When Brook reappeared, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni was gone.
Rukia Kuchiki froze completely.
Sensing the terror growing around Brook, another ominous thought rose in her mind, just like when she had wondered about Jūshirō Ukitake's fate.
Had they all been devoured by this demon?
Brook ignored Rukia and left his microcosm. His six tomoe white Rinnegan looked incomparably powerful.
The Guardians of Hell, the Sinners of Hell, Xcution's Fullbringers, and now the Captain Commander of the Shinigami.
At last, there had been enough energy to push Brook's evolution forward again.
"Once I integrate all the power of the Southern Underworld Hell, then add it to the power of the Northern Underworld Hell, I should be able to deal with the Western Underworld God, Jin, right?"
Brook murmured softly.
He now possessed part of the inheritance of Hirasaka, the Northern Underworld God, along with most of the power of Reiō, the Southern Underworld God. With both combined, he should have enough strength to contend with a true Underworld God.
Meanwhile, in Seireitei, Byakuya Kuchiki had brought his grandfather, Ginrei Kuchiki, to seek help from the Zero Division.
Captain Commander Yamamoto was trapped in battle with the Lord of Hueco Mundo.
If Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni defeated that Lord of Hueco Mundo, everything would still be manageable.
But if the Captain Commander fell, Soul Society would be plunged into absolute danger.
Unfortunately, things did not go the way Byakuya, Kisuke Urahara, and Shunsui Kyōraku had imagined.
The Zero Division would never leave the Soul King Palace lightly, much less descend to Seireitei or Soul Society.
Their duty was to protect the Soul King, the wedge of the Three Realms. They could not abandon the palace on impulse.
If they were lured away from their stronghold and another force or powerhouse broke into the Soul King Palace, the Three Realms would be finished.
After receiving that answer, Byakuya left Seireitei with a grim expression.
He hurried back to the present world and returned to the battlefield against the Arrancar and the Six Deadly Sins. Now, they could only place their hopes on Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
They could only hope that the Captain Commander would defeat the Lord of Hueco Mundo.
When Urahara and Kyōraku saw Byakuya return alone, they immediately realized that something terrible was about to happen.
If the Zero Division refused to intervene, and if Yamamoto truly could not defeat the Lord of Hueco Mundo, then everyone present was in grave danger.
The morale of the Shinigami captains and the Visoreds immediately wavered.
Urahara's mind raced.
He had never expected the Lord of Hueco Mundo to be this powerful. Not only had he united the Espada and the Six Sins of Hell, he had also created two Fullbringer Arrancars and strengthened a female Arrancar to a second stage Resurrección.
Ulquiorra, with his third stage Resurrección, and Nelliel, with her second stage Resurrección, were enough to hold back four or five powerful Shinigami captains by themselves.
If not for the vice-captains and officers making up the difference through sheer numbers, the Gotei 13 would have been defeated long ago.
Hueco Mundo's power had expanded to a terrifying degree.
Without the help of the Visoreds, the Gotei 13 would already have collapsed today.
"Kyōraku Shunsui, order the Gotei 13 to retreat to Soul Society. They shouldn't dare enter Seireitei."
Urahara's expression was grave.
"As for you, stay in the present world and join the Visoreds."
Urahara knew that continuing this battle was not a solution. His only choice was to wait for the outcome of Yamamoto's fight.
If these Arrancar and Sinners of Hell dared to invade Seireitei, then the Zero Division would be forced to act.
"What about the present world?"
Even though Kyōraku Shunsui had already been Hollowfied, he was still worried about the stability of both the human world and Soul Society.
"We can't afford to worry about that now!"
Urahara did not want to see the human world destroyed by Hueco Mundo and Hell, but if the battle continued like this, the casualties would only grow worse.
The Shinigami captains were all using Bankai. The Arrancar had released their Zanpakutō. The destructive power was staggering.
The city had already been reduced to ruins, and countless humans had died.
But even if the Shinigami wanted to leave, the Espada and the Hell had no intention of letting them go.
"You think you can just leave? Dream on!"
Among them, Shuren and Kokuto were especially insane.
They had just crawled out of Hell and had yet to earn any real merit. If they gained nothing in this battle, how could they still call themselves demons who had returned from Hell?
More importantly, they were genuinely afraid Brook would consider them useless and devour them without even giving them the chance to resurrect.
Kokuto had gone to take revenge first, which meant he had arrived late.
Now, his battle with Kenpachi Zaraki had become a true fight to the death.
If he died, he would simply resurrect in the depths of Hell after some time.
But if these Shinigami captains died, they would first have to undergo soul burial in Soul Society before they could enter Hell.
The massive disturbance caused by this battle in the present world had also attracted the attention of the Wandenreich.
Yhwach and the Sternritter were watching this top level war between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo.
Yhwach was waiting for Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's fate.
If that man died, he would immediately launch a surprise attack on the Soul King Palace.
The Captain Commander had sealed him away for nearly a thousand years. It had taken him nine hundred years to regain his heartbeat and nine hundred and ninety years to regain his consciousness. His power had still not returned to its peak.
Even if he fully recovered, there was still a chance he would stumble again against Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
That was why he needed to be fully prepared this time.
His Sternritter had already grown to a considerable scale. He no longer feared the Gotei 13.
"Your Majesty, the Lord of Hueco Mundo has appeared. Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni may have already fallen. That man is even more terrifying than we imagined."
Gerard Valkyrie, one of the Schutzstaffel, respectfully reported to Yhwach.
His true identity was the heart of the Soul King, and he possessed divine power.
Because of that, he could clearly sense the power of the Soul King within Brook.
That power filled him with fear.
"Your Majesty, we may need to act immediately."
Pernida Parnkgjas, also one of the Schutzstaffel, was equally uneasy.
As the Soul King's left hand, Pernida could sense the many pieces of the Soul King gathered within Brook, including the right hand, the legs, and the organs hidden within the Fullbringers.
With so much of the Soul King's power gathered in the Lord of Hueco Mundo, Pernida felt that the next piece of the Soul King to be devoured might be him.
Hearing the words of his two guards, Yhwach pondered for a moment.
Seireitei was indeed at its weakest right now.
The Gotei 13 had all been deployed, leaving only nobles and lesser soldiers behind. Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni had most likely fallen to the Lord of Hueco Mundo.
However, the combat strength of the Zero Division still could not be underestimated.
"I do not know which part of my father's consciousness is controlling this Lord of Hueco Mundo, but he is definitely aiming to become the next Soul King."
Yhwach's expression darkened.
As the son of the Soul King, he did not want to see the Soul King continue existing in that pitiful state.
He wanted to obtain the Soul King's power himself.
He would become the true ruler of the world.
----------
However, if anyone else tried to seize the position of ruler of this world, even reincarnations born from other parts of the Soul King, Yhwach would eliminate them.
That included his own Schutzstaffel, Pernida Parnkgjas, the Soul King's left hand, and Gerard Valkyrie, the Soul King's heart.
As if sensing Yhwach's gaze, Pernida and Gerard both lowered their heads respectfully, showing absolute obedience and loyalty.
"In that case, while Yamamoto is dead and the Gotei 13 are away, the Wandenreich will take over Soul Society."
"Gather the Sternritter at once. Launch a full-scale assault. Before the Lord of Hueco Mundo can react, we will seize the Soul King Palace."
With a single decree from Yhwach, emperor of the Invisible Empire, the Ice Palace that had existed hidden in the shadows of Seireitei's buildings was revealed to the world for the first time.
Its appearance shocked the nobles and the Central 46 within Seireitei.
The Kuchiki family, now the leader of the Four Great Noble Clans, immediately moved under former family head Ginrei Kuchiki. Together with the Shihōin family, the Tsunayashiro family, and the other noble houses, they rushed to confront the invaders who had appeared from nowhere.
But how could these elderly nobles, retired warriors, and weakened defenders be a match for the Invisible Empire and the Sternritter?
In just a few minutes, more than two thousand Shinigami left behind in Seireitei were slaughtered. Many of them were even students from the Shin'ō Academy.
These Quincy showed no mercy.
Their goal was the extermination of the Shinigami.
Some retired captains even had their Bankai stolen through the Quincy medallions, including the powerful former captain of the Sixth Division, Ginrei Kuchiki.
The noble and mighty Ginrei Kuchiki died at Yhwach's hands.
Yhwach hated the Five Great Noble Clans deeply.
It was their ancestors who had sealed away his father, dismembering the Soul King and scattering him into countless pieces.
If not for the urgency of invading the Soul King Palace, the Sternritter would have gladly wiped out every Shinigami in Seireitei.
While Yhwach led the Wandenreich to attack the Soul King Palace and battle the Zero Division, Brook returned to the present world after devouring Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
If Brook had gained the Eye of God during his advancement in the Northern Underworld and could see everything happening in the Southern Underworld, he would already be rushing over to fight Yhwach.
The Soul King's left hand, the Soul King's heart, and even Yhwach, the Soul King's son.
All of them were far more valuable prey than the Gotei 13 and the Visoreds.
Yhwach was a man as powerful as Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
In the year he regained consciousness, he used Auswählen to devour the spiritual power of every mixed-blood Quincy in the world at once, restoring most of his strength.
Among the victims were Ichigo Kurosaki's mother, Masaki Kurosaki, and Uryū Ishida's mother, Kanae Katagiri.
Several years had passed since then, and his strength was only a little short of returning to its peak.
Originally, Yhwach had planned to recover fully before killing Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni. He had not expected the Lord of Hueco Mundo to suddenly appear, forcing him to grow impatient.
Yhwach sensed that this Lord of Hueco Mundo, who possessed part of the Soul King's power, was also aiming for the Soul King. That meant he had to strike first.
Otherwise, even if he managed to kill Yamamoto, he had no confidence in dealing with this monster who ruled Hueco Mundo.
Yhwach did not want to be sealed for another thousand years, nor did he want to be killed by the Lord of Hueco Mundo.
Brook had no idea that Yhwach was secretly pulling out the crystal. At the moment, he was still enjoying the thrill of overwhelming his enemies.
The instant Brook appeared, Kisuke Urahara and Shunsui Kyōraku felt as if the sky itself were about to collapse.
Had the mighty Captain Commander Yamamoto really been defeated just like that?
Even so, they preferred to believe Brook had used some method to trap Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni somewhere.
When Shuren and Kokuto saw Brook return, they fought even harder.
They were truly panicking now.
They still had not shown their worth.
Ulquiorra and Nelliel also pushed themselves harder, unwilling to waste the power Brook had given them.
"Oh? You gained the power of Hollowfication, and you still dare attack my people? How ungrateful."
Brook watched as Hollowfied Shunsui Kyōraku wielded his twin Zanpakutō against the First Espada, Coyote Starrk, even suppressing him. The sight made Brook laugh.
"Come here."
Universal Pull.
Brook's six tomoe white Rinnegan slowly spun, and a powerful gravitational force dragged Shunsui Kyōraku straight toward him.
Kyōraku tried to swing his blade at Brook, but Brook froze him in place and seized him by the throat.
"If you don't cherish the power I gave you, then I'll take it all back."
A devouring force surged out of Brook and instantly swallowed Shunsui Kyōraku.
In front of all the Shinigami captains and Visoreds, Shunsui Kyōraku slowly dissolved into spirit particles and was completely absorbed by Brook.
Even the Espada were terrified by the sight.
A Shinigami captain stronger than the First Espada had vanished just like that.
If Brook wanted to devour them, they would have no power to resist.
After all, their power came from Aizen's Hogyoku.
And now, Lord Brook's Hogyoku power was several times more terrifying than Aizen's.
Seeing this, the sinners from Hell fought even harder.
They had personally witnessed Brook devour all the guardians and sinners of Hell, proving that even Hell's own consciousness could not defeat this true god.
"Run!"
Kisuke Urahara was more decisive and desperate than ever.
Even Captain Commander Yamamoto was nowhere to be seen, and Brook had instantly destroyed a powerful Shinigami captain like Shunsui Kyōraku.
They had absolutely no chance of winning.
The Zero Division's refusal to support them would throw the Three Realms into chaos.
Urahara was cursing those stubborn old monsters from the Zero Division in his heart. Even if they could not all leave, could they not at least send two members to provide support?
Would they only step out of the Soul King Palace after every Shinigami in the Gotei 13 had been killed?
Urahara knew the truth about the Soul King, as well as the scandals of the Five Great Noble Clans. He also knew how important the Soul King was.
But there was no need for all five members of the Zero Division to guard the Soul King Palace at all times.
Back when the Zero Division was not complete, Ichibē Hyōsube alone had guarded that place.
Now, the Captain Commander's fate was unknown, and the Zero Division had not even bothered to check on him.
What a complete mess.
"Visoreds, all of you possess power born from the Hogyoku. None of you are escaping."
Brook chuckled, and the power of the completed Hogyoku erupted from his body, disrupting the Hollowfication power within the Visoreds.
All eight Visoreds fell into chaos and froze in place.
Universal Pull.
The eight Hollowfied Shinigami of the Visoreds were dragged toward Brook by gravity, shocking Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihōin.
They tried to stop him, but Shuren and the other four sinners from Hell, along with Ginjo Kugo and the two Hollowfied Xcution members, immediately blocked their path.
All they could do was watch helplessly as the eight members of the Visoreds fell into Brook's hands.
.....
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