernida.
If this truly was the Soul King's power... why would the Soul King help him?
He instinctively looked at Satoru.
Could it be that the Soul King, like him, wished to reunify the Three Realms and thus wanted to help him defeat Satoru?
At this thought, Yhwach's spirits lifted!