Present World.
Karakura Town, city district.
Inside the campus of Karakura First High School.
On the rooftop of one of the school buildings, a few figures were taking advantage of their free period, discussing plans for after school.
"Chad…"
"Tatsuki…"
"Orihime…"
"Hey, how about this? After school, let's go down south to the night market. I heard there are a lot of new food stalls!"
Orange bangs fell forward.
Kurosaki Ichigo grinned, smiling as he looked at his friends, offering the suggestion.
Standing before him were his high school companions—Sado Yasutora, Arisawa Tatsuki, Inoue Orihime, and others.
"No problem…" Arisawa Tatsuki nodded. "It's been a while since we all sat down to eat together anyway…"
"I don't mind either…" Sado Yasutora shrugged. Honest as always, he usually just went along with the group.
"M-me too…"
Facing Kurosaki Ichigo directly,
Inoue Orihime whispered in agreement. Her pale cheeks flushed red.
It seemed being so close to Ichigo made her feel shy.
"OK!"
"Then it's settled! After school, let's meet at the school gate and head out together!"
Ichigo smiled, full of anticipation.
He was usually cheerful and valued friendship greatly.
So he often took the lead, pulling his friends into group activities.
However…
Just as the conversation ended, and the school bell rang, the group prepared to leave the stairwell when—
Suddenly—
The sky above the school, and the horizon in the distance…
Without warning, a deafening boom erupted.
At the same time—
The clouds scattered rapidly, as though something was about to descend!
"What's happening?"
"Was that thunder? No way! How could thunder sound that exaggerated!"
"Could it be… some kind of extreme weather event?"
Ichigo looked up.
Staring at the chaotic sky, he felt an uneasy premonition.
But after only a few seconds of watching—
What happened next made his face change drastically. He froze in shock!
Because…
BOOM!!!
As the clouds completely dispersed—
From the rift in the dome above, a massive transparent light screen appeared out of nowhere!
Like a curtain, it slowly descended from the heavens.
It appeared above Karakura Town!
And not only here—
At the same time, the same thing was happening across the Present World, Hueco Mundo, and the Soul Society!
Countless identical light screens appeared across the realms, causing chaos everywhere!
"Heavens…"
"What in the world is happening?!"
Inoue Orihime covered her mouth in fear.
The timid girl's face turned pale instantly.
Arisawa Tatsuki furrowed her brows, clearly uneasy as well.
But—
Before they could figure anything out—
The transparent light screen suddenly displayed several lines of text:
[Countdown video begins now, broadcast to the entire world]
[Counting down the top ten strongest Zanpakutō of the Shinigami world!!!]
[Loading footage… all viewers, please wait in anticipation]
"Huh?"
"Shinigami world?"
"Top ten strongest Zanpakutō? What's that supposed to mean?"
Ichigo scratched the back of his head, looking completely puzzled.
Behind him, Sado Yasutora and the others were equally confused.
The Shinigami world… they had never heard of such a thing.
As for a Zanpakutō?
They didn't know either. Maybe some new type of sword?
But—
Unlike Ichigo and his friends, elsewhere in the Shinigami world, the reactions were very different.
Soul Society.
Seireitei.
5th Division barracks.
In the underground laboratory hidden from outsiders—
"A countdown video? Interesting…"
Aizen stood with his hands behind his back.
His elegant gaze locked on the front.
A few meters away—
Rows of surveillance monitors were lined up.
And in front of them, one of those same light screens had appeared!
The text on it firmly captured Aizen's attention.
"Well now…"
"An accident, perhaps?"
"Ne, Aizen-taichō… let me just say in advance, this has nothing to do with me. I wouldn't stoop to such pranks."
Behind Aizen, Ichimaru Gin raised his eyes. After glancing at the light screen, his tone was light.
Usually—
He, Aizen, and Tōsen Kaname spent their time in this hidden base.
Using banks of monitors, they secretly observed all of Soul Society's movements.
But now—
Inside this underground chamber,
A transparent light screen appeared from thin air!
This was the first time!
"Gin…"
"More than that, I want to know who is behind this. And more importantly…"
"How exactly will they rank the strength of Zanpakutō!"
Aizen's eyes grew cold as he spoke calmly.
Undeniably—
The sudden appearance of the screen displeased him. He instinctively resisted unknown variables.
However—
The content of the subtitles—the ranking of the top ten Zanpakutō—
That piqued his curiosity.
Enough to suppress his irritation and make him want to keep watching.
"Yare yare…"
"If nothing else, I can guarantee this—Aizen-taichō, your Zanpakutō, Kyōka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower, Water Moon), will definitely make the list!"
"And not just make it—your blade will surely rank near the very top!!!"
Ichimaru Gin narrowed his eyes in a sly smile, his fox-like grin appearing.
In truth—
Not only Aizen was curious.
Gin was as well, eager to see what the video would reveal.
He was sure his own Zanpakutō, Shinsō (Divine Spear), would also appear in the rankings.
But just then—
The light screen flickered.
The earlier subtitles vanished, replaced by new text:
[The countdown officially begins]
[Number 10: Zanpakutō—Senbonzakura]
(End of Chapter)
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[[email protected]/Zukooo]
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