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Silbern.
Winter was supposed to be a season of rebirth, yet after that footage aired, the atmosphere here felt like everything had withered and died.
At this very moment—
Every figure inside the palace,
Whether guards, Sternritter, or even Haschwalth standing at the highest tier—
All of them looked as if they'd been hit with a mass Silence spell.
Not a word spoken. Behind their eyes lurked fear and crushing frustration they couldn't hide.
This was beyond absurd.
The strength Nimaiya Ōetsu had displayed—
You could say it outright shattered the worldview of the pure-blood Quincy.
One swing, one kill?
One blade, one Royal Guard?
Give me a break.
The only person who might pull that off was His Majesty himself, and even then only once he fully awakened.
And more importantly—
Up until now, only Ōetsu had appeared on screen from Squad Zero. The others remained completely shrouded in mystery.
Where exactly did Ōetsu rank among them?
How many in Squad Zero were even stronger than him?
No one knew. No one knew anything.
The only thing the Quincy could clearly see was this—
The elite Schutzstaffel they'd placed all their hopes on were being cut down one by one by Ōetsu alone.
The gap in power was so vast it drove people to despair.
"Haschwalth… how much longer until His Majesty fully recovers?"
The suffocating silence was finally broken by Lille Barro.
Even though he had just watched himself die for the second time, he swallowed his rage and humiliation, forcing himself to ask.
Based on what the recap video had revealed so far, the situation was a mix of good news and bad.
On the one hand,
That battle had proven that in the near future, the pure-blood Quincy would storm the Royal Palace in one decisive strike.
And that meant the Gotei Thirteen would be wiped out without question.
But—
Slaughtering Soul Society was not the end.
It was merely the first step on the path to killing the Soul King.
Squad Zero's overwhelming debut had crushed every ounce of confidence the Quincy had.
"It's not time yet," Haschwalth replied flatly, shaking his head. "We'll need to endure at least three more years."
The moment he gave his answer, everyone's hearts sank.
Three years?
That was far too long.
With these recap videos continuing to surface,
Forget three years—three months might be enough for the Shinigami to uncover every secret.
When that happened, how would revenge even be possible?
For all they knew, His Majesty might barely pry open the lid of his coffin—
Only for the Gotei Thirteen to seal him away again.
"Is there really no way to speed it up?" Lille Barro asked weakly.
"I understand how you feel," Haschwalth said. "But this isn't something I can control. It depends entirely on His Majesty's own will…"
Though his expression was cold as ice,
In truth, Haschwalth was forcing himself to stay composed.
As Yhwach's right-hand man, empowered by his Schrift and sacred weapon, his strength surpassed even the Royal Guard.
And yet—
After witnessing Ōetsu's performance,
Even his confidence had begun to waver.
Because he had once heard Yhwach mention, in passing—
That behind Ōetsu stood another Shinigami leader, one even more terrifying.
That person was the true nemesis of the Wandenreich.
Even Yhwach himself had admitted that, before reclaiming all his power, he stood no chance against that man.
At that thought—
The light vanished from Haschwalth's eyes.
Was the future of the Wandenreich… destined to remain lost in a storm of uncertainty?
At the same moment—
Ōetsu's personal slaughter show was far from over.
"You there, hiding under that black robe… you're up next."
Along with his casual, almost playful tone—
Sayafushi sliced cleanly through the air.
With a sharp whoosh,
Ōetsu hurled the blade with all his strength.
It struck dead center, piercing the Soul King's left hand beneath the robe.
Before it could even hit the ground, Ōetsu's body vanished like a hunting leopard, reappearing instantly before the fallen arm. He pulled Sayafushi free and swung sideways in one smooth motion.
Slash!
Two pillars of blood erupted at the same time.
The Soul King's left hand—
And Askin Nakk Le Vaar, who hadn't even had time to react—
Both collapsed before a single drop of blood touched the ground, their heads split by a thin red line across the neck.
Once again—one swing, one kill.
Before countless watching eyes, every time Ōetsu moved Sayafushi, another life was mercilessly harvested.
This battle—
The clash between Squad Zero and the Royal Guard—
Ended just as suddenly as it had begun.
Before the audience could fully process what they'd seen,
The recap ended.
The final image froze on four lifeless bodies sprawled on the ground—
Then faded into total darkness.
"What?! That's it? It's already over?! Wasn't that way too fast?!"
Staring at the pitch-black screen, it took several seconds before the Arrancar finally reacted, erupting into an uproar.
No one had expected this.
The legendary clash between Squad Zero and the strongest of the Sternritter had ended so abruptly.
The earth-shattering showdown people had imagined never happened.
What they got instead—
Was a one-sided massacre by Ōetsu.
That's right.
In front of the man known as the "God of the Blade,"
The pure-blood Quincy had no power to resist at all, getting wiped out four-for-four the moment they met him.
The sheer difference in strength was so extreme that even the Arrancar were stunned.
"So, my stupid comrades," Yammy sneered arrogantly, puffing out his chest. "Now that you've seen how strong Squad Zero really is, shouldn't you start thinking real hard about where you stand in the future?"
Long before this round of the recap even began…
He had already tried to convince everyone to turn their backs on Aizen and just stay in Hueco Mundo, ruling their own territory in peace. Why insist on charging outside to get themselves killed?
Later on, it was only because Ulquiorra blocked him and because of orders from the Skeleton Emperor that Yammy hadn't kept pushing the issue.
And now look at this.
Ōetsu Nimaiya taking on four opponents at once in a dazzling, overwhelming display.
It indirectly proved that Yammy's long-winded advice had been right all along.
Even if following Aizen really did mean defeating the Gotei 13, there was no way they would ever get past Squad Zero.
So what was the point of invading at all?
Better to lie low in Hueco Mundo and take it easy.
After all, to maintain the balance of souls across the three realms, the Soul Reapers wouldn't exactly come storming Hueco Mundo just to commit genocide.
Wasn't that the smarter choice?
Starrk: "..."
Barragan: "..."
Harribel: "..."
The top three Espada, the strongest Vasto Lorde among them, all chose silence.
If the previous ranking, where the first Kenpachi revealed his strength, had merely shattered the Arrancar's confidence…
Then Nimaiya's segment was a true execution.
It completely crushed the last lingering fantasy in their hearts.
This time, even Grimmjow joined the surrendering crowd. He let out a lonely sigh.
"I hate to admit it, but Yammy's got a point…"
"Soul Reapers just can't be beaten."
"Yeah…"
Zommari's back seemed to bend a little more, his eyes dull as he spoke quietly. "If this really is fate, then maybe we should let go of our pride and accept reality."
"Mm… I agree."
After hesitating for a moment, Szayelaporro spoke up as well.
"We should make a decision sooner rather than later. Honestly, I don't think Aizen's state of mind is any better than ours right now."
It wasn't that the scientist of Hueco Mundo was willing to lower his arrogant head.
It was that the relentless chain of blows had completely worn down his beliefs.
Szayelaporro couldn't help but doubt himself.
So all those years of nonstop research…
Were they actually pointless?
Truly powerful Soul Reapers barely had any weaknesses at all. Some of them could slaughter enemies effortlessly with nothing more than a flawed Zanpakutō.
Facing opponents like that, why insist on charging headfirst into a losing fight?
Giving up and lying flat was the wisest choice.
Silence fell.
Las Noches once again became lifeless and oppressive.
The cold air pressed down so heavily it was hard to breathe.
Just as the Arrancar's morale was about to sink to absolute rock bottom, something happened.
Swish.
The pitch-black screen refreshed once more.
A new image appeared, accompanied as always by fresh subtitles.
[NO. 8]
[A man who plays the fool while holding lethal power]
[The Soul King's Left Arm: Progress and Evolution]
…
The sudden text immediately stirred discussion among the Arrancar.
"Huh? Looks like two people made the list at the same time?" Szayelaporro frowned.
Joint eighth place?
That was a first.
"The Soul King's Left Arm, and this 'lethal power' guy. Sounds like both are pure-blood Quincy," Grimmjow growled, grinding his teeth.
Damn it.
The Soul Reapers just finished flexing, and now it's the Quincies' turn?
Was the creator of this video doing this on purpose?
Why keep beating us down over and over?
I seriously want to kill something.
"Can't the Arrancar get a comeback even once?"
Nnoitra stared blankly into space.
His body, clad in the toughest Hierro, slumped weakly against the wall as his spirit collapsed completely.
His resolve was shattered beyond repair.
Then the camera shifted.
A familiar scene slowly came into view.
"This is… where the Soul Reapers and the pure-blood Quincies had their final showdown!"
After only a brief look, the Arrancar recognized the background.
It was Wahrwelt.
"As expected. This round probably has nothing to do with us Arrancar," Grimmjow sneered, his eyes burning with resentment.
For a long time now, he had desperately wanted to make the list.
Even if the chances were slim, he would have been satisfied just appearing briefly on screen.
At least then he could glimpse his own future.
But he never got the scene he wanted.
His patience was nearly gone.
However…
When the camera slowly rose into a bird's-eye view, what happened next made Grimmjow's eyes feel like they were about to split open.
"Hey."
"You trash-tier Quincy, how long do you plan to keep running? I don't have the patience to play hide-and-seek with you."
A wild, arrogant voice rang out.
The instant Grimmjow heard it, he froze.
His expression locked solid, and his body began to tremble violently.
"That's… my voice?!"
His deep blue eyes widened as far as they could go.
He stared at the screen, breathing faster, heart pounding like a drum.
Sure enough, the next frame didn't disappoint him.
A white suit over a black shirt, a Zanpakutō hanging at his waist.
The outfit was different from his current self, and his chest bore several clear scars. Yet his presence and aura were several times stronger than before.
The moment Grimmjow felt the overwhelming pressure radiating from his future self, a power that clearly stood above an Adjuchas, he was stunned.
"Holy hell…"
"T-this is Vasto Lorde-level pressure, isn't it?"
"Me, the Panther King… actually pulling off a comeback?"
"..."
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