"What about it?"
Yhwach glanced at Ishikawa, then shook his head, a hint of regret in his voice: "You missed your best chance."
A variable!
Yhwach telling Ishikawa about the future was itself a variable; as long as Ishikawa gave up fighting him and instead left Soul Society for Hueco Mundo, the future Yhwach spoke of would not happen.
But Ishikawa gave up that chance, choosing to stay here and fight Yhwach alongside Yamamoto Genryusai.
However...
Yhwach was not disappointed by this.
Because no matter if Ishikawa fled or stayed, the final outcome would be extremely favorable to Yhwach.
If he fled, Yamamoto Genryusai would die here, and the Gotei 13 would collapse; if he stayed, he himself would die, and Hueco Mundo would soon become his possession.
So, he had no intention of changing this future, which was precisely why he allowed Ishikawa to leave.
After all, even if he could have kept Ishikawa in the Wandenreich at that time, the situation where he couldn't kill Ishikawa wouldn't have changed; even if he conquered Hueco Mundo while Ishikawa sealed himself, Ishikawa might still have survived.
Ishikawa's existence, to Yhwach, was a threat many times greater than the entirety of Hueco Mundo.
"This is probably the last time you and I will meet."
Yhwach paused, then continued: "The promise I made to you last time, I will fulfill."
"In the new world, your tombstone will remain!"
"What a pity..."
Ishikawa's right hand closed in front of him, and Kokumei, after Shikai, instantly materialized.
No matter what future Yhwach spoke of, Ishikawa's goal had not changed in the slightest.
His goal, from beginning to end, was only one...
The midpoint!
No matter what changes occurred at the end of this trajectory, Ishikawa would change this unacceptable midpoint, no matter the cost.
"Soul Society has no intention of leaving you a tombstone!"
As soon as the words fell, a roar erupted.
But it didn't come from Ishikawa; it came from beside him, as terrifying flames shot up from Captain Commander's body.
Reiatsu, solidified to the extreme, enveloped his body like a fiery cloak.
In that instant, it was as if the entire Seireitei was enveloped by these endless flames, and heat swept through.
The warring parties within Seireitei stopped fighting in that instant, looking with surprise and shock towards the direction where the pillar of flame soared.
Eighth Squad's temporary headquarters.
Shunsui looked up, gazing into the distance, and long-sealed memories suddenly awakened in his mind.
(So, Head Captain Yama also hangs decorative paintings in his room. What's on it? Is it the god of fire from ancient myths?)
(That... that was a monster that appeared in Soul Society in the past, appearing when Soul Society was in distress, adding to Soul Society's woes.)
"What a fiery old man, did someone anger him?"
Shunsui licked his parched lips, looking at his dry hands and clothes that seemed ready to spontaneously combust at any moment, suddenly understanding the meaning of Head Captain Yama's words in his memory.
Although he had already felt Captain Commander activate his Bankai earlier, apart from his lips cracking and the moisture disappearing from the atmosphere, it hadn't been this unbearable.
However...
Now, it was no longer as simple as just moisture disappearing.
Looking around...
Buildings cracked, liquids evaporated, plants withered.
Behind him, Squad Members groaned in pain, each breath feeling incredibly difficult.
If before it was just the sun hanging high overhead, then at this moment the sun had descended into Seireitei... no, it should be said, into the entire Soul Society!
That was...
Ryujin Jakka—the strongest and oldest fire-type Zanpakuto in Soul Society's history, existing even before the Gotei 13 was born.
Flames rose from all over Seireitei, caused by the burning of wooden buildings.
If this state continued for too long, it wouldn't just be buildings that were affected.
The nature of the Reishi in the atmosphere had subtly changed; Shinigami possessed incredibly solid spiritual bodies, and the Reiatsu generated by these solid spiritual bodies served to protect them.
Therefore, Shinigami's perception of hot and cold was not very strong, and illnesses like colds were rare for anyone except those with special constitutions.
But if even the Reishi became scorching hot, then...
"It truly is adding insult to injury!"
Shunsui muttered with a wry smile.
...
"This old man..."
Ishikawa looked at Captain Commander, who was enveloped in incredibly dense Reiatsu and completely unrecognizable, and couldn't help but grin.
No wonder he chose to intercept Yhwach in Squad Nine.
The jurisdiction of the Ninth Squad was located on high ground; to reach the Ninth Squad, one had to pass through a long staircase.
It could be said that Squad Nine was one of the highest points in Seireitei; the only other places of similar height were the Repentance Palace behind its jurisdiction and Sōkyoku Hill located between the two.
In other words...
With everyone concentrated in the inner circle, fighting here meant Captain Commander didn't have to worry too much about his external actions negatively affecting Seireitei.
...Normally, that is!
Because the scorching Reiatsu rising from Captain Commander's body had already spread across the sky.
At this moment, The sky was no longer blue, but red.
Under the red sky, smoke rose from all over Seireitei.
The next second, Captain Commander moved, his entire body instantly disappearing from its original spot.
Seeing this, Yhwach reached into his robes.
"Outer Shell Reiatsu Crest!"
Just then, Ishikawa's voice suddenly came out.
Yhwach frowned and looked up, only to see Ishikawa, clad in Quincy attire, following closely behind Yamamoto Genryusai.
Their movements were perfectly synchronized, and around them, a circular shield with patterns appeared, enveloping both of them.
The appearance of that shield was almost identical to the Outer Shell Blut Vene he had once used!
This scene made a gloomy glint flash in Yhwach's eyes; he abandoned his hand movement and instead drew the Quincy Cross sword from his waist.
Clang—!
Flames erupted, and terrifying heat waves formed crimson ripples.
The entire world seemed to pause at this moment, and then...
Rumble~!
Smoke rising to the sky formed a giant mushroom cloud, and the crimson ripples of heat waves around it spread outwards like Kan, dissipating only when they hit the Soul-Concealing Membrane, which could nullify spiritual power.
At the center of the mushroom cloud, Yhwach burst through, his body charred black, looking quite disheveled.
Before he could even adjust his posture, his vision went black.
A long sword, only 1.6 meters, swung horizontally, and the space around the blade seemed to be split in two by this single strike, subtly intersecting.
This strike...
Severed space!
Looking up, Ishikawa and Yamamoto Genryusai had reversed positions; Ishikawa was in front, and Yamamoto Genryusai followed closely behind.
Damn it!
Yhwach's eyes blazed with endless fury, but this strike came too quickly; with his old strength just gone and his body unstable, he couldn't block or counterattack at all and could only choose to endure it.
Extremely blue, branch-like patterns appeared on Yhwach's body.
—Blut Vene.
Pfft—!
Yhwach felt a sharp pain in his chest, and blood spurted from his left shoulder to his right waist; the blade, which seemed capable of cutting through anything, almost severed his upper body diagonally.
This caused his already unstable posture to suffer another heavy blow, but before he could be sent flying backward.
His ankle tightened, as a hand abruptly gripped his ankle.
Following the hand, Ishikawa's extremely cold face came into view.
As his ankle was clamped, Yhwach felt a huge force spread throughout his body, throwing him horizontally.
The next instant, a scorching aura descended again.
The charred blade directly struck Yhwach's back, causing the clothes on his back to burst open, his entire back to become charred black, and him to be sent flying back in his original direction again.
"He's stronger than before; it must be due to the deaths of a large number of Quincy, Shinigami, and Sternritter members."
Ishikawa's voice entered Yhwach's ears: "Don't give him any opening for Auswählen!"
He was careless.
Although Yhwach had thought that facing Ishikawa and Yamamoto Genryusai simultaneously might be extremely difficult, their cooperation still shocked him.
Full power, no holding back.
Almost at the very beginning of the battle, these two had already gone all out, giving him no room to counterattack.
And in just that instant, they had severely wounded him.
Moreover...
With the existence of that Outer Shell Reiatsu Crest, which mimicked his own Outer Shell Blut Vene, he couldn't strip Yamamoto Genryusai of his Bankai without separating the two.
Indeed...
This fellow, whom he had initially not paid much attention to, was a huge obstacle to him.
Looking up, he saw the two attacking again, their movements surprisingly synchronized, looking incredibly coordinated.
Still one in front, one taking the opportunity to build up power.
The attacks were ceaseless!
Fortunately, he wasn't completely unprepared.
A smirk formed on Yhwach's dark face; he made no visible movement, but something invisible in the surrounding space seemed to merge into Yhwach's body at this moment.
Immediately...
The sword wounds and burn marks on Yhwach's body vanished in an instant.
This is!?
Ishikawa, who had approached, frowned, then understood.
Even outside Seireitei, he had already noticed that Seireitei was filled with Yhwach's soul fragments; these soul fragments, spread by over six thousand 'Holy Soldiers', would become Yhwach's power whether the Holy Soldiers died or were killed by them!
In other words...
Even without Auswählen, Yhwach would receive continuous replenishment until the war outside this area in Seireitei stopped.
Wait!
Ishikawa's pupils suddenly constricted.
Not just Seireitei!
When Ishikawa realized that the Yhwach in Seireitei was real, he also wondered why so many Quincy had been sent to Hueco Mundo, even more than the Sternritter members leading the forces in Seireitei.
Only at this moment did Ishikawa understand...
Those Sternritter and Quincy forces had different objectives!
The Sternritter's main goal was to tie up Las Noches, while the Quincy carrying Yhwach's soul fragments were likely targeting the endless Hollows in Hueco Mundo.
"Did you notice?"
Yhwach sneered, not dodging, but instead charging directly towards Ishikawa.
Blades clashed.
Terrifying energy ripples spread out.
Looking at the retreating Yhwach, Ishikawa's face turned incredibly grim.
Stalling for time!
Yhwach's initial goal was not to defeat his and Captain Commander's combined efforts, but to force him into the Dangai, and then, in this way, stall until the time reversal in the Dangai affected him.
It wasn't just the battle in Seireitei, or rather, Seireitei wasn't the main focus!
Only when the battle in Hueco Mundo ended would Yhwach truly lose that continuous support.
But this was an open conspiracy that left Ishikawa with no choice, because even knowing his objective, Ishikawa had to enter the Dangai; otherwise, Captain Commander would die here.
In that case, he would be left alone and would find it very difficult to withstand Yhwach's attacks.