Wandenreich, Silbern.
Haschwalth sat in the main seat of the council chamber, his hands folded in front of him, his azure eyes half-closed.
Ever since the day Royd returned injured, this prolonged sitting in silence had become his norm.
The cold white light cast his shadow onto the wall behind him, which was engraved with the Sternritter emblem.
Haschwalth had sat here for a long time.
For some reason, his heart was never entirely calm; Royd's return made him feel that something bizarre was afoot.
As for Aizen, it seemed he never intended to honor their alliance from the very beginning, just as they hadn't.
But why would he let Royd come back?
At this moment, footsteps echoed from the corridor.
Quilge pushed open the doors of the council chamber, the eyes behind his round glasses carrying a trace of unconcealable urgency.
He stopped in front of Haschwalth, took a deep breath, and spoke.
"Lord Haschwalth, I went to check. In the deepest part of the third level of the underground prison, the cell holding Tosen Kaname now only contains an unconscious Reishi doll."
"The person inside was swapped out at some unknown time. We've been played."
Royd stood behind Quilge.
Since returning injured, he had remained silent, only speaking when questioned.
At this moment, he lowered his head, his hands hanging by his sides, his fingertips slightly clenched.
Quilge turned around, his gaze falling on Royd.
"There is one more thing that needs confirmation. Royd, how did you escape?"
Royd's Adam's apple bobbed.
"After Aizen discovered my identity, he used a sealing kido to suppress my Reiatsu and locked me in a secret room deep within his laboratory."
"But during a break between interrogations, I found an opportunity to break the seal, carve out a bloody path, and then open the Shadow Realm to escape back here."
Royd said.
"I did fight with them during my escape. Two of Aizen's subordinates caught up to me, and both were very strong."
"I was forced to transform into the appearance of one of them to get away, and consumed most of my Reiatsu in the process."
Haschwalth's brows furrowed slightly.
"Are you sure you weren't discovered by the Seireitei?"
"I shouldn't have been. From beginning to end, I was fighting against Aizen's subordinates. None of them were Soul Reapers affiliated with the Seireitei."
Royd answered with a hint of uncertainty.
Haschwalth looked at Royd, his azure eyes devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
"Aizen discovered the spy we planted by his side. He caught you, yet allowed you to escape."
"Tosen Kaname was swapped out of the underground prison in the Shadow Realm, leaving behind only a mindless doll, and we noticed absolutely nothing."
"This proves that Aizen has the ability to travel freely between the Shadow Realm and the Soul Society, and used his Kyoka Suigetsu to interfere with the guards' perception."
He paused, his voice deepening.
"Royd, if you were locked in a secret room all along with no awareness of the outside world, what makes you think the timing of your escape wasn't arranged by Aizen?"
"What if the Shadow Realm was exposed because of your appearance?"
"H-how could that be..."
Royd's face lost all its color in an instant.
"We also hold leverage over Aizen. Would he really leak our information to the Seireitei?"
As Royd spoke, his voice grew smaller and smaller.
Haschwalth gave a cold snort, turning to look at Quilge.
"What are the current movements of the Seireitei?"
"That is exactly the other matter I came to report."
Quilge took out a report from his coat.
"Just a few hours ago, our external monitoring system captured massive Reiatsu fluctuations outside the Seireitei."
"Through cross-referencing and confirmation, the Reiatsu of eight captain and vice-captain-level Soul Reapers of the Gotei 13 was detected disappearing at the exact same time."
"Following investigations and deductions, this is highly likely the Hollowfication part of Aizen's plan."
The council chamber fell quiet.
Quilge lowered his voice and continued.
"Currently, the confirmed missing captains include a total of four captains from the Third, Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth Divisions, along with several vice-captains."
Haschwalth stood up from the main seat.
"Aizen... actually did it."
"When Royd obtained Aizen's plan from Tosen Kaname's memories, the most crucial link was engineering the captain Hollowfication incident."
"He actually had the nerve to pull it off."
Quilge's tone grew solemn.
"But there are some problems now."
"According to the internal Seireitei communications we intercepted, the Soul Society has locked their target onto the Wandenreich."
"For some reason, they seem to have confirmed the existence of Quincies and firmly believe that this Hollowfication experiment is related to us."
"Moreover... they appear to have grasped some spatial characteristics of the Shadow Realm."
"They are currently attempting to locate our coordinates."
Hearing this, Haschwalth abruptly turned toward Royd.
"When you fled back to Silbern, were you followed? Did you leave behind spatial traces of the Shadow Realm?"
Cold sweat rolled down Royd's forehead.
He opened his mouth, wanting to defend himself, but the words were stuck in his throat, utterly unable to come out.
Haschwalth's brows knitted tightly.
The ominous premonition in his heart was becoming a reality.
When that man made the verbal agreement, he had already calculated everything.
He didn't need the Quincies' help to fight the Seireitei; he merely needed the Quincies as scapegoats to wear down the Seireitei's strength.
And given the current incident, with both sides already being sworn enemies, nothing the Quincies said would be believed by the Soul Reapers.
Aizen...
Haschwalth looked at Royd, his voice heavy.
"Kyoka Suigetsu... Aizen didn't release you so you could escape. He did it so the people of the Seireitei could witness a Quincy opening the Shadow Realm and vanishing in the Rukongai with their own eyes."
"The ones chasing you weren't pursuers sent by Aizen, but genuine Seireitei Soul Reapers."
"Royd."
Haschwalth said.
"Transform into the appearance of the person who chased you."
Royd froze for a moment, then activated his ability.
His figure began to twist and reform, the contours of a Shihakusho covering his white uniform.
"This is one of the two people who were hunting me down at the time."
Royd's voice shifted into Muguruma Kensei's—hoarse and low.
Haschwalth looked at the face that was identical to Muguruma Kensei's in front of him and remained silent for a long time.
"This is the Captain of the Ninth Division, Muguruma Kensei. At the time, you actually didn't realize it at all?"
Royd instantly stiffened in place, his entire body trembling. His eyes were filled with disbelief. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
Haschwalth sighed.
"The Seireitei witnessed a Quincy disguised as a captain, who then used a shadow space to flee."
"In the end, those captains turned into Hollow-like monsters."
"Kyoka Suigetsu, what a brilliant trick..."
Haschwalth looked at Quilge.
"Aizen has sealed every loophole; every piece of evidence points to the Wandenreich."
"We don't know how long it will take the Seireitei to find the entrance. We need to prepare early."
"His Majesty is still slumbering, and it will take another hundred years for him to fully awaken."
"Yamamoto Shigekuni is still around. Besides His Majesty, no one can currently stand against him."
"And Aizen knows this perfectly well. That is why he dared to do this..."
Haschwalth's voice was grave, and Quilge did not answer immediately.
He was silent for a long time. Then he raised his head and pushed up the round glasses on the bridge of his nose.
Within those eyes was only the cold ruthlessness of a man pushed to the brink.
"The entrance to the Shadow Realm isn't something just anyone can find. Even if Kurotsuchi Mayuri has grasped some spatial technology, going from locking onto the coordinates to opening the entrance requires time."
"But fighting passively has never been the style of the Sternritter."
His fingers tapped lightly against the hilt of the sword at his waist. He then took a step forward and bowed slightly toward Haschwalth.
"Lord Haschwalth, I suggest we split our forces into two."
"One group will remain to defend Silbern, meeting the Seireitei head-on when they find the entrance, to buy time."
"I will lead the other group. While the Seireitei's main force is gathered near the Shadow Realm's entrance, we will bypass them to assault Aizen's secret stronghold, seize the Hogyoku, or directly eliminate Aizen himself."
"He used us as scapegoats to push onto the Seireitei, so he must pay the corresponding price."
Quilge turned his head, looking at the profusely sweating Royd.
"As for you... you still have a chance to redeem yourself."
The council chamber quieted down for a moment.
Haschwalth stared at the cold Reishi light reflecting off the Sternritter emblem. His azure eyes shifted slightly, ultimately settling back onto Quilge.
"Your proposal can be considered. However, before that, I need to confirm one other thing."
He pressed a communication Kido on the wall.
"Development Team, regarding the research on Medallization for seizing Soul Reaper Bankai, what is the current progress?"
A steady voice reported back through the communication spell.
"The core technology of Medallization is nearly mature and ready for actual combat."
"Excellent."
Haschwalth cut the communication.
"Medallization is a weapon designed specifically against a Soul Reaper's Bankai. A Soul Reaper whose Bankai is seized will lose more than half of their combat strength."
"Those captains who rely on Bankai to fight will suddenly lose their Zanpakuto's final form in battle. There is no way they can defeat us."
"The only concern worth noting is... Yamamoto Shigekuni."
Haschwalth's gaze grew stern.
"As long as he doesn't intervene, this is a battle we have a chance of winning."
...
Soul Society.
Inside the First Division.
The stone-paved main road outside the main gate gleamed under the midday sun. The shadow of the First Division's towering structure covered more than half the street, and passing squad members hurried about their duties.
Hasumi Ren knocked on the door of the Captain-Commander's meeting room. Inside the spacious hall, Yamamoto Shigekuni sat alone.
He sat in the main seat, his walking stick resting against the armrest, with a stack of mission briefs spread out on the table before him.
Hearing the noise, he lifted his head, his aged eyes falling upon Hasumi Ren.
"Acting Captain of the Fourth Division, what is the matter?"
Hasumi Ren walked up to the round table and stood firmly.
He bowed slightly in greeting, then raised his head, looking straight into Yamamoto Shigekuni's eyes.
Hasumi Ren's strength had been bottlenecked for a while.
And currently, the main powerhouses from whom he could pick up attribute fragments—Unohana, Yoruichi, and Tsukabishi Tessai—had all vanished at once, leaving him in a rather awkward position.
Meanwhile, Aizen was obsessed with his Hogyoku research, leaving little time for Hasumi Ren to farm his fragments.
After thinking it over, if he wanted to acquire a massive amount of fragments in a short time, perhaps he could try this path he hadn't dared to consider before.
With this in mind, Hasumi Ren spoke up.
"Captain-Commander, usually around this time, I would be practicing swordplay with Captain Unohana. But unfortunately, the captain is currently absent. I have some confusions regarding the path of Kendo, and no one to seek guidance from."
"After pondering over it, it seems only you can resolve my doubts. Therefore, I boldly came to ask."
Yamamoto didn't answer immediately.
He looked at Hasumi Ren, a faint trace of scrutiny flashing through his aged eyes.
Practicing swordplay with Unohana?
Unohana shouldn't have drawn a blade in hundreds of years. Would she really cross swords with a little brat like this?
Harboring mild doubts, Yamamoto spoke in a deep voice.
"If there's anything you don't understand, just say it directly."
"I wish to seek guidance from you through actual combat."
Hasumi Ren said.
Yamamoto's hand paused slightly, and he let out a soft chuckle.
"A greenhorn who can't even use Bankai dares to come seek my guidance. Your courage is commendable, at least."
"I recognize your determination to improve, but your level is too low. I do not have the time to teach you. Go back and manage the affairs of the Fourth Division properly. That is your duty."
Hasumi Ren did not move.
"What must I do to qualify for your instruction?"
Yamamoto's gaze returned to him.
The strongest Soul Reaper who had guarded the Soul Society for a thousand years sat in the main seat, his eyes currently devoid of any superfluous emotion.
"You are merely a vice-captain. Unohana is imprisoned. I know the anxiety in your heart, but this is not a bargaining chip for you to negotiate with."
"To actually come up with such an excuse like Unohana practicing swordplay with you."
Yamamoto paused, the weight of his words even heavier than before.
"If there's nothing else, step down."
Hasumi Ren looked into Yamamoto Shigekuni's eyes and stayed silent for several breaths.
So Captain-Commander Yamamoto had interpreted his actions as an excuse to secure Unohana's release.
Looking at Yamamoto's stern expression, Hasumi Ren lowered his head, bowed, and turned toward the door.
His pace was steady, his back straight, no different from when he arrived.
After stepping out of the First Division barracks, Hasumi Ren stood at the entrance for a moment.
Then, without looking back, he took his time strolling down the stone-paved main road toward the other side of the Seireitei.
The Eleventh Division barracks were located near the outer edges of the Seireitei.
The walls here were taller and thicker than those of other squad barracks, completely covered in shallow and deep blade marks left by slashes. Even if left unrepaired, no one minded.
When Hasumi Ren stepped into the Eleventh Division, the place was in an uproar.
Several squad members were gathered around the stone blocks in the corner of the training ground, their voices competing to be the loudest.
"Did you hear? The Captain-Commander personally gave the order. We're going to war with the Quincies again!"
"Quincies? I heard they were exterminated a hundred years ago and practically wiped out. Why are we fighting them again?"
"Who cares? As long as there's a fight, it's fine."
"But I heard we suddenly lost four captains. Is that real?"
"What the hell does that have to do with us? If those captains fell, isn't it the perfect time for our Eleventh Division to step up? We can't exactly let those medicine-peddlers from the Fourth Division lead the charge, right?"
A burst of rowdy laughter erupted across the training ground.
Kiganjo Kenpachi sat on a stone block right in the center of the training ground, not partaking in the members' clamor.
Wearing his captain's haori with his Zanpakuto resting horizontally across his lap, he tilted his head and watched Hasumi Ren walk in through the main gate.
As Hasumi Ren approached, the surrounding noise gradually died down, and reckless gazes casually sized up this guy who had suddenly appeared.
"Vice-Captain of the Fourth Division, what business do you have at the Eleventh Division?"
Kiganjo's voice was deep and coarse. He looked at the newcomer, finding him somewhat familiar, but couldn't recall where he had seen him.
It wasn't until he noticed Hasumi Ren's vice-captain armband that he remembered who it was.
Hasumi Ren stopped in front of Kiganjo.
"I'm somewhat ashamed to admit it, but many things have happened recently that were entirely beyond my expectations."
"It's like there's an invisible giant hand constantly flicking me around, shoving me this way and that, forcing me to move in a certain direction."
"I finally mustered some spirit, wanting to try and break through my current situation, and work hard to improve myself."
"But unfortunately, Captain-Commander Yamamoto looks down on me. I thought long and hard about how to get him to take me seriously, and then, I came up with an idea."
At that moment, Hasumi Ren looked at Kiganjo's darkened face.
"Kiganjo, you've sat on this Kenpachi seat for long enough, haven't you?"
"Now, I'd like to sit up there for a bit. What do you think?"