[Two Hours Later]
Inside a bedroom of the Urahara Shop, the air was filled with the sharp, mixed smell of disinfectant and medicinal herbs.
"The situation… is roughly like this."
Kyoraku Shunsui sat leaning against the tatami. His body was wrapped in thick layers of bandages, with barely half his face exposed.
He held a cup of tea in his hands that had long since gone cold. His hollow eyes stared at the tea stems floating in the cup, and his tone carried a numbness that made one's heart ache.
"After that, Jushiro and I were taken into Hueco Mundo by the Negacion. The moment we landed, before we even had time to see anything clearly, before we even had the chance to draw our swords, a spiritual pressure so powerful it made our souls tremble instantly crushed us into unconsciousness."
"When we woke up again, we were already lying in your shop."
He spoke of the experience calmly, as if he were describing someone else's nightmare.
Killing his own mentor with his own hands. Accidentally killing the niece he cherished like his own child. Being branded a traitor by the entire Soul Society.
These experiences were enough to drive anyone insane. Yet when they came from his mouth, they were as calm as stagnant water.
Because his heart was already dead.
"Th… that's way too exaggerated, isn't it?"
Ishida Uryu, who had been standing in the corner with his arms crossed, stiffened completely after hearing this. His usually calm face was now filled with disbelief.
'Controlling the five senses? Absolute control over reishi? Summoning historical projections?'
'What kind of godlike being is that?'
No matter how biased he might be against Shinigami, he still knew what level of power a captain of the Gotei 13 represented.
But what was the result?
Even the strongest one, the Captain-Commander, had been toyed with and killed like a puppet on strings by that monster called Rosse.
And the reason he hadn't simply wiped out the entire Gotei 13 was only because… he hadn't had enough fun yet?
"How are you supposed to win against that? The gap is way too big."
Ishida Uryu muttered to himself, feeling as if his entire worldview had been violently shaken.
"Well! Well! Well! Looks like the situation is a hundred times worse than we imagined."
Urahara Kisuke lowered the brim of his hat, hiding the slightly heavy look in his eyes. The folding fan in his hand tapped lazily against his palm, though the knuckles of the hand holding it had turned faintly white.
To be honest, he had already suspected that Rosse was someone from the Hueco Mundo royal palace.
Rosse had appeared at far too convenient a time.
Right when the Hueco Mundo palace had entered everyone's sight. Right when a captain-level Shinigami had been promoted to captain by Central 46.
And this captain, chosen by Central 46, had shown absolutely no reverence toward them, completely sidelining them.
As an observer, the whole thing looked suspicious no matter how he examined it.
But before, those were only guesses without real evidence.
Kyoraku Shunsui's words had now confirmed his suspicions.
Rosse wasn't just someone from Hueco Mundo's palace. He was the king of it.
The enemy's king had infiltrated their ranks and even taken the highest position.
The current situation was practically hell.
'Is the information Kyoraku brought false?'
'Maybe the real Soul Society isn't actually this severe?'
The thought flashed through Urahara Kisuke's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
Regardless of anything else, the fact that Captain-Commander Yamamoto had truly been killed by Kyoraku Shunsui was likely real.
And with three veteran captains either dead or gone, the actual situation must have already reached an unbearable level.
So even if part of what Kyoraku saw had been illusions staged by Aizen and Rosse, the true situation probably wasn't much different.
After finishing the analysis in his mind, Urahara Kisuke arrived at his conclusion.
"You can't even describe this as severe anymore, can you?"
Ishida Uryu couldn't help speaking again, his voice dry.
"If what this captain says is true, the King of Hueco Mundo has already taken over Soul Society. Then what's the point of your struggle now?"
"If you were killed because you weren't strong enough, that would be one thing. But this is basically being treated like monkeys and played with! With that kind of gap in power and intelligence, what are you supposed to use to turn things around?"
"Yeah… what could we possibly use to turn things around?"
Kyoraku Shunsui let out a bitter laugh and simply lay down on the tatami, staring blankly at the dim ceiling.
"This Quincy kid has pretty much spoken my mind. I truly have no idea what to do anymore."
"Even the fact that we were sent back here is probably just another part of his script. Maybe it's only to add a few struggling clowns to some grand play in the future, so he can enjoy himself a little more."
His entire life had been devoted to protecting Soul Society.
Yet in the end, not only had he destroyed it with his own hands, he had also become a chess piece repeatedly played with by Rosse.
That kind of irony hurt more than being flayed alive.
["Heh! Kyoraku, since when did you become so nagging and pathetic?"]
A voice filled with sarcasm and arrogance suddenly came from the communication screen beside them.
["If even you've turned into this miserable wreck, then we might as well all commit seppuku together or surrender to that Lord Hollow King. Anyway, we all have Hollow power inside us now. Maybe we could even become unofficial members of Hueco Mundo and barely survive."]
On the screen appeared Hirako Shinji's distinctive bowl-cut face. Though his eyes carried a teasing look, there was also anger that he couldn't hide.
The moment Kyoraku Shunsui woke up, Urahara Kisuke had already contacted them. They had been connected through remote communication the entire time, listening to Kyoraku's story.
"Baldy! Try surrendering and see what happens! I'll chop you up first!"
["Hiyori! That hurts! Stop hitting my face with your slippers! I was just trying to lighten the mood, okay?"]
["Not even joking is allowed! What kind of joke is that at a time like this?"]
["Ah well, it's only some Hollow King… if my iron fists go up against him, maybe in less than three minutes I'll have him kneeling on the ground begging for mercy."]
["Give it a rest, Kensei. Last time we all attacked together and couldn't even beat that Twentieth Espada. You still want to challenge the Hollow King? At least keep your dreams within reason."]
["Hey, hey, I'm way stronger than I was a few years ago, alright? My Hollowfication can last a full hour now!"]
["Sure, sure. But against those monsters, you'll probably still get one-shot in a second. What's the point of an extra hour?"]
"….."
The noisy arguing, the sounds of slippers slapping faces, and the kind of playful banter unique to Hirako Shinji and his group brought a faint trace of life back into the previously lifeless bedroom.
Listening to the voices of these old friends, Kyoraku Shunsui couldn't help letting a small smile appear at the corner of his mouth, though his eyes remained dim.
'At a time like this, they can still be so optimistic and noisy…'
'In the end, I really have gotten old.'
Once the fighting spirit was gone, it was hard to burn with passion like in the old days.
["Hey! Kyoraku!"]
Suddenly, a cool and forceful female voice cut through everyone's argument.
Yadomaru Lisa pushed up her red-framed glasses. Her eyes stared straight the screen at the former captain lying there like a useless lump.
"Hm? Oh, it's little Lisa… why are you shouting my name like that?"
Kyoraku Shunsui rolled over, looking completely lazy, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.
He truly had no fighting spirit left.
Only someone who had personally faced that kind of despair, who had been shrouded by the shadow of something called omniscience and omnipotence, could understand that any resistance was futile.
Sometimes he even wondered whether, if Soul Society were truly ruled by Rosse, aside from relics of the old era like themselves suffering, would it actually make much difference to ordinary Shinigami?
Unfortunately, Rosse and his people didn't look like the type who would treat Soul Society kindly.
In the end, he still couldn't accept seeing the home they treasured so dearly trampled so casually by others.
["Cut the act! The Kyoraku Shunsui I know, the man who would crack jokes even in the most desperate moment while drawing his twin swords, would never give up this easily like a coward!"]
Lisa's voice carried clear anger.
["You're Kyoraku Shunsui! My former captain!"]
"Haha! I haven't given up."
Kyoraku Shunsui tugged at the corner of his mouth, forcing out a smile uglier than crying.
"If I had really given up, my corpse would already be lying cold in Hueco Mundo. Why would I shamelessly run back here to contact you all?"
["Then if you haven't given up, think of a way!"]
Lisa shouted loudly.
["So what if that bastard is strong? So what if he can occupy Soul Society? We're not all dead yet! We can still find allies!"]
"Allies?"
Kyoraku Shunsui repeated the word instinctively, his tone blank.
"Other than stray dogs like us, where in the world would we find allies capable of fighting that kind of monster?"
["There is one. And it's a group that sees us as mortal enemies."]
Urahara Kisuke, who had been silent until now, suddenly rubbed the stubble on his chin. His eyes slowly turned toward Ishida Uryu, who was standing nearby looking completely stunned.
"Quincies."
"Hey! Hey! Hold it right there!"
Ishida Uryu instantly panicked and stepped back repeatedly.
"I don't want to get involved in Shinigami business! And I definitely don't want to go die!"
'Is this a joke?'
Just hearing them describe that enemy's abilities made his scalp tingle.
He was just a high school student with a little spiritual power. Fighting ordinary Hollows was one thing, but asking him to fight a monster like that?
He wasn't Kurosaki Ichigo. He didn't have that kind of hot-blooded spirit.
"And aren't you overestimating me a bit?"
Uryu pushed up his glasses, his tone helpless.
"What ability do I possibly have to fight monsters like that? I'd probably be crushed by one of those so-called Espada before I even see the Hollow King."
"Not you, Ishida-kun."
Urahara Kisuke shook his finger, revealing that fox-like smile.
"Huh? Am I not the only Quincy left in the Human World?", Ishida Uryu looked even more confused.
"Haha! That's not the case."
Kyoraku Shunsui seemed to recall something as well. At last, a trace of light returned to those dead-fish eyes.
"Even though what Kurosaki Masaki said that day is hard to verify, one thing can be confirmed. The Quincy King from a thousand years ago, Yhwach, never died. And he should still have a number of powerful subordinates under him."
"The enemy of our enemy is our friend. Even though it's like seeking the skin of a tiger, this may be our only way to break the situation."
"That's certainly true. And besides, even setting aside that legendary Quincy King far away in the stories…"
Urahara Kisuke looked at Uryu with a smile and dropped a shocking statement.
"Right here in the Human World, right beside you, you definitely aren't the only Quincy. In fact, you could say that Ishida-kun, you're the weakest one we currently know about."
"What?"
Ishida Uryu froze completely.
"You're saying I'm the weakest? Then who else is there?"
"Your father, Ishida Ryuken."
Urahara Kisuke said each word slowly.
"He's the Quincy with the purest bloodline and the greatest talent I've ever seen. His strength might even surpass Captain Kyoraku in his prime."
"Huh? That money-obsessed doctor?"
Ishida Uryu was so shocked that his glasses tilted crookedly.
In his mind appeared the image of that cold-faced man who spent his days talking about money and profit.
It was hard to imagine that someone who mocked Quincies, called it a worthless job with no salary, and dismissed it entirely could secretly be an extremely powerful Quincy.
"Th… that's impossible!"
"If he's really that strong, then why does he oppose me becoming a Quincy so strongly? Why does he belittle Quincies so much and treat them as worthless?"
Countless questions exploded in Uryu's mind, leaving him dizzy.
"Perhaps it's precisely because he's so strong, and understands how cruel that world is, that he didn't want you to step into this abyss."
Urahara Kisuke gave him a meaningful look.
"But now, for the sake of survival, for the sake of preventing this world from being completely destroyed by Rosse…"
"Even that troublesome-averse Doctor Ishida will probably have to step forward."
"After all, this is no longer just a war for the Shinigami."
Letting Ishida Uryu listen in had always been part of his plan to drag Ishida Ryuken into the situation.
With one more captain-level fighter, they would at least gain a little more chance of victory.
Although in the end, it might only increase their odds by 0.1%.
But the more effort they made, the more those tiny chances would add up.
["Alright, enough casual talk."]
Hirako Shinji spoke bluntly.
["We Shinigami and those Quincies are mortal enemies, right? Why would they help us? Even if they helped kill Rosse and his people, they still wouldn't be able to reclaim Soul Society."]
He paused for a moment before continuing.
["Honestly, I think contacting them is worse than trying to reach Squad Zero."]
"Squad Zero definitely needs to be contacted, but our connection to Soul Society has been cut. We simply can't reach them."
Urahara Kisuke sighed. It wasn't like he didn't want to contact Squad Zero.
But they were in the Human World, and the passage to Soul Society had clearly been destroyed by people from the Hueco Mundo palace.
If they couldn't even contact Soul Society, reaching Squad Zero floating high above it was even more impossible.
"As for why the Quincies would help us, or rather, why we even have the basis for cooperation…"
"That has to start with Rosse, and with the true objective of that legendary Yhwach."
"The true objective?"
Kyoraku Shunsui was stunned. He struggled to sit upright, his eyes filled with surprise and confusion.
"You know what that guy Rosse actually wants?"
Even now, when he recalled that absurd battle, Kyoraku still felt that the logic behind both Aizen and Rosse's actions seemed like nothing more than a pure prank.
Taking control of Soul Society. Killing the Captain-Commander. Driving them away.
Those actions looked reasonable on the surface, yet when Rosse carried them out, there was always a sense of casual indifference, as if everything was done simply because it was fun, or to satisfy some strange amusement.
If he really had a clear objective, why stage such a complicated play?
Wouldn't it have been simpler and more efficient to just crush everything with absolute force?
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