Chapter 153: Y, R, Fire
Would my arrival truly affect the course of the entire story?
Since Jōjirō came to this world two years ago, he had been pondering this very question.
If his presence disrupted the entire system of the Soul Society and threw the narrative into chaos, he would have to marshal every ounce of his power to correct the storyline’s deviation.
Yet, over the past thousand years, nothing major had gone awry, and so this doubt gradually faded in Jōjirō’s heart.
However—
“...I am deeply... sorry...”
Falling to the ground, Yhwach weakly stretched out his right hand toward the sky, as if seeking some form of aid. But all that awaited him was emptiness.
“...Lord Yhwach...”
“!”
Jōjirō, who had been about to leave, snapped his head around at the sound. In an instant, the spiritual pressure enveloping him became restless and erratic; even his breathing grew irregular, his entire being trembling with intense agitation.
What did he just say?
What was he talking about?
The Yhwach, grievously wounded by Jōjirō’s sword, could no longer maintain his form. His spiritual particles began to disintegrate, and with each fragment falling away, his black cloak, jet-black hair, and stern visage all faded, revealing his true appearance.
A gleaming bald head bore a strange third eye on the forehead. On his ears were devices resembling headphones. His pristine white cloak, once clean and pure, was now stained red with blood from Jōjirō’s nearly severing strike.
This was Lloyd Lloyd of the Sternritter, the Star Cross Knights—code name ‘The Self.’
“Why are you here?”
Fury uncontained!
Jōjirō had never imagined that his arrival would cause such a seismic shift in the storyline—one whose consequences were beyond his capacity to bear.
Originally, the real Yhwach was supposed to be here. Relying on his rarely used technique, ‘Silent Dew,’ Jōjirō had over eighty percent certainty of an assured kill. And all of this hinged upon Yamamoto Genryūsai not having lost his Bankai or life. It was to be a monumental victory for the Soul Society.
But now...
Why had it come to this?
“Boom!”
About a spirit away from the 1st Division, a towering pillar of light erupted. Before that, Jōjirō had sensed the spiritual pressure of Yamamoto Genryūsai after releasing his Bankai.
In the original storyline, Yhwach had not seized the Zankapito ‘Remnants of Fire’ precisely because the power of that Bankai was overwhelming—only Yhwach himself could wield it. Now, Yamamoto faced the true Yhwach, and inevitably...
“Genryūsai-dono!”
A roar tore through the air!
……………………………………
Time rewound to a few minutes before Jōjirō took down the fake Yhwach...
“Where are you going?!”
Surrounded by the black undead summoned by Yamamoto Genryūsai’s ‘Fiery Ten-Trillion Death Funeral Formation,’ Yhwach crushed a charred skull in his hand and pursued Yamamoto’s back as he retreated.
“Damn it...”
But the skeletons paid him no heed; to them, enemies must be utterly annihilated.
As Yhwach crushed one skull, more skeletons swarmed, blocking his path.
“No need for surprise—just keeping some distance,”
Yamamoto, clad in blazing flames yet appearing composed, sheathed his blade and assumed a stance ready to draw.
“Resentful, are you? Saddened by the faces of these subordinates?”
“But it’s still not enough...”
“These wounds, compared to the pain of the Shinigami you have slain, are far from sufficient!”
At the peak of his wrath, Yamamoto never intended to let Yhwach leave alive. Even at the cost of his own life and the Soul Society, Yhwach must die!
“Zankapito ‘Remnants of Fire’—North—”
“Clack!”
“!”
The flames that had fiercely burned on Yamamoto’s body suddenly vanished as if drained by some force. His once turbulent spiritual pressure calmed instantaneously, as though it had never stirred at all—an eerie tranquility.
All this was due to the pentacle inscribed on the circular disc in Yhwach’s hand.
As the Zankapito disappeared, the pentagram on the disc turned black. Even the edges of the disc radiated spiritual pressure outward, signaling the immense power of the freshly seized Bankai.
This was—
“Surprised, Genryūsai Yamamoto?”
With the black skeletons no longer obstructing him, Yhwach strode forward with ease, almost transformed. The aura of a sovereign now radiated unmistakably from him.
“As for my taking your Bankai,”
“Spiritually speaking, the Star Cross Knights should have seized the Bankai of at least four Division Captains. As Commander-General of the Soul Society, you must have received that intel already.”
Tucking the spirit-absorbing star disc into his robes, Yhwach wore a triumphant smile.
“Why are you so shocked that your Bankai has been taken?”
Drawing the sword from his waist, spiritual pressure began to converge massively upon the blade until it was completely enveloped.
“Initially, I only wished to test this Bankai unseen for a millennium and see your limits. But now, it is nothing more...”
“...of any significance.”
“Well then...”
Raising the spirit-laden blade high, it obscured half of his face, while the other half, illuminated by spiritual pressure, wore a terrifying expression.
“Without your Bankai, you have no worth, do you? Yamamoto Genryūsai.”
“Bastard!”
Repeated provocations pushed Yamamoto beyond reason. His millennium-old nemesis was here before him—how could he accept defeat so easily?
Bearing the weight of the entire Soul Society, he could not lose!
Clinging to his blazing Shikai, Yamamoto charged straight at Yhwach without hesitation.
Yet, this burden dragged him down into hell.
“Shiii!”
The blade, cloaked in the overwhelming spiritual pressure of the King of Quincies, slashed across Yamamoto’s body, which had endured for a thousand years, unleashing the bloodiest wound yet.
Shikai and Bankai were worlds apart from the start.
No matter how powerful the flame-type Zanpakutō or how formidable the Shinigami was in a millennium, there was no exception.
Without his Bankai, Yamamoto’s upper body slid slowly off, finally collapsing onto the earth of the Soul Society.
“Pathetic, Yamamoto Genryūsai.”
Having personally slain his strongest foe in a thousand years, Yhwach felt an unprecedented satisfaction.
“What have you done all this time that left you so weak?”
Sheathing the blood-stained blade, Yhwach’s black cloak once again enveloped him completely.
“...”
He looked up, gazing at something unknown, but a peculiar intuition stirred within.
A storm was coming—
“Long time no see. You seem to have grown stronger—”
“Boom!”
Before he finished, a white figure thundered down with a great lightning strike.
Eyes blazing with fury fixed themselves unwaveringly on the millennium criminal before them.
Yhwach turned casually, utterly dismissing the newcomer whose spiritual pressure had just violently surged upon arrival.
“Squad 11 Captain Jōjirō.”