"I used my shadow abilities to control a Reishi Shell puppet and infiltrated deep into the darkness—there, I found the Quincy stronghold. The Wandenreich, hidden within the Shadow Space."
"According to what I uncovered, there's a prophecy circulating within the Wandenreich—'The King of the Quincy, Yhwach, shall reclaim his heartbeat in 900 years, his intellect in 90 years, his power in 9 years, and the world in 9 days.'"
"Yhwach is not dead. He's merely slumbering!"
Nanatsuki selectively shared certain intel with Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
By now, he had essentially confirmed: the previous Quincy War, and even the recent Sternritter selection, were all orchestrated to weaken the Quincy populace and funnel their power back into Yhwach, accelerating his revival.
A thousand years ago, Yhwach had already foreseen his future.
After leading the Kingdom of Light's Quincy army in an assault against Soul Society, he was defeated and incinerated by Yamamoto, plunging into a long sleep.
But even that was part of a plan.
He would reclaim his heartbeat in 900 years, his mind in 90, his strength in 9, and the world in 9 days.
Every arrangement prior to his slumber had followed this script.
Yet Nanatsuki's actions had already sent shockwaves through the flow of history. The current timeline had drastically diverged from the original.
In the original events, there was no second Quincy Purge. The first one didn't even occur at the "correct" time—it was triggered years earlier.
Though asleep, Yhwach had sensed the irregular frequency of power returning to him and forced himself awake for a brief moment, ordering Haschwalth to assist in reclaiming his strength.
Now, Nanatsuki could no longer accurately predict when Yhwach would awaken.
Though he'd already thwarted one attempt by the Royal Guards to help Yhwach reabsorb power, they would not stop there.
And the Royal Guard did not consist solely of Haschwalth and Gerard. Nanatsuki and Ishida Sōken's group might not be able to withstand their next move.
Eventually, the Royal Guard would once again target the Quincy, aiding Yhwach in reclaiming his lost strength.
And so, Nanatsuki decided to reveal the truth: Yhwach was still alive.
"He built the Wandenreich beneath the shadow of the Seireitei..." Yamamoto murmured grimly. He remembered reducing Yhwach to ashes himself—clearly, that hadn't been the whole story.
"Such a prophecy..." Yamamoto's brow tightened. "It's clear that Yhwach's ambition never died. He dreams of rising again to rule the world."
"And he's hiding beneath Seireitei's very shadow. If we leave him unchecked, he will become a catastrophic threat," Nanatsuki nodded. "We must strike first—while he's still unprepared."
Yhwach's goal was to destroy the Balance of the Three Worlds and rebuild a new one—a world with no place for Shinigami. Conflict was inevitable.
"Can you bring others into the Wandenreich?" Yamamoto asked.
"I can use my shadow abilities... but the stronger the Reiatsu of the person I bring, the heavier the burden on me. I can't escort large groups of Shinigami into Shadow Space," Nanatsuki replied, shaking his head. "However, I've obtained the key to the space gateway. It's just... I don't yet have full access rights to use it. But since I already have the key, I believe the Department of Research and Development can crack it with some time."
The Wandenreich operated under tight, closed protocols. The Sun Gate Key Nanatsuki obtained only allowed passage for a few individuals. Full access required Haschwalth's direct authorization.
But that wasn't a problem for R&D. Both Urahara Kisuke and Mayuri Kurotsuchi specialized in this kind of decryption.
"That's good," Yamamoto nodded. "If what you say about the Royal Guard and the Sternritter's strength is true, we must prepare thoroughly. The Gotei 13 needs time to minimize our losses."
"Based on the intelligence I've gathered, it's highly likely this recent Quincy war was also provoked by the Royal Guard," Nanatsuki said. "I suspect it's connected to Yhwach's revival. There's a rumor circulating among the Sternritter—that Yhwach can absorb power from fallen Quincy."
"So... if we launch an assault on the Wandenreich, we must consider the real possibility that Yhwach might awaken mid-war."
A battle between Shinigami and Quincy would inevitably lead to casualties—and those deaths could fuel Yhwach's return.
"It doesn't matter," Yamamoto's eyes flared with killing intent. "He was defeated once. I'll just cut him down again."
—
Several days later, Ishida Sōken arrived at Liltotto's small shop, seeking out Nanatsuki.
"Your disciples show promise, Kurosaki," he remarked, observing Liltotto and the others engaged in Blut training, their progress already notable.
"They've worked hard," Nanatsuki replied lightly. "What brings you here?"
Their relationship wasn't particularly close. If Sōken was here, something important had happened.
"Haschwalth is on the move again," Sōken said grimly. "It looks like he's planning to repeat the same tactic—sending soldiers to the World of the Living."
"Last time, he did the same thing. Few returned."
After the Sternritter's selection trials, Sōken had figured it out: the previous batch of soldiers had been deliberately sacrificed.
The clashes with Shinigami weren't a coincidence—Haschwalth was clearly behind them.
"So what do you plan to do?" Nanatsuki's eyes narrowed slightly. For the Shinigami, this wasn't bad news.
The Wandenreich still wasn't at its peak, but most of the Gotei captains were still young and hadn't reached their full potential either.
If the Quincy could be fractured, the Shinigami could reduce their war losses.
"Of course I can't let it happen again!" Sōken said, indignant. "It's no different from sending those men to their deaths!"
"I need your help, Kurosaki..."
"The Royal Guard isn't just Haschwalth and Gerard, is it?" Nanatsuki remained skeptical. "Do you really think we can face Haschwalth directly? Right now, it's only because he wants to maintain order that he hasn't started killing soldiers himself."
"I know..." Sōken admitted, troubled. He couldn't just sit back and watch his comrades be sacrificed again. "But I can't do nothing."
"Then let's consider a different approach," Nanatsuki said with a calm smile. "If you take the soldiers and integrate them into human society—don't gather into villages or camps—the Shinigami won't send troops to wipe you out, right?"