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Auswählen. Rebirth.
Under countless horrified gazes, the situation in the Royal Palace flipped completely.
The moment the Auswählen ritual ended, the holy light flowing from Yhwach's hands returned life to the Schutzstaffel. Those who should have been dead weakly opened their eyes and slowly stood up from the bloodstained ground.
Reborn.
And restored to full strength.
The bizarre scene immediately sent shockwaves through everyone watching.
Thirteenth Division.
"No way… you've got to be kidding me! How is this getting more and more insane?"Watching this unfold, Kyōraku Shunsui's eyes went wide, his expression freezing on his face.
At the same time, his heart was thrown into chaos.
It felt absurd, and yet deeply terrifying.
What was going on?
The dead could come back to life?
In a world centered on souls, something like this was both absurd and extremely rare.
So even seeing it with his own eyes, Kyōraku's first reaction was to assume he must be mistaken. There was no way something this ridiculous could actually happen.
Across from him, his close friend Ukitake Jūshirō looked no better.
He frowned and examined them carefully.
When he realized that the four members of the Schutzstaffel were now emitting even stronger spiritual pressure than before, his already pale, sickly face turned paper white.
Ukitake spoke with difficulty.
"Shunsui…"
"This isn't just revival. Their power is even greater than before. It's like they truly received divine protection."
Among all the captains, Ukitake was probably the only one who genuinely believed in the existence of gods.
The reason was simple.
When he was three years old, a severe illness left his entire body pale and pushed him to the brink of death.
In that critical moment, his parents rushed him to the shrine of the One-Eyed God, the manifestation of the Soul King's right arm. By offering his lungs as a sacrifice, they managed to pull him back from death's door.
Because of that experience, Ukitake had come to believe in gods.
But now…
After witnessing the battle involving the Soul King's left arm, and knowing that he himself had long since become the vessel of the Soul King's right arm, Ukitake couldn't help but wonder.
Just which god's power had descended to grant rebirth to the pure-blood Quincies?
Is that really the Soul King's true body? That can't be right.
Wasn't the Quincy King's whole goal to abolish the Soul King?
Or… could it be that—
Yhwach could accomplish all of this purely through his own power?
The thought made Ukitake Jūshirō suck in a sharp breath.
If Yhwach truly had reached such an overwhelming level, then stopping him in the future would be nearly impossible.
"Yeah… I felt it too. The Royal Guards are stronger than before. Ōetsu's in real danger now."
Kyōraku Shunsui frowned deeply, a powerful sense of unease rising in his chest.
And sure enough—
The moment that thought crossed his mind, the counterattack came.
On the screen, a thunderous gunshot rang out.
The camera shifted, locking onto Ōetsu Nimaiya, who moments ago had been brimming with confidence, as if trying to recreate the scene where he casually sliced bullets out of the air with one hand.
But that never happened.
Instead, there was a choked groan, followed by the sound of blood being coughed up.
Ōetsu's face had gone deathly pale. Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and on his left shoulder was a horrifying hole, torn straight through to the bone.
"What?!"
"What just happened? Why did Nimaiya suddenly get injured?!"
Across the Soul Society, the strongest figures were left utterly stunned.
Just a few rounds ago, hadn't the so-called God of Blades effortlessly cut down over a dozen sniper rounds with one hand?
So why wasn't it working now?
"Why… are you all stronger?" Ōetsu asked hoarsely, his face drained of color and his breathing ragged.
"Auswählen."
"That is one of His Majesty's special powers. It allows him to reclaim the lives and strength of Quincies deemed unnecessary, and redistribute them to those who need it."
"And those who receive this gift are not only reborn, they gain power far greater than what they once had."
This time, Haschwalth appeared on screen. Acting like a star commentator, he calmly revealed the secret of Auswählen for everyone to hear.
His explanation sent shockwaves through the entire Soul Society.
"So he can forcibly take life and power, then reassign it according to his own will? That's terrifying…"
In the underground chamber of Squad Five, Ichimaru Gin felt a bead of cold sweat slide down his cheek.
After all, even someone as powerful as Aizen had only managed to become the ruler of Hueco Mundo by unifying a fractured land through sheer force of presence.
Yet even Aizen couldn't strip Arrancars of their power at will.
Let alone redistribute it however he pleased. That was absurd on a whole other level.
"Interesting…"
Aizen's voice drifted from behind Gin, carrying a faint, amused smile. "I thought the legendary Quincy King, after hiding for a thousand years, would cherish his subordinates' lives. Turns out he's just as brutal as the records say."
Aizen's lips curved into a flawless smile.
Watching Yhwach clash head-on with the Zero Division from this godlike vantage point, Aizen felt as though a whole new world had opened up to him.
"Exactly, Captain Aizen."
"And who knows how many pure-blood Quincies down in Soul Society lost their lives during the Auswählen ceremony? Those sacrifices really are pitiful."
Gin's tone sounded sympathetic, but the grin on his face said otherwise. Like Aizen, he was clearly enjoying the spectacle.
"So, Gin. Who do you think will win?" Aizen asked.
"Well…"
Gin's gaze shifted to behind Ōetsu, where the remaining members of the Zero Division were stepping out from the forest barrier.
He narrowed his eyes and chuckled softly. "Four versus four? Hard to say. But I get the feeling the Zero Division might actually be stronger."
"After all…"
"Wasn't there once a rumor that said the Zero Division's power surpasses the entire Gotei Thirteen?"
"I'd say that wasn't exaggeration… right?"
While Aizen and Gin were talking, the battle in the Soul King Palace escalated even further.
"Idiot."
"No matter how many walls you put up, none of them can stop my shots. That is the power His Majesty granted me. The power of 'All-Piercing.'"
As the camera shifted again, Ōetsu stood behind layers of defense. His zanpakutō, Kinpira, and thick stacks of wooden constructs were piled together in front of him.
But just as Lille Barro said—
No amount of barriers could stop his bullets.
"This… can't be possible!"
The sniper rifle fired.
Invisible reishi bullets tore straight through everything.
Kinpira was pierced. The wooden constructs shattered. And in the center of Ōetsu's chest, another bloody hole appeared.
"Damn it!"
"Even if power was redistributed, your bullets shouldn't be able to punch through the combined strength of the three of us!" Ōetsu shouted. His pupils were unfocused now. After taking two direct hits, he was barely clinging to life.
"Impossible? That's just your own naive assumption."
Lille Barro rested the sniper rifle on his shoulder, white angelic wings gently fluttering behind him.
He answered coldly, without a hint of emotion.
"First, let me make this clear."
"This is not 'redistributed power.' This is the power that was originally mine, power I failed to release before dying due to my own carelessness."
With that, Lille Barro arrogantly pulled the trigger again.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Three consecutive shots thundered out.
Empowered by All-Piercing, they struck their targets with the precision of target practice.
Kirio Hikifune.
Tenjirō Kirinji.
And the God of Blades, Ōetsu Nimaiya.
Their bodies were pierced clean through, lined up and skewered together.
In the end, they collapsed in a row into a pool of blood, like candied hawthorns strung on a stick.
This gruesome scene was broadcast through the ranking video, shown to everyone in advance.
"No… no way?!"
"The fight ended just like that? You've got to be kidding!"
"That was the legendary Zero Division! The King's Special Guard that supposedly surpasses the Gotei Thirteen! How could they be this weak?"
"Seriously. Even an ordinary Shinigami fight wouldn't end in such a one-sided massacre!"
After the initial shock came an overwhelming wave of doubt and disbelief.
After all, in the earlier rankings, Ōetsu's performance had been dazzling beyond belief, sending the Zero Division's reputation and everyone's expectations through the roof.
And yet—
Their actual combat performance slapped everyone square in the face. Calling it underwhelming would almost be too kind.
As people stared at the screen, watching the four members of the Zero Division fall one after another in a grim, unforgettable tableau, the same thought surfaced in everyone's mind.
"So… in the end…"
"That supposedly god-tier Zero Division was just a bunch of overhyped blowhards?"
"..."
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