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Crack
The Royal Guard came to a sudden halt mid-stride. Every expression froze.
Two or three seconds later, Tenjirō Kirinji spoke in a low, heavy voice. "The monk's Reiatsu… vanished."
"He got taken out? That bald monk… actually…"
Ōetsu Nimaiya's normally carefree, hip-hop grin was nowhere to be seen. His face had gone dark. "Aizen Sōsuke… he really is a damn menace."
Senjumaru Shutara looked off into the distance, her eyes cool and flat. "We haven't even begun fighting that outsider, and we've already lost our strongest fighter."
"That's not quite fair," Kirio Hikifune said from the rooftop nearby.
"Aizen's Arrancar are doing a fine job keeping Yhwach's soldiers busy."
She was watching Harribel—Tres Espada—locked in a chaotic clash with the Sternritter not far away. If she focused, she could sense at least ten different Arrancar reiatsu signatures reinforcing the Gotei 13.
Thanks to that support, the Gotei's forces, who had been badly outnumbered, were finally able to start pushing the Quincy back.
"Aizen, Yhwach, Ryo Yagami… this just keeps getting messier."
Ōetsu scratched at his head and asked, "So, which of you is bringing baldy back? Because the four of us taking on those three monsters alone sounds like a quick way to die."
"I'll handle it."
The plump Hikifune grumbled, her tone annoyed. "Good thing I stored a mountain of reiatsu in my fat. Otherwise, even if we revived the monk, we wouldn't have enough juice to fight."
She muttered under her breath, then whispered. "Ichibe... Hyōsube."
A strange presence filled the air.
A name turned into power, awakening a consciousness in the void.
Ichibe appeared out of nothing, suspended in midair.
At the same time, Hikifune's body shrank rapidly, fat burning away like fuel.
Within seconds she was slim, tall, fair-skinned, and strikingly beautiful, with soft pink hair.
"You burned through that much of my reiatsu? Monk, you really did get killed outright!"
The now-thin Hikifune stared at him in disbelief.
Every Royal Guard member was given a personal palace in the Royal Realm when promoted. As long as that palace remained intact, anyone who spoke their true name could revive them using their own strength.
And Hikifune had just used that ability to call Ichibe back.
"Heh. Looks like you got your ass kicked pretty badly, baldy," Ōetsu said, unable to resist teasing him. "What's wrong, too many years without going all out? Body starting to give out?"
"I wasn't careless…" Ichibe sounded frustrated.
"Aizen fused his Zanpakutō into his body a long time ago. With the Hōgyoku he's evolved at least twice. Now, just letting someone see him is enough to trigger Kyōka Suigetsu."
"At this point, he's probably stronger than Yamamoto."
Silence fell over the entire Royal Guard.
Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
The man who brought order to a chaotic Soul Society.
A thousand years ago, during an age ruled by strength, he created the Gotei 13, wrestled authority from the brutal noble clans, and single-handedly stabilized the Soul Society for a millennium.
That man's raw destructive power was so overwhelming that even Ichibe and Ōetsu would never face him head-on. To fight him, they needed tricks, abilities, and every edge they could get.
And now Ichibe was saying Aizen had surpassed that.
No one doubted him. But the truth felt impossibly abrupt.
"Just one month…" Senjumaru murmured, equal parts awe and disbelief.
A month ago, she had been above the 1st Division's barracks, witnessing Aizen's betrayal and Ryo defeating Yamamoto.
Back then, Aizen—though strong—was nothing extraordinary for the Royal Guard, barely at the limit of a captain-class shinigami.
And now, one month later, he had surpassed the founder of the Gotei 13.
It was like watching a dog turn into a dragon in thirty days. It shattered common sense.
"I underestimated the Hōgyoku," Ichibe said quietly, "and I underestimated the influence Ryo Yagami brought with him."
His expression grew even heavier. "At this point, even the entire Royal Guard together might not be able to stop them."
"Ahhh, come on…" Ōetsu rubbed his scalp. On any other day he'd laugh at the monk for being dramatic.
But not today.
Rumor called Aizen and Ryo the Twin Emperors of Hueco Mundo, one black and one white.
Even if that rumor wasn't entirely true, Aizen wouldn't let such a story spread unless Ryo Yagami was his equal.
If that was the case, then yes… the whole Royal Guard might genuinely lose.
Especially with Ichibe saying so. In a million years, his judgment had almost never been wrong.
"So what now?" Hikifune asked, now a thin beauty perched on a rooftop, palms cupping her cheeks.
"Keep pushing against Ryo Yagami and Aizen? Or should we… surrender?"
"And by the way, if we go with surrender, don't you dare expose what I actually look like. Just pretend I was born chubby. I'll return to that form soon."
She then turned and grinned at Senjumaru.
"Though you're in trouble, Senjumaru. A beauty like you… surrendering ends pretty ugly."
"Enough." Senjumaru shot her a glare.
Unfortunately, Hikifune wasn't wrong. The fate of female shinigami after losing a war was never pleasant—especially someone like Senjumaru.
'If we really lose, I swear I'm exposing your fake-fat secret…' Senjumaru thought darkly, glaring at Hikifune's chest.
Hikifune blinked, confused.
"Why do I feel like you're thinking terrible things? Just me?"
"Good grief," Tenjirō muttered. "We haven't even fought yet and you're all convinced we're done for."
"We've got Yhwach in front of us, and Aizen and Ryo right behind. Hard not to feel like we're hanging by a thread." Ōetsu groaned.
"And Ryo never awakened his Zanpakutō with my Asauchi, so my tricks don't work on him. Aizen doesn't even have a Zanpakutō anymore. Yhwach's a Quincy, so he never had one to begin with."
"Why do I always run into people who counter me perfectly…?"
"Enough." Ichibe clapped his hands, expression firm.
"My ability no longer works on Aizen. But it may still work on Ryo. It's too soon to talk about winning or losing."
"And besides—" Ichibe narrowed his eyes, a slow grin spreading across his face.
"Don't forget about Yhwach."
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