Suì-Fēng stepped forward.
"Then let the Onmitsukidō secure the Rukongai perimeter." Her fingers curled tightly into her palm.
"Before the Shadowless Lamp is activated, we'll evacuate as many civilians as possible from the areas most likely to be affected."
Hitsugaya immediately joined her.
"The Tenth Division will help with the evacuation."
He'd grown up in the Rukongai himself.
Leaving its poorest residents to suffer simply because they were inconvenient was not something he could accept.
Shunsui sighed.
"My, my. There goes the budget." He rubbed his forehead dramatically.
"Do you have any idea how much manpower, transport, food, temporary housing, and support it'll take to move that many people?" His shoulders sagged. "Everything costs money…"
Kazuma waved a hand.
"Approved."
If Suì-Fēng and Hitsugaya were willing to take responsibility for it, he had no reason to stop them.
"Effective immediately, the Seireitei enters maximum combat readiness."
His reiatsu filled the meeting room, heavy enough to silence everyone.
"All Shinigami are to prepare for war."
Kazuma's gaze hardened.
"In seventy-two hours, Yhwach and the Wandenreich are going to learn exactly what happens when you build an empire inside someone else's shadow. Once the Shadowless Lamp comes online, there will be nowhere left to hide. If light reaches it, darkness is finished."
"Yes, Captain-Commander!"
Suì-Fēng and Hitsugaya left first. Seventy-two hours wasn't much time — they would evacuate whoever they could.
Kazuma then turned back to Mayuri.
"Captain Kurotsuchi, the Shadowless Lamp is entirely your responsibility." His expression was serious.
"This device is the key to forcing Yhwach out of the Seireitei. I don't want mistakes."
Mayuri puffed out his chest.
"Captain-Commander, leave it to me. When it comes to science, if I call myself second best, no one in Soul Society has the right to call themselves first."
Kazuma stared at him.
'This bastard really said that with a straight face.'
Had Mayuri simply decided Urahara Kisuke no longer existed? What shameless bullshit.
Still, with war preparations already underway, Kazuma decided not to start that argument now. He simply smiled and nodded.
"Then don't disappoint me."
...
"Rukia, head to Karakura Town. Relay every detail of this meeting to Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, Captain Batsu'unsai, and the rest of the original captains — word for word. Tell them to return to Soul Society immediately. No delays. This time, I'm going to make sure Yhwach dies for good."
Kazuma paused, then snapped his fingers as another thought struck him.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot Kisuke Urahara and Hirako Shinji's group. Notify them too. Don't miss anyone."
Then he turned to Iba Tetsuzaemon, his expression turning serious.
"Tetsuzaemon, your assignment's just as important. Go to Hueco Mundo, find Aizen Sōsuke, and brief him on everything from this meeting. Tell him about the four noble progenitors too. This is too important to screw up."
Tetsuzaemon froze on the spot as if he'd been struck by lightning.
"The original Gotei 13 captains are still alive? And they're all in Karakura Town? And Aizen too…?" His eyes were wide with disbelief.
"Captain-Commander… why am I the one being sent to find a traitor who betrayed Soul Society? This is insane."
His head was practically buzzing. Still, once he got over the shock, he asked the only practical question left.
"Captain-Commander, Hueco Mundo's enormous. How am I supposed to find Aizen?"
Kazuma had already thought of that.
"When you get there, contact Kuruyashiki and Ashido first. They'll know how to reach him."
With that, the pieces were in motion. All that remained now was to wait for everything to fall into place.
...
West Seireitei — Third District of Rukongai
"Third unit, seal off the entrances to Junrinan! Fifth unit, move it — set up the Senkaimon and secure the evacuation route!"
Suì-Fēng's sharp command rang across the district, backed by enough spiritual pressure to carry through the entire street.
Members of the Onmitsukidō flashed from rooftop to rooftop with Shunpo, moving like black shadows through the packed neighborhood.
In their hands, reishi restraint lines shot through the air and wove together into an intricate net.
Nearby, Hitsugaya Tōshirō raised Hyōrinmaru and slashed downward.
A brilliant blue trench instantly opened across the ground, forming a clear path through the district.
"Everyone, listen carefully! Follow the ice path and move in an orderly line! The elderly and the children go first!"
As he shouted, enormous ice wings spread behind him.
Sunlight scattered across them, turning the drifting frost into a spray of glittering color that pointed the way forward for the panicked residents.
The people of Rukongai had no idea what was happening.
But with the Onmitsukidō moving at full speed and Tōshirō personally directing traffic, they didn't dare stop to ask.
They could only flee with the crowd as the district dissolved into chaos — pushing, crying, shouting, stumbling over one another in fear.
...
Twelfth Division — Department of Research and Development, Underground Level 70
"Reishi density has passed the critical threshold! Mirror array calibration beginning now!"
Kurotsuchi Nemu's voice echoed through the spherical chamber.
Hundreds of prisms floated around Kurotsuchi Mayuri, whose golden eyes were lit by streams of scrolling data.
"Feed the Senzaikyū spiritual-pressure waveform into Circuit Seven! Still not enough! Dump every hollowfication reagent in the Twelfth Division stores into the reactor!"
Mayuri barked out orders one after another while the researchers scrambled across their instruments.
Then the lab shook violently.
Four violet pillars of light punched straight into the sky above the Seireitei.
At Sōkyoku Hill, the ancient execution structure began to break apart, dissolving into countless glowing particles that flowed into the reishi grid.
Shinigami from the Seventh Division who were still adjusting the mirror surfaces had to shield their eyes.
The entire Seireitei was turning transparent — like a vast crystal palace flooded with light.
"So he actually pulled it off this fast?"
Kazuma stared up at the gleaming, crystal-bright city in open disbelief.
He'd given Mayuri seventy-two hours. Mayuri had done it in twenty-four.
And apparently that still left him enough free time to make two ridiculous, gleaming coats.
The moment he pulled one on, he became the brightest thing in the entire Seireitei — a walking ball of light.
The man looked like some kind of deranged sun mascot.
...
The Shadows Beneath the Seireitei
"What the hell is going on?"
Hidden in the dim, twisted depths of the Seireitei's shadows, the Quincy panicked.
They looked like rats dragged out from a sewer and thrown into broad daylight, their faces full of shock and dread.
Even Yhwach, who had still been deep in slumber, was forced awake early by the sudden upheaval.
Everything had happened too abruptly. In a single instant, the carefully concealed Wandenreich had been exposed.
Among the Quincy, an old saying had been passed down for generations:
"The sealed Quincy King regains his pulse after 900 years, his mind after 90 years, his power after 9 years… and the world in another 9 days."
But now Yhwach had been awakened before he could fully reclaim that power. For the Quincy, it was a disaster.
"Has the plan gone off course?"
Yhwach didn't sound angry. As far as he was concerned, the situation was still manageable.
"Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni. Satou Kazuma. This time, I'll make both of you pay."
Then he lifted his gaze toward the Soul King Palace.
"And as for my father, the Soul King… are you ready to die?"
He'd been asleep for centuries and still had no idea how badly the balance of power in Soul Society had changed.
Give it a little while longer — once he got the living hell beaten out of him, maybe that arrogance would finally come down a notch.
At that moment, Jugram Haschwalth appeared before him and bowed.
"My King — what are your orders?"
Years of preparation had just been torn to shreds in a single day. Now the Sternritter waited for their ruler's next command.