Chapter 421

2-in-1 chapter:

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Sixth Division, training ground.

Over a hundred Shinigami stood in formation, grouped into squads of five, forming an enormous encirclement that sealed off the entire area.

Every one of them held their swords in both hands, their expressions cold, eyes locked on the figure in the center.

Holding a long blue spirit bow, Kurosaki Ichigo—whose childish face had long since matured—stood calmly in the middle.

The air was tense for several seconds before Hitsugaya Tōshirō, who was in command, suddenly shouted:

“Attack!!”

“Raaahhhhhhh!!”

The squad members roared as they charged toward the center.

Facing a formation that would make an ordinary person collapse in fear, Ichigo didn’t flinch in the slightest.

He took a deep breath and drew back his spirit bow.

“Rain of Light.”

As he softly spoke the name of the technique, a downpour of countless blue spirit arrows poured out from his bow!

The coverage range of the Light Rain technique was 120 degrees in front of the spirit bow. With slight adjustments to his footwork, Ichigo could hit every Shinigami charging in from all directions.

Normally, facing this kind of attack, ordinary Shinigami would have no choice but to scream “Aaaargh!” while getting mowed down in waves.

But the Shinigami charging at Ichigo this time seemed to have anticipated it.

The seated officers in the front raised their left arms in unison, shielding themselves.

As they moved, the silver devices strapped to their arms emitted a glow, forming a semi-transparent barrier.

The Light Rain arrows struck the shield edges and shattered with a snap.

Meanwhile, the Shinigami behind them didn’t hesitate to raise their hands:

“Hadō #31: Shakkahō!”

Dozens of red fireballs formed at nearly the same speed and roared toward the center.

Ichigo gave a small nod. Blue Reishi patterns appeared over his body.

Every fireball that approached was blocked by the blue glow and exploded midair.

Under the cover of the Shakkahō barrage, the first wave of Shinigami had already reached him.

Ichigo dismissed his spirit bow and spread his arms.

Two long blades of solidified blue Reishi appeared in his hands.

Wielding the twin spirit sabers, he clashed with the incoming Shinigami.

For a time, the Sixth Division rang with the roar of combat.

Hitsugaya led the charge. As he swung his Zanpakutō, two ice dragons circled around him, occasionally diving at Ichigo to cause him some trouble.

Watching the youth calmly dispatch his subordinates with clinical efficiency, without the slightest change in expression, Hitsugaya couldn’t help but reflect.

According to Lord Kaelith, Ichigo was only using a fraction of his true power.

A genuine Sternritter would be even stronger.

The Quincy… really were terrifying.

Hitsugaya didn’t doubt Kaelith’s words in the slightest.

To repay Kaelith’s help, he would do everything he could to master Quincy-style combat.

Thankfully, the Captain’s son possessed Quincy abilities—allowing the squad to practice real battles against them.

Once in a while, the Captain turned out to be useful…

Several minutes later, Ichigo suddenly spoke:

“Time’s up. Entering the next phase.”

At his words, the Shinigami charging toward him all changed expressions.

The next moment, under everyone’s eyes, a pillar of blue spiritual pressure burst from Ichigo’s body.

His twin spirit sabers surged with overwhelming power.

The encirclement that had barely held together was torn open in an instant.

Ichigo plowed through the crowd like a runaway truck into a herd of sheep, scattering the Sixth Division’s troops with just a few charges.

Hitsugaya took a deep breath.

“Bankai!”

“Daiguren Hyōrinmaru!!”

With a flash of light, icy wings spread wide behind him. His entire figure became like a young dragon of ice, diving at Ichigo in a sharp swoop.

CLANG!!

His Zanpakutō, radiating intense cold, clashed with Ichigo’s spirit blade.

Feeling the pressure from Hitsugaya’s blade, Ichigo’s eyes showed a hint of surprise.

For the past year, he’d been training as a sparring partner for the various divisions and had a clear grasp of everyone’s ability and growth rate.

Among them, Hitsugaya’s progress had been the fastest.

A year ago, he’d only been an average captain—about on par with Muguruma Kensei.

Now, he had stepped across the threshold into the level of the high-tier captains, his strength skyrocketing to match twenty Kenseis.

If Ichigo continued using his current level of power, he might actually lose.

With Hitsugaya’s strength confirmed, Ichigo adjusted his power again.

Red Reishi patterns began to appear on his skin.

Seeing the markings, Hitsugaya’s pupils contracted.

Blut Arterie.

Without hesitation, he roared:

“Ryūsenka!!”

Powerful spiritual pressure burst out from within him and, aided by Hyōrinmaru, transformed into a massive torrent of ice-type Reishi, launching from the blade in a freezing surge.

Ichigo crossed his twin blades and swung:

“Getsuga Cross Charge!!”

Though they weren’t Zanpakutō—just twin swords formed from Quincy energy—Ichigo still preferred Getsuga-style techniques.

Twin blue crescents roared forward and smashed into the oncoming ice dragon.

Amid the erupting dust and shattered ice, Ichigo’s figure tore through the smokescreen, charging straight at Hitsugaya like a demon out of hell, blades swinging down.

One strike shattered Hitsugaya’s defense.

The next landed squarely on his body.

At the moment of impact, Ichigo dispersed the blade's edge, converting it into blunt force.

BAM—Hitsugaya was knocked to the ground.

Most likely, a few ribs were broken.

But for a Shinigami, this level of injury was negligible.

If your Kaidō grades at Shin'ō Academy were decent, you didn’t even need to go to the Fourth Division—just fix it yourself.

Ichigo opened his hands and dissolved the twin blades.

As he exited combat mode, his entire demeanor shifted.

The cold indifference was gone.

He grinned and extended a hand to the fallen Hitsugaya:

“Not bad, Hitsugaya. You lasted a lot longer than last time.”

“You too—and the rest of the Sixth Division as well.”

Looking at the hand offered in front of him, Hitsugaya gave a wry smile and reached up to be pulled to his feet.

“…Still too far off. At this level, we’re not going to achieve much.”

Ichigo shook his head with a smile.

As the official sparring partner of Seireitei, no one understood the current state of the divisions better than him.

The Seireitei of today was nothing like the past.

Thanks to Kaelith’s new Hell Training Grounds, the average skill level of ordinary squad members had surged like they were cheating.

In particular, Shinigami who had experienced the corrosive miasma of Hell firsthand had developed extensive knowledge on how to resist external spiritual energy.

When facing Quincy, who specialized in controlling Reishi and deploying strange techniques, that adaptability would prove invaluable.

He didn’t know exactly how powerful the Quincy side would be—but as long as Kaelith was around, he believed Seireitei would not lose.

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“Master, just how strong is the Wandenreich?”

In the First Division barracks, Shiba Isshin brought tea to Aizen and asked with some curiosity.

As Ichigo’s father, he knew exactly how powerful his son had become.

It wasn’t an exaggeration—if he fought that brat now, he probably wouldn’t last five minutes.

Ichigo was that strong. So was Aizen. Yamamoto was incredibly strong. And Kaelith… he was even stronger than all of them.

With such a powerhouse lineup, was it really necessary to treat the situation so seriously?

Hearing Isshin’s question, Aizen put down the book in his hand.

He lifted the teacup and took a refined sip.

Then he spoke:

“To be precise, it’s not the Wandenreich itself that is powerful.”

“Admittedly, the Sternritter possess considerable strength.”

“According to Ishida Ryūken and Bambietta, the strongest among them—known as the ‘Schutzstaffel’—may have reached the level of a peak Shinigami, or perhaps even beyond.”

“If Yhwach didn’t exist, they would already be formidable enemies. The Soul Society would pay a heavy price to defeat them.”

“But… with Yhwach present, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Isshin looked slightly stunned upon hearing that.

Had Master not gotten enough sleep?

The Sternritter were a challenge without Yhwach, but with him involved, they were easier to handle?

Was the Quincy King secretly working against his own side?

Seeing Isshin’s confused expression, Aizen gave him a cold stare.

That look made Isshin break out in a cold sweat.

His brain kicked into overdrive.

A few seconds later, an image flashed through his mind—his wife collapsing by the river, unable even to stand.

His eyes widened in sudden realization.

“The Auswählen!”

“Yes. The Auswählen.”

Aizen withdrew his gaze and continued sipping tea.

The Auswählen—that was the true source of Yhwach’s terrifying power.

For a thousand years, the Sternritter had hidden in the Wandenreich, never slacking in their training, all in preparation for revenge against the Soul Society.

Over twenty Sternritter, and thousands of spiritually aware soldiers...

No matter how strong Kaelith was, he trained alone.

But Yhwach had countless talents training on his behalf.

With a single activation of Auswählen, his power could shift dramatically.

Holding his teacup, Aizen looked out the window at the sky.

The Quincy King—Yhwach.

No matter what card you play, I, Aizen Sōsuke, will crush your ambition.

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Seireitei, First Division.

After a long time, Bambietta, now wearing a white uniform and officer’s cap again, stepped through the gates of the First Division.

Once a member of the Sternritter, she had now officially received a formal posting within Seireitei:

Assistant to the Captain-Commander, and special instructor for training against Quincy.

Currently, all operations involving Quincy in the World of the Living had been handed over to Ishida Ryūken.

This brilliant Quincy, who harbored a deep and personal grudge against the Wandenreich after Yhwach nearly killed his wife through the Auswählen, was now deeply aligned with Kaelith.

Originally, Ryūken’s submission to Kaelith was a calculated compromise.

But after seeing what Yhwach had done, he fully threw his support behind Kaelith.

If war truly broke out, he would side with Kaelith without hesitation.

That was why Bambietta felt comfortable entrusting him with managing Quincy affairs in the human world.

Every Shinigami she passed stopped to greet her respectfully.

She didn’t care.

Their opinions didn’t interest her.

The only Shinigami she cared about—was one and a half people.

One was Kaelith, who could punish her thoroughly.

The half was Soifon, who could help Kaelith punish her even more thoroughly.

Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, her face surprised.

In the First Division study room, Kaelith, who had been napping in a recliner, suddenly opened his eyes.

At the same moment, a shrill alarm echoed throughout Seireitei—

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The sound caught the Shinigami off guard for a second.

Then, their pupils shrank as they instinctively reached for the hilts of their swords.

That alarm…

In the principal’s office of the Shinigami Academy, Yamamoto stood up, killing intent blazing in his eyes.

It was a system Aizen himself had developed decades ago—an alarm network installed across the Soul Society, triggered by Quincy spiritual pressure.

The alarm was sounding.

The Wandenreich had arrived!

And judging by the signal’s origin…

They were descending on all sides of Seireitei—at once!

Throughout Seireitei, clusters of black shadows unfurled.

From within them, figures in white uniforms poured out in succession!

Led by Sternritter, the Quincy forces spread like a white wave, erupting across Seireitei!

BOOM!!!

A red pillar of spiritual pressure blasted into the sky.

Inside it, a man with a spiky red mohawk let out a deafening roar:

“Yamamoto Genryūsai!!

Kaelith Yurei!!”

“It’s time for revenge!!”

“Come out and face me!!”

As he roared, he swung his arm, unleashing a long whip of fire.

The flaming whip extended several kilometers, sweeping out and annihilating everything in front of him!

The Quincy soldiers behind him cheered in excitement.

As expected of a Sternritter—this kind of overwhelming force… how could Shinigami stand against it?

After leveling a wide section of buildings, the red-mohawk man snorted and prepared to move forward.

But then, a voice rang out:

“Heh, so the Sternritter… are just a bunch of rude thugs?”

Hearing this, the red-haired man narrowed his eyes and turned.

From the sky, a figure descended and landed nearby.

Seeing the white haori on the newcomer, the Quincy grinned.

“Oh? A captain already?”

The man also smiled.

“That’s right—a captain.”

He drew his Zanpakutō and pointed it at the mohawked Quincy:

“Captain of the Sixth Division, Shiba Isshin.”

The mohawk waved him off:

“Names don’t matter.”

“I’m going to kill you anyway—what you’re called makes no difference.”

“Oh yeah?”

Isshin chuckled at the provocation.

The next moment, his smile vanished.

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