Yamamoto tried hard to remember, but found he couldn't recall a thing.
It was as if everything before his eyes was exactly as it should be.
Fortunately, despite paying a tragic price, they had ultimately achieved victory.
Yhwach was dead, the remaining Quincies had fled, and the Soul Society had once again ushered in an era of peace. At the same time, the three realms had avoided the fate of being destroyed by the Quincies.
Yamamoto let out a long breath, propped up his somewhat exhausted body, and began to organize the ruins before him and the surviving Soul Reapers.
The Gotei 13 was rebuilt, and a new batch of members was selected for Central 46, the symbol of the highest judicial authority.
The Soul Society was flourishing day by day.
With the successive selection of Captains, the Gotei 13 took up the mantle, significantly lightening the burden on Yamamoto's shoulders.
Every day, he only needed to handle a few Squad 1 duties and the organized reports from the other Squads.
Compared to before, it was simply far too relaxing.
Although life had returned to normal, Yamamoto always felt as if something was missing.
It was like a jigsaw puzzle missing its final piece; no matter how perfectly the rest was put together, it remained incomplete.
So, what exactly was missing?
Yamamoto would ponder this question during his idle moments, but nearly a thousand years passed without him finding a definitive answer.
Later, turmoil erupted in the Soul Society once again.
A promising rookie Soul Reaper he had previously favored was framed in a factional dispute. Coupled with an overly extreme temperament, the man was driven down the dark path of slaughtering his own comrades.
Out of pity for the younger generation and holding onto a sliver of hope for him, Yamamoto did not deal the killing blow. Instead, together with Kuchiki Ginrei, he sealed the man away, hoping he would change his ways after many years.
But deep in his heart, he felt that Kuchiki Kōga shouldn't have turned out this way.
He was supposed to be a pillar of the Soul Society...
Where exactly did things go wrong?
As time flowed on, Yamamoto successively sent off two colleagues to ascend to the Soul King Palace and become members of the Zero Division, while Squad 12 welcomed a new Captain.
Urahara Kisuke.
When Yamamoto saw this fellow, he felt a bit of distaste in his heart, always feeling as if something major was about to happen.
Sure enough, not long after, a severe incident broke out in the Soul Society.
Eight Captain-class Soul Reapers, including the Deputy Kidō Chief, were framed by their colleague Urahara Kisuke. Afflicted by Hollow poison, they completely lost their minds.
The verdict handed down by Central 46 was to treat these eight as Hollows.
As for the chief culprit, Urahara Kisuke, he was to be stripped of all his spiritual power and exiled to a desolate land.
For the first time, Yamamoto erupted into a fierce conflict with Central 46. Both sides stuck to their guns, arguing endlessly in the assembly hall.
Perhaps because it was their first time seeing Yamamoto so furious, Central 46 made a rare concession and altered the sentences of Urahara Kisuke and the others.
But it was too late; Urahara Kisuke and the rest had already defected and left the Soul Society.
No one knew where they went.
That night, Yamamoto stood before his window and pondered for a long time, believing that things shouldn't have turned out this way.
'If that brat were here...'
'Hmm, it seems I have forgotten a very important person.'
Time flew by, and the hard-won peace of the Soul Society was once again disturbed by an incident of moderate proportions.
A seated officer of Squad 13 and the younger sister of the Kuchiki clan head, Kuchiki Rukia, violated the law by transferring her Soul Reaper powers to a human.
The events that followed were even harder for Yamamoto to comprehend.
The sister of the head of the Kuchiki clan, one of the Five Great Noble Families, was sentenced to execution by the Sōkyoku over such a trivial matter.
'Has Central 46 gone mad?'
Not long after the verdict was announced, a group of Ryoka from the World of the Living forcefully invaded the Soul Society, causing an uproar in the Seireitei and defeating several Captains.
On Sōkyoku Hill, an orange-haired, spiky-headed youth instantly defeated three Lieutenants, including Sasakibe Chōjirō.
'Chōjirō, could you be any more obvious?'
'With a performance like that, even Tōsen Kaname could see you were holding back.'
Then, something unbelievable happened.
The supposedly dead Squad 5 Captain, Aizen Sōsuke, reappeared and declared his intention to stand at the pinnacle of the heavens, officially declaring war on the Soul Society.
Watching Aizen and his cohorts being taken away by Negación, Yamamoto showed no anger on his face; instead, a hint of confusion surfaced.
For some unknown reason, he felt that Aizen shouldn't be like this.
After that came the battle in Karakura Town. The Captains struggled to defeat their Arrancar opponents known as the Espada, only to ultimately fall at Aizen's hands.
Even Yamamoto himself, after sacrificing an arm, only managed to inflict some injuries on Aizen.
In the end, it was that spiky-haired youth who defeated Aizen and saved the Soul Society.
After the war, Yamamoto looked at his empty sleeve, wondering if he should ask that human girl named Inoue Orihime to help restore it.
'What if an enemy similar to Aizen appears in the future?'
Strangely, he didn't seem to have any resistance to the idea of seeking help from a human.
After all, without human help, the Soul Society would have long been shattered and restructured by Aizen.
However, after only a short period of time, an unexpected enemy suddenly appeared.
His former defeated foe, the Emperor of the Quincies, Yhwach, had returned.
Upon receiving the Wandenreich's declaration of war, Yamamoto, though furious, did not lose his reason.
After pondering for a long time, he bypassed Central 46 entirely and headed straight for the eighth level of the Shino Prison, Muken.
Then, under Aizen's astonished gaze, he personally undid the seals on him.
When he learned of Yamamoto's intentions, Aizen only hesitated for a second before gladly agreeing.
To him, no matter how flawed the Soul Reapers were, they were still the side protecting the world. His goal from beginning to end was to change this world.
Not to destroy the world and return everything to its primordial state, like that madman Yhwach wanted.
Before leaving, Yamamoto specifically asked a question:
"Aizen Sōsuke, do you feel that this world is missing something?"
Aizen furrowed his brow, staring at the old man before him. After thinking for a moment, he replied,
"It's missing your stubbornness and pedantry."
"In my impression, you shouldn't be like this."
Yamamoto was taken aback, a flash of realization crossing his eyes before he lowered his gaze slightly.
"Is that so?"
The war arrived as expected, with the Quincies launching a massive invasion of the Soul Society from the shadows.
The Soul Reapers fought bravely, defending the land beneath their feet.
However, the gap in strength between the two sides was too great, resulting in heavy casualties.
Yamamoto personally took action, attempting to end this war, but his Bankai was stolen by Yhwach, ultimately leading to his death in battle.
In the final moments of his life, he looked at Yhwach opposite him. There was no anger on his face, only a water-like calmness.
"Yhwach, I have lost this battle."
"But next time, you won't be so lucky."
Yhwach furrowed his brow tightly.
"What on earth are you talking about..."
Golden-red flames ignited, incinerating everything. The ruin-like Seireitei transformed, slowly revealing a scorched, blackened earth.
Yamamoto opened his half-closed eyes, a hint of relief flashing in their depths.
If he hadn't found the flaw in Aizen's words, he would have completely lost his mind by now.
"The fact that you were able to wake up is indeed somewhat beyond my expectations."
A voice resembling metallic resonance echoed in the empty environment, immediately drawing Yamamoto's attention.
Opposite him, a figure similar to his own stood on the scorched earth filled with fissures. Magma splattered wildly, and a terrifying high temperature constantly permeated the air.
The difference was that the other party wore a white bone mask on his face, and his aura seemed somewhat tyrannical, like a volcano in the distance about to erupt.
"I am rather curious, what exactly did you see just now?"
"You don't know?"
"That was evolved from the deepest parts of your heart. I am merely Ryūjin Jakka tainted by the power of a Hollow; how would I know?"
Hearing this, Yamamoto looked thoughtful.
The Hollowfication of a Soul Reaper was essentially using the power of a Hollow to break the original boundaries of the soul.
On some level, a Zanpakutō could be seen as the other side of a Soul Reaper.
Therefore, the scene before him was understandable.
"A world full of despair, and one that cannot gain my approval."
Yamamoto raised his right hand, and countless scorching Reishi condensed, forming a charred longsword emitting wisps of green smoke.
"If I remember correctly, that Aizen brat said that as long as I defeat you, I can master Hollowfication, right?"
Ryūjin Jakka was just about to nod when he suddenly noticed something extra in front of him.
His pupils shrank subconsciously. That was...
A handful of burnt-out ashes.
On the battlefield of Hueco Mundo, devastation met the eye everywhere.
Craters several kilometers in diameter dotted the desert. Boundless Reiatsu, accompanied by explosive flames, shattered the clouds in the sky, dyeing the night curtain crimson.
The moisture in the atmosphere evaporated rapidly, and a scorching aura spread out like ripples.
It was as if a sun had risen in Hueco Mundo; the cold of the past was no more, replaced by a terrifying heatwave that made it difficult to breathe.
Two figures stood on footholds made of Reishi, hovering in midair and facing each other from a distance.
Feeling the long-lost intense pain radiating from his body, a trace of excitement flashed in Naraku Sora's eyes. A demon-like, savage grin surfaced on his white bone mask as he glared fiercely at his opponent.
Yamamoto was still acting purely on instinct.
But even so, his Hollowfied stats still forced Naraku Sora into a bitter struggle.
The only reason he had managed to hold on until now was entirely because the Hollowfied Yamamoto couldn't one-shot him.
The figure enveloped in scorching Reiatsu rapidly closed in. His absurdly exaggerated muscles bulged instantly, causing Yamamoto's skin to engorge with blood, whipping up a searing wind amidst a sea of crimson.
Boom!!
A loud crash tore through the air.
The joints all over Naraku Sora's body ground together, emitting a sharp sound like snapping piano strings. Black and red arcs of lightning wrapped around his arms, extending all the way to the blade of his sword.
He slashed down, pulling along explosive winds and distorting the contours of space.
At the moment of collision, both figures were sent flying backward simultaneously, trailing long tails of flame before crashing randomly into the craters, kicking up sky-high waves of dust.
Watching the shockwaves erupting in the sky, the onlookers felt their scalps go numb.
Let alone fighting head-on, they weren't even sure they could withstand the aftershocks.
This master and disciple pair were simply pure monsters.
Naraku Sora stood up from the deep crater. The horrifying caved-in section of his chest vanished at a visible rate, quickly returning to normal.
If his High-Speed Regeneration wasn't strong enough, he wouldn't have been able to last this long at all.
Looking toward Yamamoto's position, he was surprised to find that the old man hadn't immediately charged over.
'Could it be that it's already over?'
Just as Naraku Sora was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a terrifying scene unfolded.
The sea of fire covering the entire battlefield vanished in a flash, the process taking less than a second.
And in the distance, amidst the swirling waves of dust, a figure slowly walked out, carrying a longsword emitting wisps of green smoke.
Like a charred...