Looking around, one could see pillars of green flames soaring into the sky from within Seireitei.
Drip, drip, drip, drip—
The Denreishinki in his arms rang urgently, and before Ishikawa could answer, Mayuri's voice already came through.
"A large number of Quincy have appeared inside Seireitei, led by Yhwach."
Mayuri's words sounded like a routine report, his tone unhurried: "And at the same time as the intruders appeared in Seireitei, a large number of Quincy also appeared outside Las Noches, led by… also Yhwach."
"Unless there's an unexpected turn, one of them should be impersonated by the Sternritter member who fought the 4th Espada Ulquiorra in Hueco Mundo, capable of mimicking others' appearance, power, and combat techniques."
Invading Hueco Mundo and Soul Society simultaneously?
Hearing this, Ishikawa's expression slightly darkened.
"Captain-Commander Yamamoto has given orders for you not to rush back to Seireitei for now, but to decide your actions based on the subsequent situation. He will personally verify who is real and who is fake; he will inform you immediately once he reaches a conclusion."
Ishikawa did not reply, but instead fell into contemplation.
The battle between the Sternritter and Las Noches was, thanks to Urahara's arrangements, perfectly recorded.
However…
Neither Urahara, nor Mayuri, nor even Cirucci and others who directly fought the Sternritter, had overlooked one person.
A person who had just arrived at Las Noches, was absorbed by Picaro due to Holy Selection, and then died in Picaro's wind blades.
Loyd Lloyd!
This person and Royd Lloyd were twin brothers, and the Schrift bestowed upon him was 'Yourself', the same as his brother.
However, unlike his brother Loyd Lloyd, who fought Ulquiorra, while he could mimic an opponent's appearance, he could not mimic their abilities and combat techniques like his brother.
But…
He could mimic an opponent's demeanor, tone, behavior, style, and even memories and experiences. It could be said that apart from the difference in power, everything else was exactly identical to the imitated target.
However, these aspects were useless in combat, so he, far weaker than other Sternritter members, was directly killed by Picaro's wind blade shortly after entering Las Noches, as Picaro was busy 'playing' with several Arrancar.
When Yhwach later resurrected the Sternritter members using Holy Selection, he did not reappear.
At least in the memories Ishikawa had received, this person was not seen.
This means he might still be alive.
If that were the case, then both Yhwach appearing in Hueco Mundo and Seireitei could be fakes, and the real Yhwach might instead be stationed in Wandenreich, waiting for Ishikawa, who had not yet recovered his Shinigami abilities, to go to Wandenreich.
But it's also possible that one of them is real, but no matter which possibility, Yhwach's objective is already clear.
Divide and conquer!
Just as Aizen once used Orihime to disperse Seireitei's forces, Yhwach's goal was also to separate Ishikawa and Captain-Commander Yamamoto.
And the most troublesome part is…
Whether it's the real Yhwach or the fake Yhwach, they both might possess strength comparable to 'Yhwach', one through imitation, the other through bestowal.
Captain-Commander Yamamoto is indeed very familiar with Yhwach and can judge the authenticity of the opponent through power, demeanor, memory, and style, but if the younger of the Lloyd brothers was mimicking and then endowed with power, even he would find it difficult to determine the opponent's authenticity.
Because the Captain-Commander Yamamoto in his memories was precisely defeated by Yhwach after exhausting too much power by not recognizing the fake.
Actually, Ishikawa was not surprised by the invasion of Wandenreich; it was, in fact, expected.
Yhwach would inevitably choose to invade before Ishikawa recovered his Shinigami abilities.
To guard against this, Mayuri had always had the Shinigami Research and Development Institute prepare to open the Dangai and perform 'Kekkai Kotei' (Boundary Fixation), so Ishikawa could enter it at any time to recover his spiritual body in the shortest possible time.
However, this recovery was only temporary; the effect of the Dangai's time density on Ishikawa's body would reverse once he left the Dangai, meaning the spiritual body he recovered in the Dangai would not last for long.
This was also why Ishikawa was not allowed to use the Dangai to accelerate his spiritual body recovery.
However, it was perfectly fine for lifting Ishikawa's self-seal, as Ishikawa's 'self-seal' depended on his own will, not his body's flow rate. As long as his consciousness awakened, he could completely lift the self-sealed state.
The side effect was that after the meeting, Ishikawa fell completely unconscious for nearly ten minutes due to the time reversal acting on his body.
This was also why Captain-Commander Yamamoto immediately had Mayuri send him a message not to take action.
Because if the Yhwach appearing in Seireitei was fake, and Ishikawa entered the Dangai to recover, then when the real Yhwach attacked, Ishikawa would be utterly defenseless, even at the mercy of others due to time reversal.
But if the Yhwach in Seireitei was real, or if events unfolded as in his memory, fake first then real, Captain-Commander Yamamoto might be defeated as in his memory.
Ishikawa didn't particularly care if Captain-Commander Yamamoto died; after all, his survival wouldn't provide him with any experience…
It's just that if he died, Yhwach's next target would definitely be himself. After the previous battle, even if Ishikawa hid, he would be found and killed, and besides, Ishikawa wouldn't choose to hide.
If he didn't want to face Yhwach alone, he had to find a way to keep the old man alive.
And all these were based on the premise that Yhwach's primary target was Seireitei.
But…
What if the Yhwach invading Hueco Mundo was real?
Just as Ishikawa used self-sealing in Wandenreich to force Yhwach to send him out of Wandenreich, Yhwach was now using the abilities of the Lloyd brothers to force Ishikawa to make a choice. Once he chose wrong… only two outcomes awaited Ishikawa.
Either he would be defeated, or Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Cirucci and others would be defeated.
Within just half a minute, Ishikawa had already appeared outside the Black Ridge Gate in North Borough 1, but he did not enter, instead standing still and waiting silently.
"Hoo—"
Exhaling lightly, Ishikawa looked at the pillars of green flames within Seireitei, a flicker of struggle in his eyes.
Yhwach's plan was not complicated, even simple enough for one to understand instantly, but without being able to determine where the real Yhwach was, Ishikawa could not act rashly.
Without his Reiatsu recovered, Ishikawa couldn't even know the specific situation within Seireitei, only able to determine the general state of Seireitei through continuous reports from the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.
…
Inside Seireitei!
The temporary strongholds of the Gotei 13, though located in open spaces where two dimensions overlapped, formed a small circle centered around Central 46 and the noble district.
This way, during an enemy invasion, the Gotei 13 would not be completely fragmented and could support other temporary strongholds in the shortest possible time.
From the Wandenreich invasion until now, only a brief half-minute had passed, but Seireitei was already filled with the smoke of battle.
Fortunately, the casualties were not many, as residents had been evacuated beforehand to shelters located beneath Central 46, and all members of other Squads had been stationed within the small circle of the Gotei 13's temporary strongholds.
Therefore, the casualties on Seireitei's side were mostly scattered patrol members throughout Seireitei.
And the inner circle where the temporary strongholds were located had not encountered any enemies.
The Tenth Division's temporary stronghold was located south of the Sixth District, forming a salient with the Sixth Division's temporary stronghold to its left, separated by only a few streets.
And to its right was…
"Wahahahahaha—"
Hitsugaya Tōshirō stood in front of the stronghold, looking at the golden Reiatsu pillar soaring into the sky on his right, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Can't that guy just follow orders for once?"
Though he said this, Hitsugaya Tōshirō wasn't too surprised, because the original defense plan didn't even include the Eleventh Division.
Excluding the Eleventh Division, the other twelve Squads formed salients like the Sixth and Tenth Divisions, forming a circle with six tentacles, supporting and cooperating with each other in pairs.
As for the Eleventh Division…
Except for Zaraki, all Squad Members were stationed outside Seireitei. After the inner circle encountered enemies, the Eleventh Division Squad Members and their temporarily assigned external units, totaling over 23,000 people, would immediately pour into Seireitei from four directions.
This would allow them to cooperate with the twelve Squads forming the 5,000 Gotei 13 Squad Members stationed in the center of Seireitei, to complete an encirclement of the invaders, attacking from both inside and out.
To prevent Wandenreich from attacking outwards from within Seireitei, Ishikawa was left outside Seireitei.
However…
Looking at the smoke rising from various parts of Seireitei, Hitsugaya Tōshirō's eyes also showed a hint of struggle, because while the patrol units were composed of all twelve Squads, they were primarily led by the Tenth Division, which specialized in maintaining public order and patrolling.
And the person responsible for leading the patrol units today was…
Matsumoto Rangiku.
The units currently engaging the invaders were precisely the patrol units!!
Hitsugaya Tōshirō really wanted to take the initiative to attack like Zaraki, but if he left, then when the enemy invaded here, this place, without a Captain and Vice-Captain, would become the weakest point in the defense circle.
One must know that behind them were not just Central 46 and the nobles, but all residents of Seireitei were protected in the shelters within the defense circle, most of whom were relatives and associates of the Gotei 13 Squad Members.
Therefore, he could not leave!
Fortunately, corresponding deployments had also been made for the patrol units. If they encountered enemy invasion, those closer to the outer perimeter would retreat outwards, and those closer to the inner circle would retreat inwards, with both inner and outer forces providing immediate support and rescue.
"Report."
Just then, a person rushed out from inside the temporary stronghold: "The Shinigami Research and Development Institute has sent word that the enemy has encountered the patrol units and is advancing towards the defense circle. According to Reiatsu readings, the enemy's numbers are approximately six thousand."
"Among them, those with Captain-level Reiatsu reactions or higher, excluding the enemy leader, total ten individuals, presumed to be Sternritter members…"
Hitsugaya Tōshirō didn't hear the rest of the message clearly; strictly speaking, it was when he heard 'enemy encountered patrol units' that his mind went blank. He instinctively took a step forward but ultimately forced himself to stop!
"What are the exact positions of the patrol units? What about rescue preparations?" Hitsugaya Tōshirō turned and asked the Squad Member behind him.
The Squad Member who was reporting showed a hint of hesitation on his face. After a long pause, he finally spoke under Hitsugaya Tōshirō's increasingly cold gaze: "Most of the scattered patrol units have lost contact… Matsumoto… Matsumoto Vice-Captain was patrolling near the Eighth District before losing contact."
Eighth District?
Hitsugaya Tōshirō's expression grew even uglier. He turned to look in the direction of the Eighth District.
Because there were ten pillars of green flames rising from various parts of Seireitei, and one of them happened to be in the Eighth District.
"Mayuri… Mayuri Captain just sent a message, asking you not to leave your stationed area… saying… saying…" The Squad Member reporting, seeing Hitsugaya Tōshirō's gloomy face, swallowed: "There's no need to go rescue the patrol team led by Matsumoto Vice-Captain."
No need?
Hitsugaya Tōshirō was stunned.
The Squad Member reporting originally thought that the Captain would be enraged upon hearing Captain Mayuri's words, or perhaps directly rush towards the Eighth District.
But what he didn't expect was…
After hearing that there was no need for rescue, Captain Hitsugaya's expression actually improved, and he instead showed a thoughtful look.
"When the stronghold was relocated, the prisoners we originally held in our prison were taken over by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, right?"
Hitsugaya Tōshirō suddenly asked.
"Ah?"
The Squad Member was startled, not understanding why the Captain would bring this up at such a critical moment, but he still nodded: "The prisoners' Binding Threads tools were all provided by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, so when we relocated, our Squad's prisoners, including…"
The Squad Member reporting seemed to recall something, his eyes lighting up: "…including Ichimaru Gin… well, Captain Ichimaru Gin, were all uniformly transferred to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute's temporary prison." After speaking, he looked excitedly at Hitsugaya Tōshirō.
The relationship between Vice-Captain Matsumoto and Captain Ichimaru Gin was no secret within the Tenth Division.
After all…
Ever since Captain Ichimaru Gin was confined to the Tenth Division's prison, Vice-Captain Matsumoto would run to the prison to drink whenever she had free time, even turning the underground prison into her personal liquor cellar for storing strong alcohol. When drunk, she would often wander outside Captain Ichimaru Gin's cell with a whip.
However, to his disappointment…
Hitsugaya Tōshirō did not look at him, but instead looked in the direction of the Eighth District, a smile appearing on his face: "That Mayuri really has guts, releasing him without the approval of Central 46."
Then, he reined in the smile on his face and turned to look at the end of the street.
Looking ahead, he saw dense figures wearing the Wandenreich emblem on their military caps and masks appearing at the end of the street, led by a young man with two tongues sticking out, heading towards the Tenth Division's stronghold.
"Prepare for battle!"
…
Eighth District!
Matsumoto Rangiku lay on the ground, propping up her upper body with her left elbow, her right hand holding her Zanpakuto across her chest.
Standing before her was a middle-aged man with short white hair, a beard, and square-rimmed glasses. The two pistols in his hands were aimed at Matsumoto Rangiku's glabella and Binding Threads.
However…
The barrels of those two pistols were now pierced by an endless blade.
"Beautiful lady, care for a drink together?"