First Division, Meeting Hall.
What on earth happened?
Sitting in the chair that only Captain Commander had occupied since the founding of the Gotei 13, Ishikawa's mind was still filled with confusion.
"...Based on the investigations over the past few days, there are no signs of the Quincy appearing in the Human World, Soul Society, or Hueco Mundo. The only thing that can be confirmed is that Ishida Uryū, who once invaded Soul Society, has suddenly disappeared. It is suspected that he may have come into contact with the Wandenreich."
Inside the meeting hall, Soi Fon reported everything the Supervisory Team had found.
However, as she reported, Soi Fon's expression was somewhat dazed.
Both Ishikawa's battle with Unohana and his sudden appointment as interim Commander made Soi Fon feel as if she were dreaming.
She wasn't the only one who felt this way; all the Captains present, except for Zaraki, found the current scene incredibly bizarre.
Indeed!
Everyone present admitted that Ishikawa possessed the strength to succeed as the Commander of the Gotei 13; there was no doubt about that.
But…
Captain Commander suddenly appointing someone who wasn't even a Shinigami as the Commander of the Gotei 13 was truly difficult for those present to accept.
Although Ishikawa was not like Aizen, who posed a huge threat to Soul Society, it should be noted that Ishikawa had close ties with Hueco Mundo, and could even directly control the entire Hueco Mundo. His danger level could be said to be even greater than Aizen's.
Yet, the Captain Commander chose him, and even the Central 46 passed the review without hesitation. The entire Commander succession process could simply be described as 'hasty'.
However, everyone present had extreme faith in Captain Commander, and even if they felt he was too hasty, no one raised any objections.
Of course…
The most important factor was strength.
In such a special period, they had to admit that Ishikawa was indeed the most suitable person to lead the Gotei 13.
Moreover, only when they directly faced the Sternritter did everyone present truly realize the terror of the Sternritter. It should be known that the victory in this battle was entirely due to Captain Commander and Ishikawa jointly repelling the enemy leader.
The role played by the Gotei 13 in this battle could be said to be negligible.
Several Captains were severely injured, even defeated by the enemy in an instant. Even Zaraki was critically wounded and on the verge of death, and it was only with the help of the human girl named Orihime that he was saved from his critical condition.
The other Captains also didn't fare much better.
This was still under circumstances where, among the Sternritter, besides Gremmy's 'Imagination' and the 'Fake Yhwach', only thirteen individuals had appeared.
Regarding the information on the Sternritter members, the Seireitei had already obtained the abilities and data of most of them through the intelligence provided by Ishikawa and Hueco Mundo.
Combining the investigated data, the confirmed deaths among the Sternritter so far include…
Berenice Gabrielli, with the Schrift ability: Question;
Jerome Guizbatt, with the Schrift ability: Roar;
Shaz Domino, with the Schrift ability: Viability;
These three were Sternritter members killed by Ishikawa when he invaded the Wandenreich. And in this Wandenreich invasion, Ishikawa killed another Quincy named 'Ganall', who was also said to be a member of the Sternritter. However, his Schrift was also 'V', but his ability was different from Shaz Domino's.
This made the Shinigami Research and Development Institute somewhat suspicious as to whether the opponent was indeed a member of the Sternritter, and there was also another person with the same designation, who was Gremmy, who caused the terrifying celestial phenomenon in Soul Society.
Information about Gremmy was not provided by Ishikawa, but rather obtained by Captain Mayuri from the enemy. According to the Quincy who confronted Mayuri, Gremmy possessed a virtually invincible Schrift ability called: Visionary.
As the name suggests, he could kill with imagination, and the terrifying celestial phenomenon that affected the entire Soul Society was created by his imagination.
To erase enemies with imagination, just thinking about such an ability sent shivers down one's spine. The traces of Ishikawa's battlefield with him also showed the terror of this person's ability. Fortunately, he foolishly went outside the Seireitei to confront Ishikawa; otherwise, if such a terrifying celestial phenomenon had occurred within the Seireitei, it would have undoubtedly caused countless casualties.
However…
No one present realized the strangeness of their thoughts.
Whether acknowledged or not, in everyone's subconscious, Ishikawa had already risen to the same level as Captain Commander. When they learned that an enemy with terrifying abilities had sought out Ishikawa, their first reaction was not worry, but rather a belief that the enemy was foolishly courting death.
It was as if when they sensed Captain Commander personally stepping into action, their morale would only soar, and they would never worry that Captain Commander might lose.
Getting back to the main topic.
Besides these four individuals eliminated by Ishikawa, only 3 Sternritter members were actually eliminated by the Gotei 13 in this battle.
One of these three was killed by Zaraki, a Quincy named Driscoll Berci, whose Schrift ability was: Overkill.
And the remaining two…
Were the enemies who attacked the temporary strongholds of the Seventh Division and the Tenth Division, respectively. The enemy at the Tenth Division was named NaNaNa Najahkoop. According to Captain Hitsugaya of the Tenth Division, his Schrift ability was: Underbelly.
The person who attacked the Seventh Division was a robot named BG9, whose specific abilities were unknown. According to Captain Komamura of the Seventh Division… the opponent died before he could introduce himself, but it wasn't Captain Komamura who killed him, but rather…
Captain Unohana!
Also killed by Captain Unohana was the enemy who attacked the temporary stronghold of the Tenth Division.
It could be said that all three deaths were caused by 'Zaraki'.
Actually, among the Sternritter who invaded Soul Society, two more Sternritter members died, but not by the Gotei 13.
One of them, named Robert Accutrone, was killed by Ichimaru Gin.
The death of the other one was somewhat strange, because the Gotei 13 had no idea how he… no, it should be 'they' died, or by whom they were killed.
The reason why this 'one member' is referred to as 'they' is because the two, in some sense, were a single entity, sharing one Schrift named: Support.
Regarding their existence, everyone was initially unaware until after the war, when the guards watching Muken suddenly came to report that a strangely dressed burly man and a plump dwarf had died within Muken.
Mask De Masculine, James!
Both were Sternritter members who had previously invaded Hueco Mundo, and identifying their identities was not difficult.
Before the battle began, Mayuri had already analyzed the Sternritter members who had appeared in Las Noches, and was familiar with their abilities, even developing countermeasures.
But no one expected…
The two of them would inexplicably die in Muken.
The Gotei 13 did not investigate this further.
Because both Captain Commander and the newly appointed Ishikawa stated that there was no need to waste effort on investigation, and some veteran Captains seemed to know who had killed the opponents.
And besides these individuals, a person who imitated Yhwach also died at the hands of Captain Commander, with the Schrift Y.
These were the battle achievements on the Soul Society side, although most of them were achieved by Ishikawa alone…
On the Hueco Mundo side, the achievements were terrifying.
A total of ten Sternritter invaded Hueco Mundo, with five killed and five captured, meaning a complete annihilation.
Among the five who died, there was also an imitator of Yhwach, killed by Starrk.
The other four were:
A fat, ugly man with dark skin who flew on a magic carpet, who, upon appearing, started saying things like 'Love me,' and was then directly turned into blood by Cirucci's 'vibration' from a distance.
A man with short black hair whose skin could turn into steel, killed by Harribel using seawater.
A man who called himself Quilge, the 'Jail,' was killed by the arriving Ichigo after he had trapped Ulquiorra and Roka.
And the last one, also the strongest one besides 'Yhwach'.
According to the intelligence received, the opponent's form resembled a left hand, and he simultaneously engaged Grimmjow, Nel, Dordoni, Gantenbainne, Cirucci, and others, even gaining the upper hand.
Fortunately, Ichigo and the others arrived in time, and with Urahara's help, they finally eliminated the opponent. If it weren't for Urahara, Hueco Mundo would have suffered heavy losses even if they won, not to mention being able to arrive in Soul Society in time for support.
Hmm…
This is the information from Hueco Mundo. Unlike Soul Society, Cirucci and the others have no interest in enemy intelligence, nor would they bother to remember the names of the deceased.
However, judging by the described abilities, the five killed should be:
L: PePe (Love);
J: Quilge (Jail);
I: Cang Du (Iron);
Y: Loyd Lloyd (Yourself);
C: Pernida Parnkgjas (Compulsory);
And the five captured were reportedly four females and one transvestite. These five initially engaged Cirucci and others alongside Pernida Parnkgjas, but after Ichigo killed Quilge, he stepped forward and single-handedly held back this group of five.
The entire battlefield was divided into three areas.
Above, Starrk and 'Yhwach' were clashing;
Below, Cirucci and others surrounded Pernida Parnkgjas, while Ichigo was besieged by the group of five.
Leaving aside the clash between Starrk and 'Yhwach', the battles below were surprisingly similar: the four women and one transvestite were completely suppressed by Ichigo, while Cirucci and others were suppressed by Pernida Parnkgjas.
But it was precisely because of Ichigo that these four women and one transvestite were able to survive.
Because compared to the Arrancar like Cirucci, Ichigo was much gentler in his approach.
When they realized all their teammates were dead and personally witnessed 'Yhwach' being reduced to ashes by Starrk, the group of five unhesitatingly chose to surrender to Ichigo.
Originally, Cirucci and the others intended to directly eliminate the five, but Ichigo stopped them, saying that they couldn't just stand by and watch Las Noches kill people who had already given up resistance.
Naturally, Cirucci and the others disagreed, almost leading to a conflict between the two sides. Eventually, Urahara intervened, sealed the five, and mediated the conflict with the reason of 'prioritizing support for Ishikawa'. Afterwards, all five were taken back to the Human World by Yoruichi.
However, not long after the battle ended, Urahara, who had returned to the Human World, sent news that the five regretted surrendering after learning that the 'Yhwach' who was eliminated was not the true Yhwach…
The outcome of this battle can be described as a complete victory for Soul Society and Hueco Mundo!
In this battle, Yhwach was temporarily sealed by Ishikawa.
And Yhwach's Sternritter suffered heavy losses.
C, I, J, K, L, N, O, Q, S, U, V, W, Y, a total of 13 people died… No, it should be 16 people, because there are three V's and two Y's.
E, G, P, T, Z, a total of five people were captured. No one knew what Urahara was keeping them for.
Excluding these individuals, including Yhwach, there are now only 8 Sternritter left: A, B, D, F, H, M, R, X, which greatly reduces their threat level.
Of course, this was the opinion of the Gotei 13.
Ishikawa was well aware of the threat posed by the remaining individuals. Subtracting Yhwach's 'A', among the remaining seven, excluding Äs Nödt (Fear), Bazz-B (Heat), and Jerome Guizbatt (Roar), the last four were the real trouble.
Jugram Haschwalth, "The Balance";
Askin Nakk Le Vaar, "Death Dealing";
Lille Barro, "X-Axis";
Gerard Valkyrie, "The Miracle";
The threat level of these four even surpassed that of the entire Sternritter. If Urahara hadn't arrived in Hueco Mundo in time to provide support, the Left Hand of the Soul King, Pernida Parnkgjas, might have been added to this group of four.
This was not Yhwach's deliberate doing, but rather they survived to the end by their own strength!
Haschwalth severely injured Zaraki.
Askin annihilated the Ninth Squad and stalemated Mayuri until the very end.
Lille Barro, on the other hand, simultaneously faced Shunsui and Ukitake without falling behind.
Gerard Valkyrie, I heard, was badly beaten by Shinji in the early stages of the battle, but the situation reversed later, and he ended up beating Shinji badly…
The remaining three managed to retreat somewhat by luck.
Äs Nödt, the Fear, faced Byakuya. Due to preparations against the plundering of Bankai, Byakuya did not retreat, but he also did not win.
It's worth mentioning that after Captain Unohana supported the Tenth Division, she went there, but Byakuya's pride made him refuse the support; otherwise, Äs Nödt would probably have been left behind as well.
Bazz-B fought Kensei Muguruma and Soi Fon until the end, successfully retreating with Yhwach and the others…
The last one, Jerome Guizbatt, was a bit special, because he escaped… He was surrounded by Rukia, Abarai Renji, and Hisagi Shuuhei, three Vice-Captains, and eventually fled.
Ishikawa felt that, given the Wandenreich's usual conduct, he should have been executed by now, unless something unexpected happened.
…
Inside the meeting hall, Soi Fon continued her report.
Ishikawa also regained his composure, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces.
Finally…
This battle, it's finally coming to an end!
When Yhwach reappears with his forces, that will be the final decisive battle.
However…
Ishikawa's gaze lingered on Unohana.
As if sensing Ishikawa's gaze, Unohana looked up and smiled at Ishikawa, her smile as gentle as ever, but for some reason, Ishikawa felt a chill creep up his spine.
And Soi Fon, who was in the middle of her report, suddenly had a hint of coldness in her voice.
Gulp—!
Ishikawa swallowed, feeling more uneasy about the current situation than about Yhwach.