Fate In Bleach (497)

Chapter 497 - Respective Faiths

With this realization, Cang Du disregarded everything else and hurriedly fled in the direction away from Gin Ichimaru and Rangiku Matsumoto.

The Quincy of the Wandenreich had left their "shadow dimension" to appear in the Soul Society.

Because the technology was not yet mature, the time the Wandenreich Quincy could spend in the outside world was limited.

Before the Wandenreich pulled the Quincy back, they could not use the "shadow dimension" to construct a passage back to the Wandenreich's ice palace.

Therefore, Cang Du wanted to escape, find a place to hide, and then, when the Wandenreich's spatial passage opened, immediately return to the ice palace.

"Can you escape?"

Seeing Cang Du attempting to flee, a cold glint flashed in Gin Ichimaru's narrowed eyes.

How could Gin Ichimaru possibly let the fellow who had harmed Rangiku escape?

A Zanpakutō's Bankai was the materialization of the Zanpakutō, releasing its power within its spiritual pressure range.

Gin Ichimaru's "Shinsō" could extend up to thirteen kilometers.

This meant that as long as Cang Du hadn't fled beyond thirteen kilometers from Gin Ichimaru, he was within Gin Ichimaru's attack range.

Extending his hand in Cang Du's direction, Gin Ichimaru murmured, "Bankai—Kamishini no Yari!"

"Ah!"

Following Gin Ichimaru's murmur, a white light suddenly erupted from within the fleeing Cang Du's body.

Cang Du let out a bloodcurdling scream. Under this white light, his body was directly dissolved, ultimately vanishing completely from the Seireitei.

In the previous attack on Cang Du, Gin Ichimaru had already left the "ash" transformed from Shinsō within Cang Du's body.

Cang Du's ability was "The Iron," allowing his body to achieve the hardness of steel, greatly enhancing both his attack and defense.

However, comparable to "steel" was, after all, not truly "steel."

Cang Du's body was still composed of "cells" made of spirit particles.

Under the cell-dissolving poison of Gin Ichimaru's Bankai, "Kamishini no Yari," Cang Du had no power to resist whatsoever and was killed directly.

…

"Long time no see, Genryūsai!"

In Squad One, Yhwach appeared behind Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

"A thousand years ago, because I was sneak-attacked by that brat, I was ultimately defeated by you."

"This time, that brat who sneak-attacked me has been heavily injured, and his Bankai has also been sealed by me. You have no helpers, Genryūsai!"

Yhwach spread his hand, and in an instant, a giant blue sword condensed from spirit particles appeared in his grasp, slashing towards Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

Boom!

A scorching explosion erupted from Squad One. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Zanpakutō clashed with Yhwach's giant spirit particle sword, unleashing a powerful shockwave.

The entire Squad One captain's office was directly destroyed in the diffusion of this shockwave.

"Yhwach…"

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto said coldly.

Compared to a thousand years ago, neither Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto nor Yhwach were young anymore.

However, in comparison, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was already old and frail, while Yhwach, perhaps due to the missing nine hundred years, still looked like a middle-aged man.

"A thousand years have passed, you've grown old, Genryūsai!"

Yhwach said gravely.

"I am old, not dead!"

Facing Yhwach's provocation, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto responded forcefully.

Spiritual pressure erupted. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto exerted force with the Zanpakutō in his hand, directly repelling Yhwach.

Subsequently, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto held his Zanpakutō horizontally before his chest. "Yhwach, a thousand years ago I could kill you. Now, a thousand years later, I can kill you too!"

"Bankai—Zanka no Tachi!"

Boom!

A pillar of fire shot up from Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's body. Unparalleled high temperature radiated outwards from him as the center.

The water vapor in the air instantly evaporated.

The trees, flowers, and grass in the Seireitei withered at a visible rate.

The clouds in the sky also rapidly dissipated.

Within the entire Seireitei, the space between heaven and earth turned grey.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Zanpakutō's Bankai, "Zanka no Tachi," could transform his spiritual pressure into a high temperature of fifteen million degrees, comparable to the sun's core.

It could be said that once Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto released his Zanpakutō's Bankai, he himself was equivalent to a sun.

Even if Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto didn't attack, his very existence would continuously cause destruction to the Soul Society, ultimately destroying the entire Soul Society.

This meant that as long as Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto didn't want to destroy the Soul Society, the duration of his Bankai could not exceed a certain time limit.

However, facing Yhwach, if he didn't use Bankai, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had no confidence in defeating him.

Buzz!

It was clearly a world-destroying high temperature, yet everyone within the Seireitei felt a bone-chilling cold.

Under this terrifying spiritual pressure, all Shinigami and Quincy below captain level felt as if they could be incinerated by the high temperature at any moment.

Even captain-level powerhouses couldn't guarantee they could survive for long in such an environment.

If they faced Captain-Commander Yamamoto directly, they probably couldn't even withstand a single sword strike from him.

…

"This is Captain-Commander Yamamoto's spiritual pressure."

When Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's spiritual pressure erupted, the Shinigami's morale instantly soared.

Although most Shinigami had never seen Captain-Commander Yamamoto, this did not hinder their admiration for him.

It should be known that a thousand years ago, the entire Seireitei was still controlled by nobles, and Shinigami were the exclusive guards of the nobles.

At that time, even if people had excellent talent, if they wanted to become Shinigami, they had to sell their lives to the nobles.

It was Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto who led the assassin organization he had formed to break into the Seireitei, forcefully seizing the right to guard the Seireitei from the nobles.

Subsequently, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto renamed his "Genji School," where he taught his disciples, to the "Shin'ō Academy," teaching commoners with Shinigami aptitude for free, giving the people of Rukongai an upward path.

A thousand years, in the Soul Society, was not too long, nor too short.

However, this did not prevent all the Shinigami who had studied at the Shin'ō Academy from revering Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto's title of "Strongest Shinigami of a Thousand Years" was not just for show.

This was a reputation earned blade by blade through slaughter. Yachiru Unohana was the "greatest villain in the history of the Soul Society," but under Captain-Commander Yamamoto, she dared not act presumptuously.

For the Shinigami in the Gotei Thirteen, Captain-Commander Yamamoto was equivalent to "invincible"!

As long as Captain-Commander Yamamoto made a move, there was no enemy he couldn't defeat.

"Your Majesty—"

Like the Shinigami, the Quincy also sensed Yhwach's spiritual pressure.

For these Quincy, Yhwach was their "God."

Although a thousand years ago, the Wandenreich's predecessor, the Lichtreich, was defeated by the Gotei Thirteen led by Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, and even their Emperor Yhwach was killed, forcing him to spend nine hundred years to reawaken…

However, these Quincy also had sufficient confidence in Yhwach.

The abilities Yhwach bestowed upon the Quincy would completely return to Yhwach after their death.

That is to say, the more Quincy died, the stronger Yhwach's power became!
A thousand years ago, the Quincy of the Lichtreich, apart from those who escaped into the shadows of the Seireitei to establish the "Wandenreich," the rest also perished in the Shinigami's extermination.

Not only that, the Quincy in the World of the Living who possessed Quincy bloodlines also suffered a massacre by the Shinigami over two hundred years ago, ultimately leaving only the Ishida and Kurosaki families as pure-blooded Quincy.

With so many Quincy dead, the reawakened Yhwach's strength naturally received a tremendous boost.

It was precisely because Yhwach's strength had increased that he had perfected the Quincy's final form, Vollständig, and created "Blut Vene" in just nine years.

For these Quincy, their "God" would not fail either! For a time, the battle between the Shinigami and the Quincy became even more intense.

…

Thud thud, thud thud…

Footsteps echoed in the darkness.

"Oh?"

A soft sound of surprise was heard, and Aizen opened his eyes.

"I was wondering who would come here at this time. So it's the King of the Quincy, His Majesty Yhwach…"

"But, King of the Quincy, if you appear here now, aren't you afraid your soldiers will all be killed by the Shinigami?"

Thud thud, thud thud…

A dim light appeared above Sōsuke Aizen, like a stage spotlight, illuminating the sealed Aizen.

Within the halo of light, Yhwach's body appeared before Sōsuke Aizen.

"Aizen Sōsuke."

"I came here to invite you to join us."

"At the same time, I also want to know more about that person from you…"

"That person?"

Sōsuke Aizen's lips curled up slightly.

"I see. I was wondering why you would come looking for me."

"Yhwach, it seems your omniscient and omnipotent power is nothing more than this."

"If I'm not mistaken, the future you saw, was it one where you were trapped in that yellow crystal?"

"Oh no…"

"Captain Ailin, though seemingly cold and ruthless, is actually the most emotional among the Shinigami."

"He definitely wouldn't let you become a second Soul King, enjoying the loneliness of a future you can't see…"

"Which means, the future you can see should be the future where you are killed by Captain Ailin."

Yhwach remained silent.

He did not deny Sōsuke Aizen's speculation.

Indeed, a thousand years ago, in the instant before he was killed by Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, his own spiritual pressure had broken through a sliver of Ichibē Hyōsube's seal. Through the power of "The Almighty," he had seen the future a thousand years later where he killed Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, killed Ichibē Hyōsube, and killed the Soul King.

At that time, Yhwach knew that his stage was still today, a thousand years later.

However, after Yhwach regained his consciousness ninety years ago, he discovered that the future he saw had undergone numerous changes.

Sometimes, he had just sneak-attacked and seized Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, only to be killed by Ailin.

Sometimes, he hadn't even fought Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto before being killed by Ailin.

Sometimes, he had just launched the first attack on the Seireitei when Kisuke Urahara discovered the existence of the Wandenreich, reverse-engineered the passage of the shadow dimension, allowing the Gotei Thirteen to invade the ice palace, ending his plan before it even began.

Sometimes, what Yhwach saw was himself killing Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, then being swatted to death like an "ant" by Ichibē Hyōsube after ascending to the Soul King Palace.

Sometimes, it was after he killed Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, charged up to the Soul King Palace, and killed Ichibē Hyōsube, that he was killed by Ailin.

Sometimes, it was after he killed Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, killed Ichibē Hyōsube, and killed the Soul King, that he was jointly killed by Sōsuke Aizen and Ichigo Kurosaki…

Sometimes, it was after he defeated the combined forces of Sōsuke Aizen and Ichigo Kurosaki, that he was killed by Ailin…

The future seemed to be changing every moment.

But the only thing that seemed unchanged was his, Yhwach's, death.

To find that sliver of a chance for survival, Yhwach had not dared to slack off in these years.

When he slept at night, he would bestow his power upon Haschwalth, making Haschwalth the vessel of his power, his other half, allowing Haschwalth to observe the future for him.

Yhwach did not fear that his future would be death; he feared that one day he would suddenly lose the power to observe the future.

His ability was "The Almighty." Such an ability could allow Yhwach to possess the power to change the past and future.

As long as he possessed such an ability, Yhwach could grasp a sliver of a chance for survival amidst his countless futures of death.

Among them, Sōsuke Aizen was an important node for Yhwach to change the future.

Sōsuke Aizen, in one of the futures Yhwach observed, had joined forces with Ichigo Kurosaki to kill him.

Therefore, Yhwach had marked both Sōsuke Aizen and Ichigo Kurosaki as "Special War Powers."

And among the five Special War Powers Yhwach had marked, all were existences that had killed him in the futures he observed.

And among them, Ailin was the one who had killed him the most times.

If Yhwach wanted to survive and fulfill his long-cherished wish, how to defeat Ailin was of paramount importance.

As mentioned before, Yhwach could bestow his blood upon his subordinates, allowing them to awaken the power of the "Schrift."

When a subordinate died, or when Yhwach personally used "Auswählen" to reclaim the Quincy's powers, the power of the Quincy selected by Yhwach would be completely returned to himself, enhancing his own strength.

Therefore, Yhwach wanted to transform Aizen, Ichigo Kurosaki, and Kisuke Urahara, these three "Special War Powers," into Quincy, and then "Auswählen" to absorb their powers, taking his own strength to the next level.