Chapter 404: Thinking About Me?
"Hmm?"
Yhwach frowned.
Just a moment ago, he sensed that Haschwalth had been defeated.
Although he didn't know who was so brave, it didn't matter.
Without hesitation, he activated the Auswählen.
Once he absorbed Haschwalth's power, experience, and memories, not only would his strength surge significantly, but he could also study the abilities of the one who defeated Haschwalth and prepare in advance.
Unexpectedly, halfway through the Auswählen, a strange force suddenly intervened, forcibly interrupting it!
Yhwach was astonished.
Could there really be someone in this world capable of stopping his Auswählen?
Could it be that, aside from Satoru, there was a second Transcendent in the Seireitei?
Various speculations flooded Yhwach's mind, making his expression grave.
"Daring to lose focus?!"
While he was pondering, Satoru instantly appeared before him.
At some point, he had drawn a Zanpakutō.
Swish!!
A spray of blood erupted from Yhwach's body.
The moment Satoru swung at him, Yhwach had already reacted, raising his spirit sword to block.
But the spirit sword was like a block of butter, failing to hold for even an instant before being sliced in two by Satoru's blade!
If he hadn't leaned back at the critical moment, this slash would likely have spilled his entrails!
Satoru grinned, twisting the blade to swing back in the opposite direction.
Yhwach snorted coldly.
In the instant their blades clashed, he had already discerned the ability of his opponent's sword.
Similar to Lille Barro's "The X-Axis," this was a blade that could ignore any obstruction and cut through everything it touched.
To counter this ability, simply evade its attack range to easily break through!
Lille Barro's ability is shooting, so dodge to the side.
Satoru's blade, on the other hand, is for close combat.
Thus, the answer is to create distance!
Red patterns emerged on Yhwach's body.
Blut Vene!!
After activating Blut Vene, his speed was greatly enhanced, instantly putting dozens of meters between him and Satoru.
Then, with a wave of his hand, dozens of massive spirit bows unfolded in mid-air.
These spirit bows, like autonomous turrets, all drew their arrows!
Yhwach in Blut Vene state was simply too fast. By the time he completed this series of actions, Satoru had only just charged to his previous position and swung his blade.
Seeing this, Yhwach curled the corner of his mouth.
Although his attack power was formidable, in terms of speed, he still held the advantage.
He raised his hand, preparing to shoot.
But, at that very moment, he suddenly felt an intense sense of danger!
Even with dozens of meters between them, could Satoru still manage to strike him?
If it were sword pressure or Kidō, it would be absolutely impossible to injure oneself.
Though he didn't know the reason, Yhwach instinctively dodged to the side.
In the next second, his raised right arm was severed and sent flying.
Blood gushed forth!
Blue Blut Vene patterns rapidly extended, attempting to staunch the bleeding.
However, intense sword intent fluctuations emanated from the wound. Not only did the Blut Vene fail, but even the Reishi in the surrounding air was shattered into fragments upon approaching the injury!
In the distance, Satoru maintained his blade-swinging posture, his upper body bent forward, holding the sword a fist's distance from the ground.
"Quadruple... Air Slash!"
Straightening up again, Satoru swung his hand, sheathing Sayafushi back into its shoulder guard.
Originally, his multiple-impact technique could only be used for pure physical attacks.
But after fusing with Risō Jakumetsu, with the latter's assistance, he could now unleash multiple-impact strikes with his Zanpakutō.
Though it wasn't as satisfying as using his fists directly, it often yielded excellent results in terms of catching opponents off guard.
Looking at Yhwach, who had lost an arm and now wore a pale expression not far away, Satoru's gaze turned somewhat puzzled.
This guy... feels a bit unworthy of his position.
Throughout the entire battle, he hasn't displayed the level expected of a Transcendent.
If he was holding back at the start, testing the waters with probing attacks, then now that he's lost a hand, why isn't he panicking yet?
Could it be that you can also Hollowfy and regrow an arm?
Is this guy looking down on me?
Satoru clicked his tongue, showing an annoyed expression.
Meanwhile, Yhwach was in an even worse mood.
Just moments ago, he sensed that Giselle had been defeated.
Without hesitation, he activated Auswählen.
But, just like when he used Auswählen on Haschwalth earlier, this time it was interrupted again!
Not a shred of Giselle's power was absorbed!
Damn it... what exactly is happening?
If he weren't currently engaged in battle with Satoru and unable to divide his attention, he would definitely go and find out who dared to challenge his authority time and again!
Yhwach took a deep breath.
Now was no longer the time to nurture his flock.
If things continued like this, he would truly lose.
Since he couldn't absorb the power of defeated subordinates, surely there would be no issue directly absorbing those who hadn't yet been defeated.
Even if there really was someone who could use special means to block his Auswählen, they couldn't possibly stop him from randomly killing!
With this thought, Yhwach raised his hand—
On the distant battlefield, a Quincy who resembled a robot, engaged in combat with Shinigami, suddenly collapsed to the ground.
His power transformed into a blue light that shot skyward, flying toward the First Division's direction!
The gorilla-like Quincy struggling under Komamura's onslaught also fell, just like the robot.
A Quincy wearing a mask, with a confident smile on his face and accompanied by a small child, fell silent amidst the light.
The Lloyd brothers, skilled at mimicking others, collapsed together.
Five Sternritter died simultaneously!
Flying swiftly through the Seireitei with Ichigo Kurosaki, Aizen seemed to sense something and turned to look toward the First Division.
"Finally realized it, huh."
"Not too late, but not too fast either."
Beside him, Ichigo looked over:
"Mr. Aizen, what do we do now?"
"Continue."
Aizen gazed into the distance.
There, flames had already illuminated the entire sky.
Yamamoto, his body ablaze with raging flames, was chasing Lille Barro, hacking and slashing.
The latter flapped his eight light wings, evading at incredible speed while continuously firing golden rays, attempting to employ a kiting tactic.
Although Yamamoto was fast, facing Lille Barro with his eight wings and activated Blut, his speed was still slightly inferior.
After experiencing the power of Yamamoto's Bankai, Lille Barro completely abandoned any thought of victory.
His only goal now was to stall Yamamoto, buying enough time for His Majesty.
Once His Majesty dealt with Satoru, Yamamoto Shigekuni would be finished in no time, right?
Suddenly, he saw Yamamoto reveal an eerie smile.
What's so funny?
Has he lost his mind because he can't catch up?
While inwardly scoffing, Lille Barro accelerated even more, desperately retreating and firing more golden beams at Yamamoto.
Though his words belittled Yamamoto, his body was honest.
Suddenly, he felt a chill in his chest.
Looking down, he saw a cold blade piercing through his chest, emerging bloody.
Then, another blade stabbed into his back, protruding from his chest.
Unlike the slender blade from before, this wide and heavy butcher knife inflicted immense damage.
With disbelief, Lille Barro turned his head to look behind him.
There stood a brown-haired man wearing glasses, with a gentle smile on his face.
Beside him was a boy with spiky orange hair, a delinquent appearance, and a serious expression.
Both wore black cloaks that concealed their Reiatsu, having launched a sneak attack from behind while he was entirely focused on Yamamoto!
"I..."
Before he could finish, he stopped.
Yamamoto, having caught up, plunged his blade into Lille Barro's chest, the tip emerging from his back.
The terrifying heat prompted Aizen and Ichigo to immediately withdraw their swords and leap back.
Under Yamamoto's furious gaze, Lille Barro's body was instantly vaporized by the extreme heat, turning to ashes.
Withdrawing Zanka no Tachi, Yamamoto snorted coldly.
Fly all you want, shoot all you want.
Why aren't you flying now??
He turned his gaze to Aizen and Ichigo.
"Go! To the First Division!"
After issuing the one-word command, he changed direction and charged toward the First Division.
Watching Yamamoto's temper flare, Ichigo scratched his head.
"Old Man Yamamoto is pretty scary when he's angry."
Aizen offered no comment.
He had never held Yamamoto in high regard.
The only reason he respected the old man was because he was Satoru's teacher.
Naturally, he wouldn't say such things to Ichigo Kurosaki.
...
...
At this moment, the entire Seireitei was engulfed in the flames of war.
Under the command of their respective division captains, the Shinigami charged bravely, clashing fiercely with the Quincies.
The Quincies were shocked to discover that these damned Shinigami seemed intimately familiar with their combat methods.
When the Quincies unleashed arrow barrages, the Shinigami raised shields.
When the Quincies engaged in close combat, the Shinigami employed Kidō.
With their orderly and disciplined tactics, combined with the omnipresent Reishi of Hollows in the air, almost all the Quincies found themselves in desperate struggles.
Even the Sternritter, who were unrivaled in the Wandenreich, could barely exert a fraction of their strength under the difficulty of replenishing spiritual power.
A Quincy with round glasses and a side-parted hairstyle showed signs of impatience.
"Jail!!"
With a wave of his hand, he created a blue spherical prison.
His opponent, Fourth Division Captain Retsu Unohana, unable to dodge in time, was trapped inside.
Looking at the blue prison surrounding her, Unohana frowned.
This cell was incredibly sturdy.
Even if she exerted her full strength, breaking through it would require considerable effort.
In that time, the enemy would have more than enough opportunity to slaughter all the Shinigami under her command.
She wasn't particularly concerned about the lives of ordinary squad members.
But if Satoru were to learn that she had fought such an unsightly battle, he would surely be disappointed.
At the thought of Satoru looking at her with disappointment, Retsu Unohana's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Was she feeling fear, or excitement?
Meanwhile, Quilge, who had released the prison to trap Unohana, was in no hurry to begin the slaughter.
Like Unohana, he was deep in thought.
"What in the world is going on… Why do these Shinigami know so much about the Quincy?"
"Could it be that the Wandenreich hasn't remained completely hidden all these years? Have those damned Shinigami been watching us all along?"
"Or perhaps… there's a traitor leaking information…"
"What, thinking about me?"
"?!"
Muttering to himself, Quilge was startled by the sudden voice.
He turned toward the direction of the sound.
There, a girl in a white military uniform emerged from the shadows with a confident smile, standing not far from him.
His eyes widened in recognition:
"Bambietta Basterbine?!"
"Weren't you dead?"
"Oh… is that what Haschwalth told you?"
Bambietta narrowed her eyes.
Hearing her words, Quilge suddenly understood.
I see... That Haschwalth, to stabilize morale, deliberately claimed Bambietta had died.
That way, he wouldn't be "failing to save someone in mortal danger."
But in reality, Bambietta didn't die—she saved her own life by selling out Quincy intelligence.
Thinking this, he snorted coldly.
"I knew it! How could the Shinigami know our abilities so clearly? So it was all your doing!"
Bambietta curled her lips:
"My doing? Of course it was."
"Though I hated Haschwalth when I was first abandoned... now, I actually have to thank him."
"If not for him, how could I be with Satoru?"
"My wonderful life now is all thanks to him~"
Quilge furrowed his brows.
From Bambietta's words, he didn't detect much sarcasm.
This woman... truly believes being abandoned by the Wandenreich was a good thing.
Damn her, what have the Shinigami turned her into!
He was about to say something when suddenly he saw Bambietta raise her hand and snap her fingers.
Seeing this action, Quilge's heart sank.
Damn it!!
Under Komamura's watchful gaze, several spiritual arrows materialized out of thin air, striking his "prison" with force.
The blue cage shattered instantly!
His prison, though incredibly strong—even a captain-level Shinigami would need hours to break it—
had one flaw.
It couldn't hold a Quincy at all.
A Quincy of similar strength could easily shatter the cage with a full-powered strike!
From the shattered prison, Retsu Unohana slowly emerged.
A cold smile graced her face, as if a god of slaughter had descended.
She first looked at Bambietta.
"Though I hate to admit it, you've been a great help, Miss Bambietta."
"If there's ever anything I can repay you with in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."
Bambi snorted:
"Not necessary. I didn't do it for you—I just didn't want Satoru to be unhappy."
Unohana nodded:
"In that, we are in agreement."
With that, she turned to Quilge, whose face had turned ashen.
"Well done, Quincy."
"I, Retsu Unohana, nearly faced Satoru's reprimand because of you."
"For this crime... even ten thousand deaths would not be enough to atone."
"Bankai."
"Minazuki!!"
Beside her, behind Bambietta, wings of light unfurled, and a pentagram pillar shot straight into the sky.
Vollständig, activated!!
Under Quilge's despairing gaze, two madwomen, wearing terrifying smiles, charged toward him together!