The cheers seemed to pierce the clouds, reaching the sky, shaking the entire world.
The people's enthusiasm and joy erupted like a volcano, uncontrollable.
The sky of Soul Society seemed to be lit up by the cheers, dazzling and brilliant.
The light illuminated every corner, illuminating everyone's faces.
Those places once shrouded in darkness were now filled with hope and vitality.
Sunlight streamed through the clouds, casting golden patches of light upon the earth.
These patches of light fell on the people, and on the dilapidated buildings.
Broken swords glittered brightly in the sunlight, as if recounting the fierce battle of last night.
The living looked around blankly, observing everything, realizing how long the battle of last night had been.
… … … …
The sun rose as usual.
The sunlight shone brightly on Soul Society, as if everything was as calm as if nothing had happened.
Soul Society had grown accustomed to the baptism of war.
Past crises were no longer crises, and the thousand-person battle in a corner of the Seireitei was merely a small ripple in the long river of the Three Worlds' history.
The sunlight quickly spread, passing through the ruined streets, finally falling on the tall outer wall of the Central District.
A weathered old man leaned on the wall, his wounds aching faintly, but it did not change the expression on his face in the slightest.
The old man's gaze was deep as he looked north.
Truly, they held it!
There were still gaps blown open around, but this ancient city still stood firm.
Shinigami in soul reaper uniform continued to busy themselves among the ruins.
Despite a night of fierce fighting and the enemy's ferocious assault, this ancient city had surprisingly held out.
Yamamoto was somewhat dazed, perhaps due to the severe injuries from last night, which made his thoughts blurry.
"It seems that trusting Reiji was indeed correct; logically, such an offensive should have been impossible to stop."
"And the Hell Gate actually closed, I really don't know what method Reiji used."
A voice of emotion sounded as Sasakibe Chōjirō strode down the street.
His soul reaper uniform and haori were torn beyond recognition, stained with specks of blood, clearly having just gone through a fierce battle.
And on his chest, there was a gruesome crimson wound.
His body was covered in bandages, but blood still seeped through, staining the originally white bandages crimson.
Since the soul reaper uniform were so tattered, this wound could not be completely covered.
Through the torn fabric, the bloody patch was clearly visible, a shocking sight.
Sasakibe Chōjirō frowned slightly, subconsciously pulling down his sleeve, trying to cover the wound on his chest.
In fact, the Fourth Division had already treated his injuries.
But casualties were heavy last night, and the Fourth Division's personnel were limited, so they could only do this much, at least ensuring he was not in mortal danger.
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind him, it was his good junior.
"It's very simple. The Hell Gate can open because of Reiatsu imbalance."
"As long as the Reiatsu of the Three Worlds is raised to a level that can suppress the Hell Gate, wouldn't that work?"
Upon hearing this, Sasakibe Chōjirō turned around abruptly, looking at his junior with a face full of astonishment, asking in disbelief:
"Raise Reiatsu, how is that possible!?"
One must know that Reiatsu is not energy that can be raised at will like spiritual power.
Its essence is actually the strength of the Souls, which is the so-called density of Souls.
On the outside, it manifests as the ability to exploit more and stronger spiritual power.
Reiatsu is not something that can be raised as easily as gaining weight by eating and drinking.
To increase Reiatsu, one must undergo the tempering of the essence of life—the Soul.
Generally speaking, apart from special circumstances like the release of a Zanpakuto.
To increase one's Reiatsu, one can only achieve it through continuous daily training.
Let alone thinking of such a huge increase in such a short period of time.
Aozaki had learned to release his Zanpakuto for a hundred years, so he clearly did not belong to a special circumstance.
Facing Sasakibe Chōjirō's skepticism, Aozaki smiled triumphantly and explained to Sasakibe Chōjirō:
"Actually, the reason is very simple, of course it's because I have extraordinary talent!"
With that, Aozaki walked over to Sasakibe Chōjirō with his three Vice-Captains.
His three Vice-Captains had all survived, but each of them looked disheveled and were not in much better condition than Sasakibe Chōjirō.
Sasakibe Chōjirō frowned, somewhat suspiciously saying:
"Your talent is indeed high, but even so, you shouldn't be able to improve so quickly in such a short time, right?"
Aozaki shrugged helplessly, responding with a smile:
"Alright, I'll be frank with you. Actually, the Soul King gave me a back door."
"Tsk... if you don't want to say it, then don't. If the Soul King really did intervene, why would he specifically look for you? Couldn't he have found Genryūsai?"
"You're right about that, it really could only be me."
What Aozaki said was the absolute truth.
The Soul King and Hell's Will are both world-level existences.
Their struggle involves the balance and order of the world.
Hell's invasion of the Three Worlds was already reasonable and in line with the world's operating rules.
Facing such a situation, even the Soul King was powerless!
Having already known that the Soul King and Aozaki had a close relationship, Captain Yamamoto had already believed seven or eight parts of it in his heart, and asked softly:
"Are there any unusual movements from Hell?"
"No, after the Hell Gate closed last night, even the small the Hell Gate disappeared without a trace," Aozaki replied.
Since Captain Yamamoto's injuries were severe, even a slight movement would cause intense pain.
Perhaps to maintain his teacher's dignity and prevent him from wincing in front of the Squad members, Aozaki voluntarily walked over to the old man.
"Old man, you can rest assured. Although those existences from Hell are powerful, they are also subject to many restrictions."
"The Reiatsu of the Three Worlds is enough to suppress the Hell Gate, and we also successfully detained so many Souls last night."
"It's almost impossible for Hell's Will to open the Hell Gate again by its own power."
Upon hearing this, Captain Yamamoto nodded slightly.
However, speaking of Souls, he couldn't help but recall the tragedy at the Central Underground Great Prison.
It must have been because too many people died then that the Reiatsu of the Three Worlds and Hell became imbalanced.
After all, that group of criminals was very powerful.
Although they lost their Souls, their bodies still could not decompose naturally and could only be sent to Hell.
Thinking of this, Yamamoto's temper flared, and he couldn't help but curse inwardly:
"Damn Quincy!"
Seeing Yamamoto inexplicably start to get angry, the few people were stunned.
Had the Captain-Commander finally become senile?
Yamamoto said nothing, the gentle south wind rustling his white long beard.
He raised his head with a serious expression, looking at the young faces before him, no one knew what the old man was thinking.
Hatred for the enemy? Satisfaction with his disciple? Or perhaps his gaze had already transcended last night, cast towards a future no one could clearly see.
"You worked hard, Reiji."
The old man's gaze was very gentle, yet it did not seem out of place, as he slowly extended his hand.
Aozaki paused for a moment, slowly lowered his head, and slightly bent his body, allowing the withered hand to rest on his head.
The morning sun shone on both of them, making one feel a little warm.