In the Wandenreich's Ice Palace, after completely absorbing the power contained within Yhwach's heartblood, Higashino Shuuichi sat upon the throne.
Below him lay Yhwach's corpse.
Higashino Shuuichi quietly felt the power coursing through his body.
Because he had already bathed once in Yhwach's blood within that fabricated future, this time he merely strengthened his own Schrift tremendously, without gaining any truly "new" power.
Still, compared to before, Higashino Shuuichi could finally use his Schrift to fully "fabricate" the powers that had originally belonged to Haschwalth and Yhwach.
The Balance. The Almighty.
Not only that—he could even fabricate Haschwalth's exclusive equipment, the Scapegoat Shield, in complete form with his Schrift.
But when it came to Yhwach's The Almighty, what Higashino Shuuichi could bring out was noticeably weaker than the original.
In theory, Yhwach could see an infinite number of futures.
Higashino Shuuichi, at present, could only see two hours into the future.
Even so, it wasn't really a problem.
The power that belonged to Yhwach still hadn't been fully digested by Higashino Shuuichi.
Even with Higashino Shuuichi's current level of strength, to completely process Yhwach's power and merge it flawlessly into his own body without leaving any side effects would still take time.
For now, there were two other matters in front of him that demanded immediate handling.
One was Yhwach's corpse. That was easy—Higashino Shuuichi could simply take it back to the Soul King Palace and toss it to that damn monk.
The other was how to explain all of this to Urahara Kisuke.
After all, during his time in the Wandenreich, Higashino Shuuichi had basically kept up a video call with Urahara Kisuke once every two days.
He had reported nearly all the major intelligence from the Wandenreich in full detail, and he had also wanted Urahara Kisuke to try developing tools specifically meant to counter Quincy.
That had been the other trump card Higashino Shuuichi had prepared.
If the worst happened—if he used every method he had and still couldn't deal with Yhwach—then he would withdraw, join forces with Urahara Kisuke, and launch another attack on Yhwach together.
But Higashino Shuuichi had never expected the gap to be this enormous between an early-awakened Yhwach and his present self. With careful calculation and foreknowledge, he hadn't even needed to use Nemu as a trump card.
So now, Higashino Shuuichi had a choice.
Just like he'd originally planned: once he eliminated Yhwach—this lurking threat that could become the "oriole behind the mantis"—he could finally come clean to Urahara Kisuke with his true identity, then join hands with Aizen Sōsuke and kill Urahara Kisuke.
However, staring at the corpse in front of him, Higashino Shuuichi began to reject that earlier decision.
Revealing himself to Urahara Kisuke directly would indeed be the fastest, cleanest solution.
But even if, on the surface, Urahara Kisuke looked as though he had completely severed ties with Soul Society—
Higashino Shuuichi had never believed Urahara Kisuke was the type to be stubbornly single-minded.
As long as the threat to Urahara Kisuke was great enough, it was absolutely possible for him to bring that group of Reigai (spirit replicas) who possessed the power of the First Generation Captains and reunite with Soul Society.
And now, because of the battle he'd fought with Higashino Shuuichi decades ago, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni was no longer as rigid as he had been in the original story—he could even choose to forgive Hirako Shinji and the others.
If it were discovered that Higashino Shuuichi and Aizen had joined forces, the current Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni would certainly accept cooperation with Urahara Kisuke.
And if things developed that way, then Higashino Shuuichi and Aizen would end up fighting not just Urahara Kisuke's group, but the entire Soul Society—Shinigami included, and even Hirako Shinji and the others, those Vaizard (Visored) Shinigami.
Higashino Shuuichi wasn't worried about the eventual outcome if that war truly erupted.
With his current strength, as long as he and Aizen joined hands, then unless the Zero Division from the Soul King Palace personally stepped in, Higashino Shuuichi didn't believe there was any combination that could defeat the two of them together.
But he could already imagine what would happen afterward.
If it came to that, there would be almost nothing left of Soul Society once the war ended.
And since Hirako Shinji, Urahara Kisuke, and the others were now rooted in the Human World, that battle could even spill over into the Human World.
At that point, the one who destroyed the Three Realms might shift from Yhwach… to Higashino Shuuichi himself.
And then what would Higashino Shuuichi gain?
He didn't have Aizen's grand ambitions, nor did he have Yhwach's determination to rebuild the world.
Right now, he only wanted to free this world from the Soul King's script. Then, so long as there was no one behind the scenes pulling the strings, with the strength Higashino Shuuichi had now, he could live peacefully in the Human World and indulge in all its worldly splendor.
So for Higashino Shuuichi, the Human World was absolutely a place that could not be dragged into war—and Soul Society, if possible, should remain as it was.
"To achieve that goal," Higashino Shuuichi analyzed, "the initiative in battle absolutely cannot be in the enemy's hands. It has to be in my hands.
Only then can I decide the scale of the war—and where it happens."
"Leaving it to Aizen won't work either. Aizen doesn't care whether the Human World survives. In his eyes, all that matters is preserving enough combat power within Soul Society so that after the war, reconstruction and order can be stabilized."
"Therefore, this war against Urahara Kisuke can't be me going to him. It has to be Urahara Kisuke and the others coming to me…"
"But my identity as Higashino Shuuichi isn't enough. Because of what I did in the past, whether it's the Shinigami in Soul Society or Urahara Kisuke, they won't believe I'd go so insane as to destroy the Three Realms.
If that's the case, they'll do exactly what they're doing against Aizen right now—constantly seeking the safest, most reliable way to deal with me, rather than going all-in and throwing every bit of strength they have onto the table in a short time!"
"Even if Aizen and I openly challenge them, the Shinigami might fight to the death to protect Seireitei, but Urahara Kisuke? The moment he realizes he can't win, he'll run without hesitation and hide.
Even if he ends up fleeing to the West Administration and hiding there, I wouldn't be surprised at all!"
"But if I want to bring Aizen with me into Hell to find a way to deal with the Soul King… then I absolutely cannot leave behind an unseen danger like Urahara Kisuke in Soul Society and the Human World.
Even if he has nothing, as long as he isn't dead, he's a threat!"
Higashino Shuuichi pondered until, at last, his gaze settled on the corpse below.
In fact, he already had the best solution in hand.
Yhwach really had died by his hand.
But Yhwach could also be "not dead."
If it were the Quincy King who had once attempted to destroy Soul Society and failed—if that Yhwach declared he would seize the Human World again and annihilate Soul Society—
Then even Urahara Kisuke would have no choice but to believe it, right?
On the other side, in the Human World, inside Urahara Shōten (Urahara Shop) in Karakura Town—
Kurosaki Masaki, who had just gotten out of school, arrived brimming with excitement.
"Good afternoon, Tessai-ojisan!"
First she greeted Tessai Tsukabishi, who was always unloading shipments by the door around this time, then she strode into the back room as if she knew the place by heart.
Today was the day again—Urahara Kisuke's once-every-two-days call with Higashino Shuuichi.
During this time, through Higashino Shuuichi, Kurosaki Masaki had come to understand a little about that unfamiliar nation belonging only to Quincy.
But she wanted to know more.
More and more!
At this age, Kurosaki Masaki was overflowing with youthful curiosity. She was unbelievably curious about life among the Quincy in the Wandenreich, and about those so-called Sternritter members in particular.
Those strange abilities Kabuno-senpai called "Schrift" were practically like a Shinigami's Zanpakuto release.
Unfortunately, because she had been hit once by the Quincy King's Auswählen (Holy Selection), Kurosaki Masaki had only barely survived—and most of her Quincy power had been stripped away.
Now she struggled even to form a single Heilig Pfeil (Holy Arrow), let alone construct advanced techniques like Blut Vene (Blood Vein) and Blut Arterie (Blood Artery).
But none of that stopped her from coming to Urahara Shōten (Urahara Shop) on time, eagerly awaiting the video call with Kabuno-senpai.
Kurosaki Masaki remembered that the last time she spoke with him, Kabuno-senpai told her that once he helped the head of the Umezu family train those elite Quincy, they would attempt to launch an assault on the Ice Palace where the Quincy King resided.
In her imagination, training would take at least ten days or half a month, right?
So maybe this time, Kabuno-senpai could take her to see the Quincy training grounds. She really wanted to know what kind of training method Kabuno-senpai would use on them.
"Urahara-sensei, should we start contacting Kabuno-senpai now?"
When she saw Urahara Kisuke push the door open and enter as well, Kurosaki Masaki leaned forward with her hands on the table, her eyes bright and sparkling with anticipation as she asked him.
"Ahh, our Kurosaki-san is as impatient as ever today, isn't she?" Urahara Kisuke teased with a smile. "Right away, right away!"
Urahara Kisuke was in a fairly good mood today. Based on the intelligence Higashino Shuuichi had sent back earlier, he had just successfully completed research on a small device meant specifically for the Quincy of the Wandenreich.
If Kabuno Takuya could keep sending back intelligence at this pace—better yet, if he could capture a Sternritter alive—then Urahara Kisuke might not be unable to research a method to counter those "Schrift" powers as well.
Urahara Kisuke set up the communication device, turned it on, and fanned himself while waiting for the other side to respond.
Because of the distance and the differences in space, the first-time connection process usually took a while—around ten minutes.
Kurosaki Masaki had experience. She patiently sat by the table, propping up her head with both hands, waiting dreamily for the image to appear.
After about ten minutes, the picture on the other side arrived right on time.
But usually, Kabuno-senpai's big face would be the first thing to fill the screen.
Today, what appeared was the face of a middle-aged man Kurosaki Masaki had never seen before.
"Y-you… who are you?! Where's Kabuno-senpai?!"
Kurosaki Masaki straightened up at once, confused, and demanded an answer from the person on the screen.
"What, you don't recognize me?
That can't be right.
Didn't you come into my Empire this time specifically to find me?"
The man on the screen spoke with a smile.
And the moment he said that, Kurosaki Masaki understood.
A bolt of lightning seemed to strike her heart. With a trembling hand, she pointed at the man on the screen.
"Y-you're… the Quincy King… Yhwach?!"
Her body trembled. Her heart was gripped by fear.
How could she not be afraid?
It was this man who, from an unknown distance and across who knew how many layers of space, used Auswählen (Holy Selection) and nearly took her life.
And now he was appearing in the very place where Kabuno-senpai was supposed to be.
It was practically announcing a single fact to her—
Kabuno-senpai… had been hurt.
"Yes." The man on the screen admitted it without hesitation. "I am the King of the Quincy—Yhwach!"
Then his gaze shifted away from Kurosaki Masaki and moved to the side, landing on Urahara Kisuke—whose expression had changed just slightly.
"And you… are Urahara Kisuke, the former captain of Soul Society's Twelfth Division, aren't you?"
"Yes indeed~" From the tone alone, it was impossible to read Urahara Kisuke's true thoughts. As always, he hid his heart perfectly. "Pleased to meet you, Quincy King~"
"Heh. Since it's our first meeting, I should give you a gift."
Yhwach's smile deepened.
"I wonder… will this be enough?"
The screen abruptly shifted as if someone had moved it by hand. Kurosaki Masaki caught glimpses of a throne, pillars, and then—
"No… Kabuno-senpai!!"
Kurosaki Masaki clapped both hands over her mouth. In an instant, watery mist blurred her entire vision.
Because she saw Kabuno-senpai's corpse, lying silently at the foot of the steps.
In the corpse's chest was a hole punched straight through.
Around it, the blood had long since dried—he had clearly been dead for quite some time.
Even though she had already had this ominous suspicion in her heart…
When reality was placed before her eyes, she still couldn't believe it.
In contrast, Urahara Kisuke's expression remained unnervingly calm.
"Yhwach-sama… that doesn't really look like a 'gift,' does it?"
"Fair enough. It doesn't." The screen returned to its original position, and then Urahara Kisuke saw "Yhwach" extend a single finger and lightly point toward him.
In that instant, Urahara Kisuke's unshakable eyes finally tightened—his pupils shrinking sharply.
Because in front of him, a vast amount of reishi began gathering on its own, rapidly taking the shape of a Heilig Pfeil (Holy Arrow).
With a sharp whoosh, the Heilig Pfeil (Holy Arrow) shot past, grazing the tip of Urahara Kisuke's hair.
"Hahahaha! Urahara Kisuke—you're interesting!"
"Yhwach" laughed loudly.
"I hope you stay that interesting when I lead my troops to conquer the Human World next!"
And with that, "Yhwach" directly cut the connection with Urahara Kisuke.
After the communication ended, Urahara Kisuke stared silently at the darkened screen in front of him.
The smile on his face slowly vanished.