"Garganta fluctuation index spiking!"
"Reishi concentration rising!"
"District 13! A massive Garganta rift has opened in District 13!"
"Hurry! Send those fools to investigate on-site!"
White-coated researchers scrambled, the institute a chaotic whirl of footsteps and overlapping voices.
Several five-man Shinigami squads, under urgent orders, raced toward the source of the Reishi disturbance, their forms a blur of Shunpo across the Seireitei's rooftops.
Simultaneously, Makoto and Saitō received their summons.
Kukizoe Tsuio's Reishi transmission delivered the message precisely to their ears.
"All Gotei 13 captains and vice-captains, assemble at the 1st Division barracks immediately!"
"Repeating, all Gotei 13…"
Sasakibe's voice remained cold, rational, devoid of emotion.
Yet, as he concluded the Kidō summons and stood behind Yamamoto, his gaze fixed on the piercing light splitting the distant sky, he couldn't suppress a frown.
This Reiatsu…
The Soul Society was truly plagued by calamity.
---
Elsewhere, at the same moment.
Takasugi Konji led his squad swiftly toward the Reiatsu surge, his expression grave.
As they neared the area, he halted atop a tree, raising a hand to his team.
"Stop!"
The squad instantly took cover.
Takasugi, equally cautious, held his breath, peering from behind the tree at the spot where the light had fallen.
After what felt like an eternity, the radiance faded.
Through the endless dust, vague silhouettes emerged.
He squinted, straining to discern their forms.
But before he could, a sharp sense of danger gripped him.
"Scatter!"
He shouted, his body already skimming the ground to evade.
His squad, seasoned veterans of countless battles, had instincts honed by life-and-death struggles. They reacted the instant they heard his voice, dodging in unison.
But their speed was a fraction too slow.
Rat-tat-tat,
A piercing burst erupted from the dust's core.
Bullets, cloaked in dark Reishi, shot forth, crossing kilometers with deadly precision, piercing the bodies of several Shinigami, spraying blood.
"Damn it!" Takasugi roared, his gaze darting to count the figures in the dust.
Seven.
With the number confirmed, he didn't hesitate, turning to flee.
Duty outweighed vengeance.
As a veteran of countless battles, Takasugi knew his priorities.
He unleashed a red Kidō flare.
It signaled "extreme danger, beyond resistance"!
---
"One got away." Said a petite blonde girl, chewing bubblegum, her submachine gun in hand, voice cold.
"No matter, Liestya." Zeidritz replied calmly. "Under His Majesty's might, the Soul Society will be razed to ashes."
"He won't escape."
"Our task this time is merely to deliver the message."
"No issues?" A burly black-haired man spoke up, hesitant. "The Shinigami… they're not all like that bald freak, are they?"
"Adalbert." Zeidritz said coldly, naming him.
The man froze.
A whistling slap cracked across Adalbert's face, drawing blood.
Adalbert's lip bled, but he didn't flinch.
Zeidritz's gaze was icy. "Are you questioning His Majesty's will?"
Adalbert snapped to attention, bellowing, "We are the empire's spear! We are the empire's shield! We shall forever serve His Majesty!"
Zeidritz lowered his eyes, flat. "You'd better."
"Let's move."
With that, the group vanished, heading straight for the Seireitei.
---
When Makoto strode into the 1st Division barracks, a heavy silence greeted him.
The faces of those present were grim.
He instinctively moved toward the Vice-Captain of the 11th Division's spot, where Unohana offered a gentle smile.
But in the pin-drop quiet, Katori's voice broke through.
"Makoto-kun!"
"Over here, over here."
Katori waved cheerfully, her pure face beaming behind thick glasses.
Unohana's smile faded, her gaze shifting to Katori.
Katori, however, kept her eyes on Makoto, ignoring Unohana entirely.
Makoto hesitated, then headed toward Katori.
Though he'd barely spent time at the 8th Division barracks, he was now under her command.
He had to stand in the right place, at least nominally.
As he walked away, Unohana's expression cooled, her glance at Katori carrying a subtle sting.
Katori's glasses seemed to shield her, deflecting the sharp look as if oblivious.
Once Makoto stood behind her, Katori waved dismissively at her original vice-captain, shooing him back with a "go, go" gesture.
The former vice-captain shot Makoto a resentful look.
But he obeyed.
Makoto offered an apologetic smile.
Once everyone was in place, Yamamoto emerged slowly from the rear.
Before the captains could ask, he cut in, "No need to rush."
"Our guests have arrived."
The instant his words fell,
Buzz!
A faint spatial hum disrupted the Reishi, filling the spacious barracks with a jarring interference, making everyone frown.
The next moment, several figures in crisp white uniforms stepped through a rift.
Makoto's pupils constricted.
Leading them was Zeidritz, whom he'd encountered before!
Clack, clack!
Hard leather boots struck the wooden floor, crisp and sharp.
Even before the entire Gotei 13, these figures exuded arrogance, chins high, eyes glinting with menace.
"So rude!" Shigyō Nobutsuna dug a finger in his ear, grumbling. "Not even a greeting before barging into someone's stronghold."
"Are you bastards that eager to die?"
"Ignorant fool." Zeidritz sneered mockingly. "Do you know who you're insulting?"
"Pfft-" Shigyō chuckled.
Then,
His massive frame moved with speed belying his bulk, vanishing from his spot, his fur cloak rustling like wind.
When he reappeared, he loomed before Zeidritz.
His blade rose.
And fell.
Shigyō's smile was cold.
But his gaze froze.
Clang!
Another towering figure intercepted with blinding speed, unflinching before Shigyō's blade.
The strike hit Adalbert's neck, but it rang like metal on metal.
Adalbert had blocked Zeidritz.
Their clash splintered the fragile wooden floor, debris flying.
Liestya raised her gun.
The four Reishi soldiers behind her lifted their blades.
"Enough." Yamamoto's voice cut through.
Shigyō paused, glancing at Zeidritz with disdain before stepping back, clearing the Quincy's path.
"Hmph." Adalbert returned an equally cold stare, retreating behind Zeidritz.
"Is this the Soul Society's hospitality?" Zeidritz struck first, his tone icy.
Yamamoto, eyes closed, replied calmly, "A single strike is better than the deaths of the Shinigami under your hands."
"That was only just, and it's why we're here." Zeidritz said evenly.
His double standard drew the captains' glares.
Yamamoto fell silent, then opened his eyes, fixing the white-uniformed man with a cold stare. "Your purpose?"
"Precisely!" Zeidritz's voice rose, indignant. "Given your Shinigami's brazen assault on our Emperor of the Lichtreich, Yhwach-sama, in plain sight, we Quincy shall deliver an equal response."
"Namely, war!"
"…"
Every Shinigami captain fell silent.The next moment, a roar of laughter erupted.
The captains guffawed as if they'd heard the funniest thing, their unrestrained mirth filling the room. Only a few remained composed.
"Ha! He said war?"
"Hey, hey! I've been so bored my bones are practically rusting!"
"But with these guys?"
"How many does their so-called empire even have?"
"Who knows? Enough to keep us swinging for a while, I bet."
The once-quiet barracks exploded into chaos after the bombshell.
Makoto stood behind Katori, his cold gaze fixed on Zeidritz at the center.
This was the true nature of the original Gotei 13.
But…
Underestimating these foes could lead to a bitter lesson.
Yet, amidst the laughter flooding the barracks, the Quincy envoys showed no flicker of emotion, merely observing in silence.
As the laughter gradually subsided, Zeidritz's calm voice cut through, clear to every ear,
"We Quincy are the greatest beings, created by divinity."
"Our Sternritter are the empire's spear and shield, and we shall utterly destroy those who defy His Majesty."
His single eye swept over the room, as if memorizing each face, his tone resolute.
"This is ordained."
"Savor your final days of revelry."
"…Heh."
This was the Lichtreich's declaration of war!
The instant his words landed, Furuoki Ōtogawa drew his asauchi.
A torrent of black blade-light surged, threatening to engulf the Quincy.
But Zeidritz merely extended a hand, pressing a pocket watch forward.
Click.
The space before them froze, the flowing blade-light halting mid-air.
Ōtogawa tipped his straw hat, eyes narrowing beneath its shadow.
Before him, Zeidritz and his group dissolved like ink spreading in a pond, vanishing.
Perhaps it was a trick of the mind, but Makoto felt Zeidritz's gaze linger on him for a split second.
Buzz!
The spatial hum rang again.
Save for the splintered wood and Ōtogawa's blade mark, the spot where the Quincy stood was empty once more.
"Tch." Shigyō Nobutsuna clicked his tongue. "Thought they'd have more spine, but they just drop words and run?"
"It's you two who are the embarrassment." Obana drawled. "A sneak attack, and you still couldn't take them out?"
"What'd you say?!" Shigyō's temper flared.
"Shut up!"
"Need to make us look worse?!"
Yamamoto's voice boomed, deafening, silencing the room.
But as the barracks quieted, Makoto stepped forward from the crowd.
"Vice Captain Makoto, what is it?" Yamamoto asked.
"Reporting to Captain Commander." Makoto said gravely. "The leader just now was one of the Quincy we encountered before!"
"And?" Yamamoto inquired patiently.
He sensed Makoto's warning was no trifling matter.
A master always keeps a student's heart.
As the Soul Society's "greatest under the top above," Yamamoto was ever wary of the "unknown."
Makoto adopted a hesitant tone. "If I'm not mistaken…"
"The Quincy are using a unique, no, a diluted form of… the Soul King's power."
The words landed like a thunderbolt, freezing everyone.
Having witnessed Yamamoto and Tsunayashiro's world-shattering clash, even the most arrogant founding captains understood the weight of "the Soul King's power."
Even Yamamoto's brow furrowed. "Are you certain?"
"At the very least, it shares similar properties." Makoto stressed, urging caution. "So, I implore all captains to take none of them lightly."
"These foes defy conventional reasoning."
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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