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Compared to Hueco Mundo, compared to the Seireitei, the atmosphere inside Silver-Walled City was no better.
Inside the lavish, glittering palace, there was no sound at all. The silence was so deep that only the faint rhythm of breathing remained.
"Everyone…"
"At this point, what do you make of what we just saw?"
At the far end of the palace corridor stood Haschwalth. Golden hair, blue eyes, a white cloak draped over his shoulders, emblazoned with a five-pointed star. His eyelids were lowered as he spoke in a calm, detached tone.
As the highest-ranking member of the Sternritter, when Yhwach fell into slumber, Haschwalth became the supreme commander of all Silver-Walled City, responsible for maintaining order throughout the realm.
And during this time—
Everything that had unfolded in Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society had been playing out in the Shadow Realm as well.
Through the light screen, the pure-blood Quincy of the Wandenreich had witnessed every moment of the previous rankings.
Urahara Kisuke.Kuchiki Byakuya.Hitsugaya Tōshirō.
When the Shinigami captains appeared one after another in the first three rankings, the Sternritter responded with nothing but scorn and ridicule. Most of them watched the videos like spectators at a show, amused and detached.
That attitude changed completely the moment Gremmy Thoumeaux appeared.
A full one-hundred-and-eighty-degree shift.
"Hm… even if these are just fragments of the future, and Gremmy has never been to the Soul Society and is still under His Majesty's special confinement…" From the steps on the left, the captain of the Schutzstaffel, Lille Barro, spoke with a deeply furrowed brow. "His appearance on the list still indirectly exposes our existence."
There was no denying it.
Whenever a Sternritter made the rankings, as a commander, Lille felt pride. He was glad for his comrades and honored by their strength.
But—
Waging war.Invading the Soul Society.Taking revenge on the Gotei Thirteen.
This was a plan nurtured in darkness and shadow, meticulously prepared for over a thousand years.
Aside from pure-blood Quincy, no one else knew it existed.
And that was exactly what made this situation so dangerous.
If the blood war were exposed ahead of time, a millennium of patience and preparation would be reduced to nothing.
"Yes… the captain is right." Robert Accutrone, another elderly pure-blood Quincy, nodded in agreement, his voice heavy with concern. "Gremmy Thoumeaux appearing on the list isn't good news for us. At the very least, the outside world now knows the Sternritter exist."
"..."
Haschwalth fell silent.
Although Yhwach had regained his heartbeat and consciousness after more than nine hundred years of recovery, the King of Quincy still needed time before he could return to his peak.
And so—
At this critical juncture, the premature exposure of the Sternritter was nothing short of a disaster for the Wandenreich.
Still…
Where there are people, there are factions.
The Sternritter were no exception.
The pure-blood Quincy were never of one mind, and some held completely opposing views.
"Tch… what's there to even argue about?"
"Did you forget? Destroying the Soul Society and wiping out the Gotei Thirteen has always been our goal. We should be celebrating!"
From a shadowed corner on the left side of the palace, the massive, guard-like figure of Gerard Valkyrie let out a contemptuous sneer, the Sword of Hope resting casually on one shoulder.
As the heart of the Soul King, the Schrift bestowed upon him was "M", representing Miracle.
Overwhelming strength, combined with endless miracle power, gave Valkyrie significant influence within the Sternritter.
Early exposure meant nothing to him. He was as arrogant and overbearing as ever.
"Exactly. I'm with Valkyrie," Bazz-B said, purple-red mohawk flaring as heat radiated from his body, his expression brimming with defiance. "If this is a ranking of the strong, how could the Sternritter not be included? What's there to worry about?"
"That's right," Cang Du added coldly, eyes dark with intensity. "It won't just be the power of imagination. The other Schrifts will show their strength too."
"Next…"
"It's time for the world to witness the true power of pure-blood Quincy."
————
Fourth Division.
As the video paused once more, the atmosphere inside the squad room slowly returned to normal.
In front of the solid wooden tea table, Unohana Retsu stared at the light screen with a deeply furrowed brow. Her expression was solemn, as though something long buried had been stirred awake.
Beside her, it was rare to see "Lady Unohana" look this serious.
Kotetsu Isane hesitated, not wanting to interrupt, but after a moment she decided to ask anyway, her voice soft and careful. "Captain… is something wrong? Did you remember something?"
"Hm…"
After a brief pause, Unohana came back to herself.
Her beautiful eyes shifted, complex emotions flickering within them as she nodded. "The 'Sternritter'… I believe they're connected to the war from a thousand years ago."
"The Thousand-Year War?"
Isane looked confused.
Even as a vice-captain and a captain-class Shinigami, she had only been part of the Gotei Thirteen for a little over two hundred years.
Anything that happened before that was completely unknown to her.
"It's a long story," Unohana sighed softly, her gaze dimming as blood-soaked memories resurfaced. "All you need to know is that it was a war too terrible to look back on."
Back then, she had been the first Kenpachi, the greatest monster the Soul Society had ever known.
In that war, Unohana slaughtered countless enemies, her hands stained with the blood of pure-blood Quincy.
But a thousand years had passed.
Lady Unohana had completely changed.
She no longer killed. She no longer fought. Instead, she became a healer who saved lives.
And so, when memories sealed away for centuries suddenly surged back, even her calm heart could not remain untouched.
"If they've truly returned," Isane said, shuddering as the image of that massive, sky-filling meteor flashed through her mind, "then shouldn't we act immediately? Shouldn't we stop them before it's too late?"
"I imagine the Head Captain won't be able to sit still either," Unohana replied, giving a small nod.
The future had already been shown.
Given the old man's temperament, and his deep hatred for the pure-blood Quincy, he would definitely try to change what was coming.
But—
Just as the two were speaking, the paused image lit up once more.
Along with the familiar background music, new text appeared on the screen.
[NO. 11]
[King of Straight-Up Slashes: Zaraki Kenpachi]
...
The sudden announcement instantly seized their attention.
"Zaraki Kenpachi?!"
Seeing that all-too-familiar name, Unohana frowned in surprise. "I didn't expect this. Captain Zaraki is ranked higher than the Imaginer."
"Yeah… especially since in the last ranking, he was already buried under that natural disaster," Isane said, equally puzzled.
The scene of the meteor crashing down had been so overwhelming that she had subconsciously assumed Zaraki Kenpachi, as Gremmy's opponent, must have died.
"Wait…"
Unohana's eyes widened slightly as a thought struck her.
"What if… during that catastrophic battle just now, Captain Zaraki never died at all?"
"And what if… he actually turned the tables and killed his opponent instead?"
"..."
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